Xiu wiped the blackened zombie blood off his knife, his breath steady now. The System's screen flickered in front of him.
[Mission Complete: 5/5 Zombies Slain.]
[Energy for Return Portal: 100%]
[Return to Original World? Y/N]
He hesitated.
The city around him was a graveyard of broken concrete and rusted metal, but it wasn't empty. There were things here—useful things. And if this world had zombies, it probably had loot too.
"Not yet," he muttered, pressing N.
The System didn't argue. The screen vanished, leaving him alone in the eerie silence.
Xiu moved carefully, stepping over shattered glass and debris. The buildings were hollowed-out skeletons, but some still held remnants of the past. A toppled dresser in an apartment revealed a handful of tarnished coins—old, maybe silver. He pocketed them without a second thought.
If I can bring stuff back…
The idea took root. Money was money, whether it came from his world or this one.
He scavenged deeper, prying open drawers, checking abandoned bags. A faded photograph of a family, a rusted pocket watch, a cracked but intact music box—small things, but things that might sell. In a looted convenience store, he found a dusty backpack and stuffed it with anything that looked vaguely valuable.
The System remained silent, but he noticed something else—his Energy Bar, previously filled for the return trip, had dropped slightly after he declined.
"So it costs energy to stay… or to go back," he mused. That meant he couldn't linger forever. But he could farm.
Zombies weren't hard to find.
A lone shambler in an alley fell to his knife. Two more near a collapsed bus went down just as easily. Each kill refilled a sliver of his Energy Bar.
[Zombie Slain. Energy +5%.]
By the time he'd cleared a small block, his bag was heavier, and his Energy Bar sat at 120%. Overcharged.
"Guess I can bank it," he muttered.
A noise—a scrape of metal. Xiu froze, knife ready.
But no zombie appeared. Instead, a glint caught his eye. Behind a broken counter, half-buried in rubble, was a safe. Its door was slightly ajar.
Xiu grinned.
The Score
Inside the safe:
A stack of faded bills (useless here, but maybe not back home).
A small velvet box containing a silver necklace with a red stone.
A handgun with two bullets.
"Jackpot."
He took it all.
The System flickered again.
[Warning: Extended stay in Apocalypse Zone will increase difficulty.]
[Current Threat Level: Low.]
[Recommended Action: Return and Recharge.]
Xiu scoffed. "Not yet."
He had a plan now.
The First ExchangeWhen his Energy Bar hit 150%, he finally activated the return.
The world twisted, light swallowing him whole—
And then he was back.
Same sidewalk. Same city sounds. Same time, as if no seconds had passed.
But now, he had a backpack full of another world's remnants.
Xiu exhaled, then grinned.
"Time to cash in."
Xiu blinked as the blinding light faded, and suddenly, he was back on the familiar streets of his own world. The same sidewalk, the same indifferent crowd—except something was off.
No one noticed him.
He waved a hand in front of a passing businessman. No reaction. He stepped directly into the path of a cyclist—who swerved through him as if he were a ghost.
"What the—?"
A translucent timer appeared in the corner of his vision:
[Return Phase: Invisibility Active – 4:59… 4:58…]
Five minutes of being unseen.
A grin spread across his face.
Xiu didn't waste time. He slipped through the crowd like a shadow, his backpack full of scavenged goods feeling heavier with each step.
First stop: A pawn shop.
He ducked into an alley, pulled out the silver necklace with the red stone, and waited. The moment the invisibility dropped, he walked in like he owned the place.
The shop owner, a grizzled man with a permanent scowl, barely glanced up. "Selling?"
"Yeah. Silver necklace. Antique." Xiu slid it across the counter.
The man picked it up, squinted, then bit it—like they did in the movies. "Hmph. Real silver. Stone's junk, though. Fifty bucks."
Xiu scoffed. "That's a two-hundred-dollar necklace, easy."
"Not in this economy. Seventy, take it or leave it."
Xiu needed the cash. "Deal."
The man grunted, slapped the money into his palm, and tossed the necklace into a glass case.
Next stop: A 24-hour supermarket.
Xiu grabbed a cart and went straight for the essentials.
Canned beans.
Bottled water.
Energy bars.
A cheap but sturdy backpack.
A six-pack of cola (because why not?).
A bored cashier blinked at his haul. "Big camping trip?"
Xiu smirked. "Something like that."
"You know, if you buy three more cans, you get a discount."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Store policy."
Xiu shrugged, grabbed three random cans of soup, and dumped them in. "Happy?"
The cashier smirked. "Ecstatic."
As he handed over the cash, Xiu wondered if he should've stolen while invisible. Nah. Too risky.
Back in the alley, he activated the System's return function.
[Energy Sufficient. Returning to Apocalypse Zone.]
The world dissolved—
And he was back in the ruined city.
But this time, something was different.
[New Mission: Eliminate 20 Zombies.]
[Reward: Energy Boost + Extended Stay Privileges.]
Xiu groaned. "Twenty? Seriously?"
Last time, five had been easy. But now…
He looked around. The streets were empty.
"Where the hell did they all go?"
After an hour of fruitless searching, Xiu kicked a rusted can in frustration.
Then—a noise.
A soft shuffle. A quiet whimper.
He froze, knife ready.
"Who's there?"
Silence. Then—
"…Go away."
A child's voice.
Xiu lowered his blade. "Kid?"
A small face peeked out from a broken window on the second floor of a crumbling house. Big eyes, dirty cheeks, messy hair. A boy, no older than ten.
"You're not a monster," the kid said.
"Neither are you," Xiu replied. "You alone?"
The boy hesitated, then nodded.
"How long?"
"Dunno. A long time."
Xiu sighed. "You hungry?"
The kid's eyes lit up.
Xiu pulled out a cola from his bag, cracked it open, and handed it up.
The kid—Larry, as he introduced himself—gulped it down like it was the last drink on Earth.
"Whoa, slow down," Xiu said.
Larry wiped his mouth, gasping. "That's so good."
"Yeah, well, don't puke it back up."
Larry grinned, then eyed the backpack. "You got more?"
Xiu smirked. "Maybe. But you gotta earn it."
"How?"
"Help me find zombies."
Larry's smile faded. "Why?"
"Because I need to kill them. And you need food. Deal?"
The kid thought for a moment, then stuck out his hand. "Deal."
Xiu wasn't a babysitter. But Larry turned out to be useful.
He knew the city's hiding spots.
He was small, fast, and quiet.
And he could carry loot.
They cleared out a two-story building near the center of town—Xiu's new warehouse.
"Your job," Xiu said, tossing Larry an empty bag, "is to bring anything valuable here. Food, tools, shiny stuff. Got it?"
Larry nodded eagerly. "What do I get?"
"More cola. And protection."
The kid grinned. "Sweet."
With Larry's help, Xiu tracked down the remaining zombies—lurkers in basements, stragglers in alleys.
By nightfall, the counter read:
[Zombies Slain: 18/20.]
Almost there.
Larry yawned, curled up in a corner with a blanket Xiu had scavenged.
"We done yet?"
Xiu checked the System. "Two more."
Larry groaned. "Tomorrow?"
Xiu smirked. "Tomorrow."
As the kid dozed off, Xiu stared out the broken window at the blood-red sky.
This wasn't just survival anymore.
It was business.