Ji Yanyu crept inside, only his beating heart could be heard in the quiet grocery store. It was midnight when the apocalypse thoroughly struck, that's why there isn't any human activity.
But considering the scale of the store, it is almost impossible for there to be no staff on a midnight duty, that's why Ji Yanyu still moved around cautiously.
Ji Yanyu was glad that the store considered a one-way mirror for some of the walls, at the very least, light from the outside still seeped into the grocery, not entirely leaving it in the dark.
He familiarly walked to the frozen food area, and as he expected, the coolers were still working. He hurriedly put almost all of them inside his space, leaving only a few for the others.
After all, he isn't entirely sure if normal space ability users can stop time in their space. And besides, he can't exactly leave it when there's the threat of electricity disconnection. He would just end up wasting food ah ┐(´(エ)｀)┌
After several psychological constructions, he confidently placed a frozen beef in his system space and went to another corner where the bread, pasta, and products he didn't consider before are located.
Stacking things he knows will be useful in his system space until there is only a row of partitions left, space he deliberately left behind for weapons and possibly vehicles he might come across.
Ji Yanyu put the carrot he came across in the space, although he can't grow any plants or raise any fowls, he can stack up as many similar products to the ones already inside the system space.
When he was doing so, Ji Yanyu vaguely heard a loud screech beside him, he tensed up and instinctively held his bat, having a bad feeling with the sound that came out of nowhere.
"Rrrrrr..."
Almost immediately, a swift figure jumped from a counter and passed by him, just that movement was enough to make Ji Yanyu pale and falter.
'Damn..will I die without my cherry popped??'
It was a rash decision to come here earlier but he cannot risk going here a bit later, the zombies then would've adapted with their bodies, and it would be more difficult for him to pass through.
But he also didn't expect that there would be a rarely found high-level zombie here! It wasn't discussed in the novel and that was his mistake, Ji Yanyu greeted his teeth and gravely asked system 69, his only hope.
"Do you have anything that can help me with this, 69?"
[ Uhhhh!! Host, please wait for a while! I'll try looking at the products..! ]
[ Host! There's a lubricant that can heal any damage, a pill that can increase endurance and stamina, a syrup that has flexibility bonus.. ]
"Something that can increase my speed and strength please..!"
Ji Yanyu stumbled back when he saw the zombie sprawled in all fours, its head tilting in strange arcs with a wide, grotesque smile, if the skin wasn't purplish and bluish, Ji Yanyu would've suspected he entered a horror novel!
[ Ding! Due to the insufficient balance, loan will be applied with 3% compounded interest. Does the user agree? ]
"Rawr!!!"
With a loud screech, the zombie crawled in a speed incomparable to Ji Yanyu who had already began running away his eyes teared up as he desperately exerted force, "YES! YES PLEASE..!!"
Of course, the pit was too complicated for Ji Yanyu to currently understand, not when he is being chased by a zombie.
[ Ding! Acquiring add-on module! Acquisition successful! Does the user want to use 'Cheetah In Heat Modifier' ? ]
Cheetah? What Cheetah? But seeing the gradually closing distance, Ji Yanyu hurriedly nodded his head. Almost instantly, he began to feel the changes in his body.
Although he didn't change physically, the exhaustion was depleted significantly and he felt the rise in his ability, he turned back and realized how slow the zombie was moving.
[ Module successfully integrated! User shall experience an increase in speed and strength for a minute followed by a rare and humane experience of a Cheetah in heat~ Please do it with your partner harmoniously and peacefully ^^ Thank you for your purchase! ]
Ji Yanyu selectively ignored the second 'benefit' and chose to kill the zombie within that minute, with a swift motion, he went behind the zombie who had stopped in confusion and gave a large blow at the back of its head.
With the additional strength, he easily smashed the skeleton that was harder than the ones he have hit before. Taking the chance, he quickly roamed around the grocery and was relieved once he found no other anomaly.
The moment the increase in ability disappeared, Ji Yanyu fell splat beside the zombie he had just killed a few seconds ago, feeling weak all over his body.
'...Shoot.. don't fall asleep..!'
[ Error! Loading... Due to the user's insufficient body competency, the module forcibly entered sleep mode. Suggesting a physical improvement training.. ]
[ Ding! Approved! ]
.
.
.
The moment Ji Yanyu came to his senses, he almost wretched. The first thing he saw was the rotting zombie whose head had been smashed into a mesh.
He recalled what he saw earlier before he lost consciousness, there were two human corpses that had been eaten inside-out, leaving only bloodied work clothes in the electrical room where the staff stays at.
Most likely, the two staff who died were ability users, how else could a zombie at the early stages be extremely fast? Fortunately, other than that, he found nothing else out of the ordinary.
Ji Yanyu took a deep breath and looked around the floor, his eyes shimmered once he saw the transparent crystal that lay closely with him.
"It's a crystal nuclei!"
According to the novel, the easiest way to level up is by absorbing the crystal nuclei of the ability users– be it a zombie or a human.
Ji Yanyu wanted to try it out, but considering his environment and physical state, he moved to another corner where the moon shone brighter.
Along the way, he noticed the strange tail that appeared behind him. It was long, striped, and soft. Similar to a cat's tail but bigger.
Ji Yanyu subconsciously touched his ears and froze on the spot, instead of human ears, what he has was two furry ears at the top of his head.
"...What happened to me??"
[ Oh! Host! You're awake!! ]
[I was so worried TT Fortunately, the modification worked, but Host we have to work harder... we have a debt of 555 points... ]
Ji Yanyu who suddenly owns a debt: ????