Chapter Seven: Mission Completed

After hiding his body behind the shelves, Carter cautiously peered out.

In his field of vision appeared a woman with black hair, dressed in brown professional attire, and wearing black high heels. From her attire, Carter could roughly guess that she was a managerial figure in this mall.

However, Carter's expression turned serious as he watched her wobbly gait. Not because of her appearance, but due to an instinctual wariness. From morning until now, he had seen many zombies, and their movements and appearance were easily distinguishable to him.

Although he hadn't seen her face, judging from her figure, if it weren't for the apocalypse, this woman would undoubtedly be a beauty. But now, it is uncertain.

Twenty meters, ten meters...

Carter silently kept track of the distance between the woman and himself.

Five meters...

When the woman was just five meters away from Carter, he could clearly see her appearance.

Long flowing hair, beautiful features, and a clean face without any festering wounds made Carter feel somewhat strange. But seeing her gray eyes, Carter knew for sure she was a zombie.

"One, two, three." Carter didn't count in his mind; he didn't attack when the female zombie approached him. Instead, he waited until she passed by, then leaped up and delivered a powerful kick to her back. The tremendous force sent the female zombie straight to the ground.

After several tests, Carter knew that although the current strength of a zombie's body was five times that of a human's, they couldn't react immediately to such attacks.

"Thud."

Hearing the sound of the zombie's body hitting the ground, Carter wasted no time. With a swift motion, he raised his hand, and the knife fell accurately, severing the female zombie's head.

Carter naturally chose this method rather than confronting the zombies head-on. After all, zombies were too dangerous. Just thinking about the scene from this morning still gave him chills. Even car doors could be pierced through.

"Killing zombies isn't that difficult, huh?" Carter felt a sense of pride after smoothly killing the zombie this time. His confidence reached unprecedented heights.

"It's the third one." After feeling quite proud of himself, Carter's heart blossomed even more.

The first task of the day was completed at this moment.

However, he didn't plan to leave this floor immediately with the food.

There were far fewer zombies on the second floor than on the first, and it was quite dangerous to carry a large amount of food down to the first floor. It was better to stay temporarily on the second floor. Although there were still zombies here, they wouldn't last much longer.

Carter was ready to implement his crazy plan.

With his mind made up, Carter cautiously began searching for zombies on the second floor.

He wasn't afraid of one-on-one fights, so Carter had nothing to worry about.

After more than an hour, using the same sneaky tactics, Carter killed all the zombies on the second floor cleanly, totaling twenty-four.

"Finally done." Carter kicked the last zombie's head aside and breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down nearby.

Luckily, these zombies were all alone, and Carter had successfully dealt with them without any danger.

If not for the black blood all over his body, Carter might not have believed that on the first day of the apocalypse, he could kill twenty-five zombies with just a fruit knife.

He took out his phone; it was almost one o'clock.

Although the phone was useless in the apocalypse, it served as a watch and lighting tool when there was electricity. Knowing this, Carter brought it with him when he left home.

During the zombie fights earlier, his mind was solely focused on the task at hand, so apart from the zombies, he didn't notice anything else. But now, the feeling was completely different.

With his tense mind relaxed, not only did the fatigue in his body increase, but his stomach also growled loudly.

"I should find something to eat first." After killing so many zombies, Carter no longer felt nauseous at the sight of them.

And without a full stomach, he wouldn't have the strength to fight zombies again.

The entire second floor was a food zone. Carter easily found packaged foods like biscuits and sausages, as the cooked meat in the deli section was contaminated and inedible.

To supplement his nutrition, Carter chose dairy drinks among the beverages.

After eating his fill, Carter leaned against a secluded corner and rested quietly for a while. Although the second floor was temporarily safe, Carter didn't dare to be careless. He didn't let go of his knife even when sleeping.

More than an hour later, Carter got up. After checking the second floor again and finding nothing unusual, he began cleaning up the zombie corpses. He dragged them to the stairwell and blocked the path leading down to the first floor, ensuring his safety and making the environment on the second floor less repulsive.

After completing these tasks, Carter carefully piled some shelves near the stairwell.

 leading to the third floor. Logically, there should be plenty of zombies on the third floor too.

Although these shelves might not be able to withstand the zombies' attacks, they could at least create some trouble for them, providing Carter with some preparation time.

"The warehouse should be the safest place." Carter believed that the third task given by the Aeon System was to find a safe place to hide. Since he wasn't planning to leave Mall Two for now, he could only search for a safe place here.

After searching around, a small room in one corner, filled with various food items, became Carter's target.

Aside from the fresh food inside, the warehouse door was made of iron bars, providing greater security. Even if the entire second floor was attacked by zombies, hiding inside could ensure survival for a considerable amount of time.

With his decision made, Carter cleared out some items that couldn't be eaten immediately or were useless. At the same time, he moved some valuable food items like bacon and chocolate from the shelves into the warehouse.

After completing these tasks, it was almost six o'clock. The sky was darkening, and even in Mall Two, Carter could hear the distant roars outside, sending shivers down his spine.

Although he had known that zombies would become exceptionally violent at night, only when he heard and felt it did he realize that reality was far more terrifying than imagination.

Through the glass windows of the mall, Carter could clearly see that there were already many zombies gathering outside the plaza. The speed of these zombies was different from those he encountered today.

Seeing this, Carter hunched his body slightly and hurried into the warehouse. After closing the iron door, Carter's mind finally relaxed.

He had been grateful for the decision he made today. If he had retreated at noon and hadn't killed all the zombies on the second floor, he might not have been able to stay here safely now.

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"Host, today's tasks are completed. Level up by two, and three gift packages are provided." As Carter prepared to have dinner, the voice of the Aeon System echoed in his mind. Hearing these words, Carter smiled contentedly.

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