"I was just joking with you."
Sterling had intended to lighten the awkward atmosphere, but the next moment, everything changed.
The landlady's eyes lost focus completely, and she suddenly opened her bloodied maw, lunging towards Sterling.
"What the hell!"
Sterling instinctively retreated, falling onto the ground in a panic.
Still clutching the barrel of the gun, he pulled the landlady down with him as he fell.
The bloodied maw was inches away, and Sterling instinctively raised the gun barrel, blocking the bloody teeth just in time.
"Crunch, crunch."
The landlady was like a dog gnawing on a bone, desperately biting down on the gun barrel, not letting go even as her mouth filled with blood and flesh.
"Zombie, she's really turned into a zombie?"
In the chaos, Sterling accidentally touched a piece of glass on the ground. Without thinking, he stabbed it into the landlady's neck with force.
"Ssssh."
Blood sprayed out.
Despite this, the landlady continued to bite frenziedly for another half a minute until she finally expired, her blood drained.
"I killed someone!"
Killing for the first time in his life nearly caused Sterling's mental collapse.
Even more horrifying was the fact that the landlady's corpse emitted a garish red glow.
A card with the words [Strength +5]floated eerily in mid-air.
Sterling rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked again; the card was still there.
"Am I going mad too?"
Sterling was almost certain that the red card hovering above the corpse was real. If this was happening, it meant either he was having a mental breakdown and seeing hallucinations, or he had truly gone mad.
To test his hypothesis, Sterling reached out to grab the red card.
[Ding]
After a clear and crisp sound, the red card vanished into thin air.
"I'm not crazy, there's still hope for me!"
Sterling had just managed to convince himself when he heard a mechanical voice, as if from a system, directly entering his mind.
[Acquired Strength +5]
"What the heck?"
A row of virtual text projected onto Sterling's retina filled him with confusion, causing him to rub his eyes frantically.
"What's happening to me?"
[Ding]
A clear sound rang out, and suddenly a virtual screen appeared before Sterling's eyes.
Personal Attribute Panel:
[Host: Sterling (Mythical Level Talent)]
[Combat Power: 71]
[Strength: 11+]
[Speed: 2]
[Reaction: 1.1]
[Mental Strength: 0.1]
[Remaining Points: 5]
"Is this... a system?"
Sterling's breathing quickened. He had never dared to dream that one day he would receive recognition from a system, just like in the novels!
Especially seeing the words Mythical Level Talent!
"This is too cool, right?"
There's always a way out in desperate times. Even with the apocalypse unfolding and zombies rampant, with the system's enhancement, Sterling felt like he could walk through the world with impunity.
Without hesitation, he allocated all the remaining points.
[Strength: 16]
An unprecedented feeling of fullness filled his entire body, sweeping away all fatigue, leaving him with a sensation of being brimming with power.
So much so that the panic after killing someone was completely gone, replaced by excitement and joy.
"Mythical Level Talent, haha..."
Looking at the personal attribute panel again, his combat power had reached 96, a significant increase!
"I've become so much stronger!"
"Buzz buzz~"
Just as Sterling was studying the system, the vibration of his phone interrupted his excitement.
It was a text message from the embassy. He opened it to read.
Urgent Notice:
The situation in Europe has become chaotic recently. H nationals in Europe are advised to take emergency shelter and make their way to the H nationals' gathering area as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, we will send personnel to assist in the safe evacuation of H nationals.
Please remember, we will not abandon or give up on anyone! Let's work together with unity and determination to return home!
The next moment, the H country chat group exploded with activity.
H country students were chattering non-stop.
"Crime is rampant everywhere, how are we supposed to gather?"
"The end of the world isn't a rumor, I've actually seen people turning into zombies on the streets, it's terrifying."
"I'm easily scared, don't frighten me like that!"
Amidst the chaotic chat, one message stood out.
"Everyone, please stop arguing and listen to me, all H country students gather at the sports stadium!"
The student council president spoke up, interrupting the chatter and calming the noisy students.
The chat group then filled with various mentions and private messages, with male students offering to protect the female students, and some talking about bringing weapons, like baseball bats.
Sterling paid no further attention; he was also preparing to leave his rental house and head to school to meet with the other international students.
After all, humans are social animals, and among the international students were Sterling's classmates, friends, and brothers.
Most importantly, among Sterling's female classmates was a girl named Abigail, whose father was a diplomat at the embassy.
"Buzz buzz."
"Sterling, where are you? Hurry back to school and gather at the sports stadium!"
It was a private message from Abigail.
"On my way!"
After replying, Sterling didn't think much more about it. He quickly found a backpack, packed some food and water, and then changed into a leather jacket, put on a mask, picked up the landlady's shotgun, and got ready to leave.
As he passed the landlady's door, Sterling stopped and peeked inside.
It was empty and desolate.
The landlady had provided a shotgun but no bullets.
"Consider it compensation for my mental distress!"
Sterling started searching the house, and finally found a box of bullets in a drawer.
The double-barreled shotgun was a hunting gun, capable of holding only two shells at a time, meant to be used in life-threatening situations where surprise had the best effect.
It was midnight.
Outside was endless darkness, with crime rampant on the streets—street racing, robberies, murders, and arson, chaos reigned.
Sterling hid by the door and could clearly see several bloody zombies under the streetlight, feasting on a person, biting them until their flesh was mangled and blood was dripping, even exposing bare white bones.
Sterling shuddered and calculated mentally.
The distance from his rental house to the school was two blocks, about two kilometers.
If he took the main road, he would risk encounters with robbery, shootings, or zombie attacks; the alleyways were relatively safer in comparison.
Without further thought, he burst out the door and dashed into the dark alleyways, running as fast as he could.
He hadn't run far when he suddenly heard a woman's cry for help.
"Help! No! Please, don't do this to me!"
Accompanying this was the unrestrained laughter of several men.
Sterling crouched down, hiding behind a dumpster, cautiously observing the scene ahead.
About 50 meters ahead, a group of sinister men were attempting to assault a woman.
"Damn it! A bunch of animals!"
Sterling looked around, wanting to get to school, but this was the only way, and there was no way to avoid it.
"Damn it! What should I do?"