Chapter One: The Zombie Cleaner

Chapter One

What kind of situation was this!

Had she come to this world merely to be a janitor?

She stared at the creature lunging toward her, its gaping mouth dripping foul, blue-green water, its face twisted in a grotesque snarl, body covered in pus and blood—what did they call these things here? Ah, yes—zombies!

Gazing at the sea of zombies spread across the ground, she thought, it would have been a good idea to bring Cyril along with her! These creatures, saturated with death and said to be capable of turning a normal person into one of their own with a mere scratch, would surely pique his interest!

Hmm, should she collect a few samples to bring back?

Dodging the zombies' attacks with agility, she deftly sent her white-gold, shimmering curved blade straight to the neck of her assailant, all the while contemplating the possibilities with ease.

After advancing a distance down the ravaged street, she slipped into a building. Though the entrance was made of glass, its quality was surprisingly high, unscathed amidst the devastation—a rare sight.

Inside, zombies still roamed, but even more prevalent were the countless goods and merchandise.

This must be what they called a shopping mall!

She continued to cut down zombies, one after another. Despite the precision of her strikes, each severing a zombie’s head, when her body reached its physical limit, she still hadn’t cleared the first floor.

Retreating to a corner, she casually drew a scroll from her spatial storage and unfurled it. A curtain of light descended, separating her completely from the zombies. Those who had been excited by the scent of a living human and were swarming toward her, calmed instantly as the barrier appeared and resumed their aimless wandering.

She exhaled quietly, drank a couple of mouthfuls of water from her flask, and looked at her trembling hands, her delicate features clouded with frustration.

This body was far too weak!

After only an hour of fighting, she was already at her limit. It had been ages since she’d experienced such frailty.

To come to this world, she had enlisted the combined power of Cyril, Savitran, and Diro, finally breaking through the barriers of space and time. Even so, her own energy was depleted by more than half. She could only search for a body compatible with her spiritual power, and after much effort, she found one that matched perfectly—only to discover it was already dead. To avoid the punishment of the world’s laws, she had no choice but to forcibly possess this body and use her remaining energy to repair it, barely saving its life.

But saving it was all she could manage; she couldn’t even strengthen it!

If not for Cyril and Savitran’s warning—that the laws of this world would repel and suppress beings from other realms, and the stronger one’s power, the greater the rejection—she would not have had to resort to such measures to blend in. Her own strength was not yet enough to resist those laws on her own.

Now, she could only gradually assimilate with this body. Without a stroke of luck, it would take a long time to regain her former power.

Thankfully, Cyril and the others had given her plenty of valuable items before she left, enough to ensure her survival!

Seated within the barrier, she calmed her mind and cultivated until her strength returned. She rose once more, grasped the air with her right hand, and platinum-white energy quickly gathered, forming a shimmering curved blade. She stepped out and continued clearing the zombies from the mall.

Her movements were agile beyond compare. Even when surrounded by zombies, she could slip through their attacks like a ghost, never allowing them to touch her. Light magic had a clear dispelling effect on death energy, and blades formed from light elements cut through zombies as easily as slicing fruit.

After a busy half day, she finally cleared the entire building of zombies.

Unable to enter her spatial storage directly due to incomplete assimilation, she drew water from within, washed herself briefly, and in the women’s clothing store on the third floor, chose a set of red-and-black athletic wear. It fit well, so she stored every remaining set of the same style in her space.

She retrieved magically preserved, freshly roasted meat and enjoyed a hearty meal, followed by a crystalline fruit, and only then began to explore the mall with enthusiasm.

After possession, she inherited the memories of this body, gaining an understanding of the language and local customs of this world. However, the low degree of fusion meant those memories felt more like watching a film—there was no sense of immersion.

This world was vastly different from her own; many things were entirely foreign, stirring her curiosity. Now, with all these novel objects before her, she could hardly wait.

The first floor mainly offered gold, silver, and jewelry—apart from jade, which she had never seen before, nothing struck her as particularly rare. She quickly swept all the items into her space; they might not interest her, but others would appreciate them.

Savitran loved shiny things most of all!

If she brought these back for him, he’d be overjoyed!

On the second floor, there was a supermarket. She picked up a box of chocolate at the entrance, broke off a piece and tasted it. The rich aroma and silky texture made her eyes narrow in satisfaction. This flavor existed in her own world, but no one had ever made it so delicious.

The food in this world was truly something to look forward to!

She cleared out all the chocolate from the shelves and continued deeper into the store.

Potato chips—crisp and fragrant, delicious, she took them!

Biscuits—sweet, crunchy, with a variety of flavors, she took those too!

Beef jerky—chewy and flavorful, no need to say more, she took every last piece!

There were also all sorts of meat products, grilled fish, canned goods, sausages, instant noodles, rice crackers… She gazed at the dazzling array of foods, decided not to bother tasting them all, and simply swept everything into her space to enjoy later.

In the end, aside from the produce section’s vegetables and fruits, the frozen meats, and certain items spoiled by death energy, every edible item was taken.

With no need to pay and no competition, it was addictive to keep grabbing things. Her collecting habit got the better of her, and what began as a plan to take only essentials turned into a full sweep.

She took everything useful, half of anything that might be useful, and even items without apparent purpose, intending to make souvenirs once she returned to her own world. Some things may have been useless, but if she found them attractive, she packed them up as well.

Her space was infinite, so there was no worry of wasting room.

From the first to the fifth floor, she swept the mall clean, then looked at the half-empty building with lingering satisfaction and turned to leave without hesitation.

Soon after she left, a minibus crashed through the zombie blockade and stopped at the mall’s entrance. More than a dozen people rushed inside at top speed. They were prepared for a bloody fight, but found the interior eerily quiet and empty.

“Boss, looks like someone beat us here!” Seeing the corpses strewn across the floor and the empty counters, the answer was obvious.

“Let’s check upstairs!” The man addressed as boss, his face dark and sinister, led the way.

Though the first floor’s state suggested little of value remained upstairs, he couldn’t rest until he saw it for himself.

When they saw the empty shelves on the second floor, disappointment and anger spread among the group.

“Who the hell took everything!”

“If I ever find them, I’ll skin them alive!”

Amidst their rage, curses erupted, and many vented their fury by kicking and smashing the vacant shelves.

“To wipe out all these zombies and haul away so much, whoever did this has numbers and strength at least equal to ours. Covering their tracks wouldn’t be easy. We haven’t seen a single person on our way here—they must have already left!” The boss said grimly.

“Boss, should we pursue? With so many people and goods, they can’t move fast!” The group’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, their expressions turning vicious and bloodthirsty.

The leader didn’t rush to decide, scanning his surroundings. “A mall this size must have a warehouse. Let’s find it and see if anything’s left!”

If there were supplies, they’d stay; if not, it meant the place had either been looted multiple times, or the same group took everything. In the former case, they’d have reason to chase—every little bit counted. In the latter, they’d need to reassess their opponent’s strength. Anyone who could claim so many resources wasn’t someone their small group could afford to provoke.

After a lengthy search, they found the warehouse.

It took considerable effort to pry open the doors, but when they saw the stacks of goods inside, everyone went silent, then burst into cheers.

Even the leader’s harsh face broke into a smile. With these resources, they wouldn’t need to risk their lives scavenging for a while, and his team could even expand.

How best to exploit these resources? His eyes gleamed with calculation and ambition.