The Onset of a Corpse Tide

This place was very safe, clearly untouched by anyone.

Nor did I see the so-called little cutie!

Never mind, I'll not worry about that for now!

Henry decided to settle down in the apartment on the fifth floor.

Firstly, because it was the highest, offering the broadest view.

Secondly, the fifth floor provided direct access to the rooftop.

There was a small garden there.

Henry planned to plant some Meat Potatoes there to try it out.

Living on the fifth floor made it easier to tend to these crops!

Taking advantage of the daylight that hadn't yet faded.

Henry hurried back to building number 3 to retrieve all his stored supplies.

He moved them to building number 8!

This would be Henry's base from now on!

Everything was ready!

At this moment, the sun's last rays gradually disappeared below the horizon...

Another restless night of zombies was upon us!

Henry gently pressed the switch for the electric curtains.

In an instant, the blackout curtains in all the rooms of the fifth floor slowly drew closed.

The room instantly turned pitch dark!

Henry then pressed the 'Awake Mode' button.

Soon, all the lights in the rooms turned on, bright as daylight!

The blackout curtains perfectly isolated the indoor lights from the outside.

Even if someone stood downstairs, it would be hard to tell that the lights were on in the room.

"Ah, I really like this modern smart home setup!"

Henry sat in the soft leather sofa, casually grabbed a bottle of purified water, and guzzled down most of it with a satisfying slurp!

Refreshing!

In these conditions, being able to drink water freely was an absolute luxury!

Many people would wish to mark a scale on a bottle of water.

They'd only lick a small sip when they were extremely thirsty.

Henry opened the auction trading channel.

Instantly, various successful auction notifications popped up!

Ding! You successfully sold two segments of toilet paper, obtained a key*1!

Ding! You successfully sold two segments of toilet paper, obtained a fruit knife*1!

Ding! You successfully sold two segments of toilet paper, obtained a storage ring fragment*1!

Ding! You successfully sold two segments of toilet paper, obtained a blood-stained key*1!

...

Henry's auction of over 60 segments of toilet paper was completely sold out!

He roughly tallied up his gains, which included:

[Keys]*22, [Access Cards]*15, [Fruit Knives]*7, [Storage Ring Fragments]*5, [Car Keys]*8, [Energy Cores]*2...

People actually traded Energy Cores for toilet paper?

Hiss...

That's quite an interesting idea!

But then Henry thought about it and could understand.

Some survivors might find themselves in places like kitchens, with weapons and food.

They're capable of killing zombies but lack clothing and toilet paper.

They certainly can't strip their clothes to use...

What would they wear afterward?!

And clothes do offer some protection against minor scrapes.

Henry didn't realize he had such a precise grasp of the market.

He exchanged less than a roll of toilet paper for so many resources!

It was a huge win!

Looking back at the auction trading channel now.

There were already many people following suit, listing toilet paper.

Probably due to aggressive bidding, the toilet paper was now being sold by the roll.

Not nearly as profitable as when Henry listed his segments of toilet paper!

The majority of items on the auction were still various bizarre, useless things.

Food and water remained in short supply.

Occasionally, someone would list some items for Energy Cores.

But the prices were frighteningly high!

There were even offers where half a bottle of water was traded for 10 Energy Cores.

It was practically like robbery!

"The system-provided food and water are gone, and I'm both hungry and thirsty. Does anyone have something for me to eat? I'm so hungry!"

"Speaking of which, why hasn't Warren been selling food and water? He said he had plenty of resources to sell this morning!"

"I barely managed to kill a zombie with a flowerpot upstairs and harvested an Energy Core, and now the price of food has skyrocketed?!"

"Maybe the big guy found a girl he likes and is enjoying a world for two!"

"Is anyone near the middle school? I have food and water, girls DM me, guys don't bother!"

"Valerie, where are you? Please DM me if you see this, I've been looking for you for so long!"

"Does anyone know me? Looking to team up, only with people I know. I'm too scared to even step outside, the zombies out there are terrifying!"

"Good figure, selling videos, content customizable, price negotiable, contact me if you have food and water, bosses! ~"

People in the chat channel don't know that Warren is dead yet.

Right now, the prices of food and water in the auction house are soaring, but no one is interested!

The reason for this situation is simple.

Energy Cores can only be obtained by killing zombies.

Survivors who have the capability to kill zombies naturally have the ability to explore more places to find food and water.

Take this city as an example, with restaurants and supermarkets everywhere, and it's possible that some residents have collected food and water in their homes.

So for those survivors who can obtain Energy Cores, they are not short of food and water, Energy Cores are definitely reserved for their own upgrades!

And for those survivors who can't fight zombies and can't afford Energy Cores, that's why the prices of food and water in the auction house are what they are now.

Henry will neither spend high Energy Cores to exchange for resources nor list his resources to exchange for Energy Cores.

Because not only would the resources not sell, but it would also expose the fact that you have plenty of resources!

Until Henry's strength reaches an absolute advantage, laying low is the best strategy!

"The survivor camp now has fifteen survivors, and our combat strength has increased rapidly!"

"Our combat team can now take down about three zombies at the same time!"

"We plan to attack a nearby large supermarket soon, and participants in the assault will have priority in resource allocation!"

"Everyone is welcome to DM me, tell me your location, and I will come to rescue you!"

"Also, please be aware, I have noticed a group of about four men and two women who seem to be robbing isolated survivors!"

"Please be careful and protect yourselves!"

Slater took the opportunity to make his presence felt again and shared some information.

"Has the camp grown stronger?"

Henry remained silent.

More people do mean more power, that is true.

Teamwork has its benefits, but it also has its downsides!

Especially in a post-apocalyptic world, where resources are extremely scarce.

Humanity's darker side often comes to the forefront!

Henry continued to watch the chat channel.

Suddenly, a message caught his attention!

"Just another boring day on the rooftop, I saw three survivors get eaten by zombies today..."

"Zombies really like to hide in dark corners, everyone must be very observant when traveling, be extremely careful, you only have one life!"

"Also, a friendly reminder, there's a massive horde of zombies on the streets, dense and endless, friends nearby should take a detour!"

"Holy crap, there are some weird beings in this horde, they look disgusting and crawl on the ground!"

"There are also giant zombies taller than buses..."

"My God, it's like a zombie expo! If you're nearby and can, it's best to stay as far away from there as possible!"