Maybe it was because she had always been too lenient with him, and he had always thought he was just a tool for her to secure her status in the Park family, so her kindness was expected. That's why when Sun Muyang told him not to go to City B, he didn't think much of it, considering staying by her side was her wish!
But today, he learned that he might actually be more important to her than her own life. Thinking about it, she had been quite good to him, except for rarely focusing on his education. She had been meticulous in every other aspect of his life. He thought perhaps his lackluster academic performance might make the main family of the Park household more tolerant of him.
After hanging up the phone, feeling somewhat stifled, he started to organize his supplies. He knew that at the beginning of the apocalypse, zombies hadn't yet formed crystal cores in their brains, and without cores, zombies were relatively easier to deal with. Their skulls would harden but could still be easily killed. For a second-stage ability user like him, even if his abilities were not the strongest, with a bit of caution, nothing major would happen. It was a good time to both practice his skills and gather supplies.
Since he didn't want to touch the supplies at home just yet, it was also a chance to test out his newly acquired 'little brother', or rather, 'little sister'? Who could tell him how to distinguish the gender of plants?
After resting well and eating something in the afternoon, he went out again, switching his weapon to the specially customized defensive military knife he had prepared earlier. He then drove out. Since he was looking to practice, he couldn't choose an area with too many people but also couldn't pick a bustling urban zone.
After all, having been in a peaceful world for a month and with a body unaccustomed to the apocalypse, he was a bit rusty. However, having advanced to the second stage with wood-based abilities, which represented vitality and had healing effects, he knew he wouldn't be infected even if he got injured, as long as the zombies weren't above level three.
But at this early stage of the apocalypse, he doubted there would be level-three zombies. He drove to a small market not too far from where he lived, a place that wasn't as deserted as the suburbs but not as crowded as the city center, making it a good spot for him to practice.
He drove directly to the nearby supermarket, knocking down numerous zombies along the way. The survivors, seeing he had no intention of stopping, didn't dare to linger in front of his car, only cursing under their breath as he sped off.
After getting out of the car, he locked it and dealt with a few zombies that came at him before opening the supermarket door and stepping inside. The supermarket had clearly been ransacked; shelves and the floor were in disarray, so Park Su had to consider the possibility of others still being inside. He furrowed his brows, gripped his defensive knife, and walked slowly inside.
Of course, he didn't forget to stuff supplies into his bag and space ring. This time, he wasn't just after food but also clothes and daily necessities, as he had already stockpiled plenty of food, and being a wood-based ability user with seeds, he wouldn't lack food. Moreover, as the apocalypse progressed, animals would also mutate, growing larger and reproducing quickly, though they would also become dangerous. But with strength, meat wouldn't be scarce; it was seasonings and daily goods that would be in short supply, so he focused on those.
After all, in the apocalypse, just surviving was hard enough, and few bases would have the capacity to restore factories to pre-apocalypse conditions, allowing people to live well.
So, in Park Su's eyes, these supplies were the capital for future survival, and he naturally wanted to take as much as he could. He couldn't help but regret not having space abilities; otherwise, he could take everything. Now, he could only take what fit in his six-square-meter space and a large travel bag.
There were indeed survivors who followed Park Su into the supermarket, but they scoffed at his choice of collecting seasonings. In their view, grabbing more food was paramount; seasonings didn't fill stomachs, and a bit of salt was enough. Besides, they believed the government would eventually rescue them, so having enough food to last until then was all that mattered.
More importantly, having seen Park Su's combat prowess, they felt no need to offend him over some non-essential seasonings, especially since he was only carrying a large travel bag. How much could he take? Once he couldn't carry any more, wouldn't it all just be left for them?
Park Su couldn't carry everything himself, and if others wanted to take advantage, let them. After all, he wasn't a space ability user; even if he were, he couldn't possibly take all the supplies in the country. Sometimes, one had to leave a lifeline for others, right?
Having gathered what he wanted, he reluctantly left the remaining goods on the shelves and turned to leave with his weapons and supplies towards his car. As he passed a shelf, a zombie suddenly lunged at him. Park Su frowned, swiftly dealt with it, and was about to leave when he heard cries for help from the group of people who had been collecting supplies behind him.
Park Su paused momentarily, dragging his suitcase. When he was there earlier, there were no zombies; how come they were attacked the moment he left? He hesitated, contemplating whether to interfere in this idle matter. In the apocalypse, taking care of oneself was already enough; saving others might earn you gratitude, complaints, or even betrayal.
But hearing the commotion grow louder, Park Su couldn't harden his heart. He cursed under his breath, set his suitcase aside, and went to help those people. However, what he didn't expect was that before he even reached halfway, those people were already running towards him, with seven or eight zombies in pursuit, some wearing uniforms, clearly workers and customers who had been here yesterday.
Upon seeing Park Su approaching, the survivors' eyes lit up, and they all started shouting for help as they ran towards him. Park Su didn't mind being led into trouble; in fact, he had anticipated this outcome when he decided to help. This just confirmed his belief that he shouldn't meddle in others' affairs. Had he not awakened his abilities and had no combat power, being surrounded by all these zombies could have meant certain death.
Since he had decided to help, he wouldn't dwell on it; it was good practice for him. He quickened his pace, passing through the group of people, his face stern, wielding his defensive knife with precision and efficiency, quickly dispatching two zombies.
Just as he was about to deal with the third, the last survivor in the group suddenly ran towards him, screaming for help. Park Su hadn't anticipated this person would directly tackle him, and being a living person, he couldn't bring himself to immediately strike back. The woman clung tightly to his arm, severely hampering his movements.
Because of this unexpected burden, Park Su nearly got caught by the third zombie. Although his current abilities meant he wasn't afraid of minor wounds, it didn't mean he enjoyed being dragged down like this. He cursed under his breath, thinking he shouldn't have been kind-hearted. Fortunately, his strength had increased significantly after reaching the second stage of awakening, allowing him to dodge the two lunging zombies while dragging the woman and then killing them all.
He then forcefully shook her off, sending her sprawling to the ground. The woman hadn't expected Park Su to be so unsympathetic, not even comforting her after she clung to him for safety, but instead throwing her aside. She hurt all over, and though she wanted to curse, seeing Park Su's zombie-slaying demeanor, she swallowed her complaints.
She got up on her own and, following the others, ran towards the exit. However, as she passed Park Su's luggage, she hesitated slightly. She hadn't managed to grab much when they were attacked; being a woman, she couldn't run as fast as the others, and apart from the two chocolate bars she had stuffed into her pockets, she hadn't taken anything else.
She thought Park Su would need some time to deal with those seven zombies, and she couldn't leave empty-handed. That man was so capable, he'd surely collect more things. As for this suitcase, she'd take it, and if there was a chance, she'd return it later. With that in mind, she grabbed the suitcase without hesitation and ran out.
After Park Su finished off the last zombie, he saw the woman dragging his suitcase away and couldn't help but twitch his lips. See? Doing good deeds was never that simple.
With a grim expression, he went to the luggage section of the supermarket, found another decently sized bag, and went back to collect his supplies again. Luckily, those people were in such a rush to escape from the zombies that they hadn't taken much, so there was still enough left for Park Su to fill another bag. He picked up the new bag with one hand, held his defensive knife in the other, and fought his way to the supermarket entrance. There, he saw his car surrounded by a horde of zombies. They were trying to attack it but were being repelled by some force. Faintly, Park Su thought he saw someone inside the car.