Knocking on the door, Emma's eyes gleamed as she heard the unmistakable groans of the undead lurking behind the door. Cracking her knuckles and activating her sword's attack mode, she braced herself for the onslaught. With a swift kick, she burst through the door, greeted by a horde of five zombies lunging at her with ferocious hunger.

Emma's reflexes were brought to perfection through her hard training and workout, and her movements were precise and lightning-quick. With a flurry of strikes, she killed the zombies one by one, their decapitated heads rolling to the ground before they could even draw close.

As she stepped into the house, a strange scene unfolded before her eyes. What was once must have been a happy party decoration place now lay in ruins, the floor filled with deflated balloons, blood splattered across every surface, and shattered glass from the useless attempts of the partygoers to defend themselves against the zombies.

A trail of blood caught her eyes. Following the trail of blood leading to the basement, Emma walks down the steps, her senses alert to the higher pressure pushing down on her. Going down further, Emma's instincts screamed at her to walk carefully. This was not a usual zombie like the other ones; the oppressive aura hinted at something far worse—a level one zombie, with better senses and strength beyond the ordinary undead.

In her past life, zombies evolved, gaining power through consuming other zombies or feasting on humans. Level one was just the beginning, a mere step above the original undead. Level two possessed even higher abilities, some even awakening supernatural powers like those of humans. And beyond that lay the dreaded level three, upgrading their supernatural abilities while their body also transformed.

Emma had only faced level two zombies in her previous lives, never daring to confront anything stronger for fear of losing her own life.

Emma flicked on the light switch, lighting up the basement with a harsh fluorescent glow. In the corner, her eyes locked onto a disturbing sight—a human figure hunched over what appeared to be another human but now mostly bones lying lifeless on the ground. As the light pierced the darkness, the figure snapped its head towards her, revealing an ugly face.

Emma felt disgusted as she looked at the zombie's face. Half of its cheek was gone, showing the rot underneath. Flies buzzed around it, attracted by the stinky smell of blood and decay. Some flesh still hung from its mouth, showing it was hungry for more.

Without pausing to second-guess, the zombie lunged at Emma, its movements resembling a puppet with its strings tangled. Emma braced herself, feeling the tension coil in her muscles as she anticipated the attack. Her sword gleamed faintly in the dim light of the basement. She growled and faced the zombie directly. Her sword sliced through the air with a sharp sound. The sound of bone crunching under the force of her strike echoed through the basement as the zombie's neck gave way, its body crumbling to the ground in a twisted pile.

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But Emma remains highly alert. Without stopping, she kicked the zombie hard to make sure it was dead. Her boot thudded against its decaying body. She dodged the zombie's swinging arms and moved smoothly. Her sword sparkled as she struck the final blow with precision.

With a clean, precise swipe, she removes the creature's head from its body, the sound of flesh parting filling the air. The head rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood in its wake as Emma stood victorious over the fallen foe, her breaths coming in a steady, controlled rhythm.

But Emma's focus was not solely on killing the undead; her eyes quickly scanned the remains for what she was looking for. Amidst the ugly and disgusting head, nestled within the decaying brain, lay a small, shimmering crystal—a level-one zombie crystal.

These crystals were wanted by people with special powers because they could make them stronger quickly. Yet, they came with a dangerous price. Too much use of these crystals risked infection by the zombie virus, causing symptoms such as headaches and seizures. As the level of the zombie increased, so did the size of the crystal it produced, growing larger with each higher level. Also, the crystal became even stronger, making it more wanted by people who wanted to boost their powers. It was also used as currency later on.

Emma tossed the crystal into her storage room. Alongside it, she piled the bodies of the defeated zombies, each one a potential resource. Just last week, Emma had stumbled upon a mysterious machine hidden in the depths of her basement. To her surprise, this machine gave rewards in exchange for the corpses of the undead. Whether it was a simple bottle of water or a valuable weapon, the machine offered an unpredictable reward with each offering.

Emma considered moving the machine to her storage room for easier access, but despite her efforts, it stubbornly remained rooted in the basement. So she will have to go down every time she has a body now.

By the time Emma finished gathering supplies, the sun was sinking low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the deserted neighborhood. With a sense of purpose, she distributed the food she had collected to the Kranks, the now-only family remaining in the community. Crafting a temporary sign declaring the area as "Emma's territory," she put it on to the gate before heading back to her RV.

As she stepped inside, a familiar ding sounded in her mind, signaling the completion of her mission. "Mission completed, rewards now or later, please choose," the notification prompted. Grinning to herself, Emma chose to receive her rewards later.

Returning to the safety of her forest, Emma was amazed by how well her plan to get more territory had worked. The Mission of expansion has been accomplished, and now it has become like the storage mission, as she earns more territory, it will just reward her instead of making it a main mission. Nestling into her makeshift bed, Emma wiggled with excitement, her happiness visible to anyone not blind.

Looking through the rewards page in her mind, Emma saw the generous rewards were mostly for her territory with a few for her forest. An automatic alert system now guarded her forest and newly earned territory, making sure that any unwelcome intruders would be promptly detected and told to her.