Deejay returned to the window.
What he saw made the chaos from earlier look tame.
The streets below were no longer just disorganized panic—they had collapsed into pure disorder. Cars were abandoned in the middle of the roads, some smashed into storefronts, others left running with doors wide open. Smoke rose from multiple locations, blurring the skyline. Sirens wailed nonstop, overlapping until they became one long, broken scream.
Police lines had completely fallen apart.
He watched as a group of officers attempted to form a defensive position near an intersection. For a brief moment, they managed to hold back the infected, gunfire echoing as bodies dropped. Then the horde surged again—faster, stronger, relentless.
Within seconds, the line broke.
One officer stumbled. Another tried to pull him up.
They didn't make it.
The bitten ones screamed only briefly before their movements stiffened, bodies jerking unnaturally. Fifteen seconds later, they turned and joined the horde that had just killed them.
The military wasn't doing any better.
Armored vehicles reversed down the road, soldiers firing in controlled bursts while retreating. But even trained formations crumbled under numbers like this. Once a soldier fell, it was over. The infected didn't hesitate. They swarmed.
Deejay clenched his fists.
"This is beyond containment," he muttered.
His upgraded vision caught details he would've missed before. With his increased Combat Power, everything looked sharper—movements clearer, distances easier to judge. He could track individual zombies as they ran, see muscle tension, predict paths.
It felt disturbingly familiar.
Like a game.
The realization settled in his mind slowly.
"…System," he said. "Is there something I can buy that makes this feel more like an FPS?"
The response came immediately.
"Confirmed. Visual-combat interface available in the System Shop."
A new item preview appeared.
A pair of sleek goggles rotated slowly in midair. They were matte black with angular edges, thin enough to look lightweight but reinforced with glowing blue circuitry lines along the sides. The lenses shimmered faintly, like liquid glass.
"Item: Aegis Visor Mk-I."
"Function: Tactical combat interface."
The description expanded.
"Features include:"
Target highlighting
Threat indicators
Trajectory assistance
Real-time Combat Power analysis
Minimal HUD overlay
"Cost: 1,000 Gold Coins."
Deejay raised an eyebrow.
"Only a thousand?"
He didn't know if that was cheap or expensive, but compared to what the visor offered, it felt reasonable.
The system answered before he could ask.
"Gold Coin acquisition rate depends on enemy tier," Aegis Prime explained.
"Tier 1 infected yield 10 Gold Coins per confirmed elimination."
"Tier 2 infected yield 100 Gold Coins."
"Higher tiers scale accordingly."
"So… a hundred Tier 1 zombies for this,"
Deejay murmured.
He nodded once.
"Worth it."
The purchase confirmed instantly. The goggles materialized and dropped neatly into his hands. They were lighter than expected. When he put them on, the lenses adjusted automatically, sealing comfortably around his eyes.
The world changed.
Thin blue lines outlined moving objects. Zombies were tagged with red markers, each accompanied by a small floating indicator reading [Tier 1 | CP: Low]. Distance markers appeared. A faint crosshair rested at the center of his vision.
"…Yeah," Deejay said softly. "This feels right."
He turned away from the window and glanced toward the living room.
The Sentinel Drone Docking Station sat quietly near the wall. It was compact, no larger than a coffee table, with two recessed slots where the drones rested. Soft blue lights pulsed rhythmically.
"System," he said, "how smart are the drones?"
"Sentinel Drones are equipped with advanced combat AI," Aegis Prime replied.
"They can understand complex verbal and conceptual commands."
"Autonomous targeting and threat prioritization are standard functions."
"And ammo?"
"Each drone is equipped with an internal energy-based ammunition system," the system continued.
"A full reload costs 100 Gold Coins per drone."
Deejay did a quick mental calculation.
"That's doable."
Especially considering what came next.
"Sentinel Drones possess auto-target functionality," Aegis Prime added.
"Tier 1 infected will not recognize drones as threats."
Deejay's lips curled upward.
"So they won't even try to attack them."
"Correct."
That meant free kills.
Easy Gold Coins.
He glanced back outside through the visor. Red markers filled the streets. Zombies swarmed endlessly, oblivious to anything except living humans
.
"Tier 2 zombies?" he asked.
A brief pause followed.
"Tier 2 infected possess limited intelligence," Aegis Prime said.
"They are capable of recognizing non-human threats."
Deejay frowned slightly.
"Are there any right now?"
"Negative."
He let out a breath.
"Good."
He brought up the System Shop again and checked the drone listings. The same Sentinel unit stared back at him, price clearly displayed.
20,000 Gold Coins.
"…Twenty thousand," he repeated.
That meant two hundred Tier 2 zombies for a single drone.
He closed the shop window.
"Not happening yet," he said with a small shake of his head.
For now, two drones were more than enough.
Just as he was about to issue his first command, the system chimed sharply.
DING!
A transparent board appeared in front of him, larger than before.
Bold letters formed at the top.
[NEW QUEST ISSUED]
Quest Name: Beacon of Survival
Objective: Assist 50 survivors in staying alive
Time Limit: None
Rewards:
Gold Coins x15,000
Random Advanced Equipment Chest
System Reputation Increase
Deejay stared at the quest board, his playful expression fading into something more serious.
Fifty survivors.
He looked back out the window.
The city was burning.
And somewhere down there, people were still alive.