Apocalypse Park

Values ​​and guests

Landon said cautiously, “You don't know—places like supermarkets, where supplies are plentiful, often have the most unexpected dangers.”

Landon and Emma carefully navigated the dark aisles of the store, occasionally glancing at each other’s backs. Each held a bottle of red wine as a makeshift weapon—because at the supermarket entrance, there wasn’t much else with enough stopping power. Sure, red wine wasn’t ideal for fighting off the Fallen, but at least they could throw it and run.

They had deliberately laid Marcy down between two corpses at the door, making her look like one of the dead. The only problem would be if she woke up later and got upset, but that was Landon’s issue to deal with…

“Let’s head to the deli section,” Landon whispered. Just as he was about to suggest they start eating from there, a foul stench hit his nose. He reluctantly grabbed a box of vegetable and potato salad but tossed it away as soon as he touched it. “It’s all spoiled! Everything’s turned to mush!”

“Well, obviously!” Emma said with a half-laugh.

It took them nearly twenty minutes to walk the entire supermarket in the dark. Aside from a few corpses deeper inside, everything else seemed normal. With that, they could stop being on high alert. The two set down their wine bottles—carrying them was exhausting—and began to walk side by side.

“Even though there’s no direct sunlight, it’s still pitch black in here without any light… Do you know where we can find some flashlights?” Landon asked, slightly frustrated. “Ever since we arrived in this extreme temperature hell, I’ve been stuck in the dark.”

“We can look for some later. I’m not sure if they sell them here, though—it is a high-end imported supermarket, after all,” Emma replied. By then, they had already reached the food section, and both grabbed a few indistinguishable food items to hold in their arms. “But I do remember seeing some scented candles for sale… anything that gives us light will work.”

As they whispered to each other, Landon fumbled with a package he had just opened.

“Hey, these are chips…” He barely finished his surprised statement when a voice suddenly echoed through the quiet supermarket: “Landon, get your ass over here!”

It was Marcy’s voice.

“Marcy? Marcy, you’re awake!” Landon exclaimed, pulling Emma along as they sprinted back toward the entrance. In just a few steps, they arrived to find Marcy standing between the two corpses, her expression of disgust evident. Her red hair clashed dramatically with her soot-stained face.

Landon nervously explained the situation, offering Marcy some of his chips as a peace offering. After a moment, Marcy grudgingly accepted, letting out a disdainful snort to signal she was letting it go. Then, her gaze shifted to Emma, and she hesitated, as if something was on her mind.

Emma suddenly felt a bit nervous, putting down the food in her hands and asking, “Is there something wrong with my data?”

“It’s not exactly wrong… maybe I just didn’t have enough data samples before,” Marcy replied with a reassuring smile. “Your data’s different from anything I’ve previously measured.”

“What do you mean?” Emma pressed for more details.

“It’s hard to explain just by talking—you’d better see for yourself!” As soon as Marcy finished speaking, her fingernail on her index finger began to extend, but unlike before, its tip glowed with a faint golden light.

Marcy glanced around and found a darker spot, signaling the two to follow her. She began writing in the air with her glowing finger—each stroke formed a letter, glowing faintly in the air.

Emma tried to suppress her astonished expression but didn’t do a very good job of it.

“On the left is your data,” Marcy explained while writing. “I’ll add Landon’s data too, so you can compare.”

[Emma’s Basic Abilities]

High Heat Resistance: Effectively withstands environments up to 125°C.

Keen Instinct: Sporadic but effective when active.

Third basic ability currently in development.

[Emma’s Physical Stats]

Height: 168cm

Weight: 56kg

Average 100m sprint: 11.6 seconds

Reflex speed: Fast

Vision: 5.0

Body fat percentage: 18.5%

Muscle mass: 45.7%

Potential value: High

Marcy finished writing with swift strokes, and Landon let out a surprised “Huh?” which made Emma feel uneasy. Marcy rolled her eyes at him before continuing, “These aren’t even all of your stats—I’ve just picked out the important ones. After we compare them, I’ll write down the rest for you.”

Emma quickly read over her data.

She had always been in good shape and quite agile. While most girls struggled with gym class, Emma thrived in it. In fact, her athletic abilities had even given her a boost on her college entrance exams. Of course, she had been teased by boys for being "all brawn" more times than she could count… In short, aside from the potential value, everything else seemed perfectly normal to her.

As Emma was lost in thought, Landon’s data floated into view.

[Landon’s Basic Abilities]

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

Enhanced Physique: Improved and increased physical stamina.

Speed Optimization: Much more agile than before.

Eagle Vision: Vastly increased visual range, with some night vision capability.

Climbing and Jumping: As nimble as a cat.

Sixth basic ability currently in development.

[Landon’s Physical Stats]

Height: 174cm

Weight: 70kg

Speed: 120

Strength: 89

Max striking force: 101

Potential value: 192

Emma only needed to glance at a few of the numbers to understand what was going on. Marcy stopped writing as soon as she saw that Emma got the point. “Now you see,” she said, “Landon’s stats are highly conceptualized based on my abilities, like… well, like a character in a video game.”

Emma nodded, her gaze lingering a bit longer on the “potential value” row.

“But for some reason,” Marcy continued, “your stats can’t be conceptualized—not that they can’t be, but there’s no need to. Every one of your figures is a concrete, measurable value, something that could be obtained from a physical fitness test. That’s unusual. But the most significant difference is the potential value.”

Marcy spoke calmly, while Landon’s “192” continued to glow faintly in the air.

Emma frowned as Marcy continued, “For everyone I’ve encountered—at least, all the people I’ve met—potential value is always a specific number. Unless they experience something extraordinary, that number doesn’t change… but you’re the first exception.”

Landon’s potential value of 192 glowed softly in the air.

Emma suddenly looked up. “Ethan! Ethan’s potential value was 204! I used my ability on his corpse, so a lot of his data showed up… that means my numbers are really different after all!”

Landon let out a groan as if he’d been punched in the stomach. “How could that guy’s potential be higher than mine? No way—I’m the potential king!”

“You’re the i***t king, more like,” Marcy sighed, turning back to Emma. “You understand now, right? Your data is very unusual… I still can’t give you a proper explanation.”

“It’s okay—” Emma smiled. She had never been too concerned with stats, abilities, or anything like that, and now, even after learning that her data was unique, she quickly let it go. She was about to suggest they all sit down and eat when Landon suddenly stiffened and asked, “Wait… you said you still have Ethan’s body?”

“Yeah,” Emma said, feeling around her pocket. Realizing it was empty, she remembered she had changed clothes before heading out. “I left his card in my other pants upstairs—why?”

Landon slapped his thigh in excitement. “Great! The sun’s out now, so let’s rest up and head up there tonight. We need to search his body…”

Emma felt a little queasy at the thought of Ethan’s eerie death. “Why search his body?”

In the faint golden light of the text, her amber cat-like eyes glowed lighter and brighter.

Landon looked smug. “Because people like him, who’ve been through several worlds, usually carry valuable items. We might find something useful.”

“He’s your kill, so anything we find is yours,” Marcy added quickly, as if to prevent any misunderstandings.

Emma didn’t really care about that and just smiled. “Alright, we’ll check it out tonight. What about now?” she asked, handing Marcy a pack of digestive biscuits.

Marcy took two biscuits and began eating. “This place seems pretty good to me—there’s food, water, and no sunlight. Let’s find some more light sources and clean up the supermarket…” she said, nodding toward the corpses nearby.

That was a good point—while the air was dry, no one could guarantee the bodies wouldn’t start rotting in this heat.

The three of them, both hungry and thirsty, quickly devoured the small pile of food they had gathered and drank some water. Landon was the first to jump up. “Let’s go find those scented candles!”

Now that they knew there was no danger, their search went smoothly. Emma led the way to the aisle with the candles and quickly picked out the largest ones.