Chapter 4: Shelter

[Prompt: You have discovered a simple shelter (this shelter has a maximum capacity of 5 people; it currently holds 3).]

[Prompt: Players inside the shelter are protected from zombie attacks. If the number of people in the shelter exceeds the maximum capacity, the shelter loses its protective effect.]

[Prompt: This shelter will lose its effect in 62 hours.]

The shelter is a benefit provided by the system to novice players. While in a sheltered state, zombies will not actively attack the shelter.

Luck was on his side; this shelter was not at full capacity.

Fang Heng pushed open the wooden door of the shelter and walked in boldly.

The few players sitting around the campfire talking inside the shelter stood up in unison, staring at Fang Heng with vigilance. One old man even pulled out a crossbow and aimed it at the zombie behind Fang Heng.

"Don't get excited." Fang Heng pointed at the zombie and explained, "It's a summoned creature from my talent skill; it's not dangerous."

The group looked at Fang Heng and confirmed that the zombie behind him was standing obediently in place, only then did they sit back down.

There were three people in the room: a chubby kid wearing a short-sleeved shirt, a dark-skinned, thin old man holding a crossbow with a wary expression, and a young woman wearing light makeup and fashionable clothes.

From the moment Fang Heng entered, the young woman had been sizing him up.

"Brother, your skill is quite scary, come and sit." The fatty breathed a sigh of relief and gestured for Fang Heng to come over and sit down. "I was wondering, with the shelter here, logically, zombies shouldn't be able to get in."

"Haha, just rolled the talent, it's not bad, just a bit ugly."

Fang Heng waved his hand and issued an order to the ten zombies to collect supplies nearby, then walked into the shelter alone.

Zombie clones are not attacked by their own kind even at night, and they can maintain an 'AFK' state 24 hours a day.

"By the way, my name is Liao Bufan, that's Jimmy, and this beautiful lady is Liu Lin."

"My name is Fang Heng."

Fang Heng followed the others and sat around the campfire.

"What a drag. I was originally in a shelter set up by the government, but I was suddenly judged as a 'passive player' and teleported here. It's annoying as hell."

"This is a disaster. In a new doomsday world, it will take at least a few months for the Federation to send people in to build shelters."

"Sigh! How are we supposed to survive this..."

Liao Bufan was a chatterbox. He spoke indignantly and took the opportunity to introduce everyone's identities.

All three of them had been judged by the Main God as passive players and were forcibly added to the zombie apocalypse world.

Liao Bufan was a college student who had only been in the game for a year, while the dark-skinned old man was an executive at a foreign company in the real world.

Except for Liao Bufan, the other two didn't like to talk much.

The sun set, and the temperature inside the wooden house gradually dropped.

Jimmy took some dry wood out of his backpack and threw it into the campfire, making it burn brighter.

"Gurgle..."

Liao Bufan touched his stomach, which was making noise, and his old face turned red.

He was hungry.

Fang Heng also felt hungry; he had been fighting zombies all day, and his physical exertion was significant.

Liu Lin took two potatoes out of her backpack, skewered them on a branch, and placed them over the fire to roast.

The aroma of food soon wafted out.

"Gulp."

Liao Bufan swallowed his saliva, looking at the roasted potato in Liu Lin's hand with great envy.

"I'm quite lucky today; I collected a few potatoes. If you have any survival supplies, you can trade them with me."

Jimmy, the dark-skinned old man, thought for a moment and took three bottles of water out of his backpack, placing them in front of the campfire one by one.

"Young lady, how about this?"

"Not enough, uncle." Liu Lin shook her head. "In the initial stage of the game, food is the most precious. Especially in this forest environment, early players lack hunting skills, and food is the hardest thing to obtain. Three bottles of water aren't worth enough."

Jimmy nodded and took another three bottles of water out of his backpack.

"Six bottles, that's the most. I need the rest of the water for myself."

"Alright, I'll trade you one potato."

Liu Lin handed over a potato and put away Jimmy's six bottles of water.

"What about you guys? Do you want to trade for food with me?"

Liao Bufan looked miserable. He had no experience surviving in a zombie apocalypse and his luck wasn't great either; he hadn't collected any high-value supplies along the way. He simply took everything out of his backpack and dumped it on the ground.

"This is all I've got. If you see anything you like, take it all, okay?"

"The young man is quite calculating, trying to trade these materials for food?" Old man Jimmy picked up the potato he had just traded and roasted it over the fire, shaking his head. "Is this what you young people always call 'freeloading'?"

"Don't say it like that." Liao Bufan looked at Liu Lin with some expectation. "How about I borrow it from you? I'll pay you back tomorrow."

Liu Lin refused flatly.

"No borrowing."

Liao Bufan's face became even more miserable.

"Fang Heng, what about you?" Liu Lin looked at Fang Heng and winked at him. "Do you have anything you want to trade for supplies?"

"No."

Fang Heng shrugged. He had been killing zombies all day; where would he find the time to collect supplies?

However, he wasn't in a hurry. Soon, the zombie clones idling outside would be sending him a steady stream of survival supplies.

Liu Lin smiled and asked, "How about this? Tomorrow, the two of us can team up and act together. During the day, you protect my safety, and I'll be responsible for your food."

Hmm?

What does that mean? Trying to keep me as a pet?

Fang Heng looked up at Liu Lin.

You're acting suspicious!

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Liao Bufan saw an opportunity and volunteered, "Rich lady, I can work for you too! I'll do the chores for you tomorrow, I just need to fill my stomach."

"You?" Liu Lin looked at Liao Bufan with a bit of disdain. "You can try, I suppose, but you only get half a potato tonight."

"Hey! Why? Why do I only get half a potato?"

Liao Bufan was angry. Why couldn't he rely on his looks to get by? What was wrong with this world?

Liu Lin smiled without answering, just looking at Fang Heng. "How about my proposal? Will you consider it?"

Fang Heng shrugged. "No, I have other things to do tomorrow."

Liu Lin was a little disappointed.

She admitted that she wanted to team up with Fang Heng partly because of his looks, but most importantly, she had her eye on Fang Heng's talent skill.

The first day was fine, but as the game progressed, when faced with death, the rules of the real world would become meaningless in the game.

Malicious looting of supplies would become more and more frequent.

She needed to find someone she could trust as soon as possible.

In Liu Lin's view, Fang Heng's zombie that followed orders would be very useful in a doomsday environment.

Settling for second best, Liu Lin looked at Liao Bufan. "Fine, Liao Bufan, what about you? What do you say? Half a potato."

Liao Bufan became conflicted.

He was in pain now. The small half-potato Liu Lin offered wouldn't fill his stomach, and agreeing to sell himself to her like this felt a bit too cheap.

Fang Heng looked at Liao Bufan's conflicted little expression and felt like laughing.

"Fine! I'll follow you tomorrow! But you must provide at least two potatoes per meal tomorrow."

"Deal."

Liu Lin said, handing over the half potato.

Liao Bufan's face was full of smiles again. He followed Liu Lin's example, skewered the half potato on a branch, and placed it over the fire to roast.

After eating the half potato, his satiety increased by barely ten points. Liao Bufan rubbed his stomach, still feeling unsatisfied.

He looked at Fang Heng, who was sitting by the fire in a daze, and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, are you really planning to go hungry tonight? Your condition will be terrible tomorrow. Why don't you just give in to that rich lady?"

"Making money isn't shameful."

Liao Bufan advised him enthusiastically, with the mindset of, "I've already lowered my head for the sake of survival, why don't you do the same?"

Fang Heng wasn't in a daze; he was checking the 'AFK' status of his zombie clones through the game system.

Things were looking good, and the harvest was plentiful.

Fang Heng closed the system game log, patted Liao Bufan on the shoulder, and asked in return, "Little brother, you didn't get enough to eat just now, did you?"

"Of course not, half a potato isn't enough to be full."

"Then how about I trade you a boiled egg for all your supplies and materials?"

"You have a boiled egg?"

"Not yet." Fang Heng looked up at the door of the wooden house. "But I will soon."

"What do you mean?"

Liao Bufan didn't quite understand. He foolishly looked up, following Fang Heng's gaze toward the door of the wooden house.

Footsteps sounded outside the wooden door.

(End of chapter)