Chapter 12: Exchange
"It incredibly got injured," Carter Hayes wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand, leaning on his knife for support as he slowly made his way out of the third floor.
The Carrefour supermarket had five floors, and although the second and third floors were now safe, there was no guarantee that the zombies on the fourth floor wouldn't come down. Carter had already learned his lesson today and didn't want to make the same mistake twice.
The noise from the recent fight with the zombies had been quite loud. Carter never considered himself lucky, and he knew that luck wouldn't always be on his side. There was a small warehouse, and hiding inside would significantly increase his safety.
With some difficulty, Carter made it back to the second floor, still cautious. Once he confirmed that everything was as it had been in the morning, he slowly approached the warehouse and gently locked the iron door.
"These clothes are done for," Carter leaned against a corner of the warehouse and took off his clothes.
During the fierce battle with the zombies, his clothes had been soaked in their dark blood, which now emitted a foul stench. If it weren't for Carter's recent experiences with zombies, he might not have been able to tolerate the smell.
Knowing the clothes were no longer wearable, Carter casually left them at the warehouse door.
Zombies had a keen sense of smell, and Carter knew that even hiding in the small warehouse came with a certain risk of being discovered. However, leaving the smelly clothes outside would help mask his own scent.
After that, Carter carefully examined his injuries.
The fiery pain in his chest was now a stark, six or seven centimeters wide, and several tens of centimeters long mark on his chest. The mark was now a fiery red, looking alarming as if it might drip blood at any moment.
"The strength of eight people is truly terrifying," Carter thought, still shaken by the sight of the wound. If it weren't for the special material of the "Silent Annihilation" blade, which was stronger than ordinary iron or steel, he might have been torn apart by the zombies. He had seen the claws of a regular first-level zombie with the strength of five people easily pierce through a car's steel plate.
Carter was also worried about his injuries. It wasn't like before when he could just lie in a hospital bed and recover slowly. Now, with zombies everywhere, places like hospitals, which were densely populated, were likely hell on earth.
After a thorough check, Carter was relieved to find that none of his injuries had reached the bones or muscles. The alarming wounds were merely superficial, caused by the immense force of the impact.
With no major issues, Carter put on a clean set of clothes from his bag, ate something casually, and then curled up in a corner to sleep.
The dangers he faced today were far greater than yesterday, and with his injuries, Carter was very tired. Even without a bed, the safety of the place allowed him to fall asleep quickly.
As evening approached, Carter slowly woke up and checked his chest again. The red mark had faded quite a bit, and the pain had lessened. He believed it would be healed by the next day.
It was getting late, and the night quietly fell.
The nights in the post-apocalyptic world were especially terrifying, with various mutated creatures and zombies more like to come out at night, making the danger many times higher than during the day. Through the glass window, faint moonlight streamed in, and the beautiful moonlight seemed just like before, but the occasional roars in his ears constantly reminded Carter of the reality.
He used to live carefree, but since the apocalypse, Carter found himself becoming more reflective.
While munching on dry rations, he reflected on the past two days, which felt like a dream.
"I must survive," Carter had never had grand ideals, and that was still the case now. With the good times gone, all that was left was to survive.
After a moment of reflection, his stomach full, Carter remembered the "Post-Apocalyptic Survival Manual."
He was ready to supplement his knowledge about the apocalypse. Having the "Aeon System" was the reason he had the courage to survive in such an environment, and it was his biggest advantage. It would be foolish not to make the most of it.
The survival manual wasn't a physical book. Carter had to enter the Aeon System to access it. Although the Aeon System had told Carter that he could find it in his own memories, he found that too troublesome and didn't know which aspects would be useful now.
Entering the Aeon System to get a physical book would allow him to choose what was useful and what wasn't. He also wanted to casually check how many rewards he had earned from killing zombies today.
"Aeon, did I get any rewards today?" Carter quickly entered the Aeon System's interior.
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"The host killed a total of twenty-two first-level zombies and one second-level zombie, the Green Corpse, today," the Aeon System reported the number of zombies Carter had killed. The rewards were also listed on the screen. "Killing twenty-two zombies rewards two levels, and successfully hunting the first second-level zombie, Green Corpse, rewards two more level upgrades."
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"What? Four level upgrades?" Carter had thought two level rewards would be great, but he hadn't expected the Green Corpse to give an additional two points. He had been feeling unlucky today, but now he couldn't help but smile. With these four level upgrades, his body would reach level seven, which would be comparable to the Green Corpse.
"Aeon, has my physical fitness reached level seven now?" Carter felt like he had been hit by a lucky pie, almost feeling faint with happiness.
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"No, the host's physical fitness is at level five," the Aeon System remained unmoved by Carter's exaggerated expression. In its eyes, Carter was still weak, like an ant.
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"What, only level five?" Hearing this, Carter jumped up in excitement. He knew that three plus two plus two equaled seven.
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"The system stipulates that a maximum of two levels can be added to the body per day, with additional rewards triggered by unexpected events," the Aeon System explained.
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"Damn, is that even possible?" Carter's expression deflated like a punctured balloon.
"Aeon, I curse you in a circle," Carter muttered, hiding in a corner and drawing circles.
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"Host, would you like to exchange the remaining two points for physical items or save them?" While Carter was still upset, the Aeon System reminded him again.
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"Exchange for physical items, save?" Carter walked up to the screen, somewhat puzzled.
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"The host's additional reward points vary daily. Excess points will be automatically saved by the system, and the host can choose to save them or exchange them for corresponding physical items," the Aeon System explained while listing corresponding images on the screen.
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"You didn't tell me this yesterday," Carter realized that dealing with this system for a long time made him want to curse.
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"The host didn't have any extra rewards yesterday," the Aeon System ignored Carter's outburst.
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"Uh..."
Carter was speechless, but his attention was drawn to the items appearing on the screen.