Chapter Ten: Upstairs

That night, Carter slept for a full ten hours, from a little after ten to eight in the morning. If it weren't for the feeling of hunger in his stomach, he might have slept even longer.

Carter, who didn't expect to sleep so long, shook his head lightly. He knew it was all because of his body. Before the apocalypse, he was a typical homebody, always staying at home, surfing the internet, and activities like exercise were beyond him. Yesterday's intense activity was already quite an achievement for him to be able to get up today.

Rubbing his eyes and stretching, Carter got up to find something to fill his stomach. Although it felt a bit odd not to brush his teeth or wash his face, he understood that the days ahead might be even more challenging. He grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite.

After eating five pieces of bread and three bottles of milk, Carter finally felt the hunger in his stomach disappear.

"Could it be that as my level increases, my appetite will also increase?" Carter realized a serious problem while eating. Today's breakfast was more than twice his usual amount, which made Carter feel quite annoyed. Ultimately, the most likely reason was that his body level had increased.

"Forget it, let's leave it to fate," Carter said with a bitter smile. Although he didn't have to worry about food for now, he couldn't help but wonder about the future.

"I wonder if there are any tasks today?" After moving around the warehouse and feeling energized, Carter thought of the Aeon System. Yesterday's three tasks came with such generous rewards that Carter still felt eager for more. He wished he could just keep completing tasks one after another.

Subsequently, Carter entered the Aeon System.

"Aeon, what are today's tasks?" Carter asked as soon as he entered.

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"The success rate of the host's completion of yesterday's tasks was one hundred percent. No new tasks will appear within two days," the Aeon System's internal figure sat there as before, quickly providing an answer to Carter's question.

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"Oh, is that so?" Carter looked astonished, but since the Aeon System said so, there was nothing he could do about it.

"It seems that today I can only confront those zombies head-on," coming out of the Aeon System's internal work, Carter felt a bit gloomy. However, he couldn't change the system's decisions, so he had to focus on other things instead.

"Let's forget about the backpack; it's not very useful and it hinders movement." Since he was preparing to go out, there were still some things he needed to bring, like a knife, which was essential. As for the backpack he had brought from home yesterday, he decided to abandon it.

Before having the storage space, the backpack was very useful, especially for storing food. However, such a large backpack would have a certain impact on his movements, and now that the space existed, it became redundant.

After tying the fruit knife to his back, Carter picked up 'Silent Annihilation' and left.

The second floor had been cleaned out yesterday, so Carter easily reached the staircase. But when he got there, he was a bit puzzled—should he go up or down? Carter couldn't decide for a moment.

Carter still remembered clearly that there were quite a few zombies downstairs yesterday, probably hundreds. If he chose to go down now, quietly leaving wouldn't be a problem. However, if he wanted to kill them all, it would be difficult. If he were surrounded carelessly, he would become their food.

After much consideration, Carter made a decision—up to the third floor.

The third floor consisted of clothing counters, and if there were zombies up there, there would probably be as many as on the second floor, maybe dozens at most, so they wouldn't pose much of a threat to Carter.

Gently pushing aside the clutter blocking the stairs, Carter steadily climbed up to the third floor.

"Step, step, step." The small footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet staircase, and Carter tightly gripped 'Silent Annihilation' in his hands.

'Silent Annihilation' weighed about thirty to forty kilograms, so carrying it felt not particularly obvious. However, holding it in front of him made a big difference in feeling.

Thankfully, Carter's hand strength was now over three hundred kilograms, so it wasn't a problem to hold the machete for a long time, let alone using it to kill zombies.

The staircase from the second to the third floor was very short, and soon Carter reached it.

"Zombies aren't scary." Carter didn't rush into the third floor immediately; instead, he leaned against the wall to calm his nerves. Although it wasn't his first time facing zombies, there was still a hint of fear when confronting unknown dangers. A day's time wasn't enough for Carter to become completely calm in the face of danger.

After taking a few deep breaths, Carter cautiously walked into the third floor.

The area of the third floor was the same as the second floor, but there weren't as many shelves, making it look much more spacious. The racks displaying clothes weren't very tall, so Carter could easily see the general environment.

"Three on the left, only one in front." Carter analyzed the situation on the third floor now. The nearest zombie, which posed the greatest threat to him, was the one in front of him.

"Let's take care of the one in front first." Carter planned to clean up the zombies on this floor right away. Originally, there wasn't much difference between killing the one in front or others, but considering safety, it was better to eliminate the weaker ones first.

With a plan in mind, Carter became more focused on his actions.

The female zombie in a blue knee-length skirt and a white blouse was the closest to Carter. Carter was familiar with this type of clothing; it should be Carrefour's uniform.

Since the distance wasn't far, Carter approached the female zombie from behind in a few steps.

"Stab." Carter didn't hesitate at all. He came behind the female zombie and swung 'Silent Annihilation' in front of him.

At less than one meter and sixty centimeters tall, the female zombie was at an absolute disadvantage against Carter. Before the female zombie could react, Carter's machete cut across her neck in a beautiful arc.

With the sharpness of 'Silent Annihilation,' there was no resistance encountered, and the zombie's head was effortlessly chopped off.

Having successfully completed the first strike, Carter quickly immersed himself in the role of the exterminator. Using the same method, he soon killed eleven zombies. With such smooth progress, Carter no longer sneaked around but boldly went on to clear out the zombies. With their speed and the number of them, it would be quite difficult for them to threaten Carter's safety.

"Roar." As Carter's movements and voice grew louder, all the zombies on the third floor were attracted to him.

"Only twenty-something, what's there to be afraid of?" Watching those swaying zombies approaching him, Carter felt no fear at all. Instead, he charged at them with his machete.