Lianne also got out of the van, her compound bow on her back, and walked over to Lux.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
"Yeah. I found a password box. It should contain some kind of documents. I don't know whether it's data or an order. See if you can crack it."
Lux handed the box to Lianne, then directly exchanged the helicopter wreckage with the system.
[Ding. Damaged Z-5 helicopter recovered. Gained 37,000 resource points]
The system's voice made Lux break into a delighted smile. He had planned to recycle the helicopter after searching it, but he never expected such a huge payout.
Thinking about it, it made sense. This was a helicopter, not a scrapped car. A reward like this was only natural.
The 50,000 resource points he owed from expanding his system space for extra grain were now down to 13,000. By salvaging a few abandoned vehicles along the way, he could probably clear the rest before reaching the city.
"Ah, spatial abilities really are convenient. You can even make something this big disappear."
Lianne sighed, then continued examining the password box.
"Can you open it?"
"It's difficult. I can't be sure what kind of encryption this uses. If it's meant for transmitting classified information, forcing it open could trigger an anti-leak mechanism that destroys the contents."
"If it's just for storing confidential documents, then it should be fine. In that case, it's probably just meant to keep transport personnel or outsiders like us from reading it."
"I'll need some time before I can give you a conclusion. They sent a helicopter just to move this, so whatever's inside is definitely valuable."
"Alright. Oh, right—take one of these tactical headsets for yourself and Candice. Ask Sten to teach you both how to use them."
Lux spent 200 resource points to exchange for two tactical headsets and handed them to Lianne.
He hadn't counted the two of them as combat units before, but now that they each had their own roles, he wasn't going to be stingy with communication equipment.
"Okay. Oh, by the way, Brother Lux, do you have any pens and paper? I might need them."
"Yes. Take these."
Lux handed her several notebooks and pens he'd looted from a convenience store.
After that, everyone returned to the vehicles, and the two cars sped off once more.
Inside the van, after learning how to use the tactical headset with Sten's help, Lianne began rapidly writing calculations in a notebook while studying the code on the box.
---
As they neared the city, a group of survivors suddenly appeared on the road. They seemed to be fleeing from something, scattered and running wildly toward the vehicles, completely blocking the road.
Behind them was a massive zombie over three meters tall, leading a horde in pursuit.
An elderly man at the rear of the group was grabbed by the giant zombie, which bit off half his head like it was eating a snack.
"45, get ready to turn around. ARs and SMGs, free fire. Don't get out of the vehicles. If we can't clear them, we drive off immediately."
"Bunny, get to the pickup's rear platform. The giant's yours."
Lux pressed the button on his headset and issued orders rapidly. HK416, MDR, and Sten leaned out of the windows, firing controlled bursts to hold back the zombie horde.
M99 jumped down, climbed into the pickup's rear cargo area, and mounted her sniper rifle on the hood.
Lux felt the vehicle shudder slightly. In the distance, the giant zombie's head exploded like a watermelon.
At the same time, the system's voice sounded again.
[Mutated zombie Brute eliminated. Reward: 50,000 resource points]
'Aren't mutated zombies supposed to be worth 100,000?'
Lux questioned internally.
[This zombie's mutation level was low. Its vital point was still the brain. It had not entered the intermediate tier]
The system replied immediately.
M99 switched to the VSS and began picking off the zombies closing in on the survivors.
By the time the survivors reached the vehicles, only a few zombies remained behind them.
AA-12 jumped out of the pickup and mowed them down with a single burst.
With safety secured, the survivors collapsed beside the vehicles, gasping for breath.
"Waaah… Mom… my mom was eaten…"
A little boy burst into tears. Soon, others in the group began choking back sobs as well.
Although Lux's group had provided fire support immediately, those who ran too slowly had still been torn apart. More than half the group had already been lost.
"...Eat this."
AA-12 pulled a lollipop from her pocket and placed it in front of the sobbing boy, then climbed back into the pickup and covered her ears. She wasn't good at dealing with scenes like this.
"Hehehe, Commander, we'll leave comforting them to you. We're not very good at that sort of thing."
UMP45's voice came through the headset.
"Commander, I want to help them. If you're in a hurry to reach Walmart, I won't object… but please, I want to help these people."
M99's pleading voice followed.
"I understand. I won't abandon them. Don't worry—I'm not the kind of person who ignores lives for profit."
Lux got out of the pickup. After crying for a while, the survivors gradually calmed down. The boy was even covered by a man beside him to keep him quiet.
After more than a week in the apocalypse, they all knew loud noises attracted zombies.
"Officer, thank you for saving us."
A burly man stood up, snapped to attention, and expressed his gratitude.
"…I'm not part of any official unit. I'm just a survivor like you—just luckier."
Lux shook his head.
"Haha, then many thanks, brother. My name's Rick. I had militia training before retiring and opening a small shop."
"Say, how about we cooperate? I know a good place—there's a large supply of ammunition there, and possibly armored vehicles too. You're strong, but ammo is always limited, right?"
"You've seen our combat ability—we're weak. If we go together, and there isn't much stuff, you take seventy percent, we take thirty. How about it?"
Rick said eagerly.
"Oh? What place?"
Lux asked with interest.
"A militia armory. I trained there before. There should still be active troops guarding it, but not many. They'll definitely accept us."
"With enough weapons there, our safety should be guaranteed."