Rover was genuinely stunned. He never expected he could earn additional Omni Points this way.
Each Zombie only gave 3 points, but they were zombies: their numbers were massive. And more importantly, he didn't need to go outside to kill them. As long as he reclaimed their energy within 24 hours after they died, he would still receive the points.
Excitement surged inside Rover as he looked toward the rooms beside him.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The violent pounding from a neighboring room continued, and in less than a minute, the door was smashed open. Terrified screams echoed from inside.
A few minutes later, another zombie was created, joining the growing horde and continuing the hunt for the living.
"Agh!" Rover flinched backward when a zombie suddenly slammed itself against his door.
Even with the reinforced door shielding him, he couldn't help the jolt of fear. No one could stay calm when a rotten, decomposed human face suddenly appeared right in front of them.
BAM! BAM!
BAM! BAM!
Heavy blows struck the door repeatedly.
Through the invisible viewing slot, Rover saw the zombie smashing its head and entire body against the door in a frenzy. A wave of unease rose in his chest.
Even though the description stated that the Steel-Plated Wooden Door was unaffected by attacks from ordinary zombies, Rover couldn't completely shake the anxiety.
BAM! BAM!
The zombie kept pounding its head against the door. Its already-decayed flesh tore further with each impact, bits of rotten meat peeling off and dropping onto the floor.
Rover even noticed cracks forming on its skull and then…
BAM!
With a sickening impact, the zombie struck the door again and its skull shattered. He didn't need to describe the gruesome scene that followed.
Thud!
The zombie collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
Rover quickly pulled up the door's information panel, his eyes locking onto the durability value.
[Durability: 50/50]
Seeing that the door hadn't lost even a single point, he exhaled in relief.
Looking again through the viewing slot, he saw the remaining five zombies scattering: three heading downstairs, one going upstairs, and the last one attacking a room at the far end of the corridor.
Rover took a deep breath and thought: 'Open the door.'
The door opened silently. Thankfully, when it opened, it made no sound at all.
He extended his hand toward the zombie corpse on the floor and quickly commanded in his mind: 'System, use Reclaim.'
A gray ash-like wisp lifted from the zombie's body, drifted into his palm, and vanished.
What happened next shocked Rover even more.
The moment the gray wisp disappeared, the zombie's corpse turned ashen, disintegrated into countless particles, and vanished entirely without leaving even a single stain behind. As if it had never existed.
"So after being reclaimed, it disappears like this?" Rover murmured.
He steadied himself, stepped back into his room, and closed the door. Sitting down, he stared at the notification floating before him.
[Reclaimed energy from 1 zombie successfully. Omni Points +3. Current Omni Points: 69.]
Rover's face lit up with excitement.
"Not only can I earn Omni Points from sleeping, but reclaiming Zombie energy also gives points. And once reclaimed, the zombie automatically crumbles to dust, so I don't even have to clean up."
Although gaining Omni Points was great, he still couldn't fight zombies.
He had no weapon, no strength. And the zombies here were nothing like the movies: fast, powerful, extremely dangerous.
Rover opened the chat window to see the current situation. Very few people were sending messages.
Naturally — most were being attacked, struggling to survive. But a few desperate pleas still appeared:
[Room 55 – XXX]: Save me! Anyone who saves me, I'll give you 100,000 dollars.
[Room 19 – UUU]: Help me! I swear I'll repay you if we get out of this world. A villa and a BMW.
[Room 730 – NNN]: Please, there are three people in my room. The door is about to break!
[Room 811 – III]: My door is broken! Is there any empty room? Please help me!
Rover skimmed through the messages but found nothing useful except one detail: a shabby wooden door could only withstand about 5 to 10 minutes under a zombie assault.
BANG! BANG!
"Gunshots?" Rover jolted, immediately recognizing the sound.
He had never seen a real gun before, only in movies, but that noise was unmistakable. In fact, it sounded heavier and more violent than in films.
BANG!
Another gunshot rang out, making Rover increasingly uneasy.
"Some Survivor actually has a gun." He muttered, "Will this door be able to withstand bullets?"
So not everyone returned empty-handed after scavenging before the event began.
Whoever had a gun was undoubtedly the safest right now. Even if that person had no skills or advantages, having a gun meant they could defend themselves.
BANG!
Another gunshot echoed, and the zombies on the 7th floor were drawn to the noise, rushing downstairs.
"That gunshot is close. Whoever fired is probably nearby." Rover said, anxiety rising. "I hope they don't come to steal my room."
As he was lost in thought, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed through the hallway.
He frowned and looked outside, discovering many people rushing up the stairs, their bodies smeared with blood.
"Open the door! Help me!"
"Damn it! Open up!"
"Please! I'm a woman, let me in! Please… I'm begging you!"
That group banged on every closed door, yelling desperately.
No one opened. Everyone inside chose to pretend they didn't hear anything.
When the group reached Rover's room, he realized he recognized several of them. Among them was a familiar, beautiful face twisted in despair, immediately drawing his attention.
"Open the door! Wait… this is… metal?" The man pounding Rover's door suddenly noticed something strange.
Another man shouted, "Damn it! Everyone else still has those shabby wooden doors and this bastard already has a metal one? Why is the difference between people so huge?"
"Hurry, open the door!" a woman screamed. "Please, let us in! Just for an hour!"
"Yes! Let everyone in. Your metal door can definitely hold off the zombies!"
"Hey, you inside! Can't you stop being selfish? This is when humans should be helping one another!"
"Hurry! Open up! I… I'll give you ten thousand dollars! No, one hundred thousand!"
"Damn it! Break the door! If we die, we're not letting the guy inside live comfortably!"
BAM! BAM!
Rover watched them through the invisible viewing slot, a mocking smile forming on his lips.
Zombies couldn't damage this door. These people certainly couldn't.
Just as he expected, before the door even trembled, they were already exhausted.
"Enough. There's no point wasting our strength here." A bespectacled man spoke up. "Listen… I know you're afraid we'll hurt you if we enter, but I promise we won't."
"We're all humans, not animals. In times like this, we should…"
"Get lost!"
A man's irritated voice came from inside the room before he could finish.
"You…" The bespectacled man paled, then flushed red with anger.
"Rover, is that you?" A woman suddenly spoke.
Rover sighed when he saw who it was, unsure of what to do.
Yes, he knew her. Not just casually. They were fairly close.
As Rover hesitated, the woman abruptly shouted, "Rover! Don't open the door! If you let them in, they'll kill you!"
"You bitch!" The bespectacled man snapped and slapped her across the face.
SLAP!