Even as a former legendary lich, when his mental power level couldn't be raised, there was no way to create more spell slots. Legendary-level arcane mastery gave him one more spell slot per level than an ordinary mage, which meant: right now, Brian Carter could cast two first-level spells and two zero-level spells each day, or five zero-level spells. Each zero-level spell consumed 1 point of mental power, each first-level spell consumed 1.5, and when Brian Carter was at full capacity, his mental power was 5.

"Now it seems that some spells that don't directly involve other creatures have a higher chance of being universally applicable in this world, such as Acid Splash, Cure Minor Wounds, and Evil Sacrifice. But those that directly affect creatures, like Hypnosis or first-level Summon Monster... I wonder what kind of creature Summon Monster would call forth in this world?" Brian Carter suddenly became interested.

"First, this first-level Summon Monster spell... hmm..." He tried to construct the spell model directly with his mental power, but as expected, he failed. "Looks like I need to analyze and reconstruct it. Completely rebuilding a first-level spell will take me at least three days."

He carefully tapped through all the spells he could currently cast: First-level spell: Evil Sacrifice (once per month). Zero-level spells: Cure Minor Wounds, Acid Splash, Improved Magic Arrow.

"Looks like I must immediately research a first-level spell as a minimum safeguard. The structure of zero-level spells is relatively simple and some can be used universally, but first-level spells are much more complex. Even a small mistake in any step will cause the entire spell to fail. There's no room for error."

As for Grace Thompson, Brian Carter's lips curled into a smile, a trace of cruelty flashing in his eyes. He strode into the bedroom where Grace Thompson was. At this moment, the girl tied to the bed had already woken up. She stared wide-eyed in terror at the approaching Brian Carter.

Outside, the barking of mutant dogs, explosions, gunfire, shouts, and screams from the crowd created utter chaos. Grace Thompson naturally heard it all. Her mouth was sealed with tape by Brian Carter, so she couldn't speak, and could only shake her head in terror.

"Tch, what are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you. Actually, I was planning to let you go with the others, but who told you to do such shameless things? So..." Brian Carter grabbed Grace Thompson, and with a swift chop to the back of her neck, she rolled her eyes and fainted.

"You'd better stay here and be my test subject... Cross-species infection, huh? If I let you go, your chances aren't good anyway... Besides, my spell scrolls are running out of ink. Maybe I can try if fresh human blood works."

※※※※

The noise outside the window gradually faded. After a rumble, the convoy slowly pulled up and stopped at the entrance of the player-type supermarket.

"Help! Save me!!"

"Over here, we're still alive, someone save us!!"

"Whoever gets me out, I'll give them five hundred thousand!! Five hundred thousand!! No! One million!!!"

……

……

Even Brian Carter hadn't expected that the arrival of the convoy would cause such a commotion. The entire neighborhood instantly became lively. Survivors, who had been quiet, suddenly appeared on every floor as if by magic, calling for help. These survivors were excited, cheering, and when they saw the convoy, it was as if they saw their saviors. Even the howls of zombies disturbed in the stairwells were completely ignored.

Brian Carter hid in his room and didn't come out. He didn't want to act with the convoy, after all, he was different from those espers—he had too many unusual secrets. As a researcher, he knew all too well the scientists' fanatical interest in studying the extraordinary.

He sat cross-legged on the storage room floor, entering a semi-meditative state. This state required twice as much time as meditation to recover, but it was just right for this environment. After all, the faster he recovered his mental power, the sooner he could start his experiments.

The cries for help outside lasted for a while, followed by dense gunfire and sharp whistling sounds, which reminded Brian Carter of the blue energy crescent that constantly spun in the hands of the man in camouflage.

Then came the ecstatic voices of the rescued residents expressing their thanks. The convoy then started up and gradually drove away, until the engine noise completely faded. The sky also darkened, the noon sunlight turning red, and the temperature began to cool.

Four hours later, Brian Carter had fully recovered his mental power. Although he still only had one first-level spell slot, he could now use Living Water Traces for auxiliary calculations for a long time.

After waking up, Brian Carter first checked around the room to make sure there were no hidden dangers, then checked the next room as well. He planned to isolate the entire fifth and sixth floors as his research base. Naturally, security had to be addressed first.

As night fell, a strong wind swept through the neighborhood, lifting light trash like paper and plastic bags left behind by the residents who evacuated in the afternoon. There was almost everything on the ground: phones, wallets, clothes, jewelry, photos... and so on.

"Roar..." Zombies emerged from every shadow, their blood-red eyes and insatiable hunger making these hunters, who dared not show themselves during the day, restlessly wander the empty floors.