Power Outage

Amid the dense crowd of ordinary zombies, there were not only Crawlers but also Venomous Creature Breeders, and occasionally, a huge figure over three meters tall could be seen. This figure lingered behind the academic building, showing at most half an arm.

It was a human arm, but much larger in size, with bulging veins as if the muscles were about to burst. Just from seeing this arm, Henry knew this creature's strength was far beyond that of Crawlers and Venomous Creature Breeders.

If it were any other survivor seeing such a scene, they'd probably be scared stiff. But Henry, on the other hand, sported a greedy smile. To him, these were all Energy Cores—resources that could make him stronger. Getting so many resources at once was rare, and he had to make good use of them!

Henry glanced instinctively towards the entrance of Sun University. Suddenly, his gaze froze. The security booth at the entrance had been destroyed, leaving only rubble and exposed steel rebar. A Crawler was crawling along the edge of the debris...

"Could it be... Clarissa is dead?" Henry's heart skipped a beat.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

Clarissa: "Are you there?"

"?? Clarissa isn't dead?" A wave of relief washed over Henry. He then realized something. Sun University was a large institution with more than one entrance, so naturally, there would be more than one security booth. Clarissa must be hiding in another security booth. That made sense!

Henry took another careful look at the destroyed security booth in front of him. The exposed rebar was already rusted, clearly destroyed a long time ago. Moreover, despite the sharp claws of a Crawler, it wasn't capable of dismantling a reinforced concrete building to this extent.

"What's up?" Henry replied.

"Just now, several people wanted to buy bows, and all the bows you gave me have already been reserved!"

"I don't know if you have any extra bows, so I can let them know!" 

"Also, those who reserved have already sent over their trades!" 

"They've sent [Energy Cores]*10 plus [Ice Blossoms]*5, [Bucket of Instant Noodles]*5 + [Blood-Stained Keys]*10 + [Carbon Hard Material]*5, [Skill: Basic Mechanical Repair] + [Skill: Advanced Electrician], [Basic Constitution Potion]*1 + [Steel Material]*100..." 

"Make sure to check the trades against the list I sent you, to prevent anyone from being sneaky and cutting corners!" 

"I didn't want to bother you earlier because I knew you were busy..." 

"Right now, your bows are really in demand, and there are too many inquiries!" 

"I have too many backorders, and I had to contact you..." 

"I hope it hasn't disrupted your activities!"

Clarissa is very organized in her work and exceptionally considerate. 

"Okay, I got it, I'll handle it when I get back to my place," Henry replied. 

"Ah, you're still outside?" 

"Then don't talk anymore, make sure you're safe!" 

"You don't need to reply to this message, just let me know when you get back to your place," Clarissa said anxiously. 

"I'm fine, I've cleared out the zombies around here!" 

"How about you?" 

"Is that Crawler still wandering around?" Henry asked. 

"I'm safe, don't worry!" 

"I've been keeping an eye on that Crawler for you, it's been loitering around here!" 

"It just headed towards Building 1 just now," Clarissa responded earnestly. 

"Good, as long as you're safe," Henry sighed in relief. 

Although he had never met this girl in person, and they had only known each other for a few days, Henry inexplicably didn't want her to get eaten by zombies! 

"Ah, you care about me..." Clarissa blushed.

"No, I was just asking where that monster is..."

"Remember, in the apocalypse, no one is reliable!"

"Don't mind what I say now, these things can be pretended!"

"In the apocalypse, especially beautiful women, trusting others is like signing your own death warrant!"

"Do you understand?" Henry said sternly.

"Hehe, are you saying I'm pretty?" Clarissa smiled sweetly.

"I... I mean you need to protect yourself and not trust others so easily!"

"Can you focus on the main point of what someone is saying?" Henry said with a face full of frustration.

"Mhm, I know, don't worry!"

"I know how to protect myself!"

"In fact, when I was in school, a lot of people pursued me!"

"But I could tell, they weren't really looking out for me!"

"But you're different... you're... special..." Clarissa answered somewhat shyly.

"Alright, let's not talk about this now, we'll talk when I get back to my place." Henry closed the chat channel.

The sun was beginning to set, with just one hour left before it truly went down. There wasn't enough time to clear out the horde of zombies at Sun University. Better to gather more wood. Use the evening to make more bows and arrows! Thinking this, Henry set his sights on a row of trees along the road. He began to gather.

Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained [Wood]*7, [Sprouting Branches]*2!

Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained [Wood]*5, [Sprouting Branches]*1!

...

He continued gathering until the sun was nearly set, then returned to the neighborhood. Henry had collected a total of [Wood]*356, [Sprouting Branches]*177!

Back home, the first thing Henry did was to strip off his zombie-blood-stained clothes and recycle them.

He gained [Clean Cloth]*5.

Then, using the skill: Master Tailor, he made himself a new set of sportswear.

Back in the bathroom, he took a satisfying shower, washing off all the sweat.

He took out a bottle of soda and grabbed a few ice cubes from the fridge, pouring them into a glass. Henry stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the eighth floor, looking out at the silent city. He took a gentle sip of the chilled beverage. 

"Ah... that's really refreshing~" He stretched lazily. Killing zombies had become like a regular job, working nine to five. Snow had fought all day and was already exhausted. Although it was formidable in its enlarged state, it was still just a dog at heart.

Now, Snow was lying at Henry's feet, deeply asleep. Even in its sleep, it smacked its lips as if dreaming of eating something delicious.

Henry glanced at the time, in just a few more seconds, the streetlights would turn on. He thoroughly enjoyed the moment the city lit up, giving him the illusion that civilization hadn't completely vanished. 

But as time ticked by, the streetlights didn't come on as scheduled. As the sky grew darker, the entire world was plunged into darkness.

Tonight was a waning moon, which wasn't bright to begin with. Coupled with the sudden blackout, the whole city was enveloped in pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.