Lu Zhang held the green crystal in his palm, feeling it's warmth as it vibrated slightly against his palm.
'A drop from a boss monster, huh?'
The crystal shattered with a squeeze of his palm, turning into a green mist that seeped into his skin.
[Ding!]
[Skill Acquired: Double Jump Lv 1]
[Double Jump Lv 1]
[Create a platform of condensed mana beneath your feet mid-air, allowing for a second leap.]
Lu Zhang mused internally as he observed the skill.
'Double Jump? It's fairly standard in games. But in reality...'
He looked up at the high ceiling of the reading area.
'It's quite useful.'
He crouched slightly. With 28 Speed and 14 Strength, his legs were like hydraulic presses.
Whoosh!
He shot over 4 meters into the air instantly. As gravity tried to pull him back down, he willed the skill to activate.
A dull sound rang out in the empty air, like he had stepped on a solid drum. A ripple of green light appeared under his soles. He kicked off it as he shot up another three meters, touching the roof lightly with one hand before hanging onto a rafter with one hand.
"Haha~"
Lu Zhang looked down from his perch.
'The cost this time was 10 Mana. Since I have 160, I can use this upto sixteen times, as long as I land on a solid surface.'
He dropped down, landing effortlessly. He looked at his status screen one last time.
[Stat Points: 10]
He wiped his hands and turned back towards the stairwell without utilizing the extra points.
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Su Yao and Cai Dajian were waiting at the stairwell entrance as they held their weapons tight.
Behind them, the other survivors huddled in the shadows, flinching at the silence.
"He's been gone for a while," Cai Dajian whispered, adjusting his glasses.
"We heard crashing noises."
"Maybe he died," the man with the ratty mustache muttered. "We should go back to the office and barricade the door again."
"Quiet," Su Yao ordered, her hand tightening on the metal ruler she used.
Footsteps rang out lightly from the end of the darkened corridor. Not knowing if the being that would appear in front of them would be a zombie or Lu Zhang, the survivors tensed.
Under the group's bated breaths, Lu Zhang walked into the light. He was covered in black and red fluids, smelling of blood and rot, but otherwise unharmed.
"Lu Zhang?" Su Yao called out as she lowered her ruler.
"The floor is clear," Lu Zhang said simply, walking past them. "We're moving."
"Moving?" The ratty mustached man yelped. "Moving where?"
"Down," Lu Zhang pointed. "Floor 1. And then the lobby."
"Are you crazy?!" The man stepped back. "That's where the most zombies are! We should go up to the roof! Wait for the helicopters!"
Lu Zhang stopped suddenly. He turned back slowly. His eyes were calm, no longer bothered by their objections.
"Helicopters?" He chuckled dryly.
Cai Dajian spoke up, "There's a high probability that the roof will only be more dangero-"
"Okay." Lu Zhang cut him off.
"Let them go."
"Anyone who wants to go to the roof can leave right now."
The group separated into two, survivors who wanted to stick with Lu Zhang's combatants, and survivors who wished to camp on the roof awaiting military aid.
"Let us follow our own paths then."
Su Yao nodded immediately, following Lu Zhang. Cai Dajian hesitated briefly, then looked at Lu Zhang's back.
'Logic,' Cai Dajian reaffirmed to himself. 'Follow only the path of my survival.'
He gritted his teeth and followed.
The other survivors looked at each other. The fear of being left alone in this zombie-infested place carried their feet.
One by one, they trailed behind.
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They descended the stairs in silence. Floor 2 was quiet now, filled with the corpses Lu Zhang had left behind.
But as they reached the landing for Floor 1, the air changed. It was heavy with the now familiar copper scent. The smell of rot was thicker here.
Lu Zhang held up a hand, signalling the rest of them to stop. They crouched by the railing, looking down into the lobby. The lights were out, only moonlight trickling in from the front door. The ground floor lobby was a mess of debris. And wandering through it were the zombies. But something was different.
Lu Zhang activated [Inspect].
[Zombie]
[Level 5]
[Zombie]
[Level 6]
[Zombie]
[Level 5]
'Level 5 and 6...' Lu Zhang narrowed his eyes.
'Earlier, the average was Level 5, but there were plenty of Level 2s and 3s.'
'Now... nothing below Level 4. The first floor should also be full of Level 3s and 4s at a minimum then.'
"What is it?" Su Yao whispered to him.
"They're stronger," Lu Zhang replied softly. "Look at them."
"While we were hiding, they were grinding Exp or something."
Lu Zhang looked at the horde. There were at least thirty of them blocking the main exit. And guarding the glass doors, the giant Wind Mantis was still sleeping.
But the zombies were now giving it a wide berth.
'The Mantis is still Level 9. These zombies are approaching Level 6.' Lu Zhang smirked. "Interesting. The difficulty setting just went up."
He turned to the group. "New plan. We can't charge in. A horde of Level 5s is faster than you think."
"Let's clear this floor first, and then head down to the lobby." Lu Zhang's focus was on having fun, but that didn't mean he wasn't cautious.
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Lu Zhang fell through the air.
Three meters above the ground, right above a group of three zombies that reached out towards him with their rotten limbs, maws snapping for a taste of life.
[Double Jump]
A newly levelled up green ripple absorbed his momentum instantly as he changed direction mid-air, darting sideways and landing silently behind the zombies. They didn't even turn around.
Lu Zhang's leg swept out, a blade of mana extending from his shin. Squelch. Three heads flew into the air.
[Zombie Lv 3 killed!]
[Zombie Lv 4 killed!]
[Zombie Lv 3 killed!]
He sliced off the legs of two more zombies with the same foot, letting the undead slide behind him to Cai Dajiang and Su Yao.
"Free Exp. Don't waste it."
With practised movements, both of them dispatched the disabled zombies.
[Zombie Lv 3 killed!]
[Zombie Lv 3 killed!]
The group of survivors held a lookout behind them for any sudden zombies making their way up the stairway and getting behind them.
One of them, a child of about seven, spoke up after gathering all her courage and raising her hand.
"M-Mister."
Lu Zhang heard her, turning his head towards her while still covered in blood.
'So scary!!' The girl thought to herself as she let out an eek when his eyes locked onto her.
She blinked, and suddenly the scary man was right in front of her.
"Uwah!" She stumbled backwards, flailing her hands which Lu Zhang dodged before grabbing her by her head, preventing her from falling over entirely.
"What is it?" He asked, frowning as she froze.
'Children are such a hassle. Who even brings their daughter to college?!'
The last child he had to deal with was his little sister, and the memory of that annoying brat was not helping him in comforting this brat.
"Hi." Su Yao crouched next to the girl. "You can tell me what you wanted to say instead."
Instantly, the girl opened up to her, as they began their talks.
'The heavens are unfair. Surely, there's a hidden Charisma stat somewhere of mine that's locked at 1! Damn it, don't let me find you, whoever cursed me with this Charisma lowering curse!' Lu Zhang cursed in his heart to whoever made his Charisma stat so low.
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[Name: Lu Zhang]
[Level: 6]
[Strength: 14]
[Speed: 28]
[Intelligence: 16]
[Endurance: 15]
[Stat Points: 10]
[Mana: 140/160]
[Skills: Inspect lv 3, Empty Fang Lv 5, Double Jump Lv 2]
[New Function discovered!]
[Players can gain skills by using proportionally rare Skill Crystals!]