Upon unlocking the basement door . Leo paused . He didn’t need to venture out of the building . The faint groans and dragging noise being transmitted from the floor above told him everything he needed to know .

he crept towards the first floor , moving with the practised ease of an assassin . Every step was deliberate , his weight shifting flawlessly to ensure no noise was made as he snooped around .

Peering over the top of the stairwell, he spotted three zombies wandering aimlessly down the corridor .

In his current state, he knew his limits. He could handle one, perhaps two if luck favored him. Engaging all three at once would be nothing short of a death sentence.

But he knew retreat was not an option

as without the system’s help and with neither

any food nor water .He wouldn’t last much longer and would soon follow the his predecessor into an early grave .

calculating the

distance between him and the three zombies ,he formulated a plan .

He slunk back down the stairs and intentionally made a slight noise , just enough to catch the attention of the nearest zombie .

The strategy only partially succedded . Instead of drawing a lone target, the shuffling footsteps of two zombies echoed as they mindlessly turned toward the stairwell.

Witnessing this , Leo didn’t panic nor did he retreat . Holding his breath , he melted back into the shadows beneath the stairs .

From his predecessor’s memories, he knew these common variants lacked a sense of smell, relying primarily on sound and blurry eyesight. They could, however, sense body heat , the very trait that caused large gatherings of survivors to trigger massive zombie tides.

This was the primary reason for the destruction of the original owner’s survivor base .

Focusing inward, Leo suppressed his heart rate. His blood flow slowed, and his core temperature dropped slightly. It was a fundamental technique for a seasoned operative.

The first zombie bypassed his hiding spot, eyes blankly searching for the source of the noise. The second followed immediately behind, oblivious to his presence. Leo remained perfectly still, waiting until their backs were completely turned and they had drifted away from the stairs.

Once the path was clear, he slipped past them and glided back up to the first floor.

After realising that two zombies had been attracted by his trick , he instantly adjusted his plan . He abandoned the idea of fighting the two of them first .

The solitary third zombie that had remained upstairs became his objective instead .

Once he reached upstairs , he thanked his fortune as the solitary zombie’s back was turned .

He closed the distance without a whisper or a sound .

Raised the rusted crowbar high and brought the sharp edge down with the full force of his remaining strength .

"KRUNCH!"

The zombie’s head burst opened .

black blood oozed out along with pieces of its smashed brains and painting the walls of the narrow corridor.

The creature collapsed on the spot .

Leo did not waste a second. He dashed into an adjacent room with an open door, slipped inside, and pulled it shut.

Sudden commotion erupted from the stairwell. The two distracted zombies had heard the impact. Unlike their previous sluggish movements, they rushed up the steps with terrifying speed.

They turned their heads around , trying to find the source of the commotion.

Finding the corridor empty, however, they quickly lost momentum and resumed their aimless wandering.

Inside the room , Leo leaned against the door, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief .

When the mechanical voice chimed inside his head again

[Ding ..... System detected that Host has completed the first

task ]

[ Issuing reward .......]

[ Reward issued ....]

A faint, shimmering light coalesced in Leo’s palm, rapidly materializing into a fan of five physical cards.

[Beginner reward – 1

uncommon card and 4 common cards ]

[Common Card – 1 bottle of water ]

[Common Card – Five packs of compressed biscuits ]

[Common Card - 1

roll of bandage ]

[Common Card -

military knife ]

[Uncommon Card - Glock 17 , with 9 bullets ]

Leo stared at the objects, momentarily taken aback by the magical scene .

He gulped involuntarily.

[To use the cards , the host must hold the card in his hand

and command in his mind release]

Instead of complying , a doubtful look appeared on his face . He still remembered the truck the system had played on him just earlier , which had resulted in him being labelled as mentally challenged .

[ System has detected that the host has trust issues towards the system ]

[ System has concluded that with this type of mentality,the host might not survive long in this world]

Leo’s eyes twitched hearing the system’s monologue

" Isn’t this basically because of your shitty personality"

[ Host the system is a highly advanced and intelligent being . It doesn’t have a personality.Dont try to blame your lack of thinking capability on the system]

Realizing an argument would yield nothing fruitful, Leo chose to ignore it. A moment later, the mechanical chime rang out again.

[Ding ..... System

detected that the host is still level 0]

[ Issuing the next task ......

Kill a total of ten zombies ]

[Since the host is still lvl 0 , the system recommends that

the host quickly lvl up to gain full access to the system’s function]

After saying all this in Leo’s mind, the system went silent again .

Now having knowledge of the system’s quirks, Leo didn’t waste time

calling out to it again . Instead he looked towards the card .

"I think the system is helping me out and issued my reward In

advance to get me out of my miserable position"

The system’s voice echoed again inside his head

[ So the host isn’t completely brain dead and knows how to

be grateful. Host may refer to the system as Your excellency ]

" I thought you couldn’t talk after issuing my missions"

The system offered nothing but silent treatment in response after getting caught in its blunder ,leaving Leo entirely speechless once again.