Numbers On His Palm
Withdrawing the fire ax that had struck the zombie's head, Chris Lynn observed the palm of his left hand.
9/10.
This number manifested on his hand after he was reborn again to the day of the apocalypse.
Initially, confusion clouded his thoughts, as he remembered what he went through in his previous life, as he was someone who survived a whole decade in this god-forsaken world, establishing a medium size base with a group of survivors, but when he was injured after faceing a very powerfull zombie they had abandoned him to die alone.
Still feeling to agony of being devoured while still alive, but soon his experience made him come back to the reality as he was faced with a zombie coming to eat him
It wasn't until he used a brick to smash the head of a trapped zombie in a supermarket that the number on his palm transformed from 0/10 to 1/10.
Realization dawned upon him; the number denoted the count of zombies he had eliminated.
Yet, the outcome of reaching 10/10 remained uncertain.
He speculated it might be linked to the coveted advantage for time travelers the so-called "golden finger."
Chris persisted in seeking opportunities to meet face to face zombies so he ca find what the number on his palm means.
For two days in this zombie-infested world, he navigated the deserted streets, targeting solitary undead foes to avoid drawing attention.
With a fire ax in hand, Chris entered a chaotic supermarket.
Shelves toppled, and bodies scattered, evidencing repeated looting.
Amidst the disarray, he discovered neatly packaged snacks, sparking joy.
His backpack received a sausage, three boxes of steamed bun slices, and two bottles of mineral water.
Chris exited cautiously, navigating the blocked streets cluttered with abandoned vehicles.
"Roar!"
A distant zombie's growl caught his attention.
Eagerly, he approached, recognizing the sound of a lone zombie based on his observations.
Groups emitted distinct "ho ho" and "uh huh" noises, while solitary zombies roared when trapped or seeking prey.
Reaching an SUV, Chris spotted a zombie wedged in the broken window.
Seizing the chance, he raised his fire ax and struck the zombie's back.
"Bang bang bang..."
"Bang!"
After a few blows, the zombie split into two, yet remained alive.
Aware of their vulnerability, Chris focused on decapitating the zombie by delivering a fatal blow to the head.
"Poof!"
With a melon-like sound, the zombie met its demise.
Noticing a hamster box in its hands, Chris observed the gruesome result of the zombie's desire for living creatures.
Carrying his fire ax, he swiftly retreated to a nearby barber shop, fortifying the entrance with tables and chairs.
In the well-maintained back room, Chris checked his hand.
10/10!
The zombie-killing count reached its maximum, and a change occurred.
The once gray number on his palm now glowed white, resembling a message notification, signaling a transformation in his newfound ability.
Chris absentmindedly touched it with his right hand.
Suddenly, the light ceased, and the number 10/10 changed to 0/10 again.
But beneath the number, there was an additional line of small words:
Number of zombies recruited: 1.
"What dose this means, I can recruit zombies?" Chris was stunned for a moment.
He truly didn't anticipate that his golden finger would manifest in this manner.
But if indeed he could recruit zombies, did that mean he could establish his own power in this apocalyptic world? The number of times to recruit zombies remained uncertain was it limited to this one time, or could he recruit more every time he killed 10 zombies?
These questions lingered, yet Chris wasn't eager to venture out and attempt zombie recruitment.
He had expended a significant amount of energy in the past two days and could no longer sustain the battle anymore .After time travel back in time, he body was merely of a young thin office clerk, lacking both endurance and physical prowess.
The perseverance he had was the only thing keeping him going for so long.
The reason he managed to eliminate ten zombies in two days was solely due his strong will power and his desire for this newfound ability.
After unwinding, Chris felt increasing soreness throughout his body.
Enduring the discomfort, he opened his backpack, took out a box of steamed bun slices, had a few bites, and then drank some water.
Once he felt a bit better, he lay on the bed, placing the long-handled fire ax beside him.
Soon, he drifted off to sleep.
Zombies appeared more frequently at night, hindered by the dim light.
Unless there was significant commotion around them, zombies struggled to detect whether anyone was inside a closed house.
After a restful night's sleep, Chris's fatigue from the past two days had dissipated. When he woke up in the morning, the nervousness about time travel had significantly diminished.
"Today's task is to find a lone zombie and see how to recruit it!" After a simple meal, Chris inspected the palm of his left hand.
The writing was still there, confirming that the events of the past two days were not a dream.
After eating, Chris took a brief rest to ensure he was in the best condition.
Then he picked up his black backpack, grabbed a fire ax, moved tables, chairs, and benches away, and exited the barber shop.
The sun shone brightly outside, but unfortunately, the city was riddled with holes.
In addition to scrapped vehicles, various dead bodies littered the road.
Without the biting and scratching of zombies, there would be no virus infection; these dead bodies remained lifeless and did not turn into zombies.
There were many zombies in the morning, so Chris was cautious to avoid them.
As he navigated forward, he encountered hordes of zombies, but none were alone.
"Could it be that I was so lucky in the past two days that I used up all my luck in encountering lone zombies?" Chris muttered, hiding in an alley and observing the zombies in front of the grain and oil store across the street.