Chapter 13: Talent Ascension

Song Yu’s face was deceptively innocent, appearing pure and blameless. Most importantly, she seemed weak—physically frail—which gave the impression that she could be easily controlled or even killed. When facing Song Yu, most people were quick to lower their guard.

The members of the Watchers organization were no exception. So, when Song Yu offered medical supplies, they hesitated briefly before accepting with ease. They truly needed those supplies; after all, the injuries of their comrades could not be ignored.

“Thank you. Once we regroup with the main force, we’ll compensate you,” the man leading the group said, removing his mask to reveal a youthful and handsome face. He took the bandages and antibiotics Song Yu handed over and thanked her politely.

“No problem, no problem,” Song Yu waved her hand nervously. When she caught a glimpse of the man’s face, she shyly looked away.

The man cleared his throat, his ears tinged slightly red. But if he had looked closely, he would have seen no trace of genuine shyness in Song Yu’s eyes. She was merely pretending, maintaining her persona.

Speaking of which, both groups of NPCs Song Yu had encountered so far were quite good-looking. Moreover, whether it was Chen Su or the Watchers, these NPCs appeared indistinguishable from players.

“By the way, is this yours?” Song Yu pulled out a black box from her space. The leader’s eyes lit up instantly as he eagerly asked, “Where did you find this?”

“Near the First Hospital in Yangliu City. There was an abandoned vehicle painted with the same emblem as yours, but besides this box, there was nothing else in the car,” Song Yu explained in detail.

Upon hearing the exact location, the leader quickly conferred quietly with his companions. Song Yu, not curious, lowered her gaze to check her reward.

The unknown reward was experience points for her talents.

100 points, plus a +10 favorability increase with the Watchers.

That was enough for Song Yu to upgrade two talents.

But choosing which to upgrade was truly a dilemma.

Her three current talents were all very powerful. Speed influenced her ability to escape, stamina dictated how much she could search each day, and the scavenger talent was invaluable.

Never underestimate that 10% chance for double rewards.

After upgrading, the triple reward rate would likely increase as well.

After some hesitation, Song Yu ultimately chose to upgrade Sprint Master and Scavenger.

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Regarding physical strength, Song Yu wasn’t yet critically lacking stamina, especially with Little Black assisting her.

After the upgrade, Sprint Master’s speed bonus rose to 10, and Scavenger’s chance doubled as well.

Talent: Lucky Scavenger LV2 (0/100): 20% chance to receive double supplies, 5% chance to receive triple supplies.

A 5% chance for triple supplies was quite significant!

No sooner had Song Yu finished upgrading her talents than she heard the leader speaking into a communication device.

She had heard others call him Jiang Zhou; the NPC names were quite pleasant: Chen Su, Jiang Zhou, Jing Ming.

Speaking of which, Chen Su mentioned that Jing Ming was the one who collected supplies.

A scavenger named Jing Ming—somehow, Song Yu felt he’d get haggled down to the bone.

“Has the Rotwood appeared?” Jiang Zhou asked, brow furrowed. This city was infested with terrifying zombies, and Rotwood was among the worst.

As a sixth-tier zombie, Rotwood often traveled with other high-tier zombies.

Most frighteningly, when multiple Rotwood zombies gathered, they would manifest a mysterious ability that was nearly impossible to eradicate.

Even if destroyed, the cost was excruciatingly high.

Rotwood was essentially the priest among zombies.

“Damn it, who woke this guy up?” Jiang Zhou muttered under his breath.

The culprit—Yu—heard Jiang Zhou’s curse but showed no change in expression, as if it wasn’t directed at her at all.

She and Little Black were crouched curiously beside a Watchers member who was maintaining and assembling firearms.

“Are you interested?” the member asked, removing his mask to reveal a rather youthful face.

He seemed even younger than Song Yu, barely in his late teens or early twenties.

“Yeah,” Song Yu nodded emphatically.

The boy grinned and immediately began discussing knowledge with her.

Song Yu listened attentively; these were things she couldn’t learn in the real world.

Little Black, a graceful and agile large dog, excited the other members, who gladly opened a can of meat for him.

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The canned meat contained generous chunks of beef.

Nearby, Jiang Zhou was still negotiating with other teams. Soon after, they concluded their talk and approached Song Yu.

“Sorry, little sister. I wanted to take you to our base; it’s very safe there. But because the Rotwood zombies have appeared, a large number of high-tier zombies have gathered nearby.”

“This area has become dangerous. We have to stay here and deal with these zombies.”

“I’ll have Xiao Rong escort you to the base,” he offered.

Xiao Rong was the young boy who had just taught Song Yu to use a gun. However, Song Yu did not wish to mingle with the Watchers.

She was unsure of their true nature, despite their friendly demeanor.

Besides... there was no guarantee they were any different from her.

Moreover, the base sounded risky.

“No, it’s okay. I can manage on my own,” Song Yu quickly shook her head, interrupting Jiang Zhou’s offer.

“A sister I met earlier told me that a Tamer recently arrived in the New District. I want to take Little Black to find them.”

“The Tamer? You mean that guy named Yuanshu,” someone said enthusiastically, pointing out the Tamer’s area of activity.

Because Song Yu had disturbed the Rotwood zombies, Jiang Zhou and his group had to eliminate the threat, unable to allow these high-tier zombies to continue ravaging the city.

Before parting, Jiang Zhou and his group marked various merchants and organizations’ recent activity zones on Song Yu’s map.

Included was the Watchers’ base. Jiang Zhou hoped Song Yu would visit after finding the Tamer, as there were many elderly and children there.

They welcomed all human survivors except criminals, dedicating themselves to protecting humanity.

In addition to the map, they gave Song Yu an extra bulletproof vest (+15 defense) and ten cans of beef stew (+70 satiety).

If it weren’t for the Rotwood issue, Jiang Zhou might have also supplied her with guns and ammunition.

This side quest had been very rewarding for Song Yu, even without money.

After bidding a concerned farewell to Jiang Zhou and the others, Song Yu’s gaze returned to calm.

She had just killed a player but hadn’t yet checked their talents or inheritance due to encountering the Watchers.

Impatient yet holding back her curiosity, she found a safe spot with Little Black before beginning to investigate.