Lucas Kane woke early the next morning, washed up, and finished a quick breakfast. With his routine out of the way, he opened the survivor chat channel.
A string of trade invitations from Jessica Moore lit up his screen. She had sent him a bundle of items during the night:
[Purified Water] ×10
[Instant Noodle Bucket] ×10
[Energy Core] ×25
[Skill: Sharpshooter] ×1
[Skill: Universal Driving Technique] ×1
[Skill: Steel Extraction] ×1
[Skill: Basic Mechanical Enhancement] ×1
Descriptions scrolled in alongside the items:
[Sharpshooter]: Increases firearm accuracy dramatically.
[Universal Driving Technique]: Allows the user to drive virtually any vehicle—cars, motorcycles, planes, helicopters, ships, even horseback—with minimal practice.
[Steel Extraction]: Enables direct harvesting of steel from buildings or metallic structures.
[Basic Mechanical Enhancement]: Allows reinforcement and modification of machinery by consuming steel materials.
Lucas exhaled sharply. "Damn… all this after just one night?"
He checked the timestamps. Jessica had been sending trades from ten in the evening until nearly three in the morning. It meant she had spent the whole night working tirelessly to sell off the bows he'd crafted, exchanging them for supplies and rare skills.
"She's relentless," Lucas murmured, admiration flickering in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he stored the Sharpshooter skill book inside his storage ring. The others he used immediately. Shooting accuracy was unnecessary for him—bows auto-aimed under the system's enhancement, and firearms made too much noise, drawing hordes of zombies. Besides, his raw strength surpassed most gunfire in lethality, especially against Crawlers. To kill them properly, one had to break their spine—something bullets often failed to accomplish.
A bark broke his thoughts.
"Woof!"
Lupo had finally woken, stumbling sleepily to his side. The little wolf pup had slept for nearly twelve hours straight. Lucas chuckled—puppies were natural sleepers.
He poured two servings of Mutant Fertilizer into Lupo's iron food basin. Back when the pup was smaller, he could handle a single serving with ease. Now grown sturdier, his appetite had doubled.
Lucas then headed upstairs to the rooftop. The glowing system prompt read:
[Time to maturity: 59 days, 23 hours, 53 minutes.]
He poured the leftover Accelerator Fertilizer onto the Meat Yam plants. Instantly, stalks shot upward by nearly two feet. Bright yellow flowers bloomed, withered, and in the same moment bore fruit. Thick, swollen roots burst from the soil.
[Meat Yam: Fully Mature.]
Lucas pulled them out one by one, shaking dirt free. Each plant yielded five to seven roots, every single one weighing over two pounds. In total, nearly thirty pounds of food!
"The yield's insane," Lucas muttered, grinning.
Unlike potatoes, Meat Yams weren't propagated from tubers but from seeds produced after flowering. Each plant gave around ten seeds. From his initial five tubers, he now had fifty—ten times the amount.
Food would no longer be a concern.
But a new issue arose. The rooftop only had a dozen flowerpots. It couldn't hold fifty plants. Lucas leaned against the rail and looked down. The Building 8 Island Complex sat on its own little isle, surrounded by grass and empty space.
"Perfect. I'll plant them outside."
He stored the harvest and seeds into his ring, then rushed downstairs. Lupo, having finished eating, happily trotted after him, tail wagging.
"Skill: Basic Wall Construction!"
In moments, waist-high wooden barricades materialized around the island's perimeter. They weren't sophisticated, but they encircled the complex neatly, with a simple wooden gate facing the main path. Crude, without even a roof overhang, but functional enough.
The wall wasn't meant to repel hordes of zombies or deter invaders. It was a sign—a marker that the land was claimed. "Touch these crops, and you answer to me."
Lucas wiped sweat from his brow. The wall was done, but he couldn't guard the farm himself. If he left, scavengers might snatch the food. He looked down at Lupo, who wagged his tail obliviously.
A smile tugged at Lucas's lips. "Wolves have strong territorial instincts. You'll be the perfect guardian."
He crouched, ruffling the pup's fur. "Lupo, this one's yours. Guard the crops. Don't let anyone near."
The wolf pup tilted his head, eyes full of confusion. To him, it sounded like: Shouldn't we be going out together?
Lucas tried again. "I leave, you stay. Got it?"
This time, Lupo seemed to understand. He plopped down by the gate, tongue lolling out, tail sweeping the ground. Loyal. Determined.
Satisfied, Lucas replanted the new seeds, using three full bags of Accelerator Fertilizer. He then stuffed Lupo's food bowl with four portions of Mutant Fertilizer—enough for a day's meals.
Finally ready, Lucas set out. He walked a dozen meters, then turned back. Lupo sat obediently at the wooden gate, watching him with sorrowful eyes but refusing to follow. The little wolf understood his duty.
Lucas felt a swell of pride. "Good boy."
A short while later, Lucas returned to the outskirts of Sunhaven University. He leaped onto the roof of an abandoned bus, securing a high vantage point. Up here, stray zombies couldn't reach him easily.
He took out the newly acquired equipment.
"Drone, activate."
The small device whirred to life, its rotors slicing the morning air.