Gray stirred awake, groggy but alert, as the first rays of sunlight peeked through the window. He rubbed his eyes, then sat up with a groan.
"Damn… how long did I sleep?"
Excited, he opened the HUD and checked his gold balance. A wide grin spread across his face.
[Status Info]
Name: Gray Ashwood
Age: 27
Race: Human
Gold: 238
Gold per Hour: 18
Gold Multiplier: 1.00x
"Dayumm, I'm rich!" he laughed, already scrolling through the upgrades tab.
[Upgrade Info]
(Free) 1 Gold/Hour ✔
(10 Gold) 2 Gold/Hour ✔
(30 Gold) 5 Gold/Hour ✔
(50 Gold) 10 Gold/Hour ✔
(200 Gold) 15 Gold/Hour ✔
(500 Gold) 30 Gold/Hour
(1000 Gold) 60 Gold/Hour
{Gold Multiplier}
(200 Gold) +0.05x
(550 Gold) +0.05x
(1150 Gold) +0.05x
"Oh yeah, it's all coming together," Gray said, scrolling down. "I was aiming for the gold multiplier, but… nah, not worth it right now. I'd only get one extra gold per hour, and the last upgrade gave me fifteen more. Maybe once I hit 30 gold per hour, it'll be worth it."
He looked at his remaining 38 gold, then opened the shop.
{Sirloin Steak} (18 Gold)
{Ribeye Steak} (20 Gold)
{Can of Coke} (2 Gold)
{Fries} (2 Gold)
"Oh yeah, we're eating good today!" he muttered, removing the chair from under the doorknob and heading downstairs, bamboo spear in hand.
Seeing both the front and back doors still barricaded brought a small wave of relief. Even so, he checked every window, closing each curtain before sitting down to eat.
After buying a ribeye steak, two Cokes, and two orders of fries, he realized there were no utensils provided. With a frustrated sigh, he rummaged through the kitchen drawers and eventually found a sharp enough knife and a fork.
As he ate in blissful silence, Gray began scanning the house with a more critical eye.
"No family photos... no car in the driveway... probably skipped town, either headed for a shelter or just dipped with their people. Hmm…" He glanced around. "Maybe I could just squat here. Reinforce the place, wait for better upgrades…"
He was already mentally sketching plans, plywood over the windows, a few 2x4s for bracing, maybe some metal sheet instead of wood. But he needed more than wood. He needed mobility.
"No way I'm walking everywhere," he muttered. "A bicycle could work… but what if I run into people? Could be good folks, could be psychos. Hell, even in the regular world I wouldn't trust anyone—much less in a post-apocalyptic one."
He pulled up the shop for vehicles.
{Toyota Tundra} – 10,000 Gold
{Camper Van} – 13,000 Gold
"Okay, so if I want anything useful, it's gonna cost a fortune… let's keep scrolling."
A moment later, his eyes lit up.
{EarthRoamer LTi} – 20,000 Gold
{EarthRoamer SX} – 25,000 Gold
"Oh, hell yeah. I've always wanted one of these," he said, eyes practically sparkling. "The LTi's got solar panels, built-in living space, and sleeps four. Yeah… that one's mine."
But before all that, he needed protection. A bamboo spear wouldn't cut it forever.
"If people see me like this, they'll probably just shoot me," he muttered. "Might be time to go full 'Murican."
Back in the shop, he searched under *Weapons*.
{Glock 19} – 1,200 Gold
{AR-15} – 3,000 Gold
"Those two should be plenty—for zombies and anyone else who wants trouble." He scrolled further. "Now, let's see… skills?"
{Basic Marksmanship} (500 Gold)
{Intermediate Marksmanship} (2,000 Gold)
{Advanced Marksmanship} (10,000 Gold)
{Deadshot's Marksmanship} (200,000 Gold)
"Two hundred K for a legal aimbot? Damn," he whistled, heading back upstairs. "Maybe one day."
He stepped into the bedroom, closed the door behind him, and placed the chair back under the knob. Then he looked around.
"Time to start the training montage. Ain't no way I'm staying out of shape in the apocalypse. Yeah, the system could cheat it for me… but I need something to do while I wait for gold to build."
He dropped to the floor and began a workout: push-ups, lunges, sit-ups, planks—whatever he could think of.
Forty minutes later, he was lying on the floor, soaked in sweat, staring up at the ceiling.
"That was so lame," he groaned, "but you gotta start somewhere."
He sat up, breathing hard. "Now, how am I supposed to do cardio? Should I just buy a treadmill?"
Still brainstorming, he made his way to the closet, looking for clean clothes.
Problem was… whoever used to live here was XXL. Gray held up a pair of sweatpants, frowned, then looked at himself—5'6", 185 pounds.
"Welp, beggars can't be choosers. At least they're clean," he muttered, making his way to the shower.
To his surprise, the water still worked—though there was no hot water. Still, it was refreshing. Afterward, he threw on the oversized clothes and went back to wash his own, using some detergent he found under the sink. He hung them over the shower curtain to dry.
Back in bed, Gray reflexively opened the HUD again.
[Status Info]
Name: Gray Ashwood
Age: 27
Race: Human
Gold: 76
Gold per Hour: 33
Gold Multiplier: 1.00x
"Damn, two hours already?" he said aloud, surprised. "Time really flies when you're doing something productive."
He turned his gaze toward the window, peeking past the curtains at the quiet, empty street outside.
"Let's just hope I can stay here at least a week… enough time to get what I need."