9: Start to develop

“So…so powerful!” Lin Zhi couldn’t help but exclaim as she watched Lin Ze, who was quick and decisive.

Lin Ze dissected the corpse dog but found no crystals or similar items, causing him to frown slightly. The possibility of a corpse dog forming a crystal was too low!

Moreover, any monster that produced a crystal would not be weak.

Shaking his head helplessly, Lin Ze carried his blade and walked downstairs.

“Where are you going?!” Lin Zhi quickly followed him, asking in a low voice.

“It’s no longer safe here,” Lin Ze replied without looking back.

The fact that a corpse dog came up meant that the downstairs area must be open. He couldn't just wait here; he had to go down! Either he dealt with the “open” issue, or he left this place to find another safe location.

However, if it wasn't absolutely necessary, Lin Ze didn't want to leave. A heavy downpour was outside, visibility was low, and going out would be too dangerous!

Lin Zhi nervously clenched her fists, watching Lin Ze, who didn't look back, and quickly followed him, whispering, “Can…can you take me with you?”

“I won’t specifically protect you. If there’s danger, I won’t save you either. If you want to follow, then follow,” Lin Ze said, his steps unceasing.

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhi’s face immediately brightened, and she nodded, “Mm-hmm! Okay! If that time truly comes, I’ll accept it!”

What Lin Ze said, to Lin Zhi, clearly translated to: You can follow, and if he can, he will naturally protect you, but if he can’t, then there’s nothing he can do.

Lin Zhi followed Lin Ze downstairs, simultaneously pulling out two blades from her waist. “These are those two people’s blades. Do you want them?”

Lin Ze glanced at them. “Keep them for self-defense. At least you can use them to kill yourself if needed.”

“…” Lin Zhi fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

She clearly knew her own combat strength; even with a blade, she wasn't very strong, given her physical condition.

Moreover, she hadn't undergone any real combat. She wasn't a warrior, just a lucky survivor clinging to life.

What's more, these two blades weren’t very long… Compared to the large cleaver in Lin Ze's hand, the two blades in her hands were like fruit knives.

They weren't very useful against people, let alone monsters!

Lin Zhi looked at Lin Ze, who was walking ahead, and her heart settled slightly. She didn't know why, but with Lin Ze by her side, Lin Zhi felt a strong sense of security.

Lin Ze arrived downstairs. The main door was wide open, and there were some dried bloodstains on the ground.

Outside, the sky was gloomy, and lightning flashed occasionally, bringing with it rumbling thunder.

The heavy rain was still falling. Perhaps because of the downpour, Lin Ze looked outside and saw no monsters wandering about.

However, to be safe, Lin Ze closed and locked the double doors.

“This area is currently safe. Rainwater will wash away scents. Let’s block the door with something, and then we’ll thoroughly search this building… I hope we’re lucky enough to find some refreshed supplies,” Lin Ze said, turning to Lin Zhi.

“Okay!” Lin Zhi nodded and immediately began looking for things to block the door.

The two of them busied themselves for a while, accumulating four or five hundred jin of items to completely block the main door.

The windows next to them had privacy glass, and outside were anti-theft steel bars. For now, it seemed relatively safe.

“Let’s go, let’s search around,” Lin Ze told Lin Zhi. “Although I just arrived here, my initial assessment is that there’s no danger, but no one can say for sure, so you need to be extremely careful.”

Lin Ze instructed Lin Zhi, not out of concern for her, but because he was afraid that if she encountered danger, it would attract greater danger.

“Can…can I follow you?” Lin Zhi was a bit scared.

“…” Lin Ze fell silent for a moment, then nodded. He didn’t expect her to do anything remarkable.

Moving together was fine too. If there were any monsters, and he could defeat them, he could earn some source points. The importance of source points was his top priority.

If he couldn’t defeat them, Lin Zhi would still be a very good “rear guard.”

They searched the first and second floors.

Their luck was quite good; there were no monsters, and they found three bags of bread, two bottles of water, and a bottle of milk.

Combined with the little food Lin Ze had left, it was enough to satisfy both of them.

“Go lock the rooftop door to prevent any monsters from coming down from the rooftop. Locking it will at least create a sound,” Lin Ze told Lin Zhi.

“Ah! Okay!” Lin Zhi nodded. The rooftop door could be locked from the inside. Responding to Lin Ze, Lin Zhi immediately ran to close and lock it.

Lin Ze was now certain that killing monsters was currently the fastest way for him to grow stronger.

As for danger, high risk means high reward. How could becoming stronger be so easy!

Moreover, this was the apocalypse! With such a way to grow stronger, how could he not maximize its use? Not to mention saving the world, he needed to be able to protect himself.

However, it was raining heavily outside now, and Lin Ze didn't want to get drenched in the downpour while facing such poor visibility just to find monsters.

For now, he could only stay here and wait for the heavy rain to stop.

Soon after, Lin Zhi ran down. “I’ve locked the rooftop! What should we do next?”

“Rest and wait for the rain to stop,” Lin Ze said, shaking his head slightly. “Go find some sheets and bedding. We’ll sleep in the living room.”

“Why not in the bedroom…” Lin Zhi hadn’t finished her sentence when she saw Lin Ze’s gaze, and she swallowed the rest of her words. “Okay! I understand!”

Be obedient, absolutely be obedient!

Lin Zhi immediately ran upstairs again, making several trips to bring several sets of sheets and bedding to the living room. Then, without Lin Ze needing to tell her, Lin Zhi herself began spreading the sheets on the floor, arranging the pillows and bedding.

They could rest at any time.

Lin Zhi no longer harbored thoughts about a man and woman sharing a room or sleeping in the same bed.

She wouldn't even agree to be far from Lin Ze.

If there was danger, Lin Ze might even be able to save her if he was nearby.

In fact, Lin Zhi even wished Lin Ze would take an interest in her.

At least, Lin Ze was very handsome and strong. If he took an interest in her and could lead her to survive in the apocalypse, she would even be willing to throw herself at him!

However, looking at Lin Ze’s demeanor, Lin Zhi had the “desire” but not the “courage.”

[Lin Zhi, keep it up! There’s a long way to go! Feelings grow over time! As long as I can show my value and not be a burden! If I follow him for a long time, he definitely won't abandon me!] Lin Zhi secretly encouraged herself.

Her gaze fell upon Lin Ze, who was already lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

…

Noman Ya Continent.

[Whirlwind Sword]

Swish!

Sword light flashed as Clarissa, wielding a knight's sword, swept past a three-meter-tall ice-blue furred giant bear.

The giant bear stood there.

Puff puff puff!

Nineteen wounds burst open on its body.

Boom!

The giant bear crashed to the ground.

“Hoo~” Clarissa performed a beautiful sword flourish and sheathed her sword.

Clarissa looked at the 105 source points she gained from killing this giant bear.

These past two days, she had entered the mountain range, constantly searching for and killing demonic beasts, and incidentally acquiring materials to sell for money.

The System Backpack solved her item storage problem.

“Finally enough!” Clarissa looked at the 1019 source points on her panel.

She chose to upgrade her Sword Mastery.

[Sword Mastery I] → [Sword Mastery II]

After upgrading, Clarissa felt a deeper understanding of the sword, and gained a deeper comprehension of the basic swordsmanship and low-tier combat techniques, [Whirlwind Sword] and [Earth Shattering Slash], that she currently mastered.

Clarissa knew that skills could be improved through one's own practice, but talent could not.

Therefore, the most cost-effective was talent, and for her, sword talent ranked first.

Her own talent was quite good, and with the bonus from [Talent Enhancement I], her cultivation of the Breathing Technique could be said to be at a genius level.

And she valued combat power more, so she prioritized improving her sword talent.

Her physical attributes had already increased to 7.7 points in one day, with the help of a large amount of demonic beast meat and the Breathing Technique.

She still needed to continue working hard! Clarissa looked at the 5000 source points required to upgrade [Sword Mastery II]. It was a long and arduous journey!

In the void, Tang Ziheng watched Clarissa's development. It was going very well, with a strong momentum!

This back and forth, another 2000 source points were earned.

Furthermore, Tang Ziheng also discovered that the flow of time between the two worlds was different.

However, he didn't feel the slightest awkwardness, which must be due to the System's powerful blessing.

But this was a good thing for him; it meant development would be even faster.

Of course, Tang Ziheng found that while the time flow between worlds was different, in a certain sense, it could also be the same.

And there was also a threshold, so it shouldn't be a situation where one day in this world equals one year in the other.

However, that wasn't something Tang Ziheng needed to think about right now.

“Keep it up, workers! Work hard, and then I can open up more worlds… At that time, I’ll give you ‘multiplayer mode,’ connect the worlds, and let you experience the joy of online play.” Tang Ziheng watched