Mistake?

Shane stood on his spot for a little longer as he carefully browsed through the information he had obtained. 

According to the memories contained within the sphere, the start of the A.I. Rebellion was actually a lot better than the Zombie Apocalypse.

They would start in various human shelters as they hid from the androids of Anima. They have to live in the underground or shelters disguised as hills covered with dirt, trees, and rocks… 

Their adventure would start as metal scrap collectors, which they could turn into weapons through the shelter's furnace.

Nevertheless, they would start with groups of fellow humans to fight against the machines controlled by Anima. This was a lot better than starting alone in the Apocalypse… The death rate was even so high!

Of course, these memories confused Shane for a while. After all, his title, A.I. Rebellion's Chosen One, could only be obtained by befriending Anima, the enemy that must be eliminated in this A.I. Apocalypse.

[ A.I. Rebellion's Chosen One: The Survivor gains access to Cloud, an A.I. Assistant who can provide helpful information, advice, and support in various situations. 

Requirements: Become a trusted ally of Anima, a civilization ruled by machines. ]

"Did I betray the humanity and join Anima? Ugh… Whatever… It must be a long story." Shane muttered as he decided to ignore this for now. It was not even his past or future but in an alternate timeline itself… Even if he really betrayed humanity at that timeline, the Shane of this world should not feel guilty.

Anyway, he quickly completed his preparations as he planned to level up and unlock more features in the Apocalypse System. 

He had to make sure that he'd be able to clear the first Zombie Wave in the best way possible. 

'There must be a reward for clearing the Zombie Wave, and it will probably depend on our performance. I have to get stronger. If I manage to find a bunch of Zombies, I should probably consider using the Experience Potion…' Shane mused as he went out of his tent to call for Harper.

Initially, he wanted to use his Experience Potion during the Zombie Wave. That way, he'll ensure that its 12 hours of effectiveness would not be wasted.

However, he also felt that he could prepare better for the upcoming Zombie Wave if he got to level up faster and unlock more features of the system. 

At the very least, it was now obvious that with each level-up during this early phase, he would get something new from the system. 

With this in mind, he knew that the earlier he unlocked those features, the better!

***

Shane, holding his hatchet in his right hand and revolver in his holster, followed Harper, who wore his new Hunter Jacket. 

Because Shane had no other weapon to give him, Harper could only use his dull dagger for now.

As they headed to the mining site, they met two Crawler Zombies and took them out easily. With two of them working together, these slow-moving Zombies weren't any threat at all. 

After retrieving the loot, Shane turned to Harper.

"Have you ever seen the Giant Zombie?" Shane asked as he gestured to him to continue walking. He had A.I. Cloud that could alert him of any Zombies nearby, so he was not afraid of being ambushed by zombies. 

"Giant Zombies? I've never seen them, Sir Shane." Harper answered after some thought.

As they continued walking, Shane soon spotted the entrance to the iron mining site. Moreover, Cloud had already warned him of the zombies' presence near the site entrance!

[ Eight Zombies detected. ] 

[ 7 Walker Zombies, and 1 Crawler Zombie. ] 

"Harper… There are zombies about 20 meters ahead…" Shane said as he noticed Harper walking slowly. 

After a gentle nod, they entered the mining site cautiously. Harper looked for signs of zombies while Shane started noticing the metal scraps. 

The place was dark and damp, with rusty pipes and wires hanging from the ceiling. 

They heard groans and moans echoing from within the mining site, indicating that there were many zombies lurking around.

'I think it's not a bad idea to collect these metal pipes and wires later…' Shane mused as he noted in his mind to bring them to his shelter once they cleared the Mining Site.

As they continued moving forward, Shane was surprised that there were still torches that were lighting up the tunnel.

Nevertheless, as he wondered whether he could take one of these torches, they finally encountered a group of Walker Zombies. 

Graahhh!

Just like the ones outside, the zombies had pale skin, sunken eyes, and rotten flesh. 

However, they wore miner's uniforms and helmets, which made it harder to kill them with a headshot. 

"There are many of them, but they can't surround us, just be mindful of their bites!" Shane reminded.

As the battle started, he used his hatchet to chop off the zombies' heads while Harper stabbed and sliced them in the neck with his dagger… It was quite difficult for Harper since he didn't have the same strength as Shane, but he could at least eliminate 2 Walker Zombies.

Targeting their skulls may be harder with their helmets, but aiming for their necks would also give the same result!

They managed to clear the group without much trouble, but they knew that there were more dangerous zombies ahead.

They continued to explore the mining site, hoping to find some valuable materials or even a pickaxe for Harper. 

"This is…" Shane's eyes lit up as he saw what was before him.

They stumbled upon a pile of broken machinery and tools, which looked promising!

However, as they approached the pile, they heard a loud shriek from behind. 

They turned around and saw a very unusual Runner Zombie, incomparable to those he had encountered before! Shane even felt confused as to why Cloud classified it as a Runner Zombie!

It had red skin, sharp teeth, and claws.

Furthermore, it wore a torn shirt and jeans and a helmet that covered most of its face. However, Shane could vaguely see a long tongue from it!

"Cloud! That's not a Runner Zombie!"