"You're lucky to have friends like that, Jaxon. Make sure to thank them," Isabel said, smiling.
"Yes, Mom," Jaxon replied before turning to his sisters. "You two should rest now. You've had a tough day."
"Don't treat us like kids. I'm older than you, remember?" Natasha said, crossing her arms. "You should rest too."
Then, her voice got softer. She looked away, a little blush on her cheeks. "...Thanks for saving me earlier."
"What was that?" Jaxon asked, even though he'd heard her clearly.
"Just go to your room and rest!" Natasha said quickly, not looking at him.
"Alright, alright," he replied, still smiling as he walked off.
"I'm glad you kids are still close," Isabel said, smiling warmly as Jaxon disappeared into his room.
"It's not like that, Mom," Natasha mumbled, her face still red as she hurried to her own room.
Isabel chuckled to herself.
.....
Back in his room, Jaxon turned on his PC and opened Discord to thank his friend.
As soon as the app loaded, the server was going crazy. Everyone was talking about the zombie outbreak spreading all over the world.
"Told you guys it was real! You should be thanking me for saving your lives!"
"It's a zombie apocalypse, guys... IT'S FINALLY HERE! YES!!!"
"Why are you celebrating, you idiot?"
"This is it! It's finally time for us nerds to take over!!!"
"Guys, HELP! I just heard a growl outside!"
.....
.....
Jaxon scrolled through the messages and couldn't help but smile.
Most of his Discord friends seemed to be okay. They were shut-ins like him, and in times like this, people who stayed inside were the safest.
He tried messaging HarlemLaver, the guy who had warned him earlier, but he was already offline.
"I managed to get ready thanks to them," Jaxon said to himself with a small smile. "Guess being friends with them for years wasn't a waste after all."
He was about to lie down when he suddenly heard a loud scream outside.
Jaxon immediately went to check through his window. Their house was a three-story and was located in a higher elevation, allowing him to watch the neighborhood clearly.
Down below, a mother and her daughter were running across the street, screaming for help. A zombie was chasing them, getting closer every second. His hands clenching into fists. He didn't know them, but their fear felt like his own.
The girl tripped, and her mother stopped to help her up.
'Run, get away!' Jaxon thought, clenching his fist.
Suddenly, something popped into his head.
(Sniper system loading, Host chosen. Congratulations, you have been chosen to possess the sniper system.)
(Receiving newbie gift.)
(DMR Received - Precision Variant. 5-round magazine. Semi-single-shot operation equipped with suppressor. And a box containing 100 rounds (20 × 5) received.)
"System? What the heck? I got a cheat?" Jaxon gasped. 'So Cindy wasn't totally wrong, I actually got a cheat.'
He pushed the thought aside. Right now, he had to save those two.
In his mind, he instantly knew how to summon the rewards, like the knowledge had been downloaded right into his brain.
"DMR, equip."
A long rifle appeared in his hands. It looked just like the marksman rifles from his games: a big, magazine-fed gun with a medium-power scope and a thick suppressor on the end.
"Wow, this thing is heavy." He rested the rifle on a table.
Without any real training, he just did what he'd seen in games and movies. He slid a five-round magazine into the rifle with a click and adjusted the scope.
At the distance of about two hundred meters, Jaxon saw the zombie running, when his target crossed the crosshair, he fired his first shot but missed. The rifle fired one round each time he pulled the trigger.
For someone who'd never done this before, hitting a moving target was almost impossible without luck.
'Damn it, this is harder than I imagined!' he thought, gritting his teeth.
Jaxon fired again and again, already running out of bullets. He aimed for the zombie's torso, hoping it would be easier to hit, but still missed every time.
Twenty meters... fifteen meters... The zombie was getting closer and closer to the mother and daughter.
Jaxon quickly reloaded another round.
'Come on, hit it already!' he thought, his heart pounding.
Ten meters... five meters...
Adrenaline rushed through him as he fired like crazy. One lucky shot finally hit the zombie's leg, making it stumble.
The mother and daughter immediately ran toward a safer spot while the zombie struggled to stand. It started crawling, trying to chase them, but it was moving slow and clumsy.
Jaxon peered through his window, sighing in relief.
"I wasted a lot of bullets, but at least they got away. Now then..." Jaxon loaded another round, his hands still shaking a little from the adrenaline. The zombie was slowing down, crawling all weird, giving him a chance.
He took a deep breath, rested the rifle on the table, and aimed for the head. He squeezed the trigger, and the shot went wide, just clipping the side of its head. The zombie jerked, but didn't fall.
"Crap..." Jaxon muttered, his heart pounding. He realized he hadn't thought about the kickback. The rifle kicked back harder than he expected, messing up his aim. He adjusted his grip, sliding his hand a little lower on the stock, and focused on the crosshair.
Another shot. This time, it hit its shoulder. Not perfect, but the zombie stumbled, slowing down even more. He nodded to himself, quickly learning how much to make up for the kick, how to hold his breath, how to steady the scope.
Finally, he breathed out slowly, lined up the crosshair at the zombie's head, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit perfectly. The zombie crumpled, dead.
Jaxon leaned back in his chair, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Whew... finally. Took some practice, but I got there."
Just then, a notification popped up in front of him.
(1 exp, 1 coin, and 0.001 speed obtained from the zombie)
"A reward? I actually get something from killing zombies?" Jaxon muttered, surprised. "Wait... let me check this... Status window."
A window suddenly appeared in front of him, glowing softly.
…..
Name: Jaxon
Level: 0 (1/100)
Age: 24
Strength: 8
Speed: 7 + 0.001
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 8
Stamina: 8
Vitality: 5
Stat points: 0
Passive Skill:
Marksmanship (F): Gains instinctive knowledge on how to hold, aim, and fire a gun with minimal recoil and better control.
Coins: 1 (Use to purchase rifles, bullets, items, and upgrade weapons in the weapon shop)
…..
"This is... amazing. So I actually get stats from killing zombies?"
His eyes wide with excitement. Even though it was just a little bit, it felt real.
He clicked through the menu. "Let's see the shop…"
Three tabs appeared on the screen, neatly organized and glowing faintly, waiting for him to explore.
.....
Gun Store:
DMR - 2,000 coins
Unlock more options by leveling up.
…
Items and Gear:
Military Provision - 10 coins
Military Knife - 15 coins
Fire Axe - 20 coins
DMR Bullet (100 rounds) - 20 coins
Binoculars - 25 coins
Military Bag - 30 coins
Unlock more options by leveling up.
…
Weapon Upgrades:
DMR:
Ammo Lvl. 0 - 27 coins
Magazine Lvl. 0 - 21 coins
Body Lvl. 0 - 29 coins
Muzzle Lvl. 0 - 23 coins
Grip Lvl. 0 - 24 coins
Scope Lvl. 0 - 22 coins
Suppressor Lvl. 0 - 11 coins
…...
"To get a cheat like this out of nowhere... where did it even come from?" Jaxon wondered. But the system didn't answer. It was just silent.
"Man, this could be a pain. Hope there isn't some big mission or saving-the-world thing later on," he said, shaking his head. Then he grinned. "But honestly, this is perfect. I can just snipe and take out zombies from far away. This... this is the best."