Carter stood at the threshold of the final door leading to the lobby, his grip tightening around the tactical knife strapped to his belt.
Behind him, his warriors stood ready, their stone clubs, bone spears, and jagged axes clutched in their massive hands.
Their breath misted in the cold air as night was beginning to set in, their eyes gleaming with a primal hunger for battle.
More had joined their ranks.
Five more clubbers.
Four more spearmen.
And a single Elite Hunter bearing a massive stone axe.
Their numbers had doubled, and yet, Carter could feel the weight of the unknown pressing against his chest.
Would it be enough?
He only had less than three thousand dollars left in the system, along with the capacity to summon dozens more warriors.
But not the funds even so, would that be the best move?
His mind raced.
He could save those funds, purchase a vehicle, and get across town to rescue his sister, but the only vehicle he could purchase was a cart... to get to his sister they would need to 'borrow' a car from the outside.
But if he left now, they wouldn't have a safe place to return to.
No.
They would finish securing the condominium complex first.
Then—he would make his move, she would just need to stay safe and hold out until then.
Carter inhaled deeply.
Through the door, the guttural snarls of the undead sent a deep chill into his bones.
This was it.
The true battle was about to begin.
He turned to 0, the strongest of his warriors, and the newly summoned elite.
The broad-chested man stood ready, his grip tight on his massive stone axe.
"Proceed, 0."
With a grunt, 0 shoved the door open.
The warriors poured into the lobby, spreading out like a wolf pack descending upon prey.
The sight before them was horrifying.
Over a hundred walkers packed the space, their decayed bodies twitching, their hollow eyes snapping toward the fresh scent of living flesh.
Beyond the shattered glass entrance, hundreds more stood idle, waiting.
The moment the undead locked onto them, they roared and surged forward, tripping over themselves in frenzied hunger.
Carter didn't hesitate.
"HUNT THEM!"
The warriors charged.
Their war cries shook the air, ancient voices rising against an unholy tide.
CRACK.
BOOM.
The battle erupted into chaos.
Carter dove into the fray as much as he could, his knife flashing, slicing through rotting tendons and exposed throats.
1 swung his war club, shattering skulls, and sending bodies crashing to the floor in broken heaps.
3 hurled a sharpened spear, the weapon piercing through two walkers before embedding itself in the wall.
The warriors fought like demons.
For every one zombie that fell, however five more surged forward.
Carter could barely keep up even enhanced as he had become by the system, his blade slick with blackened gore, his arms burning from the sheer relentlessness of the battle.
"There's no end to them!"
5 shouted, his club cracking open another skull.
"Chief! We being overrun!"
1 bellowed, his voice straining against the chaos.
Carter's mind raced.
Their raw strength wasn't enough.
They needed something more.
Then—an idea struck.
"Cover me!"
Carter barked, his voice cutting through the madness.
As his warriors closed ranks, he opened his system mid-battle.
First, he navigated to the troop section and summoned five new warriors.
But these weren't ordinary fighters.
These were Rock Slingers—trained in hurling heavy projectiles at high speeds.
Purchased thanks to the rewards for their continued slaying of the undead.
He equipped them instantly with sacks of fist-sized stones.
The first rock flew.
A zombie's head snapped back, its skull caving in from the impact.
Then another.
And another.
The air filled with the sound of whistling stones, skulls splitting open like rotten fruit.
But it still wasn't enough, he could expand their numbers further but without proper position the slingers didn't have enough space to properly setup and not interfere with each others space to keep firing.
Carter's eyes flicked to the Wheel of Fortune tab.
A once-per-month spin that he had been saving for the right moment.
That moment was now.
He tapped the button, his pulse pounding in his ears.
The wheel spun.
"Please… please… please…"
It slowed.
His breath caught.
[Congratulations! You have won 5,000,000 dollars!]
His heart nearly stopped.
They weren't going to lose.
Not today.
Without hesitation, Carter dove back into the troop menu.
He summoned another fifteen warriors—a mix of Elite Hunters, Rock Slingers, and Spearmen.
Then, in one final purchase, he selected ten Firestarters—cavemen who had mastered the use of firebombs made from scavenged animal fats and cloth.
They emerged, torches flickering, eyes burning with fury.
Carter pointed toward the oncoming mass.
"BURN THEM."
The first firebomb sailed through the air.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Flames erupted, swallowing the horde in a wave of searing death.
Zombies howled, their bodies writhing in agony, their decayed flesh blackening and peeling.
The warriors pressed the attack, their clubs and axes now blazing with fire as they tore through the remaining walkers.
Carter's knife buried itself into the skull of the last zombie, and finally— The battle was over.
The lobby was finally silent.
The only sound was the crackling of flames and the heavy breathing of warriors.
The undead were gone.
Building C was secure.
But the complex?
Still infested.
Carter exhaled sharply, his body aching from exhaustion.
They had won a small victory, but the war was far from over, and this battle had not come without casualties, the brave warriors had lost six of their number though as much as he wanted to mourn for them his mental resistance skill was preventing those thoughts from taking root.
Carter opened the system once more.
He navigated to the Equipment section and purchased a massive shipment of wood planks, and bone nails.
A pile of wood planks, and bones shaped into points like nails materialized before him.
He summoned ten support soldiers, their bodies lean but strong, their eyes filled with intelligence and focus, compared to the savagry and raw power of the warriors.
They immediately got to work, hammering the wood over windows and doors, fortifying the once-breached walls.
The condominium was being transformed—from a graveyard into a fortress.
Carter stepped back, surveying the work.
For the first time since this all began… They had a place to call home, one that was safe.
Carter wiped the blood from his blade.
This was only the first step.
The complex was still crawling with the undead.
And beyond these walls, an entire city lay waiting, and beyond that the world.
His sister was still out there.
And soon, Carter would go to her.
But for now?
They would prepare.
And when the time came… The hunt would begin anew.