The Undeniably Essential Vehicle:
Without a doubt, the [Avenger 100 Series Amphibious All-Terrain Vehicle] was an absolute necessity. The strategic value of such a versatile land-and-water transport in any conceivable illusory realm was incalculable.
Fortunately, Luo Jie (Nightmare) had prudently reserved over 10,000 points for emergencies, supplemented by the few thousand points earned from eliminating stray zombies along the journey. This was just enough to certify the precious vehicle.
Ross and Sapphire were remarkably efficient. As Luo Jie finished storing the newly certified ATV into his dimensional storage space, the two arrived at the small warehouse, bringing Jugawa Shizuka with them, dust still settling from their hurried pace.
"Nightmare, where's the ATV?" Sapphire asked, scanning the conspicuously empty space.
"This whole area was barricaded by those thugs. No way to drive it out," Luo Jie explained calmly. "I stored it. We can deploy it once we're clear of this zone."
Ross and Sapphire simply nodded. Assuming the vehicle was a reward for clearing the thug stronghold, they didn't question the certification cost.
"Ah! Miyamoto-san!" Jugawa Shizuka's eyes landed on Miyamoto Rei, placed on a folding bed by Luo Jie. Professional instinct instantly overrode her usual ditziness. She snapped open her medical kit, transforming into a focused field medic. Watching her sudden shift, Luo Jie almost forgot this buxom, often-airheaded woman was actually a trained doctor.
"Hmm... bleeding's stopped. Vital signs stable. Not in immediate danger..." Her voice was clinical, her movements precise as she addressed the crude bandaging. "But this dressing is sloppy. High risk of infection. Needs proper sterilization and rewrapping." Her intense concentration lent her an unfamiliar, striking aura of competence.
Screee—CRUNCH!
The moment the words left her lips, the massive zombie horde drawn by the earlier commotion arrived. Thousands of dead pressed against the ramshackle wall of abandoned vehicles the thugs had erected. The sheer, relentless weight of the swarm began inexorably pushing the unstable barrier backwards.
"Nightmare! We have to move! Now!" Sapphire's face paled with genuine fear. She'd never been this close to such an overwhelming tide of undead. The horrifying fate awaiting them if that wall gave way was unimaginable.
"Not yet." Luo Jie glanced at Jugawa, meticulously tending to Rei's wound. A faint, almost unnervingly calm smile touched his lips as he turned back to Ross and Sapphire. "Want to earn some extra points?"
"Extra points?"
Luo Jie offered no further explanation. He strode to a nearby storage closet and hauled out several large plastic gasoline containers. Slapping the barrels, he gestured towards the perplexed pair. "Certify this gasoline. Then follow me."
The Gasoline Gambit:
Minutes later, they stood atop a pedestrian overpass overlooking the Motorbike Repair Garage. Plastic container after container materialized from Luo Jie's storage space. Caps were twisted off, and streams of gasoline rained down onto the densely packed, writhing mass of zombies below.
A single shop couldn't hold this much fuel. It was likely looted by the vanquished thugs from a nearby gas station, probably intended for Molotov cocktails – a plan cut short by Luo Jie's intervention before they could gather enough bottles.
With the last drops splattering onto the undead crowd, Luo Jie turned. "Who wants the honors?"
"Me! Me!" Ross volunteered eagerly. He brandished his noticeably out-of-place bright pink wand, raising both hands dramatically. "O passionate spirits of fire! Hear my call! Lend me your power to cleanse this world of evil! GO!"
His incantation complete, Ross stowed the wand and produced a large, colorful skyrocket. He touched it to a spark, and with a sharp fizz, it corkscrewed erratically into the air, trailing sparks and shrieking wildly before plunging straight into the heart of the drenched zombie mass.
WHOOMF!
The ignition was instantaneous. Zombies soaked in fuel became human torches. Flames erupted, greedily consuming the tinder-dry corpses and spilled gasoline. A wall of fire, easily ten meters wide and twenty meters long, roared to life beneath the overpass, trapping hundreds of zombies within its infernal embrace. Black, greasy smoke billowed upwards. The nauseating stench of charred flesh and the bizarre, sickly-sweet aroma of burning protein filled the choking air.
"You build up that whole performance... and you pull out a firework?" Luo Jie couldn't hide his dismay. It felt like expecting Beethoven only to get a kazoo solo.
"Fireball spell's too expensive right now. Can't afford it yet," Ross admitted sheepishly, scratching his head.
Luo Jie blinked. Right. Mixing up prices from... before. The [Fireball] spell was a fundamental milestone for psychic-focused players. It signified the transition from awkwardly wielding melee weapons to becoming a true ranged artillery piece. Its critical status as this "power threshold" skill kept the price of even the basic E-rank Green quality version stubbornly high in the early days, often scarce despite the demand. It explained why Luo Jie, also primarily psychic-focused, was stuck making do with the lackluster [Arcane Missile] spell for now.
"Don't worry," Luo Jie said, clapping Ross on the shoulder. "Chances are, after this realm, you'll have enough."
Ross grinned, hope flickering. "Yeah! Maybe burning these zombies will push me over the top!"
It was pure optimism, bordering on a joke. Burning zombies via gasoline was notoriously inefficient. The points gained barely covered the certification cost of the fuel itself, let alone the effort. Only the unique circumstances – the thugs' fortress inadvertently concentrating the horde, the ready availability of massive fuel reserves – made this risky gambit even marginally worthwhile. (Note: Non-certified items can still yield points from kills, but without certification, they can't be stored dimensionally. How much gas can you carry by hand? Same principle applies to ammo. Won't reiterate this point.)
Sudden Terror From The Flames:
Just as the trio prepared to descend the overpass stairs, Luo Jie's sharp hearing caught an ominous sound cutting through the roar of the fire – a distinct, unnatural whooshing sound.
"GET DOWN!"
The command ripped from his throat as he lunged, grabbing both Ross and Sapphire by their shoulders and slamming them flat onto the overpass deck.
THWACK-SPLAT!
A flaming zombie, propelled like a horrific cannonball, smashed into the overpass railing from the smoke below. The metal barricade, thick as a man's arm, bent violently under the impact. Gobbets of charred flesh, bone, and blackened blood sprayed over the three, coating them in gore.
"Down the stairs! MOVE!" Luo Jie scrambled to his feet, vaulting down the steps two at a time.
THUD! SPLAT!
Two more zombie projectiles arced over the overpass, missing the structure but exploding like grotesque water balloons on the pavement beyond.
Ross and Sapphire scrambled after him, faces blanched with terror. "Nightmare! What the hell was that?!" Ross gasped. "Since when do zombies fly?!"
Luo Jie didn't answer verbally. Instead, he shared the live feed from his reconnaissance drone hovering above the inferno.
Through gaps torn in the billowing black smoke, the drone's camera revealed the source of the terror. Towering amidst the burning throng was a hulking monstrosity – massive, thick-limbed, its skin a sickly, decayed green. It was this brute that had been snatching zombies and hurling them with terrifying force towards the overpass.
"Oh god..." Sapphire whispered, the blood draining completely from her face.
"TANK!" Ross and Sapphire identified the monstrosity in unison, their expressions locking into masks of pure dread.