Chapter 004: Zombies Level Up Quickly!

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 thought of numerous possibilities and decided that, given Memphis's capabilities, he should first satisfy and appease him. He even roped Amanda into the conversation, trying to forge a connection.

Amanda, being both Lionel's secretary and mistress, understood his intentions clearly. She immediately suppressed her fear and confusion, giving a "professional" smile:

"That's right, Memphis, whatever you say goes. We've always been good friends."

She was even more direct than Lionel, deciding to strengthen her relationship with Memphis as much as possible. After all, she didn't believe Lionel could be as fierce in killing enemies as Memphis was.

Seeing the two of them exchange pleasantries, Memphis couldn't help but smile wryly. He realized he had underestimated their cunning before.

He had initially wanted to stir up some conflict so he could leave without any emotional burden. But given their tactful words, he couldn't go against his conscience and had to nod:

"Yes."

Few words, acknowledging a bit, but making no promises.

Then he immediately asked:

"Director Hester, Amanda, did you see the giant skull in the sky earlier?"

Lionel and Amanda were taken aback, then quickly responded:

"Yes, I saw it, and I heard the skull say something about a game..."

"Yes, yes, then my vision went white, and a few seconds later, Kieron and the others went crazy..."

Now they started to express their fear and confusion, recounting everything.

Memphis quietly listened to their recounting and then raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Did you get an attribute panel but no skills?"

Lionel and Amanda looked at each other and shook their heads.

Memphis pondered, thinking carefully. It seemed that the conditions "survive" and "level up" within a certain time were necessary to receive skill gifts. So, he was the only one with the so-called resource system panel and level-up capability. He raised the baseball bat and calmly said:

"The world has undergone some unknown transformation. I only know that killing zombies with this can increase experience, and with enough experience, one can level up and enhance their body. It was through these enhancements that I was able to fight the zombies."

He shared some information but didn't mention that leveling up could grant skills. After all, there were no zombies for these two to hunt right now.

He then showed the card in his hand and continued:

"Killing zombies can also drop some items, like this."

The card in Memphis's hand quickly conveyed mechanical information into his mind.

"Ding! Random item card, confirm usage?"

"Use."

Following his confirmation, the card suddenly shattered into a burst of light, then reformed into a long-handled machete with black hilt and red skull patterns, looking extremely sharp.

"Ding! Machete Lv2. Attributes: +2 strength, +1 agility. A sharp weapon."

Memphis felt a surge of joy, sensing that wielding the newly acquired scimitar made him a bit stronger. With this weapon, hunting zombies would be much easier.

Both Lionel and Amanda were speechless at the transformation they witnessed, fully convinced by Memphis's earlier explanation.

There was a hint of greed in Lionel's eyes. In this mutation, strength meant survival. However, he was wise enough not to reveal his thoughts, carefully saying:

"Memphis, if we use guns to kill zombies, will we also receive enhancements?"

Memphis raised an eyebrow and shook his head in response:

"I don't know. After all, I don't have a gun. Do you, Mr. Hester?"

Lionel quickly replied:

"Yes, I have a k54 with 12 bullets, but it's hidden in the security room."

Running a scam company, he naturally prepared a few illegal items but kept them well-hidden, avoiding storing them in his office to prevent additional charges if the police ever raided.

He quickly added:

"Memphis, if you can get that gun for me, I'll give you all this money."

As he spoke, Lionel pulled out thick stacks of cash from his desk drawer.

Amanda's eyes lit up slightly at the sight of the money.

She became Lionel's mistress not for love or lust, but for money.

Memphis immediately shook his head, refusing:

"Mr. Hester, I don't need money right now. However, I can retrieve the gun, but I want to use it. You know, fighting zombies is very dangerous, and I remember there are still two guards in the room who are likely dead by now."

Lionel hearing Memphis's refusal then gritted his teeth. He didn't immediately agree but asked instead:

"What are your plans next?"

Memphis calmly replied:

"First, I'll find my younger brother, gather some food, and then we'll head to the outskirts. The city is full of zombies, and I don't plan to stay here."

Lionel nodded at this:

"I can show you where the gun and ammunition are hidden and give you the company pickup truck keys. However, you must promise to take us with you when you escape and help me get back to Pinecrest to save my family."

Memphis's eyes lit up at this. A pickup truck would be excellent. Even if he couldn't drive, Lionel certainly could.

As for taking them along and saving their family, Memphis didn't find it too disagreeable. After some consideration, he agreed:

"Deal."

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 were standing there dumbfounded, but as soon as Memphis approached the door, they began to move, making some disgusting hissing sounds and clawing at the door.

"Such keen sense of smell."

He silently assessed, then turned and calmly waited for Lionel and Amanda.

It didn't take long for the two to be ready, each carrying a heavy backpack and holding a black baseball bat. Memphis knew that the backpacks were filled with cash, contracts, and property deeds, not much food or water.

Lionel had put on an extra coat, while Amanda was still in her somewhat revealing office attire, which offered little protection for vulnerable areas.

But he didn't have time to care about that and immediately said:

"You must be mentally prepared, stay absolutely calm, follow my orders, and do not scream or panic to avoid attracting more zombies."

Both Lionel and Amanda quickly nodded in agreement, though they couldn't hide the fear and trembling in their eyes.

Memphis checked outside once more, confirming there were only two zombies, then decisively reached out and unlocked the door, opening it.

Kheeze, Kheeze...

The two zombies immediately lunged forward like unleashed beasts, their arms outstretched and mouths wide open, aiming to bite Memphis.

Memphis didn't hesitate, kicking one zombie in the stomach to push it back, and without hesitation, he swung his broadsword towards the head of the other zombie.

Slice!

The broadsword, extremely sharp and enhanced with attributes, easily sliced through the other zombie's head, leaving half its skull a black, sticky flat surface.

He stepped forward, slashing at the neck of the remaining zombie.

Slice!

The head and neck were instantly severed, with blood and fluids gushing out like a fountain.

Memphis silently praised the weapon. It worked so well, two swings and two kills, as effortlessly as chopping vegetables, without using a single point of stamina.

He spoke in a deep voice:

"Follow behind me."

Lionel and Amanda, seemingly reassured by Memphis's bravery, showed much less panic in their eyes. They carefully stepped over the zombie corpses on the ground, following him closely.

Next to the director's office was office number 2. The door was slightly ajar, and from two meters away, they could hear disgusting hissing sounds and the eerie noise of flesh being devoured.

Memphis signaled the two behind him to stop, then carefully opened the door and looked inside.

The room resembled a scene from hell. Three zombies were kneeling on the floor, fervently feasting on a flesh-and-blood meal, their faces buried in a body's abdomen, pulling out and devouring its organs.

Hearing a noise, one of the zombies looked up, hissed twice, and lunged forward. Memphis remained unflustered, swinging his hand in a diagonal chop, severing the zombie's head. He then took a long step forward, chopping off the necks of the remaining two.

"Ding! Congratulations on reaching level 3. You have received 4 potential points and 1 skill point!"

After killing two zombies, Memphis let out a breath, hearing a mechanical, emotionless voice in his ear.

He quickly decided:

"Add two points to stamina, one point to agility, one point to intelligence."

"Level up the ice manipulation skill."

"Ding, skill level-up confirmed. Skill power increased by 20%, impact radius increased to 50 meters, duration increased to 12 seconds per activation."

After leveling up, Memphis finally allocated the skill points.

He immediately called up the attribute panel.

"Host: Memphis Jackman. Pure-blood human.

Occupation: Commoner.

Level: 3 (Exp 1/40)

Strength: 10/10

Agility: 9/10

Stamina: 8/14

Intelligence: 7/11

Recovery: 7/10

Endurance: 7/10

Burst: 27%

Active Skill: Ice Manipulation.

Passive Skill: Scout's Eye.

Skill Points: 0

Potential Points: 0

Mint Coins: 26

Weapon: Machete lv2"

Good, after upgrading himself, Memphis not only found it easier to eliminate zombies but also consumed significantly less stamina, thus increasing his chances of survival.

He looked around, grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the desk, stuffed it into his backpack, and then left Office No. 2.

When Memphis appeared, Lionel and Amanda finally exhaled, their worries easing momentarily. They feared that if something happened to Memphis, they might not survive either.

Memphis glanced at them and said:

"Let's go."

The three of them moved forward, Lionel turning to look at the messy office, his hands gradually clenching. This was his life's work, now reduced to dust, and if he wasn't careful, even his life might be lost.

The security room was right next to Office No. 2, with the door currently shut. Memphis signaled with his hand, and the other two immediately stopped, their minds highly focused.

Memphis peeked inside through the glass pane, instantly witnessing a horrifying scene.

A zombie over 2 meters tall was hunched over a corpse on the table, its rotten hand eagerly tearing off red flesh and stuffing it into its mouth.

"Infectious type level 7, capable of infecting living beings into its kind."

"Damn it, why are these zombies leveling up so fast? Could eating human flesh be causing them to evolve?"

Memphis cursed inwardly, his desire to search for a gun greatly diminished. But the zombie seemed to sense something, slowly turning to look behind.

It had seen Memphis.

Memphis silently cursed and quickly moved away from the door. Within two breaths, the door banged loudly, as if someone was pounding it with a sledgehammer.

Bang bang!