Lucien saw white walls with green accents, partially blocking the view of the sides and back of a small, two-story house, also featuring the same color as the walls, in a more muted tone. This was Laura's family home.

The walls were high, about eight feet high. In front of them was a double gate with metal crossbars and a covered two-car garage, but at the moment, only one car was parked inside. These types of high walls and gates were common throughout the coastal city of Kaelor, as they provided residents with increased privacy and security. But now they've become a good protective measure against monsters and potential looters...

The fact that Laura's family was able to live in a neighborhood very close to Lucien's showed that his father was well-off, which made Lucien wonder if Dona Yolanda still needed to continue working in his house as a housekeeper... However, their house had limited square footage, and the family likely had their own ambitions and dreams for their young nanny's future, as she was the couple's only daughter.

Lucien was silent for a moment, thinking about the kind old woman he'd known since he was three years old and whom he would never see again...

After sighing, he looked around the street to make sure there weren't any zombies that might be attracted to him. Once confirmed, he jumped and climbed over the gate using the cross bars as if he were a criminal.

Once inside the backyard, he saw the house's windows blocked by curtains and large furniture. The doors were also all securely locked, and some had even been barricaded with wood from the outside. Noticing dried bloodstains on the house's tall grass, he became concerned, but as he circled to the back of the house, he soon found the possible owners of the bloodstains.

Two zombies lay dead near the back door of the small residence. One had had his skull crushed, while the other had been pierced through the eye with some kind of sharp weapon; both were in a very advanced state of decomposition...

Lucien acted cautiously, observing his surroundings since everything was locked. He soon noticed traces of blood on the back wall and deduced that, like him, these zombies must have jumped over the wall while still human, or perhaps they were Level 2 intelligent zombies...

If it were the second option, he doubted they could have been killed so easily by Laura and her father... But he soon noticed a broken glass window; it had been reinforced with wooden boards on the outside, just like the front doors, and something resembling a huge closet was blocking the inside of the house.

Lucien finally knocked on the back door, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to alert the "neighbors."

"Knock, knock."

"Laura?"

After silence and no response, he decided to knock a second time, calling out again, still trying not to raise his voice.

"Knock, knock!"

"Laura? Are you there?"

"Who is it?" A deep, menacing voice came from the other side of the door.

"Hello? I-I'm Lucien, Lucien Rivero!"

At the sound of the childish voice, the door opened, revealing a tall, bearded, red-haired man, about 35-38 years old. He had fair skin and freckles on his forehead. He wore shorts and a simple white shirt, showing signs of a muscular build. He was barefoot and holding a pointed meat skewer about 80 centimeters long. A utensil used for roasting meat that was common in homes in this area...

His green eyes, with their deep dark circles, seemed surprised to see the child, and he asked:

"You came alone, child? Laura said your mother was in the capital and your father was sick... Oh, I'm sorry, come in quickly."

The red-haired man apologized, allowing Lucien to enter, while he quickly glanced around his own yard and wrinkled his nose at the smell of corpses.

Lucien entered and looked around, taking in the surroundings, as it was his first time visiting this house, and also searching for Laura. He then replied:

"Yes, I came alone. I brought food and some items to help you survive the dangerous winter that's about to begin... You didn't hear the message on the radio, did you?"

Laura's father looked strange when he realized Lucien was empty-handed, but he focused on asking other questions first.

"Kid, how did you get here alive? Weren't you bitten?"

"I'm fine, I was careful along the way..."

After easing the man's concerns, Lucien told him the details about the radio transmission made by the survivor named Rick...

Laura's father grew increasingly shocked as he listened, disbelieving everything the boy said about monsters, winter, and powers, until Lucien revealed his inventory abilities, removing a large amount of food, his system creations, other essential items, as well as two portable radios, and some batteries from his own personal stash.

[Mission "Supplies" has been partially completed!]

[Status 1/3]

[Do you wish to end the mission and return?]

[Y - N]

As soon as he removed all the items, emptying his inventory, Lucien saw the partial completion messages for the new system mission and quickly dismissed the screen as he began to worry about not having seen Laura until now.

Her father frowned when Lucien asked about the girl again and led him to her room. To his surprise, the young redheaded teenager was unconscious, feverish, and shivering profusely even under some blankets.

"Was she bitten?"

Lucien asked hurriedly as he ran to her bedside, watching the young redhead with concern, remembering the zombies outside the house.

"No! She's had some kind of cold for a while now, and yesterday she woke up like this. I was actually planning to go to the neighboring houses to look for some antibiotics since we don't have any at home. I'm glad you brought some medicine."

The bearded redhead saw Lucien take out a red crystal and place it in Laura's mouth before he could ask what it was. He saw his daughter's breathing calm down to the point where she was breathing calmly. She also gradually stopped sweating, but she still hadn't woken up.

After that, Lucien and the girl's father left the room. He explained to him the healing benefits of the crystals and the advantages of becoming a mutant, something that wasn't fully explained in survivor Rick's short message.

To give a better example, he even took his babysitter's father outside to the back of the house, showing him where the zombie crystals were...

***

After watching Lucien cut up the rotting corpse with an extremely sharp, rough white knife, his conscience weighed heavily upon him, thinking of the hardships the boy must have been going through, treating a human body as if it were a disposable piece of meat.

These two dead men were his neighbors. One was bitten and jumped over the wall, asking for help, but soon transformed. Fearing being bitten, he left the zombie alive in his own yard until the second man, an old retired man from the neighborhood, also invaded his property. He was probably searching for supplies and, after being caught by surprise, was killed and transformed by the first zombie.

He was going to leave them there because he was afraid he or his daughter would be bitten, but after their eyes turned red and they became "level 1 zombies," as Lucien called them, they began trying to break into the house by breaking the window. Left with no other choice, he had to put an end to them both...

Just as he was about to ask the lonely boy if he wanted to live there with them, he was interrupted and forced to personally cut up the second corpse as an "experimental lesson." He smiled at first, but nearly vomited a few times. In the end, he took a deep breath and held back his nausea so as not to embarrass himself in front of the child. He didn't complain either, following the instructions to extract the crystal quickly and efficiently, while Lucien told him to be aware of his surroundings if he was on the streets...

After finishing everything, they washed and disinfected the crystal, and, nearly vomiting again, Lucien forced him to consume one of them...

***

Realizing that Laura's father admired his newfound strength after consuming the Level 1 crystal, Lucien took out two Level 2 crystals, saying one was for him and one for Laura. This would help them become immune to most diseases and have the power to protect themselves against monsters.

Afterward, Lucien said goodbye to "Laura's father," whose name he had trouble remembering, and prepared to go to Nina's house.

He said he'd be back tomorrow to teach them how to use the heater and the many items the system had created when suddenly a low, tired voice came from the radio on his belt...

"Huff, Lucien, Nina... A-are you there?"

Lucien quickly grabbed the radio and answered:

"Yes, William, I'm listening! Did something happen?" Lucien asked worriedly...

"Some men..."

The radio went silent.

"William?" Lucien's eyes widened when he realized William hadn't finished his sentence.

"Some men broke into the mansion... I was injured, lost my consciousness, and when I woke up... A zombie was attacking me... I was bitten..."

William said with great difficulty, as if each sentence required great effort.

Lucien simply said:

"William, hold on tight! I'm on my way!"

Lucien's body changed direction, running quickly and carelessly in the direction of William's mansion. Without regard for his own safety, he hoped he could arrive in time to save him…

Without him realizing it, the system temporarily removed his body's limitations, reaching the standards of a Level 2 mutant when it came to speed, making him blur as he ran through the streets, ignoring most of the zombies in his path…

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