Zion was woken up by a commotion at noon the next day.
"Little guy, you're awake?" Zion noticed that the kitten was now fully awake and was energetically running around the room. It seemed that its leg injury had healed.
"Looks like you've recovered well." Zion saw that the chicken and water he had prepared for the kitten were all gone.
Zion got out of bed and walked over to the kitten, picking it up. The kitten didn't seem afraid and allowed Zion to hold it. "Little guy, I'll give you a name. You saved me before, and from now on, we're family."
After some thought, Zion decided to name it Nana. "I'll call you Nana." The kitten seemed to understand and meowed at Zion.
The name was the same as the cat an aunt at the orphanage used to have. "I wonder how Auntie and that cat are doing, and my friends. If I ever get the chance, I want to go back to the orphanage to see if there are any survivors."
"Alright, focus! Think about how to get stronger in this damned world. I'm not strong enough to return to that place yet."
Zion sat with Nana on his lap, contemplating his next move.
"I need strength! But right now, I don't have the power to protect myself. If I tell others I can summon food, who knows what will happen."
Having survived on his own for years, Zion had learned the harsh rules of survival. Despite the kindness he experienced at the orphanage, he knew better than to trust others easily, especially in these times.
"Because of the large supermarket and the few zombies, these survivors haven't yet lost their moral compass like in the movies and novels. But in time, robbery and murder will become commonplace. I need to form my own group to gain the ability to protect myself."
"Right, the crystals." Thinking of this, Zion prepared to try his luck at the outer district market.
"Nana, I'm going out. Watch the house." Zion summoned some water and chicken for Nana. "I'll see if I can get you some cat food." "Meow!" Nana called out and then started eating the meat.
Zion took his backpack, summoned some compressed biscuits and purified water, and set off for the outer district market.
Zion found the same vendor from before. "Uncle, I'm here to buy some crystals."
The vendor recognized Zion. "How about it, kid? Did you get clean water with that bucket I gave you?"
Instead of immediately trading the crystals, the vendor asked about the water. "Uncle, is water really scarce here?"
The vendor gave Zion a curious look. "Kid, water is essential for survival. The broadcasts have been saying the tap water is no longer drinkable. We can only drink bottled water now, and it's becoming scarcer."
"I heard there's a survivor base in Atlanta with a superhuman who can create clean water. The water there is free to use, and the survivors call that person 'The Saint.' It's like paradise there!"
Zion's heart skipped a beat. "The Saint," what a fitting name. "Sounds like a wonderful place. I'd like to visit it someday."
Zion opened his backpack. "Uncle, I brought some water and compressed biscuits. I want the crystals you have."
The vendor's eyes lit up at the sight of the water and biscuits. "Sure thing, I'll get the crystals for you." The vendor went to the back of his cart, rummaged around, and brought out a bag. He returned to Zion and opened it. "I have eight crystals here. How about it? These are on consignment from a big shot in the central district."
"Big shot? Uncle, what's the central district?" Zion asked, puzzled.
"Oh, I forgot you're new here. The central district used to be the employee quarters of this supermarket. The living conditions there are much better than here. The people in the central district are mostly Guardians, including some who joined later and have superpowers. The leader of the Guardians was reportedly the head of a militia in Lincoln City. After the zombie outbreak, he brought his men here and took over."
The vendor leaned in close to Zion. "They say the leader of the Guardians has superpowers and can move objects. That's how this refuge was established so quickly."
"Yeah, it's the apocalypse now. We can't think the same way we used to."
"Alright, Uncle, let's make a deal." Zion was eager to get stronger.
After some haggling, Zion traded the supplies in his backpack plus 500 credit points for the vendor's eight crystals.
"Thanks, Uncle. If you get more of these, save them for me. I'll bring more resources next time." Zion said to the vendor.
"Sure thing, kid. I'm Leonard. Come back in three days."
"Alright, Uncle Leonard." After leaving Leonard's stall, Zion roamed the market, acquiring three more crystals and some cat food, spending a total of 800 credit points.
"Time to head back." Zion patted his backpack and returned to C11.
"Nana, I brought you something good." Zion pulled out the cat food. Nana seemed to recognize it and jumped into Zion's lap, staring intently at the cans.
Zion didn't open the can but held it in his hand, focusing his mind. "It worked!" Zion opened his palm to reveal two cans of cat food.
Nana looked at Zion, almost as if asking where the extra can came from.
Zion opened one can and placed it beside the water bowl. Nana immediately started eating.
"Alright, little guy, now you can have all the cat food you want."
"Now it's my turn." Zion sat on the bed and poured out all the crystals. He held one crystal and began to absorb its energy. The energy flowed from his hand to his brain.
"I can feel the increase in brain energy, but I don't have that full-body tingling sensation from before."
Zion tested his abilities. Nothing seemed different except that he could summon slightly more food than before. "Looks like I need to keep going."
Zion absorbed nine more crystals. Finally, after the ninth crystal, the tingling sensation returned.
"Oh my, that feels good. Let's test my abilities." Zion focused and summoned. He found that while summoning food hadn't changed much, he could now combine items in his mind. For example, he could summon a burger with ten layers of meat or add fried chicken to Italian stew. "Is this the change?" Zion wasn't satisfied and tried summoning other items.
"Butter lobster!" Failed.
"Dagger!" Success!
"What?" Zion stared at the dagger in his hand, stunned. "I can replicate weapons now?"
This revelation made Zion realize his ability could become incredibly powerful. "Hot weapons are still mainstream, but I believe I can eventually create bullets. My faction will never have logistics problems and will be truly powerful. If that person can become 'The Saint,' so can I."
Zion felt a surge of confidence. Suddenly, he remembered something and set off again, this time to the exchange point. Zion bought some basic medicines and handgun bullets, leaving him with only 300 credit points.
"Cold medicine, antibiotics, painkillers. Successful replication. Next, bullets." Zion was anxious. "Alright, failed. Looks like I can't do it yet, but I feel that with the next upgrade of my powers, I should be able to replicate bullets. Haha!" Zion was overjoyed, seeing a bright future ahead.
As Zion envisioned the future, on the other side of the city, a zombie with red eyes was howling. The sound seemed to communicate with other zombies. More and more zombies gathered around the red-eyed zombie upon hearing its call.
"AOoo!!!"
The red-eyed zombie continued howling until midnight. By then, tens of thousands of zombies had gathered. Strangely, these zombies stood silently, without the usual growling or aimless shuffling.
"AOoo!!!" With another howl from the red-eyed zombie, all the zombies started moving in one direction—toward the supermarket where Zion was.