Jasmine woke up in her usual messy way, feeling oddly at home in this strange neighborhood with two people who seemed different, awakened somehow. She took a quick bath and put on the outfit James gave her. The clothes looked small, and she worried they might be uncomfortable, especially for her chest. Surprisingly, though, they felt just right.
Heading to the dining table, she found James' parents and Alita already there, about to sit down for breakfast. Jasmine helped with serving until James' mom asked with concern, "Where is James? I haven't seen him since last night's dinner." The worry hung in the air, disrupting the easy morning atmosphere.
Panic set in as everyone scoured the house for any sign of James. His room was empty, and the entire house offered no clues to his whereabouts. Fueled by concern, they ventured outside, hoping to find him in the familiar surroundings of their neighborhood.
To their astonishment, a surreal sight awaited them. A massive congregation of zombie corpses trailed behind James, corralled within a cage fashioned from a familiar, netted material controlled by black.
In the midst of the eerily silent procession, James approached them, an enigmatic expression on his face. The unexpected scene unfolded before their eyes, leaving them bewildered and seeking an explanation for this bizarre spectacle.
James, still wearing his customary smile, warmly greeted everyone as he approached. With a subtle mental signal, he communicated with Black, prompting the netted cage to release its grip on the gathered corpses. As they thudded to the ground, an unsettling figure among them caught everyone's attention – a peculiar zombie with exoskeleton protruding menacingly from its limbs and torso.
Jasmine, who had been composed until now, felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She recognized the disconcerting similarity between this creature and the one that had led to the devastating massacre of her military team in the mall. Though there were distinctions, such as the corpse's smaller size and the exoskeleton covering its entire body, the resemblance was undeniable.
Her reaction did not go unnoticed. The frozen expression on Jasmine's face was apparent to everyone present, an unspoken revelation that hinted at a connection between her past and the unsettling present before them. The air thickened with tension as they awaited an explanation, James' smile fading into a more serious demeanor.
"Dad, this is the reason I'm planning to venture on this dangerous mission. If we don't wipe them away, the future will be bleak for us." James spoke to his father, maintaining the eye contact with him.
James' father didn't reply, but only nodded dejectedly, knowing that he couldn't leave for the mall.
Looking at his mother before he spoke, "Mother, you can use them anyway you please." pointing at the corpses.
No one questioned him anymore, he went straight for a bath and had a peaceful breakfast with everyone. He wore his set of clothes that he had enhanced.
In a swift and synchronized motion, James and Jasmine gathered their belongings and embarked on a quest to confront the ominous mall zombie. As they stepped beyond the boundaries of their neighborhood, the once-familiar surroundings now appeared drastically altered, an eerie transformation from what it had been just a day ago.
Jasmine, drawing on her military background, moved with a heightened sense of alertness, her senses tuned to detect any potential threats that could endanger their lives. The landscape outside the neighborhood seemed fraught with uncertainty, and she navigated the unfamiliar terrain with a trained vigilance.
Meanwhile, James observed Jasmine, holding back a chuckle at her seriousness. However, his amusement was short-lived as Jasmine abruptly came to a halt, her abrupt stop triggering a sense of alertness in James. Something in the environment had caught her attention, prompting a pause in their journey and leaving them both in a suspenseful moment of uncertainty.
Jasmine turned around, holding the steel pipe and spoke to James seriously, "Something's off. Why didn't we encounter any zombies till now?"
Hearing Jasmine, James couldn't hold it and chuckled, confusing Jasmine.
Before she could question the reason for his laughter, James spoke to her in a carefree manner, "I cleaned them up as much as I could with Black. This is the best result you can get from us."
James had obviously lied to everyone that he went outside the neighborhood early morning. He didn't sleep the whole night and kept on grinding.
He kept on killing zombies the entire night because the drops of SES (Spiritual Energy Strands) had now decreased from 1 Zombie=1 SES to 1 Zombie=0.1 SES. Furthermore, he was not close to the next rank advancement.
So, he cleared up the trash in a fit of rage.