Chapter 4: The Sanctuary

Mutated Blood Merchant—her luck was truly remarkable.

Song Yu immediately rode her bike forward. The camp was filled with the rich aroma of cooked food, carrying the comforting scent of home.

She found herself missing her grandmother.

Biting her lip, Song Yu parked her bicycle inside the camp and approached the blood merchant.

“Player? Welcome to my temporary camp,” Chen Su greeted her, her tone somewhat cold but composed as she explained the trading rules.

“As you can see, I am a merchant who recycles mutated blood. You can exchange your mutated blood here for the supplies you need. The rarer the blood, the better the items you can get.”

“However, the supplies I can offer each day are limited, so, you understand.”

“Mm-hmm,” Song Yu nodded obediently. Even when dealing with an NPC, her attitude remained friendly.

No choice—when strength falls short, attitude must compensate.

“By the way, I’ve received your blood collection task,” she said, pulling a vial of second-tier blood from her jacket pocket and handing it over.

She noticed a gun strapped to Chen Su’s waist.

Upon handing over the blood, Song Yu’s collection task was instantly completed, and she pocketed a reward of 10,000 RMB.

“That’s exactly what I need,” Chen Su replied with a steady expression.

[NPC — Mutated Blood Merchant Chen Su’s Favorability +1]

“If possible, please help me collect more mutated blood.”

As Chen Su’s words fell, Song Yu immediately triggered a new side quest.

[Player has activated follow-up side quest — Collect 2nd-tier Mutated Blood (0/80)]

[Reward: 50,000 RMB]

The reward had increased, while the quantity required had decreased.

Though the difficulty rose, Song Yu was already quite satisfied.

At this rate, she could soon amass one million!

“You’re the first player to complete this task, so I’m awarding you an extra backpack slot as a bonus.”

Chen Su said this as Song Yu’s backpack gained an additional slot.

Song Yu’s eyes brightened—she hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise!

“Thank you!”

You can never have too many backpack slots.

---

With the side quest resolved, Song Yu finally turned her attention to Chen Su’s goods.

A virtual screen unfolded before her, displaying a wide array of items: backpack slots, firearms, armor, vehicles...

Food, drink, tools—everything was available.

At present, Song Yu had only 21 vials of first-tier blood, so most of the items she wanted were beyond her reach.

Take backpack slots, for instance—their exchange rate had skyrocketed, starting at fourth-tier mutated blood.

At best, she could afford two bottles of water or two packs of compressed biscuits, valued at 10 vials of first-tier blood.

“...”

So poor.

After some consideration, she decided to exchange for crossbow bolts—one bolt costing 5 vials of first-tier blood, enough for 10 bolts.

She wasn’t in urgent need of food or water; her current supplies could last at least three days.

Better to arm herself more and take down more zombies!

“Do you buy back supplies here?” Song Yu glanced at her inventory and asked Chen Su.

She planned to streamline her backpack, aiming to stockpile similar items.

“No, but Jing Ming handles buybacks—you can find him in the new district these days.”

Chen Su shook her head, glancing at the sky as she began packing up the camp.

“Lately?”

Song Yu keenly caught the keyword in Chen Su’s words—did these NPC merchants relocate?

“Yes. Staying in one place too long attracts zombies’ attention.”

“In three days, I’ll leave here too. You can find me at West Well Village then.”

Perhaps due to their slight favorability, Chen Su shared quite a bit of useful information with Song Yu.

“See you tomorrow.”

Chen Su slung on her backpack, and the once lively camp suddenly felt empty.

She mounted a heavy motorcycle and without hesitation sped away, leaving a trail of exhaust behind.

Song Yu stood where she was, glancing at the sky—it was nearly evening.

Night was when zombies became active; she needed to leave soon.

As she was about to leave, Song Yu spotted a bush of berries in an open patch of the camp (+1 satiety, alleviating malnutrition).

From the start, Song Yu had realized she had a knack for scavenging.

Where there were supplies, she could spot them with a glance.

This was probably a talent born from her scavenger origins.

---

There were quite a few berries. Song Yu stepped forward and picked them all.

Thirteen in total, the bright red berries gleamed like jewels, crystal-clear and enticing.

Although her status panel didn’t show it, judging from the collected items, players likely had four core attributes: satiety, hydration, mood, and health.

She needed to keep constant watch over these.

After gathering the berries, Song Yu mounted her bike and left the camp, heading toward her planned shelter.

Not long after she left, a few other players arrived at the camp.

Unfortunately for them, they were too late.

---

The shelter Song Yu chose was a village on the city’s outskirts, mostly composed of two-story houses.

When she arrived, dusk had not yet fallen, but the zombies inside the village were restless, emitting low growls.

Holding her crossbow, Song Yu searched house by house.

If any zombies were left behind, nightfall would make things far more dangerous.

The village had just over twenty households, making the cleanup straightforward—all were first-tier zombies.

Song Yu was actually hoping to find second-tier zombies to hunt but couldn’t locate any.

First-tier zombies had health ranging from 50 to 150, never exceeding that, and her crossbow was more than sufficient to deal with them.

Perhaps because it was a village, the resources Song Yu found were mostly fruits and vegetables.

She collected four potatoes (+5 satiety, with a chance of poisoning), seven ears of corn (+7 satiety, +5 hydration), and a large peach (+11 satiety, +8 hydration).

Additionally, she obtained eleven vials of first-tier blood dropped from the zombies she killed.

She didn’t search exhaustively, as she needed to reserve time to set up her shelter.

She chose the village’s only three-story house, which had a yard surrounded by cement walls, offering better security.

Using her backpack slots, Song Yu moved furniture and various items from other houses into this building.

She also found a barbecue grill—perfect for roasting potatoes and corn.

The village lacked nothing but firewood; the only problem was the absence of lighters or matches, so Song Yu had to try making fire by friction.

She closed the gate to the yard and set a small trap at the entrance—a mechanism that would alert her if any zombies or humans appeared.

Returning to the third floor, Song Yu sat on the bed by the window.

At that moment, the last glimmer of light in the sky vanished.

The entire room was engulfed in darkness, nothing visible.

The night belonged to the undead—it had officially arrived.