Click!
He locked the main door.
No matter what, in an unclear situation outside, preventing other creatures from entering was the first action to take.
After locking the door, he hurriedly ran back inside. Passing by the water cooler, he conveniently smashed the lock on the first aid box above with the bat, reaching in to grab all the medicine inside.
"Kheeze... Help me... Kheeze..."
When he returned to Jonny's side, his poor colleague was already delirious, his eyes cloudy, his skin dark and bruised, thick, dark red mucus dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Memphis clenched his hand tightly, his eyes reddening.
In less than 30 seconds from being bitten, Jonny had nearly lost consciousness, perhaps only standing through sheer will to survive despite his body's transformation.
"Jonny, Jonny, you have to stay awake, your dad is waiting! Uncle Gaspar is waiting for you at home!"
Jonny seemed to hear Memphis's voice, hearing the name Gaspar Byrne, his father, a miserable widower. He struggled to lift his head, groaning hoarsely:
"Kheeze... Save... Save my dad... Kheeze..."
Memphis clenched his teeth and nodded vigorously:
"I'll do... I'll save your dad, hang in there."
In the life-and-death moment, Memphis felt that Jonny was not so stupid or annoying. He was just a victim in this nightmare.
Jonny could barely maintain his sanity, struggling to speak his final words:
"Apartment... Kheeze... Apartment Cedar Creek... Room 412... Kheeze Kheeze..."
He had completely lost his mind, slowly crawling towards Memphis, his eyes filled with a bloodthirsty desire.
Memphis let out a painful cry, raised the stick in his hand high, and after two seconds of hesitation, decisively struck down.
Thud!
Jonny's skull caved in, blood and blackened brains splattered everywhere.
At this point, out of the six people in the office, only Memphis was left, and he was the one who personally sent five of his colleagues to their deaths.
"Why..."
Memphis looked out the window, seeing only a clear blue sky full of sunlight, no dark clouds or strong winds, no sinister skulls, yet the bodies in the room were enough to prove that everything was real.
The apocalypse had truly arrived.
After a minute of silent mourning, Memphis opened his eyes, his pupils reflecting deep hatred. He wanted to find the cause of all these terrible events.
Only then did he notice his own condition, feeling extremely fatigued from the excessive physical exertion.
Rushing to the other side of the desk, Memphis sat down on the chair and reached for the phone.
He immediately dialed Jarred Lawton.
Fortunately, the telecommunications network was still functioning.
Hearing the beeping on the other end, Memphis felt a growing anxiety.
Luckily, after five rings, the other end picked up.
"Hello, Memphis, it's me. Are you okay over there?"
It was the worried yet excited voice of Jarred. Memphis exhaled and quickly said:
"I'm fine. Jarred, I'm at the office. Are you at home or somewhere else? Stay put and wait for me."
He felt a mix of relief and oddity. Relief because Jarred was safe, his voice somewhat calm, likely secure. Odd because of Jarred's excitement.
Jarred quickly responded:
"Memphis, I'm at home, very safe right now. Oh, by the way, I've reached level 2... Beep beep beep!"
The prolonged beeping echoed, and Memphis hastily checked his phone, finding the signal had disappeared.
His heart sank. The telecommunications network had gone down.
"It looks like I need to act quickly. And Jarred mentioned level 2, what does that mean?"
Memphis wasn't worried about his parents, as they had unfortunately passed away two years ago. Now, Jarred was his only family in this city.
Putting the phone in his pocket, thinking it might still be useful, Memphis leaned on the baseball bat, resting while pondering Jarred's words. He rolled his eyes and tried calling out in his mind.
"Level."
Sure enough, as soon as Memphis had the thought, an attribute panel appeared in his mind.
"Host: Memphis Jackman. Purebred Human.
Profession: Commoner.
Level: 2 (Exp 0/20)
Strength: 7/10
Agility: 6/10
Stamina: 4/10
Intelligence: 9/10
Recovery: 7/10
Endurance: 7/10
Burst: 7%
Active skills: None
Passive skills: None
Skill points: 1
Potential points: 4
Bright points: 5
Equipment: Baseball bat."
After careful consideration, Memphis let out a breath, finally understanding a bit of Jarred's astonishment.
He wasn't unfamiliar with this attribute table; it bore some resemblance to the online games he played. At the same time, there were a few peculiarities he couldn't fully grasp for now.
The points in front were likely his current points, and the ones behind might be the highest attainable limits. He could guess the various attribute lines, though the "breakthrough" stat was a mystery for now... In short, this so-called "system" had probably appeared in his mind since that beam of light from the skull shot at him.
Memphis focused on the attribute changes. He had reached level 2, gaining 4 potential points and 1 skill point, which seemed to increase upon leveling up.
Looking over the attribute table, Memphis murmured thoughtfully:
"Just now, after a battle, my stamina dropped from 7 points to 4 points. The consumption is really not small. I definitely need to enhance this attribute. As for the others, maybe I'll increase strength a bit and speed a bit more."
Strength for stronger attacks and carrying more items, speed for escaping quickly in danger and dodging better in fights. As for the rest, he'll research them later.
"Add two points to stamina, one point to strength, and one point to agility."
Memphis silently recited, feeling a gentle stream of water wash over his body, slightly alleviating his fatigue. He lightly grasped the baseball bat, noticing it felt significantly easier to wield than before.
After adjusting, Memphis pulled up the attribute table again.
"Host Memphis Jackman. Purebred Human.
Occupation: Commoner
Level: 2 (Exp 0/20)
Strength: 8/10
Agility: 7/10
Stamina: 6/12
Intelligence: 9/10
Recovery: 7/10
Endurance: 7/10
Breakthrough: 7%
Active Skills: None
Passive Skills: None
Skill Points: 1
Potential Points: 0
Bright Points: 5.
Weapons: Baseball bat."
It was bizarre, skulls suddenly appeared, zombies attacked, and then the attribute panel along with these resources... How was he supposed to restore the world to its former state and destroy the unwanted resources?Sure enough, after adding potential points, the highest limit of the attributes increased. It seems he needs to train to bring his stats to the highest level.Also, how does he use the skill points, and what about the newly appeared Bright? 5 Bright should equal 5 zombie corpses, right?Well, let's see how it goes. He just killed 5 zombies and gained 5 exp, enough to level up. So, each zombie gives 1 exp, meaning to reach level 3, he needs to kill 20 zombies..."Ding. Congratulations to the host for successfully surviving the initial phase and leveling up.""The system offers rewards. Please choose one of the following: First, instantly increase the current level by one, the reward cannot be saved for later use. Second, receive a random skill book ranging from tier one to tier three. Third, receive a random piece of equipment ranging from tier one to tier three."As Memphis was deep in thought, the mechanical voice startled him with a mix of surprise and joy, along with significant in
Feeling a bit sentimental, Memphis pulled out his backpack and stuffed all the found items inside. After some thought, he searched through 5 of his colleagues' wallets, hoping to have something to hand over if he met their families.He also took Hughie's coat, a long and thick one, perfect for protection.Using Miley Cramer's skirt to wrap his hand and Jonny Byrne's remaining cap, Memphis finally covered himself completely.He looked around the office one last time, seeing the rotting corpses of his comrades, quietly mumbling:"Sorry... I will avenge you all..."He turned towards the door, a determined plan forming in his mind.But first, he had to escape this building.Memphis's office was located at the end of the hallway on the third floor of the building. To reach the staircase on the other side, he had to pass by the secretary's office, the director's office, the second office, and then the separate security room along the hallway, before finally reaching the emergency exit stair
Looking at the attribute table, Memphis understood a bit more. It turned out his experience gained was proportional to the monster's level. So, the stronger the zombie he killed, the greater the benefits, and there was a chance of loot drops!The breakthrough point increased to 11%, but he still didn't know its use.Taking a deep breath, Memphis cautiously stepped forward, his eyes constantly scanning for information on zombies, ready to respond quickly.Next to his office was the secretary's room. Holding the bat in one hand, Memphis carefully turned the lock with the other. He wanted to see if Amanda was still human or had turned into a zombie.If she is human, Memphis thought, he would try to investigate her situation a bit. If she is a zombie, he wouldn't mind giving her a whack to gain some experience points.Click, click...Click, click, click...The door suddenly opened, and Memphis's body tensed into a defensive stance. However, after observing, there was no one inside. Maybe
He reached for the card but didn't examine it immediately, instead swinging his bat again to brutally smash the head of the dumb level 1 zombie still hissing in a daze.With that, the fight ended, and he couldn't help but exhale. Good, he had only spent 2 stamina points and gained 11 experience. Including before, his experience bar was now 15/20.Memphis turned to look at Lionel and Amanda, who still bore expressions of fear and bewilderment, and calmly said:"Chairman Hester, I want to resign."In the blood-soaked room, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.This was something Memphis had wanted to say for years.Lionel, who initially intended to praise Memphis out of habit, was taken aback when he heard this, his mouth twitching. He suppressed his anger and quickly put on a sincere smile:"Memphis, you saved our lives, whatever you say goes. Isn't that right, Amanda?"Lionel, being the director of a scam company, was extremely cunning and shameless. In that brief moment, he had though
After reaching a mutual understanding, Memphis immediately said:"Prepare yourselves, gather all the food and drinks, and wear more clothes to protect yourselves. As for other useless things, I suggest not taking them."To Memphis, things like money or gold were relatively useless at the moment and would only add weight.Lionel and Amanda both nodded, hesitantly agreeing. They first checked their phones, feeling even more anxious when they saw the signal bars were dead.Ignoring them as they packed, Memphis moved towards the door, peeking through the peephole.It was impossible to see inside from the outside, but from the inside, he could easily see out.Outside, there were indeed zombies attracted to the noise. Moreover, there were more than one."Infectious form level 1, can turn living beings into the same kind.""Infectious form level 2, can turn living beings into the same kind."Relying on his scouting vision, Memphis confirmed that the two zombies were relatively normal. They w
Bang! Bang! Bang!The door shook continuously, then with a crack, it burst open, the lock unable to withstand the zombie's monstrous strength.A tall zombie with a rotten, slimy face stepped out of the room."Aaah... Mmm mmm..."Amanda couldn't help but scream in horror, immediately being silenced by Lionel beside her.Though Lionel was equally terrified, he feared attracting more zombies even more.This tall zombie seemed to be Devlin Leyton, Kieron Leyton's brother. It hissed threateningly, its heavy footsteps moving towards Memphis and the others."Its speed isn't too high, but its monstrous strength is immense!"Memphis quickly assessed the situation. As the zombie's claw came down, he used his superior speed to dodge, gripping the machete and slashing upwards, striking its arm joint.Crack!The zombie's claw was severed on the spot.The zombie didn't feel any pain and swung its remaining hand towards Memphis's head. He quickly crouched, rolled through its legs, and moved behind i
Having made their decision, the three of them lined up and left, heading straight for the stairwell. Memphis took the lead, Amanda in the middle, and the portly Lionel brought up the rear, his hand trembling as he gripped the baseball bat.Kheeze… Kheeze…At the staircase landing between the 3rd and 2nd floors, two zombies were kneeling, gnawing on a body. Hearing the footsteps of the three people coming down, one of them immediately turned its head and then crawled over."Infectious form level 2, can turn living beings into the same kind.""Infectious form level 2, can turn living beings into the same kind."Just two level 2 zombies. Memphis swung his sword, shattering the skull of the crawling zombie, then casually chopped off the head of the other one still engrossed in eating.His experience points had risen to 12/40.He turned to Lionel and Amanda:"If you have the courage to face them, you can gain greater power. These zombies are disgusting and dangerous, but they're also relat
Right at this moment, a jet-black baseball bat struck, knocking that arm aside.It was none other than Amanda Owens, who appeared to be the most frail and harmless.At the critical moment, she stood up, wielding the bat towards the strongest zombie.Memphis seized the opportunity, conjuring a second ice spear in his hand, gritting his teeth as he plunged it into the eye socket of the large-handed zombie, piercing through its skull.One fatal move."Kheeze... Kheeze..."The two newly emerged zombies were not frightened by their comrade's death, continuing to crawl up, their large mouths gaping like blood basins ready to bite.Memphis had a chance to catch his breath, quickly pulling the ice spear out of the large-handed zombie's eye socket, and thrusting it straight into the mouth of an approaching zombie.At the same time, Amanda swung the baseball bat, hitting the top of the other zombie's head with a "bop" flattening it.The two level 1 and level 2 zombies were killed before they co