Heading out to collect the His Students!
The system had been nagging him every night to take action to find students for the school.
Seeing its favorite host Nine, Hania Fill, showing no signs of leaving the school grounds, ALAIS began to worry and frantically pace around its system room, nearly breaking down.
It never forgot to remind Hania Fill at every moment that less than one week remained for the host to complete the primary mission task.
They need ten students by the end of thirty days.
In fact, it was more than a simple reminder with the repetition was so annoying that Hania Fill had become frustrated just hearing the system's voice.
Hania Fill was already aware that failure to complete the mission task would result in his death.
It would be enforced by the mastermind system, not ALAIS, according to the rules.
Do you think he is afraid to die?
As a human being, death is inevitable and the end for everyone. It's just a matter of time.
Hania Fill already had everything in his previous life, from influence, wealth, and fame.
The only thing he probably lacks is romance—and starting a family in his 30s.
It never crossed his mind to begin anyway.
As for the fear of dying, though he was not afraid, he didn't want the reason for his death to simply be because he failed a certain mission task.
His life was not cheap, and it never would be.
Now, driving the onyx-black Volvo XC90 he had found abandoned in the middle of the road, he finally made ALAIS very much happy.
"Wohohooohooo… sister… sister—" A young child's weak, broken cry caught Hania Fill's attention. He could hear it. Even though it was far from where he was driving right now.
It was because of his enhanced senses, a result of upgrading the school facilities.
That he noticed significant changes in his strength, a strength no normal human could possess anymore.
Hania Fill is still an ordinary college student in everyone's eyes, but he knows very well that he is no longer just an ordinary human.
"Sister… wohohoho…"
Turning the car onto another road, Hania Fill decided to follow the direction of the crying child's voice.
Over the past few days, Hania Fill had been diligently checking for any reports of new arrivals in Hillside City, but the system hadn't flagged anything unusual.
Hearing a child's crying voice now, out of nowhere, made his eyebrows furrow in concern.
"Host Nine, host! Humans detected!"
"Aren't I human?" Hania Fill asked with mock ridicule.
In response, ALAIS jumped around in its system room, letting out a screech like a child throwing a tantrum.
It then mechanically feigned being wronged.
"Host Nine, I know I keep asking you to go out, but this is for your own good! Don't talk to me like that… You weren't like this before!"
Where was the quiet, reserved CEO who used to focus on work?
Hania Fill ignored the system's antics.
ALAIS let out another exaggerated cry, bouncing around and blaming him for hurting its feelings—even though it didn't actually feel anything.
Sometimes, Hania Fill couldn't help but wonder if he was dealing with a child.
"Are you sure it's a human, or just another upgraded zombie type that can mimic a human's voice?"
"Host Nine! Are you questioning my ability as a system? I assure you, it's a human child, with a completely intact soul!"
A human child with an intact soul?
The term baffled Hania Fill, but he chose not to question it further.
He continued driving until he brought the car to a stop on the other side of the road.
Stepping out, he wanted to find the crying child whose voice he had been hearing.
A child left alone in the apocalypse of zombies and upgraded monsters would be asking for death.
However, since Hillside City had been largely cleaned up by him during his three-week stay, the child could cry freely.
As long as this little one didn't venture into the darkened areas, where no sunlight or light reached, the child would be safe.
Those were the places where the more upgraded zombies, the ones who hunted humans, hid during the daylight hours.
After a few more turns past abandoned houses and stores, Hania Fill finally spotted a young child, looking around six or seven years old, crying out loud in the middle of the road as if he were a lost child in a crowded mall.
"It's really a kid…" Hania Fill observed from a distance, not planning to approach just yet.
"Yes, yes! I told you, Host Nine! I'm not lying!"
"Who said you were lying?"
"Host Nine! Host Nine! I've been wronged by you!"
The young child, sobbing miserably, clutched his broken teddy bear to his chest.
The bear's hand had already been torn apart by force, its cotton stuffing spilling out, but the child's feet continued to move aimlessly, with no destination in mind.
What occupied this young child's thoughts, however, was his big sister, who had been taken by bad guys.
His big sister had told him to run away, to find the place marked on the paper he had picked up, where he would find plenty of food.
Wiping his dirty little face with his small hands, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from the little bag his big sister had given him, along with a small piece of bread and a half-empty bottle of water.
This piece of school paper, a fraudulent advertisement, was the reason his big sister had been taken away by the bad men.
Far from his big sister, the anger swelled in the young child's chest as he stood in the middle of nowhere.
He couldn't stop himself from tearing the paper apart, desperately calling out for his big sister to come back.
Just as the young child was about to run away, Hania Fill appeared behind him and grabbed the back of his shirt, stopping the little one in his tracks.
The young child's complete lack of awareness made Hania Fill think he was either incredibly naive—or just plain stupid.
Frozen in place, the young child looked up to see a handsome stranger towering over him.
Panic quickly set in, and the young child began to struggle, desperately trying to break free.
"Hold up..."
"Let me go! Let me go, bad guy! Let me go!"
"Who's the bad guy?" Hania Fill muttered under his breath, thinking quietly to himself.
He admitted he'd grabbed the young child by the back of his collar, but how did that suddenly make him the bad guy?