Xie Li brushed away the cookie crumbs from the corner of her mouth and gave several quick nods in succession.
"That's great! This is such fantastic news!"
"And besides, it wasn't easy for us to come all the way out here—it took over two hours just to drive. What better chance than this to rack up some experience points and level up?"
Chen Du nodded slowly, his hands deftly loading bullets into his pistol. "Then it's settled. You'll drive later, and I'll take care of the zombies."
Xie Li hummed in agreement, then asked, "So, do you have a plan for how we're going to handle them?"
Chen Du paused for a moment, considering, before replying, "Here's what I'm thinking: see that patch of grass ahead? We'll drench it with gasoline first, then drive right up to the horde. I'll shoot to draw their attention, lure them onto the grass, and once they're there, we set it ablaze. A nice zombie barbecue."
"And after we light the grass, we can quickly retreat to that dirt mound on the left. From there, we'll have the perfect range to finish them off."
Xie Li clapped her hands in delight.
"What a brilliant plan! Chen Du, you really are clever!"
Chen Du rubbed the back of his neck, a faint flush creeping across his cheeks. He couldn't help but notice how Xie Li seemed to hang on his every word now, praising him for even the smallest decisions. It was starting to make him feel a bit self-conscious.
Of course, this entire strategy relied on one critical assumption: that the zombies lacked any semblance of intelligence and operated purely on instinct. If they ever gained any kind of reasoning ability, this approach would be utterly useless.
A sudden thought crossed Chen Du's mind—what if intelligent zombies eventually appeared? Otherwise, as survivors grew stronger, these mindless creatures would gradually cease to pose much of a threat.
Chen Du had seen enough zombie movies to know where things usually headed. By the end, there were always mutated or high-level zombies lurking around. But for now, that was a problem for another day.
The priority was clear: reach Level 10 and unlock the system's promised physical enhancement. As for whether smarter or tougher zombies would show up later, Chen Du was confident he'd find a way to survive regardless.
With that in mind, Chen Du and Xie Li hopped out of the car and began pouring gasoline over the grass. They worked quickly, and soon the entire field shimmered under the sunlight like an oily mirror.
Once the gasoline was spread, Xie Li climbed back into the driver's seat and gunned the engine toward the horde. As they approached, Chen Du crouched on the roof, firing shots to attract the zombies' attention. Any stragglers were swiftly dispatched with crossbow bolts.
The zombies, drawn by the noise, began lumbering toward them in droves. Once he was sure they had the horde's full attention, Chen Du called out to Xie Li, "Turn now! Stick to the route we planned. Drive slow—make sure they stay on our tail."
Xie Li obeyed without hesitation.
For a while, Chen Du continued firing sporadic shots to keep the zombies interested. But as they neared the gasoline-soaked grass, he holstered his pistol and lit a torch.
As the car rolled through the drenched field, the zombies stumbled into the trap. Chen Du hurled the flaming torch into the grass.
Whoosh!
A wall of fire erupted with a deafening roar, instantly engulfing the zombies and trapping them in a fiery inferno. The flames crackled and danced, casting an eerie orange glow across the landscape.
From their vantage point on the dirt slope, Chen Du surveyed the scene with a critical eye.
"The fire's still too small," he muttered. "Let's give our dear zombie friends a little extra heat."
Reaching into his backpack, Chen Du pulled out a spare gasoline canister. With a powerful heave, he sent it flying into the blaze. The additional fuel ignited immediately, sending the flames surging higher. The inferno spread to the nearby forest, where the distant cries of trapped zombies could be heard.
The sustained burn of the gasoline proved devastating. This method was far more efficient than picking off zombies one by one with pistols and crossbows.
Warnings like "burn the forest, spend life in prison" held no weight in a post-apocalyptic world. Chen Du didn't care about environmental concerns—survival was the only thing that mattered.
After watching the spectacle for a few moments, Chen Du motioned for Xie Li to return to the car. Even standing on the slope, the heat from the flames was oppressive, leaving them both drenched in sweat.
They cranked up the air conditioning and drove further away, heading toward the next cluster of zombies. Meanwhile, the massive fire had caught the attention of other survivors in the area.
The chat channels buzzed with speculation.
ID 574876: "Holy crap, check this out! What's going on over there? Did someone torch the forest? Or did it catch fire naturally? (Attached photo shows the burning forest in the distance.)"
ID 74852: "Haha, With weather like this, it's probably not spontaneous combustion. Remember the acid rain a few days ago? No way it lit itself on fire. Gotta be arson."
ID 485721: "Isn't anyone going to put it out? Trees are alive too, you know."
ID 854712: "Are you serious? In this world, you're seriously suggesting someone go play firefighter? Forget about the lack of water—who's dumb enough to risk their life for a tree? Do you think being a firefighter is easy?"
ID 234323: "Oh my god! Such divine radiance! A living Buddha has descended among us! If you're so worried about saving trees, why don't you go put out the fire?"
ID 324174: "Truly, a living Buddha walks among us. ID 574876, share the coordinates so this holy figure can go save the world!"
Many survivors found these comments absurd. In a world where survival was everything, who still cared about putting out fires? How had these people even lasted this long?
Fortunately, Chen Du was too busy driving to check the chat channels. If he had, he might have gleefully admitted to starting the fire himself, just to see how ID 574876 would respond.
As Chen Du drove, he kept an ear on the system notifications. His experience points were climbing steadily, bringing him closer and closer to Level 10.
[Experience +1]
[Experience +1]
…
[1 experience point remaining to level up]
Just as he was about to hit the milestone, the experience bar stopped moving. Clearly, the massive fire had wiped out all the zombies in the forest, cutting off the flow of experience points.
Chen Du sighed in frustration. At that exact moment, a lone zombie staggered into view near the front of the car. Without hesitation, Chen Du slammed his foot on the gas pedal.
Thud!
The impact sent the zombie flying through the air in a graceful arc.
[Experience +1]
[Congratulations, survivor! You've leveled up. Keep pushing forward!]
With that final kill, Chen Du finally reached Level 10. In an instant, he felt a surge of power coursing through his body. It wasn't just an increase in strength or speed—it was something deeper, something primal. For the first time, he felt like he could leap off a second-story building and walk away unscathed.
Xie Li, sitting in the passenger seat, noticed the change in him immediately. She turned to look at him, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Chen Du, you leveled up? That's incredible!"
"Yeah, I did. Let's head home now. Once we're back, we can figure out exactly what this upgrade means."
With a satisfied grin, Chen Du floored the accelerator. The car roared to life, its engine growling with newfound intensity. Now that they'd leveled up, there was no need to push their luck by heading to the next zombie hotspot. After all, they'd been scavenging and hunting for nearly three days straight—it was time to rest and regroup.