Little Boy

Coming into the underground floor first proves to be right. The underground floor is where the groceries are located.

The inside of the department store is dark, attributing to the lack of electricity. But Nile did not have any problem seeing five to seven meters ahead.

Nile descends the stairs. His eyes are immediately greeted with the body of two guards. Their heads are split open forcefully. A sign of a Level One° zombie.

Nile readied his sledgehammer and became alert. So far, most of the Level One° zombie's he had encountered liked to ambush.

Nile proceeded. He could see bodies lying everywhere.

'They must have come here when the apocalypse started to loot some food. But with the panic that caused a stampede, Level Zero° zombie's could easily pounce on them during that time. But the door in front was locked, so there are certainly people who have managed to escape.' Nile thought while walking slowly.

He had a vague feeling that the Level One° zombie in here might be stronger than him.

Nile arrived at the biscuits area and stored the ones that are not covered with blood or crushed in his Storage Space.

Aside from some biscuits, all the food had already started to mold. There are crackers that also had no mold but Nile did not take them. He only pillages goods that could last him for two weeks or more. With the addition of three gallons of water, his Storage Space was already crowded.

His Storage Space only has the size of 3 cubic metres. He needs 150 Apocalypse Points to upgrade the Storage Space and make it into 6 cubic metres.

Nile leaves some goods that could still be eaten. If other survivors came in here, they should still be able to harvest quite a lot.

It had already been over ten minutes and the Level One° zombie still did not appear.

...

Meanwhile, at the Barangay Hall.

Ombit is having a headache as he recalls the episode yesterday. His brother, Goryo, is beside him.

'That young man is quite strong' Ombit grimaced as he felt the concussion on his head.

He realized that he is not the only one who already knew the way to get strong. That young man is so much stronger than him.

He also realized that he acted rashly yesterday. He deemed himself as someone smart and cool-headed. He did not expect that he would act that way.

Glancing at his brother beside him sleeping, he could not help but shake his head. His brother is stronger than him, but he is also defeated by that young man.

Ombit suddenly remembered something as he widened his eyes.

"Shit, where are my glasses?" He shouted and Polonyo entered the room they were in.

Polonyo gave him the broken glasses that only its frame left.

'Nooo! I look cooler with those glasses.' Ombit grimaced once again inside his head.

'Yeah right, this is all those people's fault. If they had not pressured me, I should have not acted like that and that young man might not suddenly attack me. Grrrr!' Ombit thought as he gritted his teeth.

Still, he lets out a heavy breath. He will let go of this one, but if he ever hears them again saying shameless things like that again. Ombit would surely no longer sit aside and do nothing.

...

Nile surveyed the entire underground floor including the Restrooms, but he still did not find the Level One° zombie around.

The Level One° zombie must be on the upper floors.

He returned to the stairs and entered the ground floor.

The ground floor is where the various garments, school supplies, and the toys are displayed.

Nile spotted a Half-Step Level One° zombie and killed it.

The ground or first floor is a mess. The garments are scattered all around and stained with blood and gores. School supplies area is also the same. The white papers are now bloody red.

The Toy Store and the School supplies area are connected.

As he was entering the School supplies area, Nile heard a faint noise coming from the Toy's area.

Nile readied his sledgehammer as he was inching closer to the sound.

In the arcade site, he saw a tiny figure riding a coin-operated ride. Although the ride is not operating, the tiny figure is moving its own body to make the ride sway.

Nile tightened his grip on the handle of the sledgehammer as he came closer. He maintained a five meters' distance as he circled and arrived at the side of the arcade ride.

What he saw was a boy. A child with only a meter in height. His age must not be over 10.

The boy is swaying his body to make the arcade ride move. He looks like he is enjoying the ride.

Suddenly, the boy stopped swaying along with the arcade ride. He slowly turns his head towards Nile.

Its hair is almost covering its eyes. Its eyes had a tinged green in it. Its nose is a little pointed. Its mouth is covered with the dried blood until its neck.

The Boy is a zombie.

Nile already knew. The boy is already a zombie. And it seems that it is already Level One°, its intelligence is also a lot higher compared to its peers.

Both of their eyes locked. The boy zombie curled its mouth upward in an exaggerated manner. Its eyes squinted because of that.

Nile's heart tightened seeing that. A tear appeared and almost dropped from the corner of his eyes.

That was a smile full of pain.

A smile longing for liberation.

Nile browsed through the System Weapon Store and bought a Level One° Katana with 50 Apocalypse Points. The Level One° Katana is one of the 'Top 10 on Level One°' list on the System Weapon's Store.

[Level One° Katana of Liberation - An exceptional Katana. A Katana that is used for liberation. Exceptionally sharp. A Level One° weapon at the Pinnacle Phase.

/50 Apocalypse Points.]

[Level One° Katana of Liberation.

Confirm?

50 Apocalypse Points will be deducted.

Yes/No]

'Yes' Nile said inside his head.

He stored the sledgehammer in his crowded Storage Space. The Katana of Liberation appeared on Nile's right hand.

Nile unsheathed the Katana of Liberation from its scabbard. A tinged red shoned on the blade. The blade doesn't have a curvature above, but instead; it was a little curved on the handle.

For a moment, Nile noticed that the pointed end of the Katana sparkled in delight for being unsheathed.

As if seeing its nemesis, the moment Nile unsheathed the Katana of Liberation, the boy zombie's green eyes constricted and its mouth that was curled upwards dropped instantly.

Screeeechhhhh!*

The boy zombie lets out an ear-piercing scream that was directed towards Nile.

They are only five meters apart from each other.

Nile made a pose. He lowered his stance and lined the katana with his right arm and shoulder, pointing forward. His left hand is holding the Saya in front of him.

"Don't worry little boy, after this, your suffering shall be liberated." Nile said in a low and sorrowful voice.

Nile planned on giving the boy an instant death. That is the reason why he bought the Katana.

Swoosh!*

Using all the strength and speed he could muster, Nile thrusted the Katana of Liberation towards the little boy zombie's glabella.

Nile's figure instantly appeared in front of the little zombie. The sharp-point of the Katana pierced through the boy's glabella without any form of obstruction.

Nile knew that the little zombie boy is a strong Level One° zombie. He did not hold back and used all of his strength right off the bat. Coupled with the new Katana and Nile's whole strength, it instantly killed the little zombie boy. An outcome Nile preferred.

The little zombie is killed instantly. Slowly, its expression changed. It made eye contact with Nile, a tear suddenly dropping from the corner of the little zombie's eyes.

If eyes could talk, it would surely say 'Thank you' to Nile.

Nile pulled the Katana from the little zombie's head. He dropped on his knees and pulled the body of the boy in an embrace.

Nile closed his eyes and a tear silently freed itself from the corner of Nile's eyes.

"You're now free, little boy!" Nile whispered in the boy's ear.