100 Systems Invasion

11. Monster in the Trunk

Seth’s phone in his hand lit up in a familiar futuristic blue.

Dong!

[1 infectore detected within 30 feet radius.]

It was typed in a simple font. Nothing fancy about it. However, the news it brought could have been more useful.

Seth looked up, turning his head to the one on the passenger seat. The chain smoker was still drooling, staring at him with uncoordinated eyes. His hands folded awkwardly, trying to free himself from the seatbelt with clumsy fingers. Wade was no more.

Curling his fist, Seth prepared himself to punch the hell out of the newly-turned infectore.

“Help him!” Amy yelled in his ear, stopping his good intention of bravely fighting a zombie-like man.

It was a good thing that he already pulled over on the side of the road, stopping the car for the time being. Of course, they needed to get out of the city as fast as they could, but they couldn’t do shit if they were dead from colliding with a lamp post, now was it?

“Are you out of your mind? Do you want him to eat your brain?”

“But you can’t kill him! You have to promise me!”

“And why would I?”

“Rrrraaaaawwwhh!”

Their bickering was cut short, and heads turned to the source of that disturbing sound. Wade had completely lost all of his consciousness. Now, he was nothing more than a rotten shell of himself. Seth sent a look at Amy, “See that?”

The home décor sales girl smiled sheepishly. “What are we going to do then?”

“Grrrrr!”

Wade, the infectore, shot his hand, almost hitting Seth in the face. Fortunately, he got a pretty good reflex that enabled him to escape the assault.

In retaliation, he pulled a fist and punched Wade straight in his nose. The infected chain smoker groaned but didn’t deter his will to claw Seth’s face off. Amy’s panicked scream became a background he didn’t want. However, Marnie’s uncharacteristically silence was a little bit worrying.

He glanced at the back seat and found that the six-year-old kid was pressing herself against Amy’s body, trying to bury her face in her armpit. At least she was no longer crying her lungs out.

“Seth!”

Amy’s call startled him. He didn’t see Wade’s follow-up attack, but the sales girl was quick enough to stop the newest infectore from whacking his head.

“Do something!” She said hurriedly, still holding Wade’s flailing hand in her grasp.

Seth fiddled with his phone. He had punched an infectore, kicking him until he was nothing more than a dead body, unmoving through his beating. However, he couldn’t risk that with Wade. Amy had asked him to not kill her cousin.

However, it wasn’t an order he would obey because he wanted to. He didn’t want to be on the car owner’s bad side. Frankly, walking for a hundred miles was on his agenda any time near.

So, while Amy was using all her might to keep Wade in his seat, Seth went to browse the System’s shop. The buyable items were categorised on one page, while the unbuyable items were on the other, displayed in faded fonts as it showed the requirement levels and how many cells they cost.

“Damn it, you used all the cells I got. I can’t find anything of use.”

[Shop]

[Dummy Mask: A fashionable mask of fine fabrics and medicated layers. Protect the user from air pollution, airborne viruses, and unwanted displays of ugliness.

Side Effect: Extreme dryness for the user’s face.

Required Level: 1

Cost: 280 cells.]

[Baby’s Knife: Small butcher knife that can easily cut bones.

Side Effect: Due to its slippy hold, the probability of the user cutting is 35%.

Required: 1

Cost: 290 cells.]

[Sleeping Bug: A sleeping bag that guarantees the user to get the equivalent of 1 hour of rest within 15 minutes of usage.

Side Effect: 50% probability of having a wet dream.

Required Level: 1

Cost: 300 cells.]

[Hot Spray: A spray from pepper-infused water and a secret ingredient to expel annoying coworkers or pesky bugs.

Side Effect: It can cause sharp pain in the eyes and respiratory organs and cause an involuntary napping time for half an hour.

Required Level: 1

Cost: 300 cells.]

Any other items in the System’s shop were off-limits. Seth clicked his tongue in annoyance. Nevertheless, he decided that he could use one of the items to get full advantage.

[Purchase Hot Spray for the cost of 300 cells?]

Clicking on the icon, he sacrificed his last cells for it. What else could he do? It was this or close fighting with an infectore. For all of his nonchalance to death just earlier at noon, he didn’t fancy an event where he was turned into a zombie-like creature that craves brains.

[Purchase succeeded.]

[Balance: 70 cells.]

The same space vagina – the Goury Hole – appeared again. This time it hovered in front of him. Not wanting the same bad experience to happen again, Seth quickly shoved his hand through the dark abyssal hole.

It didn’t take more than a second for his fingers to touch something. Upon pulling it back, he saw that a bottle of what appeared like pepper spray was in his hand.

[Thank you for your purchase.]

[Please enjoy the discount of 10% for your next purchase by using the code ‘thankyouuou’.]

“Graaaaaagh!”

With renewed energy, Wade swatted Amy’s hands away. Somehow, he managed to snap the seat belt off and turned around to strike at his cousin. Amy managed to duck but forgot about the little girl sticking to her body.

Marnie shrieked when blunt nails clawed at her cheek. She cried again out of horror and terror.

Seth’s eyes widened at the realisation. He quickly figured out how to open the spray and directed it at Wade, the infectore.

“Ghrrooooaaarrghh!”

All hell broke loose, but it didn’t last long.

Promised by the System’s promotion, it was true that with only one direct spray to Wade, the infector’s face caused an immediate effect. Wade’s scream was full of agony, but within one minute of flailing, wild arms and uncontrolled need for a bite, he slumped down on his seat. Sleeping sound.

“That was easy,” Amy commented.

Seth raised an eyebrow. “Can we dispose of the body now?”

“No!”