Zombie Apocalypse: I Have Safe Zone Superpower

The shelves had rice, flour, and salt. That was all. But to Ivy, it was still something. If people wanted to cook or make their own meals, they would need these things.

Even the smallest amount of rice or flour could make a family feel full for a night. She knew that when someone was hungry, even plain food could feel like a treasure.

There was another item too, but Ivy had not put it on display yet. Cotton.

Usually, the power only gave her food, but for some reason, she had found herself with cotton. She had no idea why cotton appeared.

She sat behind the counter, staring at the small piles of food. The store looked so empty, but she still held hope.

"If I have food," she whispered to herself, "people will come. And if people come, I can grow this place step by step."

She thought about the world outside. People risked their lives killing zombies for crystals, but crystals alone could not fill an empty stomach. If she had rice, flour, and salt, they would need her.

Ivy took out a few space crystals and psychic crystals. She held them in her hands and started to absorb their energy.

While doing so, she felt something strange in her body. It was like a voice in her head was telling her that her Supply Picking Superpower was about to change.

She could not explain why she felt that way, but the feeling grew stronger the more she absorbed.

After some time, a sudden coolness spread all over her body, like cold water washing through her veins. Ivy froze.

She knew something had just shifted. Her heart beat faster, and she looked at her hands.

She could not command her power yet, but deep inside, she was sure her Supply Picking Superpower had been upgraded. She almost wanted to jump with joy.

She thought to herself, 'If it really got stronger, then tomorrow's supplies picking will be different. Maybe I will get something even more useful.'

Her face lit up with excitement, but she quickly calmed herself down. She still had work to do. Ivy went back to cultivating, focusing on building her strength.

Once she was finished, she pushed her body even further. She stretched her arms, punched the air, and trained until sweat dripped from her face.

She knew the truth of this world. If people reached level five in their respective elements, or super speed, or super strength, then they could easily defeat her.

Without defense, she would lose everything. She could not allow that. Only hard work could keep her safe.

That was why she trained every single day. She went out to fight zombies when she could and also kept up with her normal exercises. She would never allow herself to fall behind.

Far away from Ivy, Marco sat in his small room at the military base. He looked at the broken walls and the peeling paint.

His house was falling apart. His wife sat on the bed beside him.

She had gotten a little better, but her face was pale and her eyes looked tired. Marco's chest ached just looking at her.

"Let's leave this base," Marco said quietly. "This place is rotten. I don't want you to suffer here anymore."

His wife turned her head toward him. She spoke calmly, but determination was evident in her tone,

"Even if we leave, where would we go? No other base is as strong as the military base. If we go outside, we won't find food. At least here, we can use contribution points. Out there, we might starve."

She paused and looked at him seriously.

"And soon, zombie crystals will be useless. Farming isn't working. Without food, how will any base survive?"

Marco's face turned pale. Her words struck him hard. He clenched his fists and lowered his eyes.

After a long silence, he finally said, "Then I will search for a new base first. If I find one that is safe, we will move. Until then, we will stay here."

His wife nodded slowly. "That is a good plan." Then her lips trembled, and she whispered, "It is all my fault. If I wasn't so weak, you wouldn't be suffering like this."

Marco immediately shook his head. He grabbed her hands and pulled her into his arms. "No. It is not your fault. It is mine. I could not even awaken a superpower. I cannot protect you properly."

Hearing his words, his wife's eyes filled with tears. She shook her head again and again. "No. If only I had used my father's money to buy food earlier. If only I had known that the apocalypse was coming, we wouldn't have ended up like this."

Her voice broke, and she started to cry. Marco held her tighter. His heart twisted with pain. "Don't blame yourself," he said firmly. "We will get through this. We will find a way to make things better."

His wife nodded while wiping her tears, but sadness still lingered in her eyes. Marco kissed her forehead gently and promised again, "I will find a way. I won't let you live like this forever."

The next morning, Ivy woke up suddenly. Before she even realized what she was doing, her body moved on its own and she began walking toward the door.

Silas, who had just woken up as well, blinked in surprise. "Ivy? What's wrong? Where are you going?" he asked.

Ivy paused for a second. Her eyes cleared up a little, and she realized something was happening to her again.

She quickly tried to act normal. "I just remembered some work I forgot to do," she said calmly.

Then, before Silas could say anything else, she turned and continued walking, her steps steady but her eyes still a little unfocused.

Silas frowned and followed behind her. The look on her face worried him. It was as if she was trapped in a dream.

He didn't say anything else, but he kept close in case something happened.