DOOMSDAY LEDGER

Chapter 12: The Uninvited Guest

The pounding on the steel door sounded like a death knell ringing repeatedly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each blow sent vibrations through the ceramic floor, creeping up Elian’s legs, and settling as a painful throb in the pit of his stomach. In the cramped, stale-smelling staff room, four pairs of eyes were glued to the convex tube monitor displaying the black-and-white CCTV footage.

"Brother... she’s still there," Lina whispered. The girl’s face was deathly pale, her hands wringing her Cosmo Mart apron into a crumpled mess. "She’s asking for help."

On the screen, the woman outside looked both pathetic and terrifying. The rainstorm obscured the tears or sweat on her face, but it couldn't hide the panic in her eyes, which stared straight into the camera lens above the door. Her mouth moved, screaming the word "Open!" which was muffled by the thick steel of the Tesla-Coil door.

Behind the woman, the darkness of the night seemed alive. Thousands of white dots—the eyes of the Hollows reflecting the camera's infrared light—moved closer like a rising tide.

"I know she’s asking for help, Lin," Elian replied, his voice flat, cold as ice. He stood with his arms crossed, trying to hide his trembling fingers. "But my math says: one stranger’s life versus our four lives."

"Your math is right, El. But my conscience is staging a protest," Rico muttered. He sat in a swivel chair with one broken wheel, nervously spinning a wrench in his hand. "Look at her. She’s alone. A girl, too. If my mom found out I let a girl get eaten by zombies right outside, I’d be disowned."

"Would you rather be disowned or erased from existence?" Elian shot back. "Look at the numbers behind her, Ric. That’s not ten or twenty. That’s an entire neighborhood."

Pak Hendra, who had been pressing his face so close to the monitor his nose touched the glass, suddenly cried out. "The asset! My asset!"

"What is it now, Sir?" Elian asked tiredly.

"That new door! The Tesla door worth five hundred points!" Pak Hendra pointed hysterically at the screen. "That woman is holding an iron pipe! If she keeps hitting it, the paint will scratch! Or worse, the sensor will break! Does the warranty void if a panicked survivor hits it?"

"Sir, for God’s sake, there’s a human about to be eaten outside, and you’re worried about the door paint?" Rico shook his head in disbelief.

"Risk management, Rico! That door is our biggest investment!" Pak Hendra defended himself.

Suddenly, on the monitor screen, the woman made a fatal mistake. In her panic because the door wouldn't open, she tried to touch the surface with her palm, perhaps hoping for a manual button or simply wanting to feel the presence of people inside.

A huge mistake.

The Tesla-Coil defense system was fully active.

Zzzzzap!

A blue electric flash arced from the door to the woman’s hand.

Although there was no sound on the CCTV, they could see the woman jump backward. Her body convulsed violently, her wet hair standing up for a moment. She fell onto the wet asphalt, clutching her hand, which was now smoking.

"Ouch... that must hurt," Rico winced, feeling the pain vicariously. "Your system doesn't discriminate, El."

"It’s automated defense. It can’t distinguish friend from foe unless they’re registered in the database," Elian explained. He felt guilty, but he swallowed that guilt whole.

The woman stared blankly at the door. She realized now. This store wasn't just a closed shop. It was a fortress. And that fortress was rejecting her.

She didn't have time to mourn her fate. The first wave of zombies had arrived.

Three running zombies—Runners—charged out of the darkness. They leaped over a haphazardly parked car hood, targeting the fresh meat sitting in front of the door.

Elian held his breath. "It’s over."

Lina closed her eyes, unable to watch the slaughter.

But what happened next made Elian’s eyes widen.

The woman didn't scream. She didn't curl up in resignation. The moment the first zombie leaped at her, she rolled sideways with highly efficient movement, dodging the creature’s filthy claw.

She rose in one fluid motion, ignoring the pain in her recently electrocuted hand. The iron pipe in her right hand spun.

Thwack!

A heavy blow landed on the first zombie’s temple. The zombie was thrown back, slamming into the steel door.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed even inside the staff room.

"She... she’s fighting back?" Rico whispered in awe.

The two other zombies attacked simultaneously. The woman took a step back, her spine pressed against the deadly steel door. She was trapped between thousands of volts of electricity and the monsters’ teeth.

An impossible position. But the woman was calm. Too calm for a normal person.

She ducked as the second zombie clawed at her neck, then thrust the tip of her iron pipe into the creature’s solar plexus, pushing it back until it collided with its companion.

Her movements weren't street brawling like Rico’s, or amateur moves relying on system power like Elian’s. This was technique. The way her feet moved, the way she rotated her shoulder, the way she utilized the enemy’s momentum.

"She’s trained," Elian muttered. He activated his analysis skill, trying to read the woman’s data through the CCTV screen, though the distance and camera resolution made it difficult.

\[Analysis Failed. Target outside direct range.\]

The woman continued to fight. She used her surroundings. She kicked a zombie’s knee to make it fall, then stomped on its neck. Her iron pipe danced, breaking arms and cracking skulls.

However, numbers don't lie. She could handle three zombies. But behind them, hundreds more began to crowd the Cosmo Mart parking lot.

They came like ants swarming sugar. The wide parking area was now a sea of heads.

"They’re piling up..." Pak Hendra’s voice trembled. "Elian, look at them."

The front line of zombies began slamming into the door.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

Dozens of rotting bodies slammed against the Tesla-Coil steel door.

The defense system worked overtime. Blue electric flashes arced wildly across the door’s surface.

Zzzap! Zzzap! Zzzap!

White smoke billowed in front of the door. The faint smell of burning flesh began to seep in through the ventilation, mixing with the smell of ozone. The zombies in the front line were instantly incinerated, falling into piles of charcoal. But their bodies didn't disappear. They piled up, forming a bridge for the zombies behind them to climb.

"The door is hot!" Rico exclaimed.

Elian glanced at the door temperature indicator on his system interface.

\[Door Status: Overheat (75%)\]

\[Energy Consumption: Drastically Increased\]

\[Suggestion: Disable electric shock feature or risk short circuit.\]

"Damn it," Elian cursed. "Too many zombies. They're acting as a ground for the electricity."

But Elian’s focus returned to the woman. Amidst the chaos, she did something insane.

She couldn't stay in front of the door, or she would be crushed by the zombie pile or electrocuted by the door. So, she climbed.

She jumped onto the pile of recently charred zombie corpses, then leaped again, grabbing the concrete canopy of the store's porch. She pulled herself up onto the canopy.

Now she was on the porch roof, directly beneath the "Cosmo Mart" sign whose lights were dead.

But she wasn't safe. The zombies began trampling each other, forming a *World War Z*-style mountain of corpses, trying to reach her feet.

The woman stood on the edge of the canopy, the rain soaking her thin body. She looked up at the CCTV camera mounted in the upper corner.

This time, Elian could see her face clearly.

There was a long scratch wound on her left cheek. Her eyes were sharp, dark brown, conveying profound exhaustion but also burning anger. She wasn't pleading anymore. She stared at the camera as if challenging Elian.

Her mouth moved. Elian read her lips.

"I... brought... a gift."

"Huh? A gift?" Elian frowned.

Suddenly, the woman reached into her jacket pocket. She pulled out something shiny. A small, bright blue crystal object.

Elian’s eyes widened. He recognized the object. It was similar to the green Beast Core he’d gotten from the mutant dog this morning, but it was blue and slightly larger.

"Is that... a Core?" Rico asked. "Why is the color different?"

Elian’s system reacted violently. A red notification appeared in his vision.

\[Rare Item Detected: Rare Beast Core (Thunder Element)\]

\[Energy Potential: Extremely High\]

\[User Compatibility: 100%\]

Elian gasped. A thunder element Core? That was the perfect item to boost his power. Where did this woman get it? Did she kill an electric-type monster alone?

The woman held the blue Core up toward the camera, then pointed at the door below her. The message was clear: *Barter. My life for this object.*

"She’s negotiating, damn," Rico said, amazed. "Surrounded by zombies, and she still has time to haggle."

"She knows we need it," Elian said. His mind raced. That Core could increase the base level, or maybe unlock a new skill for him. It was an invaluable resource.

But the risk of opening the door was still 99%.

Outside, the pile of zombies grew higher. A pale hand managed to reach the edge of the canopy, gripping the woman’s shoe.

She kicked the hand away, but two more appeared. She was cornered on the narrow porch roof.

"Brother Elian..." Lina ventured. "If she dies there, the item will fall into the zombies' hands. Or disappear."

"Lina is right," Pak Hendra chimed in, his merchant soul stirred. "That’s a valuable item, Elian. It would be a waste to let it go. Besides, if she possesses something that valuable, she’s not dead weight. She’s a potential asset."

Elian stared at the screen. The woman was now beating the heads of the climbing zombies. Her energy was fading. Her pipe swings were slowing.

Elian's internal conflict peaked. Survival logic vs. Greed for power (and a little bit of humanity).

The System provided the final push.

\[Opportunity Analysis: If Blue Core is absorbed, Base energy capacity will increase by 200%. 'Automated Turret' feature can be activated.\]

Automated turret. That was the solution for long-term defense.

Elian took a deep breath, then turned to face his companions. His expression was serious.

"Rico, grab the car door shield we keep in the storage room. Pak Hendra, prepare the Molotovs I made earlier. Lina, find a safe position behind the cashier counter."

"Wait, El," Rico stood up straight. "You’re going to open the door?"

"We’re taking the 'package,'" Elian stated firmly. "But we’re not opening the main door. We’re using a rope-pulling tactic."

"What do you mean?"

Elian pointed toward the coil of ship rope (construction supply stock) in the corner of the room.

"She’s on the first-floor canopy. Our store’s second-floor window... is positioned right above that canopy, right?" Elian asked.

Rico and Pak Hendra exchanged glances, then smiled.

"The archive room window!" Pak Hendra exclaimed. "It has bars, but the padlock is rusted. We can break it open!"

"We’ll pull her up from above. No need to open the main door. Less risk," Elian explained. "But we have to be fast. Before she becomes dessert."

They rushed out of the staff room, climbing the rickety wooden stairs to the second floor of the shop-house, which had only been used to store dusty old tax archives.

Outside, the woman was already cornered on the canopy. Her pipe was bent. Dozens of zombies crawled up like insects. She looked at the CCTV camera one last time, her eyes dimming with despair.

But then, she heard the sound of breaking glass above her head.

CRASH!

She looked up.

From the second-floor window, a rope was thrown down, its end tied in a secure loop for a foothold. And the face of a young man with slightly messy hair appeared behind the recently breached window bars.

"Hey, Pipe Lady!" Elian yelled, his voice struggling against the roar of the rain. "If you drop that crystal, I cut this rope!"

The woman froze for a moment, then the corner of her wounded lip lifted into a thin smirk.

"You loan shark," she muttered, but her hand immediately snatched the rope.

The operation to save the uninvited guest had begun. And Elian had a feeling this guest would bring more trouble than just the zombies at the door.