Chapter 4

Soon, they arrived at a small, moss-covered building that stood out as one of the cleanest Reckless had ever seen.

Rhea turned to him and said softly, "This is our house. Please, come in."

Reckless nodded, gripping the hammer in his hand tightly.

Inside, the room seemed average, with two brown couches facing each other, a small television, and a dining area just beyond the living room.

"I'll go prepare some noodles for you. You can take a bath while I finish. Ray will show you the way."

"Alright."

Rhea silently headed to the kitchen, while the young boy led Reckless to the bathroom.

After a warm, peaceful bath, Reckless considered putting on his tattered clothes when Ray brought him a long black pair of pants and a white cardigan.

"Sister asked me to bring this to you. It belonged to Dad."

Reckless nodded, mouthing a thank you as he took the clothes from Ray, who then hurriedly scurried away.

He hadn't inquired about their family, assuming their parents had likely passed away. Why else would they be alone?

After putting on the clothes, which were a bit too long, he tied up the ends and left the bathroom.

Instantly, the familiar smell of instant noodles wafted to his nose, making him gulp. He joined the siblings at the dining table and began eating almost immediately due to the incessant growling of his stomach.

"Careful, it's hot!" Rhea wanted to remind him, but he had already scooped a bite into his mouth, causing his eyes to widen as the hot noodles scorched his throat. He clutched his chest while Rhea quickly handed him a cup of water, which he eagerly gulped down before finally relaxing.

"Thank you," he said again, sighing. He had never expected to choke on instant noodles.

Rhea nodded, and they continued their meal in silence. After finishing, they showed Reckless to a room.

The moment he flopped onto the bed, he fell asleep, dreaming of what might have happened if he hadn't died that afternoon, how he had savored Aunt Li's pork, and how he had met Elise.

The next day arrived earlier than expected. Reckless was still sleeping when he heard a loud shriek, followed by banging. He groggily opened his eyes, the urge to continue sleeping as strong as ever, but the sounds wouldn't let him be. He sighed and trudged out of the room, the banging louder than ever.

"What the heck is going on?" he muttered.

He walked into the living room and was startled at the sight before him, which instantly woke him up.

"How did they get in?!"

Endless numbers of zombies were pouring into the house, and Rhea was doing her best to deal with them.

"Come and help!" she yelled at Reckless without turning back, continuing to fend off the zombie in front of her.

She had been cooking noodles for herself at midnight when she heard her dog's incessant barking, she turned to the door to look at it, but what she was a zombie approaching instead.

Without a second thought, she grabbed a kitchen knife and plunged it into the zombie's eyes. The creature paused for a moment before extending its claw toward her.

Rhea kicked it, and the creature staggered backward, giving her the opportunity to plunge the knife into its head. Then, a voice rang out in her ear.

[You've slain a Level 1 zombie]

[You gain Health +2 Agility +2]

[Congratulations, you've leveled up to Level 1!]

[You can now summon your status window]

Curious, Rhea summoned the so-called status window and looked at her attributes.

[Name: Rhea

Health Points: 20

Status: Youngling {Level 1 - 30}

Level: 1

Agility: 15

Weapon: None

Retainer: None

Skill: None

Strength: 5 (5)

Stamina: 10 (5)

Mana: 40 (5)

Points: 2

Appearance: C

Title: None

Charm: 10]

She blinked in surprise and was about to examine it further when she thought of something and hurriedly dashed to her brother's room, where she saw zombies approaching his door.

Without wasting any time, she hurled the knife in her hand at one of them and used her fist to punch another in the eye. The zombies turned toward her, their bleak eyes sending chills down her spine. She continued to strike them, trying to prevent them from entering her brother's room.

After a while, she finally managed to retrieve her knife and plunged it into one's head, while the others tried to bite her. After destroying the brains of the first one, she dealt with the others too, earning her Points +4, Health +2, and Stamina +2.

Then she rushed to her brother. The poor boy sat on the bed, his fair face pale, his eyes full of anxiety. When he saw her, he threw himself into her embrace and hugged her tightly.

"Sister..."

"I am fine," Rhea assured him, ruffling his pink hair, then gently placing him back on the bed. "I am going to deal with the zombies. You should wait for me here and not come out until I tell you to, okay?"

"Sister..." The boy blinked, his eyes reddened.

She ruffled his hair again and forced a smile. "Be good. Sister will come and get you, okay?"

Ray clenched his hand and nodded. "Okay, sister. Take care."

"Sure." Rhea pecked her brother's forehead and then ran out, shutting the door.

The young boy glanced down at the floor, tears threatening to fall, but he managed to remain calm and obediently waited for his sister.

But what Rhea didn't expect was that the number of zombies pouring into the room would be endless.

After finishing off one, another would take its place. No matter how many she killed, she had to continue.

Her stamina was rapidly depleting, and the same went for her health. She was on the verge of fainting when she leveled up to level two.

She had hoped it would help, as her HP and other attributes were restored to their original levels. However, due to the endless onslaught of ghouls, she was about to faint again when she finally saw Reckless coming out, and she urgently yelled, "Come and help!"

Thankfully, Reckless had taken the hammer with him and instantly charged into the sea of zombies. He was at the front while Rhea stayed behind, slaying the zombies that managed to escape his blows. From time to time, the familiar voice of Uranus rang out in their ears.

Soon, Reckless began hearing both negative and positive messages.

[Your stamina has been reduced by -1]

[Your health has been reduced by -1]

[You gain Health +2]

He gritted his teeth and continued battling them because the moment he stopped, the times he died.

He thought about it for a moment and said, "Leave with Ray first! I will find a way to escape!"

Rhea was startled as she swung the knife in her hand, taking another zombie's lives with ease. "What do you mean?!"

"...We have to lock the zombies inside and set this house on fire!"

"...Good idea!"

He gave some commands, and Rhea disappeared, leaving him with the zombies.

As he killed another one, Uranus' voice sounded again.

[You've slain a Level 3 zombie, you've gained 3 points. Health +3, Stamina +2]

[Congratulations, you've leveled up to Level 3!]

[You can now acquire skills and gain weapons]

[You've gained a weapon, Doomsday Saber!]

[You've gained a skill, Endless Manipulation!]

[Your appearance has been upgraded]

The last two sentences stunned Reckless, and he decided to summon the so-called Doomsday Sword. A long saber appeared in his hand, the blade gleaming with icy blue light. When he swung it, the blade sliced through the head of the zombie in front of him. Fast and clean.

Reckless couldn't have been happier. He exerted all his strength and began slashing the zombies. Soon, he heard Rhea's distant shout.

"Done, Reck! You can get out now!"

"Okay!"

Saying this, Reckless ran to his room, jumped out through the window, and hurriedly made his way back to the door. However, what he saw made him 

full of despair.

"We are doomed."

He only saw heads—infinite heads—and absentmindedly rubbed his eyes.

It can't be real, right?

"Are you not...?" Rhea ran over to his side, but seeing his stunned expression, she followed his gaze and her eyes widened as she pointed out, her voice shaking. 

"Are...Are they real?"

Reckless gulped and nodded. "I think so."

Rhea fell silent before asking, "What should we do now?"

Reckless blinked, his lips suddenly curling into a small smile as he looked at the girl.

"What? What can we do?"

Rhea absentmindedly continued to look at him. Even though they had only met for a day, it felt like centuries. And though they didn't know much about each other, it somehow felt as if they had been companions for years.

But it was only now that she realized that she didn't know anything about the young man in front of her other than his name.

Reckless had already averted his gaze, his eyes fixed on the endless zombies that were now approaching them.