When Li Ke awoke again, he found himself in a tent, and smelled the aroma of meat broth.
Although his head was still spinning, he struggled to his feet and climbed out of bed.
To his surprise, while his hands and feet still ached slightly, and he was bound with what looked like splints made of small twigs, the pain in his internal organs and head had vanished.
Moreover, his arms no longer ached when he moved, only experiencing a slight tingling sensation.
"Strange… how long have I been unconscious?"
Stepping out of the tent, Li Ke saw a campfire and two women cooking meat in an iron bucket around it. The two women were dressed the same as before.
Looking at the somewhat boyish woman, Li Ke's mind gradually cleared. He looked at her and tentatively called out.
"Kiri?"
Hearing Li Ke call her name, Kiri, who was cooking soup, turned her head, gave Li Ke a cool smile, and waved the wooden stick she was using as a spoon.
"Oh, you're awake. The soup will be ready soon. Just sit there and wait a bit... Oh, this is Tsunade Senju. She saved you before. You should thank her properly."
Tsunade Senju?
Li Ke felt a little depressed. Of course, he knew who the name belonged to, but he never expected it to be Tsunade Senju from Naruto.
But hemophobia...were all her relatives dead?
Li Ke couldn't help but look at Tsunade Senju and bowed deeply to her.
"Thank you for saving me."
Tsunade didn't show a response to Li Ke. She just sat there, silently looking at the iron pot of meat cooking in front of her, looking quite melancholy.
"It's nothing, there's a price to pay for this."
After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at Li Ke.
"As a price, you should tell us what's going on here, right?"
She was very curious about her experience in this world. She had just planned to leave Konoha Village with Shizune to find a quiet place to live, but when she had just stepped out of her house then she found herself here, surrounded by countless corpses.
She was disgusted by this, because she had almost thought this place was hell.
"This place is actually no different from hell."
Li Ke sighed, sat down on the ground, and began to recount the situation of this world.
"The humans here have all been ravaged by an unknown disaster, turned into corpse monsters only interested in human flesh. Only by smashing their heads can they be truly killed. But the worst part isn't just that; it's the strange thing about this world. Every time we kill zombies, we gain corresponding experience, which raises our level and unlocks a series of abilities in this world. Those special abilities you saw earlier come from the power of this world."
Li Ke paused, thinking about his level. He subconsciously opened his character interface and discovered an astonishing fact.
He had leveled up to level 51!
He quickly opened various menus and found that not only was the map unlocked, but even quests and skills were available!
And strangely enough, a clock and letters representing the North and South Poles appeared above his head, telling him the current time was 8:20 AM, giving him a clear time reference and indicating that he was currently facing north.
His taskbar was completely blank, and his skill bar only had Perception, Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Intelligence—attributes that could be upgraded. Special skills remained unavailable, but it was clear that they would be unlocked later with continued upgrades.
However, he only had one skill point and didn't know what to upgrade.
This gave him some hope—hope to survive the zombie horde.
No, with these two…
Li Ke looked at Tsunade and Kiri, his anxious heart finally calming down.
Kiri's strength aside—she couldn't be anything less than capable in the Celestial Realm—Tsunade was even more formidable. Her strength was immense; even if her hemophobia prevented her from killing zombies, she was still adept at building fortresses!
At least mining wouldn't be a problem!
And in that moment of pause, Kiri spoke.
"You mean that the ability to conjure wood and guns out of thin air is a power granted by this world? I thought it was some kind of spatial equipment. Also, do you have a way back?"
Tsunade nodded. When she first saw Li Ke conjure wood, she almost thought it was a mutated Wood Release technique, but it didn't seem to be.
"Yes, and I can turn you into players by consuming experience points as payment for saving me… Do you want to become players?"
Li Ke nodded. He could tell that Kiri and Tsunade didn't believe him yet, so he explained directly.
"Without this player identity, there's no way to interact with the unique features of this world. For example, there's that perfectly intact room over there, where there's a female merchant who's clearly alive but doesn't look alive at all. Her location and the building are indestructible, so if you can't become a player, you can't even buy anything from her. But speaking of which, how long have I been unconscious?"
"One day."
"Oh no… then there are only five days until the next zombie horde."
Li Ke felt a bit panicked. With only five days, he basically wouldn't have time to do anything. He could only try to dig a tunnel to solve the problem.
"A zombie horde?"
"Yes, a zombie horde. Actually, I only arrived here seven days ago. The day before I met you, I was surrounded by a zombie horde. Those zombies were densely packed, advancing in one direction. Then, when the moon turned blood red, countless zombies would swarm towards you, destroying everything in their path. I don't even know how I survived. Now that I think about it, it was probably because of the gas station fire I started."
"As for the way back..."
Li Ke hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak.
"I haven't found my way back yet, but there are still ways for others."
Li Ke said, taking the hot water Kiri handed him, then glanced at the clear sky, his mind preoccupied with whether Erina was safe.
"I see..."
Kiri crossed her arms after hearing this, looking at Li Ke thoughtfully, while Tsunade, standing to the side, asked coldly.
"Let's not worry about the players yet. If you also appeared suddenly, does that mean you have a companion with you? Did you send her back? And was there any price to pay for this method?"
She stared intently at Li Ke, wanting to know the answer.
Li Ke nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.
"Yes, I sent her back to her original world. The method I mentioned for returning also stems from this. We got together because of fear and various other reasons. Afterwards, I discovered I possessed an ability: whenever someone engages in an "emotional interaction" with me, I gain energy. Once I accumulate a thousand points, I can send them back. But whether I actually send them back safely to their original world, I don't know."
"Huh?"
Kiri tilted her head and pointed to her chest.
"So, if I want to go back using your way, I have to sleep with you? What kind of method is that? You're taking advantage of me too much!" Her face was expressionless.
"Well, that's all the information I have for now. But intercourse shouldn't be mandatory, since it's about the power of emotional connection. Perhaps we can generate it after we become partners."
Li Ke felt a little awkward, while Tsunade turned her head away.
"I hope so."
She still hadn't given up on the idea that Li Ke was the mastermind. After all, this was a strange world, and she had only seen Li Ke. It would be foolish to believe everything he said.
Li Ke knew this too.
Tsunade was, after all, a ninja. It would be incredibly foolish to trust him so easily. As for Kiri, if she were the kind of person who easily trusted others, she would have been finished long ago.
"Although I know it's hard for you to trust me, for the sake of the upcoming zombie horde, please try to trust me as much as possible and cooperate with me."
Li Ke looked at the two of them earnestly. Unable to gain their trust, Li Ke decided to take matters into her own hands first.
'First, I'll dig an underground fortress for myself. As for building a large building to resist...'
Li Ke thought back to the dense hordes of zombies he'd encountered that day and immediately rejected the idea. Therefore, he chose to approach these two with sincerity.
"I won't force you to do anything. You are free to discover the truth of this world yourselves. As payment for saving me, I can provide you with some resources and food. But if possible, please avoid being scratched, otherwise, without medicine, there's a high chance of infection. Also, if you encounter a screaming zombie, please kill it immediately. That kind of zombie can summon other zombies and greatly increase their strength and speed."
He paused before continuing.
"But please remember, on the fifth day, no matter where you are or what you've discovered, you must return. Otherwise, without a suitable base, you'll find it difficult to survive the upcoming zombie horde."
Li Ke's attitude was serious; he had no intention of hiding anything.
"I see."
Tsunade glanced at Kiri, who met her gaze and nodded.
"No problem, then we'll have to trouble you for a while."
This was the best solution. The two planned to explore the surroundings before deciding whether to trust Li Ke, and they were quite satisfied with Li Ke's understanding attitude.
The three chatted for a while longer, and Li Ke explained the different types of zombies. Then it was a silent mealtime.
Kiri's meat soup was, well, edible. Compared to Erina Nakiri's cooking, it was practically pig swill, but at this point, there was no reason to complain.
After finishing their meal, the two decided to go out and investigate, without even intending to see the strange female merchant. Li Ke remained, watching the two slender figures gradually disappear from the ravaged town, and couldn't help but sigh.
"What a pity."
If Tsunade and Kiri could trust him, there would be far fewer problems.
Although Kiri took his scrap metal gun, she didn't take all the ammunition, only a little over a hundred rounds. Tsunade, on the other hand, took nothing, seemingly intending to rely on Kiri for protection.
"Now it's time for me to put in the effort."
Taking a deep breath, Li Ke entered the merchant's shop. Everything was exactly the same as before; the female merchant was still alone, still wearing her usual smiling expression, showing no intention of moving.
Li Ke didn't speak. His body hadn't recovered enough to do anything yet. He directly opened the merchant's interface and clicked on the Quest option
And the next moment, the female merchant moved.
"Oh, you've come just in time! I have a lot of work to do and need your help with."
The voice was standard English, but Li Ke could understand it. While not as pleasant as Erina's haughty voice, it still conveyed a gentle feeling.
Then, a series of tasks appeared before Li Ke.
Clear all zombies from the fire station (114 meters).
Retrieve Baihe's smuggled goods from the three-story building (140 meters).
Retrieve food supplies from the wooden white hut (160 meters).
Clear all zombies from the wooden bungalow (121 meters).
Li Ke glanced at them and immediately chose the fourth task, wanting to see what the tasks in this world were like.
And most importantly, he was certain that the entire town had been burned down; there shouldn't be any huts where he could do tasks!
"Great! The people I hired died there, and I was just wondering who could help me. It's wonderful that you can help!"
As she spoke, Li Ke saw a mission notification appear on the right side of his field of vision. Opening the map, he could see a large exclamation mark in the ashes of a small town, marked with the word "Clean Up."
"It seems the destruction of the hut didn't affect the mission mechanics. So, did the zombies just appear out of thin air, or will the mission be completed immediately after I activate it there?"
Li Ke licked his lips. He turned to leave, but just as he was about to go, he suddenly remembered something.
Could the female merchant in front of him be used to upgrade his time-travel skill?
Looking at the still disheveled female merchant, Li Ke was torn.
To do it or not to do it?
But Li Ke knew very well that his hesitation meant he had already formed some ideas; the reason he hadn't acted was simply that he hadn't thought about it enough yet.
However…
"Not now."