According to apocalypse survival rules, when a survivor's level surpasses a zombie's by three, they can no longer gain experience from killing it.
So after reaching Level 4, staying in this residential area was no longer worth Astrea's time.
After collecting his loot, he left without hesitation.
Along the way, he did come across a fair number of dropped items, but most were just basic survival supply capsules. Compared to yesterday's haul, today's luck was far from ideal.
There were also a few consumables like [Claws of the White-Eyed] and [Lure Pot], but none of them were immediately useful. Astrea stashed them all into his wristband storage without a second thought.
At the very least, food and water were no longer an issue.
Now that he was well-fed and rested, he had only one objective—Star City Museum.
Getting there as soon as possible was crucial. He had no intention of letting someone else beat him to the prize.
The problem was, his current location was about 20 kilometers from the museum.
To get there, he had to cross several bustling commercial streets and even traverse Xiangjiang River.
With countless zombies infesting the route, this wasn't a journey he could complete in just a day or two.
Out on the streets, groups of survivors had already begun forming teams to clear out the undead.
Each time Astrea passed by one of these groups, he made it a point to check their innate abilities.
Unfortunately, most of them barely had D-rank talents—nothing worth his attention.
When he reached the entrance of Star City Hospital, he casually took down a lone zombie wandering the parking lot with a precise shot.
He stepped forward, retrieving a supply capsule from the corpse.
Based on apocalypse logic, hospitals were filled with people who had weaker constitutions before the outbreak.
To balance the difficulty across different zones, places like these had a much higher probability of spawning mutant zombies.
If he could run into one or two of those, his power would skyrocket.
Inside the parking lot, hiding in a large off-road vehicle, were two women.
Best friends before the apocalypse, they had come to the hospital together when disaster struck.
Fearing the horrors outside, they had stayed hidden inside the car, barely escaping death.
However, after spending a full day and night inside without sleep, their exhaustion and hunger had left them in a dazed and fragile state.
Even though the streets were no longer swarming with zombies, the two women still didn't dare step out of the car.
"Kay, look! That guy just picked up a supply capsule—the kind that can produce food," one of them pointed at Astrea, her voice laced with excitement.
They had been watching survivors in the area long enough to recognize those rare, life-saving supply capsules when they appeared.
"Jessica, isn't that Astrea—Gina's boyfriend from your dorm?"
Jessica's eyes widened in recognition. "Damn, you're right! You think he's reliable? Should we stick with him for protection?"
Kay snorted. "Do you even need to ask?"
Jessica pulled down the sun visor and checked her reflection in the car's makeup mirror, carefully touching up her lipstick.
She knew that Gina had never really taken Astrea seriously, always treating him with indifference.
But Jessica? She was confident—with her looks and charm, this guy was as good as hers if she wanted him.
"Please, Gina only got that campus queen title by rigging the votes. You're way hotter than her," Kay added, fanning the flames.
Jessica smirked. "Obviously. I spread my legs, and he'll be eating out of my hand in no time."
"Jessica, tone it down a little," Kay said, rolling her eyes, but she, too, started fixing her makeup.
To be fair, Jessica and Gina were on the same level when it came to looks.
But Jessica had a natural seductiveness, an uninhibited personality that made her stand out.
In their three years of college, she had dated at least thirty guys, never caring about what others thought. She lived life on her own terms, unbothered and unapologetic.
Gina, on the other hand, had always pretended to be the innocent, pure-hearted girl—yet in reality, she was nothing more than Aiken's plaything.
No one was better than anyone else in this game.
"Astrea! Wait for us!"
The two women called out and hurried toward him.
Jessica flashed a sweet, practiced smile as she approached.
"I'm Jessica, Gina's dormmate. You've probably heard of me," she purred.
"The world's gone to hell… Zombies everywhere, people turning into monsters… It's terrifying out here!"
"I'm just a helpless girl, all alone… Think you could take me under your wing?"
She wasn't wasting time beating around the bush—not after what she had witnessed over the last 24 hours.
From inside the car, she and Kay had seen too much—violence, cruelty, desperate survivors doing whatever it took to live.
And Jessica?
She had already made up her mind.
That very morning, a vagrant had stormed into the parking lot.
The bastard had brutally raped a pregnant woman who had been trying to escape.
His methods had been cruel beyond words.
For Jessica and Kay—who had just come from the illusion of a civilized world—the event had scarred them deeply.
As Jessica spoke, she subtly yet deliberately showed off her long, stocking-clad legs and ample chest.
Astrea, of course, had heard of Jessica before.
Her intentions were more than obvious.
Seeing that Astrea wasn't responding, Kay couldn't hold back anymore.
"If you're willing, take me with you too!"
"Why don't we all stick together? The three of us—whatever you want, you got it!"
Between being brutalized by some violent, disgusting men and choosing someone on their own terms…
It was an easy choice.
After saying her piece, Kay mimicked Jessica, leaning in suggestively.
It was true what they said—you are who you surround yourself with.
These two women? Savage. Ruthless.
They were tossing bait like mad, just waiting for the poor Tomcat to bite.
In their minds, all it took was giving Astrea a taste, and he'd fall into their hands.
But Astrea?
Even with the opportunity laid out in front of him, not a single wicked thought crossed his mind.
He had lived one life already.
And if there was one thing he had learned about the apocalypse, it was this—
The last thing you should ever trust is another human being.
A quick scan of Jessica and Kay's stats showed that neither of them had awakened any abilities.
There was no point in wasting time on them.
Without another word, Astrea turned and disappeared from their sight.
Jessica's chest rose and fell in anger, her hands on her hips as she glared in the direction he had gone.
"Hmph! I won't forget this!" she spat.
Just then, a man's hand landed on Jessica's shoulder, fingers moving shamelessly downward in front of everyone.
"Who pissed off my dear Jessica?"
That voice.
Brooke.
Jessica's expression twisted in disgust as she turned to face her ex-boyfriend.
"Brooke? You're not dead yet?" she sneered.
And yet…
She didn't push him away.
Because behind Brooke, she saw something that made her change her mind instantly—
A team of well-trained, armed subordinates, standing at his command.
Brooke might have been young, but he was still a rich brat from the Snyder family—easy to manipulate.
Sure, he was a bit on the small side, but his external power?
At least a hundred times greater than Astrea's.
"How could I possibly die?" Brooke smirked, smoothly spinning a lie. "My men told me they saw your car around here, so I came to rescue you."
Total bullshit—the only reason he was here was to level up.
"Oh, you're so bad… you always know how to—ah~"
Jessica, a veteran in the game, knew exactly how to pleasure a man.
With just a single sultry smile, she had Brooke burning up in seconds.
"Jessica, what are you—?"
Before he could finish, Jessica grabbed his left hand, guiding it firmly onto her round, perky ass.
"You wanna taste some peaches, baby? Sweet, juicy peaches…" she whispered, voice dripping with seduction.
"So soft… so smooth… so dripping wet…"
"Fuck, baby, I can't take it—where's your car?"
Brooke scooped her up in a bridal carry, kicking open the door to her SUV.
"Hold on tight, babe," he growled, pinning her down in the backseat.
"Mine's huge—just bear with it for a sec!"