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Morning.
When Julian woke up, he felt strangely tired.
That shouldn't be possible…
He hadn't "fed" that many times last night!
And with his current physique, there was no way he should feel exhausted.
Weird…
After washing up, Julian received a call from Nanami Kento.
"Brother Julian…"
"There's something I wanted to talk about…"
Kento spoke hesitantly, clearly a little embarrassed.
"Let me guess. The camp's gotten too crowded, and now food's starting to run short?" Julian said with a smile.
After reading the forum post last night, it was easy to figure out.
"That's exactly it!" Kento admitted.
"In the last couple of days, over a hundred people have suddenly joined the camp."
"Before, we could eat freely. Now even when we try to ration it, it's still not enough."
"So I wanted to ask… if there's anything you need. We can go find it and trade with you."
From the sound of it, Kento felt too embarrassed to just borrow supplies, so he offered a trade instead.
There was nothing he could do about it. For some reason, survivors had been arriving one wave after another these past few days.
Kento didn't have the heart to turn them away, so he took them all in.
The camp's population had shot up overnight.
Still, anyone who managed to fight their way through hordes of zombies to reach the camp was usually in good physical condition.
That had significantly boosted the camp's strength.
The only real problem now was food.
"As for what I need…" Julian thought for a moment.
"There actually are a few things."
"How about this. Go find me some decent graphics cards. Not many, just a few."
"Also grab some game consoles like PS4s and Switches, plus some games."
"And… see if you can get some drones. The more, the better."
The earlier stuff was mostly for Asuka, though he could use them himself to kill time.
As for the drones…
Julian planned to build an aerial surveillance system around Donghu Island.
Electricity wasn't a problem anyway. The drones could just take turns charging.
"Got it!"
"I can grab those from the computer market easily."
"Just wait for my good news," Kento said excitedly.
Having something to trade for was already great.
Besides, he had to go out searching either way.
And the computer market…
There probably wouldn't be any competition there.
In times like this, who still cared about game consoles?
After hanging up, Julian started preparing for a busy day.
Today he planned to transport some non-refrigerated items to the island and assemble the solar panels there.
If everything went smoothly, they could start moving refrigerated food over tomorrow or the day after.
"Master! Can you take me with you today?" Hana asked from the side.
"But you don't know how to drive a truck," Julian said with a shrug.
Hearing that, Hana lowered her head. Her eyes turned slightly red.
It looked like she had entered "sad mode."
"Alright, alright."
"I'll take you with me today."
Julian rubbed her head.
The main task today was assembling the solar panels anyway. Driving one less truck wouldn't matter.
The moment Hana heard she could go, she instantly switched back to "happy mode."
With his two little followers, Julian began loading the truck.
Today's cargo was mostly equipment and tools.
Things like microwaves, washing machines, pots and pans, and electrical toolkits. Items nobody would bother stealing.
As for refrigerators, every villa on the island already had one, so there was no need to bring any.
Before long, the truck was fully loaded.
"Master, come back early!" Mafuyu said, blinking at him.
She had gone out with them once yesterday, so she knew what parts took the most time.
"We shouldn't be too late today."
"Kento is coming to trade later."
"I'll try to be back before four."
Julian said goodbye to Mafuyu and Goldie, then got in the truck with Hana.
"I feel like Goldie is growing really fast," Julian said to Hana in the passenger seat.
"What does it usually eat?"
"I… I don't know!" Hana panicked inside.
Goldie definitely wasn't growing that quickly from dog food and sausages.
Which meant…
Hana lowered her head, nervously twisting the corner of her clothes with her fingers.
Julian, focused on driving, didn't notice her reaction.
"Could it be… because it drank my blood?"
He remembered Goldie biting him a few times.
His blood could strengthen zombies, strengthen humans… could it also strengthen dogs?
That was terrifying.
In Julian's mind, an image appeared of a gigantic Goldie swatting zombies to death with a single paw.
Terrifying…
But actually, that might be a good thing. If Goldie became stronger, it would make an excellent guard dog.
The truck rolled steadily down the road.
When they passed the area where someone had tried to scam him yesterday, Julian saw a zombie wearing a Messi jersey kicking a human head like a soccer ball.
Looks like it still remembered some habits from when it was alive.
"Master, I think I'm a little hungry. Can I have some snacks?" Hana asked, sneaking a glance at him.
"No."
Julian froze for a moment before firmly refusing.
He still remembered how that rich kid with the solar panels had died.
He wasn't about to make the same mistake.
"Grrrr…"
Hana's stomach growled.
"Just drink a little red," Julian said helplessly, extending one finger to her.
Soon the truck reached the bridge.
Not many zombies had jumped off last night. Apparently they hadn't been sad enough.
A few dozen zombies were blocking the path.
They'd have to clear them out before crossing.
The truck was heavy. If it lost control and fell into the sea, the loss would be huge.
"Alright, Hana. You're full now, time to work."
Julian grabbed his Tang saber and stepped out of the truck.
Against normal zombies, his old weapon still felt the most reliable.
As for the Hammer of Destruction…
He'd save that for when mutated zombies appeared in greater numbers.
Hana followed him and looked toward the zombies at the bridge.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
"Master, wait!"
She grabbed Julian just as he was about to move forward.
"Hm?"
Julian glanced back at her.
In terms of combat ability and experience, Hana was definitely weaker than Mafuyu.
Was she scared?
Hana focused her mind and stared at the zombies ahead.
The zombies that had been attracted by the truck suddenly stopped moving.
Then, one by one, they turned toward the ocean.
Step…
Step…
They slowly walked to the edge of the bridge.
And then…
One after another, they jumped into the sea.
"Holy shit…"
"Hana, you can control them?"
Julian was stunned.
Once all the zombies had jumped into the water, Hana suddenly went limp, as if all her strength had drained away.
Julian quickly stepped forward and caught her.
"Master…"
"These zombies all have really weak willpower. I just tried it, and they actually followed my thoughts."
"It just takes a lot of mental energy."
"I feel kind of weak now."
Hana said softly while lying in Julian's arms.
"....."