Zombie Serum

Touch.

Open.

Obtained.

[Basic Zombie Serum ×2]

[Category: Basic Creation]

[Level: 1]

[Description: Can neutralize viral infections caused by scratches and bites from ordinary zombies. Warning: Ineffective against pathogens from mutants, advanced zombies, and zombie kings.]

Lu Xingyuan's eyes lit up instantly.

This was something that could save his life.

After all, for now, the zombie virus had no cure. Once someone was scratched or bitten, the only thing waiting for them was death.

Even with the Infinite Firepower Submachine Gun, he could not guarantee that he would never be harmed by a zombie.

But with this serum, it was like having an extra layer of insurance.

He left one vial in the carriage and carried the other on him in case of emergencies, then slowly got off the train.

This was an abandoned small fruit wholesale market.

Rotten fruit crates were piled into small hills, yellowish-brown juice flowed freely across the ground, and the air was thick with a sickeningly sweet stench of decay.

Lu Xingyuan instinctively pinched his nose and cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

For the moment, he had not found any danger.

He slowly made his way deeper into the fruit market, searching for the cold storage facility.

The fruit outside had all rotted, but the fruit in the cold storage should still be edible, right?

If he could find fresh fruit, he would strike it rich!

Joking around online was one thing, but in real life, who would not want to sit in a train carriage and eat a big banana?

It would smell amazing.

Before long, Lu Xingyuan found the cold storage.

But the external unit hanging on the wall had long since stopped working.

His heart sank at the sight.

Damn it, could there really be nothing left?

He forcefully turned the heavy handle. With a dull creak, the cold storage door opened.

Lu Xingyuan immediately prepared to fire. Fortunately, the zombies he had imagined did not appear; there was only a faint smell of rot.

Things did not look good. He hurried inside. The power system had long since collapsed, so naturally there were no lights in the cold storage. But thanks to the enhancements from the Gene Potion, his eyesight had become exceptionally sharp. Even in the dim light, he could clearly see the neatly stacked baskets of fruit—common bananas and apples.

The top few baskets had already gone moldy and spoiled, giving off a faint sour smell, but the baskets below still looked fine from the outside.

Lu Xingyuan picked a naturally ripened banana. After peeling it, he found no rotten spots and immediately demonstrated a deep... swallow.

The texture was right, and so was the taste.

His eyes lit up.

Very good.

He made five trips back and forth on the electric scooter.

Total haul:

Bananas ×2 baskets

Apples ×3 baskets

This was already a pretty good haul. If he ate them slowly, they would last him at least a week.

As for the remaining rotten fruit...

Lu Xingyuan stroked his chin.

If you cannot find the book by its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!

There were still several baskets that looked fairly decent, with only minor spoilage. Throwing them away like this would be a bit of a waste.

I have an idea.

Sell them to college students at a high price!

A total of five baskets of slightly rotten fruit.

Finally, there were the fruits that had rotted to the point of leaking juice.

Forget it.

He could not be bothered to move them.

They would not fetch a good price anyway.

Lu Xingyuan had no interest in the pocket change carried by poor bastards. Whoever had money was who he would make money from. Remember, he was not some beggar groveling for scraps.

At 11:20, after gathering nearly all the supplies needed to upgrade the train, Lu Xingyuan chose to depart.

Clack-clack, clack-clack...

The pitch-black engine pulled two pitch-black carriages along tracks that stretched endlessly into the distance, lonely and desolate.

Inside the carriage, Lu Xingyuan picked a large, red apple, casually rubbed its skin with his palm, and stuffed it into his mouth. With one hard bite, juice burst out.

Back then, apples had definitely been one of the most boring fruits. Unless one was about to rot, he would not touch it even if someone beat him to death.

But now, Lu Xingyuan was nearly moved to tears by the apple's crisp sweetness.

As he ate the apple, Lu Xingyuan browsed the messages in the chat channel.

"Fuck, my train was attacked by monsters! Before reaching the station, I noticed monsters on the platform. I thought I could avoid disaster by hiding in the carriage, but I forgot that New Player Protection had already ended. Monsters can attack trains now! My durability instantly dropped by twenty points, and a huge hole was torn in one side of my carriage. Now that I'm traveling along the tracks, the wind is howling into it. This is so hard, sob sob sob!"

"I'm worse off than you. My train has less than thirty durability left. Does anyone know how to repair a train? If there are monsters at the next station too, am I not dead for sure? Can some kind-hearted big shot help me?"

"What I want to say is, monsters only attack trains when they arrive at stations right now, but is it possible that we might also encounter monster attacks while the train is moving?"

"Fuck, do not say that! Are we supposed to just die?"

"This game is not fun at all!"

That speculation made Lu Xingyuan's eyelids twitch.

Encountering monsters while the train was moving?

It was not impossible.

In that case, he really could not sleep too deeply anymore. He had to stay alert and be ready at all times.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly opened Gu Wanqing's chat window.

Not bad. Her profile picture was not gray, which meant she was fine.

Though that was normal. She was the legendary Lucky Koi Girl—how could she possibly be eliminated so easily?

"I want your Train Coins."

"What kind of thunderous opening line is that?"

"Want some fruit?"

"Fruit??? As expected of a big shot. You can even get something like that."

"So, want it?"

"Of course! I love fruit, okay!"

"? Is there any food you piggy girls do not love?"

"Stop talking nonsense and send it already."

Lu Xingyuan quickly took a photo and sent it over.

"One basket of apples and one basket of bananas. I only want four Train Coins from you. Pretty fair deal, right?"

There had been no sign of a treasure chest at the last station. Not every platform would spawn one.

So, he planned to make it up from Gu Wanqing.

"Are you insane? Your apples and bananas are rotten, okay? You actually have the nerve to sell them, and at such a high price too. Does your conscience not hurt?"

"Not at all. Although these two baskets of fruit are a little spoiled, they are still edible if you peel them a bit. Besides, you know exactly what situation we are in. Being able to eat fruit at all is already pretty good. What right do you have to be picky? I only thought of selling the fruit to you because you're pretty, kind-hearted, and capable. Otherwise, I would have sold such fine goods to someone else long ago!"

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time!