Apocaly Utopi apocaly utop

Chapter 10 Numeirical Values

"You don’t know, places like supermarkets with abundant supplies are often where the most unexpected changes occur..."

Emma and Jack cautiously made their way through the dark aisles, occasionally glancing over each other’s shoulders. Each of them held a wine bottle in their hand—there was no other weapon available at the supermarket entrance besides this. Of course, using wine to deal with the Fallen Ones wasn’t exactly reliable, but throwing it and running away was still doable.

Shirley had been deliberately laid flat by them, placed between two corpses at the entrance, looking just like a dead person at first glance. Whether she’d be upset when she woke up was Jack’s problem...

"Let’s head to the deli section—" Jack whispered. He was about to suggest starting with the deli section for food when his nose caught a strong, foul odor. Reluctantly, he picked up a box of vegetable potato salad, only to throw it away immediately upon touching it: "It’s all spoiled! Turned to liquid!"

"Isn’t that obvious?" Emma replied, half-amused and half-exasperated.

It took them a full twenty minutes to navigate through the entire supermarket in the dark. Aside from a few corpses lying in the deeper sections, everything else seemed normal. Now that there was no need to stay on high alert, they put down the wine bottles—holding them up for so long was tiring—and walked back side by side.

"Even though there’s no direct sunlight, the underground supermarket is way too dark without any light... Do you know where we can find a flashlight?" Jack complained, annoyed. "Ever since we arrived in this extreme temperature hell, I’ve been stuck in the dark."

"Let’s look for one later. I’m not sure if they sell them here, since it’s a high-end imported supermarket," Emma said as they reached the food section, each grabbing a few packages of food they couldn’t quite identify and holding them in their arms. "But I remember they sell scented candles... As long as there’s some light, it’ll do."

While whispering to Emma, Jack fumbled with opening the packaging.

"Hey, these are chips..." he exclaimed with delight, but before he could finish, Shirley’s voice suddenly echoed through the quiet supermarket: "Jack, get out here!"

"Shirley? Shirley, you’re awake!" Jack immediately grabbed Emma’s hand and ran, reaching the entrance in just a few steps. In the light streaming in from outside, they saw Shirley standing between the two corpses, her red hair and dark face creating a stark contrast.

Jack quickly laughed it off and explained himself, then spent some time trying to appease Shirley with the chips he was holding. She finally snorted, letting the matter go. Then, she turned her gaze to Emma, hesitating as if she wanted to say something.

Emma suddenly felt a bit nervous for some reason. She put down the food she was holding and asked Shirley, "Is there something wrong with my data?"

"Not exactly wrong... Maybe it’s just that my previous sample size was too small," Shirley reassured her with a smile. "Your data is different from what I’ve measured before."

"How so?" Emma pressed.

"It’s hard to explain in words. You’d better see for yourself!" As soon as Shirley finished speaking, the nail on her index finger elongated—this time, the tip of her nail emitted a faint golden light.

Shirley looked around, found a dim spot, and gestured for the two to follow. Then, she began writing in the air with her index finger—each character she wrote glowed faintly gold and floated in the air.

Emma tried to suppress her look of surprise but didn’t quite succeed.

"On the left are your values," Shirley explained as she wrote. "I’ll write Jack’s down too, for comparison."

**[Emma’s Basic Abilities]**

Heat Resistance: Can effectively withstand environments up to 125°C.

Keen Intuition: Works intermittently, but more often than not.

Third Basic Ability: Currently being generated.

**[Emma’s Physical Stats]**

Height: 168cm

Weight: 56kg

100m Average Speed: 11.6 seconds

Neurological Reaction Speed: Fast

Vision: 5.0

Body Fat Percentage: 18.5%

Muscle Mass: 45.7%

Potential: High

Shirley finished writing swiftly, and Jack was the first to let out a surprised "Huh?" which made Emma’s heart skip a beat. Shirley shot him a glare, then turned back to Emma. "Your stats don’t end here. I’ve just picked out the important ones. After we’re done comparing, I’ll write down the rest for you."

Emma nodded at her and quickly read through her own data.

She had always been physically fit and agile. In gym class, where most girls struggled, she excelled, and she even scored extra points in her college entrance exams thanks to her athletic performance. Of course, she had been teased by boys throughout her life for being "all brawn and no brain"... In any case, aside from the potential value, the rest of the data seemed normal to her.

While Emma was lost in thought, Jack’s data began to appear in the air one by one.

**[Jack’s Basic Abilities]**

Extreme Climate Adaptation: Can survive in both extreme heat and cold.

Physical Strength: Enhanced physical fitness.

Speed Optimization: Much more agile than before.

Eagle Eye: Greatly increases visual range, allowing clearer vision in the dark.

Climbing and Jumping: As agile as a feline.

Sixth Basic Ability: Currently being generated.

**[Jack’s Physical Stats]**

Height: 174cm

Weight: 70kg

Speed: 120

Strength: 89

Maximum Striking Force: 101

Potential: 192

After just a few lines, Emma understood—Shirley, noticing this, stopped writing. "You can see it now, right? Jack’s stats are highly conceptualized by my ability, like... well, like a game character."

Emma nodded, her gaze lingering on the "Potential" line.

"But for some reason, your stats can’t be conceptualized—not that they can’t, but there’s no need. Every single one of your data points is a real, measurable value, something that could be obtained from a physical test... That’s not the main issue, though. The most important thing is the potential value," Shirley explained calmly.

"Everyone—at least, everyone I’ve met—has a specific number for their potential value. Unless they encounter some rare opportunity, that number doesn’t change... And you’re the first exception."

Jack’s "192" still glowed faintly in the air.

Emma frowned—meanwhile, Shirley’s voice continued: "... Among evolved humans, Jack’s potential value is relatively high, which means you should at least be on the same level as him..."

204.

Emma suddenly looked up: "Buck! Buck’s potential value is 204. I used my ability on his corpse, so a lot of his data came out... So, my stats really are different!"

Jack let out a sound as if he’d been punched in the gut: "How is that guy’s potential value higher than mine? No way, I’m the potential king..."

"You’re the i***t king, more like," Shirley sighed softly, then turned to Emma. "Yes, now you understand, right? Your data is very unusual... I can’t give you a reasonable explanation for it right now."

"It’s fine—" Emma smiled. She had never been too clear about these values and abilities, and now that she knew her data was different, she thought about it for a moment and then let it go. She was about to invite Shirley to sit down and eat when Jack suddenly paused and asked, "You said... you still have Buck’s body?"

"Yeah," Emma replied, reaching into her pocket. She found it empty and then remembered—she had changed clothes before leaving, so Buck’s card must have been left in the pocket of her previous pants. "It’s upstairs. Why?"

Jack slapped his thigh hard: "Great! Now that the sun’s out, let’s rest up and go up tonight to search for his body..."

Thinking of Buck’s bizarre death, Emma couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy. "Why search for his body?"

Under the faint golden glow of the text, her amber cat-like eyes seemed lighter and brighter.

Jack looked smug: "Of course, to see what he left behind. Someone like him, who’s been through several worlds, usually carries something valuable. It might come in handy."

"The things are naturally yours since you’re the one who took him out," Shirley added, as if to clarify.

Emma didn’t mind that. She smiled and said, "Alright, let’s go up and take a look tonight. What about now?" As she spoke, she handed Shirley a pack of digestive biscuits.

Shirley took two and ate them, then said, "This place seems pretty good—there’s food, drinks, and no sunlight. Let’s find some lighting first and clean up the supermarket..." She gestured toward the corpses not far away as she spoke.

That was true—even though the air was dry, with such high temperatures, there was no guarantee the bodies wouldn’t start rotting.

All three of them were thirsty and hungry, so they quickly devoured a small pile of food and drank some water. Jack was the first to jump up: "Let’s go find those scented candles!"

Now that they knew the supermarket was safe, their pace quickened, and soon the supermarket was filled with the soft glow of candlelight—along with a gentle fragrance.

"We’ve been through two worlds now, but this is the first one with such a romantic atmosphere," Jack said to Emma with a smile as he walked, the corpse’s shoulder bouncing with each step.

"You think carrying a corpse is romantic?" Emma, who was holding the corpse’s feet, was both amused and exasperated. "King, hurry up!"

The two of them carried the corpse step by step onto the escalator. Shirley watched from the escalator entrance for a while, then turned and gave a safe signal—a military hand gesture she and Jack had learned in the war world. They quickly sped up, reached the first floor, and tossed the corpse onto another pile of bodies.

These were all once living people... Emma couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness and sighed inwardly. "How many are left?"

"Not many, just two or three in the skincare section," Jack said, wiping sweat off his face, his pale skin flushed red.

As they spoke, the three of them descended the escalator and headed toward the skincare section.

—Suddenly, a loud "thud" echoed clearly through the supermarket.