Chapter 47: Level 2 Zombie Farming
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Level 2 Zombie Farming
Kim Ji-hee also looked over the items and bought what she needed.
What she bought was a warehouse forklift, the kind commonly used in logistics warehouses to lift boxes onto shelves.
The only difference was that it had a few more features: she could ride it up to retrieve items from high places, and easily drive it around the warehouse or even over to the adjacent one.
Walking around a space of about 100 pyeong (approx. 3,500 square feet) wasn't a huge issue, but having one would definitely help with carrying heavy loads. Since it only cost about 100 Coins, which wasn't too burdensome, I bought one for her.
I wanted to buy a Rare item for Kim Ji-hee as well if there was one, but nothing really caught my eye, so we wrapped up her shopping there. The rest was all mine.
One Level 3 Survival Belt for 1,000 Coins, which made me curse the moment I saw the price.
One Level 2 Vaccine. 200 Coins.
Two Level 1 Vaccines. 100 Coins.
One Rare Level 3 Dagger. 800 Coins.
One Rare Level 3 Leather Gloves. 700 Coins.
Along with various potions, I asked where the automatic doors were, and the Visiting Black Market Merchant replied:
"Just tell me the quantity of the Safe Base items you wish to purchase, and I will bring them out for you."
I bought four Safe Base automatic doors, including spares, at 50 Coins each.
I had done some solid shopping.
Coins are meant to be spent, after all.
In my case, I have plenty of other expenses besides the black market merchant, so it's always good to keep a healthy surplus. Still, spending Coins to fuel my immediate growth didn't feel like a waste.
Though, not feeling like a waste and swearing my head off at the prices are two entirely different matters.
"Thank you for the excellent trade, Host."
The merchant would stay until the end of the day.
If I needed anything else, I could just come back and buy it.
I figured I might as well leave Room 201 as a dedicated room for the merchant.
"Wow! This is so convenient!"
As soon as we finished shopping, Kim Ji-hee headed straight to the warehouse to try out the "Safe Base Warehouse Forklift (★★)" she had just acquired.
It was a decent size, moved quickly, and could lift large crates. The operator's seat could also rise up, allowing her to grab just a few items and come back down.
Even in a zombie apocalypse, being able to buy convenience with Coins is highly efficient, putting aside the psychological satisfaction.
If you can save that energy and spend it elsewhere, your overall efficiency increases by that much.
Leaving Kim Ji-hee to organize today's ration boxes, I checked my new items.
[Fang of the Millennium Viper (★★★)]
- Sharpness (★★★)
- Lightness (★★★)
- Durability (★★★) (100 / 100)
- 10% chance to inflict Poisoning (★★) on enemies cut by the dagger. (Triggers a paralysis effect for 20 seconds)
When I held the dagger and looked at its options, I couldn't help but nut.
"Ah... fuck..."
Anyone playing Zombie Apocalypse would have had the exact same reaction. A hundred out of a hundred.
Imagine you're scavenging through abandoned houses, find a dagger, pick it up, and it has stats like this?
Seriously, you could have a hands-free orgasm right then and there.
Since it was sold by a merchant, I could at least brace myself. Ah, it's finally here, I thought, just coming verbally.
That's how beautiful the options were.
It was the textbook definition of a "Rare" item.
Actually, at some point, the definition of "Rare" items had expanded to refer to any item with a special option.
Because even getting a special option was so incredibly rare, countless players couldn't find a single one even after putting hundreds of hours into the game.
Yet, in the early days, a "Rare" item meant not only did it have a special option, but it also had zero useless stats, and all its good stats had to be at least mid-tier or higher.
But item terminology is usually a matter of social consensus among players.
The bar for those original "Rare" items was so high that casual players had no hope of getting them. And as I mentioned, since getting any special option at all was hard enough, the community eventually agreed to call anything with a special option "Rare."
Hardcore Zombie Apocalypse ghosts like me gritted our teeth and opposed it, but what could we do?
In the early days, Zombie Apocalypse had a brief golden age where it absolutely dominated and put all the top-tier RPGs in their place.
But we were completely outnumbered, and once famous streamers started using the term that way, it became set in stone.
Instead, items that actually met the original criteria for "Rare" were given a more fitting title.
And that was...
"A 'Perfect' item for only 800 Coins."
Well, I had to admit there was some luck involved here.
A "Rare" option, plus all other options being highly useful and top-tier.
The requirement for a "Perfect" item had jumped from a compromised mid-tier to absolute top-tier, and this [Fang of the Millennium Viper] fit that description perfectly.
A top-tier roll means a Level 3 item gets Level 3 options. Here, both Sharpness and Lightness rolled at Level 3, along with the rare option.
The only slight disappointment was that the rare option rolled as a mid-tier, granting Level 2 Poisoning, but honestly, there was no room to complain about that.
It was common knowledge that special options usually rolled at one level below the item's grade anyway.
In other words, it was a god-tier roll.
"The stats are absolutely insane."
If I had to trade for this, how much would it even be worth?
If I ran into a black market merchant in the city and they were selling this?
I paused to think about how much I'd be willing to pay.
Its value was immeasurable.
I might have handed over every single Coin I had.
I could pass on the Level 3 belt, but never this dagger.
It was that good.
Even so, the reason this dagger was listed for only 800 Coins was probably because of the unique nature of the Visiting Black Market Merchant.
He sells at cost.
This meant he priced items based on their base value, without adding a premium for good rolls.
Otherwise, there was no way a black market merchant wouldn't know the value of these stats.
Thanks to that, I scored an incredible item.
I'd probably keep using this as my primary melee weapon until I could get my hands on a Level 4 or Level 5 weapon.
I'd have to keep an eye on the durability, but if I kept the blade well-sharpened and maintained, it would last a long time.
Besides, I could always use the Sharp Butchering Dagger for minor skirmishes.
I also picked up a new pair of leather gloves.
Upgrading from my Level 1 Leather Gloves.
[Mutant Wolf Leather Gloves (★★★)]
- Durability (★★★)
- Strength +★
A very simple yet reliable pair of gloves.
These weren't exactly "Perfect" tier.
But even among "Rare" items, they were highly sought after.
Items that flat-out boosted your stats just by wearing them were incredibly hard to come by.
Once I finished gearing up, a wave of emptiness and accomplishment washed over me at the same time.
I felt like I needed to release this energy somewhere.
After all, there was only one reason I bought all this.
"Time to do some Level 2 Zombie farming."
To reach Safe Base Level 10, I needed to gather points.
And seeing people like Oh Yoon-seop while doing business yesterday had made me realize something.
I needed to move faster and push harder.
Sure, my stats were currently far superior to those of people like Oh Yoon-seop, who had lucked into good modes.
The sheer power of Cheat Mode was at least that great.
But having high raw stats alone would only get me so far.
From an opponent's perspective, overwhelming base stats might be troublesome, but as long as a skill-like system called "Modes" existed in this world, I needed to acquire plenty of them to multiply the effectiveness of my stats.
Just look at my Mana stat—it was currently useless to me.
Thank goodness I had predated "Cat Step"; before that, whenever my Mana went up, I'd just grind it down into other stats because it was useless.
Whether I devoured other people's modes through Predation, or farmed zombies to get a good mode and level it up with points, I had to hunt and farm first.
As I was gearing up to head out, Kim Ji-hee excitedly bragged to me.
"Oppa, the response to the food we sold yesterday is amazing! There are so many comments asking when we're coming back. What should I tell them?"
"Aren't those beggar bastards just telling you to come out so they can get another look at your tits?"
"..."
It was intentional, but Kim Ji-hee had indeed gone out wearing a low-cut top that showed off her cleavage.
Joking aside, most of those guys loitering in the distance without buying anything were probably just there to ogle her.
"Tell them Saturday at 9:00 AM. Say we'll be there every week for the time being."
"Okay!"
Now, it only took about three to four days to gather the amount of food we sold yesterday.
Since we had plenty of other ingredients, selling a few more times wouldn't be an issue.
We might even recruit some new talent, and I needed to replenish our Coins since we were practically broke now.
And above all, consistently selling food was the key to triggering quests.
During the first week, everyone was clueless and cautious, so barely anyone tried to pick a fight. But once they realized I was consistently bringing out that much food, greedy bastards would start crawling out of the woodwork.
"I'm heading out to hunt."
I left the house before noon.