After accepting the quest, Ryuji didn't head directly to the mission site. Instead, he sold three stacks of robot turret ammunition, purchased some materials, and crafted another pipe machine gun before setting off.
Along the way, he saw no zombies—only ruins charred by fire.
There might still be usable supplies in those ruins, but scavenging through them would take more than just a day or two.
For Ryuji, it wasn't worth the effort. He didn't even spare them a glance as he marched straight toward his destination.
Since it wasn't far, he soon encountered a large, floating yellow exclamation mark bobbing in the air.
This overtly game-like visual in the real world made him uncomfortable. Still, he had to test it.
"Alright, let's see how this system actually works."
Taking a deep breath, Ryuji activated the quest marker. He expected one of two things: either zombies would spawn out of thin air, or the mission would be instantly completed.
But what appeared in front of him was… a house.
Yes, a fully intact house.
The ruins that had been there just moments ago vanished, replaced by a building with its windows and doors sealed shut with iron plates.
He stared in stunned silence for a couple of seconds before peeking through one of the windows—inside, a zombie stood motionless in an eerie slumber.
More importantly, he recognized this place.
He had scavenged here before. He distinctly remembered finding a can of luncheon meat on that very table. But now? There were two or three cans of peas instead.
"This… is actually fantastic news!"
That meant he would never run out of supplies!
Raising an eyebrow in excitement, Ryuji aimed his machine gun at the zombie's head and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot rang out, shaking the quiet air. The bullet struck true, and the zombie's head exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter.
The noise immediately alerted the other zombies in the house. They staggered out of bedrooms and cupboards, snarling as they lunged toward him.
Ryuji picked them off one by one with precise shots, shattering their skulls until none were left standing. Then, without hesitation, he vaulted through the window and cleared the remaining zombies inside.
An interesting discovery followed. His interface's directional compass displayed red blips—indicating enemy presence.
When he approached those blips, he found hidden zombies lurking in corners.
"A minimap now? That's really convenient…"
Smirking, he fired his last few shots, eliminating the final zombie.
The quest completion notification flashed before him, but he wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he thoroughly scavenged the house once more.
Unfortunately, the haul was still disappointing—just some canned food and a few pieces of clothing, nothing truly valuable.
Back at the merchant's shop, Ryuji turned in the mission. Immediately, a new interface popped up, and the female trader's voice rang out.
"Thank you for helping me with this task. I wouldn't have known what to do without you! Here is your reward—please choose one."
He glanced at the reward options:
-4,500 experience points
-600 Duke's Casino Tokens
-1 skill point
-A wrench
-A medical kit
Ryuji clicked his tongue in surprise.
That was a generous reward for just killing a few zombies.
If quest locations refreshed into lootable areas, then he could farm high-value locations repeatedly!
"This… this is the real way to play this world!"
He couldn't help but laugh. Surviving on his own had been an uphill battle, but now he had an efficient system to gain resources.
Then, he glanced at his level—Level 51.
"Seriously? You need Level 50 just to unlock quests? That means killing at least a thousand zombies… If I hadn't been lucky enough to set that gas station on fire, I'd probably still be stuck at Level 40 or something."
It was clear—this world wasn't kind to ordinary survivors.
With a sigh, he chose the wrench as his reward.
While the medical kit seemed useful, the wrench was the smarter choice. According to the item description, it was essential for salvaging mechanical parts from electrical appliances—components he needed for crafting advanced gear.
"Alright, time to take on the next mission."
After accepting a supply retrieval quest, Ryuji hesitated. He had two unused skill points. Curious about their effects, he opened his skill tree and allocated one point into Stamina.
The moment he did, a strange sensation surged through his body. His fatigue vanished instantly, and his breathing became steadier. Every movement felt lighter and more efficient.
It was… exhilarating.
The comfort was so overwhelming that he instinctively placed the second skill point into Stamina as well.
What followed was a threefold intensity of that sensation.
A powerful rush of energy and vitality flooded his system, nearly knocking him off his feet. He gasped, savoring the feeling.
For the first time in years, he felt invincible—as if he had regained the peak endurance of his youth.
His vision sharpened. Even distant objects fifty meters away appeared crystal clear.
He blinked.
"Wait a second… Wasn't I slightly nearsighted?"
His poor eyesight had completely healed.
Glancing down at himself, he noticed another change—his once sluggish and tired body now felt powerful.
"Whoa… okay, that's new…"
He immediately checked his stomach. The slight belly... often mocked by Erina, that he had gained from years of desk work was still there.
However, something else had changed, his 'little brother', which had lost its spirit due to the severe damage to his body, was now full of energy, with his head held high, a desire.... a primal need to unleash its newfound energy.
He threw a punch in the air with all his strength, the feeling was completely different from before. He could easily feel that this was not his full strength, nor was it his limit. If he wanted to, he could punch with all his strength dozens of times in a row!
He felt that the energy he consumed when he moved was reduced!
This is no longer the useless white-collar worker who had worked for several years!
"This is true power!"
Ryuji clenched his fist. He felt much more energetic now! If he met Erina again, he would definitely crusher her.... purely in terms of strength, of course.
"It's a pity that although my strength has increased, my physique has not changed."
Ryuji looked at his slightly bulging belly and sighed helplessly.
He was very envious of those bodybuilders, but unfortunately, his body was still that of a shabby white-collar worker. It seemed that if he wanted to have a good body, he still had to exercise.
"Well at this rate after a while, even if I'm not in good shape, I'll look good."
Ryuji complained, then put his clothes back on and prepared to leave.
He is now full of energy and vitality. He is determined to complete all of the merchant's quest and then see whether the quests reset.
If not, he planned to start mining and digging tunnels. If they do refresh, continue to do the task. After all, only when he becomes stronger, can you mine and dig better, and fight against the enemy!
But as soon as he took a step, the feeling of friction between the soft yet hard object and the zipper of his pants suddenly reached his heart and soul. He fell to his knees and almost cried out in pain, which was humiliating.
"Ssss why is it so energetic? And... is this what they call a bad start?"
Ryuji, who was kneeling on the ground, endured the pain and couldn't help but complain.
It would have been nice if he was wearing his original clothes, but unfortunately, most of them were in tatters and it was obvious that his clothes had been cut apart in order to save him.
It would have been fine if I had no energy like before, but now that he was full of energy, this was a painful situation.
He tried to adjust himself, but unfortunately it didn't work at all. Changing the pants was not realistic at all because the merchant didn't sell pants here.
"…"
Glancing at his own hands, which were covered in blisters and calluses, they were no better than the zipper, Ryuji could only helplessly look at the female merchant who had been looking at him with a smile.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help it."
Taking a deep breath, Ryuji, who was actually under a lot of pressure, closed the door of the room, blocked the window with his coat, and bowed to the female merchant.
"I'm about to do something to you, if you object, just blink."
The merchant still remained motionless.
"Okay, then I'll borrow your butt for a bit! Don't worry! I'll just rub it, I won't go in!"
Ryuji nodded to himself, stepped across the table to the back of the merchant, grabbed her denim shorts, pulled them down, and then squeezed his battered thing into that plump cleavage.
Suddenly, he let out a relieved sound.
"Ahh..."