It was a creature on all fours, its body blood red, muscles carved out with unnatural clarity, a cauliflower-like lump on its head. Different from the one in Resident Evil, this one had a pair of crimson eyes.
“Now! Control it!” Derek yelled, then charged in to meet it head-on.
A purple light flickered in Clara's eyes, and a sly curve hooked the corner of her mouth. The Licker, mid-leap toward Derek, froze stiff, a flicker of confusion passing through its crimson pupils. Then it turned toward Clara, as if it had just laid eyes on the most delicious meal in the world. It stretched out its long tongue, not to attack, but to... fawn over her, licking the ground.
“Hurry! I'm burning through Spirit. I can't hold it long.”
Clara's voice carried a note of strained weakness and urgency as she shouted at Derek.
Derek's eyes flashed with delight, and he roared, “Hold on!”
His speed suddenly exploded, and the entrenching tool in his hand rose high and slammed down hard on the Licker's head. One second before the entrenching tool was about to hit. Clara sneered inwardly: Goodbye, sucker. She deactivated Enchanting Gaze without hesitation, then turned and ran toward the car.
The Licker instantly regained its senses and felt the deadly threat from behind. It let out a shriek, abandoned the car, twisted around sharply, and its long tongue lashed at Derek's chest like a black steel whip. Derek was sent flying by the sudden blow, his body hitting the ground with a dull thud. Meanwhile, Clara had already reached the gas station, grabbed the fuel nozzle, stuck it into the tank, and pressed the pump button.
She kept her eyes on the pump while glancing back. Derek was trading blows with the Licker, but he was clearly losing ground; killing it would obviously take some time.
“Thanks, man.”
Clara flipped a slender middle finger in his direction. Tank full. She yanked out the nozzle, jumped into the car, and floored it. The car shot off like an arrow, leaving Derek alone to fight the Licker.
“Damn, I'm a genius! You wanted to screw me over? Eat shit!”
Clara drove while smugly humming a tune. She got a full tank of gas for free and took out a potential huge threat in the process. Total jackpot. It was a little dirty, but this was the apocalypse. Surviving was the only truth.
Besides, the way he looked at her from the start was off! She whistled smugly, giving herself props for being decisive and clever. Meanwhile, Derek, still fighting the Licker, curled his lips into a cold smirk. His plan had never been cooperation from the start. It was exploitation.
The Licker was just a decoy, a tool to test Clara's abilities. The real goal was to force Clara to burn through her Spirit, then capture her easily. But he never expected this woman to be so calculating. Sure enough, the prettier the woman, the darker her heart.
The next second, terrifying Strength erupted from Derek, and the entrenching tool became a black whirlwind in his hands. With a wet squelch, he instantly severed the Licker's head. He glanced in the direction the Santana had disappeared, and there was no anger in Derek's eyes, only a hint of mockery. He took out a gas can and walked unhurriedly toward the gas station.
When Clara entered the town, Derek had already noticed her. He watched her go into the supermarket, watched a man and a woman follow her in, and watched her come out safe and sound. Through binoculars, Derek saw what Clara did inside the supermarket. The man inexplicably lost the ability to resist.
Before negotiations, Derek had already placed several nails in front of Clara's front tire. Given enough time, the tire would go flat. Whether she was tied up or not didn't matter to him. A woman with mind control abilities was worth far more alive than a corpse. Besides, playing cat and mouse was pretty fun. The only catch was getting her to obey.
Completely unaware of this, Clara kept driving, feeling incredibly cheerful. After leaving the town, she got back on the highway and drove for another half hour before a box appeared by the roadside. Unlike the brown supply crates she had seen before, this one was a silver-white metal box.
A silver box? Clara thought.
She instinctively slowed down and stopped, first scanning her surroundings. Once she was sure there were no zombies, she turned off the engine and got out. After all, better safe than sorry. Clara carried the fire axe and approached the box cautiously. She didn't open it with her hands. Instead, she pried the latch open with the axe blade.
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The metal box popped open.
LootItemDetails🔩 Iron Ingot x5Common smelted metal. Used in crafting and vehicle upgrades.🛠️ Steel Ingot x5Refined metal. Used in crafting and vehicle upgrades.🍞 Bread x3Staple food. Fills the stomach.
“Repeating Crossbow blueprint.”
Clara's breathing instantly quickened. The fire axe was useful, but it was a melee weapon. Against fast enemies or multiple enemies, the risk was extremely high. This crossbow, though, was undoubtedly the perfect ranged weapon for the current stage. With it, her safety would improve dramatically.
Clara checked the materials required by the blueprint.
Appraisal📐B-rank Repeating Crossbow BlueprintMaterials: ¦ Iron Ingot x5, WoodPlank x15, Beast Sinew x1Note: ¦ Comes with 10 arrows.
She immediately checked her Storage Space. She had all the other materials, but she was missing Beast Sinew. She opened the Trading Platform and searched for the material. Only one listing came up.
MerchantItemTrade🪢 Beast Sinew x1⛽ Gasoline 20L•NoteSeller: ¦ Arms Dealer KNote: ¦ Take it or leave it. Nohaggling.
“Goddamn rip-off!” Clara cursed under her breath.
The seller clearly knew this item was rare and was price gouging. She had the gasoline, but 5.3 gallons made her wince. After a moment's thought, Clara came up with an idea.
“I'll have to try High-Energy Milk and see if I can trade with someone else.”
Leaning back in the driver's seat, she took four empty water bottles out of her Storage Space... and began condensing from her
“hand.”
This time. Clara clearly felt intense hunger and weakness, worse than any previous time.
“Looks like I can't condense too much at once. The toll on my body is too heavy.”
Without thinking further, she grabbed one bottle and downed it in one go, restoring the Spirit she had spent earlier. Then she listed one bottle directly on the Trading Platform and chose anonymous trading.
MerchantItemTrade🥛 High‑Energy Milk 3.4 oz🪢 Beast Sinew x1•NoteNote: ¦ Rapidly restores staminaand spirit, potent effect with aslight healing effect.
She listed the remaining two bottles at
“Iron Ingot x30”
and
“Steel Ingot x30”
, planning to upgrade her car first. Almost the instant Clara put them up, the Chat Channel exploded.
Chat Channel💬Anonymous Player-Holy crap? High-energy drink? For real? What the hell is it?-💬Anonymous Player-Restores Stamina? Healing effect? Isn't this stuff just milk? They must be out of their mind trying to scam people.-💬Anonymous Player-Definitely fake. These days people will make up any name just to trade for resources.-💬Anonymous Player-I'm calling scammer. Restores Stamina and Spirit? Why don't you say it can make you immortal? Do you really think everyone's an idiot?-💬Anonymous Player-+1. If this thing is real, I'll livestream doing a handstand while washing my hair! It's definitely just regular milk with some sweetener.-💬Anonymous Player-Don't be jealous, commenter above. My boss traded for a bottle and took a sip. Not only was it sweet and tangy, his fatigue vanished. He felt like he could go kill a few more monsters!-💬Anonymous Player-For real? That badass?-💬Anonymous Player[Photo] [Photo]. Look at my boss's arm before and after. The wound from fighting a mutant creature has visibly healed!💬Anonymous Player-Holy crap, it actually works! Begging the boss to list a few more. I'll pay 20 Iron Ingots a bottle.-💬Anonymous Player-20 Iron Ingots for a miracle drug? I'll pay 30.-💬Anonymous Player-I'll pay 40.-
The trade listings sold out instantly.
MerchantNotice¦ Trade Successful!ItemDetails🔩 Iron Ingot x30Common smelted metal. Used in crafting and vehicle upgrades.🪢 Beast Sinew x1Tough beast tendon. Crafting material.
At the same time, she also received dozens of private messages, all asking to buy milk.
Private Chat💬the Iron TowerBro, you still got this milk? I've got Iron Ingots or Steel Ingots to trade.
Private Chat💬Arms Dealer K-Friend, I'm very interested in your milk. I'd like a long-term partnership. I have everything you want.-
During anonymous trades, private messages were also possible, and IDs would not be shown.