Wen Yu bid farewell to the elderly couple, closed the door of his house, and carefully checked each room to ensure that there were no other living creatures in the house besides himself.
Slowly, he sat down on the sofa, lit a Changbaishan cigarette, and enjoyed a leisurely puff.
Query points.
"DING! The host currently has two points."
It seems the old lady was close to mutation; killing her gave me another point.
Wen Yu was not unfamiliar with the concept of points.
With the onset of the apocalypse, the entire world fell into chaos, and old paper money had simply turned into scrap.
What followed was a new set of rules and a new currency system—the rules of the apocalypse and the Points Exchange System.
The rules of the apocalypse were simple: there were no rules. With the collapse of law and civilization and the decay of morality, all survivors acknowledged the truth that might makes right.
The Points Exchange System was based on Exchange Stone Pillars scattered across the world.
Points were non-transferable. They were automatically provided by the all-controlling Exchange System when survivors killed zombies, mutant beasts, or Demon Fiends. The number of points gained varied immensely depending on the strength of the monster killed.
Points were the currency for every survivor. They were the material basis for self-strengthening, a guarantee of survival, and the hope for humanity's continued existence.
When survivors touched an Exchange Stone Pillar, they could use their points to purchase all kinds of items.
These included professions, skills, scrolls for various items, equipment, and even basic survival supplies.
Of course, the items available for exchange on the Stone Pillar were the most basic.
For example, Wen Yu's profession in his previous life, warrior, was one of the three basic professions provided by the Exchange Stone Pillar.
With just ten points, one could change their profession to one of the three basic professions. After the profession change, they would become a Level 1 professionist.
Even Level 1 professionists, right after their profession change, could have basic physical abilities up to twice that of a regular human.
After absorbing enough magic crystals, a Peak Level 1 professionist could possess physical abilities up to ten times that of a normal adult male.
And this was only for Level 1 professionists.
How could such terrifying Strengthening not attract survivors?
In his previous life, Wen Yu hadn't dared to leave his home during the first month of the apocalypse, so naturally, he had no knowledge of points.
By the time he was rescued, the zombies, once omnipresent at the beginning of the apocalypse, had become rare creatures, completely exterminated by survivors. Wen Yu searched for two whole months before he finally managed to accumulate enough points for a profession change.
As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to many more. Thus, Wen Yu had strayed further and further down the path of cannon fodder.
It was clear just how important a role points played in the apocalypse.
In this life, Wen Yu still planned to change his profession to warrior, considering there was no distinction of superiority among the three basic professions.
Having been a warrior in his previous life, he naturally had done more research on this profession.
It wasn't that Wen Yu didn't want to pursue a hidden profession; however, these were usually more a matter of luck than something he could actively seek. Besides, even after choosing a standard profession, one could still switch using a hidden profession-change scroll. Therefore, Wen Yu naturally wouldn't pin his hopes on elusive hidden professions.
Having settled on his future plans, Wen Yu took a sip of water, ate some food, and then groped his way into the elderly couple's kitchen.
Clearly, the elderly couple had a full range of kitchen utensils.
Wen Yu picked out the largest kitchen knife and lightly stroked the blade; the couple had maintained it well.
He chose the sharpest pointed knife, used it to replace the fruit knife on his homemade spear, and then turned towards the door.
The first step in Wen Yu's plan was to become a warrior.
In the apocalypse, choosing a profession was the first step toward Evolution and becoming stronger, so acquiring 10 points was essential.
As for Exchange Stone Pillars, Wen Yu could only say they were everywhere and not rare at all. He remembered one at the main entrance of his residential complex: a half-meter-tall, cylindrical Stone Pillar adorned with mysterious patterns—that was an Exchange Stone Pillar.
This was also the first Exchange Stone Pillar Wen Yu had encountered in his previous life.
Standing in the corridor, he carefully listened to the surrounding noises. After about half an hour of chaos, the disturbance gradually subsided.
Anyone who had survived until now, even the most foolish, wouldn't continue to shout and draw attention.
Unfortunately, Wen Yu didn't yet have the enhanced physical constitution from a profession change, so he couldn't distinguish subtle sounds. Wanting to act cool, he now felt somewhat awkward.
Wen Yu muttered, "It seems I have to use the most foolish method."
He lightly knocked on the door of the last home on the third floor. A deep growl came from inside.
Wen Yu identified the sound of increasingly loud footsteps and confirmed two zombies were inside.
He took out two thin iron wires he had picked up earlier and gently manipulated them in the keyhole.
After a year in the apocalypse, Lock Picking was definitely a necessary skill for cannon fodder.
Thanks to this skill, Wen Yu had often scavenged food that high-level professionists wouldn't bother with.
Hearing the anti-theft door CLICK, Wen Yu immediately took two steps back. As he watched two zombies stumble out, Wen Yu calmly retreated onto the stairs.
The zombies staggered out. Seeing the distance was sufficient, Wen Yu powerfully lunged with his homemade spear, accurately piercing one zombie's eye socket. A jet of dark blood sprayed out, and the zombie fell to the ground, motionless.
"DING! You gained one point."
Hearing the prompt in his mind, Wen Yu swung his spear, stabbing at the other zombie.
Looking at the two zombies lying before him, Wen Yu took a deep breath.
Sigh, I don't usually exercise at all. I'm already tired after killing just two zombies.
Although Wen Yu had a year of killing experience in the apocalypse, his physical constitution was too poor. After killing just two zombies, he felt his muscles constantly trembling.
Naturally, Wen Yu knew this was a sign of minor overexertion.
He relaxed his body slightly. Feeling some of his energy return, Wen Yu quietly climbed to the fourth floor and slowly knocked on the nearest door.
As he knocked, Wen Yu immediately heard steady footsteps from within the room. There's a survivor inside, he realized.
Wen Yu hesitated for a moment, then took the initiative to speak. "Hello."
The survivor inside observed Wen Yu through the peephole for a long time before slowly opening the door a crack, revealing a pretty face.
A young girl opened the door. The girl, seeing Wen Yu "fully armed" with his blood-soaked weapon, couldn't help but feel nervous. She stammered, "H-hello..."
Wen Yu saw the little girl was terrified. He hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Stay at home for now; someone will come to rescue you. If you don't have enough food, there's more downstairs. I'll kill any monsters on these floors."
Hearing Wen Yu's words, the little girl was clearly stunned. Wen Yu didn't wait for her to say anything more and turned towards the fifth floor.
As for survivors, Wen Yu's attitude was to help if he could.
However, having been reborn, Wen Yu naturally wouldn't take on a burden at the beginning of the apocalypse, especially during this crucial period for gaining power. It would greatly slow his progress.
Moreover, for a little girl, this world was too cruel—so cruel that even Wen Yu, a cannon fodder in his previous life, couldn't help but feel sorry for them.
I hope you meet some good people. This was the extent of Wen Yu's kindness and his only wish for his upstairs neighbor.