“Shhh...” Sylvie placed a finger in front of her lips, signaling him to stay quiet, and said in a low voice,“Don’t make any noise. Something... or someone... is nearby.”Even though Jack was confused by Sylvie’s statement, he pushed his confusion aside, placed the bag on the ground, then gripped the pistol with both hands.“I’ll check it out.”Sylvie nodded without objection.Then, in a swift motion, she snatched the pistol from her daughter’s hand.Jina was about to complain, but immediately shut her mouth when she noticed the serious look in her mother’s eyes.Carefully, Jack slightly peeked his head out of the doorway and stared down the corridor.But there was nothing.No monster or zombie, contrary to what he expected.He could only turn around and look at Sylvie behind him with a frown.“There’s nothing here, o...”He wanted to say more, but suddenly froze in place.Under the shocked eyes of Sylvie, Jina, and Lucas, a pink tongue whipped around Jack’s neck like a lash.Before

“You’re not humans... not anymore. Killing you is nothing but a release from this suffering.”He pulled out the sharp bone from his belt, then forcefully kicked the zombie, sending it stumbling several steps backward before crashing onto the ground.Jack limped toward the zombie, which was trying to stand up, then stomped on its chest with his uninjured leg and bent down, driving the bone in his hand violently through the creature’s eye socket.[ You have killed a Dormant Level 2 creature: Dead Walker ]"..."Listening to the ethereal voice of the system, which he was gradually getting used to, Jack became confused.‘Hmm, strange... no Origin Energy fragments?. Why didn’t I get anything?. Is it because of the huge level difference between us?’His thoughts were interrupted by Mandy’s voice as she suddenly said something unexpected.“Jacob, would you like to join us?. We’re a small group from a larger community that managed to secure a place to live. We call it the Haven.”Jack shook t

“So can you answer my question?. Is the Haven real?”Jack asked again calmly while slightly moving his injured leg.This time it was Zeil who spoke, a faint smile appearing on his face.“100 percent real. We managed to clear out a large residential block from all the monsters and zombies and secured the place with weapons. Right now, there are more than a hundred survivors there...”Jack let out a small whistle and nodded respectfully.“Wow, I have to admit that’s impressive. Old man, you guys really achieved what I was dreaming about... well, not building a settlement exactly, but a place to sleep without getting bitten or crushed and stuff like that.”He fell silent for a moment, his eyes moving between Mandy, Zeil, and the distant Smith before asking,“So you guys all have awakened abilities?. With all that zombie killing, I assume you already reached level 10, right?”Zeil nodded, not minding sharing that information with Jack.He found the young man somewhat likable.Jack nodded

“...Until you appeared like an angel.”A tired smile formed on Sylvie’s face as she studied the old man’s features, trying to remember him, but nothing came to mind.It seemed he had not left enough of an impression for her to remember him.She spoke while turning around and placing her hand on Jack’s forehead to check his temperature.“I’m happy I was able to help. I hope your son is doing well...”She said the last part with some hesitation since she did not know the condition of the old man’s family.“The last time I saw him, he was traveling to Germany to meet his brothers. He was in good condition...”He paused for a moment before adding with a sigh,“But now, I have no idea about his condition or the condition of my other children... though they are old enough to protect themselves.”Mandy patted the old man’s shoulder.He smiled and nodded to her before she turned toward Sylvie and asked while pointing at Jack,“Ma’am, what exactly is your relationship with this man?”Sylvie pu

On one of the city streets, the one near the police station's seventh precinct, the street was filled with many mutated zombies that were staggering with their limping steps in a single direction, which was currently covered by a cloud of dust resulting from the collapse of a large residential building. It was known to the survivors who managed to hold out that zombies by nature are slow-moving and also brainless, as they would walk towards fire even if it would burn them. But now, if there were a human around, they would most likely wet their pants out of terror; amidst the zombie crowd, there was a male zombie running at a speed never before displayed by any zombie, and strangely, he was running in the opposite direction of the crowd. Suddenly, the rogue zombie changed his path and ran even faster, until he almost tripped. He entered a nearby alley and quickly hid behind a parked car there. The zombie slowly raised his head and peered with his ominous crimson-red eyes cautious