章節 14: System and demolition

'What the hell are those?!' Mathew riled up when he first saw those three windows. Yet, as the young adult of his time, he could instantly recognize their content.

'What kind of joke is this...' he thought, gazing at the simple text contained by those windows.

[Wife #1]

[Name: Nadia Astra]

[Age: 19]

[Level: 1]

[Race: Half-zombie]

[Class: None]

[Status: Recovering (78%)]

The first window outlined Nadia's basic information.

'Half-zombie?' Mathew thought, his attention instantly drawn to the aspect of Nadia's status that he cared the most about. 'Does that mean she didn't fully turn?' he attempted to figure out the meaning.

'She is recovering. Does that mean she will regain her mind?' Mathew then turned his attention to the last of the information outlined by the main status window of the girl.

Then, the number of Nadia's recovery ticked up by two percent.

"So it goes up at a rather fast pace," Mathew muttered, not even realizing that his thoughts escaped through his lips.

"How is she?"

The negotiating officer approached Mathew's side and looked down at the sleeping girl. His face was filled with worry.

'Does he feel indebted to me and thus project his ideas on Nadia?' Mathew attempted to figure out the source of the man's worry. 'Or is he scared that if something happens to her, I will go rogue?'

Mathew had no means of determining the answer to this question. That's why, rather than wasting time on overthinking things, he simply moved on.

"I don't know yet," the young man said, patting Nadia's head before moving his eyes to the other two windows of her system.

But for now... they were empty.

'Does she need to level up first? Or maybe obtain some sort of class?' Mathew thought.

His experiences from his past walkthrough of the apocalypse made the young man certain about one fact above anything else.

The greatest weapons humans had in this apocalypse, their greatest tool for survival, was the system.

And understanding the system was the very prerequisite to using it properly!

"When will you know?" the officer pressed the topic, clearly unwilling to just let it pass.

"What makes you think that I know?" Mathew replied in an instant, only to shake his head a moment later. "I just hope it will happen sooner than later," he added, raising from his knees.

Mathew then threw one last look at the girl before turning around and approaching the stairs.

For a moment, Mathew looked down at the level below, only to then take a glance into the corner of his vision.

Just like he expected, all three of the clocks disappeared the second their purpose was fulfilled. As such, for the first time since he came back to life, Mathew had nothing leading him.

'Juding by how long has passed since the apocalypse started, everything should be settled by now,' he thought.

Mathew then swallowed his saliva before turning back and looking at the officer.

"Detonate," he ordered, taking a step back to watch the fireworks.

For a moment, the officer hesitated. And then, he silently nodded his head, confirming the validity of Mathew's order.

And then, just like Mathew wished, one of the policemen pressed the trigger, demolishing the structural support of the stairs. And after a muted 'bang', the concrete stairs crumbled to the floor below, cutting the main logistical artery that connected the topmost floor with the rest of the school.

"Right now, there are only two other paths that zombies can take," Mathew reminded everyone of the fact he brought up earlier. "Once you guys secure them, we should be safe for now."