Whoosh!
With a swift motion, Ye Shuangluo dispatched the zombie blocking his path in the hallway.
He continued up to the sixth floor, pondering as he walked.
Was it just his imagination, or were these zombies not as sluggish as they were yesterday?
A suspicion began to form in Ye Shuangluo's mind. Could these zombies be evolving?
When he reached the sixth floor, the security door slowly opened, and a scantily-clad girl peeked out, glancing downstairs.
Seeing no zombies, she sighed in relief and thanked Ye Shuangluo, "Thank you for coming to rescue us. We've been trapped here for almost a week, and our supplies are nearly depleted."
"No need to thank me, it was just a small effort."
Although she had almost hit him, it didn't seem intentional, so Ye Shuangluo let it go and smiled kindly.
Seeing Ye Shuangluo's approachable demeanor, the girl couldn't help but start plotting.
Noticing her contemplative look, Ye Shuangluo didn't bother to ask what she was thinking. Instead, he summoned his Talent Panel with a thought.
[Congratulations on achieving: "Good Person"]
[Skill Acquired: Killing Power]
Killing Power LV.1
Passive Skill
Each of your attacks carries Killing Power, which ignores enemy defenses and inflicts 10 points of true damage.
Note: This skill cannot be upgraded through skill points or talents. The only way to enhance it is through killing, and it has no level cap.
Seeing this skill, Ye Shuangluo's expression turned a bit strange. Saving someone and getting a skill for killing in return—this talent was definitely unusual.
But… a smile tugged at his lips. As a hardcore player, he knew the strength of such a limitless skill. The more, the merrier.
Just as Ye Shuangluo was feeling pleased with his new skill, the girl spoke up:
"Um… I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Yi Ran, and this is my brother Yi Ming. Little Ming, thank the big brother for coming to get us out."
Yi Ran called out, and a boy of about five or six years old ran out of the room.
"Thank you, big brother."
"When we see Mom and Dad, we must tell them to thank you properly for escorting us. Got it?"
"Got it."
Watching the siblings' exchange, Ye Shuangluo frowned slightly, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I don't recall saying I would take you anywhere."
Despite Ye Shuangluo's cold and distant tone, the girl didn't seem to notice. She replied matter-of-factly:
"The whole city is almost unsafe now. You're definitely heading to the shelter in the city center, right? We can go together for mutual support."
Yi Ran had just finished speaking when her brother, still clinging to her leg, added:
"Yeah, if you take us there, I can ask Mom and Dad to give you lots of money."
Ye Shuangluo sneered at the mention of money. Not only was he not from this world, but in an apocalypse, money was as good as useless paper.
He could barely take care of himself; how could he afford to drag along two burdens?
"There's no way I'm taking you with me. I've cleared out all the zombies in this building. You can leave on your own."
With that, Ye Shuangluo turned to leave. Seeing this, Yi Ran panicked and shouted:
"You can't leave us here! Otherwise, I'll use a loudspeaker to attract all the nearby zombies!"
Hearing this, Ye Shuangluo stopped in his tracks and slowly looked at Yi Ran, saying:
"Are you threatening me?"
Facing Ye Shuangluo's terrifying gaze, Yi Ran was scared but still mustered the courage to say:
"You forced me. I told you we have no supplies left, and you still insist on leaving a weak girl and a child here. How is that different from killing us? You're a murderer!"
The familiar tactic of threats and moral blackmail made Ye Shuangluo's mood sour. He remembered a couple in the Main World who had done the same.
Back then, he had no power to resist. But now?
After a moment of thought, Ye Shuangluo's grim expression vanished, replaced by a smile.
"Fine, I'll take you with me."
He started to move again. Despite her earlier threats, Yi Ran's body began to tremble as they got closer.
Her brother, Yi Ming, though only five or six, was even more composed than his sister. He had the guts to threaten again:
"Don't think about hurting us. If anything happens to either of us, the other will use the loudspeaker to attract the zombies. We'll all die together."
Ye Shuangluo's expression remained unchanged. He seemed not to hear Yi Ming's threat and asked calmly:
"Zombies are less active at night. We'll leave then. Any objections?"
"N-no."
Hearing Yi Ran's response, Ye Shuangluo gave the siblings a meaningful look, then sat down on the stairs to wait for nightfall.
The siblings quickly shut the security door, clearly not wanting to talk to him anymore.
***
Night soon fell, and the security door opened again. Ye Shuangluo turned to see the siblings had taken all their valuables.
He didn't bother to remind them of anything, picked up the iron rod beside him, and led the way downstairs.
The siblings cautiously followed him, soon reaching the building's entrance.
Ye Shuangluo took a deep breath and stepped out.
The siblings followed, but the moment they stepped out, they sensed something was wrong.
Why were the zombies' eyes red? They realized they had been tricked.
They tried to retreat into the building, but it was too late. The zombies had already caught the scent of living humans and were driven by instinct.
The zombies charged at the siblings. As for Ye Shuangluo, he had already sprinted towards another building.
Yi Ran tried to drag her brother back inside and close the door, but the zombies were already upon them.
Countless withered arms reached through the door gap, making it impossible for Yi Ran to close it.
She tried to flee upstairs, but the zombies forced the door open and swarmed in.
"Help…"
Before she could even scream, the zombies tore her apart. Her brother followed her to the afterlife moments later.
Ye Shuangluo, who witnessed the entire scene, remained expressionless. He rushed into another building and ran upstairs.
During the day, when he rescued the Yi siblings, he noticed something: these zombies seemed unable to climb stairs.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be just a few scattered zombies on each floor. Now, his theory was confirmed.
The zombies indeed couldn't climb stairs. They only frantically chased the scent of living humans, even trampling over each other.
The zombies trampled over their own kind in their pursuit of Ye Shuangluo. Finally reaching the top floor, Ye Shuangluo glanced back at the three zombies that had followed him.
If it was just three, he wasn't afraid. From his high vantage point, he swung his iron rod and knocked the zombies down.
After dealing with them, Ye Shuangluo remained vigilant, eyes fixed on the stairwell.
Ten minutes passed with no more zombies coming up. He finally relaxed a bit. After the Yi siblings died, the game system seemed to have made a sound.
But the situation was too urgent then for him to check. Now that he was safe, he called up the panel to view the system notification.
[Congratulations on achieving the hidden achievement: "Fickle Person (After saving someone's life, you unhesitatingly send them to their death again)"]
[Reward: Tears of the Hypocrite (Equipment)]
Ye Shuangluo chose to claim the reward, and a necklace resembling a teardrop appeared in his hand.
[Tears of the Hypocrite]
Equipment Quality: White
Equipment Type: Accessory
Special Effect: Backstab Blade (When you attack any unit that has goodwill and trust towards you, damage increases by 5%-10% depending on the level of goodwill and trust)
Evaluation: Oh, my dear friend, how did you die? (Wiping the blood off your hands while crying) Don't worry, I'll take care of your wife and daughter in your stead.
***
After reading the attributes, Ye Shuangluo felt the necklace was utterly useless.
He was dealing with zombies, creatures without intelligence or the capacity for goodwill and trust.
Pursing his lips, he reluctantly put on the Tears of the Hypocrite. Better to have it than not.
Having done all this, Ye Shuangluo glanced out the window. The purple moon cast an eerie, cold light.
Silently, he thought to himself:
"These zombies are so quiet during the day but go berserk at night. It must have something to do with this purple moon."
With that thought, Ye Shuangluo resolved to find a safe place to hide at night from now on.
For now, he planned to rest a bit and leave at dawn.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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