"Tell us what you see!"

A slightly excited, nasal, childlike male voice exclaimed.

"Yes, I want to know what things are like out there too..."

This time it was a delicate, sweet, childlike female voice.

Lucien, walking alone through the apocalyptic streets of the coastal city of Kaelor, wore a matching black set of pants, shirt, jacket, and sneakers. Everything matched, including his gloves, knee pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, shin guards, makeshift armbands, and a dark blue American football helmet with a white moon print that belonged to a local team.

After hearing William and Nina's voices on the radio, he lifted the visor of his dark blue helmet, which was slightly obstructing his vision, looked around, and finally spoke:

"It looks like one of those scenes from an apocalyptic movie we used to watch..."

"Cars are blocking the streets, many shops and buildings are burned, and corpses of people and animals are scattered everywhere. The smell was horrible a few days ago..."

"...But now, due to the cold, the stench has softened. Since it snowed last night, a thin layer of snow covers the ground and the tops of the vehicles, creating a feeling of icy solitude..."

As Lucien finished speaking, he felt a little embarrassed for indirectly expressing his own feelings in the last sentence, but all he received in return was silence from his friends.

After almost two minutes, Nina was the first to break the silence:

"Do you see any monsters?"

"No, none yet. But I found some corpses, and some even had crystals in their bodies…"

"Shouldn't there be a lot of rats, pets, and birds in the city?" Nina continued.

"Mr. Mustache has been hunting in this area frequently. According to the system, he's been marking his territory every time he goes hunting. He's creating a safe zone around my building, where no weaker animal dares to enter…"

"It's a shame you're not bringing him, I wanted to see how big he is!"

William said excitedly.

"Yes, he's huge, and he's going to get even bigger... He stopped hunting about three days ago and is sleeping most of the time. It seems the animals also sense the arrival of the terrible winter. Besides, I feel more at ease knowing he stayed home with my father; you never know if some creature might sneak into my apartment..."

"This means Mr. Mustache has returned to being a wilder animal and less domestic. That must be why you haven't seen any other animals. At this point, most must be hibernating and looking for cave-like places," Nina added.

Lucien didn't answer, but the grip of his left hand on his bow tightened. He considered his initial plan of avoiding the streets and going inside the houses and buildings, but now it seemed that wouldn't be necessary. He then looked at a huge double-lane avenue with a roundabout that he would need to cross.

This avenue also signaled the end of the safe territory Mr. Mustache had created through constant hunting…

"Everyone, I'm going into a very dangerous area. I think it's best to end our communication here. I also need to decide the best route to reach you…"

"Okay, Lucien, be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks. I'll see you later this afternoon if everything goes well." Nina said goodbye.

"Hey, don't forget my level 2 crystal. I'm so excited to see how strong I'll be after consuming it that I barely slept last night, hehe. See you soon!" William also said goodbye.

Lucien smiled at his friends' affection, but his thoughts wandered to wanting to be a Level 2 too… His system continued to limit him, preventing him from advancing, and he still didn't know why.

Lowering the visor on his helmet, which greatly hindered his vision when shooting his bow, but which gave him a sort of imaginary sense of security, Lucien then ran toward the double avenue, avoiding the lanes formed by cars due to the massive traffic jam, where Level 2 zombies could lurk and hide beneath the vehicles.

He hopped across the roofs of the cars without any fear of an alarm going off. And he quickly crossed the long distance without breaking a sweat.

During the run, he also activated and left several Cristal Bombs between the cars, or on top of them, and noted them on the map the system was creating for his escape route when he returned, in case he was followed by any monster.

Now he had arrived in a truly dangerous area. He looked at the two targets he planned to loot. A small convenience store and a pharmacy, both on the same street but on opposite sides.

The extra food from the convenience store was necessary for Laura's family, but the pharmacy was something Lucien wasn't sure he would need. His father's condition was stabilized with the use of crystals, but what would happen if there were no more crystals?

In addition to serum, the System instructed him to collect medicines whenever he could, especially those with red and black stripes, and others that only hospitals would have in emergencies. With everyone turning into mutants, there would be fewer diseases requiring medication. But there would be problematic locations and climates in the future, and some medicines would be a good bargaining chip, especially those preserved by the system inventory.

Speaking of the inventory, the initial space of a single garage had expanded significantly. Now it was the equivalent of at least a dozen garages. And all without Lucien making a single effort. Uncomprehending, he asked the system where these numerous increases in his inventory came from. But all he received was complete silence again.

With his bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right, Lucien finally entered the first establishment: the pharmacy.

The door creaked and revealed the interior of a very dark pharmacy, the only light coming from the windows and double glass doors at the entrance. Within the darkness, Lucien saw at least three pairs of red eyes staring at him...

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