BXBX NOVEL Chapter 29 - The Map
Looking at the Map, Nile could only see one place that was colored in black.
It is the area where the Village Hall is located. Nile realized that the zombie inside the Village Hall might be stronger than he thought. But this zombie still did not pose that much threat to Nile.
There are 8 areas that are labeled with red. Nile noticed that one of the marked areas is the place where he killed the Level One° zombie from earlier. So there are only 7 places that have potential Level One° zombies on them.
Scattered across the map is the color orange, it was the most dominant color in the map. There are also places that have two colors labeled on them.
Just like the supermarket area. It has both the color of orange and green. It means that it has food supplies and dozens of zombies loitering around.
Scrutinizing the map. Nile suddenly got an idea.
Nile accessed the System inside his head.
\'System Map\' Nile whispered inside his head.
And with not much suspense, a map appears in his mind. Comparing it with one at the whiteboard. It looks like the map on the white board appeared to be crudely made.
The map inside his head was very detailed. It looks like a geographical map that came straight from the internet.
He could zoom in and out with a simple thought.
Zooming out, he could see the complete map of the Pangea Continent. Nile\'s current location was in the southern area of the Pangea Continent.
As Nile did not need such a map for now, he zoomed in again and the scale of the map stopped in the appropriate largeness.
On the Map, he could see a flickering gray dot. He noted that this might be him. Beside the flickering gray dot is a dark green dot. He could also see numerous dark green dots clustered together.
The dark green dot beside him should be Froilan, and the other many dark green dots are the people from earlier.
He could not see another dot that is supposed to be from Marlin and those people he is fetching from another location. Seeing this, Nile concluded that the System Map might have a limit on the distance that it could sense.
...
"Hey, are you all right?" Froilan asks while waving his hand at the level of Nile\'s eye as he sees him dozing off after glancing at the map.
"Y.yes!" Nile jolted out as he finished examining the map.
Froilan nodded, not asking questions further.
"That was all that we have gathered so far. They might not be that accurate, though. As you know, we do not have the capability to investigate further."
"It is enough. Thank you!" Nile thanked Froilan for his help and maintained his calm exterior.
But deep inside, he was rejoicing as he got another useful feature from the System.
Not long after, Clarris came towards them and said that Marlin was already back and they should come to the dinning hall to eat.
Froilan nodded towards Clarris. He then invited Nile to eat along with them.
Nile rejected at first, but Clarris and Froilan insisted. Marlin also came at the right moment of time, and along with Clarris and Froilan, they persuaded Nile to eat along with them.
"We know that you will immediately leave Nile, so that is why we are offering for you to eat with us. Besides, you can treat this as our apology from earlier." Said Marlin as he bowed to him.
"I have already gotten the information I want. That is enough as an apology," Nile protested as he really did not want to eat with them.
First, he did not want to become indebted to them. Second, he still has food supplies in his Storage Space. And third, he had the ability to search for food if he no longer had any. He could also buy food from the System if he could not fetch some food for a few days.
But Marlin still insisted. He even started saying cliche things such as.
"It was fate who brought us together. So you must eat with us, to not let fate down."
Nile eventually gives up his persistence and decides to eat with them. He plans to give Marlin and the others the gun that is in his Storage Space. As a compensation.
As he already had the sledgehammer, he would no longer need them.
Besides, their firepower could no longer affect Level One° zombies, which is what Nile had been frequently facing.
At the dinner table, he could see the other members of Marlin\'s group waiting for them.
Nile nodded his head towards them as they also made the same gesture.
The dinner table could only fit 10 people maximum, so the rest of them sit on the floor or on the extra stools at the side.
Nile is one of the people who sat at the dinner table.
Considering that they are at an apocalypse, the meal is quite sumptuous.
They have rice, egg and noodles at the table.
For Nile, this is the first time that he tasted rice in this world. He only looted those ready to eat food and those foods that have a long expiration date. This is the first time he ate cooked food since his transmigration.
After tasting the rice, Nile considered if he should also bring with him some rice from now on. He still has a sizable space on his Storage Space, anyway.
\'All right. From now on, I will also loot some rice.\' Nile decided. He also thought of buying cooking wares from the System.
While this may waste his Apocalypse Points, Nile did not think any further and hypnotized himself by thinking it is for his survival.
Nile is the first one who finishes eating as he only ate a little. He felt guilty and at the same time warmth inside him.
He felt guilty and warm, thinking that even though he is just a stranger to them from a few hours earlier; they are still kind enough to invite him over to eat. Even though they had a misunderstanding earlier, they still let go of the cautious attitude they gave him.
He on the other hand did not lower his guard even a bit, only the time when he is inspecting the System Map does he unconsciously lower his guard. Even then, Froilan also did not attack him.
Nile just felt glad they were the first survivor that he had encountered after transmigrating.
After eating, Nile\'s attitude towards them had become warmer. His guard is still up, but not as intense as before.
After all of them had finished eating, they talked amongst each other. Some of them are asking Nile some question which he responded honestly, sometimes he will twist some details to hide his secret which is the System.
Hearing Nile\'s story about his transformation from his timid self from before and the daring Nile he is now, because of hunger.
They are surprised and astonished. Surprised as they did not expect Nile to remain in his house for 2 months because of timidness. Astonished as they did not think someone could reform their attitude right away because of being famished.
Nile was like a carp leaping towards the dragon\'s gate. Transforming from the docile carp into a fierce dragon.
As their talk gets deeper and deeper, a frantic shout suddenly reaches their ear.
"Zombie attack! Zombie attack!"