Zombies and the Roulette

After retrieving the Fire Axe, Wang Changle began reviewing the notifications that had appeared earlier.

[Notification: You have obtained a Crude Fire Axe.]

Fire Axe

White: 6

(Note: White Equipment is rated from 1 to 10 points. White Equipment rated 10 will be marked "Rare" and gain additional special attributes.)

Origin: Doomsday Roulette World

Category: Weapon

Durability: 19/20

Attack: 5–9

Equipment Requirement: Can be used with 3 Strength points; can be wielded flexibly with 6 Strength points.

Description: A crudely manufactured assembly-line product. Though simple, it was highly practical.

Price: 800 Paradise Coins. (This item is a chance-based pickup item and cannot be taken out of the Derivative World.)

Holding the Fire Axe in his hand, Wang Changle felt thoroughly satisfied.

Although his Strength had yet to reach the level required to wield it flexibly, it still felt fairly good in his hands. He just had a little trouble holding back his force when chopping.

Whether it was used to break down doors and locks or behead enemies to clear a path, this Fire Axe was extremely practical.

[The Hunter has acquired equipment for the first time. Beginning equipment-grade introduction.]

[Equipment is divided into white, green, blue... Insufficient rank. More information unavailable. Hunter, please explore on your own.]

[The Hunter has encountered Paradise Coins for the first time. Beginning Paradise Coin introduction.]

[Paradise Coins are the sole universal currency of Cycle Paradise. Paradise Coins can be used to trade with Cycle Paradise or other Contractors.]

[Warning: Use every Paradise Coin with caution. They will be the capital that keeps you alive or makes you stronger.]

The Paradise's prompts made Wang Changle understand that if he wanted to gain enough power, obtaining Paradise Coins was absolutely indispensable.

Suddenly, the deafening roar outside stopped.

The previously unconscious waiter's face visibly withered, while a gray crystal grew from his forehead and a foul stench spread from his body.

Wang Changle was very familiar with that stench. It was the smell of a rotting corpse.

"May you be reborn into a better life!"

The axe rose and fell, smashing the fine head into pulp.

[Notification: You have killed a Level 1 Zombie.]

[You have obtained a Treasure Chest.]

[This is your first enemy kill. Storage Space has been activated: 2 cubic meters. After returning to Paradise, you may use Paradise Coins to increase its capacity.]

[You have obtained less than 0.01% World Origin. It will not be calculated for now but has been added to the total.]

World Origin was an important factor in world settlement, as well as the key to determining the final rewards he could obtain in this world.

The World Origin from one zombie did not even amount to 0.01%. In an instant, that ruled out the possibility of farming points.

Wang Changle narrowed his eyes. It seemed the plan had to change.

After putting away the white Treasure Chest, he picked up a dining knife from the serving cart and dug out the gray crystal from the head.

[You have obtained one Level 1 Magic Crystal.]

[Origin: Doomsday Roulette.]

[White: 3.]

[Description: A crystal containing a faint special energy. It can be used in potion crafting or weapon forging and is also required to spin the roulette.]

[Price: 10 Paradise Coins. Exclusive currency of the roulette world. Cannot be taken out of the Derivative World.]

After placing the gray crystal in Mark Space, Wang Changle knew what that meant—he had lost another possible world reward.

That Paradise really didn't leave any loopholes to exploit!

However, Wang Changle discovered that the body of this Level 1 Zombie had even weaker defenses than an ordinary human's.

The feeling of chopping down with the unsharpened axe was like splitting a ripe watermelon.

Although Level 1 Magic Crystals were cheap, they were essential for spinning the roulette. To complete the main quest, he would need a large number of Magic Crystals—and a roulette.

After putting away the Magic Crystal, Wang Changle began studying Mark Space, repeatedly storing the Fire Axe and dining knife inside before taking them back out.

After many tests, he discovered that almost any item could be easily placed into Mark Space, as long as both of his hands could touch it and its volume did not exceed 2 cubic meters.

This information would be crucial in future battles. Making reasonable use of every means available was an important quality for surviving and claiming victory.

Every time Wang Changle retrieved something, there was almost no cost. With a thought, he could take whatever he wanted from Mark Space. It was convenient and quick.

Now that he understood Mark Space better, he felt that if this ability were used well in battle, it could bring unexpected gains.

[Open Treasure Chest? Yes/No.]

Wang Changle chose "Yes," and the Treasure Chest opened. A pale pink potion fell into his hand.

[Notification: You have obtained Incomplete Immunity Potion ×1.]

Incomplete Immunity Potion

Origin: Doomsday Roulette World

Type: Consumable

Quality: White, 6 points.

Effect: After drinking, you will be immune to virus infection caused by the next zombie attacks. 3/3.

Price: 500 Paradise Coins. (This is a rule-based item and can be taken out of the Derivative World.)

Wang Changle drank it immediately. It tasted a little like spoiled mayonnaise.

As for taking it out of this world, he first had to survive.

From resurrection and healing his wounds, to digitizing his personal information, then being transported to this world and opening Treasure Chests, Wang Changle experienced the wonder of Cycle Paradise again and again.

Experiencing it firsthand was different from reading about it in books.

It was more subjective, more vivid, and more real. Each genuine experience overturned his worldview once more.

It also changed Wang Changle's attitude toward Cycle Paradise from half-believing, half-doubting to complete trust. Naturally, he now had absolute faith in the accuracy of item information.

He was now completely certain that if he could complete this main quest, he would definitely be able to avenge his great grievance.

Opening the room door, he found the corridor air filled with the rotten stench of corpses.

As he stepped onto the sticky carpet and glanced down, it seemed the situation was even worse than he had imagined.

With the city's power gone, only emergency lights cast a faint white glow through the corridor.

Under the dim lighting, an old woman in a cleaning uniform had pinned a bald man beneath her.

Suddenly, the Zombie Old Woman turned her head. Beneath her savage, twisted face was a mouth full of densely packed, razor-sharp mouthparts, crimson blood continuously dripping from the corners of her mouth.

"Haaah~"

The Zombie Old Woman spread her claws and lunged at Wang Changle.

In response to her attack, Wang Changle swung the Fire Axe with all his strength.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

[Notification: You have killed a Level 1 Zombie.]

[You have obtained less than 0.01% World Origin. It has been added to the total.]

Wang Changle stared at the zombie lying two meters away, its sternum caved in and skull shattered.

This zombie did not seem as terrifying as he had imagined.

"It looked fierce enough, but it wasn't fast. Aside from its claws and fangs, it had no other means of attack. As long as I keep my distance, it isn't much of a threat."

As he dug the Level 1 Magic Crystal from the zombie's head, Wang Changle summarized the lessons from the battle. He was now even more satisfied with the Fire Axe in his hand.

With its length of roughly 1.2 meters, combined with his arm reach, he could easily kill these Level 1 Zombies from over a meter away as long as he was careful.

[You have obtained a Level 1 Magic Power Crystal.]

Just as Wang Changle put away the Magic Crystal, the bald man who had been pinned down by the old woman suddenly began convulsing. His skin rapidly dried up, and a gray crystal began condensing on his forehead.

Wang Changle walked over indifferently. Then, with a sudden full-force chop followed by another, he severed the male corpse at the waist. Black blood and an intense corpse stench poured forth as his organs spilled from the ruined chest cavity.

Wang Changle withdrew the Fire Axe, but the male corpse, despite losing its legs and internal organs, had not died. Supporting itself with both hands, it crawled toward him, reaching out to grab him.

"No sense of pain, and it has a certain degree of immortality. Even after losing most of its vital organs, it won't stop attacking!"

He backed away bit by bit, then used the dining knife to stab out the zombie's eyes.

He turned and dodged another zombie lunging at him. With a thought, the Fire Axe appeared in his hand. Thump! Another headless corpse hit the floor.

"No conscious thought, only the most instinctive urge to attack. It doesn't rely entirely on vision and seems more sensitive to sound. The head is its only fatal weakness."

"Mark Space doesn't count toward weight. Hmm, this can save me a lot of stamina!"

Compared to a head-on fight on the brink of life and death, he preferred victories won with minimal effort.

And gathering and analyzing information would allow him to kill zombies faster.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

After digging out the crystal, he gripped his battle axe and charged toward the zombie rushing at him.

Four hours later.

His face smeared with blood and grime, Wang Changle skillfully dug out a Magic Power Crystal, then used alcohol he had found to clean his wounds.

Although the white-grade Fire Axe and his knowledge of zombie habits and weaknesses gave him the confidence to fight.

The past four hours of combat had still been extremely dangerous. Even with the protection of the Incomplete Immunity Potion, he had nearly died several times beneath the claws of zombies swarming him.

Fortunately, the hotel had many rooms, and there were quite a few survivors.

With the philosophy that dead fellow cultivators were better than dead poor cultivators, whenever zombies surrounded him, he drew them toward other survivors' rooms.

With the other survivors distracting the zombies, he could always rely on the Incomplete Immunity Potion's room for error to carve out a path.

Then he would conveniently close the door, sealing the zombies inside.

As for whether the survivors would die because of it or turn into zombies, that was beyond his consideration.

Still, without Immunity Potions to protect them, those survivors would likely find it difficult to survive against four or five zombies.

After dealing with his own pursuers, Wang Changle could do those kind benefactors the favor of laying them to rest if he had time.

Of course, he would also collect the Magic Crystals from their heads while he was at it.

After four hours of fighting, Wang Changle had not only obtained 84 Level 1 Magic Power Crystals, but also gained a deeper understanding of the zombie virus and the Paradise's drop system.

First, not every corpse became infected with the virus.

For example, those whose heads were smashed apart during battle, or whose brains had been eaten by zombies, would not become infected with the zombie virus and turn into zombies.

But as long as there was an intact head, whether the person was already dead or merely scratched, they would turn into a zombie after a certain period of time. There were no exceptions.

Severe injuries, poor natural immunity, or advanced age would further speed up the mutation process.

Aside from World Origin, which was guaranteed, Paradise's battle rewards dropped Treasure Chests randomly. After clearing 84 zombies, only three chests had dropped.

His talent ability had not triggered even once. He did not know whether it was because these zombies lacked traits or because he was simply too unlucky to trigger that so-called "certain chance"!

Still, it had to be said that no matter what time and space it was, there were always plenty of Chinese people. Even in a single hotel, at a time not meant for socializing or business entertainment, he had killed this many zombies.

Yingcheng was a huge prefecture-level city. One could only imagine how many zombies were outside.

The threats in the "Doomsday Roulette" world included not only zombies, but countless mutated animals and plants, as well as monsters that had broken through the barriers.

After four hours of hard fighting, Wang Changle did not feel even the slightest joy. Instead, all he felt was crushing pressure.

[Notification: You have obtained World Origin. Total reward: 0.02%.]

Killing 84 Level 1 Zombies had only given him 0.02% World Origin. On average, 40 to 42 Level 1 Zombies were worth 0.01%. What a terrifying ratio.

This LV8 difficulty was no joke.

However, crises had always brought both fortune and misfortune.

Amid enormous danger, there was naturally a chance for survival—such as the nearly one-meter-tall disk before him, with a gray crystal embedded at its center.

The Level 1 Doomsday Roulette!