CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 86: CRYSTALS

A hint of sorrow flashed in Ivy’s eyes. How were they now? Were they struggling? Or were they still searching for her?

’Don’t think much. They will be well. All of them were fighters. For them, you can’t be weak now! You have to create a safe haven for them.’

A glint flashed in Ivy’s eyes as she stared at the zombies who were bypassing her.

With her safe zone power, the zombies couldn’t sense her at all, but if she attacked, they’d notice.

So she had to be quick and smart.

Taking a deep breath, Ivy stepped forward and swung her metal rod straight at the first zombie’s neck.

Crack! The head snapped to the side, and the zombie dropped.

She didn’t waste time and quickly hit the second one in the knee to make it fall, then crushed its skull with another hit.

Blood splashed on her clothes, but Ivy didn’t stop.

One zombie tried to grab her arm, but she ducked and stabbed a broken knife into its throat.

Another zombie lunged at her from behind. She turned just in time and pushed it back with her foot.

As it stumbled, she leapt forward and stabbed it in the eye.

Her chest was rising and falling fast. She had taken down seven zombies in just a few minutes.

She wiped her face with her sleeve and crouched next to the bodies, checking for crystals.

"Nothing... nothing... ah! One!" she muttered, pulling a small glowing crystal from the chest of a dead zombie. After checking all ten, she found only three crystals.

"Only three out of ten?" Ivy frowned. "At this rate, I’ll never reach my goal."

Still, she didn’t give up. She kept moving and fought more zombies. Each fight was intense.

One time, a zombie’s hand nearly scratched her face, but she dodged just in time. Another time, she slipped on blood, and a zombie almost bit her neck, but she rolled and kicked it away, finishing it off with a stab to the head.

Finally, after two hours of non-stop fighting, Ivy counted her crystals. "Thirty," she whispered. "Only thirty..."

She sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun had moved slightly, and shadows stretched longer around her. Her arms were sore, and her back ached.

But the biggest problem wasn’t her body; it was the fact that the zombies here were too weak. These were all level-0 zombies, slow and dumb. Most of them didn’t have crystals.

At this speed, she’d need to fight 9000 more zombies to get enough crystals, and she didn’t have that much time.

Suddenly, an idea hit her.

"Elro Hills," she said aloud.

She remembered passing by the Elro Hills before. The place was dangerous; many strong zombies lived there, but it was also filled with advanced ones. Those zombies were faster, smarter, and scarier... but they all have crystals!

"If I go there, I can collect more crystals in less time," she decided.

Ivy then looked at the scooter parked near the military checkpoint. It was a little dusty, but still in working condition.

She walked over to the guard sitting nearby and said,

"Hi, I’d like to rent one of the scooties."

The guard looked up and blinked. Then his eyes widened as he remembered her face. "Oh! You came with Captain Silas, right?" he asked, suddenly standing up straighter.

"Yes," Ivy nodded calmly.

"Then no need for any payment," the guard said quickly, waving his hand and giving a wide, eager smile.

"Anyone close to Captain Silas is always welcome. You can take it. No charge."

Ivy looked at him for a second before shaking her head.

"I don’t want to take advantage of that," she said.

Without waiting, she reached into her backpack and took out two cans of meat. "This should cover the rent."

The guard’s eyes lit up like it was his birthday. He stared at the cans as if they were gold bars.

Just a few months ago, two cans of meat meant nothing. People would laugh if someone tried to use them as money.

But now? Now they were precious... just like treasure. The guard carefully took them, smiling like a child with candy.

"People close to Captain Silas really are generous," he muttered to himself, still grinning.

Ivy smiled back and waved goodbye before hopping on the scooty. The engine buzzed softly as she drove through the broken streets, heading toward her next destination...Elro Hills.

The ride took about twenty minutes, and soon Ivy reached the edge of the hills. The place was silent but full of danger.

The trees were dark, and the air felt heavy. Ivy parked the scooty behind some bushes and crept forward, her weapons ready.

Her eyes scanned the area, and soon, she saw them.

Advanced zombies.

They were taller, their skin darker, and their movements sharper. Unlike the level-0 zombies, these ones were agile and smarter.

Ivy didn’t hesitate. She jumped forward and attacked the first one, smashing her rod into its temple.

The zombie screamed and fell. Quickly, she stabbed the second one, dodging a swipe from a third.

This time, things were different.

These zombies weren’t dumb. They moved fast, and worse, they could sense her.

Ivy gasped when one of them looked straight at her.

"How...?" she muttered, backing away. Her safe zone power should’ve hidden her presence. It always had.

But now?

She realized something important. Her power was still level 0. These were advanced zombies.

Some of them had powers too, and their senses were stronger. They could detect her, even with her power.

Still, Ivy didn’t panic.

She moved quickly, dodging, stabbing, and smashing. Her arms hurt, her breathing got heavy, but she kept fighting.

And when she checked the bodies, her eyes lit up.

"Seven out of ten have crystals!" she said in surprise.

She had fought for an hour and easily obtained 70 crystals. A 100 crystals in total! Now this... this was worth it.