"Completely ignoring my existence?"
Shaun stood motionless, surprised by how decisively and nonchalantly the other person had left. It seemed that the effect of the "Dual Aura" talent was quite overwhelming. If the "Protagonist Aura" had worked successfully...
He continued down, with survivors on the ground floor awaiting his "enticement."
In one of the ground floor units lived an elderly person who survived by consuming small amounts of rice soup each day. Their eyes were vacant, and they occasionally looked out the window. The sight of the wandering zombies filled the elderly person with complex emotions, especially when they saw two friends playing chess on a stone bench below.
The world had changed, and they felt powerless to alter it. Their death was imminent once their food supply ran out.
Bang, bang, bang!
Suddenly, a series of knocks on the door disrupted the elderly person's thoughts.
"Is it those three ruffians again?" The elderly person couldn't help but angrily mutter.
"Get lost!" They approached the door and shouted in frustration.
Shaun was persistent, gently tapping on the door, attempting to make the survivor believe that he was a good person.
The elderly person was also puzzled, wondering if it was the same trio.
Peering through the peephole, they saw a person outside with an appearance reminiscent of a mental patient.
"Here to rescue or to seek refuge?"
For a moment, the bizarre appearance of the stranger left the elderly person perplexed, unable to determine their true identity.
"Protagonist Aura activated!"
"Activation successful!"
To Shaun's surprise, the activation went smoothly. In an instant, he felt like he was radiating light, as if embodying divine intervention.
With arms spread wide, he seemed to be welcoming a baptism of holy light. The elderly person was similarly dumbfounded, and a sense of inexplicable trust washed over them. Even though they couldn't make sense of the stranger's peculiar arm gesture, they felt that he was trustworthy.
"Are you here to rescue people?"
The elderly person slowly opened the door, their face showing a trace of excitement.
Bow before me, mortals! Behold the radiance of the zombie overlord!
With his arms still raised, Shaun waited for them to come closer, for how could a protagonist personally take action?
A protagonist was revered wherever they went, and the elderly person was likely to pull on his coat and follow him.
Tears welled up in their eyes, eager to accompany the protagonist.
Bang!
A sudden noise startled the elderly person, freezing them in their tracks. The door had unexpectedly closed again?
Was a protagonist so unimpressive?
"Thought you were here to save us, but turns out you're a lunatic!"
The elderly person sighed, thinking that the stranger had acted like an idiot the whole time. Clearly, they had let their imagination run wild. How could someone like this be a savior?
Bang, bang, bang!
Growing anxious, Shaun resorted to shoving a small advertisement through the door once again.
"??? On-site service?" The elderly person picked up the paper and read, his anger flaring up.
Turning around to open the door, he cursed loudly, "You motherfu—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Shaun lunged forward, tearing into him with a bite.
Opening and closing the door as if playing a game – could he not show a bit of respect?
"Ah..." The elderly person had been hungry for a while, lacking strength. They were completely defenseless against a fourth-tier ordinary zombie.
It never occurred to the elderly person that this was a zombie. They hadn't considered that possibility from start to finish.
"Ding! Host successfully infected one person, evolution points +10!"
Shaun turned and walked away, getting one step closer to advancing to the fifth tier. It seemed that the "Protagonist Aura" was still effective, easily luring survivors out.
Shaun tried the doors of the remaining two units, but the "Protagonist Aura" failed, and the occupants didn't even pay attention to him. Could it be that his outfit was too stylish?
Sighing inwardly, he left the old building. Trying each unit one by one was too slow and, over time, the efficiency of infection might decrease.
Go where there are more people!
Shaun made up his mind. After a moment, he effortlessly rode a green bicycle, heading towards the city center.
School!
With more than twenty people left to infect before advancing, a place like a school was probably an easy target.
Whistling, Shaun pedaled on, looking around casually as if he were living in a prosperous era. Private cars were all stuck on the road, while bicycles were the only means of smooth transportation.
However, he suddenly noticed a yellow bus up ahead, surrounded by a circle of zombies. They were roaring continuously, their eyes blazing red. Could there be people inside the bus?
The doors were closed, and zombies were relentlessly clawing and biting at the bus's exterior. Something seemed to be attracting them.
Shaun's interest was piqued, and he approached the bus. After all, any chance was his to seize, and wasting his time on these low-level ordinary zombies was utterly pointless.
As he got closer, he realized that the zombies weren't trying to get inside the bus; instead, they were attempting to climb onto the roof. Shouldn't it be on the roof, not inside the bus?
Shaun looked up and finally spotted something on the bus roof. His hands trembled suddenly, and a shiver ran down his spine.
He leaped off the bicycle, which continued moving forward and eventually bumped into a zombie, gradually coming to a halt.
Shaun dropped to the ground, the hood of his down jacket covering his head as he started to move stealthily, creeping forward.
His movements were not only skillful but also elegant.
"Roadside Aura activated!"
"Activation successful!"
He breathed a sigh of relief. What a joke!
On the roof of the yellow bus lay a massive orange cat, almost the same size as the bus itself. It appeared extremely lazy, sunbathing.
Due to its similar color to the bus, Shaun's vision wasn't sharp enough, and he had overlooked this monster.
The zombies below were attracted by the higher-tier virus emanating from the cat's body.
The big orange cat was soaking up the sun, its enormous eyes looking puzzled at something in the distance. It seemed that something had rushed past just now.
Shaun exercised extreme caution. This orange cat was remarkably large; he guessed it must have reached the second-tier mutation, far stronger than the big white and yellow dogs.
Suddenly, the big orange cat seemed a bit bored. It slowly stood up and, with a single leap, left the bus.
Bang!
A parked car collapsed under its weight, and with a casual swipe of its paw, several zombies were torn apart.
Disturbing its rest, mere low-level creatures!
The big orange cat glanced at the multitude of zombies gathered near the bus. Its claws moved with astonishing speed, each attack obliterating several zombies.
In an instant, arms, legs, and heads flew in all directions.
Bang!
A severed arm even landed on Shaun's head.
Damn it, so unlucky!
He continued to crawl forward. With the "Roadside Aura" activated, he shouldn't attract attention. He moved like a red furry caterpillar, quickly leaving the area.
In his wake, a large number of zombies were slaughtered, and the orange cat remained completely unharmed.
Soon, a quiet area was cleared, and the chubby cat returned to the bus roof. It stretched lazily and settled back to rest.
To massacre the zombie clan like this... I'll come back to settle the score once I get stronger!