After freeing the poor salesman, and he also saw the situation outside, he finally stopped slandering me in front of the other survivors. His slander turned to flattery after hearing Vanessa and the single mother’s reports. His concern then shifted to his older brother, who worked at the rocket launch base.
"If your brother survived the initial outbreak, then he’s among the group of survivors formed by the military at the base..."
"But we have no way of confirming that! Can’t we go there before we pick up your family? We’re not that far from the base."
As Joe and I loaded various supplies from my apartment into the small truck, I pondered the mutant I had just killed. This monster was only supposed to appear after the first week of the apocalypse...
Did my return to the past change anything? I also took the opportunity to look at the survival store since I barely had time to look at it before...
[Survival Store Level 2]
Available points: 516
I had earned 500 points for doing all the optional missions and had now killed 15 zombies.* The store had 2 levels available at the time, level 1 had simple things like water bottles, protein bars, gas cans, batteries 1 , pistols, rifles, ammunition, short-range radios,* and flashlights. But I already had many of these things on my bracelet, with the exception of firearms, but I would stay away from them, the rocket launch base would be condemned because of the use of firearms...
So, none of this would make me spend points. There were also many places to loot at the moment, and batteries are the only ones that might have a use in the future, since everything no longer worked.
So what caught my attention were the benefits at level 2 of the store. But what I had was barely enough to upgrade the axe...
Eternal durability upgrade for melee weapons: 500 points
Maximum sharpness upgrade for melee weapons: 700 points
"Return" skill for melee weapons: 3000 points - locked (host only)
Range and power upgrades for firearms: 1200 points
Explosive ammo for pistols x16: 1500
Explosive ammo for assault rifles x30: 1900 points
Explosive ammo for sniper rifles x6: 2000 points
Ammo for grenade launcher x3: 2200 points
Cure for ZY Virus: 5000 points
(Only effective for airborne viruses and bites from level 0 mutants)
Again, using firearms, even with special upgraded ammo, was dangerous. too much due to the noise, the downside was that there was no silencer in the store either. But the improvements for bladed weapons were all very good, the survivors would soon realize that this was the only way to fight the monsters. Although my axe was made of one of the best materials available, being fireproof and having almost infinite durability, its cutting edge needed constant sharpening.
But all of this stopped being important when I saw the cure for the lethal virus.
In the early stages, having this cure was more valuable than any other supplies or upgrades. I needed to prioritize the points so that I would have at least one of these with me for emergencies, in case any of my friends and family were bitten in the early stages of the outbreak. As we continued loading the truck, the young salesman came up to us again.
"Sir, unlike me, who is just a salesman and a college student, my older brother is a real Space Engineer. He is one of the most important members of the launch base, and he was even assigned to the second round of colonization. There are doctors on the base too, and unlike the doctors at the local hospital, they are military doctors; they may have clues on how to cure this disease..."
After thinking for a while and also seeing a system alert, I called Joe aside.
"Listen, Joe, I’m going to look for his brother. If he’s an engineer at the base, he could be important to help us with the technological problems, but I can’t leave my mother and sister alone. I need you to take the truck and go there, protect our families until I get back. Here, take this and eat it!"
Joe stared at a light red crystal blankly, before a stupid smile appeared on his face. "Oh, so there was a steroid..." 1
"This was inside the red-eyed zombie. If you kill one of those again, remember to take the crystal, which is near their heart. Ingesting them will increase your strength so that you can become as strong as me, but don’t put others at risk because of these crystals, okay?"
"Okay, leave it to me! Oh, how are you going to get to the base? Most of the vehicles don’t work anymore..."
"Drop me off at our captain’s house, he has one of those old-fashioned non-electric motorcycles, I’ll borrow it..."
In front of the Fire Department Captain’s house, the two friends said goodbye.
"Take care, Rick. I admit you’re pretty strong, but don’t let your guard down. I’ll see you at our parents’ village."
"Remember not to stop to help anyone, don’t trust other survivors easily, and if anyone in our family gets sick or is bitten, keep them alive until I get there, okay. See you tomorrow!"
After convincing the engineer’s brother to stay with the group because the motorcycle only had two seats, Rick prepared to enter his Captain’s house. He knew what had happened to the man, but he wasn’t prepared to see it again. Rick went straight to the garage and used his axe to break the metal door and find an old Harney motorcycle. The keys to it were also in a drawer in the garage in the same place he found it last time when the apocalypse began. Confirming the system’s new mission to rescue the engineer, in addition to a new, very tempting reward from the system. Rick hardened his will and got on the motorcycle.
As he accelerated, he looked at the red sky losing its daytime glow, he knew that night was already approaching. It was better to get to the base before that happened... The scariest thing that could scare even Rick, who was already a level 2 mutant, were the flying animals, which, since they lived in the city, they had not yet encountered any...