The Town

The Maserati raced wildly along the deserted, desolate highway. Mori gave a humorless smirk and said, "Not bad, you stupid kid," before putting Big Viper away. Kirk's hand hurt like hell. He cursed Mori for killing the horse after it had ground the mill, but could only hand it over obediently.

After that, Mori ignored him, and Kirk began quietly reviewing what he had just gained. A blood-red Space Mark had appeared on his chest, shaped like a sinister red demon's head. He'd read plenty of stories like this before and wasn't unfamiliar with the infinite-flow genre, so he was able to go through the motions fairly convincingly.

He examined the mark with his mind and saw a one-cubic-meter storage space. Inside was only a white key, and it also displayed his current Survival Points: 117. A newcomer started with 100 Survival Points, and he'd just killed seventeen walkers. He took out the white key, and a prompt asked whether he wanted to open the Treasure Chest now. He chose yes.

A white chest materialized from the space. A streak of golden light flashed, and a gold ring appeared!

"Holy crap, my luck finally turned around! A white key opened Gold Equipment—now that's what I call a protagonist!" Kirk cried tears of joy, imagining himself unleashing a kingly aura as treasures flocked to him from every direction.

Unfortunately, he'd gotten excited too soon. When he looked at the ring in his hand, he saw it wasn't gold at all, but brass. Its attribute was Stamina +1.

"Not bad. That's like increasing my stamina by 25%." Kirk sighed, consoling himself, and put it on his right middle finger. Fortunately, he knew better than to flaunt his wealth. He found a pair of leather gloves in the car and put them on. They'd also offer some protection from walkers' bites and disgusting fluids.

"Where are we going?" Kirk couldn't help asking.

Mori pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He blew a smoke ring at Kirk, making him cough, then smirked and said, "I don't know either. Got a plan, handsome?"

Kirk's mind began racing as he tried to remember the plot.

Without a doubt, his most important task now was to survive in this godforsaken world. It didn't sound too hard, did it? The simplest solution was to drive around all day. Walkers couldn't drive after them, after all.

But Kirk believed that if anyone tried to fool the System by driving around aimlessly, it would probably turn their life into an international joke.

Survival missions were the hardest. As long as you stayed alive, you completed the mission and faced no penalties. That meant a whole lot of unpredictable risks. Trying to avoid them was the biggest risk of all.

Their car would run out of gas, wouldn't it? Looking for fuel was dangerous.

They had to sleep at night, didn't they? A horde could attack them.

They couldn't go without food, could they? Finding food was dangerous.

Kirk summed it up: they faced two major problems if they wanted to survive. One was resources, including but not limited to food, clean water, clothing, and tents. The other was safety, which required guns, ammunition, a secure shelter, a strong team, and so on. They'd have to scavenge or plunder all of it.

Between the two, guns and ammunition mattered more. Kirk looked at the "kind" gift from Mori: a plain dagger. It couldn't be taken out of the scenario, dealt 5 damage, and was worth 1 Survival Point.

Trying to kill walkers with that would get him killed, no matter how many lives he had.

Kirk wasn't sure whether, as a Contractor, he'd turn into a walker just like an ordinary person if he got bitten. But he didn't want to find out. In this scenario, a gun was king.

Where was the nearest gun to Atlanta?

Kirk thought hard. There was only one answer: the police station in the town where the protagonist Rick lived. American police stations had armories stocked with police rifles, riot shotguns, powerful handguns, and police body armor. That would give them a better chance of survival.

"We're going to Rick's town. There's an armory there. We need guns and ammo," Kirk told Mori.

Mori blew a smoke ring and looked pleased. "Now that sounds like something a man would say. If you'd said we should find somewhere to hide like a little girl, I'd have kicked you out of the car to fend for yourself by now."

Kirk broke into a cold sweat. It seemed that in the scenario, there was also something called compatibility. Plot Characters would act according to the System's arrangements, but they'd also make their own judgments. This was another chance for Mori to test him. If Kirk and Mori weren't compatible, Mori would still abandon him eventually. Luckily, he'd made the right choice this time.

The Maserati sped into Rick's town. It was a typical suburban town in the eastern United States, quiet and laid-back, with lush greenery and shady trees everywhere. The only thing out of place was the town's original residents wandering all over the roads.

The Maserati screamed as it slammed into a walker, and Mori and Kirk got out. "I'm sorry!" Mori joked darkly to the walker he'd hit, then pulled out Big Viper and unleashed a barrage of shots.

Kirk finally got to see just how formidable Mori was. Whenever he spotted a walker, he shot it in the head. When one got close, the blade on his right wrist pierced straight through its skull, either through the bone or through its open mouth. He took them down one by one, and they died quickly. But it was broad daylight, so the walkers weren't very active, and there weren't many nearby. Kirk doubted Mori could pull off a seven-in, seven-out killing spree in the middle of a horde like Zhao Zilong at Changban.

The two of them began searching the police station as quickly as they could. It was small, a suburban station more like the neighborhood precinct near Kirk's home.

They quickly found the armory. Mori kicked the door open and charged inside with his gun raised.

Kirk, the tagalong, followed close behind.

But it was completely empty. There was nothing on the metal racks but hooks. Empty bullet boxes lay scattered around.

Mori shot Kirk an annoyed look. Kirk smiled sheepishly. "Looks like someone's already taken everything..."

"Rick must've been here," Mori said darkly. "He was the deputy sheriff, so of course he knew what was in here. Let's go."

As they left the police station, Kirk suddenly remembered something: the protagonist Rick's house was nearby. There might still be some useful things inside, so they should search it.

He mentioned it to Mori, who agreed. The two of them headed for Rick's house.

Rick's home was already a wreck. After Mori knocked down two uninvited guests, Kirk made sure to pick off the stragglers and earn some Survival Points.

Then they rummaged through the place. Kirk spotted a family portrait of Rick's and secretly pocketed it. Apart from a pistol Rick had hidden away and twenty bullets, they found nothing else.

"We're wasting time. We have to leave now," Mori said. He angrily kicked a table, making a loud noise.

Rick was one of the people responsible for Mori losing his right hand, and Mori hated him with a passion. He might have agreed to come here hoping to find some weakness of Rick's he could use against him.

Kirk understood. As they left, Mori pulled out his lighter and lit another cigarette. He took a drag, then tossed the lighter into Rick's house.

The house was made of wood, and the fire quickly spread, flames roaring.

"Let's go. We still need to find guns," Mori said grimly.

"I have another plan," Kirk said, suddenly struck by inspiration.

"I'm starting to like you, stupid kid. Talk!" Mori blew a smoke ring.

"I know where Rick dumped the police station's guns!" Kirk said, eyes shining. "At an intersection in Atlanta."

Mori fell silent. After the disaster, Atlanta had become the most dangerous place around, swarming with countless walkers. If they went in and were spotted, they'd never make it out alive. Even escaping would be a pipe dream. Rumor had it that an elite American heavy armored unit had been wiped out in Atlanta. Its defensive line had fallen, and soldiers had died by the hundreds.

Kirk knew that going to Atlanta would be extremely risky, so he hesitated too. The reason he'd brought it up anyway was that he'd just received a System Prompt.

"Attention, all new Contractor trial participants: the twelve-hour protection period is about to end. Tonight, the walkers will undergo their first large-scale evolution and mutation. Their Health Points and speed will increase by 10%, and their senses of smell, hearing, and sight will improve. Plot Difficulty will rise from C- to C. During this seven-day newcomer trial mission, the walkers will evolve and mutate once every 48 hours, and Plot Difficulty will increase each time. Accordingly, Contractors' reward bonuses will also increase. Please make all necessary preparations."

It was already near dusk, and their first day was almost over. The mission required them to survive for seven days. By Kirk's calculations, with the walkers evolving every 48 hours, he'd have to endure at least three more rounds of evolution, bringing the difficulty up three levels to B-class! Just think about it: he was only a newcomer with a D-class rating. How difficult would survival be in a B-class world? Judging by this first evolution, the walkers would be faster and stronger by then, and better at finding hiding humans. If he just kept running away, he'd be doomed. Guns made power, and guns and bullets were the only real solution.

"Damn it!" Kirk gritted his teeth and cursed the System. "Is this still a newcomer trial? Couldn't you at least give us a chance?"

As a Plot Character, Mori could clearly sense danger drawing closer. He nodded in agreement with Kirk's risky plan.

The two of them fell silent as they drove down the highway, knowing this trip would be extremely dangerous. Kirk had been forced into a corner. He was timid and afraid of trouble, but when it came time to take a risk, he wouldn't just sit and wait to die. Now that he knew the System was merciless, he had to push himself into taking the plunge.

Mori handed Rick's police handgun to Kirk and briefly taught him how to use it. A handgun's short barrel made it easy to carry and especially useful for shooting at targets that appeared suddenly at close range, making it ideal for close combat. After Mori's brief lesson, Kirk realized how pathetically bad his shooting had been. First, he needed to know where to aim. Second, he had to keep the front sight level in the notch. Third, he had to master the timing of the trigger pull. Fourth, he had to remain calm.

Kirk was listening intently when a System Prompt suddenly rang in his ears:

"You have received training in the Plot Character Mori's [Basic Small Arms Mastery] skill. The other party's skill level is 6; your skill level is 0. The chance of successful instruction is 98.6%."

"Your [Basic Small Arms Mastery] has risen to level 1. Current proficiency: 17/200. You will automatically level up when you reach the proficiency cap."

[Basic Small Arms Mastery]: Improves proficiency with handguns, large handguns, and machine pistols. Increases damage by 5% and shooting accuracy by 5%.

In the System, skills mainly served as support. A person's own abilities were what mattered. For instance, firearms skills supported shooting, and improved shooting accuracy didn't directly increase Hit Rate. If a sharpshooter deliberately fired into the sky above an opponent, for example, he still wouldn't hit them. Skill mastery simply made aiming easier and hitting an opponent more likely.

Kirk was secretly thrilled. Images of protagonists with perfect aim and impossibly cool style flashed through his mind, so he pestered Mori with every kind of question about guns. Mori eventually lost his temper and roared at him, but Kirk learned nothing more. It seemed Plot Characters' willingness to teach depended on a complicated combination of Favorability, compatibility, and skill level. Compatibility had been a prerequisite for Mori teaching him this skill, but Mori had also done it so Kirk could cover him when they grabbed the guns, rather than remain a useless burden.

Still, Kirk was more than satisfied. There were seven days left, after all. In his eyes, Mori had become the source of all things cool. Kirk's affectionate gaze made Mori, who spent all day threatening to shove things up people's asses, feel uneasy. He thought he'd better stay away from this guy with his gay tendencies.

For the first release without ads, please visit

Please share