CHAPTER 10

"Don't worry. The zombies can't enter my safe zone!"

After saying that, Shen Tian went straight to the backpack he left on the side of the gate. He rummaged through it and found the med kit he had prepared for his own use.

Opening the kit, he took two anti-pyretic tablets. He also took out a bottle of water.

"Take the meds.", Shen Tian offered the medicine and water to Shao Haoran. "Once you're done, you can take a rest here. Don't worry, as I've mentioned earlier, the zombies can't enter my safe zone."

Shao Haoran looked at the meds in his hand. Medicine is a precious non-renewable resource in this apocalypse since it can no longer be manufactured. There are superhumans with healing powers, but there are not too many of them, so they are considered as precious assets by any base as well. He can't believe that Shen Tian just gave these to him without hesitating.

"Hey, you do know that medicine are precious resources, right?", Shao Haoran can't help but mention it. "You can't just be giving them away to any injured person. You have to keep them for yourself too."

Shen Tian was taken aback by Shao Haoran's words. He was a bit happy to hear that because it means that Shao Haoran was somehow a good person. If it was someone who was ungrateful or with malice, then they'd just accept the medicine and take his help for granted.

"I know. But you need it the most right now.", Shen Tian said. "Whether or not I'll need it in the future, I'll just cross the bridge when I get there."

Shao Haoran was still hesitant to take the medicine. Shen Tian saw his hesitation and urged him.

"You can take it with ease. I'm not going to give that to you for free anyway. Let's talk about compensation later."

Hearing that Shen Tian wasn't giving the medicine and water to him for free, Shao Haoran felt more at ease. In this apocalypse, someone who is kind to you without expecting anything in return may be thinking of something sinister deep inside. Shao Haoran had meet a lot of people like that in the past. Now that Shen Tian mentioned compensation, he felt much better.

Without further hesitation, Shao Haoran took the meds and rested on the grass. He wasn't able to fall asleep deeply, though, since he was still wary of zombies jumping at them. However, he could definitely feel the meds taking effect.

Seeing him lie down, Baobao went to nudge Shen Tian, asking him to remove the backpack. Once it was removed, it immediately nestled itself right beside its owner.

Shen Tian chuckled upon seeing that sight. The dog is definitely a sensitive creature. It probably realized that this was a safe zone that no zombies can trespass so it was able to rest easily even when lying down on the grass, in an open space.

Seeing that the two were resting, Shen Tian decided to look into the mountaineering bag that he looted off his second zombie. He emptied the bag out and started looking into the items one by one.

He was quite pleased with his loot. The first ones he looked into were the clothes, which he thought he can give to Shao Haoran if he does decide to stay at the safe zone. He looked into the clothing items one by one, inspecting every single one just to make sure that there are no blood stains on them that may cause an infection. Fortunately, all the items were usable so he placed them back inside the mountaineering bag.

He also found a swiss knife. It was clean and looked unused so he can use it to chop potatoes or meat later. Of course, he'll have to disinfect it first before using.

There are many other items in his loot such as water purification tablets, empty water bottle, backpacking stove and fuel, energy snacks, read-to-eat foods, first aid and toiletries, and even a compass.

However, the one that made him happy the most is the ice axe! It looked new and unused, which was just perfect. Now, he has another weapon that he can use when fighting zombies!

With the ice axe in his hand, Shen Tian stood up and took a stance. He made a few fighting moves, trying to determine how he can use the new weapon in a fight. Of course, because Shen Tian isn't a fighting prodigy, his fighting moves look very clumsy. Fortunately, the ice axe has a straight handle so he does not have to fight close combat. Just like with the knife, he can attach it to a stick and use it like a spear.

Deciding so, Shen Tian began looking nearby for any straight stick that's durable enough to tie up the ice axe.

It took Shen Tian almost two hours to do everything. Just in time, Shen Tian's stomach let out a loud growl. It seems that it's already noon and he needs to eat now.

He looked at the man and the dog who was resting on the grass. He contemplated whether or not he should wake them up to eat. However, thinking that the man had just taken his medicine and his fever should be going down by now, he decided not to disturb him and just let him wake up naturally.

Since he made up his mind, Shen Tian didn't spend another thought on the Shao Haoran. He took out the packed meal he had prepared for himself before he went out to hunt zombies this morning. Since he only had canned meat and instant noodles to choose from, he opted to pack canned meat with rice. Thinking about it, he now have a backpacking stove and fuel, so he should be able to bring out instant noodles with him if needs to go out again. Of course, as long as there's fuel, this plan is very feasible.

Eating heartily, Shen Tian decided what he would do next. Right now, he had two quests that he needs to fulfill. One is the chain quest, which requires him to collect five crystal cores. The other is the side quest of convincing Shen Haoran to stay in the safe zone.

"System, what's the safe zone residency agreement?"

[[ Notification: The safe zone residency agreement is a contract between the safe zone owner and the resident granting the latter authority to occupy the safe zone. Signing a safe zone residency agreement with the host will ensure that the resident can enter the safe zone anytime and use its facilities and amenities within the duration of the agreement. ]]

"I see.", Shen Tian nodded. "So you mean to say that no one aside from me and the people who sign this agreement can enter the safe zone? Even if there's no gate installed yet?"

[[ Notification: Correct. ]]

"That's quite the security you have there."

[[ Notification: Of course. The priority of the safe zone is the safety of the host and the people you've acknowledged to reside in it so it is only natural to have this clear cut agreement in place. ]]

"Thanks you.", Shen Tian replied. "So how can I produce this agreement?"

[[ Notification: As the host's safe zone level is too low, the host is the only one who can produce the agreement. To produce one, simply hold out your hand and say the word "agreement". Once the host's safe zone level reaches a certain level, the host can be rewarded with a registration machine that potential residents can operate on their own to register as a resident of the safe zone. ]]