She circled the small hill once and confirmed there were truly no surface buildings, then Mu Shan did not linger in place.
She planned to first explore the surrounding environment.
The forest park covered a vast area, with over 65% vegetation, and the zombies were sparsely distributed. Within a hundred meters around the safe house, Mu Shan carefully searched while holding her axe and found no zombie threats.
Unfortunately, the park only had ornamental trees, and their fruits were not edible.
She walked a bit farther and found the west gate entrance. Outside it connected to a small path, lined with a row of buildings along the street.
Three zombies wandered at the bicycle parking area by the park entrance: two adults and one child.
She glanced at them from afar and turned to head in another direction.
The bulk of the zombies inside the park concentrated in two spots. One was near the public basketball court, about fifteen or so. Judging by their clothing and appearances, they were students—likely a chain infection where no one had time to flee.
The other was the elderly fitness equipment area, farther away and separated by a small stream, posing no immediate threat.
She also spotted another player’s safe house in the park, one with a surface sunroom, slightly smaller than the previous one she had seen.
【Liu Zhuhua’s Safe House】
Judging by the name, it belonged to a girl too. Being so close, she hoped it would not bring trouble.
Mu Shan had a general grasp of the surroundings and felt more secure.
She returned to the vicinity of the small hill and circled it once more. Finally, right below the center of the system’s floating text, she used the axe handle to dig up a patch of turf that differed in color from the surroundings.
Lifting it revealed a square wooden door.
Mu Shan: “As expected… I shouldn’t have held any expectations.”
The entrance was identical to the root cellar door in her rural grandparents’ village.
So, not all players had little villas and sunrooms.
It might be rundown, but the instant Mu Shan opened the door and descended into the cellar, the blood-red survival countdown overhead vanished.
【Player successfully arrived at safe house】
Her vision was pitch black. She groped along the wall for the switch, and dim lights flickered on.
【Obtained cannon fodder grade safe house—Simplified Version
Hard wooden plank bed x1 (reinforceable)
Decrepit cellar wooden door x1 (reinforceable)
Cramped bathroom x1 (upgradable)
Basic ventilation system x1 (upgradable)】
【Player independently explored safe house surroundings
Achievement: No threats within 100 meters
Indoor thermometer x1, pack of medical masks x1】
Mu Shan read every word carefully. Once the virtual dialog box vanished, everything came into clear view.
It was an underground room about 5 meters by 5 meters. She stood on the stone steps at the entrance, and the ceiling appeared to be over 3 meters high.
The walls were coated in yellow mud, while the floor was laid with dusty gray stone slabs. It resembled an old societal relic, exuding rustic simplicity and shabbiness everywhere.
Mu Shan descended the steps, unsure of her own emotions.
At a glance, the only furnishing was a single wooden bed without sheets or blankets, exposing bare raw wood planks.
The bathroom was partitioned by cement walls, with an equally shabby wooden door. The narrow space crammed a sink, showerhead, and toilet.
A rectangular vent in the ceiling corner maintained air circulation.
It lived up to the system’s “Simplified” label.
Mu Shan’s expression remained calm. She entered the bathroom and tried the faucet and showerhead in turn—no water came out.
【Spend 1 gold coin to recharge 1 ton of residential water?】
【Spend 1 gold coin to recharge 1 kWh of residential electricity?】
Mu Shan did not hesitate and immediately confirmed.
With a “clinking” sound of a gold coin rolling, cold water flowed from the faucet.
Good news: Living alone, she could make electricity and water last a long time if rationed.
Bad news: The gold coins earned from chopping zombies along the way were nearly spent.
【First recharge achievement unlocked: System interfaces unlocked】
A blue-glowing virtual screen unfolded bit by bit. She tapped it.
[Attribute Panel], [Mall Interface], [Friend Interface]—three modules.
【Attributes—Cannon Fodder Player 537099
ID: Mu Shan
Age: 22
Profession: Collector [Tap for details]
Skills: Hoarding Addiction I, Hoarding Addiction II, Trash Sorting [Tap for details]
Status: Hungry, Sick
Life: 9
Defense: 5
Strength: 5
Mental: 25
Agility: 7
Gold Coins: 1
Instances: 1 (Zombie Siege)】
Mu Shan did not know if her attributes were average, but the glaring disparity between mental and strength practically screamed she was a weakling.
She opened the Friend Interface, which resembled a social app with contacts and chat lists—both blank for her currently.
Opening the Mall Interface felt like launching Pinduoduo.
The system’s goods far exceeded human comprehension: clothing, food, housing, transport—from ground-level sunrooms to the Oriental Pearl Tower. With enough money, almost anything was possible.
Beyond that, dream items: weapons, skills, props, attribute points—nothing unimaginable, nothing unobtainable.
[10 mu of fertile black soil, achieve self-sufficient high-yield rice]
[Superman-style flight skill, 10,000 gold coins to realize your superpower dreams]
[Old Beijing copper pot shabu set for 80 gold coins, buy now and get a plate of frozen tofu]
For some high-value items, the system even used live animated images in promotions.
Mu Shan clutched her “gurgle”-rumbling stomach, checked her attribute panel again, and confirmed the gold coin balance was indeed 1.
Forget the lamb hotpot—even compressed biscuits or instant noodles cost at least 4 gold coins, hobo-level supplies.
She closed the Mall Interface in disappointment.
The poor cellar was small enough to see end to end at a glance.
On the wooden plank bed sat two items from the system’s rewards: a thermometer and a pack of plain blue masks.
Mu Shan picked them up for a look. The thermometer showed an indoor temperature of 10 degrees—chilly. Humidity was normal.
She set them down and sat on the sheetless plank bed, staring blankly for a minute.
【System prompt: Players are only absolutely safe inside safe houses
Safe houses can be breached
Player death results in safe house disappearance
Please continue striving to survive】
Startled awake by the Main God System’s prompt, Mu Shan went to the bathroom, washed her hands and face with cold water, then took everything scavenged in her backpack and spread it out on the bed for sorting.
She placed the rags and toilet cleaner by the sink, the mini fire extinguisher behind the steps.
One cardboard box folded into a temporary table, with the plastic stool beside it. The most vital supplies—two bottles of mineral water—went at the bed’s foot.
The cotton seat cushion from the study room served as a pillow.
Unused bowls, plates, and disposable paper cups went into another cardboard box, stacked in the corner as storage.
She put the daily essentials—umbrella and lighter—into the canvas bookbag and hung it on the wall.
After tidying, her backpack held only the axe once more—empty and spotless.
Gazing at the still-spacious safe house, she opened her sole pack of food.
She had inexplicably transmigrated upon waking that morning without breakfast. Prolonged high stress made her forget hunger, but now her whole body felt limp and sore.
Mu Shan munched on Little Raccoon instant noodles while drinking Sprite, pacing irritably around the room.
Climbing the stone steps, touching the wooden door displayed 【Shabby cellar door: Durability 100】.
Ears pressed close, she even heard the wind above.
Durability meant it could be breached—the safe house’s biggest vulnerability right now.
She poured the last crumbs from the noodle bag into her mouth, patted her hands, grabbed the fire axe, and climbed up again.
She had planned to wait and see, but the “Simplified” version shocked her.
Thus, she decided to first clear the three zombies at the west gate.
The zombies in the forest park were all “old residents,” trapped here for so long they entered a sort of [standby state]. Their reaction speed and agility lagged behind street-wandering ones.
Thanks to the piled bicycles and electric bikes, Mu Shan advanced crouched, using the vehicles for cover, and smoothly reached her target.
“Grgh—”
“Ah, ah.”
The family of zombies wandered slowly with gray-white eyes. The child zombie even clutched a filthy teddy bear.
The female zombie wore high heels, her right ankle twisted unnaturally, making normal walking nearly impossible.
The couple had organs partially eaten, their filthy black blood weathered stinking to high heaven.
Mu Shan quietly fished a bike lock and mineral water bottle from a nearby bicycle basket.
“Bang—” The bottle landed on the other side, bouncing.
All three zombies whipped their heads around and lurched toward the sound. The male zombie led, the crippled female trailed last.
Seizing the moment they all turned their backs, Mu Shan lunged forward, gripping the fire axe with both hands and slashing viciously at the female zombie’s neck!
The blade severed the spine instantly; the massive inertia sent Mu Shan stumbling too.
The female zombie collapsed. In a blink, the other two noticed her, roaring with blackened maws as they charged.
Mu Shan opened her virtual backpack and hurled out four or five heavy solid-steel bike locks with “bang bang bang,” smashing the child zombie flat.
“Aahh—ah!” The male zombie flailed and pounced. She backpedaled several steps, ducking between sprawled electric bikes.
Zombies could not jump; it tripped over the bike and struggled to rise.
Mu Shan stomped its back and hacked at the vulnerable neck.
After felling the two adults in succession, she turned to the just-risen child zombie girl.
【Gold Coins +3
Perfect Kill: Gold Coins +1】
No direct brawl, but swinging the heavy fire axe took real strength. Mu Shan braced her knees, catching her breath for a while before steadying her trembling, spent arms.
A row of street-facing shops outside the park’s west gate: real estate agency, accounting firm, law office, street office, print shop, flower shop…
No valuable resource points, correspondingly low human activity.
Threat gone, her survival time surged, finally breaking into double digits.
She meticulously searched nearby vehicles. A row of electric bikes were unrideable, but she scored four cotton windshield blankets! Plus two full-face winter helmets and a pair of leather gloves!
They said foreigners did not use windshield blankets—thanks to the ways of Hua Xia folk.
After a hard day’s battle, Mu Shan returned underground with her spoils.
She checked the surroundings once more, confirming no stray zombies lurked.
On the crude plank bed, two blankets padded beneath eased some chill, the cleaner two draped as quilts.
Before sleep, Mu Shan gazed at the pitch-black ceiling.
“Dad, Mom, this will be my home from now on.”
“I’ll live on properly. Don’t worry about me.”