With the ability to transform, I am a judge.

[Open the treasure chest (normal)?]

When I chose to open it, the treasure chest opened without a sound, without any dazzling light or colorful effects, not even a single special effect. Thumbs down!

You have opened a treasure chest (normal) and successfully obtained the following items!

[300 trading points.]

[Obtain Autumn Water (a sword-type weapon)]

Autumn Water (White)

Source: The Silence of Academy, Cold Weapon Forging Workshop

Type: Long sword weapon

Durability: 30/30

Attack power: 4-13 (adjusted based on the strength of the strike)

Equipment requirements: Can be used with 4 points of Strength; can be used flexibly with more than 6 points of Strength.

Rating: 8 (White-grade equipment has a rating of 1-10)

Effect: Cutting. During combat, there is a 13% chance to completely ignore the defense of enemies with a constitution of 15 or less.

Description: This longsword, crafted by a top-tier forging workshop, is extremely sharp after being sharpened, making it one of the best melee weapons for dealing with the undead.

Price: 1000 trading points.

The black handle and reflective blade were a real problem, especially since there was no sheath. However, Yang Li, feeling a little excited, also had a rare stroke of good luck.

"Has it been shipped?!"

This immediately solved the weapon problem, and even made Yang Li have the urge to throw away the two knives hanging on his waist. Fortunately, he managed to resist, because no matter what, they were still weapons.

In high spirits, Yang Li gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his right hand, familiarized himself with the Autumn Water, and then set off again. Five days was enough time for the mission, but he couldn't waste any time; the sooner the better.

Section 23, Chapter Twenty-Three: The Touch in Yang Li's Heart

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Touch in Yang Li's Heart

(Third update, first bonus chapter complete!)

Jumping off the second-floor balcony, Yang Li dashed up the wall and silently sprinted along it. There were many zombies below, but these mindless creatures, driven only by hearing, could never have imagined climbing a wall.

The wall, barely a foot wide, seemed like flat ground to Yang Li, and even with a long sword in his hand, his steps remained steady and swift. Moving through this place, Yang Li truly resembled a professional ninja.

Ahead lay a relatively spacious passage. Yang Li narrowed her eyes slightly, then accelerated again, rushing forward. Just before she missed a step, she stomped on the wall, transforming into a black shadow as she darted forward. Her agility of 16 points truly allowed her to do as she pleased.

With each occasional stomp and leap, Yang Li felt he had been wasting his talent, never knowing how to use this interesting ability. As the hospital wall drew closer, Yang Li's control over the ninja footwork became increasingly adept.

Using the external balcony, Yang Li easily entered the third floor of the largest hospital in the city, because according to Shizuka Kikukawa, the medical equipment should be on the fourth floor, but the balcony did not allow her to reach the fourth floor.

With silent footsteps and a sharp gaze, Yang Li's voice seemed to have no effect on the dead, so even in a place like a hospital with a high density of dead, he created an atmosphere of ease and freedom as if he were in an empty place.

If it weren't for the occasional thud of zombies hitting their heads against the wall due to loss of sight, one might even feel that everything here is a painting... a painting of hell.

After quietly observing the situation in the corridor for a while, roughly predicting the movement trajectory of each zombie, and calculating the best path, Yang Li raised an eyebrow and gripped Qiu Shui's sword hilt with one hand, letting the sword rest against his body.

Running, Yang Li leaped onto the delicate handrail of the stairwell, avoiding physical contact with the corpses lining the stairs. She felt no tension whatsoever, as if walking on a smooth, wide road, as if she were certain that nothing would happen to her.

With a single strike, Yang Li instantly killed a zombie leaning against the handrail. Blood splattered everywhere, and Yang Li used the tip of his blade to knock the zombie down, sending it tumbling down the stairs. This commotion attracted a large number of zombies hidden in the shadows, who surged towards the entrance to the third-floor staircase. Meanwhile, Yang Li had already reached the fourth floor.

The number of zombies on the fourth floor exceeded her expectations. There were also completely broken barriers at the entrance. Perhaps there were survivors who had defended the area, but unfortunately, the defenses were breached and everyone turned into zombies.

She slipped into the nearest room, only to find a zombie inside. Suddenly, she turned and met Yang Li's gaze. They confirmed it with their eyes… no, wait, at that moment, the distance between them was only about thirty centimeters.

A slight tremor ran through Yang Li, who held his breath and then slashed out with his scalpel. Just then, the combat effect 'Cut' attached to Autumn Water was triggered, and the scalpel silently severed the opponent's head, leaving an exceptionally smooth cut.

One fatal blow! Without much hesitation, Yang Li observed the room briefly and left to search for the storage room of the equipment. Soon, Yang Li found his target, and finding no undead bodies inside, he tentatively said…

Hello, is anyone home?

There was no response. Good, no one was there. Having confirmed this, Yang Li went inside and put what was written on the note into the large backpack she was carrying, which she had taken out of her 'storage space'.

There are quite a few things, and some of them need to be stored in the 'storage space,' so we need to be careful. The matter of 'Abyss Paradise' must be kept secret, and Yang Li doesn't want to be inexplicably eliminated, so he will take them out again when they are almost at Nanli Residence.

We prepared to return the way we came; after all, the equipment was already loaded, and all that was left was to find some medicine. Those things were in the next room, the medicine storage room.

She repeated the same method, and looted all the medicines she needed.

Just then, a soft sound rang out, causing Yang Li's gaze to shift slightly, for she heard Japanese! Quietly creeping over, she saw a woman in a white coat, but the blood and wounds on her body were shocking to behold.

A patch was clearly missing from her arm, and half of her clothes were stained crimson with blood, yet she still maintained her composure. She was saying something while using her dwindling strength to push against the door, as if someone else was behind it.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

She was coughing up large amounts of blood, but the woman persisted, pushing aside the clutter, trying to use it to block the door. Perhaps she was afraid that if she became undead, she would harm the being inside who was important to her.

Yang Li stepped forward. The woman's long, rose-red hair possessed an undeniable charm. She was a woman around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. If it weren't for the large chunk of flesh that had been torn from her back, she would definitely be a very beautiful woman, Yang Li's intuition told him.

As she approached, the female doctor, who had clearly lost consciousness, began to murmur, her voice reaching Yang Li's ears.

"Alice, wait a little longer, Mommy will go and fetch Daddy... Alice..."

It was as if this were a movie deliberately slowed down countless times, causing Yang Li, whose heart was filled with indifference, to tremble. Previously, she had always been using the main characters; even when she genuinely cared for them, it was always out of necessity to infiltrate their group.

But at this moment, Yang Li, who had few memories of her parents, did not choose to leave immediately because of this sudden and great maternal love. In the past, she would never have done such a superfluous thing.

The female doctor, a mother herself, glanced at the door she had sealed off, where her child remained in the room. Finally, she knelt directly before Yang Li, adopting the same submissive posture as Takashi Komuro.

"Whoa! Cough cough cough..."

The mother lost control of herself, and a pool of blood flowed from her mouth. She struggled to lift her head, and only then could Yang Li see the other woman's face clearly, as well as those beautiful pink eyes.

Now, those pink eyes were filled with pleading; the mother was on the verge of losing her mind. If it weren't for her last remaining willpower, Yang Li would definitely be facing a corpse right now.

"Do you want me to take your child away? After all, this hospital has become hell..."

Yang Li spoke softly, making sure the children in the room wouldn't hear, while the woman opposite her blinked rapidly, as if confirming her words.

With a sigh, Yang Li nodded, indicating her decision. Leaving with a child at this time was definitely not an easy task, but for the sake of this great maternal love, Yang Li accepted the request that would not benefit her at all.

In that instant, the mother's face turned ashen, but before Yang Li could retreat, she shoved her hands into her mouth. Blood spilled from the corners of her mouth; this was the mother's desperate last stand.

"I will bring Him out alive, I will definitely do it!"

Because she hadn't lost her humanity, Yang Li accepted the mother's request. This relieved the mother of all her burdens, and an exceptionally beautiful smile appeared on her face—at least in Yang Li's eyes, it was a beautiful smile, even though her face was completely covered in ashen white.

May death bring you eternal peace. You were a wonderful mother. Rest in peace.

Under the smiling gaze of the female doctor, Yang Li swung the long sword Qiu Shui in his hand, ending the other person's life with a single stroke, allowing him to die as a human being.

An unprecedented mix of emotions filled Yang Li's heart. She received a small card from the mother's tightly clenched hand; it looked like a student ID and had the words 'Ciri Alice' written on it.

"Wait, why does this name sound so familiar? I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

Section 24, Chapter Twenty-Four: BOSS Battle Triggered?

Chapter 24: BOSS Battle Triggered?

Gently closing the mother's open eyes, Yang Li pulled the body aside and hid it, not wanting the child to see the corpse.

"It's a pity there's nothing that can suppress the dead virus, otherwise this great maternal love wouldn't have been lost here. What a pity."

With these thoughts in mind, Yang Li patted her cheeks with her relatively clean hands and tried her best to put on what she thought was a very kind smile. She wasn't good at dealing with children, but for the promise she had just made, she had to do her best.

With a slight effort, Yang Li moved the clutter blocking the doorway and opened it a crack. Inside, there was another pair of pink eyes and a head of rose-red hair. The strikingly similar hair color brought a knowing smile to Yang Li's face.

"You must be Ciri Alice? I'm your mother's friend. She asked me to come here to find you."

Yang Li gently touched the timid little girl. She felt like she had heard the name 'Ciri Alice' somewhere before. Maybe it was from the original work, but unfortunately she had never read the original book.

"Um, I'm Alice, hello big sister... Where's my mother?"

"Your mother is waiting for your father here, so she asked me to take you away from here first. Let's go quickly."

The news of her mother's death was too cruel for a child who hadn't experienced much. Who could bear to tell a little girl about her mother's death?

Yang Li still has a vague memory of the pain she experienced back then. Unfortunately, time has passed, her hometown is gone, and everything about her is buried there, not even a single thing remains.

But if Yang Li hadn't told her, how could Ciri Alice have known?

Pulling Alice into the room, Yang Li closed the door behind her, because she saw that some of the undead had already come up because of the mother's movements. Opening the only window in the room, Yang Li found that it led to the small courtyard behind, with a garbage heap underneath that could be used as a buffer, filled with various round garbage bags.

With one arm around Alice, Yang Li put his index finger to his lips and shushed her, then leaped out of the open window with Qiu Shui in his arms.

"Isn't Alice afraid of heights?"

Feeling the wind whistling past his ears, Yang Li jumped from a height of nearly 10 meters. What he heard was a sound that was a little fearful but also a little excited.

"I'm scared... but aren't you scared at all, sister?"

"Of course I'm not afraid... How could someone who has been through hell be afraid of this height!"

Yang Li landed heavily on a pile of garbage bags, which cushioned his fall, allowing him to jump up easily and pull Alice close to him.

"Alice, hold on tight, it's time to run for your lives."

Tie himself and Alice together with a strong rope, Yang Li watched as the undead gradually surrounded him, and then dashed out. He leaped over the outer wall in a few steps, then kicked off the head of one of the undead, using the momentum to launch himself into a second jump.

Having successfully jumped onto a wall, Yang Li began running along it as before, passing over large swathes of corpses. Little Alice looked around curiously, finding the object under her head very comfortable, and decided that she wanted to grow up to be just like that someday.

Every now and then, Yang Li would leap through the air. His speed was astonishing, but the fact that he made no sound underfoot piqued Alice's curiosity.

"Sister, are you a ninja? That's amazing!"

"Alice is amazing too, she guessed it right away."

Looking at that upturned little head and that innocent smile, Yang Li felt as if her heart had been healed. How to put it? She really liked that pure smile and those eyes. Precisely because she had witnessed so much ugliness in humanity, Yang Li found that smile truly radiant at this moment.

"Hold on tight, we're moving to a different spot."

Yang Li navigated the city quickly, leaping over walls with effortless ease. In about 20 minutes, she reached the edge of the city.

Yang Li jumped down from another wall and quickly slipped into a small alley. Once through this alley, the other exit led to the edge of the city. The number of zombies outside the city was definitely much lower, greatly increasing the safety factor.