A Careful Choice - Facing Reality.

The sound of fingers sliding across mechanical keys created a soothing and sad melody in the darkness as continuous tapping chimed in the middle of the night. Despite his carefree actions, Seth was still sitting at his desk with the door locked while looking through his computer.

So, the infection has doubled globally, and small villages are already vanishing without a trace noticing...

How does one man stand against such a violent tide of catastrophe?

From the moment Su Muyue arrived, he felt a sense of discomfort because they were not friends, and despite liking her in the novel, there was a strange dissonance when meeting her in reality... 

'Is it like meeting your idol in real life only to find she has a boyfriend and smokes while using vulgar language? She is attractive, and I wouldn't mind sleeping with her...'

"But as the system said, we are strangers."

'I am not the Seth who has been chasing after her for years; neither do I have that desire or will. She is an S-Rank ability user with two powers.'

"I would be a retard to make her hostile towards me instead of making her an ally, at least."

Seth leaned back, the hot coffee now a grim and lukewarm cup of brown poison, the idea of drinking it causing him to feel nauseous. He felt a sense of crisis that was easy enough to hide during the day, relying on his past life and acting like a jovial playboy.

"But I cannot do that now... The time is ticking, and I have no plan!"

There was a feeling of desperation as he felt alone—this world wasn't quite home to him yet, and he was slowly changing. It was subtle, but that dark feeling of loneliness that drove him to self-destructive acts in the past whispered in the back of his mind like a demon corrupting a holy man.

Clack

"System... I want to upgrade my weapon, but is there any other use for Villain points before I waste them all?"

Seth had been routinely taking apart his gun to polish and clean the barrel, getting used to the strange actions despite it being automatic now—he wanted to learn new skills without using just the system and feeling the cold steel, the sound of the metallic parts rattling felt calming like the ticking of a grandfather clock as his nerves constantly fluctuated like companies stocks during a large scandal.

⁜ Villain Points can be used at the System Store and to Upgrade Weapons—other options are currently disabled.

He could only smile when the familiar mechanical voice sounded from the system—after a day, it felt like the only constant in this current world apart from the undead waiting for him in the city's dark corners.

A sense of joy filled Seth's mind. "there is a system store. I wonder what is for sale."

Excitement and curiosity began building as the screen that hovered to the left of his vision changed to a black screen with various items along the path while a quiet ping and jingle sounded as the Store opened with a soothing elevator-type background song.

⁜ Store

[Tier 1 Store] [Villain Points: 2190]

Basic Inspection Skill - 500 Villain Points (50% Off!)

Basic Internal Energy Manual - 200 Villain Points

Basic Internal Breathing Method - 300 Villain Points

Healing Salve - 50 Villain Points

Green Spice - 25 Villain Points

Blue Spice - 50 Villain Points

Red Spice - 100 Villain Points

Pump-Action Shotgun - 2000 Villain Points

Mind-Altering Pills - 500 Villain Points

Stun Grenade - 750 Villain Points

"Oh wow, I can get a damn shotgun!" Seth said out loud. He wasn't sure if it was a boyish desire, but whenever he saw shotguns in zombie games, there was a desire to turn into a renegade and abandon all stealth.

⁜ Purchase Pump-Action Shotgun - 2000 Villain Points? 

"No!" 

'I cannot buy something for the sake of it, especially when there are things that are even more valuable here.'

Despite wanting to buy it like a child given extra pocket money for the first time in a toy shop who gets the strange urge to buy the most mundane toy just because they can just about afford it, only to feel regret the moment they get home and tire of playing with it after an hour. 

He didn't understand how the system could add things that were only a concept in the novel and never actually made it into the story, only to slap his forehead as he remembered this system somehow removed the heroines from the same story, and they became completely different people.

'Why did Su Muyue change so much... It surprised me by how gentle and vulnerable she became that I almost acted like a starved wolf...'

"System, those internal methods. Will they make me some kind of cultivation god able to crush planets, kill gods and slap buddhas?"

⁜ Although it's fun to crush your dreams.

⁜ No, those methods focus on the internal structure of your body, allowing you to maximise human potential.

"What's the difference between the Energy and Breathing Manuals?"

He felt that reading novels taught him what they were, but he wanted to make sure if he was to ruin himself, there was no guarantee when he died, there would be another reset or chance, so Seth would do everything to survive in this world.

No matter how bad the actions may seem to others.

That's why he would use the vulnerable Su Muyue so she could become his ally and feel indebted to him for being there for her.

⁜ The Breathing Method allows you to gather Qi from the air, and the Energy Manual uses that Qi to improve your body, depending on the technique.

'Okay, then it's as I thought. It doesn't hurt to make sure... Let's buy all the Basic items, some grenades maybe, especially the discounted one—then I will have roughly 200 points left over.'

Tapping the screen, Seth chose the top three choices with a pleasant beep, with him choosing to buy each one and a mechanical woman saying "Thank you!" after each one with the awful sound of coins jingling.

Suddenly, a strange light shone from the black screen, and a box-opening video played as three things were displayed on the screen, but to Seth's dismay, a sudden jolt of electricity shot up his arms and then spread across his entire body...

"Ugh!? Wha...."

The next moment, he crashed to the floor as the skills and methods were implanted into his mind and body, a muted scream coming from his lips as the electricity forced him to grit his teeth with a low grunt while he floundered on the ground like a beached whale.