It was unbelievably cold outside.
Even though Xia Mu was wearing an extremely thick down jacket, the moment she stepped out of the house, she began shivering uncontrollably.
“003, it’s way too cold out here,” Xia Mu said through chattering teeth. “How am I supposed to kill zombies like this? Won’t I end up getting killed by them instead?”
System 003 glanced at the insulated clothing available in the marketplace.
The price was 620 Interstellar Federation Credits.
But its Host was already one hundred million Interstellar Federation Credits in debt.
Unable to help sighing, it said cautiously, “Host, I’ve already advanced you one hundred million Interstellar Federation Credits. If I transfer any more funds, I’ll be punished.”
There was truly nothing more it could do.
Xia Mu fell silent for a moment before straightening her back and encouraging herself.
She couldn’t be afraid.
She had to think about her parents.
Did she really want to become an orphan?
She released the mechanical dog.
It stood as tall as her waist and looked incredibly imposing. Although it was called a mechanical dog, it looked no different from a real one.
Its thick, soft fur looked more than capable of resisting the bitter cold.
“I should give you a name. I can’t keep calling you a Mechanical Dog.”
She looked at the large black dog.
The dog was remarkably intelligent. Its large eyes blinked brightly as it stuck out its tongue, but after seemingly realizing how cold it was outside, it immediately pulled it back in.
As Xia Mu stroked its fur, she smiled.
“I’ll call you Brother Ba. It suits you. Powerful and fearless in battle.”
Brother Ba happily wagged his tail and barked enthusiastically.
He was obviously very pleased with his new name.
Satisfied, Xia Mu led Brother Ba to the nearest frozen zombie.
Looking at the barely human creature trapped inside the ice, she forced herself to keep staring despite her fear and disgust.
She had to get used to it.
Otherwise, she would never be able to kill zombies.
Without zombie crystals, she couldn’t earn Interstellar Federation Credits.
Without Interstellar Federation Credits, she couldn’t buy the medicine that would save her parents.
Just then, System 003 spoke up.
“Mu Mu, the land for the single occupancy room has been prepared. You now need to pay 350 Interstellar Federation Credits for the construction.”
Xia Mu was speechless.
Money really was unavoidable.
“Go ahead and pay.”
System 003 cheerfully processed the payment.
“The construction will take three minutes. I’ll let you know when it’s finished.”
Xia Mu merely nodded before turning her attention back to the zombie.
The creature inside the ice seemed to be staring directly at her.
Its ugly, sinister eyes looked almost excited.
Even the corners of its mouth appeared to be curling upward.
Xia Mu swallowed hard as her scalp tingled with fear.
She wanted nothing more than to run back inside.
It was far too terrifying.
Yet her feet felt rooted to the ground.
She couldn’t make herself retreat.
Brother Ba continued barking furiously at the zombie, baring his teeth as every hair on his body stood on end.
It looked as though he would pounce the instant the zombie moved.
His barking was so loud that it echoed nearly twenty kilometers away.
Inside a large shopping mall in the distance, a team of five pioneers was engaged in battle with a Level 3 zombie.
Both the pioneers and the Level 3 zombie heard the powerful barking, one bark after another.
The five pioneers immediately became more alert.
Their leader was a tall, imposing man with crimson hair. His face was cold and expressionless as he wielded a razor sharp sword.
He paused for only a single second after hearing the barking before charging at the Level 3 zombie once again.
The Level 3 zombie had already developed intelligence.
It roared furiously while another dark, tick-like head protruding from its back swung its giant pincers wildly at the five men.
It only hated that its neck wasn’t long enough to reach them.
“This thing is seriously disgusting,” one of the men muttered.
The sickle in his hands whirled with terrifying force, forcing the zombie to keep its distance.
Knowing it couldn’t defeat the five humans, the Level 3 zombie began searching for an opportunity to escape.
But how could they possibly let it go?
The five men surrounded it, increasing the force of their attacks.
“Ice Spikes!”
One of the men shouted loudly.
Sharp frozen spikes instantly erupted from the ground in every direction, piercing toward the zombie.
“Entangle!”
Another man called out.
Green vines instantly wrapped around the Level 3 zombie, holding it tightly as the ice spikes drove into its body from every angle.
A sickle slashed into the zombie’s skull.
With a twist of the blade, a translucent crimson crystal flew out.
The tick-like parasite behind the zombie let out a shrill scream before immediately shriveling.
Another man released a fire ability, reducing the dried corpse to nothing but ashes.
“A Level 3 zombie crystal. What a beautiful color. Its purity must be extremely high.”
The man holding the sickle grinned happily.
The crimson haired leader said nothing.
Instead, his deep gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon, where the barking continued to echo.
The others looked in the same direction.
“Why is there a dog barking out here? Is it a zombie or a mutated beast?” someone asked.
The crimson haired man ran a hand through his hair before replying coldly, “Let’s go take a look. There might be an unexpected reward waiting for us.”
The others nodded eagerly, their eyes lighting up.
All of them had been born after the Apocalypse began.
According to their elders, on the day the Apocalypse arrived, the entire world had been buried beneath heavy snow overnight.
Countless people and enormous amounts of food had been frozen solid.
Because of that, very few people had survived, while resources remained plentiful.
As long as frozen food could be brought back and thawed, it could sustain people for a very long time.
The appearance of zombies, however, had taken everyone completely by surprise.
Level 1 zombies had no resistance to the cold and were generally frozen solid beneath the ice.
Only Level 2 zombies and above possessed resistance to the freezing temperatures, and their intelligence increased together with their level.
There were even Level 3 and Level 4 zombies rescuing frozen zombies and frozen humans.
Frozen zombies could still survive.
Frozen humans, however, were already dead, allowing the parasites to infest their bodies and evolve them into Level 1 zombies.
However, the frozen ice wasn’t something ordinary people could break apart at will.
Special equipment was required.
~~
Xia Mu looked at the hammer in her hand.
With only a single strike, the ice shattered.
The zombie trapped inside immediately became excited, already beginning to struggle free.
She couldn’t be afraid. She couldn’t retreat.
She had to earn money to save her parents.
Gripping the hammer tightly, she smashed down again.
Beside her, Brother Ba wagged his tail so fast it became a blur, barking excitedly.
“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”
“Ahhh! Damn it! Why does it smell so horrible? That’s disgusting!”
“Ahhh! Stop chasing me! Brother Ba, what are you doing?!”
“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Even this dog is about to die from the smell!
“Mu Mu! Where’s your Clownfish Handgun?” System 003 reminded her anxiously.
Only then did Xia Mu remember she still had it.
She immediately pulled the Clownfish Handgun from her system storage and fired at the zombie chasing behind her.
“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”
“Mu Mu, the zombie’s been frozen. Hurry and kill it so we can get the zombie crystal!”
Hearing that it had been frozen, Xia Mu finally dared to stop.
Turning around, she saw the hideous zombie frantically waving its arms.
Its feet had been frozen in place, preventing it from moving.
“That was way too close. I’m starting to worry about my future. If a Level 1 zombie is already this dangerous, what about Level 2 and Level 3 zombies?”
Holding the Clownfish Handgun in one hand and the hammer in the other, Xia Mu slowly approached the zombie.
Suddenly, a series of swift rushing sounds came from the distance.
She turned toward the noise and instantly widened her eyes.