Chapter 3

The Maserati sped crazily along the vast and desolate highway. Mori, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, said, "Stupid kid, not bad," and then put away the large snake. Kirk’s hand hurt badly, and he felt like he was being discarded after being used, but he could only obediently comply.

Then, Mori ignored him, and Kirk began to reflect on his recent gains. Now, he had a blood-red spatial mark on his chest, which was a fierce red ghost head. He had read many novels before and was familiar with the infinite flow genre, so he could handle these things with some semblance of expertise.

He internally examined the mark and saw a cubic meter-sized box space. Inside was only a white key, and it displayed his current survival points, which were 117. New players started with 100 survival points, and he had just killed 17 zombies. He took out the white key, and a prompt asked if he wanted to open the treasure chest now. He chose yes.

Then, a white box emerged from the space, and a golden light flashed, revealing a gold ring!

"Damn, I finally got a lucky break. A white key opened a gold item; this is what a protagonist should be like!" Kirk was overjoyed, imagining the grand scene of his aura bursting forth and treasures from all directions converging on him.

Unfortunately, he was too happy too soon. When he looked at it, it wasn’t a gold ring but a brass ring! The attribute was +1 to stamina.

"Not bad, it’s like a 25% increase in stamina," Kirk sighed, trying to console himself as he put it on his right middle finger. Fortunately, he knew the principle of not showing off his wealth, so he found a pair of leather gloves in the car to wear, which would also protect him from zombie bites and disgusting fluids.

"Where are we going?" Kirk couldn’t help but ask.

Mori took out a cigarette and lit it, blowing a smoke ring at Kirk, which made him cough. Then, Mori grinned wickedly and said, "I don’t know. Do you have a plan? Handsome guy?"

Kirk’s mind raced as he recalled the plot.

Undoubtedly, his most important task now was to survive in this damned world. This didn’t sound hard, right? The simplest way was to drive around, as zombies couldn’t drive to chase them.

However, Kirk believed that if someone tried to fool the space by running around, the space would likely play a cruel joke with his life.

Survival tasks were the hardest. As long as you were alive, you completed the task, with no penalties. This meant a large amount of unpredictable risks, and running away was the biggest risk.

Your car would run out of fuel, and finding fuel was dangerous.

You had to sleep at night, and zombie hordes might attack you.

You couldn’t go without food, and finding food was dangerous.

Kirk summarized that the two biggest problems for survival were resources, including food, water, clothing, and tents, and safety, which required guns, ammunition, a safe shelter, and a strong team. These needed to be collected or plundered.

Compared to the two, guns and ammunition were more important. Kirk looked at the dagger Mori "kindly" gave him: a white dagger, not removable from the scene, 5 points of damage, worth 1 survival point.

Relying on this to kill zombies would mean certain death.

Kirk wasn’t sure if, as a contractee, he would turn into a zombie if bitten like a normal person. But he didn’t want to test it; in this scenario, having a gun was the key.

Where were the nearest guns in Atlanta?

Kirk thought hard and concluded that the only place was the police station in Rick’s town. American police stations had ammunition depots with police rifles, riot shotguns, powerful handguns, and police bulletproof vests, which would ensure survival.

"We’re going to Rick’s town. There’s an ammunition depot there, and we need guns and bullets," Kirk said to Mori.

Mori blew a smoke ring, looking satisfied. "That’s more like a man’s talk. Kid, if you said you wanted to find a place to hide, I would have kicked you out of the car and left you to fend for yourself."

Kirk broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed there were hidden compatibilities in the scenario. Plot characters would act according to the space’s arrangements but would also make their own judgments. This was also an opportunity for Mori to observe and test him. If Kirk and Mori were incompatible, Mori would eventually abandon him. Fortunately, he made the right choice this time.

The Maserati rushed into Rick’s town. It was a typical American eastern suburban town, quiet and comfortable, with lush green trees everywhere. The only discordant note was the original residents wandering around.

The Maserati screeched as it hit a zombie, and Mori and Kirk got out of the car. "I’m sorry!" Mori gave the zombie a black humor, then pulled out the large snake and started firing wildly.

Kirk finally saw Mori’s formidable combat skills. He shot zombies in the head, and when he got close, he used the wrist blade to pierce through the zombie’s skull or mouth. Zombies died quickly, but it was daytime, and they weren’t very active. There weren’t many around, so Mori couldn’t perform like Zhao Zilong at Changbanpo, cutting through the zombie horde seven times.

The two began to explore the police station quickly. It was a small suburban police station, similar to the police station near Kirk’s neighborhood.

So, they quickly found the location of the ammunition depot. Mori kicked the door open and charged in with his gun.

Kirk followed closely behind.

But the inside was empty, with only hooks on the iron racks. Scattered around were some empty bullet boxes.

Mori glared at Kirk, who sheepishly said, "It looks like someone has already taken everything..."

"It was probably Rick," Mori said with a grim face. "He’s the deputy sheriff, so he knows what’s here. Let’s go."

Leaving the police station, Kirk suddenly remembered something. Rick’s house was nearby, and there might still be some good things left. He suggested it to Mori, who nodded in agreement. The two headed towards Rick’s house.

Rick’s house was in disarray. After Mori took down two uninvited intruders, Kirk also took the opportunity to finish them off and gain survival points.

Then, they started rummaging through the house. Kirk saw a family photo of Rick and secretly kept it. Besides finding a hidden handgun and 20 bullets, they had no other gains.

"We’re wasting time. We need to leave now," Mori said, kicking a table hard, making a loud noise.

Rick was one of the main reasons for Mori’s lost right hand, and he hated him deeply. This time, he might have come to find some of Rick’s weaknesses to exploit.

Kirk understood. As they left, Mori took out a lighter, lit another cigarette, took a puff, and then threw the lighter into Rick’s house.

Rick’s house was made of wood, and the fire quickly spread, the flames roaring.

"Let’s go. We need to keep looking for guns," Mori said gloomily.

"I have a plan," Kirk suddenly had an idea.

"I’m starting to like you, stupid kid. Speak!" Mori blew a smoke ring.

"I know where Rick left the guns from the police station," Kirk said excitedly. "At a crossroads in Atlanta."

Mori was silent. After the disaster, Atlanta had become the most dangerous place, filled with countless zombies. Once you entered and were discovered, there was no escape, not even a chance to run. It was rumored that an elite U.S. heavy armored unit had been defeated in Atlanta, unable to hold the line, with soldiers dying in large numbers.

Kirk also knew that going to Atlanta was a huge risk, so he was hesitant. He only spoke up because he had just received a prompt from the space.

"Attention all new contractees, the 12-hour protection period is about to end. Tonight, zombies will undergo their first large-scale evolution, with a 10% increase in health, speed, and enhanced senses. The difficulty level will rise from C- to C. During the 7-day new contractee trial, every 48 hours, zombies will evolve, and the difficulty level will increase. Correspondingly, the rewards for contractees will also increase. Please prepare accordingly."

It was already close to dusk, and the first day was almost over. The task was to survive for 7 days. According to Kirk’s calculations, with zombies evolving every 48 hours, he would have to survive at least three more evolutions, with the difficulty level increasing to B! Think about it, he was just a D-rated newcomer, and surviving in a B-level difficulty world would be extremely challenging! Based on the current evolution, zombies would be faster, stronger, and more likely to discover hidden humans. If he kept running, it would only lead to death. Power comes from the barrel of a gun, and having guns and bullets was the key.

"Damn it!" Kirk gritted his teeth, cursing the space. "Is this even a new contractee trial? Can’t you give us a chance to live?"

As a plot character, Mori also felt the danger closing in and nodded in agreement with Kirk’s risky plan.

The two were very quiet on the highway, knowing the dangers ahead. Kirk, though timid and fearful, wouldn’t sit and wait to die when it was time to take risks. Since he knew the space was merciless, he had to force himself to take action.

Mori handed Rick’s police handgun to Kirk and briefly taught him the essentials of using a handgun. Handguns have short barrels, making them easy to carry and suitable for close-range shooting, especially for sudden targets. After Mori’s brief training, Kirk realized his previous shooting was terrible. He needed to focus on the aiming point, keep the sights aligned, time the trigger pull, and maintain a calm mindset.

Kirk was listening when he suddenly heard a prompt from the space:

"You have received the [Basic Small Arms Mastery] skill from plot character Mori. The skill level is 6, and your skill level is 0. The success rate of the skill transfer is 98.6%."

"Your [Basic Small Arms Mastery] has reached level 1. Current proficiency is 17/200, and it will automatically level up when the proficiency cap is reached."

[Basic Small Arms Mastery]: Improves mastery of pistols, large pistols, and submachine guns, increasing damage by 5% and shooting accuracy by 5%.

In the space, skills mainly played a supporting role, with the individual being the key factor. For example, gun skills assisted in shooting, improving shooting accuracy but not directly increasing hit rates. For instance, if a sharpshooter intentionally aimed at the sky, they wouldn’t hit the target. Skill mastery just made aiming easier and increased the likelihood of hitting the target.

Kirk was secretly delighted, and various images of the protagonist’s perfect shooting skills flashed through his mind. He asked Mori various gun-related questions, but Mori eventually got angry and shouted, and Kirk didn’t gain much more. It seemed that the skill transfer from plot characters was related to their favorability, compatibility, and skill level. Mori’s transfer of this skill to him was based on their compatibility, but also to get his cover when fighting for guns, so he wouldn’t be a complete burden.

However, Kirk was already satisfied. With 7 days still to go, Mori was now his source of all coolness. Kirk’s affectionate gaze made Mori, who was used to threatening others, feel uneasy, thinking it was best to keep some distance from this guy with a tendency towards yaoi.

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