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As the prompt appeared, Jin had already noticed the changes in the Summon's corpse.
The pair of enormous, fierce palms gradually turned a dark red after the fusion was complete. The fingernails became pitch black and began to visibly extend and deform.
A few breaths passed, and the large palms had transformed into claw‑like shapes, with sharp fingernails about four inches long that were black and sharp, clashing against each other with a metallic clang as if they were several sharp blades interlocking.
The fingernails were metallic and extremely hard and sharp.
Jin turned his gaze to a piece of wood, thought for a moment, and the Summon's sharp claw directly grabbed it. The wood was mostly severed in an instant, more effective than a typical chopping knife.
"The sharpness is very high; this claw will be very effective against the Zombies," he said.
He was very satisfied with the strength of the claw, which meant his Summon had acquired a handy new weapon.
No, more accurately, it was a skill.
[Summon: Zombie]
[Rank: First Order (Low)]
[Skills: Claw (LV1)]
[Fusion: Common Metal (LV1, 0%)]
The claw was a skill, so when not needed, the Summon could completely retract it. It was a bit reminiscent of Wolverine.
It wasn't about playing possum, but if wanting to ambush someone, skills were indeed more useful than bare hands.
With this fusion complete, Jin also gained a reinforcement of strength; his body was strengthened a bit more, about equivalent to more than double that of an ordinary person.
"Fusion materials can increase overall strength, and completing a fusion now appears to evolve skills, also introducing an LV1 level indicator. This means further fusion is possible," he said.
Jin contemplated his abilities; since Common Metal fusion had reached an LV1 level, testing other materials in the short term wouldn't be as clear‑cut as Common Metal.
With this thought in mind, he went straight to the kitchen and took out two knives.
The kitchen knives were communal; one was a cleaver, and the other was also a cleaver, only differing in thickness and weight, used for chopping bones and slicing meat, respectively.
He kept the bone‑chopping cleaver for himself. Even though he had the Summon, he also needed to have defensive means. Thus, he required weapons.
The other thinner cleaver, he placed in front of the Summon, ordering it to grasp it.
As he expected, a fusion prompt appeared.
[Common Metal material detected. Proceed with fusion?]
"Proceed with the fusion," Jin commanded.
The flesh writhed and slowly enveloped the blade, continuously devouring and fusing the metal substance, quickly leaving only the plastic handle discarded on the ground.
"Common Metal LV1 0.5%… does it require more now?" he mused.
The fusion was successful, but the fusion degree had increased differently; however, this was still within his expectations, since there had been a change.
There was no longer enough metal in the room for the Summon to devour, and food was also scarce. The only real option Jin faced was to search for supplies.
"Neither Mike's Convenience nor Westside Supermarket are within the residential complex, and with the fog like this outside, it's very dangerous. It looks like I have to search the building first," he reasoned.
Jin, holding a cleaver, found a sturdy backpack in his room and prepared to head out.
He lived on the seventh floor of building 10. The floor layout was two elevators for six apartments, meaning there were six households per floor.
The population wasn't dense on a single floor, so even if some turned into Zombies, it wouldn't be too many.
Prepared, he moved the sofa blocking the main door aside.
The hallway was dimly lit. Ever since the appearance of the great Eye, it seemed the city's electricity and signals were problematic, so the lights in the hallway were off.
If it hadn't been daytime, barely pierced by some faint light from somewhere, it would have been pitch dark.
Since Jin's room was the last one on the seventh floor, he wasn't worried about monsters suddenly appearing from behind. He placed the Summon at the front and followed closely behind with the cleaver in hand.
Creak… creak… creak…
Sudden faint chewing noises arose. Jin tensed up, clutching the cleaver tightly. He peeked down the hallway from behind the Summon to see a hunched figure squatting on the ground, shaking slightly, its deformed arm continuously grabbing something in front of it.
The chewing noise came from it, and with each lift of its arm, a dripping sound followed.
Suddenly, the figure paused in its movement, sensing something and slowly turned around. Its pale, creepy eyes emitted an eerie chill.
Jin finally saw it clearly. Its hair was sparse, its expression ferocious, and its mouth full of sharp teeth—it was unmistakably a Zombie.
It charged fiercely, moving on all fours like a speeding beast, heading straight for Jin.
The corridor wasn't very long, just over a hundred feet. In less than a couple of breaths, it had already reached him.
The Zombie leaped high, aiming directly for Jin's Summon, the stench of blood already overwhelming.
Apparently, Zombies instinctively could differentiate between a Summon and their own kind, making their assault even more ferocious.
Bang.
The Summon swung fiercely, lunging out and pressing the Zombie against the ground.
The Zombie struggled incessantly, its claws scraping against the Summon, leaving behind faint scratches.
However, its size was not large, only about five feet two inches, more like a child transformed into a Zombie.
In terms of strength, it was no match for the now‑enhanced Summon. At this moment, the Summon's fingernails turned pitch black, extending into sharp, knife‑like nails.
A squelching noise echoed as they pierced directly into the Zombie's head, then a fierce clawing followed, mangling its brain and silencing it completely.
After controlling the Summon to kill a Zombie, Jin directed his gaze to the end of the corridor, where something lay in a lump, vaguely humanoid.
He tossed the small Zombie's body to one side and, under the protection of the Summon, approached the end of the corridor.
The security door at the end was not closed; it was stained with large patches of blood and flesh chunks. A bloody figure lay in front of the door, a woman with her chest and abdomen hollowed out.
Although he was prepared for the apocalypse, the sight of such a bloody scene right before him and the strong smell of blood filling every corner still made Jin feel uncomfortable, his face turning slightly pale.
However, after a slight enhancement of his body, he didn't feel nauseous enough to vomit.
"Rest in peace."
He whispered, then stepped over the corpse, pushed open the security door, and walked in. The entryway was in disarray, items fallen on the ground on both sides, and the smell of blood was also pervasive in this room.
He looked towards the living room connected to the entryway, where another male corpse lay, its neck savagely bitten, although the body hadn't been torn apart, with a pool of blood surrounding it.
"The whole family went together, what a pity."
Jin sighed; he had already guessed what happened—it must have been a family of three.
The mutated one was the child, while both parents had received the Crimson Book.
When mutations occur suddenly, few can react in time, not to mention that the mutant was a loved one.
If it weren't for that room door, he himself wasn't sure he could handle a roommate who had turned into a Zombie.
And this situation, when faced with a loved one, was even harder, with very few able to act decisively and without hesitation.
The family of three must have been the same.
The dad tried to hold off the child who had turned into a Zombie, allowing the mom to run for help, but in the end, none of them escaped, they all died.
He approached the corpse, then pulled a blood‑stained blanket off the sofa, covering the man's body.
If he struggled, the man might have been able to restrain the Zombie, but he didn't.
"A family of three should have a bit more food left."
Jin had the Summon open all the doors of the rooms—the master bedroom, guest bedroom, and children's room, including the two bathrooms—wary of any other monsters.
After eliminating risks, he started scavenging for supplies, starting with the kitchen.
Pots, pans, spatulas, including the metal materials in the exhaust hood and dishwasher, Jin had the Summon begin fusion.
In the fridge and cabinets, there indeed were food stores: a twenty‑kilogram bag of rice with about eleven or twelve kilograms left, a large piece of beef, pork bones, and a bunch of greens.
He stored the food securely in his backpack and, while the Summon was still fusing with the metal, continued searching the apartment for other useful items.
The living room's furniture was made of wood and had no metal for the Summon to fuse with, but in the storage cabinet, there was a fishing rod which seemed quite expensive, probably a professional fisherman's gear.
If it were a typical apocalypse, it might still be useful for fishing, but now with the fog so thick, it's unknown what might bite the bait.
Only heaven knows whether it's people fishing or monsters fishing for people.
He didn't take the fishing rod, but Jin did take a large bundle of fishing line, not knowing what it would be used for yet, but thread would always have its uses eventually.
Arriving in the master bedroom, he rummaged through the room, and upon pulling open a small drawer, his eyes lit up: "Home medicine kit, good awareness."
Inside the small drawer were medicines, standard supplies like fever and cold medications, disinfectant alcohol, iodine, and some gauze, all quite useful things.
He packed up the medicines, returned to the living room, and by then had basically scoured through the whole house. Now, Jin was just waiting for the Summon to finish fusing with the metal.
The flesh twitched, a good portion of the metal being fused into it, faster than the previous fusion with the kitchen knife.
The strength of the Summon had improved, and having successfully fused with Common Metal once before, this helped increase it a bit.
From 0.5% slowly growing to 2%, 5%… Jin waited another hour; finally, the fusion degree grew to the 15% mark.
"Last time it fused just a few dozen kilograms, and now the same amount only increased it by 15%. The demand really isn't small."
The percentage isn't completely proportional; the more it progresses, the more it demands. Looking at it now, the second fusion needs several hundred pounds at least.
"If it gets too difficult, I'll just target the elevator."
Slowly fusing the elevator wasn't a wise choice; it meant he had to spend more time in the hallway.
Although he had grown stronger, he wasn't Superman, and getting attacked by a Zombie could kill him.
Jin, followed by the Summon, headed towards the second room, its sharp metal claws easily piercing the thin iron of the security door.
The security door wasn't thick, so with enough force, the metal claws could break through.
Although it made some noise, it was still faster than slowly fusing.
Breaking in, the room was empty of both people and Zombies; the homeowner might have gone out.
Scattered everywhere were women's clothes and handbags; the kitchen was bare, with only a few packs of instant noodles.
He didn't find much in terms of supplies, but what could be used was only the dismantled metal, also a few dozen pounds.
This time, however, he didn't plan to continue fusing here, but first decided to bring the metal back to his own room.
Fusion required time, and so did his search for supplies.
Building 7 had already lost power, or perhaps the entire city hadn't fared much better.
If he continued to fuse slowly, by the time he reached the third home, it would be dark, and the hallway completely obscured.
He carried the metal back, including the dismantled security door, and headed straight back.
Then he continued exploring two more rooms. One had nothing, and the other contained two Zombies, likely an old man and an old woman, fierce‑looking and bloodthirsty.
The Summon fought with them, Jin hiding behind, and within one round, thanks to the metal claws, the Summon successfully killed them.
As time passed, Jin now stood in front of the last house, aside from his rental.
Repeating the trick, the Summon broke through the security door, pushing the door open.
Suddenly, a figure rushed over. With a clanging sound, the Summon slapped it, sending the figure flying.
"Ouch!"
A cry of pain rang out instantly—it was a person, not a Zombie.
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End of Chapter 3