Thirst

Shane furrowed his brow upon getting the message.

"Do not survive the Apocalypse... End it." 

He repeated softly, pondering what could have led his future self to leave such a message.

"I wonder what happened... Did I regret surviving alone?"

'Well, at the very least, I'm quite good at this since I survived two Apocalypses already.' Shane mused as he couldn't really empathize with his future self.

"But you should've at least let me know how to end an Apocalypse…" He muttered, grappling with a myriad of questions swirling in his mind.

He wanted to understand why he had met a 'bad ending' in the Fairy Realm Collision and how he had befriended the A.I. instead of battling against them in the A.I. Rebellion Apocalypse. 

However, he realized that dwelling on these questions was futile.

With less than three days until facing the zombies, the exact number of which remained unknown, he knew he had to focus on the present. 

His Memory Spheres held the key to addressing these uncertainties, so he had to level up and learn more about himself and this Apocalypse!

"Alright! Let's do this!"

Right now, his priority lies in finding a means to survive the impending Zombie Apocalypse. With this in mind, he shifted his attention to his Inventory and selected the Weapon Gift Pack!

As soon as he did this, a gift-wrapped box appeared before him.

Then, without giving options to open it or not, the red ribbon started untying, and as soon as it opened, several items appeared!

Just like what he had seen in its description, the box contained a revolver, a holster, a hatchet, and six extra bullets. 

Shane didn't hesitate to equip these items. With his Tier 1 Survivor Gear, he felt he was already prepared to face the zombies to a certain degree. 

'As long as they're the walking-type zombies. I guess I can deal with them.' Shane muttered.

At this point, he recalled Cloud. Perhaps it had information about the Zombies!

"Cloud! Do you know what kind of zombies I'll be dealing with?"

[ No. I need their blood samples to determine the type of virus affecting them. From there, I can make assumptions about the possible mutations they can provide to human corpses. ] 

"You still need a blood sample, huh… I guess that makes sense since you're an A.I. from a different Apocalypse Realm." Shane muttered as he decided to check his Food Gift Pack.

After going through the same special effects, he obtained a total of 10 easy-open canned goods, 10 instant noodles, five tea bags, five granola bars, and a small jar of mayonnaise.

'Now… Where can I get some water?' 

Shane sighed and decided to search for water, recognizing that while he may have some food, water was equally essential. 

He scanned the estate in hopes of finding a source of water. He first looked at the dried-up river, but all he could spot were puddles of stagnant water. 

It was clearly undrinkable, and he knew it would only make him ill. He might die even before the beginner protection expires!

Even Cloud had cautioned him against drinking such water and recommended using a water filtration system at the very least. 

"Maybe I made a wrong decision. Perhaps selecting Water Gift Pack is better than Shelter Gift Pack…" Shane sighed as he began to stroll along the estate's perimeter. There was no way he could find a water filtration system here. He had to find other sources of water.

As he ventured onward, he noticed a brightly illuminated area just beyond the estate's boundaries. It appeared to be a campfire! 

"Cloud, what's that I'm seeing?" He inquired of the A.I. assistant. Because of the fog, the image was still somewhat hazy, leaving him uncertain about what he was witnessing. 

[ It is a crash site. According to the size and the wreckage left behind, it is a small, single-engine, general aviation plane. ]

"What? A plane crashed near my starting region?" 

Shane raised an eyebrow after learning this. 

He couldn't shake the thought that this might be the plane responsible for bringing the virus to such a remote region.

'Well, that's probably a decent background story if this is a game…' Shane mused. 

Regardless, this confirmed his suspicion that this world wasn't as medieval as it initially appeared. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence that he found himself in an underdeveloped land devoid of modern buildings, cars, or machinery that could have triggered his Otherworldly Mechanic Talent.

Well, he had been trying to find various items around, but unfortunately, his mechanical talent remained elusive and could not be triggered at all.

'I hope it rains later…' Shane thought, feeling that he wouldn't find any water in this place. At the very least, he saw a few items that could help him collect water if he needed to, like the jar, turtle shell, and slightly broken cooking pot he found in the serf's house.

He could guess that the previous residents of this place or people who had passed this area had already taken all the valuables, so he was left with nothing…

As Shane felt that he would spend the day without access to clean drinking water, he remembered to ask Cloud if there was a way to filter the stagnant water!

Although he didn't have the knowledge himself, he thought his A.I., Cloud, might be able to help him.

'Right, I have an assistant. I should rely on this thing more.' Shane thought with a smile. He wasn't the type to rely heavily on others, and he would mostly resolve problems on his own.

However, he was now in the Apocalypse and should maximize all his resources!

Soon, Cloud provided him with instructions on how to filter the stagnant water!

The instructions were so clear, and he knew that he'd be able to do it!

"Container… Clean cloth… Filter… It's just a repeating process of manual filtration method, but there's also a suggestion to boil it. I guess I'll do that as well after collecting filtered water." Shane muttered as he finished reading the detailed instructions.

'I don't even know this… I wonder how I survived those two Apocalypses.' Shane thought to himself as he started working to quench his thirst for water.