You have slain the Ghoul. Kill count: 1. Apocalypse Reward: Green Phantom Stone."
Ash Leon scrambled to his feet, eyes flashing with sudden excitement.
"A drop already?" he muttered, a grin tugging at his lips."Luck's really on my side.
He crouched low, gripping his knife, and smashed it into the shattered Ghoul's skull.With careful precision, he pried open the mangled remains and extracted a green crystalline stone.
The Green Phantom Stone—a condensed essence of life that sometimes formed in a zombie's brain, leftover from when a human transformed into a Ghoul.Not all zombies left behind life essence.The chance was extremely rare, even among low-level mutated Ghouls.Typically, a hunter would need to kill at least a thousand Ghouls for a single stone.
Ash had hit the jackpot.
Though useless for now, once aboard the Death Train, the stone would have immense value.Crystals like these were the basic currency of the Death Train.Money? In the collapsed world, it was worth less than paper.
He wiped the blood off the stone, tucked it into his pocket, and grabbed some chocolate, beef jerky, and a few bottles of water, stashing them in his backpack.
The convenience store had become unsafe. The broken window and the commotion could attract more zombies.Ash glanced at the girl's body on the floor and muttered,"Sorry… this is the apocalypse."
He moved forward, quickly and silently.
Night fell quickly.
After hours of hunting, the streets had turned into graves.Bodies piled everywhere.Blood coated the ground in thick crimson, sticking to his boots as he walked.
Ahead, a small cluster of zombies blocked his path.Ash drew his recurve bow from his back and pulled an arrow from his quiver.
Whoosh!
The arrow sliced through the air, piercing a zombie's skull and pinning it to a nearby car.The noise scattered the rest, their uneven shuffling punctuated by gurgling cries as they turned toward him.
Without hesitation, Ash nocked another arrow and fired.Again and again, his shots struck true.
In his previous life, the first skill he gained on the Death Train had been Sharpshooter—a master-level archery skill.Now, reborn, his skills were gone, and his body reset to its original state.But instinct and muscle memory remained.He was still a deadly archer, on par with professional athletes.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack…
Arrow after arrow pierced zombie skulls.Brains exploded on impact.Only a shot to the head or a broken neck could truly kill them.
"You have slain a zombie. Kill count: 4.""You have slain a zombie. Kill count: 5."
Soon, all zombies in his path were destroyed, bringing his tally to twelve—a record that would matter aboard the Death Train.
Alive humans were scarce.Most were either hunted or hiding inside buildings.But hiding was no long-term strategy.Zombies would eventually wander inside.Food and water would inevitably run out.
Ash knew the only way forward.
About half an hour later, he entered a church.
Churches were rare here. This one had been donated by a wealthy Christian believer and opened only on weekends. The priest was part-time.It was perfect for a temporary base.
The church's doors were unlocked. He pushed one open.
A strong stench of blood hit him.Tables and chairs were overturned.A four-meter-high wooden cross had been knocked down.Something violent had occurred here.
Tick…
A cold sensation ran down Ash's neck.He touched it—saliva.
His pupils constricted.Without hesitation, he dove to the ground and rolled forward.
A red tongue fell from the ceiling, piercing the spot where he had just stood, leaving a hole in the floor.
Looking up, he saw a massive zombie crouched above.Twice the size of normal zombies, its limbs enormous, tipped with sharp claws that dug into the ceiling.
"A Crawler!" Ash muttered, exhaling sharply.Another mutated zombie.
Luck seemed absent this time.In his previous life, he had boarded the Death Train by fortune.Now, not even a trace of it, and he'd already encountered two mutated zombies.
No hesitation.He pulled out his recurve bow, nocked an arrow, and drew the string back to full draw.
The arrow streaked forward with a whistle.