An Encounter in the Stairwell

Of course, in the end, Shen Mu still chose not to open the apartment door.

Having 15 Swadian Recruits as his backing in this monster-infested world was one thing.

But opening the apartment door and entering that dangerous world, eroded by the rules of the dead Spiritual Realm, shrouded in darkness and gray fog, and filled with undead monsters, was another matter entirely!

The lingering memories in Shen Mu's mind still made him choose caution.

So he leaned against the headboard, and with the 15 Swadian Recruits in the room, they guarded the brazier and waited until early the next morning.

On the eastern horizon, the first ray of sunlight appeared.

The morning sun rose in the east.

The darkness that had previously dominated this world seemed to reach a critical point instantly, disappearing in just a few breaths.

Only a hint of fish-belly white light appeared on the horizon, gradually fading the dimness of the night.

This meant the rules of the Undead World had disappeared.

"It's light." Shen Mu's hand was still holding the Longsword that the system had rewarded him with when he loaded the character template.

Watching the dimness outside the window fade, and vaguely being able to see the buildings across the road, a smile appeared on his face.

It also meant he was safe.

Daytime.

It was no longer the domain of the undead rules and those monsters!

But before Shen Mu could feel relieved, his stomach began to rumble, and his stomach started to twitch slightly.

He hadn't dared to sleep much last night, even though he had arranged for 15 Swadian Recruits to take turns standing guard and watching the brazier and candles. In the early morning, after his mind relaxed, he felt a deep sense of fatigue, weariness, and hunger.

"Let's cook some porridge." Shen Mu turned his head to look at the corner, where there were still 5 bags of wheat from the system rewards that could be used as food.

Half a bag would be enough for the 16 of them to cook porridge.

Moreover, for Shen Mu, his predecessor had stored a lot of long-lasting canned food, hidden under the bed, which meant they could add some extra side dishes while eating this wheat porridge.

There were stainless steel washbasins in the apartment room, and clean water that Shen Mu's predecessor had collected and stored in plastic buckets.

The Swadian Recruits quickly found them and got busy.

They tore open a bag of wheat.

After simply sifting off the dust, they poured it all into the washbasin, added water, and placed it on the brazier to start cooking the porridge.

As the flames licked the stainless steel washbasin, the water began to boil due to the heat, and the brown wheat grains also began to roll in the washbasin.

He believed it wouldn't take long for a pot of thick wheat porridge, enough to fill their stomachs, to be cooked.

During this time, Shen Mu also personally went to the toilet and carefully collected the solid wax that had flowed down from the few candles that had burned out last night.

These could be reused. As long as he found some cotton rope, he could make candles again.

Compared to the brazier, these candles could effectively dispel darkness in a small area and lasted longer, with a more stable flame.

They could be considered necessities for maintaining safety in this world.

About half an hour later.

The wheat porridge was ready.

Shen Mu first opened two cans of braised pork, chopped them all up, and mixed them into the thick wheat porridge with distinct grains.

The white fat and the smell of spices immediately mixed into the full washbasin of porridge, adding a special aroma.

These cans were opened specifically to celebrate the arrival of the Swadian Recruits.

Not much, but at least it added some flavor.

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Shen Mu!" These Swadian Recruits also smelled the aroma of the braised pork mixed into the wheat porridge.

Even before eating, they were all drooling from the smell.

But even so, they ate in batches.

After all, Shen Mu didn't have many utensils.

Anyway, whether it was stainless steel mess kits or water cups, they were basically the eating tools of these Swadian Recruits, who ate heartily and sweetly.

"Now I have the Mount & Blade System and so many Swadian Recruits. Next, perhaps I can search this apartment to see if there are any remaining supplies left."

Shen Mu was also thinking while eating the wheat porridge.

The rule change three years ago directly caused 50-60% of the Blue Star's population to disappear.

This also meant that supplies in many places were actually still very abundant.

Especially in those shopping malls or warehouses.

Many sealed snacks or canned goods, and even dairy products, were preserved intact.

Perhaps this should also be attributed to the invasion of the Undead World's rules.

The Blue Star, which originally had distinct seasons, now had a relatively cold temperature, similar to a constant early spring.

And now people had also discovered that as long as there was darkness or gray fog, it was as if time was paused for the original items of the Blue Star. Even a fresh apple, as long as no light shone on it, could maintain this state.

When others discover this apple, it will still be quite fresh, crisp, refreshing, and juicy to eat!

"If I remember correctly, the dozen or so cans of meat found by the previous owner were found in a sealed warehouse of a certain supermarket."

Shen Mu took a big gulp of wheat porridge and also shoveled a piece of fatty braised pork into his mouth. He was also emotional about the abundant supplies the previous owner had left him.

At least he didn't enjoy all the good supplies before slitting his wrists because he couldn't think straight.

But just then, a new dialogue box popped up on Shen Mu's retina.

Ding! Temporary Mission detected an event!

Mission Issued: Clear the Floor.

Mission Brief: You are currently the only resident on the seventh floor of this apartment building. Now there are many Swadian Recruits, so more rooms are needed to accommodate them. Therefore, you need to clear the floor and rooms.

Mission Conditions: Clear the entire floor and all rooms during the day, ensuring there are no enemies.

Mission Rewards: Bread ×5 servings; Wheat Field ×1 mu; Recruit Upgrade Scroll (10 people) ×1.

Looking at the content in the dialogue box, Shen Mu was slightly stunned: "Another new mission!?"

But this time, Shen Mu's eyes lit up.

"Bread, Wheat Field, and Upgrade Scroll?"

Aren't these exactly what Shen Mu currently lacks: food, a continuous source of food, and something to improve the soldiers' combat power!

For Shen Mu, this was like receiving charcoal in the snow!

And the requirement to complete it was simply to search and clear the seventh floor of this apartment!

Soon, the Swadian Recruits gathered again.

Long-handled sickles, one-handed axes, and long wooden shields had all reappeared on these young men who were full of hope for the future.

"Let's go." Shen Mu, holding his longsword, came to the apartment door.

As he opened the door outwards.

The dim apartment corridor in the early morning, along with a slightly putrid breeze that flowed in, appeared before everyone.

Two Swadian Recruits rushed out first with their long-handled sickles, followed by the remaining three recruits in single file.

"Safe." The voice of a Swadian Recruit came from outside.

"Okay." Shen Mu nodded and then led the remaining 10 Swadian Recruits out together.

The apartment building that Shen Mu's previous owner found had a total of seven floors.

The overall layout was mainly rectangular.

The overall shape was like the character 'sun'.

Before the invasion of the Undead World, it should have been a cheap apartment building with small property rights and low area, used for commercial offices or residences.

Shen Mu's room was in the upper right corner of this 'sun' shape.

And the middle horizontal stroke was the former elevator shaft.

However, due to the arrival of the rules of the Spiritual Realm after death, the physical rules that had disappeared, including human-produced electricity and electrical equipment, were also gone.

The only electricity that might be effective now was naturally occurring lightning.

"What a pity." Shen Mu had already led the team to inspect all the corridors on the seventh floor of the apartment. Standing in the elevator shaft and looking at the closed elevator protection door, he couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the former human technology.

"Sir, everything is normal, no abnormalities found." The Swadian Recruit next to him asked.

The other Swadian Recruits nearby also looked puzzled.

Last night, they had all seen Zombies and Skeletons, so they still had a deep impression of these terrifying undead creatures.

But when they left the crowded apartment this morning, intending to go out and fight, they found nothing.

They did feel a bit strange in their hearts.

"Relax, there will be opportunities to fight later." Shen Mu was well aware of the thoughts of these eager young people who wanted to make a name for themselves in this chaotic world through fighting.

He looked up at the neatly arranged apartment floor with a total of forty rooms surrounding the elevator shaft and pursed his lips.

After inspecting the floor, the system did not prompt that the mission was completed.

So, it was obvious.

Within these forty apartment rooms, they also had to open the dusty, closed doors and go inside to check!

"Who's there!" A Swadian Recruit standing on the side suddenly roared in anger, immediately startling everyone.

Including Shen Mu.

Following the direction the Swadian Recruit was pointing his long-handled sickle, towards the fire escape, which was the stairs.

"Be on guard!" Shen Mu said in a deep voice.

Swish!

Beside him, the 15 Swadian Recruits had all pointed their long-handled sickles towards that direction.

The gleaming sickle heads were extremely intimidating.

Especially when these Swadian Recruits stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a Pike Square, they appeared even more imposing.

"Easy there, little brother." From the stairs, a surprised male voice suddenly came.

A middle-aged man wearing chainmail and holding a longsword was the first to raise his hand and walk out of the stairwell.

Behind him, two gaunt, hunched creatures with rusty scimitars in their hands and jackal heads followed, their eyes glowing with a faint green light as they walked out together.

"Spiritual Realm... Soldiers!?" The word immediately surfaced in Shen Mu's remaining consciousness.