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"It… wasn't me who killed it."
"I ran into someone really powerful today…"
"But let me talk about myself first. When things got dangerous earlier, something just… snapped."
"It felt like my whole body was suddenly filled with strength."
"Now I can take down normal zombies easily. Even if I run into something tougher, I'm confident I can fight it."
Nanami Kento said this with a grin.
"Sounds like you awakened…"
Julian nodded.
So people awakened when their potential burst out during a life-or-death moment…
Looks like that's how these awakened ones come into being.
Not the same route as the people around him.
Julian had always assumed other awakened people must have eaten something strange like he did.
Well… maybe he actually had?
Better ask.
"Have you eaten anything weird recently?" Julian asked.
"Weird?"
"No… I've just been eating the stuff you gave me…"
"Oh—wait. I did take a bite out of some gold the other day. Does that count? Hahaha…"
Kento chuckled like an idiot.
Julian suddenly froze.
Gold???
Gold!!!
Holy crap. He might've just discovered something huge.
Why were so many survivor camps collecting gold before he transmigrated here?
He might've just figured it out.
So gold is a catalyst for awakening?
If someone has gold on them—or in their body—and then runs into a dangerous situation that triggers their hidden potential… they awaken?
That's very possible.
There might not be many idiots out there biting gold, but plenty of people wear gold necklaces and rings.
Gold sits against their skin all the time.
If they ran into danger and their potential flared up… maybe that was enough for them to awaken.
Someone must've figured this out already. That would explain why awakened people keep appearing, and why awakened camps collect huge amounts of gold.
Got it.
Now it all makes sense!
"Brother Julian… you mean…"
Kento might be straightforward, but he wasn't stupid.
The moment he mentioned gold, Julian's expression changed.
Which meant…
Gold really could help trigger a person's potential?
Damn!
No wonder Brother Julian had been collecting so much gold. Maybe that's how he'd grown so strong!
"This is just my guess," Julian said. "But there's a high chance I'm right."
"You can try testing it with someone. If you get results, let me know."
He only had zombies around him, so there was no way for him to run the experiment himself.
"Alright! I'll have Ryuji and the others try biting some later."
Kento nodded eagerly.
If it really could trigger potential like that, the strength of their camp would increase massively.
"Don't spread this around until it's confirmed," Julian reminded him.
"Only tell people you trust."
"I understand."
Kento nodded again.
If it turned out to be false, spreading the rumor would only make the world even more chaotic.
Meanwhile, the food exchange was going smoothly.
A few young guys who had recently joined Kento's camp gathered off to the side.
"This place is amazing!"
"Yeah—tons of food, and beautiful girls…"
"If you ask me, why don't we just take this place over? There are only three of them."
"Exactly! If we grab this place, we won't have to risk our lives scavenging anymore."
The young men muttered back and forth.
"Don't go looking for death," Takeshi warned.
"The last four guys who had that idea are lying right there."
He pointed to a small hill made of zombie corpses nearby.
The young men shivered and immediately dropped the idea.
The exchange finished.
After thanking Julian repeatedly, Kento left with the food and headed back to base.
Julian returned to the warehouse and stared at the piles of gold bricks and bars.
"Eating it might not actually matter…"
"Gold can't be absorbed by the human body."
"Most awakened people probably just wear gold on their bodies. Then, when something triggers them externally, they awaken."
"So eating it or keeping it close to your skin should have the same effect."
Julian slowly worked through the logic.
"But then… why do survivor camps with awakened leaders keep collecting gold?"
"To create more awakened people? Probably not…"
"An awakened leader wouldn't want too many subordinates getting close to their level."
"That would make things hard to control."
"So there's only one explanation…"
"Gold doesn't just help people awaken. It also helps awakened ones keep getting stronger."
"If that's the case, everything makes sense."
Julian nodded.
He was getting closer to the truth.
"I wonder if gold works on me…"
His current leveling method wasn't exactly scientific.
It was like some kind of perpetual motion machine—he and his zombie followers constantly boosting each other.
Maybe combining that with gold would make it even stronger.
"Kento said he awakened when he was extremely angry…"
"But I'm not exactly angry…"
Julian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
There was probably only one time when his mental and physical state got intense enough.
Feeding time.
Only then did his body and emotions get… a bit more stirred up.
"Mafuyu, come here."
"Use these gold bricks and bars to make a bed."
Julian gave the order.
From now on, he'd test the feeding process on a bed made of gold.
"Master looking for some new kind of fun?" Mafuyu asked.
"Alright."
She efficiently carried the gold over and began laying out the bed.
Meanwhile, Julian sent Asuka a message telling her he had managed to get a graphics card, some games, and… four PSone consoles.
"I'll take the graphics card. Keep the rest," Asuka replied quickly.
She had already found a PS4 and several games herself, so she didn't need Julian's stuff.
Julian looked at the PSone Kento had brought and sighed.
It might be an antique now, but it still had some classic games.
He connected the PSone to a monitor and inserted a Resident Evil 2 disc.
Wait… judging from the cover, it was called Biohazard.
What a terrible translation.
Holding the wired controller felt a bit unfamiliar.
But soon enough, he was completely absorbed in the game.
After playing for a while, a thought suddenly popped into Julian's head.
The zombie virus in the real world…
Could it also have been created by some idiotic research organization?
With how fast modern medicine and biotechnology had been advancing, it wasn't impossible.
Still, that wasn't something he needed to worry about right now.
At the moment, escaping the Tyrant chasing him in the game was the real priority…
"Master, the zombies in here feel really weak," Hana said, pointing at the screen.
"These ones are about as weak as the zombies outside the warehouse."
"....."