Days in the Infinite

The soft sensation brought an overwhelmingly pleasant experience. As Li Ke noticed the merchant woman reacting faintly to his movements—her breathing quickening and subtle, involuntary responses surfacing—his curiosity deepened.

Her skin, while slightly rough to the touch, held an inviting suppleness. Compared to Erina's youthful grace, the mature allure of this woman, who appeared to be nearing her thirties, exuded a different kind of charm. Holding her fuller, slightly plumper frame gave him a satisfaction that starkly contrasted with Erina's more delicate figure.

At first, Li Ke merely gripped her waist, which was still slender yet carried a satisfying firmness. However, as his body sought further stimulation through contact, his hands instinctively roamed, exploring areas that amplified his sensations.

Her hips were far more pronounced than Erina's, with a firm, shapely curvature that showcased the fullness of a matured figure. Despite the evident pressures of surviving in this harsh world, this woman's body bore an enticing vitality, untouched by indulgence. His wandering fingers soon confirmed a certain... inexperience, revealing she had yet to cross certain thresholds.

Seeking more stimulation, Li Ke's hands ventured further upward. His palms explored the smooth slopes of her body until they discovered two soft, prominent mounds. Nestled between them was a faintly visible valley, glistening slightly as if dew had collected upon it. The untouched terrain intrigued him, his curiosity guiding his movements. Gently, then more firmly, his fingers traced the contours, teasing the peaks and valleys, a strange mixture of satisfaction and longing coursing through him.

However, despite the inviting allure, he found himself lamenting the lack of the sweetness he'd associated with the sight. "Such fertile soil," he murmured to himself, "yet no fruit."

Shifting focus, he pressed onward, delving into the shadowed hollow below. Here, he discovered a terrain that was warm, damp, and unexpectedly inviting. Strands of soft, moist texture clung to his fingers, a vivid contrast to the firmer structures he'd encountered earlier. Amid this hidden oasis lay a small, protruding pearl that demanded attention. Gently, his fingers explored its contours, coaxing subtle reactions from the unyielding merchant.

Unknowingly emboldened, Li Ke allowed his instincts to guide him further. His earlier resolve to maintain restraint faltered, his movements crossing a line he hadn't consciously intended. The sudden warmth and enveloping pressure that greeted him sent a shock through his entire being.

He paused, stunned by what he had just done. "I... I didn't mean to..." he muttered, a mix of guilt and undeniable satisfaction gripping him.

The depth of the sensation overwhelmed him. Despite the merchant's still, expressionless demeanor, her body's response was unmistakable—an undeniable, honest reaction. Trapped within the soft confines, Li Ke found himself at a loss, unable to withdraw due to the persistent, rhythmic pull.

"Apologies, but..." He sighed, resigning himself to the situation. There was no turning back now. Taking a deep breath, he continued, his movements growing more deliberate as he sought to navigate this uncharted territory.

The merchant's body, though silent, responded in ways that were disarmingly earnest, almost excessively so. Li Ke couldn't help but marvel. "My god…" he muttered, struggling to keep his composure.

Finally, after a brief yet intense moment, he released a deep breath and let his body relax against hers. The merchant remained unmoving, her usual smile unbroken, silently accepting everything he had to offer.

As he leaned against the counter, his gaze fell to the merchant's slightly dampened thighs. He froze, startled to find himself already stirring again, a resurgence of vigor that both amazed and unsettled him. Even during his moments with Erina, such a recovery would have required ample time and careful stimulation. Yet now, his body seemed unrelenting, as though he'd returned to the boundless energy of his youth.

Back then, however, such energy had gone to waste, as he lacked any outlet other than fleeting dreams and escapist fantasies in games.

With a sigh, Li Ke extended his fingers, intending to retrieve what he had left behind. To his dismay, the merchant's body resisted, her inner hold refusing to relinquish its newfound possession. The sensation brought to mind the image of being ensnared by a carnivorous plant—a gripping, devouring experience he hadn't anticipated.

"Damn it…" he muttered, exasperated. "This kind of thing only happens in novels."

With no alternative, Li Ke resolved himself to dive back in, hoping to coax his belongings free through further "negotiation." After all, to retrieve something from the grasp of the greedy, sacrifices often had to be made.

Once again, Li Ke experienced that enveloping sensation, as though consumed by a voracious plant. As the merchant's body tensed to its limit, he intended to withdraw, allowing what was inside to come out.

Unfortunately, what greeted him was an intense pull, making him let out a guttural groan. Clinging to his remaining rationality, Li Ke pressed down on the merchant's abdomen, and only then, with some effort, managed to extract himself. To his surprise, a small amount of what he had left behind began to flow out.

"This is just..."

Words failed him. Picking up a bottle of water, he attempted to wash away the lingering traces from her body. However, the merchant's rigid stance made it impossible to adjust her position for a thorough cleaning. Inserting the bottle directly seemed too bizarre an approach, so Li Ke resorted to patting her lightly on the hip with a resigned sigh.

"Well, that's... something."

After hastily tidying up, he dressed the merchant back in her clothes. Feeling a pang of guilt as he prepared to leave, Li Ke opened her store interface and casually purchased a bottle of honey.

"Thank you for your patronage," the merchant replied, her voice adhering to the scripted tone dictated by this world.

But something odd caught Li Ke's attention. The water stains—on her thighs and the ground beneath her—had vanished without a trace.

"...What?"

Perplexed, he hesitated briefly before stepping back across the counter. With quick, deliberate motions, he loosened her shorts again and reached into the area he had just been.

It was spotless.

Neither the traces he had left nor any residual fluids from the merchant remained. All that was left was a soft, moist, and persistently constricting sensation. It was as though nothing had ever happened.

Apart from the slightly disheveled clothes, even her body's natural alignment hadn't shifted in the slightest.

"This is... some incredibly convenient ability... Well, I suppose it's better this way."

Li Ke wasn't sure how to feel. At the very least, it saved him the trouble of cleaning up. Still, as a precaution, he pressed her abdomen lightly to confirm there was nothing left inside. Only after verifying this did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"As long as she doesn't get pregnant. Though that seems... unlikely."

He couldn't help but feel his moral boundaries slipping further. Yet, without dwelling on it, he carefully dressed the merchant once more and briskly headed toward the mission site. He had already wasted nearly an hour and couldn't afford to lose any more time.

Retrieving his own clothes from where he had left them, Li Ke sprinted, tossing the remaining scrap metal he carried into the local forge for smelting. He needed to produce iron ingots—essential building blocks for crafting.

When he reached the mission location, a familiar yellow exclamation mark hovered in the air. After confirming the mission, a large residential building materialized before him. Without hesitation, Li Ke shattered a window and leaped inside. He quickly dispatched the four or five zombies lurking in the house and began searching for the designated item: a leather briefcase.

After securing the briefcase in his inventory, Li Ke took out his trusty wrench and got to work dismantling the household appliances. Doorknobs, televisions, and fans were reduced to mechanical parts, electrical components, and scraps of plastic.

Even the beds weren't spared. From the wooden bedframes, he harvested short iron pipes, all while grumbling about the harshness of this game-like world. Once the room had been thoroughly stripped of valuable materials, Li Ke returned to the merchant's shop. He fed scrap iron, lead, and brass into the forge for further refinement, then swiftly handed in the mission.

The rewards were a skill point and some rather lackluster items: a helmet lamp module and an iron pickaxe.

Choosing the iron pickaxe—a tool he could already craft on his own—Li Ke didn't linger. Instead, he immediately accepted a new mission and dashed back out into the field.

The third mission followed a similar pattern to the previous ones, with little variation or danger. Only the final task, which involved retrieving food supplies, presented a minor twist. It required him to dig up a buried supply crate in the wilderness, which triggered a small wave of zombies upon opening.

Fortunately, the missions were straightforward, and the rewards were substantial. Notably, the food he recovered from the final mission didn't need to be handed in to complete it.

In just an hour, Li Ke had completed both remaining missions, leaving the merchant with no further tasks available.

Inspecting his rewards—a steel axe and 20 Molotov cocktails—Li Ke nodded in satisfaction.

Alongside the steel axe, there was a heat resistance module, which he skipped without hesitation. When it came to choosing between the Molotovs and 100 rounds of ammunition, however, he hesitated briefly before opting for the Molotovs.

While he was still low on bullets, what he lacked even more was a means of dealing with large hordes of zombies.

Glancing at the three accumulated skill points in his inventory, Li Ke clenched his fists, already noticing the benefits of increased stamina. Tasks that would have taken him two or three hours before now left him energized, as if he hadn't exerted himself at all.

If not for the merchant's lack of new quests, he might have pushed himself even further.

"So... should I increase my strength or continue investing in stamina?"

After some thought, he decided to allocate one point to strength as a test.

The moment the skill point was applied, a rush of warmth spread through his body. It was a sensation akin to being nourished and empowered—though perhaps "empowered" was no illusion.

Yet, as the feeling subsided, he noticed that the gratification wasn't quite as intense as when upgrading stamina. Still, he could feel the practical effects: his backpack suddenly felt significantly lighter.

"This doesn't seem right."

Li Ke suspiciously took out the iron axe he had been using earlier. After weighing it in his hand, he realized it was now lighter by at least half. He gave it a test swing and discovered that he only needed half as much effort to wield it as before.

In other words, his stamina consumption had decreased as well.

"As expected, it's no simple tool…"

Li Ke chuckled, putting the axe back into his inventory. This much was enough for now. However, no matter how much his strength increased, it still couldn't compare to that of the zombies. The most pressing concern was building fortifications. With the tools provided by the system, he didn't need excessive strength—instead, Fortitude was what mattered most.

As he prepared to allocate his attribute points, Li Ke suddenly remembered his earlier embarrassing moment. Glancing toward the female merchant, he awkwardly smiled before locking the door and barricading the windows again.

This time, instead of standing behind the female merchant, he crouched awkwardly in front of her, fumbling to remove her shorts.

He'd been curious about trying this position for some time. However, Erina, with her "God Tongue," would have likely gagged in disgust—or even vomited outright—if he had attempted it with her.

That's why Li Ke decided to experiment on the soulless female merchant.

"Feels like my morals are hitting a new low…"

Muttering to himself, Li Ke unhesitatingly allocated his remaining two attribute points to Fortitude. The next moment, a wave of intense comfort surged through him, far surpassing anything he'd felt before—almost eight times as strong. The sheer intensity made him instinctively grab the female merchant's head and press himself against her.

It was warm, soft, and wet, though there was something a bit odd about the sensation. Since the female merchant didn't actively respond, the experience wasn't as stimulating as he'd hoped; it even felt slightly strange.

Still, the overwhelming pleasure allowed him to quickly finish, leaving some of his fluids dribbling out of the merchant's nostrils.

"Forgot her tongue doesn't move… That felt mediocre," Li Ke remarked.

Even so, his inner fire wasn't entirely quenched. With lingering desire, he moved to the merchant's back, firmly gripping the "steering wheel" she had to offer. He spoke softly, his tone tinged with both gratitude and guilt.

"Sorry, but I'll have to borrow you again."

After addressing his physical needs, Li Ke returned to his mining project. This time, he was much better prepared, armed with an iron pickaxe and iron shovel that were far superior to the stone axe he'd been using earlier. Moreover, he discovered that as his strength increased, so did the damage he inflicted while mining.

The zombie corpses in the mine had already vanished. Li Ke wasn't sure if this was part of the game mechanics or something else entirely, but it was unsettling. Without dwelling on it, he focused on digging downward, preparing for two goals simultaneously.

He had no intention of digging straight to the depths. Instead, he planned to build a fortress and then construct a network of underground tunnels below it, where he would establish a shelter.

It was a risky endeavor with a tight timeline, but it was necessary. Only by doing this could he unravel the mystery of the zombie tide and understand how he had managed to survive that fateful day.

Additionally, he needed to gain enough experience to fully master this world. A proper platform for combat was essential.

Without one, life in this world would become unbearable. Even with the female merchant available to relieve his physical urges, Li Ke felt that his mental state might gradually deteriorate.

After all, he couldn't fully trust anyone else who might have been sent to this world like him. While he was familiar with characters like Tsunade and Lady Kiri, even when he approached them with honesty, they remained wary of him.

Thus, Li Ke concluded that the only person he could truly rely on was himself.

As he dug for resources, lost in thought, his pickaxe suddenly struck something with a crisp "ding!"

Startled, Li Ke quickly realized what had happened: he had hit the boundary of the store's invulnerable zone.

"Even this far down, it's still indestructible?"

Li Ke was stunned. He was already nearly ten meters below the surface, yet the area remained impervious to damage no matter how hard he tried to chip away at it.

Frowning, Li Ke didn't hesitate to dig deeper. Within moments, he had created a pit five meters wide and struck the store's walls again.

The result was the same: a crisp "ding!" and no damage whatsoever.

Clicking his tongue in frustration, Li Ke continued his excavation. On a whim, he pulled out a wooden frame and attempted to place it on the indestructible block.

He didn't have high hopes, as both he and Erina had tried placing items near the merchant before, only to find it impossible.

But this time, it was different. The wooden frame was placed with ease, as stable as if it were set on any ordinary block. Even more surprising…

The frame carried the distinctive properties of a system item.