Chapter 24: Another Reward: A Title

After a brief rest, Ao Xin and his companion entered the dilapidated Taoist temple to investigate.

At the entrance, the bald man they had first encountered lay dead, caught in the aftermath of the battle. Inside the temple, broken statues, overturned utensils, and shattered remains were strewn about. These corpses were far too mutilated to ever transform into zombies.

The rear hall, once the living quarters of the old Taoist priest, was the only part of the complex that remained intact when the main hall collapsed. The room was stacked with various daily supplies and a few floor mats.

"It should be safe here. Let's rest here for the night."

Ao Xin drove the armored vehicle to the entrance, blocking the gate to prevent any outsiders or zombies from entering. In the backyard, there was a water well; he tested it and found it still functional. Staying on guard outside, he let Ao Chen take a bath using the well water.

Having been on the road for many days, although they had plenty of food and water, a bath remained a luxury. The water treatment plants had long since shut down, the tap water system was no longer operational, and there were certainly no places to wash up on the road. Ao Xin, having experienced the apocalypse in his previous life, was indifferent to such things, but Ao Chen, a young girl who cherished cleanliness, had found it unbearable. Now that she finally had a well, she was naturally overjoyed.

Ao Xin pulled up a stool and sat outside the courtyard, gazing up at the night sky. Suddenly, a thought stirred within him, and his consciousness entered the God-Given Space.

As soon as he arrived, he heard that grand and majestic voice once again:

"Because you are the first to slay a star-rated zombie, you will receive a reward."

"Furthermore, because you killed a star-rated zombie within ten days of the apocalypse's beginning, the reward grade has been elevated!"

"And because you directly killed a two-star zombie—a jiangshi—the reward grade has been elevated again! Please select one of the following three titles!"

"Titles?"

Ao Xin’s spirit was jolted. Much like the talents he chose at the beginning, titles were extremely rare and hard to come by. At the very least, in his previous life, despite his long efforts, he had never obtained a single title!

He quickly looked ahead. Just as before, three options appeared before his eyes:

Title 1 [Zombie Slayer]: Damage dealt to zombies is permanently doubled!

Title 2 [Bounty Hunter]: Points earned from killing zombies are permanently doubled!

Title 3 [God-Given Member]: Become a distinguished member of the God-Given Space. You will receive one opportunity to exchange items at a 90% discount, and all your future exchanges in the God-Given Space will enjoy a 20% discount!

Oh! My god!

All three titles were incredibly tempting!

Killing faster and earning more—comparatively, killing faster was arguably better, as faster kills naturally lead to higher earnings and the possibility of challenging even stronger zombies.

However, neither of those compared to Title 3!

God-Given Member!

One 90% discount opportunity and a permanent 20% discount privilege!

The two unique exchange items—the Invisible Black Bloodline Factor and the Demon Fruit Side-Effect Eliminating Potion—both cost 100 million points. With the 90% discount, he could acquire one for just 10 million points! Moreover, with a 20% discount on all items, he could easily act as a middleman to rake in massive amounts of points!

Without hesitation, he chose 3 [God-Given Member]!

He checked his personal panel:

Name: Ao Xin
Talent: Haki Genius
Title: God-Given Member
Devil Fruit: Fish-Fish Fruit: Azure Dragon Form
Realm: Body Tempering - Copper Skin
Combat Skills: None
Equipment: Thunder Ancestor Whip (Pseudo)
Points: 9655

...

Huh?

He suddenly noticed something in the equipment section!

Thunder Ancestor Whip?

He looked at the bamboo-jointed steel whip beside him; it was the object held by the statue of the Thunder Ancestor enshrined in the temple. But it was just a common object, so how could it be counted as equipment? And there was a "pseudo" tag attached to it! His previous baseball bat, which had helped him kill so many zombies, hadn't been treated as equipment.

He placed the bamboo-jointed whip on his lap and studied it carefully. Why was this item so special? It was covered in rust, surely having endured countless years, perhaps once worshipped by thousands. It had eighteen sections, each engraved with Taoist runes he couldn't decipher.

After a long while, he still couldn't see anything particularly special about it. However, it had indeed felt very natural to use when he struck that jiangshi old Taoist. That old priest must have been the abbot of this temple, who had been infected by the zombie virus due to his frail, elderly state. That was his conclusion.

He wondered how that old priest had managed to evolve into a two-star zombie—a jiangshi—in such a remote place.

His points were nearing ten thousand. This was despite the fact that he had already spent quite a lot on food for his parents and others, and on a blade for his sister; otherwise, his points would have already surpassed ten thousand. Currently, many people hadn't even earned a single point, yet he had already accumulated over ten thousand. It was nothing short of a miracle—a miracle that belonged only to a reborn soul.

"Should I have Ao Chen's fruit identified?"

He stroked his chin, pondering. The identification fee for a Devil Fruit was one thousand points, which didn't seem like much to him. But there was no rush; the fruit wasn't needed right now. He could wait until he returned.

After a while, Ao Chen's voice drifted from the courtyard: "Brother! I'm done washing! You can come in now!"

In the old priest's bedroom, Ao Chen had laid out her bedding on the priest’s bed and sat down, stretching. Being able to take a nice bath and change into clean clothes in the apocalypse was a tremendous blessing!

After Ao Xin entered, he also drew water from the well to wash himself. Once finished, flames erupted from his body, instantly drying his soaked skin. He walked into the room and laid out a mat on the floor to sleep.

He entered the God-Given Space again, this time accessing the family group chat he had created.

"Mom, Dad, don't worry. Little Chen and I are both doing well."

After reassuring his parents, he asked about the current situation at home. With the large amount of food and purified water he had prepared in advance, there was no need to worry about the family's survival.

A major incident had occurred at home today. The Chen father and son from upstairs had learned that their family had stored grain and came to borrow some. At the time, only his mother and Liu Xiyao were home, while his father and Meng Kui were downstairs fighting zombies. His mother had kindly intended to give them some, but when the father and son saw the room full of supplies, their eyes turned greedy. Coveting Liu Xiyao's beauty, the two had actually tried to kill his mother to seize the supplies and the woman!

Fortunately, Liu Xiyao had remained vigilant. Having practiced Haki, even though she hadn't awakened it, her physical fitness had been greatly enhanced. She killed them both when they attacked. His mother had been terrified at the time; although she had killed a few zombies, it was her first time witnessing a murder.

Upon hearing this, Ao Xin felt a surge of anger, but since the two were already dead by Liu Xiyao's hand, he let it go.

"Mom, it's the apocalypse now. You must never be soft-hearted like before. We don't know when this will end, and we barely have enough for ourselves—how can we afford to give to others? Besides, wealth stirs the heart. In an apocalypse where order no longer exists, taking what you want is the fastest way to survive!"