Su Wan was momentarily taken aback.
Rot-Walkers.
On her first day in this apocalyptic world, she had seen zombies the moment she pushed open the fire door.
It had been snowing that day, with greyish-white flakes falling from a murky sky. Those humanoid monsters with grey-white skin and clouded eyes had been trudging through the snow.
It was also on that day that she had met Ah-Hao and Ah-Lan.
Since then, she had never seen another Rot-Walker.
Even when she ventured into the Non-Safe Zone, there had been no sign of them.
She had almost forgotten that zombies even existed in this world.
Black Rat explained, “Rot-Walkers only appear on snowy days.”
“Old hunters say that when it snows, a certain substance appears in the air that stimulates the Rot-Walkers’ central nervous system, making them active.”
“Normally, Rot-Walkers stay in the Non-Safe Zone, but no one knows exactly where they hide.”
“As soon as it snows, the Rot-Walkers appear at the edge of the Ruin Zone like ghosts.”
“They wander everywhere and pounce on any living person they see!”
Su Wan noticed that when Black Rat spoke of the Rot-Walkers, there wasn't much fear on his face; instead, there was a strange sense of excitement.
“You’re not afraid?” Su Wan asked directly.
Black Rat was stunned for a moment, then grinned. “Lord, you don’t understand. For us, the appearance of Rot-Walkers isn’t entirely a bad thing.”
Su Wan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Black Rat rubbed his hands together, his eyes lighting up. “Lord, the Energy Crystal Cores in the heads of Rot-Walkers are the primary source of income for us vagrants.”
“It hasn’t snowed for nearly a month. It’s been peaceful, sure, but without Rot-Walkers, we have no income.”
Su Wan was slightly surprised.
She had always assumed that the vagrants' main income came from scavenging—rummaging through ruins for metal, parts, and relics of the Old Era to trade for money.
But according to Black Rat, the Rot-Walker cores were the real prize.
“Unranked Rot-Walkers are the most common and the easiest to deal with.” Black Rat held up a finger.
“They are slow and have dull reactions, possessing only the most basic hunting instincts. Two or three experienced vagrants working together can easily kill one.”
“The Energy Crystal Core of an Unranked Rot-Walker can be exchanged for a hundred Star Coins at the Star Coin Exchange Machine.”
“That’s enough for an ordinary vagrant to live comfortably for several days.”
Su Wan nodded; that price was indeed not low.
“But encountering a Level 1 Rot-Walker is a different story.” Black Rat’s voice grew more serious.
“The speed, strength, and reactions of a Level 1 Rot-Walker are far superior to an Unranked one. An ordinary vagrant is dead meat if they run into one; it takes an experienced hunter to take them down.”
“Of course, the price of a Level 1 core is much higher, worth five hundred Star Coins.”
Su Wan began calculating in her head.
A Level 1 core was five hundred Star Coins.
What about Level 2 or Level 3?
“Rot-Walker ranks are the same as Ability Users, from low to high, with Unranked being the lowest,” Black Rat continued.
“The Rot-Walkers seen in the Ruin Zone rarely exceed Level 3. The higher-level ones are all deep within the Non-Safe Zone.”
“Those high-rank Rot-Walkers are never seen normally; they only emerge from their hiding places when it snows.”
“Some old hunters say that high-rank Rot-Walkers possess intelligence and can control large numbers of low-rank ones.”
“If you want to hunt high-rank Rot-Walkers, you have to head into the Non-Safe Zone when it snows.”
As he spoke, Black Rat pumped himself up, his eyes filled with eager anticipation.
“Lord, you have no idea. The hunters among the tenants and some of the stronger vagrants have been stifled this past month.”
“No snow, no Rot-Walkers, no income. They’ve been scraping by every day, trading junk from the ruins for money. Everyone’s strapped for cash.”
“Now that it’s about to snow, as soon as the Rot-Walkers appear, everyone will pour out in full force.”
“Experienced hunters will lead the teams, with vagrants following in coordination to kill Rot-Walkers together—”
Black Rat’s eyes shone with terrifying intensity. “That’s a massive amount of money!”
Su Wan finally understood.
No wonder Black Rat wasn't afraid when he mentioned the Rot-Walkers; he was excited.
“Lord, Rot-Walkers are extremely sensitive to the scent of the living. As long as a scent leaks out, it will draw a huge crowd.”
Black Rat’s eyes were bright as he rubbed his hands in uncontrollable excitement. “Lord, our Terminal Station is located at the edge of the Ruin Zone, right next to the Non-Safe Zone.”
“With so many living people inside the Terminal Station building, it will definitely attract a massive horde of Rot-Walkers!”
“When that time comes, it’ll be our turn to show what we can do!”
Su Wan listened quietly and nodded slightly.
It seemed she would also have a large sum of income coming in.
Once the tenants earned money, they would naturally spend it.
Now, the most important thing was to recruit more commoners from the Outer City to the Terminal Station before the Cold Wave arrived!
Those commoners who couldn't afford the shelter fees or heating supplies were her current targets.
“Central Hub, issue an emergency mission to all tenants.”
【Command received. Please describe the mission content, Host.】
“Mission Name: Winter Summons Order.”
“Mission Content: For every new tenant successfully referred who completes the move-in process, the referrer will receive a reward of 100 Star Coins off their own next month’s rent. Rewards can be accumulated with no upper limit.”
“Mission Description: New tenants are not limited by background; they can be vagrants from the Ruin Zone or commoners from the Outer City. The referred person must fill in the referrer's tenant ID during check-in. The reward will be automatically issued to the referrer's account upon completion of the move-in procedures.”
“Mission Duration: Until the end of the Cold Wave.”
【Mission published. The Mission Board has been updated, and all tenants have been notified via their room communication devices.】
A faint smile curled at the corners of Su Wan’s mouth.
On the surface, this mission was for all tenants, but the real targets were the commoners from the Outer City who had just moved in.
Most of the vagrants from the Ruin Zone who could come had already arrived; relying on them to recruit more would have limited results.
But the commoners from the Outer City were different.
They had just come from the Outer City, and their friends, family, and neighbors were mostly still there.
They had an existing social network and a natural foundation of trust.
Once they tasted the benefits of the Terminal Station and passed the word back—
Word would spread like wildfire.
Before long, all the commoners in the Outer City would know there was a place where they could survive this Deep Winter at a very low cost.
Su Wan knew exactly how effective this tactic was.
After all, a certain listed shopping app back on Blue Star had used this exact method to go from obscurity to reaching over a billion people.
At the registration desk in the first-floor lobby.
A woman in her forties had just finished her check-in procedures, clutching a metal plate in her hand.
She looked around, not yet having recovered from her extreme shock.
When the Winter Summons Order mission was announced, she froze on the spot.
Rate on N.U.
