Chapter 33

- Xenon -

I stopped my search when I heard the sound of growling slowly approaching. I made quite a bit of noise coming here, and I didn't want to face a big hoard when I still didn't have the right weapon or the right amount of ammo.

I went out to look at the situation, and I didn't like what I was seeing. I could see a few walkers away in the distance, converging to my position from all three sides of the intersection. That was quite concerning, I might get surrounded by a big hoard, in that case, even my car wouldn't help me much. I'm pretty sure my car can't drive through a big group of them, it's not a tank, not that I intended to test that theory out. So, I decided to move on immediately.

I got in the car and zoomed off the distance. It turns out I was right, I counted at least twenty walkers converging to where I came from, and I didn't like the implications one bit. It means that there might be a similar number on the other roads, not counting the areas that didn't have a direct access to that road that I had no vision of, that would've been attracted as well. It means that it was only a matter of time before things went to shit. I have to take this into account when I go to sleep, because I intend on sleeping here in Atlanta. I had around ten days to myself, and I intended to make full use of it.

I was driving for a while, mainly because of my speed, but also because I wasn't going deep into the city, therefore I didn't see anything in particular that attracted me. I drove by a gas station, actually, with a store and I could see there was plenty of stuff inside. But after careful consideration, I decided it wasn't really worth it.

I was after weapons, mostly, and I had already saved its location on my map. I could come back loot it after I've achieved my main goal, and was going back to camp, but I would have to be really quick about it. I could see a lot of walkers nearby, and I didn't want to test my chances with, while looting at the same time. DEFINITELY not with this particular car. It could certainly hold a lot of stuff, but it isn't worth it if it puts me in significant danger in the process. A bit of manageable danger is acceptable, but why put myself in a tough spot deliberately, when I could be going safely about this, live significantly longer, and get stronger in the process. Small groups of zombies for the win.

It's not like the store is going anywhere, it'll still be here when I decide to raid the place. I'll just have to be smart about it.

You must be wondering why I haven't changed this pickup just yet? I didn't want to risk it just yet. A lot of things could go wrong when taking a car without keys, and it would be much better if I could get one with keys. But obviously, I didn't find any. Cars aren't waiting in the streets with their keys on, most of those are in crowded streets, where there is no way to unblock the car, not to mention the ridiculous amount of walkers just waiting to chew you up.

I finally found the place I was looking for after two hours; I had to back away and change the direction, because quite a few roads were overrun. I wasn't sure of the number, but the moment I saw enough heads to block the street, I turned back. And the problem with doing that, is that you have to drive for a distance to draw them to that direction, before turning around in a big detour.

I'm not sure for how long the car will hold with the amount of gas I put in it, but I'm glad I finally found what I was looking for. Now I could finally get to work.

The neighborhood looked nice enough, small sized houses, nothing too fancy, a few gardens from what I could tell, though they could use some work now, they look rather uncared for… Oh, right. It was a nice view, honestly, if not for the growling monster, and the few lawns dyed with red.

I need to clear every walker on sight, I counted seven. More would be coming later, hopefully not in great numbers.

I dashed walked towards the closest walker. They were all locked into me now, but I shouldn't wait for them to reach me. I need to deal with them one at the time. I'll be having a melee approach this time, as I didn't want to use [Empowered Strike] any more than I should. The fight was tame, no complications whatsoever. I finished them all in one hit, though I obviously had plenty of space to work with, and the right weapon for the occasion. I was done within ten minutes.

< 7 EXP Gained ! >

< Status >

Name : Xenon

Level : 2 | Progress : 28/30

Race : Human

Age : 16

-

Stamina (SP) : 150/230

-

STR : 14

DEX : 10

CON : 4

END : 11

CHA: 14

WIL : 3

INT : 23

WIS : 12

LUK : 8

<>

Now that I think about it, there was a slight problem with this particular place… there were no cars in sight. No parked cars I could hopefully take advantage of, I don't know if there are any in the few garages I see, but I wouldn't count on it. Everyone had probably left their homes due to panic, taking their cars with them, and most importantly, closing their houses in the process. Therefore, I would have to brute-force most of them. I had a lot of work ahead of me.