After making up with Elena and ensuring that there was no bad blood between them. Both Elena and Zane re-entered the house. Where they sat down with Olivia and talked about their plans. During the battle between Ryan and his goons, it became abundantly clear to Zane that they were still too low of a level to properly survive this harsh new wasteland.
Particularly because of the power that the Stalker displayed, and thus Zane voiced his plan of action, looking for input from his two comrades.
"I think we need to clear out these suburbs while we can. It is clear something major is happening deeper in the city, and because of that, the majority of the undead are attracted there. Including most likely the higher tier of undead.
Because of that, this is a perfect opportunity to clear out these neighborhoods of the Walkers that have remained behind. And in doing so, give us a fair amount of blood crystals. After all, if the Stalker showed me anything, it's that we are woefully under leveled.
And that our best chance at survival is to level up as much as possible, and as quickly as possible, because we have no idea what other horrors are out there lurking in the world. What do the two of you think?"
Olivia and Elena were both in agreement with Zane's plans, but Elena was quick to point out a flaw in it.
"I agree with you in theory Zane, but you are forgetting that we used up most of our ammunition in the battle with Ryan… We will need to scavenge more supplies, or focus on killing these stragglers with melee weapons as well as our skills.
Luckily for us… My Katana is stashed safely in my room. With my skill Time Reduction, we should be able to very easily kill the undead in this neighborhood. But we are going to have to manage our cooldowns with some actual thought…"
Olivia nodded her head in agreement with Elena's words. Their ammunition supply was definitely running low, so melee instruments were the best bet. Luckily for Olivia and Zane, they had brought their war clubs with them, which were strapped onto the sides of their rucks.
Zane thought he was an idiot for a moment. After all, he had completely forgotten that they used up several magazines worth of ammunition in the firefight against Ryan and his thugs. They would absolutely need to resupply as soon as possible.
But ammunition was hard to come by. And they really should be conserving such critical resources for engagements with other survivors. Thus, Zane nodded his head in agreement with Elena's wisdom.
"Alright… We will be relying on you to take the frontlines, then. Olivia and I will support you to the best of our abilities… But the two of you should be aware that my skill isn't like yours…"
Olivia and Elena looked at Zane with a mixture of confusion and excitement. After all, Zane was the first person they knew of who discovered blood crystals and their use. But until now, they had not seen the slightest hint of what skill the man had. Nor had he been willing to tell them.
The two women knew this was a big step for Zane, as it meant he trusted them with some critical information. An awakened survivor's skill was essentially their lifeline. And the more people who knew about it, the less of a trump card it was.
Thus, both Elena and Olivia listened carefully as Zane explained what his skill was.
"Alright.. So… my skill is a little weird compared to those I have seen other use… It's a passive skill called Dead Man Walking…"
Zane then went into an explicit detail about his skill, its pros, its cons, and his theories on how it functioned. The two women were completely shocked at what they heard. Zane had the ability to exist peacefully among both the living and the dead? Wasn't that a little too OP?
Now they understood why he was so damn good at scavenging. The dead literally just let him pass by and pick up whatever he wanted. This was a huge boon to their party and their chances of long-term survival.
This also explained why the Stalker was willing to make a deal with Zane, allowing him and the girls to escape from their encirclement. The Stalker must have considered Zane one of his own kind. Olivia was the first to speak up about Zane's ability.
"This is honestly amazing… To think that you are capable of communicating with the dead…. I wonder what other uses your skill has. After all, from what I can see in the system, I am at Tier-I with my skill in Electric Discharge. Presumably when it reaches Tier II it will be even more powerful, right? Or perhaps evolve in some way?
Just how could your ability to change in the future when you are at a higher level? What benefits could that provide us? Zane… You really are incredible…."
Zane felt strange being complimented so much by his former homeroom teacher. And averted his gaze from her, something which caused the mature silver haired beauty to smile. Elena caught the brief exchange between the two and started to pout. It was almost as if Olivia was flirting with Zane in front of her, and for whatever reason, that made her feel sour.
Seeing that the scene was starting to become uncomfortable for him, Zane forced a cough as he stood up from his seat and issued his orders to the two women.
"Alright… Now that we have a plan of action, we should loot this place for any supplies that can help us on our journey. After that, we set out to clear the neighborhood of any undead that are still lurking around. Once we are done with that, we should regroup here for the night and enjoy the spoils of war…"
Thus, the trio began to loot the building for any necessary supplies. After all, it was better to have them on hand, since tomorrow morning they would be departing from this neighborhood and were never likely to return…