"Alright. But my vehicles can't carry that many people. Both vehicles are full, except for the pickup's rear platform."
Lux glanced at the people resting on the ground. Sixteen from Rick's group had survived. Even with the pickup full, it wouldn't be enough.
"No problem, brother. I can steal cars. We'll find a few working vehicles along the road and drive them."
A clean-cut young man climbed to his feet and spoke enthusiastically.
"Alright, what's your name?"
"Daniel."
"Okay. My name is Lux. How about this—later, have three people who can drive come with Daniel. Get in the pickup and follow me into the city to grab a few vehicles. The people in the other vehicle will stay here to protect you. Any objections?"
Lux asked.
"No objections, none at all. Our lives were saved by you, brother. Whatever you say goes."
Rick laughed heartily.
"You don't look too well. Want something to eat?"
Lux asked.
"Hahaha, that would be great. We've been out of food since yesterday noon. We only had one meal of plain boiled noodles. Sigh… If we could eat our fill, we might've been able to get more people out."
Rick's expression dimmed as he spoke.
Lux jumped into the bed of the pickup, took out a mountaineering backpack filled with compressed rations and sausages, along with two packs of bottled water, from the system space, then jumped back down.
"Share this food among yourselves. But if you're extremely hungry, don't eat too much at once—it might damage your stomach."
Lux handed the backpack to Rick.
"Wow, thank you so much. Guys, we're lucky—meeting someone as generous as Brother Lux. Come over, everyone. One compressed ration, one sausage, and one bottle of water per person."
Rick opened the backpack, checked the contents, then waved to the people sitting on the ground. Hearing there was food, they immediately rushed over and surrounded him.
Lux stepped back a couple of steps, leaned against the pickup, and casually observed the survivors.
The survivors he had encountered before were not friendly, so he decided to first assess what kind of group Rick's team was.
What reassured him was that although they looked noisy, they didn't fight over the food and instead followed Rick's instructions closely.
It seemed that this middle-aged man in his forties had considerable authority within the group.
Judging from the fact that there were elderly people among those who had fled earlier, they didn't seem like the type to abandon their companions.
"Commander! Thank you!"
M99 hugged Lux from behind, happily rubbing her face against his back.
She was naturally very happy that Lux was willing to help these civilians.
"Heh, I should be thanking you. That shot just now made me a fortune."
Lux smiled. That single shot from M99 had earned him fifty thousand resource points, directly paying off his debt and leaving him with an extra thirty-seven thousand points.
Watching Rick's group eat and rest, Lux couldn't wait to upgrade the system to level two. At the same time, several new indicators appeared in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host, on upgrading the system to Level 2. Rank advanced to Corporal. System space increased by 1,000 cubic meters. Daily automatic ammo supply +1 magazine. Daily refresh of rapid repair contracts for T-Dolls +1]
'By the way, system, do I need to provide resources for these rapid repair contracts when repairing T-Dolls?'
Lux asked.
[No. All resources required for repairing heavily damaged T-Dolls have already been integrated into the contract]
'Oh, I see.'
Lux smiled.
He asked about the rapid repair contracts because he planned to equip each Tactical Doll with one, so that if they judged themselves to be at risk of damage, they could immediately use one to repair themselves.
Although he intended to protect them as much as possible, in an apocalypse anything could happen. It was better to be prepared.
Having made up his mind, Lux began examining the items unlocked at system level two.
[Sangvis Ferri Summon]: Costs 10,000 resource points per use. Can deploy low-tier Sangvis units such as Rippers and Jaguars. Low chance of summoning high-tier elite Sangvis units or unidentified rogue Dolls.
[Level-2 Serum]: Price 200,000 resource points. Greatly enhances human physical fitness and vitality, granting superhuman strength. Those with weak willpower may experience unknown side effects.
[M2 Heavy Machine Gun]: Exchange price 50,000 points. Ammunition costs 1 resource point per round. Extremely powerful.
[High-Frequency Vibration Particle Blade]: Manufactured using black-tech, capable of cutting objects at the molecular level with ease. Can slice through steel like mud. Exchange price 200,000 resource points.
[Helicopter-type vehicle]: Z-5 series helicopter. Exchange price 1,500,000 resource points.
[Intermediate Combat Techniques]: Price 10,000 resource points. Greatly enhances combat awareness, turning the user into a skilled fighter.
[Intermediate Blade Techniques]: Unlocks comprehension of blade momentum. When used proficiently with internal energy, greatly increases slashing power.
Aside from the new Sangvis Ferri summon, most of the level-two system content was upgraded versions of level-one items.
He wanted every single one of them, but looking at the mere 7,000 resource points he had left, Lux could only helplessly abandon the idea.
The best value item was clearly the level-2 serum costing 200,000 points. Although the system might mess with him somehow—like making it taste awful—he had to admit that the level-1 gene modification fluid had been extremely effective.
The level-2 serum should be even better, not to mention it could directly grant immunity to the zombie virus.
So he decided to save up resource points to exchange for one level-2 serum.
Now he also understood why that helicopter cost so many points… A finished product from the system cost a full 1.5 million points. Even selling himself wouldn't get him that many.
Lux quickly adjusted his mindset. Everything had to be done step by step. As long as he grew stronger, he would eventually be able to exchange for these things. No one could become powerful overnight.
"Brother Lux, about the remaining food…"
Rick carried the backpack, now only half full, and walked over to ask. He felt embarrassed taking too much advantage.
"Distribute it among your team. We still have supplies. Just return the backpack to me."
Lux said calmly.
"Alright, alright, thank you so much. Really, meeting a good person like you is pure luck."
Rick laughed loudly as he distributed the remaining food, then returned the empty backpack to Lux.
"Bunny, AA-12, go over to the business van. If zombies approach, Bunny, handle them at long range with the VSS."
"Understood! Commander, I'll defend this position!"
M99 clenched her small fists seriously and spoke firmly.
Lux lifted M99 and placed her on the roof of the van—sniping required a certain height, after all.
"45, I'm temporarily handing command over to you. We'll be back once we secure enough vehicles. If you encounter a life-threatening zombie horde… take everyone and run."
"Alright. Come back early."
UMP45 nodded.