The rush of energy from the drink surged through his body. Fatigue was momentarily suppressed, but fear remained deeply rooted in his heart. Kirin stood firm behind his barricade, the iron spear in his hand feeling heavy yet reassuring.
The groan of another zombie drew closer... Customer Number Two.
"Yeah, bring it on!" he muttered a curse to himself. "Looks like I'm pulling the graveyard shift... and no overtime pay for this either!"
He adjusted his stance, using the lesson from the first kill to his advantage. He knew where to aim... how much force to apply.
When the second zombie's rotting head peeked around the corner into the gap, he didn't hesitate.
"Order received!"
Thwack!
The iron spear pierced straight through its eye socket with greater precision than before. Kirin twisted his wrist violently until a sickening crack echoed. The body dropped instantly... much faster than the first time.
And as usual... a golden glow appeared, leaving behind a "Reward." This time, no cards or coins, but a solid gray rectangular block that looked like stone. It fell to the floor with a soft thud.
Item Block...
Before he could process it, the sound of "Customer" Number Three arose.
That night descended into a repetitive, nauseating hell on earth. It was an endless loop: Footsteps... A figure appears... Thrust... Retract spear... See the light... Reward drops... Repeat.
Fourth time... Fifth time...
"You bastards... Is there no end to you?! Don't you have Netflix to watch at home?!" he shouted, his voice a mix of exhaustion and delirium.
Seventh time... Eighth time...
His arms grew so heavy he could barely lift the spear. The energy drink's boost was fading. True exhaustion began reclaiming territory in his body. His mind started going numb... The sight of brain matter spilling from skulls... the stench of rot stinging his nose... it was becoming normal.
Am I going crazy? he wondered as he pulled the gore-stained spear from the eleventh corpse. "Having fun killing... this isn't normal."
His psyche, once that of a normal human from 2025, was being eroded and twisted by this world, bit by bit.
Finally... after what felt like an eternity, the moans began to fade... and eventually vanished into silence.
The returning silence was heavy and suffocating. Kirin stood still for a long time, his ears still ringing with phantom screams. He took a deep breath... and slowly looked at his "Profits" for the night.
Outside the barricade... a pile of over ten zombie corpses lay in a miserable heap. And amidst that carnage lay a small pile of rewards glittering in the flashlight beam... over ten gold coins, a few cards, and four more gray Item Blocks.
Using his remaining strength, he quickly opened the barricade, swept all the rewards inside, and locked it up tight again.
He slumped against the wall, completely drained. "Alright... let's see what the Apocalypse Promotion Sale has for me," he joked to himself to banish the lingering horror.
He picked up an Item Block first. "Open!"
The first block dissolved into light and became [Scrap Metal x5].
"...Hmm, better than nothing."
The second block became [Clean Bandage x1].
"Okay, this is useful."
The third block became [Dried Beef x1 piece].
"Hey! Food! Nice!"
He looked at the final block in his hand with hope. Give me something good... pay me for my brutal overtime.
"Open!"
This time, the light was different. It was a faint Purple glow! When the light faded, what appeared in his hand was a cloudy black orb the size of a ping-pong ball, pulsing gently as if it had a heartbeat.
[Rare Item Detected!]
[Zombie Energy Core - Low Grade]
Description: Residual energy crystallized within a zombie's body. Can be used to strengthen the body or as a material for crafting special equipment.
Kirin's eyes went wide... This was... An Upgrade Item!
The first dawn after the battle arrived. The murky red light flooded into the building, revealing Kirin's exhaustion and messy state clearly. He leaned against the wall, completely spent. The stench of blood and rot clinging to him made him want to vomit.
The nausea rose in his throat until he couldn't hold it back...
"Urrghhh!"
He vomited everything he had eaten yesterday until his stomach was empty. It was the body and mind's reaction to the torture endured all night.
After retching until nothing else came out, he sat there panting pitifully. He looked at the pile of rewards... then at the corpses outside.
He survived... and he turned a "Profit."
Kirin chuckled softly. It was a dry, humorless laugh.
"Good profit margins... but the overtime is absolutely brutal."
The first light of dawn shone through the gaps in the building, chasing away the darkness. But it brought no hope... on the contrary, it revealed the gruesome results of last night's battle in nauseating detail.
Kirin sat there, wrecked. He had vomited until his stomach was empty. His body trembled, not from cold, but from the aftershocks of exhaustion and panic.
The scene before him... outside his partially damaged barricade, was a pitiful pile of zombie corpses. Dark fluids pooled on the floor. The stench was so overpowering it nearly triggered another round of vomiting.
"The condition... doesn't look good at all," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "My career path... if not a CEO, then an Undertaker."
He laughed at his own joke, but it was a dry, hollow sound.
He knew he couldn't leave this filth here. The smell would attract other monstrosities. Kirin forced his aching body to move, standing up shakily. using the crowbar, he slowly pried and pushed each corpse, rolling them down the fire escape shaft. It was the heaviest, most disgusting work of his life. He had to stop to gasp for air multiple times, cursing the angel who sent him here hundreds of times over.
After finishing the "Housekeeping," he looked no different from the corpses... covered in grime and fluids he didn't want to identify.
"I can't take this... need a shower."
He didn't use the rare Item Card but opted for the resources he had scavenged earlier. He pulled several 5-liter plastic bottles filled with construction water from his [Inventory]. using it as sparingly as possible, he washed himself. The cold water helped refresh him and brought back some sanity. The water card was saved for strict emergencies only.
Once he felt somewhat human again, he sat down to seriously audit last night's "Earnings." He dumped everything onto the floor: 12 Gold Coins, 1 Water Card, 1 Instant Noodle Card, 1 Dried Beef, 1 Bandage, 5 Scrap Metal... and the pulsing black orb in his hand.
He ate the dried beef first. It was tough and salty, but right now, it was a gourmet meal that restored his energy effectively.
Finally, he picked up the [Zombie Energy Core] and examined it closely. "Use to strengthen the body..." How? Eat it? Hold it?
Whatever... The System is a compensation package. It surely wouldn't give me something that kills me... He concluded with the logic of an investor accepting risk.
He gripped the orb and focused... Strengthen body...
Suddenly, the System window appeared.
[Detected: Zombie Energy Core - Low Grade]
[Do you wish to absorb energy to strengthen your body? Y/N]
[WARNING: The process will be extremely painful.]
"Painful... again?" Kirin grimaced. "Does my life just have to involve pain all the time?!"
He hesitated for a moment. The image of the "Hunter" moving with terrifying speed flashed in his mind... The image of soldiers being slaughtered easily... If he wanted to survive, he had no other choice.
"Fine! Pain is better than death!" He gritted his teeth. "Y!"
The next second, the orb in his hand dissolved into purple-black particles and shot directly into his palm!
"ARGGHHHH! SHIIIIIT!"
Kirin screamed. A new wave of agony shot through his body. It wasn't like the "Awakening," but like someone injecting hot acid into his veins! Every muscle fiber seized up until they felt like tearing. He writhed on the floor again.
"Hurts... like... hell... Every upgrade feels like being roasted alive!" he wheezed out the curse words with difficulty.
The pain lasted for nearly five full minutes before slowly subsiding, leaving behind a body drenched in sweat and a feeling of... Strength.
He stood up slowly... The difference was clear. The soreness from last night's battle had vanished completely. He clenched his fist... it felt denser, more powerful than before.
[Status Window]
[Name: Kirin Warachot]
Status: Normal Strength: 12 -> 14 Durability: 11 -> 13 Agility: 10 Unique Skill: Flora Affinity (Level 1)
"Whoa..." Kirin exclaimed softly. "The ROI is this good?"
The pain from moments ago suddenly seemed worth it.
He walked back to his observation point. The dawn of the second day post-apocalypse had fully broken. The rusty sky above looked as terrifying as ever. But looking down at the ruined capital... Bangkok, the once-bustling Sukhumvit district... he no longer felt the despair he felt at first. The screams and sporadic gunfire became background noise he was starting to get used to.
The brutal night had given him a lesson and a reward.
"I will survive!"