Chapter 008: Rescue And Protect Mission For 20 People.

After slashing two more level 2 zombies, the area around the gas station was clear of monsters.

He was unlucky not to have dropped any items, gaining only exp and gold coins.

"70/80 exp, almost leveling up."

Memphis hesitated for a moment but ultimately discarded the idea of searching for more zombies to kill. Safety was paramount; once safe, he could think further. If he recklessly left the safe zone and encountered a zombie above level 10, he would surely die without a burial place.

Returning to the car, Memphis saw Lionel filling a plastic can in the back.

Lionel immediately said, "The tank is full. Once this plastic can is also filled, we can travel up to 1500km."

"Good, I'll go search a bit."

Fortunately, the apocalypse had just hit, and there hadn't been a power outage yet. Those factories probably had automation, but they might soon break down.

Thinking of this, he immediately grabbed the machete and rushed into the adjacent building, hoping to find a generator.

Every gas station had one of these.

"Hiss..."

Behind the large door was a level 5 zombie gnawing on a corpse. As soon as it saw Memphis open the door, it turned and growled hungrily.

It was met with a flash of a blade, leaving only a bare neck and a fallen card.

"Hmph, I thought nothing would drop again."

Memphis kicked the corpse aside, casually slashing another level 1 zombie to death before bending down to pick up the card.

"Ding! Strength Ring lv2. Attribute: +3 strength Limited item, cannot stack with similar items"

"Haha, a good thing!"

Memphis immediately put the strength ring on his index finger, clearly feeling his body becoming much stronger.

He was still worried about not being able to cut off the arm of a level 8 zombie; with the strength ring, that problem would be solved.

Inside the building, there were a few scattered zombies, all of which were casually killed by Memphis.

"79/80 exp, too unlucky!"

He finally found a small generator in the corner of the room. It was a medium-sized generator, weighing about 47kg. Memphis reached out and lifted it, feeling like he was just picking up a 20-liter paint can.

He also found some rolls of wire and a pile of tape. Memphis dragged the generator outside and threw everything into the truck bed.

Lionel's eyes couldn't help but light up in praise. After filling the 100-liter reserve fuel can, he continued to fill the generator with gas, finally stopping with satisfaction.

"Let's go."

The two quickly climbed into the pickup truck, driving away from the gas station.

Memphis looked out the car window and said to Lionel:

"Lower the window, slow down a bit, I want to kill some zombies."

Lionel did not doubt Memphis's words, lowering the window and slowly driving to a secluded spot on the side of the road, approaching a group of two or three wandering aimlessly.

These zombies, if there were no humans around, were like dead trees, with no thoughts or reactions.

Memphis reached out, accurately swinging the cleaver, decapitating a weak zombie.

He didn't linger, quickly pulling his hand back, and Lionel, understanding, raised the window again.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, for surviving the initial phase and successfully reaching level 5."

"System, please choose a direction: First: Immediately increase the current level by 2 levels, cannot be saved for later use. Second: Receive a piece of equipment and a random skill book from level 1 to level 3. Third: Accept a challenge mission, upon completion, receive corresponding rewards and a defined profession."

"Damn, making things difficult again."

The mechanical sound made Memphis stunned, a bit happy, but also in agony over the choice.

The first two options were familiar; the third option was worth considering, seeming to offer great rewards, like a trap. He hesitated for a long time, mentally asking:

"How difficult is the challenge mission?"

The system immediately replied:

"Difficulty equivalent to a novice mission!"

Memphis asked a few more questions, trying to get responses from different angles, but received the same answers.

"Damn this system, really tight-lipped. Alright, choose to accept the mission."

Memphis couldn't help but take a gamble. He was extremely eager for the 2-level growth, but the profession reward that opened up a new and unknown attribute was even more tempting and surely extremely useful. He didn't trust that he would draw any high-level items or skills. If he ended up with another horse-cutting blade or a healing bracelet, he would cry his eyes out.

"Ding! Confirming newbie task: Collect the aftermath! Task description: Save and gather 20 humans to a safe location. Execution time: 96h. Task completion rewards: one lv3 item card, one third-tier skill book, one profession card. Task failure: deduct 300 exp!"

Memphis fell silent for a moment. This task was neither too difficult nor too easy. It contradicted his initial plan to escape quickly, requiring him to find at least 20 people and protect them for 4 days. However, the task did not violate his core principles and was acceptable.

After all, he was still a relatively "kind-hearted" office worker.

Having chosen this path, he calmly accepted it. The reward was incredibly attractive, encompassing part of the previous reward, and the penalty wasn't severe enough to kill him immediately. After all, he was confident he could earn 300 exp in the next 4 days.

Memphis continued to give orders:

"Add one point to agility, one point to stamina, two points to intelligence! Open the attribute panel."

"Host: Memphis Jackman. Purebred Human.

Profession: Commoner.

Level: 5 (Exp 1/150)

Strength: 17 (10)

Agility: 15 (10)

Stamina: 9/17

Intelligence: 5/15

Recovery: 8 (10)

Resilience: 11 (10)

Burst: 105%

Active skills: Ice control (+1)

Passive skills: Scout vision. Strength enhancement. Agility enhancement. Resilience enhancement.

Skill points: 2

Potential points: 0

Coins: 69

Weapons: Horse-cutting blade lv2, Speed boots lv2, Healing bracelet lv2, Apocalypse jacket lv3, Strength ring lv2."

Memphis continued to give orders:

"Add one skill point to ice manipulation for me."

"Ding! Second-tier skill ice manipulation (+2). Skill power increased by 20%, duration increased to 14 seconds, maximum range 70 meters!"

"Whew, feeling stronger is really good!"

After continuously upgrading equipment, skills, and adding potential points, Memphis finally had some self-defense ability in this apocalypse.

Memphis pushed on for another four days, earning the mission reward and finally overcoming his difficulties.

They ran for another five minutes, finally reaching the end of DT2 Road. The next turn led to Greenfield Lane, which intersected with Water Lily Road, where Memphis' house was located.

Memphis signaled Lionel to slow down, concentrating on scanning the surroundings to avoid a high-level zombie ambush.

Fortunately, there were no high-level zombies on Greenfield Lane. Memphis only saw a few scattered zombies around a black Jeep trapped between two cars on the road.

"The infection level 1, can turn living beings into their kind."

"The infection level 2, can turn living beings into their kind."

Only seven or eight low-level zombies were scratching at the vehicle. Luckily, the Jeep was quite sturdy, and although the people inside were terrified, their lives were not in immediate danger.

Lionel drove closer, and Memphis jumped out cautiously, instructing Lionel to stay alert while he moved forward. The zombies surrounding the Jeep immediately took notice, with two or three staggering towards him.

Memphis unfazed and swiftly leaped at them.

Slash, thud!

The sound of flesh being sliced filled the air. Despite his terrible knife skills, Memphis was incredibly fast, decapitating the low-level zombies with ease.

Taking a few more steps, he kicked a zombie in the back, bringing down his sword to smash its head, splattering blood and brains onto the Jeep's windshield.

The remaining zombies finally noticed him, but they were of little consequence. Within seconds, they were all cut down.

Memphis calmly collected 11 exp points, wiping the blood and gore off his sword on a zombie's clothes.

He then looked into the Jeep, seeing a family of three still in shock, mouths agape.

It was a family of two women and a man. The driver was a woman in her early thirties, her face filled with fear but still retaining a mature beauty. In the backseat were two children, a girl around ten years old hugging a younger boy of six or seven, both crying their hearts out.

"Daddy… Daddy… Huhuhu…"

Memphis was taken aback. Daddy? Right, where was their father? Could he have turned into a zombie and been killed by Memphis?

The woman swallowed hard, eyeing Memphis cautiously. Instead of opening the door, she carefully lowered the window a bit, speaking in a trembling voice:

"Thank you for saving us… Who are you?"

Memphis lowered his sword, trying to appear less threatening, and replied calmly:

"My name is Memphis Jackman, just another victim of the cruel joke played by the giant skull in the sky. Do you understand what I mean?"

The woman stared blankly for a moment before muttering to herself:

"So, it wasn't a hallucination… it wasn't a hallucination…"

Memphis didn't want to prolong the conversation. He spoke in a deep voice:

"I need to get past this road, head to Water Lily Road at the next intersection. I'll help you get unstuck and clear the way."

Without waiting for her response, he signaled Lionel in the distance.

Lionel saw the signal and immediately got out. Amanda, now more alert with her intellect raised to 3 points, also stepped out cautiously, her dizziness gone.

Neither of them dared to dawdle, feeling safest only when near Memphis. They quickly ran over.

Memphis pointed at the cars blocking the Jeep.

"Lionel, help me move these cars."

Lionel nodded quickly:

"Got it!"

He inspected the situation and climbed into the car on the left, trying to start it.

Memphis circled around to the right car.

Khezee... Khezee…

In the driver's seat of this car, a zombie with a pus-filled face was scratching at the windshield, its body strapped tightly by the seatbelt. Memphis saw it as an easy exp opportunity, smashing the window with his sword hilt and ending its misery with a swift cut.

Cutting the seatbelt, Memphis grabbed it by the collar and yanked it out of the car effortlessly.

He then climbed onto the hood, slicing through another zombie, beginning to clear the area.

There were only a few scattered low-level zombies around and some trapped in cars. Memphis earned 17 exp points and found a skill book, a speed enhancement passive skill he had already mastered and couldn't learn again.

He saved this for that kid Jarred Lawton.

He stuffed the skill book into his backpack and returned to the traffic jam.

The two blocking cars had been moved, the Jeep now parked neatly by the roadside. The mother and her two children stood beside a half-eaten corpse, the children wailing uncontrollably.

"Wahhh…"

Memphis sighed. The corpse had been eaten by zombies, not killed by him.

Even if it had turned into a zombie and Memphis had killed it, it would still leave a psychological scar on the mother and her children.

Amanda wiped her eyes, saying:

"Memphis, they want to join us, but they need to know our plan."

Memphis nodded and approached the family.

The woman struggled to stop crying, speaking through sobs:

"He… he held off the monsters so we could escape…"

Memphis nodded empathetically, saying:

"He would want you all to escape and live well."

Hearing this, the woman's eyes reddened further, taking a deep breath:

"My name is Kiley Linn, these are my children Justine Moss and Winter Moss. Thank you again for saving us. We owe you a debt of gratitude. We really want you to help us escape, but we need to know your plan. Is that okay?"

Memphis nodded, speaking plainly:

"I plan to rescue my cousin first, then help some acquaintances, fulfill my promises to my comrades, and find a safe place to wait for government rescue."

He was speaking truthfully, believing the government would soon establish rescue organizations and safe zones.

Kiley Linn exhaled in relief, quickly agreeing:

"I hope you'll take us with you."

Seeing Memphis' skills, she had made up her mind but wanted assurance about the future plans. After all, she had two small children with her.

Memphis responded decisively:

"Alright. But you must follow my instructions completely and contribute to the team's safety."

Kiley felt more at ease, firmly agreeing:

"Understood!"

The more serious Memphis' demands were, the more confident she felt in his abilities and clear direction. If someone else had painted a rosy picture, she wouldn't have believed them.

His words also relieved Amanda and Lionel. Memphis was growing stronger, and they feared he might abandon them, seeing them as burdens.

With an understanding reached, they wasted no more time, each returning to their vehicles. The Ford Raptor led the way, followed by Kiley's Jeep.

Driving down Rose Road, they turned onto Water Lily Road. This area was mostly middle-class, with few car owners, and at this hour, most residents were at work, making it relatively sparse.