"Well, if you're here to flatline me, then don't bother. These chaps here are about to do just that anyway," I remarked sardonically, feeling my eyes twitch at her introduction as my hands tightened around the badge in my pocket.

'What the hell kind of name is Flatliner, anyway? Is it because her boobs are flat?'

"I can't say that I haven't thought about doing that, but I've changed my mind about it," the woman replied as her grin turned more pronounced. "You're interesting!" she concluded as she turned around to look at the zombies.

She then effortlessly made quick work of the dozen or so undead creatures still standing, ripping them into shreds with her bare hands, and leaving me speechless at the brutality displayed by this seemingly, adorable, fragile little girl.

"So, I'm kind of curious about something," she said as she gripped the head of the last zombie, crushing into a mesh mash of red and white paste.

"You should have an extra badge on you. Why didn't you use it?" Flatliner asked as she turned to look at me again, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

'So she does know!' I felt the urge to dig a hole and crawl into it, but my limbs, unfortunately, didn't have the energy to do so. "I might have forgotten about the badges," I whispered in a barely audible tone as I turned to look at the side.

"What did you say?" Flatliner asked, with an even more confused expression on her face, causing me to repeat what just said in the same inaudible voice.

"Speak up. I don't understand what you're saying," Flatliner said with an annoyed expression on her face. "I said I forgot about the badges, okay? Are you happy now?" I exclaimed, struggling to keep a deadpan expression without burying my head in the palm of my hand.

Flatliner looked at me with a neutral expression, blinking her eyes and trying to process what I just said for several seconds, only for her to begin cackling when my words finally registered in her head.

"How the hell can you forget about something that could save your life?" Flatliner asked while wiping the tears from her eyes after barely stopping herself from laughing.

"I'm just a country pumpkin from the wasteland," I replied in an outraged tone, struggling to stop myself from blushing in embarrassment. "We don't have magical badges that give extra lives where I'm from, so give me a break!" I added, trying to justify my stupidity.

"Fine," Flatliner said with a shrug, but I could tell she was holding back her laughter. "So, what are you doing here, and why did you help me?" I asked, trying to change the subject to avoid making a fool out of myself. More than I already did, anyway.

I had no doubt in my mind that this woman standing in front of me, Flatliner, was in the same weight class as Demira or at least close to her in power, but unlike Demira, who sent chills down my spine, Flatliner seemed a lot more approachable.

I can't really explain it, but Flatliner just felt like someone who I could get along with despite all the red flags I was reading in her aura, while the only thing I felt when I looked at Demira for the first time even before I could read aura was danger.

"Oh, yeah, about that. I almost forgot," Flatliner said with a smile. "My boss told me to come and see if you're worth recruiting," she added with a shrug.

"Who exactly is your boss? And what are you trying to recruit me into, exactly?" I asked, feeling genuinely confused. "I can't tell you that right now," she replied, waving her hands dismissively.

"You'll have to survive the games first," she concluded, adding even more to my confusion. As far as I knew, there could only be one winner and survivor in the greed games, meaning that she would be dead If I survived this death game and vice versa.

Demira had also said something similar back then. The creepy redhead said she would be in contact if I survived the game. 'Do they know something I don't? What the hell is going on?' I wondered.

"I can't answer any of your questions right now, either," Flatliner said with a smile, apparently predicting what was on my mind. "Well, I have to get going now, but I'll be in touch," she added as she casually jumped into the roof of the building I was leaning on, disappearing from sight.

"Whatever, I don't have the energy or the mental capacity to think about this right now," I murmured as I crushed the badge in my hand, and my vision went dark with a familiar tugging sensation accompanied by an itchy feeling all over my wounds this time.

'The badge didn't send me somewhere far. Good.' I observed the surroundings as I regained my vision, finding myself in the middle of a street and spotting my hotel a small distance away.

I smiled as I began moving my limbs, still feeling exhausted, but all of my wounds had disappeared, meaning that I should be able to make my way back to the hotel without any trouble.

...

'System, show me the notifications I didn't read while I was fighting that weird undead.' I was currently sitting in my hotel room, devouring a tin of canned food, so I decided to check out my notifications from earlier as I had nothing better to do.

[You have unlocked the achievement: Cockroach Tenacity (Repeatable)]

[You have been rewarded 100 experience points.]

The name still pissed me off, and I'm pretty sure the system is only rewarding me with this achievement to mock my failure to remember I had a way to survive, but that could just be me overthinking things, and the EXP is nice too, so I'm not complaining.

[Bloodsport has absorbed royal undead bloodline. Unlocked ability: Dreadful Aura]

[Dreadful Aura: A corrosive Aura that harms the living while inflicting weaker undead with fear]

The new ability wasn't terribly helpful or powerful, but it wasn't bad either and would definitely come in handy, eventually.

'System, how much EXP do I currently have?' I might as well upgrade my parameters since the situation in the city seems to be getting more and more challenging with time.

[EXP: 250]

I was hoping for more, but that amount makes sense since I mostly just defeated low-rated zombies, and that royal one only rewarded me 30 EXP.

'Might as well spend it now.' I immediately opened my status screen and began upgrading.

Name: Kaden Solomon

Age: 19

Race: Human

Bloodline: None

Parameters:

Strength: E -> D

Agility: D

Endurance: D

Intelligence: E+ -> D-

Energy: D

Overall evaluation: D

I put the exp towards my strength and intelligence first because they were currently my parameters thus, requiring the least amount of EXP while leaving about 60 EXP for emergency usage.

I smiled while looking at my new parameters, but my smile quickly faltered as I remembered that hunting undead wouldn't be able to keep up with my new EXP requirement.

Other than hunting other contestants for EXP, which was dangerous for many reasons, as I could end up kicking an iron plate, or getting swarmed by groups of contestants who would ally against me out of fear for their lives, I currently had no quick way of accumulating EXP.

I sighed again, standing up with a frown as I spotted a familiar aura make its way towards the hotel.

I made my way downstairs and found a contestant wearing glasses waiting for me with a blank expression on his face as he stood in the hotel's reception.

"So you decided to come yourself this time?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "I did," the man replied with a nod, still wearing a blank expression.

"Do you understand what will happen to you if you try to fuck with me?" I asked again, focusing on the man's aura and trying to get a read on him. "I do," he answered, nodding again.

"Good, then speak and make it quick," I said with a shrug, gesturing for him to go ahead. "I want to use you as a deterrent to control this area until the first stage ends," he said in a sincere voice, and I detected no falsehood from his aura nor his expression.

"Oh yeah? And what do I get in return?" I asked with an amused smile, not minding his straightforward offer, as I had no interest in controlling this area.

"You will get a percentage of whatever supplies my group finds, and we'll make sure that no one will bother you," he offered, and I would have taken that offer if I didn't know he was willing to give more from reading his aura.

"I already have enough supplies, and I can always get more myself," I remarked while waving my hand dismissively with an unimpressed look.

The man hesitated for a second, seemingly conflicted about something, but he quickly spoke again. "I can provide a steady stream of contestants for you to kill with valid reasons so you won't have to worry about people targeting you out of fear that you'll kill them."