Chapter 4: Learning Hurts More Than Dying
The brick felt wrong in Brian's hand.
Not bad. Not unstable. Just… more than it should be. Its weight settled into his palm like it had decided to belong there, like it had been waiting its whole existence to be picked up by someone who needed it.
"That's unsettling," Brian muttered, eyes flicking between the infected spreading out ahead of him.
Three of them. No—four. One limped. One dragged its arm like it barely remembered it was attached. The others moved faster, heads twitching, mouths opening and closing as if tasting the air.
Brian backed up slowly, heel scraping against asphalt.
"Okay," he whispered. "Nobody panic. I'm saying that to me. You guys are already panicking professionally."
The infected surged forward.
Brian turned and ran.
His lungs protested immediately. The exhaustion from earlier hadn't magically vanished. The system hadn't healed him. His ribs still screamed with every breath.
"Good to know you're not a charity," he said between gasps.
He cut left into a narrow street lined with parked cars, weaving between them as growls echoed behind him. The sound followed—closer than he liked, farther than he feared.
He skidded to a stop near an overturned sedan, chest heaving.
"Think," he hissed. "Think."
His gaze dropped to the brick.
> S-rank — Impact Brick (Special Attribute: Shatter)
The words hovered faintly at the edge of his vision, translucent but steady.
"Shatter," Brian repeated. "Like… what, exactly?"
The infected rounded the corner.
One of them sprinted now, movements jerky but fast enough to send panic clawing up Brian's spine.
"Guess we find out," he muttered.
He waited until the first infected was close—too close—then swung.
The brick connected with the infected's skull.
There was no resistance.
No sickening crunch like before.
Just a sharp crack—like hitting glass under pressure.
The infected's head burst apart in a spray of dark fluid and bone fragments, the body collapsing mid-step as if its strings had been cut.
Brian stumbled back, staring.
"Oh," he breathed. "Oh wow."
The other infected skidded to a halt, then charged.
Brian's grip tightened instinctively.
"Okay," he said, voice shaky but steady enough. "Okay, I can do this. Probably."
The second infected lunged.
Brian swung again.
Another clean impact. Another violent, instant kill.
The third infected hesitated.
Brian blinked. "Did you just… think about that?"
The infected snarled and charged anyway.
Brian moved without thinking this time, body reacting before his fear could catch up. He sidestepped, brought the brick down hard.
The infected dropped.
Silence fell over the street.
Brian stood there, panting, brick slick in his hand, ears ringing.
"Holy—" He swallowed. "Holy crap."
His knees buckled, and he leaned against the car, laughing weakly.
"That's… that's not normal," he said. "That's really not normal."
The air flickered.
Ding.
> Zombies eliminated: 3
Kill Coins acquired: +3
Brian frowned. "Kill coins?"
No explanation followed.
"Right," he said. "Still mysterious."
He wiped the brick against his jeans, then froze.
His jeans were torn. Blood smeared his hoodie. His hands shook as the adrenaline finally began to fade.
"I'm not built for this," he whispered. "I'm really not."
A distant shout echoed down the street.
"Hello?! Is anyone alive?!"
Brian's head snapped up.
A human voice.
Real. Panicked. Alive.
His heart surged painfully. "Hey!" he shouted back before he could stop himself. "I'm here!"
The voice answered immediately. "Thank God! Where are you?"
Brian stepped forward—then stopped.
The memory of the woman at the apartment door slammed into him.
Don't help anyone who looks hurt.
He swallowed.
"Uh," he called cautiously. "Where are you?"
There was a pause.
"…Near the pharmacy," the voice said. "I—I'm trapped inside. There are things outside."
Brian's fingers tightened around the brick.
"Are you injured?" he asked.
Another pause. Longer this time.
"My leg," the voice said softly. "They bit me."
Brian closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said, voice barely audible. "I can't."
"What?" the voice cracked. "Please—please don't leave me!"
Brian backed away slowly, heart pounding.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm so sorry."
The voice turned into screaming.
Then growling.
Then nothing.
Brian stood there long after the sounds faded, brick heavy in his hand.
"This is going to ruin me," he whispered.
He moved on.
The night deepened, the city lit by fires and flashing emergency lights that no longer meant help. Brian scavenged carefully, avoiding open areas, ducking into stores already picked clean.
He found a backpack. Half a bottle of water. A protein bar crushed into crumbs.
When he picked them up—
Ding.
> You have obtained: F-rank — Bottled Water
Brian blinked.
Ding.
> 10× Multiplier activating…
The bottle in his hand grew cold, condensation forming instantly. The plastic thickened, reinforced, the label smoothing into something almost metallic.
Ding.
> You have obtained: S-rank — Purified Water Container (Endless Filtration)
Brian stared at it.
"…You're kidding me."
He twisted the cap experimentally. Water flowed freely.
He laughed, a breathless, half-mad sound. "Okay. Okay, that's… that's good."
He took a long drink, relief flooding him.
The system stayed silent.
No praise. No guidance.
Just cold, factual reality.
Brian slung the backpack over his shoulder and moved deeper into the city, learning with every step—learning how much noise was too much, how shadows could hide both safety and death, how every decision carried weight.
Above him, the skyline burned.
Below him, the dead wandered.
And between them—
A twenty-year-old kid with a brick that could shatter skulls, a system that answered only when it felt like it, and the growing understanding that surviving was going to hurt far more than dying ever could.
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End of Chapter 4..