Chapter 10

After receiving a series of prompts from the space, Kirk had already fallen into a coma and was on the brink of death. He originally had a pitiful 3 points of health, gained 1 point from the mission difficulty bonus, 3 points from the hidden mission, and 1 point from the brass ring, barely managing to gather 80 points of health. This time, he was just attacked by a zombie, suffering 39 points of bite damage, 10 points of crush damage, and 25 points of bleeding damage, totaling 74 points of damage, which immediately brought his health to the brink. Fortunately, this protagonist had a big destiny. He had just put on the [Special Riot Police Bulletproof Vest], which reduced physical damage by 10%, otherwise, this attack would have killed Kirk!

When a contractor's health drops below 80%, it is considered a light injury; below 50% is a severe injury; and below 10% is a critical state. However, once a contractor enters a critical state, their health no longer recovers, and they can only take medicine or wait to die. The critical state is also a protective mechanism to prevent contractors from being instantly killed by irresistible forces or overly powerful opponents, giving them a chance to take medicine to save their life or surrender to the opponent.

Kirk felt his body become light and airy. He remembered many things from his childhood, and a melody began to play, distant yet close. Kirk remembered his grandmother saying that when a person dies, they hear a melody. Was he about to die?

At this moment, he faintly heard the voice of the chubby boy, "Bro, quickly eat this." A piece of bread was pushed into his mouth. It tasted bitter, but he still chewed it. Suddenly, a warm current rose from his stomach, and his strength returned. He panted for a while, drank a few sips of water brought by the nursing home nurse, and saw the chubby boy beside him, grinning widely.

"What did you just give me? I was almost in a critical state," Kirk said gratefully.

"Bro, I found this 'Pure Wheat Toast' while searching for food in a town. It's not ordinary food but a recovery item that can be stored in the imprint space. It can restore 30 points of health outside of combat. I just used it on you. When I picked it up, it triggered an alarm, attracting a large group of zombies, and we had to run," the chubby boy explained.

Kirk, weakly, asked, "Why did you save me?"

The chubby boy replied honestly, "Bro, you saved me first by shooting. It's only right to return the favor."

Kirk nodded, "Good brother, we've saved each other's lives once. No need for thanks. From now on, we are good brothers, sharing good times and bad."

The chubby boy nodded excitedly, "Yeah, I've always admired you. You're very righteous. Having someone to rely on in this hellish place can help you live longer."

The space has a team setting, but they are still beginners and cannot form a team yet; they can only join other teams. In the future, they should be able to form their own teams.

The two exchanged contract numbers, allowing them to leave messages and communicate at any time. The chubby boy's self-chosen name was "Soft Fatso," and it seemed he liked practicing yoga! Kirk called him Little Fat. His talent [Abnormal Metabolism] has been introduced, with a base attribute of 6 points in health, now enhanced to 9 points with a 50% boost, making him a tough and resilient individual. His other attributes were slightly worse, similar to a normal person.

Kirk asked Little Fat and found out that he had been unconscious for a full eight hours, and it was now the morning of the third day. Kirk rested for a while and took the opportunity to check the battle records from last night. The [Assist Plot Character in Defending the Camp] mission was completed as expected, with a reward of 1000 survival points, 2 base attribute points, and 2 potential points. Additionally, he killed 152 zombies, earning 400 survival points (HAND TO HAND kills reward 3 points, pistol kills reward 2 points, and Kirk had both, so he earned 400 points), and obtained 4 white keys, which yielded about 100 survival points. He noticed that after a fierce battle, he saw a prompt.

"Contractor No. 4444, in intense close combat, used melee weapons to kill a certain number of enemies, triggering his potential and automatically learning [Basic Melee]! Current level: LEVEL 1!

[Basic Melee] LEVEL 1 effect: Improved melee weapon handling, passive 5% melee damage increase.

Prompt: The space encourages contractors to actively explore various combat methods in battle. Please continue to actively participate in battles, activate your potential, and meet the conditions to learn and master relevant skills.

At the same level, skills learned or mastered through self-discovery or plot missions are more powerful and have better potential for development and growth compared to skills upgraded through skill scrolls and potential points.

"Indeed, the greater the risk in the space, the greater the reward. I wonder if my near-death experience will grant me some defense proficiency. Sigh, even if someone knew this, they might not be willing to risk their life for it."

He rested a bit more, and when his health recovered to about 65%, he got out of bed and headed to the front lines.

Now, the sun rose again, and the car camp had temporarily escaped the precarious situation. While Kirk was unconscious, the camp's defense was once very tight. At a critical moment, the Korean boy and his master, Green, retrieved the gun bag that the yellow-haired man had thrown away and drove a motorcycle back to the camp. With ample guns and ammunition, the plot characters launched a fierce attack and managed to drive back the zombies.

Kirk saw the Korean boy boasting and laughing with Rick and the other plot characters, clearly gaining a lot of team contribution or other benefits. The yellow-haired man, however, was grinding his teeth in anger, and Ma Ruiqi and the others were envious and jealous.

This is the price of standing out.

However, Kirk was not without gains. Rick saw him and smiled, "Our hero is up. Your performance saved at least four people, and you fought hard during the defense. We owe you a favor." The space randomly informed Kirk that his team contribution had increased by 15 points, and he now had 25 points of contribution.

He had already checked, and contribution points can be exchanged for many good things in the plot team. He was not interested in equipment or weapons, as there was nothing particularly suitable, and the prices were high. The best item was a modern crossbow, a silver plot item used by Daryl, with a high requirement of 1000 contribution points. However, some skills mastered by plot characters were more interesting to him, such as: Rick's [Basic Eloquence] at level 6, Shawn's [Basic Heavy Weapon Proficiency] at level 7, Daryl's [Exotic Weapon Mastery] at level 7, and both Merle and Daryl's [Tracking] at level 6, as well as Rick and Merle's [Basic Melee] and [Basic Small Weapon Proficiency] at level 6.

According to the space's prompt, these skills can be obtained through drops or trades in the space, but the difficulty and price are unknown, and they are likely to be expensive. After all, more skills are always beneficial, and these skills can significantly improve a contractor's combat and production capabilities without occupying equipment slots, making them a priority for contractors' limited resources, and the prices will rise accordingly.

These skills can generally be exchanged for 100 contribution points at LEVEL 1!

300 contribution points at LEVEL 2!

500 contribution points at LEVEL 3!

However, overall, they are definitely worth it. Kirk believed that everyone saw this information, which is why they were so concerned about contribution points, and internal competition within the team would become more intense in the future.

"Alright, everyone, gather up," Rick called another meeting. "We have temporarily driven back those things, but it's almost dark, and staying here is dangerous. Although Ma Ruiqi and the others failed to complete their mission, they pointed out a sturdy prison 5 kilometers away, for which we should thank God."

At this point, Rick turned to the short-haired woman and smiled, and she nodded affectionately. Kirk almost vomited; the two were clearly having an affair! It seemed she had gained certain benefits through good personal relations, while the others who explored the prison were left to do the dirty work, and the middle-aged man who died was framed, with his weapon taken by the woman.

"Now, we need to move there and settle down before sunset. There's still a lot of work to be done there. Everyone, get in the cars."

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the prison in the plot. From the car, the entire prison was seen to be surrounded by a dense electric fence, with high steel walls and numerous watchtowers, making it a strong and defensible place. However, there were many prisoners and guards who had died inside and turned into zombies, and they needed to be cleared out area by area in the dark cells to ensure safety before moving in.

The space issued a new mission: "You have helped the team temporarily overcome the crisis. Now the team needs a safe shelter. You must enter the prison alone and kill all the zombies in Zone D. The plot characters will not help you. This action will provide team contribution points and other rewards based on performance."

The task did not specify whether it should be completed as a team or individually, but it clearly stated that the reward would be team contribution points, which were likely to be very generous! Clearly, everyone had a clear and comprehensive understanding of its value. As soon as the task was issued, the yellow-haired man led a group, kicked open a door, and charged in, screaming. Ma Ruiqi also took the lead, holding a submachine gun and leading a group into another door. However, the number of people behind her had decreased significantly, clearly due to the negative impact of her framing the middle-aged man. The Korean boy and Japanese Morinaga both prepared to act alone and quietly entered. Sally's influence had increased, and many people followed her.

Little Fat stayed behind: "Bro, I'll follow you from now on. If you tell me to go east, I won't go west. I'll follow you through fire and water, no second thoughts, I'm not Little Fat!"

Kirk smiled, "Let them go first. We need to go to a place and find something."

Little Fat was anxious, "Bro, this task rewards based on performance. They've already rushed in to kill zombies, and we..."

Kirk smiled happily, "Little Fat, have you ever seen me lose?"

Little Fat was taken aback, "Bro, I think you're sometimes very foolish, but you've never lost."

Kirk picked up the police pistol, drew his dagger, and headed to Zone D. Little Fat followed closely behind.