The two burlap sacks that Zheng Ziyu pulled out were the same two that Lin Chu had seen earlier when she stopped her—two of the original three.

“As we agreed before, I’d be the one providing the zombies. The ones just now were yours, so this one counts as my contribution. The other one will be used as material.”

After speaking, Zheng Ziyu scratched her head a little sheepishly. “There was another one, but I already tore it apart so badly that it was basically worthless. I only got 2 points for it. I’ll head out soon to kill some fresh zombies.”

Maybe it was because she now saw a chance to survive, but Zheng Ziyu seemed more vibrant than before.

Seeing this, Lin Chu nodded. “Alright, I’ll accept it. Next time… let’s meet at 8 p.m.”

It was already 3 a.m. now. Lin Chu had stayed up an extra four hours just to make this deal with Zheng Ziyu, and she was getting drowsy.

She needed a few hours of sleep before getting back to work.

Plus, zombies were less active after dark, so Lin Chu decided to set their meeting time in the evening.

Although the pigtail girl was a bit anxious, she could tell Lin Chu was tired. Since she needed something from Lin Chu, she naturally followed her schedule. After thinking it over, she agreed.

With the meeting set for 8 p.m., Lin Chu carried the two zombies Zheng Ziyu had brought back to her shelter, while Zheng Ziyu, wielding a kitchen knife, turned and disappeared into the darkness.

She planned to use the nighttime, when zombies were sluggish, to hunt a few more.

Both of them were satisfied with the outcome of the deal.

Nutrient solution, though unpleasant to drink, was a high-tech product. A single test-tube-sized vial could stave off hunger for most of the day.

In environments where regular meals weren’t an option, it could be extremely useful.

Lin Chu always believed in being prepared. Naturally, she wanted to stock up on it.

She could have used her own points to buy it, but the system now limited how often she could submit missions. Her points had to be saved carefully.

In the next world, if there wasn’t a reward mission for activating a security door, she’d have to spend 150 points just to do that.

She had no idea what kind of crisis awaited in the next world, so the more points she had, the better.

After cleaning herself up, Lin Chu changed into hospital scrubs and went to bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Over the next 48 hours, Lin Chu helped Zheng Ziyu dissect zombies and shared the profits. Before the newbie protection period ended, Zheng Ziyu had successfully accumulated 170 points.

As for Lin Chu, she exchanged her share for 15 vials of nutrient solution and 1 Physical Enhancement Pill.

The 15 vials cost 30 points, and the enhancement pill alone cost 50 points.

The points shop didn’t have many items at this stage. Aside from these two high-tech products, the rest were just basic food and clothing.

Those items could be found for free in the mission world. Though it might take effort, they were generally easy to find if you looked.

What’s more, Lin Chu had the skill “Turning Trash Into Treasure.” Even if she found something broken, she could fix it into something usable.

But nutrient solution and enhancement pills could only be obtained through the points shop.

Fortunately, there were no limits on how many of these two high-tech items she could exchange. Zheng Ziyu happily traded them for her.

Once she got the enhancement pill, Lin Chu examined the description:

Item: Physical Enhancement Pill
Rarity: A
Description: After consumption, enhances physical abilities. Specific effects vary by individual.

The description was vague, and the system gave her no further answers.

Lin Chu thought it over and decided to just eat the small white pill.

It melted instantly in her mouth.

There wasn’t even a chance to regret it.

Soon, Lin Chu felt a warm current move down her throat and settle in her stomach.

Was that… the effect kicking in?

She recalled post-apocalyptic novels she had read in her free time. Some featured pills like this—just one and you could punch a cow to death.

But she didn’t have a cow to test it on. So she looked around her shelter, then bent down and grabbed the metal bed frame, giving it a strong lift…

It did rise.

But only about 30 centimeters off the ground.

Nowhere near the dramatic strength boost she had imagined.

She started to suspect the system sold fake products.

[The pill is genuine.]

The system spoke up immediately, indignant at the accusation.

“Then why don’t I feel any different?”

[There is a difference. According to system data, before taking the pill, Host could only lift the bed 24.75 cm off the ground.]

The system had hard numbers. Lin Chu was speechless.

There was some improvement. At least her points weren’t totally wasted.

Lin Chu quickly came to terms with it.

She did feel lighter on her feet when she walked.

Maybe… she got faster?

After closely observing her own body’s changes, Lin Chu concluded that the pill had slightly improved all her physical stats.

She was a bit stronger, walked more lightly, and her senses were sharper. For example, before, after she disinfected the dissection room, she could barely smell anything in the living area.

But now, she could faintly detect the scent of blood and decay.

If she had to quantify it, her overall physical fitness had improved by about 5%.

The system and description had both said results would vary from person to person. She wondered what effects others might get from taking it.

But other people’s results were unknown to Lin Chu.

What she did know, however, was that she had now reached noon on the eighth day in the mission world.

She had entered the world at exactly noon.

So the eighth day at noon marked a full 7 days.

The newbie protection period was over.

Anyone planning trouble would likely strike now.

Since she returned from the warehouse on day two, Lin Chu hadn’t left the restroom area of Building 6. She had no idea where those people were moving about these past few days.

But Zheng Ziyu in the unit next door knew.

Zheng Ziyu went out every night to hunt zombies and stayed in during the day to dissect. From afar, she had seen the group that chased them on the first day.

They seemed to have settled in Building 7, right next to Building 6.

And they often wandered over to observe her and Lin Chu.

If it weren’t for her special ability, she probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid them each time.

Now that the protection period was over, it was only a matter of time before they caused trouble.