Chapter 9: Jackpot Loot
971 Words
“Death.”
Even though Lin Ziluo had shown his opponent enough respect, his blade work was merciless—
the zombie was cut down in an instant.
Its body toppled backward, and as it fell, Lin Ziluo saw something unbelievable materialize beside it—
A book.
His breath caught.
A Skill Book!
He blinked twice, almost doubting his eyes.
“How is that even possible? Something this rare, this early?”
But before he could reach for it, the half-falling corpse suddenly lurched forward, as if shoved by some invisible force.
It came crashing toward him.
Lin Ziluo snapped out of it immediately. Instead of panicking, he plastered himself against the wall with lightning-fast reflexes.
The zombie’s body slammed onto the spot he’d been standing a heartbeat ago.
“Grrrrhh—”
The last of the six zombies staggered into the hallway, its eyes burning with blood-red light.
Lin Ziluo’s expression hardened.
Eight o’clock had struck.
That meant the zombies’ stats would spike to their maximum within a single minute.
If he didn’t end this quickly, he’d be the one in danger.
[Level 1 Zombie]
• Strength: 15
• Spirit: 10
• Constitution: 16
• Agility: 15
This one already outclassed him in raw attributes, and its stats would keep climbing.
But Lin Ziluo didn’t flinch.
As he always reminded himself: attributes were only numbers. In close fights, skill, timing, and even a bit of luck could decide everything.
He raised his Tang dao and charged.
The zombie shrieked, its already pale eyes turning crimson, face twisting into something more grotesque.
Steel flashed.
The blade struck its neck—but its buffed Constitution was too high. The strike wasn’t fatal.
The wounded zombie went berserk, slashing its claws toward him.
Lin Ziluo let go of his stuck blade without hesitation, retreating several steps. With his free hand, he summoned a hammer from his inventory and hurled it straight at the charging monster.
The narrow corridor worked in his favor—the zombie had no room to dodge.
Crack!
The hammer smashed into its face. Bone caved in, blood and gore streaming from nose, eyes, and mouth.
Lin Ziluo wasted no time. He caught the hammer as it fell from the zombie’s ruined face, yanked his dao free, and slashed again—blood spraying from its shoulder.
Even so, the monster lunged at him like a mad beast.
But Lin Ziluo was calm.
He sidestepped, coiling his body with precision—then unleashed a single, perfect cut.
The angle was sharp, the force concentrated, the speed terrifying.
The blade sliced across the zombie’s neck.
A clean strike.
“Death.”
The headless body lurched past him, staggered a few steps, then collapsed with a heavy thud.
Six zombies. All dead.
Lin Ziluo exhaled deeply, rubbing his sore arm. That last fight had been brutal—the zombie’s Strength had peaked close to 20. To come out unscathed was thanks only to his absolute control of technique and power.
But there was no time to celebrate.
It was past eight o’clock. Outside, every zombie’s stats had just received at least a 50% boost. And the noise of his battle wasn’t exactly subtle.
He needed to cover his tracks.
Dragging the corpses, he stacked them one by one at the inn’s front entrance. Six bodies blocked the doorway perfectly.
Finally, he allowed himself a sigh of relief.
The dim light of the reception desk flickered in the gloom, but Lin Ziluo had no intention of looting here.
He kicked the severed heads aside, scooped up the loot drops, and headed upstairs.
The floorboards creaked under his weight.
He stepped over the innkeeper’s corpse in the corridor, then carefully placed his Eye of Reconnaissance artifact on the ground.
A green barrier spread outward, invisible to anyone but him, until it enveloped a ten-meter radius.
“Now that’s luxury,” Lin Ziluo muttered.
With this, he could finally relax. If any creature entered the zone, the barrier would flash red and trigger an alarm in his mind—snapping him awake even if he were asleep.
He chose Room 203.
It was the cleanest and most intact he’d found during his sweep—clearly the inn’s VIP room. He had already decided this would be his base for the night.
He set his newly gained loot on the table, then stepped into the bathroom for a long, refreshing shower.
Opening treasure required proper ceremony, after all.
In his past life, when luck had been terrible, this ritual had occasionally helped him draw something good.
Clean and dressed in his last set of fresh clothes, Lin Ziluo sat at the table, excitement bubbling in his chest.
He left the skill book for last, picking up the other five items first.
The first was a card: [Peking Duck (Sliced)].
“Perfect. Dinner just got an upgrade.”
The second: [1L Spring Water Bottle].
“Good. That covers hydration.”
Third and fourth—
He froze.
Two more Eyes of Reconnaissance.
Lin Ziluo couldn’t help doubting himself.
“How the hell…? Last time these were ridiculously rare, and now they’re dropping like candy?”
He shook his head. “Whatever. Profit is profit. You can never have too many of these.”
The fifth was a ring, faintly glowing with cyan light—the drop from the last zombie.
[Ring of Nightfall] – Bronze Grade
• Agility +1
• When worn at night: reduces personal presence by 30%.
Lin Ziluo’s eyes lit up.
This was invaluable for nighttime operations.
He slipped it onto his finger without hesitation.
Then, his gaze turned at last to the true prize.
The Skill Book.
He pressed his palms together in mock prayer.
“Great Jade Emperor, Lord Almighty, Buddha, Allah—whoever’s listening, bless me with a skill I can actually use.”
- Writer
