Li Ke looked at the pile of goods, things like cans, bandages, and concrete, which were undoubtedly necessary for survival in this apocalyptic game. But there was a problem. What was a "Duke's Casino Token"? Was it similar to bottle caps in Fallout 4? And most importantly…
"I have an inventory?"
Looking at the large empty space to the right of the item list, Li Ke felt this world was truly absurd.
With a thought, Li Ke took out the gold bar he had found in the room and planned to keep as a souvenir. Looking at the gold bar, which was smaller than his pinky finger, he silently thought "Press E." The next moment, the gold bar in his hand disappeared, and in its place, a golden item appeared in the large empty space to the right of the item list.
Li Ke focused on it, and its properties appeared in his vision.
Gold Bar: A merchant might be interested in this. Sell price: 140.
Li Ke didn't hesitate and sold the gold bar. The moment he did, a prompt popped up at the bottom of his eye.
EXP +420.
Not only that, but the purple bar he had seen at the bottom of his vision moved slightly.
Experience points? He could get experience points from transactions?
Li Ke found this world more and more ridiculous, but when he saw the shiny yellow "Duke's Casino Token" in his inventory, he was just as curious and focused on it. Once again, a game-like option appeared.
Disassemble (S)
Drop (D)
Li Ke didn't choose to disassemble. He chose D. The next moment, a cloth bag appeared out of thin air in front of him and landed on the table in front of the merchant.
"…" Li Ke grabbed the small cloth bag. A button to "Press E to pick up" appeared on the bag, but Li Ke didn't use the system to pick it up. Instead, he opened the bag directly. A large number of yellow coins fell onto the table. Li Ke picked one up and saw that they were made of brass and had some strange patterns on them. Because they were in English, he… couldn't read them. There was no way; he had long since forgotten his college English. If he didn't have the certificate, he wouldn't even know that he once understood English.
"Come to think of it, Erina Nakiri has been speaking in Japanese all this time." He subtly glanced at Erina Nakiri. He had heard it clearly; the girl had been speaking Japanese, but he could inexplicably understand her, and she could understand what he said. Before, when they were in a desperate struggle for survival, he hadn't cared about these things.
But more than that… Li Ke's attention returned to the things that had appeared in his vision.
He closed the merchant's page and tried pressing the B key in his mind. The next moment, the same large empty space that appeared when he opened the shop appeared in front of him. Not only that, but many other things appeared. An image of him in a suit, holding two axes, appeared on the left side of this inventory. On the right, a long list of text appeared.
Concussion.
Treated Scrape: 45 hours, 23 minutes, 42 seconds.
Anti-inflammatory: 3.5%.
Treated Mild Infection: 1.5%.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Li Ke was stunned by the prompts. He moved his mind to the "Treated Infection," and a string of text appeared.
Treated Mild Infection: Your mild infection has been treated. Continue to use medication until the infection is gone. Being attacked by a zombie or an animal will worsen the infection.
"I've been treated?" Li Ke was bewildered. He remembered being scratched and showing symptoms of a possible infection. Aside from eating some Spam and honey, he hadn't had anything else. Was the Spam or honey a medicine?
Heck, no!
The text was simple and easy to understand and matched his situation. He was indeed a little hungry and thirsty. A concussion was also understandable; he had hit his head when he first arrived. But if there was hope for him to be cured…
He trembled as he opened the merchant's options again, entered the interface, and quickly scrolled through. Finally, in the medical category, he saw what he was looking for!
Honey: Food 5, HP 2, Max Stamina Bonus 0, Cure Infection 5%.
Honey really was something that treated infection!
Li Ke was so excited that he hugged Erina Nakiri beside him. The thrill made him impulsively kiss the beautiful merchant, and he subconsciously wanted to buy something. But then he suddenly realized something. He didn't have enough money. Even after selling the gold bar, he only had 140 coins, and the price of one can of honey was 240!
But it didn't matter. There were still a dozen more gold bars in the house they came from! That was enough to buy a lot of honey!
Erina Nakiri, who was being hugged, had no idea why Li Ke was suddenly so excited. She covered her face in shock and looked at Li Ke's ecstatic expression, completely unable to understand the rapid change in his emotions. Li Ke saw her confusion and kissed her cheek again.
"We're saved! If this is all real! Erina! We don't have to become zombies!"
"Huh?" Erina was bewildered, not understanding what Li Ke was talking about.
Seeing the confusion in Erina's eyes, Li Ke suddenly realized something. What if the honey didn't work for Erina?
Li Ke couldn't help but look at the information in his vision. His eyes moved to the tabs at the top: Crafting, Character, Map, Skills, Quests, Log, Player, Creation.
Li Ke quickly clicked on each one to see what they did.
Crafting opened a blank frame with nothing in it. Character was the inventory he had opened before. But then something unexpected happened.
When Li Ke tried to open the Map, a bright red prompt appeared: 'Insufficient permissions.'
He didn't dwell on it. Li Ke moved his thoughts to Skills, but still got an insufficient permissions prompt. The Log was also locked. Only when he clicked on Player did it open, revealing a spreadsheet-like interface.
Li Ke: Level 1, Game Stage 1, Party: None, Ally: None, Enemies Killed: 12, Players Killed: 0.
Erina Nakiri: Level 0, Game Stage 0, Party: None, Ally: None, Enemies Killed: 0, Players Killed: 0.
"Level zero? Is it because she hasn't killed enough zombies?" Li Ke looked at Erina Nakiri's row and couldn't help but click on the team option behind it, but there was no reaction.
So, he closed the interface, keeping the game interface active, and stared at Erina Nakiri. In her confused and embarrassed gaze, he silently chose the option to "long press E" on her. The next moment, a prompt appeared in his vision.
"Do you want to spend 11,240 EXP to help Erina Nakiri become a player?"
Li Ke smiled, kissed Erina's cheek again, and his excitement completely blinded him to what a huge shock this was for the young girl.
"Mr. Li Ke! What is wrong with you!" Erina Nakiri covered her flushed face. She really couldn't understand why Li Ke was so excited.
"Well, in short, it seems we can really live on in this world together!" Li Ke excitedly hugged Erina again. Although the girl didn't resist, the expression on her face became one of disgust.
"Who, who wants to… with you…" The girl's heart was in turmoil. She had imagined who her other half would be, but most of the time, she thought it would be a chef who could make food "good enough to break the curse of her God's Tongue." But now, she felt that even if she couldn't break the curse, living with Li Ke wouldn't be so bad. After all, honey with Spam wasn't that terrible… she just needed to get used to it! Yes, in a place like this, Erina Nakiri could definitely adapt!
"In any case, come out with me first, Erina! I need you to kill a few zombies to help me confirm some things!" Li Ke excitedly picked up the Duke's Casino Token, put it in his inventory, and excitedly pulled the girl out of the shop.
Since gold bars could be exchanged for money, and the merchant had a large number of goods for sale, it meant that other things could also be exchanged for money!
But as he walked out of the door, a question couldn't help but pop into Li Ke's mind. "Do I really not have a cheat?" This cheat was clearly a product of this world. Otherwise, Erina Nakiri couldn't be invited to be a player. Although it could be a cheat that developed over time, Li Ke still thought it was due to this world's rules. So was he just a normal transmigrator?
"That's a depressing thought."
Li Ke quickly put the thought aside and rushed back to the previous house with the girl. He quickly put the gold bars into his inventory and frantically looked for things he could sell. But unfortunately, he couldn't put the sofa or the refrigerator into his inventory. Only things like folding chairs and flowerpots could be put in. To his disappointment, there were no treasure chests to loot. No matter how many times he thought about "pressing E" on the cupboards and refrigerators, there was no reaction.
During this time, Li Ke was no longer afraid of zombies. He constantly explained everything he had discovered to Erina Nakiri.
"So, you're saying we've entered a game world, and as long as we act in a way that fits the game, we can gain the abilities of a game character? And the honey we ate is medicine that cures infection?" Erina Nakiri couldn't help but hold her head.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Li Ke, but this is just too weird! Although in this world… fine, we've already transmigrated here, so there's nothing we can't accept." Erina Nakiri took a deep breath and looked at Li Ke. "So, you and I don't have to die? We can live on forever?!"
Her heart was also very happy, but she was still uneasy. She had seen many strange things, such as the yellow brass things called Duke's Casino Tokens disappearing into thin air, the terrifying female merchant, and the door that could be opened and closed without touching it. But she couldn't bring herself to believe it until she gained those abilities herself.
"Mm, that's right. But just to be safe, I have to make you a so-called player first. I'm not sure if the honey's detoxification mechanism will work on you otherwise." Li Ke was still running a bit of a fever. It seemed the character panel didn't directly affect his condition. He also needed to confirm whether this was just his delusion or something that was truly happening.
"So, you're going to fight those monsters?" Even though she was mentally prepared to fight zombies, Erina Nakiri was still worried at the thought of Li Ke fighting those monsters.
"Yes. If this is real, then we don't have to worry about infection. And without that worry, these things aren't so scary for us. As long as we don't run into a large group of zombies at night or get surrounded, these monsters will just be our prey. So don't worry. And it won't take much experience to turn you into a player, just… how much was it?" Li Ke nodded and placed his hand on Erina Nakiri's shoulder, comforting her. He instantly called up the game interface and pressed E on her in his mind.
But there was no reaction. Li Ke was stunned and repeatedly pressed E on her several times in his mind, trying to summon the interface.
Then, the next moment—Erina Nakiri's clothes disappeared.
"Huh?"
A rare and beautiful sight appeared before Li Ke's eyes. Her clothes, shoes, skirt, and even her socks all disappeared in an instant with his "continuous mental E" technique. His hand immediately felt skin as smooth as silk, and he saw a snow-white chest and a delicate, pink, adorable thing. And the pink mystery hidden beneath the sparse, golden fields.
"It hasn't sagged… truly worthy of…" He unconsciously mumbled. Erina Nakiri also realized something was wrong at this moment. She looked down at her body, then at Li Ke, who was staring at her chest. The next moment, she let out an involuntary scream.
"Mr. Li Ke!!"
Erina Nakiri frantically used one hand to cover her chest, burying her snow-white palm in the other white surface, making the lovely pink disappear from Li Ke's sight. Not only that, but she also covered the golden fields and squeezed her legs together, not letting Li Ke see anything else. "What are you doing!" She was almost losing her mind. The shock of this was too much for her! Kissing and hugging could be explained away, but this was too much!
"Uh, sorry, I accidentally used the wrong function of this game system…" Li Ke quickly turned around and took all of Erina Nakiri's clothes out of his inventory. They formed a small cloth bundle on the ground. He immediately ripped open the small bag and handed it to the blushing Erina Nakiri. "These are your clothes! I really didn't mean to!"
Even though he had turned around, Li Ke was still thinking about the scene he had just witnessed. But it wasn't about Erina Nakiri's shy but incredibly well-endowed body. It was about his ability.
"This ability would be incredibly powerful in a normal world, wouldn't it?" Li Ke thought about how this could be used in a normal world. This ability could make a person lose all their dignity in an instant, and it could also be used for undetectable theft! Even in the age of cold weapons, if you were fighting a person in armor, you could strip them clean in an instant! What a terrifying ability!
"This is practically a god-like talent… It's a shame it's not very useful in this world. If I were in the age of cold weapons, I could become a great hero with this ability and be remembered in history…" Li Ke looked at his hands and couldn't help but say these words. This was what he truly believed. As for Erina Nakiri's body… Thinking about it now would only add to his troubles.
Li Ke looked at his hands, which were already full of cuts and calluses after just two days, and sighed helplessly. Using these hands on a girl who was not used to a man's touch would be an unimaginable form of torture. It was impossible to grind her down, right? The bedding here was so dirty, and a zombie might have even slept on it. As for making demands of the girl, Li Ke felt it was unnecessary. They might be spending the rest of their lives together, and there was no need to make their relationship awkward.
Erina Nakiri was very angry. Although she had a vague crush on Li Ke, that crush wasn't enough to justify him stripping her naked! But the originally fuming Erina Nakiri, upon hearing Li Ke's words, felt a furious rage burning in her heart!
"You jerk! What are you thinking about! At a time like this, you're thinking about things like that! Jerk, jerk, jerk! You big idiot!"
Dressed again with a flushed face, Erina Nakiri kept kicking Li Ke's leg. But at that moment, the roar of a zombie echoed from outside the house. This immediately made Erina Nakiri stop. She quickly picked up the axe Li Ke had put down and handed one to him.
"Li Ke! I think I messed up!"