The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Su Mu frowned.

To be honest, flying is indeed a great ability. If used properly, it can be incredibly useful in many situations, such as reconnaissance, exploration, luring enemies, and evacuation. But the problem is, this girl's current skill level is too low. She can't even glide steadily, let alone use it in combat.

Moreover, she cannot carry passengers. A flight capability that cannot carry passengers is of no direct help to him.

However, she said she wouldn't travel with him, but would only follow at a distance... This gave him little reason to refuse. He didn't need to be responsible for her, didn't need to wait for her, and didn't need to turn back to save her if she was in danger. Whether she followed or not made no difference to him.

Su Mu didn't say anything, turned around and continued walking forward.

Footsteps sounded again behind me. This time, the distance was a bit further than before, about twenty meters, neither too close nor too far, as if deliberately maintained.

Su Mu did not turn around.

He glanced at the map. The location of the golden treasure chest was about a kilometer away. At his current speed, it would take about twenty minutes to get there.

He quickened his pace, but began to consciously choose routes that led him towards areas with a high concentration of monsters.

It wasn't because he wanted to grind monsters... although grinding monsters does increase experience... but because he wanted to see just how determined this girl really was.

On the tree-lined path, three zombies were gnawing on something. Level one, level two, level two—not high level, but numerous enough to make up for it.

Su Mu didn't stop. He walked through the middle of three zombies, sweeping his spear left and right, and two zombies fell to the ground. The third one pounced, and he pierced its head with his spear. The whole process was smooth and fluid, and he didn't pause for a moment.

[Killed a Lv2 zombie, experience points +0.05.]

[Killed a Lv2 zombie, experience points +0.05.]

[Killed a Lv2 zombie, experience points +0.05.]

He continued walking forward.

Behind me, the sounds of battle could be heard.

Su Mu didn't turn around. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye... the girl was facing the level one zombie he had deliberately missed earlier.

is intentional.

That zombie was the lowest level, slow-moving and weak in attack. It might be stronger than an ordinary person in terms of attributes, but it wouldn't be difficult to deal with if you had a weapon.

Most importantly, the zombies' greatest weakness is infection, which is useless against talented people. He already knew this from the previous conversations on the cable, so it shouldn't be a secret to the other cable users either.

If this girl doesn't even dare to face such a monster, then she has no right to survive in the apocalypse.

The girl's performance was even more embarrassing than he had expected.

She gripped the fire axe with both hands, her whole body trembling. A zombie lunged at her, and she instinctively took a step back, nearly tripping over a tree root. A zombie's claw grazed her arm, tearing a gash in her coat.

She screamed, a soft cry, more like a startled gasp. Then, gritting her teeth, she swung the axe at the zombie.

The axe struck the zombie's shoulder, embedding itself in the bone, and couldn't be pulled out.

The zombie's claws gripped her arm, the nails tearing through her skin, and blood immediately gushed out. The girl's face paled, but she didn't let go. She kicked the zombie in the stomach, sending it flying, and at the same time pulled the axe from its shoulder.

The zombie staggered a couple of steps before lunging forward again.

This time, the girl did not back down.

She gripped the axe tightly with both hands, aimed at the zombie's head, and chopped down hard.

The axe blade cleaved into the zombie's skull with a dull cracking sound. The zombie's body stiffened for a moment, then fell straight down.

[Killed a Lv1 zombie, experience points +0.02.]

The girl was panting heavily, her hands still trembling. A long, bloody gash ran down her arm, dripping onto the ground. She glanced down at the wound, gritted her teeth, tore a piece of fabric from her coat, wrapped it around her arm, and tied a knot.

The procedure was rough, but at least the bleeding was stopped.

Then she crouched down and opened the box the zombie had dropped... a small gray box containing a piece of blackened bread and a half-full bottle of mineral water. She stuffed the items into her backpack, stood up, and glanced in Su Mu's direction.

Su Mu had already walked far away. He didn't even look back at her.

The girl's eyes dimmed for a moment, but quickly brightened again. She gripped the axe tighter, quickened her pace, and followed.

Su Mu continued forward, encountering several more waves of monsters along the way.

He still picked and chose his targets... He dealt with the higher-level ones himself, while the lower-level ones, the lone ones, and the obviously weak ones were "let go" and left for the girl behind him.

It's not that he's cold-blooded.

That's just how the world is. He can help others to the best of his ability, but he won't be someone's babysitter.

Sending a few low-level monsters was the greatest kindness he could offer. If this girl couldn't even endure that, she had no chance of survival in the future. Rather than dying at the hands of more powerful monsters, it was better to face reality now.

The sounds of battle behind me came intermittently. Sometimes it was the dull thud of an axe striking flesh, sometimes the girl's screams and gasps, and sometimes the thud of zombies falling to the ground.

Su Mu didn't turn around. But his ears were constantly picking up those sounds.

The first time, it took her half a minute to take down a zombie.

The second time, it was a bit faster.

The third time, it was even faster.

By the fifth or sixth time, she was able to take down a level one zombie in ten seconds. Although her movements were still stiff, at least she was no longer trembling.

Su Mu nodded slightly.

At the very least, this person has a talent for combat.

He would rather see more people live than see her die.

In a post-apocalyptic world, naiveté is an extremely dangerous trait, but this doesn't mean naiveté itself is a mistake.

On the contrary, Su Mu had some goodwill towards this kind of person... at least from the bottom of his heart, she was kind, it's just a pity that this world can no longer tolerate kindness.

Su Mu withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.

He neither slowed down to wait for her nor sped up to leave her behind.