Sure that the two attackers are dead, Ryan vaults over the bar and makes a dash for the door. However, once almost at the exit, Ryan goes to the burning body of one of the attackers and takes his gun. The metal is hot, but Ryan's heavy gloves protect him from any burns. Once the gun is in his possession, Ryan exits the bar.
Now on the outside, Ryan continues to job westward. Just a few dozen feet later, Ryan is too exhausted to keep going and sits on the ground. Just now, he realizes he left his spear inside the bar. He ignores that fact and instead takes out his sword from the scabbard. There are no zombies nearby since he already killed most of them while standing on the truck.
The black gun doesn't show any sign of damage. Ryan never owned a gun in the past, and only used his parent's, so he doesn't know how to spot a gun that will explode when a bullet is fired. He worries about the fire having done something to the metal, so for now, Ryan stores the gun in an external pocket of the jacket.
After almost a minute of rest, Ryan stands up and walks to the truck. Ryan climbs onto the top of the truck and resumes his rest, now in a much safer location. At the end of his nap, Ryan thinks about buying a bicycle from the shop but is dissuaded by the 2600 credit price. 'That's almost everything I have,' Ryan thinks and angrily continues to jog. If he spends the credits on it, he might not be able to create a solution like back in the bar, where a number of surplus credits allowed him to creatively solve his problem.
Ryan was not in good shape before the zombies started to appear, and once again after about a mile he stops. This time, instead of gaining a vantage point to kill zombies, Ryan is just tired. There are still several hours left in the day, but at his current pace, Ryan won't be able to reach his parent's house before dark.
'I might have to steal a car,' He thinks and looks around. There are a few nearby zombies, which he swiftly kills with his sword, but the road is devoid of vehicles. At the closest intersection, there is a hardware store, a diner, a bank, and a car dealership. 'There might be some there,' Ryan thinks and starts walking to the car dealership.
Experienced from his previous interaction with other people, Ryan slowly inches around the corner of the car dealership's locked parking lot. A high brick wall and iron gate keep the cars locked behind the dealership, and Ryan suspects it'd be the perfect place for someone to hide.
"Don't even think about it," A voice says from inside the parking lot. The voice is coming from someone middle aged, which Ryan thinks might be the owner of the dealership. Hopefully, it's just a man protecting what's legally his, and not a scavenger protecting his find.
"Hey, hey!" Ryan says in a raised voice, but not enough to draw unwanted attention. "I just want to... make a trade,"
In his head, Ryan is already formulating a plan to acquire a car from the man.
"Trade? I don't have anything to trade with you," The man says back.
"It's simple: I want a car," Ryan says, now full in view of the man in the parking lot. Behind the roof of a sedan, the man is pointing a gun at Ryan, probably a shotgun based on the width of the barrel.
"You don't have anything I'd want to trade one for, and don't even bother with the credits," The man says.
"But, how about food and water? I've got both of those things," Ryan says. If he didn't have the shop to buy food from, Ryan is sure he'd be in a much worse situation.
The man on the inside of the parking lot, his stomach growled. In the past two days, he's had nothing to eat other than potato chips. He'd been building up the courage to raid the diner across the street, but promptly hid behind his cars when he heard gunshots nearby. Inside the dealership, he has plenty of water stored in plastic bottles.
"Not interested," The man says, ignoring his complaining gut.
"Actually, I'm a bit in the mood for steak. I'll be right back," Ryan says, grinning, and steps behind the brick wall. Once hidden, Ryan buys a porcelain plate for 30 credits, a steel fork for 20 credits, a steel knife for 25 credits, and a filet mignon for 140 credits. With everything on the plate, Ryan walks back to the gate and sits down. "I've been getting a little hungry,"
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Ryan slowly cuts and eats his steak while the man behind the gate watches. The delicious juices practically flow from the slab of meat as Ryan places each piece in his mouth, and he wonders why he ate cheeseburgers for so long when steak was just a thought away.
The man behind the gate wonders how long he can survive without food. He's got water to drink and a place to answer nature's call, but real food has eluded him for two days already. If the man in front of him, Ryan, left soon, he might be able to raid the diner across the street, but that would leave the dealership unprotected for at least a minute. The man also worried about having to deal with more zombies like the ones he killed earlier.
"Fine, but you have to sign a deal to to give me food every day," The man says, trying for a way to have a constant income of food.
"That's crazy! I can't come back here every day," Ryan rebukes. "You've got a dozen cars in there. I only need one,"
"Just one of these cars is worth a thousand of those steaks!" The man yells.
"And where exactly are you going to get a streak right now? You've seen what the city's become," Ryan says and throws a small bite of steak over the iron gate, landing in the parking lot.
"Don't throw it!" The man yells at Ryan, and his attention focuses on the steak. 'So hungry...' He thinks.
"I have enough food to waste it, but can you say the same thing?" Ryan asks.
"You... that's your class? Something that lets you have all the food you need?" The man asks.
"Yeah, I have the class 'Chef', which allows me to convert credits to food," Ryan says, spinning lies as he speaks.
"Then, give me a hundred boxes of cereal!" The man yells. He hopes to get something that will last a long time and can be eaten without having to cook it. Though he is without milk, the man has water to make it a little easier.
'A hundred boxes,' Ryan thinks and adds a box of cereal to the shop. For a box of Corn Wheels, the price is 35 credits. Wheat Flakes too are just 35 credits for a box. That amount times, one hundred, would be 3500 credits. "Let's make a deal. I can give you ten boxes right now, but it'll take me at least a week to get the rest,"
"That can work, but you're going to have to put that in writing," The man says. "Walk to the right,"
The man motions with his gun, and Ryan walks past the gate to the parking lot. Once past the brick wall, Ryan stands in front of a glass wall and can see the man from inside the parking lot on the other side. The man continues to motion with his gun, and Ryan continues to walk. Around the corner, Ryan swiftly kills 9 zombies and is let inside the dealership when the man removes a broom handle from the door's handles.
"Just sit down over there," The man says, motioning to a table with chairs around it in the corner of the room.
"That's fine," Ryan says, walking to the corner. The man walks into an office and quickly comes back out with a sheet of paper and a pen. One side of the paper is blank, but the other side already has writing on it. The man sits at the table, on the opposite side from Ryan, and begins to write.
"In exchange for the ownership of a vehicle from my lot, one hundred boxes of cereal to be delivered to me within two weeks, and the first ten boxes to be presented now. If the boxes of cereal are not delivered during the two-week period, you must pay me all your credits," The man says, and writes equivalent words on the paper. At the bottom, he places two horizontal lines and signs on the bottom one. "Sign it,"
"Alright," Ryan says, and signs the paper. Once he does, a text screen appears.
>Contract signed with Jacob Mills. All terms and conditions will be enforced by the system!
"What's your class?" Ryan asks Jacob.
"It's 'Dealmaker', which allows me to create binding contracts within the system," Jacob replies. "So, the cereal?"
"Yeah," Ryan says, and purchased five boxes of Wheat Flakes and five boxes of Corn Wheels for 350 credits. "Here,"
"Come with me out back and I'll give you the keys to one of the cars," Jacob says, and Ryan follows him to the parking lot.
>Name: Ryan Stone
>Class: Tycoon
>Credits: 2434 ₵
>Str: 15
>Dex: 13
>Vit: 12
>Int: 11
>Wis: 10
>Luc: 11
>Skills: Ice Picks 1, Spears 1, Swords 1, Sleep Resistance 1, Hunger Resistance 1, Thirst Resistance 1, Sharp Hearing 1, Climbing 1, Bullet Resistance 4, Fire Resistance 1,
>Current Equipment: Ice Pick, Sword, Belt Scabbard, Heavy Work Gloves, Textile Motorcycle Jacket
>Current Injuries: Slight burns, cuts along legs, calloused hands, bullet stuck in back, bruised back,
>Weapons
>>Iron Dagger, 100 ₵
>>Steel Sword, 300 ₵
>>Steel Ice Pick, 100 ₵
>>Steel Spear, 300 ₵
>>9mm Semi-Auto Pistol, 14000 ₵
>>Molotov Cocktail, 200 ₵
>Armor
>>Heavy Work Gloves, 150 ₵
>>Textile Motorcycle Jacket, 2000 ₵
>>Ballistic Helmet, 2400 ₵
>Skills
>>Ice Picks 1, 300 ₵
>>Spears 1, 300 ₵
>>Swords 1, 300 ₵
>>Sleep Resistance 1, 500 ₵
>>Hunger Resistance 1, 500 ₵
>>Thirst Resistance 1, 500 ₵
>>Bullet Resistance 1, 500 ₵
>>Fire Resistance 1, 500 ₵
>>Sharp Hearing 1, 500 ₵
>>Climbing 1, 300 ₵
>Items
>>Plastic Bag, 1 ₵
>>Steel Dinner Fork, 20 ₵
>>Steel Dinner Knife, 25 ₵
>>Porcelain Dinner Plate, 30 ₵
>>Glass of Water, 10 ₵
>>Cheap Cheeseburger, 10 ₵
>>Cheeseburger, 50 ₵
>>Box of Wheat Flakes, 35 ₵
>>Box of Corn Wheels, 35 ₵
>>Filet Mignon, 140 ₵
>>Belt Scabbard, 120 ₵
>>Lighter, 50 ₵