They looked at each other in silence. Fifteen seconds passed.

  Then, someone raised his hand.

  He was the st person I expected to step forward—or maybe he just made his decision faster than the others.

  It was Lena.

  He took a step forward, but his father almost stopped him. Lena just shook his head, and his father hesitated before letting him go.

  'F*. It’s not like this is his first time killing a zombie… and I really need to sit down. I’m starting to hear things from the distance.'**

  Lena gripped the axe and walked forward. Five seconds ter, he stood in front of the zombie, staring at it.

  "Okay, just calm down."

  'This will be over soon. I just need to show them that I feed them once.'

  Lena gave a small nod.

  "Alright. Rex. Lift the axe above your head and just focus on the target. Don’t attack yet. Just raise it and lock onto the head."

  'Don’t freaking miss. My foot is still on its shoulder, just a neck’s distance from its head. '

  Lena took his time.

  "Okay," I continued. "Imagine you’re drawing a straight line. When you swing, apply as much force as you can. Try not to close your eyes—but definitely close your mouth."

  'Women are good at opening their mouths too much.'

  "We don’t know if zombie blood can infect you by drinking it."

  He just hummed, nodded his head, hesitated for a second—then struck.

  "THUK! CRACK… THWACK! SPLOSHH!"

  Blood spttered everywhere.

  I hadn’t noticed it at first, but he used the back of the axe. I wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose, but I learned something.

  ‘Why didn’t I think of using the axe as a blunt weapon? The head explodes like this, sure—but it’s just messier. At least the axe won’t get stuck…

  F*. If I had used my usual way of killing and they saw this, would I have looked unprofessional? Good thing I held back.'

  I activated [Item Creation], forming a defensive barrier three meters around the bakery door. Then, I grabbed a can and threw it onto the road. The ctter echoed.

  Three zombies appeared.

  I looked at the others. "Okay, they’re easy to kill. Just wait for them to reach the defense. Normally, they won’t scratch you—they just try to grab you. Getting scratched is more of an accident than anything."

  I paused, watching the zombies move closer.

  "And for now… they don’t know how to jump."

  Zach frowned. "What do you mean, 'for now'?"

  'I didn’t even fight one, but hey—this works as a solid excuse to get some rest.'

  I shrugged. "I saw a zombie jump once, but don’t worry. I’m right behind you in case that happens."

  I took a seat at the back, watching the scene unfold.

  Now that I was observing closely, it really seemed like zombies were spawning from somewhere. But I knew they weren’t appearing inside buildings or homes—at least not randomly. The top floor of the hotel had been completely empty, but the lower I went, the more zombies I encountered.

  Still, I never actually saw them spawn.

  Maybe they only became active when no one was watching. Or maybe they moved into position when needed.

  I looked down at my shin.

  ‘Maybe my physique is too weak compared to my strength.

  If I keep hitting hard objects with my limbs…

  They might not be able to handle it.

  At some point, they’ll just give out—or worse, explode.’

  By the time it was 6 PM, I no longer felt any pain. It seemed like my body had healed.

  I stood up. "Alright, let's call it a day. We'll do this again tomorrow."

  I began decomposing the bodies when Samantha approached me.

  "What did you just do to the bodies? And how can you even do that?" she asked, her curiosity obvious.

  I gnced at her. 'Her sheer height gave off such an intimidating presence.'

  Looking around, I noticed that everyone else seemed just as curious. Even the old man, though he knew better than to pry.

  I expined"It's just my ability. I break things down and recreate them."

  Samantha: "How many can you create? And what exactly can you create?"

  'Tch. Your beauty won’t work on me. I want a whole bunch of them—I’m not gonna be stuck with just one. Wait... every pn I’ve ever made, I end up breaking anyway. Maybe I should stop pnning altogether.'

  "It’s a secret." I replied casually.

  Samantha: "Can I have an ability too?"

  ‘System, how can they unlock their ability?’

  > Ding!

  Host, they can unlock abilities at Level 5.

  "I don't know if you have one or not, but I got mine at level 5."

  Later, when they started distributing the food, Lena turned to his father.

  Lena: "Dad, we don’t have enough food. It’ll only st three days at most."

  ‘If I hadn’t come here, they probably would’ve ended up fighting each other just to level up.’

  I butted in and spoke up.

  "How about we head to a supermarket? How far is the closest one?"

  Ethan responded,

  "It’s less than two kilometers north."

  I nodded while looking at him.

  ‘Seems like this guy’s got a good sense of direction. But I’m not good at it. Where even is north? I need a compass… is it to my right, front, or left? Right? Or back?

  It’s fine. They don’t know that. Just act like you know. When the time comes, I’ll let him lead us.’

  But before I could say anything else, someone else spoke up.

  Zach: "Won’t it be dangerous?"

  I turned to look at him, my mind full of questions.

  ‘Oi, oi, oi… You? Of all people? You’ve got the build of a damn athlete and you’re the one asking if it’s dangerous?’

  I held back a sigh.

  ‘Maybe you’re the reason they’ve all been hiding inside. Or maybe… this really is the first time anyone’s had the guts to talk about going out.’

  But looking at their attitude, it seems like they’re not denying the danger. So yeah, this probably is the first time they’ve decided to make a move.

  "Well, it’s dangerous. But we’ll go there in two days, alright? That’s the pn—after two days, we head to the supermarket."

  Everyone agreed. Even Zach couldn’t think of an excuse. He also heard that the food would only st for three days.

  Even if they asked me to copy it, I could just say:

  ‘I’m not wasting a slot just to create biscuits every day.’

  And if they insisted, I’d just leave.

  I really read them wrong.

  Lena—the one who looked the most timid—ended up being the first to step forward.

  And the muscur guy? He’s more cautious than I expected—too focused on consequences.

  If you drop me into their group?

  I probably look like the weakest one here. I’m smaller than the smallest, and sure, maybe taller—but I don’t look strong.

  And my face? So pin, you’d forget it if you didn’t see me for a day.

  I looked around.

  Most of the adults were at Level 3.

  And others had already reached Level 4.

  But I didn’t see any more Level 2 zombies.

  They’re all Level 3 now.

  ‘I don’t really know what’s going on… but if this keeps up, zombies might start breaking down doors and eating people inside—like cracking open a seashell. And when that happens, even fewer will survive.’

  I opened my status screen and checked:

  Ability Points: 2,835

  I thought about upgrading the infection ability.

  But then I remembered when I upgraded [Decompose].

  That was… not the best choice.

  ‘It felt like a good idea back then. Now? Not so much.’

  So, I decided to hold off for now.

  Better to keep saving points until I’m sure.