《Trash in the Apocalypse》


 Chapter 1: Prologue

    Chapter 1: Prologue


    "It''sing! Be ready!"


    Jun shouted to his group as he watched a five-meter tall, muscr infected crash through the wall. It had a disproportioned body as both of its arms were almost reaching the ground.


    It stopped and looked around, then dashed towards a bald young man who kept talking to himself.


    "If it were anyone else, you could''ve achieved victory. me your destiny as you are fated to die underneath my feet! Drill Hammer!" the bald young man said as he punched the infected''s chest. Both of his arms became covered with a yellow aura, and his body had three wisps of yellow light circling him.


    The muscr infected smashed both of its arms unto him. A yellow barrier that appeared on top of his head blocked the attack.


    The infected''s arm fell limply, and blood sprinkled out. An extended cut appeared on its armpit.


    A man holding a katana appeared on his side. After shing the armpit a few more times, he swiftly jumped back.


    When the infected turned his attention to him, it got pierced by a spear on its other armpit.


    Before the infected could turn its head to the spear wielder, a circr metal object fell and bounced in front of its legs.


    The item caused a mini-explosion, destroying one of the infecteds legs making it kneel.


    "Roar!"


    The muscr infected growled and screamed as loud as it could, and a massive sledgehammer bashed it. It fell and got attacked continuously until its head became unrecognizable.


    Jun then put the sledgehammer inside a ck vortex that appeared beside him.


    "We did it!" A woman cheered happily.


    "Of course we did. Nothing''s impossible with this lord''s power," said the bald man.


    "Isn''t that expected since I nned for it?" the man with a katana said.


    "Is anyone injured? None? Okay~" the spear wielder said.


    "*crunch crunch...*" A man ate peanuts.


    Jun watched hispanions. He never thought he would survive with them this long, but he was happy.


    He was happy that he''s with them.


    He knelt and ced his hand on top of the enormous infected''s body.


    [Looting... 10...9...]

 Chapter 2: Jun Reyes

    Chapter 2: Jun Reyes


    Binangonan, Rizal


    "Don''t let anyone in, and ignore everyone knocking on the door! Stop standing, sit down! At this rate, your knees will give up on you before I do! Have you drank your medications yet!?" I said to my father, non-stop, while pouring water in his ss.


    My father was sitting on the corner of his bed. He kept looking down the floor as he made a slight nod. His worn-out face and sunken cheeks made him look malnourished like someone whocks sleep and nutrition.


    Despite all that, he''s actually healthy and is currently in his mid-forties. The few good points that I can see from him is that he''s always well-groomed. He regrly gets his haircut and still shaves his face.


    For some reason, he looks pitiable and weak. Even after everything that I''ve been doing to him, he still manages to smile.


    Both of his knees fully covered with bandages. It''s an injury that was caused by a colleague, who ''identally'' bumped into him when they were going home after work. He was then taken to a hospital rmended by that same colleague. The doctor there said that due to old age, my father''s bones were already fragile, which caused the kneecap to break and some other bullshit reasons easily. The police officer stationed at the hospital came and ''investigated'' the issue. The case was closed as an ''ident,'' and my father''s colleague was ''forced'' to pay the hospital bill. They gave him paid vacation and other beautiful sounding benefits; then, after a few months, thepany forced him to file his resignation, which he did. Just remembering those things pisses me off.


    "I''m heading out. There''s food on the table, just heat it if it gets cold!"


    ***


    My name is Jun Reyes, and I''m already 21 years old this year. I live with my father in this dpidated two-story house in this small town. It''s quite decent, having two side-by-side bedrooms connected with a single hallway on its second floor. There''s a simple wooden stairway going down. The first floor wasposed of a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. A simple house that looks so lifeless, having no decorations at all. Just white painted walls and some artificial flowers on a vase in the middle of the kitchen table.


    Memories from the past yed back on my mind as I walk down the stairway. I made sure the front door is locked and used the additional chain lock attached to the wall for extra security. When I turned around, I saw my reflection on the mirror.


    My round face and fierce eyebrows looked exactly like my father. I also got this medium physique from him, not too bulky and not too skinny. There''s a metallic earring on both of my ears: nothing fancy, just a small standard bead. I don''t like them, though. I just got them to annoy my father since he always tells me that having a bright and clean face will help more people approach you. My hairstyle always prioritizes annoying him rather than whether it looks good on me. My current one is a crew cut that has a star-shaped design on the right top-side. I was filled with satisfaction as I remembered how he looked at me earlier. I almost thought that he was going to curse at me.


    I drank some water in the fridge to quench my thirst then left through the backdoor. After locking the knob with my keys, I took a padlock that I always hid in a nt and locked the backdoor.


    Locking someone inside a house might be something that people might frown upon, but there''s a reason for this.


    I consider myself as someone who has a bad temper, someone rude and an asshole, but my dad is on a whole new level.


    I was not actually like this when I was young. I have lots of respect for my parents; we are a happy family of four, I''m a well-behaved child and was someone who likes to join Sunday worship groups.


    That was years ago before my father be apulsive gambler, ridden with debts, which caused his current injuries and our family''s situation right now.


    He was once a model figure for me. As a child, I always followed him wherever he goes inside the house. I watched him build a treehouse for me and my little sister in our backyard. He was a respected engineer, not just on building tall skyscrapers but other things too. Dad always told me stories about his dreams when he was a child and how he managed to achieve it. He would tell stories of how he scrapped his old toys for their parts and how he made new toys using all those parts. Inventing and building things was his hobby ever since.


    I was sixteen at that time. Some of my father''s colleagues invited him on a business trip, which he epted. My mother wasn''t impressed with the idea of him going since she had a bad feeling about those people, because those people were known for being addictive gamblers. My mother was right. When my dad came home after that trip, he always returned in the middle of the night, drunkshouting words like, ''I could have won that! My luck is so bad these days!'', and other things which finally made my mother try to convince him to stop, causing loud debates almost every night. At that time, I just covered my little sister''s ears and made sure she sleeps appropriately. She was twelve at that time.


    My mother was still trying to hold on to blind faith, that my father will wake up and finally stop hispulsive gambling. Until one day, when strange people in ck suits knocked on our doors.


    We were having lunch when I heard the knocks. My mom took a peek from the windows then told us to go upstairs. I brought my sister upstairs but stopped at the top of the stairway. My mom invited them inside and even served them refreshments. I took nces on the two guys following a bald old man. They just remained standing while the old man sat down.


    The bald, middle-aged man spoke to my mom about something which made my mom frown. I tried to listen but got noticed by the old man when my feet made some noise. He looked at my direction, and mom followed him, turning her head. Feeling embarrassed for getting caught, I ran away, pulling my sister''s hand without waiting for them to say anything. We hid in our parent''s room but didn''t close the door.


    A few minutester, we heard loud shouts downstairs, so loud that it scared my little sister. The sound of things getting shattered filled the living room, followed by a loud banging noise. I became worried about my mother, and that made me courageous enough to go out.


    The people already left our house, so I hurriedly ran down and looked outside the window. I saw the old man get inside a ck car, and then it drove off.


    My mom was still sitting in the living room, looking dazed. The house was in a mess. The table got flipped, and the snacks on top of the table littered the floor.


    There was no shouting or crying in the other room. This night became unusually quiet after getting used to my parents, arguing almost every night.


    The next day, my mom left with my little sister and never came back. After a week of crying and pestering, my dad finally told me why mom left.


    My mom decided to leave because she can''t take it anymore and so he agreed, with the condition that one of his children must stay. And I was the one left behind.


    And that''s why I hate my mother, my father, my sister, and the world.


    ***


    ng! ng! Click!


    I locked the gate with chains and padlock. After that, I then walked towards the town za, which was just a hundred meters away. Halfway there, I suddenly felt dizzy. On reflex, I closed my eyes and touched my forehead. Then I felt pain on my feet that felt like an electric shock. The electrifying feeling slowly crept to my body; then, it went into my head.


    I started tilting to the sides, so I tried standing still. I don''t know if that''s the cause, but the pain I''m feeling got raised a notch higher.


    Even with all that pain, I managed to stable my footing while gritting my teeth. When the pain lessened a bit, I decided to open both of my eyes.


    Standing perfectly still was already painful, causing some shocks on some parts of my body.


    But when I opened my eyes, I felt a pain that was on a whole new level!


    The electric feeling that was crawling in my whole body gathered in my eyes.


    The feeling that it gave was like getting pricked by a sharpened pencil right in the middle of your eye, twisting it, then pulling it out. That process kept on repeating until I vomited dark blood.


    It made me kneel on the roadside, which made me move and raised the body pain I''m receiving immediately.


    After all that happened, I felt that I couldn''t move.


    And I don''t want to move.


    The pain in my eyes made my body involuntarily twitch. As I can''t open my eyes, and my world became filled with darkness, a vivid image of what I saw kept on shing in my mind.


    I''m pretty sure that on my left side is a local bank. But the logo I saw clearly says, ''World Loading...''

 Chapter 3: Game World

    Chapter 3: Game World


    8:21 AM


    "Ughh..."


    Jun woke up facing towards the ss door of the bank. The pain was gone, and he can finally move his body. As he stood up, he can''t help himself but look at the bank''s logo. Producers Bank.


    ''Am I just hallucinating?'' Jun thought to himself.


    He can see people inside the bank unconsciously lying t on the floor. One of them was bleeding in the head; maybe he fell headfirst.


    He immediately checked his body for any injuries. Luckily, he didn''t get anything major, just a simple after-headache and bloodstains on his clothes.


    Jun started looking around. Towards his left, a motorcycle crashed into a tricycle, and both of the drivers were unconscious. A canteen one block ahead got rammed by a car. The canteens staff stood up one-by-one while clutching their heads.


    He looked towards the distance. He could only shake his head after taking a full turn from his spot. The only word to describe this scene was chaos.


    While taking his full turn, a passenger jeepney crashed into a construction site after trying to avoid a food cart in the middle of the road. It went through its walls then flipped upside down, blocking the entrance of the local cemetery. The ear-piercing shrieks of its passengers couldn''t mask the loud boom of the crash while the food carts owner was hanging from the top of the motorcycle, unconscious.


    "Help me!"


    Jun turned his head after hearing someone yelling. Since he wasn''t able to see anyone, he had to walk a few steps forward.


    A guy that looked like seventeen to eighteen years old was sitting inside a car, stuck at the driver''s seat. He has fair colored skin and a two-by-three haircut.


    The car crashed into an electric pole. Between the car''s bumper and the pole is a girl in her teens, wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts.


    From his angle, he can see her head bleeding. The back of her head is somewhat caved-in while her upper body is perfectly intact. Her lower body is not that unfortunate. Her thighs got squished, including everything below her knees except her dangling feet. The open wound on her knees made the blood continue dripping, showing some reddish-pink flesh and white bone.


    An average person would probably have puked or be disgusted seeing a caved-in head, blood, flesh, and some bones. Well, Jun''s someone who has done and seen things.


    It all started when his mother left home. He hated her for leaving him behind and hated his father for forcing her to go.


    He started to rebel and joined local gangs, wasting his youth.


    He decided to drop out of school and never told his father about it.


    He started hating the allowance money that he always receives from his father.


    So, he asked the people he called ''friends'' how to earn money. They taught him how easy it was by merely mugging people. He started from kids smaller than him, then made his way up the age bracket. Those days were fun, having ''friends'' and a group that has your back. Well, the not-so-good part about it would be when people start to backstab you. BUT! That''s another day''s story.


    Jun opened the car''s passenger seat then satfortably inside. He started searching the glove box for anything important. ''Nothing, nothing, aha! A pack of cigars! Jackpot! This thing''s pretty expensive these days! Nothing best than free stuff.'' He took it then shove it in his pockets, crumpling the pack in the process.


    "What are you doing?" the guy asked while staring at Jun.


    "Taking payments. Can''t you see that? I can''t help you for free, you know. Why are you looking at me like that? Do you want my help or not? It''s just a pack. You should be happy that I didn''t take your money. Why? Do you have lots of money?" Jun asked with a soft inquisitive tone.


    Seeing that the guy won''t answer, he ignored his gaze and took a simple nce on his legs.


    "Mm-no. Can''t take that off. That leg is stuck there, and you can wait for professionals, or you want me to amputate that, which is idiotic since you can just call a hospital or the police. See you next time, brat!"


    "Wait, wait, wait! Hold on!"


    "What?" Jun replied irritatedly.


    "Don''t leave me here, sir. Just try it! Just once! Please! I paid you! You took the payment! Help me! Plea"


    "Okay, okay, just shut up! Why did I even said anything about payments. I could have just taken it for free. Haa..." Jun grumbled to himself as he made his way on to the driver''s side.


    He opened the car door and was reminded


    "Wait here," Jun told him as he went towards the bank.


    He noticed a grandma lying on the floor, being surrounded by the bank''s employees.


    A female employee was trying to wake the grandma by tapping her cheeks and massaging her forehead, while the others were helping other clients.


    Most of the people were already awake, some were clutching there head, and some were leaning on walls. The one that Jun saw earlier with a bleeding head was already bandaged but still unconscious.


    In a corner, two middle-aged women started to gossip to pass some time.


    "What do you think happened to that grandma?"


    "I don''t know. I guess the grandma just got too dizzy earlier, or maybe it''s just because of old age."


    "I see... Oh, she''s awake, look!"


    Jun overheard them talking while looking for the guard on duty. Naturally, he turned his head to look at the grandma.


    She had lots of wrinkles in her forehead, and her body was so thin. The employee who was tapping the grandma on her cheeks was now showing a wide smile.


    While everyone was merry, Jun saw the guarde down from the second floor. He had a robust body and the regr hair cuts that most guard has a clean crew cut, just like Jun''s hairstyle without the star-patterned design on the sides.


    Jun exined the situation outside, and the guard agreed to help.


    ***


    "What do you think? Can we pull him out?" Jun asked the guard as they stood beside the car.


    "Let''s talk to him first. Hi, I''m Pablo. What''s your name?" replied the guard.


    "Jake, my name is Jake. Can you please help me? Please..."


    "We''ll get you out in no time. Just calm down and take deep breathes. Can you move your legs?" Pablo asked, which Jake eagerly answered.


    "Yes! Yes, I can. But I can''t feel my left leg..." he started speaking cheerfully, but his voice trailed off in the end.


    "Okay! Let''s just try it once. And we''ll think of other optionster if we really can''t." Jun proposed impatiently. He was supposed to be mugging people right now. Wait, no, that''s wrong. It should be earning money from side gigs. Yeah, that''s right, that sounds better.


    On their first attempt on pulling Jake out, he started shouting and even cried for her mother. On the second try, he started wailing. On the third, he just sobbed with his hands covering his mouth, dry tears already on the sides of his eyes. They got him out on the fourth attempt, which should have been a happy asion, but Jake was unconscious, and his legs were a bit... Let''s just say they don''t look pretty.


    Pablo wanted to stop on the second attempt and suggested that they should try something else, but Jun insisted on just pulling him out only because this is taking too much of his time!


    They slowly put him down on the asphalt road. Pablo ripped the pants on the wounded section then started applying some first aid.


    A momentter, a loud shriek came from the bank. Jun stood up and turned his head while Pablo just turned his head. He then hurriedly bandaged the wound and ran back to the bank.


    Since Jun felt like he''d done an excellent job of helping him, he decided to search the backseat, which took less than a second since there''s nothing there. There''s still the car trunk, though. But before that, he first looked around and surveyed the surrounding.


    It''s still early in the morning, and most of the major establishments in the area are closed. Only the entangled vehicles on the road and a few curious people were wandering outside. There were even some good-hearted ones that helped with assisting injured individuals.


    When he was sure that no one was paying attention, he crouched down and was going to search Jake''s pockets when he noticed something floating from the bandaged wound.


    It was a circr green-colored plus icon.


    He became confused about what this floating icon is. Somehow, it seemed familiar. He got curious and tried grabbing it, but his hand just passed through.


    He then tried tapping the icon, but nothing happened.


    When Jun rested his hand on top of the bandage, something finally happened. The green-cross expanded, and a screen interface appeared. He removed his hands from the bandaged wound, and the screen immediately disappeared, reced by a floating green-cross.


    "Wow... what the heck is this?" Jun said in muffled breaths. ''So I''m actually not crazy. I see these strange things because these strange things are real!


    Like this pack of cigarettes. It has a gray question mark icon in the middle of the package.''


    With his sanity proven, he ced his hand on top of the bandaged wound, and the screen appeared again.


    This time, Jun examined the contents on the screen.


    [Left Leg - Badly Injured](Bandaged)


    [Description] The injury will heal naturally after six days and 23 hours.


    - The user is unable to run.


    - Reduced walking speed.


    - After healing, apply permanent debuff ''Leg Trauma.''


    [Leg Trauma]


    - A state where the leg is not working efficiently, +5% slow


    - A doctor can cure this through rehab

 Chapter 4: Trash

    Chapter 4: Trash


    Jun felt shocked by this discovery.


    On the screen, aplete detail regarding the state of the leg''s injury was disyed. The more shocking thing was that the side-effects and the amount of time for the leg to heal fully was listed. There''s even additional information contained on it.


    Jun started wondering why these incredible things are happening and why he can see these floating icons. He went back through his memories, and the only strange thing that happened was the sudden headache and the word that he saw on the logo! Jun swiftly looked up. What he saw made him gulp, the hair on his body all went up instantly. The back of his shirt changed color due to sweat.


    ''World Loading... Finished.''


    ''Initializing...''


    "Holy! This sh*t is real!" Jun said as he stood up. He realized that the world changed and that it''s vital that he understands this now.


    He just doesn''t know what it means and what he should do. Should he yell on the streets that the world changed or post on social media? Wouldn''t that make people see him as someone crazy?


    Well, it''s not like people don''t think him as crazy, he has lot''s of ''side gigs'' after all, but that would be differentpared to someone shouting things like ''the doomsday is near.''


    Jun was staring at the bank''s logo when ck sparks appeared on its corners. ck lightning crawled on the logo''s surface, which covered it whole then vanished in thin air. It didn''t even take a second for the entire scene to happen.


    He heard a moan below that woke him from his trance. He saw Jake squinting his eyes as he regained consciousness.


    "Hey there, man. You''re awake. I guess I''m done with my job here, right?" Jun waved his hands as he walked in the direction of the canteen.


    "You can at least help me stand, right?" Jake said as he forced himself to sit. It took him a few seconds before he could even lean on the car.


    "Not going to happen! You''re big enough to stand on your own. Besides, you only got a small scratch. You''ll be fine after a week of rest."


    "Asshole..." Jake mumbled as he made his way into the driver''s seat. He sat facing outside, then took his phone on the car''s dashboard, then called someone. His eyes were nervously staring at the corpse lying on the car''s hood.


    ***


    The first thing Jun noticed when he arrived in front of the canteen was a car that crashed on one of its pirs. A woman with flowing ck hair, wearing a red tube was showing the world how ''passionate'' she can be as she kissed the man on the driver''s seat.


    "Way to go! Go on, don''t mind me. I''m just here for my free lunch." Jun said in passing as he tried to ignore them. He halted and turned his head in the car''s direction before he could take a single step inside the canteen.


    The woman who was passionately kissing her partner was now looking at him. The color of her eyes was yellow, making her look unique.


    The only thing that''s seemed out-of-ce was the red liquid on her mouth that made too much contrast on her white face, and the meat that she was chewing that still has blood dripping from it.


    As he turned his attention to the man, he saw an area with lots of missing flesh. A considerable part of his cheeks was missing, and a ck web-like pattern was slowly spreading on his cheeks skin.


    The world seemed to slow down.


    Jun took a few steps back and was now at the center of the intersection.


    In front of him was the road where the passionate girl''s car and the massive traffic jam happened.


    The cars, motorcycles, and tricycles were blocking the road after colliding with each other. The people who were helping the injured earlier were now running away as they were getting chased by the one they helped. The slower ones got pounced and were immediately surrounded by people when they got pushed to the ground.


    On his left, a bookshop and a grocery center are still closed.


    An old bum was hitting a 9-year old kid''s hand. Bite marks filled his whole left arm. He was telling the kid to stop biting him, but the kid only red at him.


    Even though the bite marks couldn''t pierce his skin, it still hurt him. When he tried to hit the kid one more time, the kid bit his fingers and managed to bite them off.


    The old bum screamed his lungs out, then pped the kid with his other hand. The kid flew away, which surprised the old bum.


    He hurriedly went and helped the kid stand, then help shake off the dirt on the kid''s trousers. Seeing a huge swelling appear on the kid''s right cheek, he started apologizing, saying it wasn''t intentional, and it was just on the heat of the moment when that same kid instantly bit his neck. His eyes filled with bewilderment and uncertainty as he kept on staring at the kid. Blood kept flowing out of his neck, which he covered with his hand. A yellow light covered the kid''s right cheek, and the swelling vanished like it was never there. The kid then lunged at the old bum, causing both of them to fall.


    "Hey, asshole! Help me!"


    A loud, pleading voice brought Jun back to reality.


    He stopped watching the scene and turned to his right. Jake was leaning on his car''s trunk; a crawling girl with missing limbs was pulling his wounded leg.


    Jun dashed towards them. He kicked the girl in the face intending to free Jake''s leg, but the opposite happened.


    The grip tightened, causing Jake to grimace and fought back the urge to curse out loud. He opened the trunk with his keys and took something inside.


    "Here! Use this!"


    Jun turned his head and saw a wooden baseball bat on Jake''s hand. He took the bat and made a single swing downwards. He bashed the girl''s head again and continued until he saw the woman''s arms turn limp, allowing Jake to pull his leg back.


    Jun stood straight with almost no signs of exhaustion on his face. He saw how Jake had a scared look on his face, and so he said, "What? Never joined gang fights before? Well, we don''t bash people''s heads, but a few stabs to the side should be fine. By the way, if you call me asshole one more time, I might consider breaking a hand or two, okay?"

 Chapter 5: Encounter

    Chapter 5: Encounter


    Jun doesn''t care what people think of him. He stopped caring a long time ago. After experiencing a lot of things, he learned that people will always see you how they want to see you.


    He knew that the girl was not human anymore, and he won''t exin or justify himself to anyone.


    He nudged the body a few more times, making sure it''s dead.


    "S-sorry!... I''m just not used to seeing things like this..."


    "Hey! We''re actually the same! This is my first time bashing someone''s head." Jun said with a grin. "Shocking, right? I have some bad news for you, though."


    Jun practiced swinging the bat left and right while looking at a particr direction.


    Jake followed where he was looking, and his face soured.


    A woman was forcing her way out a car''s window, but due to the opening being too small, her waist got stuck, and only half of her body got out.


    The woman''s mouth was dripping with blood, and her yellow eyes kept staring at them the whole time. Her belly''s flesh started getting scraped, and it caused dark blood to flow down the car''s window. She growled every time she moved an inch, maybe from the pain or the stimtion of having prey in front of her but not being able to do anything in return.


    "I think you''ll see a whole lot more of this in the future! So, do you want to try?" Jun asked as he tried to hand the bat to Jake.


    "No... not with my leg like this... maybe in the future. And I don''t think that this is the right time for us to be casually talking in the middle of the street." Jake said after he looked behind them.


    A group of infected was crawling out of an overturned jeepney. Only a few had intact bodies while most of them have broken arms and legs that are facing outwards.


    Just then, a gunshot rang inside the bank. "Let''s go inside. I hope it''s safer there.", Jun said as he took ast look at the direction of the jeepney.


    ***


    The inside of the bank was a mess. The chairs scattered on the floor and the atmosphere is suffocating.


    There are approximately nine people inside the bank, two middle-aged women who seemed to be depositing money, a teenage boy wearing a ck hoodie, the male manager who has a bandage on his head, Pablo, and four female employees.


    Everyone inside the bank had frightened expressions like they''re waiting for something. Their attention was focused entirely on something on the floor that they didn''t even turn their heads when someone enters the ss door.


    Pablo was standing in front of the counter. Behind him was a female employee with bloodstains all over her left arm. He cautiously stepped closer to the section of the overturned chairs.


    There was a body in the middle of the scattered chairs. It was a body of an old woman facing up towards the ceiling, that same grandmother that fainted and took a long time to wake up earlier. A dark puddle of blood had already formed behind her back.


    "What''s the big deal here? Isn''t it dead already?"


    Everyone flinched when they heard a loud voice.


    They turned their heads towards the source and only managed to calm their beating hearts when they saw that it was the same young man from earlier.


    The young man confidently walked as he went near the body. He kicked one of the body''s legs then said, "See? It''s dead. What are you so scared of?"


    He surveyed the room then sarcastically apologized.


    "My bad. I guess it''s normal for normal people to be scared of dead bodies," he said while chuckling to himself. "You should see the situation outside, and you''ll probably piss your pants," he then turned to Pablo saying, "On that note, do you mind locking the door? It would be a big problem if those things got inside."


    Pablo was still pointing the gun in his direction but rxed after a few seconds. His breathing became stable, and the crease on his forehead disappeared. If it were earlier, he would''ve ignored what the young man would say, but it was different now. He felt that something was different from the olddy when she charged at him. Like she was more energetic and had this unique brilliance in her eyes.


    Pablo ran while taking some keys in his pockets. He only rxed after shaking the ss door and seeing that it was securely locked. He was going back to Jun when he heard people talking at his back.


    "Ha... Pitiful grandmother, she just bit someone then she got shot. What kind of system is this? Is this how guards protect people? They''re killing people instead! This guy''s lucky! I didn''t bring my phone with me; else, I would take his picture and post it to social media!"


    "That''s right! Where''s the logic in this?! Is there even aw in this country! My son always bites my hand when he gets pissed at me. Oh, that poor grandma..."


    Pablo''s countenance paled after listening to those words. His head lowered as he stared at the floor, thinking if what he did was the right thing.


    When he was applying first aid and heard a loud shout from the bank, he hurriedly came running inside. When he got inside, he saw the grandma chewing on an employee''s arm.


    He repeatedly told the olddy to stop, but she didn''t seem to understand what he was saying as she continued chewing.


    The only good thing about this was there were barely any teeth on the grandmother''s mouth.


    Even though there were a few left, it just caused some scratches which can be treated with some first aid.


    They seeded to separate the two when the male manager decided to help the guard by pulling the grandma from the back.


    When the manager released the grandma, it ran towards Pablo, and so he fired.


    The shot went through the heart and the manager behind the grandma was so scared, he froze like a cat that got its tail stepped on.


    It was his fault.


    He got scared.


    He realized that something changed from the olddy, which prompted him to defend himself.


    She was thin when she came this morning but looking at her now; she became a lot more thinner since her skin was hugging her bones too tightly. The color of her eyes earlier was ck, but it was yellow now. When he saw the grandma running to him, he remembered how they met at the front door. She was weak and could only walk one step at a time. He even had to guide and help the olddy sit into a nearby chair.


    As despair and guilt were eating his conscience, a chiding voice echoed in the room which managed to pull him back from his current state of mind.


    "Idiots. Didn''t even know that they just got saved."

 Chapter 6: Reanimate

    Chapter 6: Reanimate


    Jun crouched down beside the old grandma. His eyes were staring at the question mark icon hovering above the grandma''s body.


    He ced his hand on top of the body, and as expected, the icon expanded, showing an information screen.


    [Normita Mellendres - Dead]


    -the host body died from severe pain.


    - a gunshot killed the host.


    -Not enough energy to reanimate.


    -Recharging from energy source... 20%


    The screen automatically closed after a few seconds, just long enough for Jun to read everything that it contains. Jun was giving his all trying to digest all the new information.


    Jun is not an idiot. He''s just confused about what those words could mean.


    He can ept and think about what a carrier and reanimation might mean.


    Witnessing all those impossible things happening outside; people biting and killing each other, a legless crawling teenage girl, a woman trying to go out of the car''s window instead of opening the door, adding the disproportioned bodies of the jeepney''s passengers.


    There''s only one thing that sprouts upon his mind. Zombies!


    A smile blossomed on his face, unknowingly. He might not have explicitly said it, but Jun is incredibly bored with his life. He lost his direction and life''s purpose a long time ago.


    He felt his heart beating faster at the thought of a wild adventure. A new world with a new set of rules!


    Just then, a game countdown appeared atop his hand that was still holding the old grandma''s body.


    Looting... Please hold. 10...9...


    "What are you doing?"


    A soft female voice came from his side. Jun looked up and saw a woman sitting beside him.


    He removed his hand and stared at the woman''s name tag before he answered.


    "Nothing special. By the way, Alex, does that hurt?" Jun said while pointing on her left arm.


    "Not really. It just stings a bit," Alex replied, not even ncing at Jun.


    The whole time that she was speaking, she was looking down on the grandma.


    "Let me take a look."


    Jun grabbed her hand before she could have even said anything, and a screen instantly appeared.


    [Left Arm - Bitten]


    [Description] The user was bitten by a carrier and will reanimate as a carrier after death. The wound will heal after two days, 23 hours 36 minutes.


    - Hand movement speed reduced by 5%.


    - Will received jolts of pain when making quick movements.


    - Applying first-aid would shorten recovery time.


    "Let go of me!" Alex pulled back her hand then stood up and went back to her co-employees. The manager, who was near, covered Alex from his view.


    Jun raised both of his hands beside his head, then pulled a nearby chair and sat down.


    Now, there are only two more questions that he needs answers. First, why would zombies need energy sources? And second, can everyone see what he can see.


    ***


    The people inside the bank finally realized that something was wrong when they finally have the time to focus on what was happening outside.


    The mostmon thing that they can hear outside was the ear-piercing call for help, followed by a miserable cry. Numerous car rms kept on ring in the distance, giving a resounding beat in their hearts.


    The female employees blocked the ss door with a curtain when Jun suggested that they should cover the door with something.


    The manager helped Pablo move two filing cabs behind the door.


    "What''s your n?" Jake asked as he sat beside Jun.


    "What do you mean?"


    Jake looked around before saying in a hushed tone, "I just have this feeling that you won''t stay here. So, can you please take me with you."


    "Sure, want to be myckey? It''s a good thing considering your current conditions." Jun stood up and walked to the entrance. He checked the situation outside through the slit on the curtains and went back to his seat.


    He exhaled and stretched his shoulders as he sat on the chair. "I think you know that you would be safe just by staying here... while following me around would be a lot more dangerous. So why?"


    "I don''t know. I just feel it."


    "Hmm. Gut feeling, huh. One of the things that save me from a lot of things.", Jun reminisced and then startedughing. "Sure you can follow me, but I need you to pass one test of mine. And just a reminder. If you choose to follow me, you can''t quit on your own." Jun said as he stared at Jake, causing the teen to sweat profusely.


    "By the way, I''m returning your bat. You''ll probably need it soon enough."


    Jake took the bat and became confused by what Jun said. The only entrance to this bank was the ss door, and he''s sure that it''s locked.


    Before he could ask what Jun meant by that, a soft moan came from behind.


    He turned his head just on the right time to see the body on the floor twitch. Its eyes slowly opened, and the eye''s unique brilliance once again brightened.


    Even if Jake was somewhat slow, he was still able to guess that this was the test that Jun was referring to.


    He limped forward and stopped near the body. He steadied himself, gathering his strength on both of his arms then swung the bat downwards forcefully.


    The head caved in, but the grandma''s body still managed to w both of its hands forward, making Jake panic and bash the head one more time.


    The skull made a crunching sound, as blood and brain matter scattered everywhere. Jake being the closest one receives most of the gooey liquids.


    He felt his stomach churned, and before he could even turn around, he was already puking. The blood and brain matter started dripping off his face as he moved his head while vomiting.


    "Hahaha! How does it feel? Stand up. We''re almost done here." Jun grabbed Jake''s arm and sat him beside the grandma''s corpse. "Now, just ce your hand there and tell me what you see."


    Jake was still doubting whether he understood what Jun was implying when his eyes suddenly widened.


    He turned his head to look at Jun and said, "Something appeared! It''s a transparent screen. It says ''Normita Mellendres'' and that I''m looting the body!"

 Chapter 7: Floating Names

    Chapter 7: Floating Names


    Jun had a bitter smile on his face after hearing those words. The first thing that he thought when he started seeing ''things'' was that he gained some kind of exceptional ability. It turned out that others can see it too.


    The disappointment clearly showed on his face, but it only took a few seconds for him to regain hisposure.


    "3...2..1..." Jake counted down.


    A white sh came from his hand.


    It didn''t even take a second for the glow to vanish, and a diamond-shaped crystal appeared on his hand.


    It was 2-3 inches long and was almost transparent, making him see his magnified palm through it. It seemed to be radiating some unknown power, as a weak pulse came from it.


    Jake was holding the crystal when the grandma''s body began to decay. The skin dried up at a quick rate, giving it a look of dehydration. Web-like cracks started to appear and spread on every part of the body.


    A few secondster, it shattered and turned into dust. The dust became sparkling particles and disappeared before it could even reach the floor, leaving nothing on the floor except for some clothes, blood, and brain matter.


    Jake was staring at the crystal when he unconsciously asked himself, "What is an essence shard?"


    Everyone was looking at him. A dead body just vanished into nothingness, and he didn''t seem to care. Instead, he spoke of something gibberish, and only one person seemed to understand what he said.


    "Don''t you know how to read?" Jun said, filled with sarcasm. He was sure that everything that he needs to know about that essence shard should be on the screen in front of him, but this guy chose to ask around.


    He took his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. The line won''t connect, and it just kept ringing.


    Jake can only smile wryly, seeing that he was getting mocked. If it was any other person in this room, he might have been able to talk back and win an argument or two.


    He''s a famous baseball yer at his university. There''s a lot of people who line up just to talk to him.


    After having the first-hand experience of what the streets have to offer, he naturally thought that being inside a building will help him feel safe; it did not.


    When they first entered the building, he saw how panicked everyone was. Even the guard on duty was visibly scared as he cautiously moved forward. He also saw the manager, who is the only other male, cowering at the back of some female employees.


    Comparing the clueless, and somewhat idiotic expressions of everyone to that man''s overbearing aura brimming with confidence, he efficiently managed to make a choice.


    The only n he had right now was to suck up to this asshole. He would stick with him until his legs fully healed then ditch him.


    He waved the crystal in his hand while saying, "There''s really nothing to read here, though."


    Jun turned around after hearing those words. He saw that Jake appeared genuine on what he said, so he took the transparent crystal from Jake.


    [Essence Shard - Low-tier]


    [Description] A shard fragment. Use to increase EXP by 1.]


    "See! I''m serious! There''s nothing else on the screen. It just says essence shard and nothing else!" Jake raised his voice after having the small crystal taken away from him.


    "That''s true." Jun lied as he put the small crystal in his pocket, his eyes turning savage.


    He seemed to be thinking of something as his eyes darted up and down Jake''s head. He made a huge smile then strode forward, stopping in front of Jake.


    Something was floating on top of Jake''s head, and everyone inside the bank also has it.


    A floating name.


    When Jun first saw him inside the car, there was a white-colored question mark above his head. It was a question mark at first but changed to Jake''s name after he heard him introduce himself.


    When he went near the car and found Jake stuck on the driver''s seat, it changed to yellow. When he searched the car and took a pack of cigarettes, the name changed to ck. When he started bossing him inside the office, it turned reddish-ck. But now, after taking the crystal, itpletely turned red.


    Once again, Jun is not an idiot. He realized what those color patterns meant after some time.


    It''s the other person''s attitude or thoughts toward him.


    White simply means the person was neutral to him, yellow can go anywhere from happiness or delight, ck could mean resentment or hatred, and red is killing intent. The reddish-ck is a simple mixture of ck and red.


    He already noticed everything earlier, and even now, everything was still an assumption, but having some kind of way to know if people hate or like you is somehow convenient.


    He started patting Jake''s shoulder as he put his hands inside his jeans pocket, taking out the shard.


    "You want this, right?" Jun asked as he swiftly stabbed the shard under Jake''s chin. Jake only managed to widen his eyes at the absurdity of the situation. His eyes filled with unwillingness and hatred. Blood started flowing on Jun''s arms as he made a twisting motion with his hands.


    The people who finally calmed down started to feel scared as they witnessed something that will make them unable to sleep.


    One woman near the entrance shrieked as she became hysterical. She kept on begging, asking Jun not to kill them. Pablo pulled his .45 pistol and aimed at Jun.


    "Don''t move! Please put your hands in the air where I can see them!" Even though Pablo was shocked. He was able to calm down and collect his thoughts; his upational reflex, which is to secure the bank and its employees, activated by itself.


    Before Jun could follow what he ordered, or if Jun would actually listen, a loud banging sound came from the door.


    A beautiful woman with a bloodied mouth and an open stomach was pounding on the door. Every hit she made increased the fear of everyone''s hearts.


    The nging noise that was created by the ss door attracted more infected in the area. As two more infected hit the door, the pounding grew louder, and cracks started to appear on the ss.


    All this while, Jun remained standing, watching a green bar that appeared on top of the door.


    [ss Door - 86/100]


    [Description] A ss door made from low-quality materials.


    Every time the door got hit, the number on the left decreased by 1.


    ***


    "Move!" Jun shouted as he ran to the door and Pablo never took his eyes off him, aiming his pistol at Jun.


    "I told you to stop moving! Stop!"


    Jun ignored him and opened the curtain that was blocking their view of the door.


    He saw three infected in front, banging on the ss door. Luckily, there was limited space on the doorway. There''s two more infected at the back, trying to squeeze there way in after being blocked by the three in front.


    "Hey, man! I''ve never thought of you as an idiot! Are you going to help me or not?!"


    Jun ran to a 2-meter tall, metal locker beside the stairway to the second floor.

 Chapter 8: Level Up

    Chapter 8: Level Up


    Pablo holstered his pistol and helped on pushing the locker. They manage to block the door, but there''s still a small gap that remained.


    Currently, the ss door blocked by two wooden filing cabs, and a locker served as a choke point for them.


    The gap between the blockades was tight enough so that they only have to fight one infected at a time.


    Jun pushed the filing cabs so that they lean to the wall, making a diagonal blockade. He then hurriedly went inside an employee''s cubicle and started pulling a heavy wooden table.


    When he nced at the door''s durability bar, it already reached half bar. It made cracking sounds, and the web-like breaking pattern appeared a lot more often. The damage it received per hit instantly doubled, making the door''s durability bar to fall faster. Pablo and the manager helped him ce the table in the middle by pulling on the other side. With the only open space slightly blocked, he went and picked up the essence shard on Jake''s chin and the baseball bat beside him. He already did everything that he could do, and the only thing left to do now is to wait.


    As he was looking at Jake''s body, a sudden jolt of inspiration came to him. He quickly squatted down and ced his hand on Jake''s forehead. When a screen popped up, his eyes widened because he got a new message instead of the looting notification.


    [ Would you like to receive a part of the user''s legacy? ]


    [Yes] [No]


    Jun tried tapping the yes button, but his finger just went through. With no other options, he focused and used his eyes to try and click the button, which actually worked!


    +1 Power


    +1 Endurance


    +1 Speed


    +2 Charm


    After those notifications faded, a warm feeling abruptly rose from his stomach and started spreading across his body. Even though he had a mesomorph body type, he still felt that his body be much lighter, even his muscles became morepact and felt like they can produce more force when needed.


    Jake''s body became dry as it cracked before turning into glittering dust.


    ***


    Jun stood up just in time to see Pablo aiming at the front-most infected.


    Most of the people were already on the second floor of the bank. Showing their frightened faces as they climb the stairways while looking back.


    "Don''t shoot!" Jun tried to stop him but was still a step toote. Being on a tight space and shooting at a close distance, for a trained professional, it was impossible to miss.


    A loud gunshot echoed, and the first infected finally fell.


    The bad news was, the infected that was on the 20-meter radius of the bank urately found the source of the loud noise and immediately came running. Those who were a bit far away ignored the gunshot and continued what they were doing.


    "Stop shooting!" Jun said when he reached Pablo''s side. "Let''s save the ammo forter when we might really need them."


    Jun''s not omniscient, nor does he have any knowledge that the infected are attracted to noise. The sole reason he stopped Pablo was to try and get all the EXP that he could get.


    Ever since getting the essence shard and seeing a human body vanish in thin air, he finally epted that the world turned into a game.


    He yed online games when he was a teenager. He knows that there are two critical aspects when ying a game, the character''s level, and its items.


    When he gained the knowledge that you can earn experience when using an essence shard, he began thinking of ways to get them through reasonable means.


    After usingmon sense, the only way that he could think of is through killing those strange infected.


    That''s why, when he saw the door getting surrounded by infected, he thought of barricading the door.


    With the blockade setup, the infected that he needs to fight at the same time reduced to one.


    As the infected''s body fell after being shot, it fell into the diagonal filing cab, adding itself as an additional barricade.


    Jun quickly dealt with the first infected that just managed to stand after crawling on the small gap. A powerful swing was delivered to its head, bashing its forehead, causing the infected to fall lifelessly.


    The second one died quickly, after bashing its head using the same amount of force and angle. He held the bat with both hands, raised it high in the air, and then swiftly brought it down.


    After doing this for two more times, Jun suddenly cursed.


    "I''m a fucking idiot! Push the table! Quickly!" he yelled to Pablo, who was nervously aiming at the infected.


    Pablo''s eyes revealed slight hesitation when he processed what Jun said. Not a secondter, he started pushing the table.


    An ear-piercing, screeching sound was heard from the table as it got pushed by Pablo.


    On the other side of the barricade, the first infected Pablo shot was slowly getting up.


    "Hey, you! Mr. Manager! Come here!" Jun shouted upstairs as he bashed another infected that was trying to stand.


    The manager seemed to hesitate and was thinking if he shoulde down when Jun started cursing and threatened to kill him if he doesn''t hurry up.


    He''s someone who worked his life inside the office, a peaceful, loving manager.


    Feeling that Jun might do what he said, he unwillingly went down the stairways.


    "Took you! Long! Enough!" Jun said after repeatedly bashing an infected''s head. Sweat started to appear on his face, and his back became thoroughly drenched with sweat.


    This one is the seventh infected that he killed and there are still two infected stuck outside that''s trying their best to get in.


    Jun took a few deep breaths, then turned to the manager. "Okay... what you''ll be doing is pretty simple. Pull the body to the center and ce your hand on top of them, alright?"


    "Okay!"


    ***


    Jun watched as thest infected finally managed to slip through the gap. It was a beautiful woman who has an open belly.


    When it broke the ss door earlier, it got pushed to the side by the others behind it.


    It could onlye forward after the others got taken care of. The infected woman dashed towards Jun like a starving dog that finally found food. The usual brilliance in its eyes was already gone, and its yellow eyes turned pale.


    A crunching sound filled the room as Jun swung the bat to its head; like he was just ying a game of baseball. The woman fell sidewards and even tried to stand up but immediately got whacked in the face.


    After that hit, Jun''s vision became filled with bright lights. Followed by a refreshing feeling, taking all of his exhaustion away.


    [You leveled up!]


    [Lv.0 ] Lv.1]


    [Congrattions, you now have ess to the menu screen.]

 Chapter 9: Screen Panel

    Chapter 9: Screen Panel


    ''Menu screen?''


    Jun asked himself as he straightened his back. Even though he''s dying to know and wanted to know what that notification meant, he still chose to be patient and prioritized his safety.


    He surveyed the area outside the bank through the broken door. When he confirmed that it was safe and there''s no infected near the bank, he exhaled and finally closed his eyes.


    After taking a few seconds to rx his wildly beating heart, he turned around and searched for someone. When he saw the manager, he strode forward with a savage look on his face.


    The manager had his back on him and was looting an infected he recently pulled back. A dim sh illuminated his hand, and a shard appeared.


    A trickle of sweat appeared on his forehead when he suddenly felt an enormous pressure behind him. He turned around and saw Jun eagerly staring at him.


    "Stand up, show your pockets and give me everything that you''ve looted." Jun ferociously said. His gaze felt like it would devour the manager alive.


    The manager hurriedly emptied his pockets, flipping the inside out. There were precisely eight translucent shards that have the same shape and appearance as the one on his hands.


    Jun thought that this old man would try to steal at least one or two shards, but he didn''t. From the time that he got called to help, and when he finally finished looting thest infected, the color of the question mark above his head never change; it remained white.


    Jun took everything and was barely able to hold eight shards on his left hand. He put them all on his jeans pockets, causing a bulge to form.


    When he felt pain and that it was difficult to move, he took a green-colored eco-bag in the bank''s counter. He turned around after he transferred the shards in the bag.


    He walked towards the door and stopped near thest infected he killed. He softly kicked the body and nced towards the manager. He said, "I''ll give you this one. I hope never to see anyone of you again."


    ***


    "Didn''t you hear what I just said?" Jun snapped as he closed the gate of the clinic.


    After leaving the bank, he turned to his left and began walking.


    The group of infected that came from the overturned jeepney scattered in the area. Infected who still have two remaining legs chased after their unsuspecting victims, those people who tried to help them. While those infected with one or no legs at all could only crawl as fast as they could, causing long trails of blood.


    After taking less than five steps, a young teenager started yelling from the bank, asking for him to stop. Luckily, the nearest infected in front of him was at least 30 meters away.


    Before they could attract anymore infected, he dragged the kid into a nearby clinic. The clinic had a reinforced gate and metal fence that reached up to two meters in height.


    Before Jun could release his anger, the teen immediately kneeled on the floor and begged.


    "Please take me with you. I''m alone and don''t have any rtives so I can''t go anywhere. I can usually take care of myself, but with things being different now, I''m not sure anymore."


    His hair flowed down and covered his eyes as he lowered his head. He had ck straight hair, which leans towards the left. He''s wearing a cheap ck hoodie partnered with worn-out jeans. In contrast to that, the pair of running shoes that he''s wearing seemed to be brand new.


    "My name is Adrian Santos, and I think we can help each other." said the young man confidently.


    "And why would I need your help? You''re so thin; you probably can''t out-muscle any one of those infected." Jun sneered as he cautiously approached the clinic''s door.


    He can see two floating question marks wandering inside the clinic, but can''t pinpoint which room it wasing. He tried twisting the knob, but it was locked.


    Just as he was about to call inside, a gentle voice came from behind him.


    "Let me open that for you!"


    Adrian took a strange looking item from his pocket as he walked towards the door. Two small L-shaped wire appeared on his hands. He leveled himself on the doorknob and inserted the two wires simultaneously. Barely five seconds had passed when they hear a soft click. Adrian stood up and gave way to Jun.


    "I told you. We can help each other."


    If it were anyone else, Jun would have already smacked the other person in the face. The only reason that he hasn''t done it was that he got curious about the name''s color above this young man''s head.


    When they first met, it was the indifferent white. But after the scuffle and siege at the bank, it turned green. The young man chased him while shouting, almost attracting the infected in the area, resulting in their current predicament that they need a safe ce to talk things out. He created the problem, and he solved it.


    Jun harrumphed and entered the clinic as he ignored Adrian, who had a triumphant smile on his face.


    What weed them was an open space filled with sofa chairs, the waiting area. There were four rooms divided into two by a single aisle. The first room to the left had a [Cashier/Pharmacy] sign. While the second room has [Storage] sign on it. The two question marks were floating inside the storage room.


    On the right side are the [Radiology] and [Consultation] room.


    Jun sat down on the nearest sofa. Adrian closed the door and chose to sit on the single sofa chair to his left.


    Since the ce seemed secure enough, Jun decided that he should explore the ''menu screen.'' He tried saying every cool sounding chant that he knew of and some unique hand gestures. His actions resulted in self-embarrassment as Adrian kept on staring at him.


    ''Stare?'' Jun thought to himself, then gasped. ''I''m an idiot!'' he chided himself.


    He remembered the first time that he interacted with the screen.


    It was when epting to absorbed Jake''s legacy, causing a slight increase in his overall strength. He focused hard and willed for the menu screen to appear. With a chiming sound effect, the menu screen popped up.


    There are two icons in the middle of the screen, namely, character and dimensional storage.


    He got intrigued by what dimensional storage means, and so he clicked it with his mind. A game-like inventory screen expanded towards the right side of the icon. It was an inventory screen with numerous small empty boxes.


    He immediately lost interest and opened the character icon. It expanded to the left side and showed numerous information about himself. There are now two transparent screens on his left and right side, the character and the dimensional storage screen, respectively.


    ***


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 1]


    [Health - 100][Energy - 100]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 8][Endurance - 6][Speed - 4][Wits - 4][Cunning - 5][Charm - 6]


    [Stat Points - 2]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    [Description] The user never cowers in front of danger. Permanently gains immunity to fear and panic.


    -[Iron Gut]


    [Description] The user has a stronger stomach. It lowers the chance of food poisoning.


    -[Strong]


    [Description] Gain additional power and extra knockback from melee weapons. [ +2 Power, +1m knockback with melee weapons]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lvl.1]


    [Description] The user''s voice bes threatening, reducing the enemy''s overall stats by 20%. Drains ten energy upon activation and additional five energy for every minute it was continuously active.


    -[Rob - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain a 50% chance to take five random items from the target''s dimensional storage. If the user''s power is three-fold higher than the target, Daylight Robbery is activated. When Daylight Robbery activates, the user can choose five items to take instead. The target bes immune to the skill for 24 hours. Drains ten energy when used.


    -[Execute - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain a 10% chance to instantly kill the target when yound a critical hit on a vital area.


    -[Blunt Weapon Mastery - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain 20% damage when using a blunt weapon.

 Chapter 10: Master Burglar

    Chapter 10: Master Burr


    Dimensional storage?


    It''s not even an hour after the world changed, and Jun was already bing used to seeing those unusual things. He only felt a slight shock when he finished reading the character screen.


    When Jun was trying toprehend and gain some understanding of the skills, a notification appeared on his view.


    [You received the title, "Thug Life."]


    [Thug Life]


    [Description] Gain 10 EXP every twenty-four hours. [23 hours 59 minutes remaining]


    [Notification] You are one of the first to achieve level one in your specific profession; the user will receive a hidden quest, ''The Big Boss.''


    [The Big Boss I]


    [Description] As one of the top neers on the crime industry, you must make sure that people know and respect you. Establish your presence in the area!


    [Requirements]


    - [Gain two followers. 0/2]


    - [Rob 10 people. 0/10]


    [Reward] 50 EXP & 1 Random Weapon Crate.


    [Failure] Quest Chain will end.


    Jun closed the notification screen and turned his head to Adrian. He was quietly staring at him as if waiting for something. Considering this guy''s amicable attitude towards him and remembering the contents of the quest he just receives, he started to think that he should take this guy as one of his followers.


    "You said you want to follow me, right? Then tell me who are you?" Jun said with a scowl. It could have been a normal conversation if he didn''t try and experiment on what will happen if he used his [Threaten] skill.


    Adrian''s face became flushed, and it took him a second or two before he could muster a reply. "What I said earlier is true; my name is Adrian Santos. And if there''s anything important that I need to tell you, it would be my ''job''. I''m a burr, and I''m one of the best in this town. I''m also a good scout; I have experience as a look-out when I joined a group a few years ago."


    Junughed out loud after hearing his story. His eyes that seemed uncertain earlier turned firm and absolute. Like if Adrian decided to back out, Jun wouldn''t even give him a chance.


    He stood in front of Adrian and bellowed, "Do you ept being my follower?"


    [You sent an organization invite to someone. Waiting for the other party''s reply. You can''t send another invite to the same user, for 24 hours, if the other party declines the invitation.]


    It seemed that a screen appeared in front of Adrian, as he gazed at nothing but was still moving his eyes as if he was reading something. He then answered, "Yes! Please take care of me, boss."


    A small orb of light flew out from Jun and entered Adrian''s body.


    [''Adrian'' has epted the organization invite and has be your follower. Your follower''s receive 10% more EXP gain and an additional 10% increase in overall stats.]


    "Okay, good. Of course, I will take care of you. You just need to follow my orders, and I will make sure that you will get rewarded properly."


    Their festive mood got destroyed when a couple walked out of the storage room.


    The two of them were wearing whiteb coats, a shirt, and jeans.


    The couple was surprised to find out that there were already people inside the clinic.


    The kind-looking female approached first and gently said, "Hello there. Are you one of our customers? I''m sorry, but the doctor hasn''t arrived yet. Are you willing to wait?"


    She had a round, innocent-looking face that makes the opposite gender want to protect her. Her looks were average, but her gentle attitude makes strangers speakfortably towards her.


    "She,e back here!"


    The man who was following behind her abruptly pulled her hands. He had a fearful glint in his eyes.


    "Carlos! What are you doing? Let me go!"


    When She yelled at him, he immediately released her hands. He then red at the two unweed visitors.


    Carlos was courting She for almost two months now. She graduated from a nursing school but worked at the clinic, as this was her family''s business.


    The two of them met in this clinic when Carlos needed medical certificates for his job. He fell in love at first sight, but it didn''t seem to be the case for She. In those two months, she repeatedly rejected him, telling him that she just broke up with her boyfriend, and she''s currently not interested in rtionships.


    As if his manly ego got challenged, Carlos kepting to the clinic. He gave flowers and brought gifts every day after he left work, but She remained unmelting, not entertaining his advances.


    Today, he was going to force an answer from her.


    When he arrived at the clinic earlier, there were still no customers in sight, and so he locked the door. If he got rejected, he was nning to at least get some ''benefits'' from her.


    He saw She enter the storage room, and he hastily followed. He found She counting medicine stocks after he entered the room. Before he could approach her, he felt a severe headache and fell unconscious.


    When he woke up, he saw She on the floor, still unconscious. He quickly moved to her side and checked if she was okay. She got startled, seeing a man after waking up. When she saw that it was Carlos, she got flustered and quickly tried to leave the room, but Carlos pulled her back.


    He slowly put his hand around her waist and started kissing her. She struggled in his arm and couldn''t do anything, finally softening after Carlos'' other hand roamed her body.


    A scene that shouldn''t happen happened.


    She then left the room without giving a single nce at Carlos.

 Chapter 11: I Dont Need You

    Chapter 11: I Don''t Need You


    Carlos face changed from vexation to warmth and pleadingly said, "We need to talk."


    "We don''t. Please don''te here anymore." She replied. There''s a trace of guilt and hatred in her eyes as she opened the door, showing Carlos his way out.


    Jun and Adrian kept quiet the whole time. They just sat back and watched everything nonchntly.


    Carlos was going to vent out some of his frustration to them when he noticed Jun holding a bloodied baseball bat. He got intimidated and tried to make his presence as small as possible. He didn''t even dare to take a single nce in Jun''s direction.


    When he was passing by She, he clicked his tongue and closed the gate with a bang. He left the clinic''s premise cursing She on his mind. A smile crept on his face, and the annoying feeling inside him alleviated a little when he thought that something terrible would happen to her.


    She had a puzzled look on her face as Carlos finally left the clinic. Even though she was acting cold towards him, she actually has feelings for him. She felt moved after seeing Carlos'' sincerity in the past two months.


    That''s why she purposely acted cold and did not reciprocate Carlos'' feelings. She still loves her ex and doesn''t want to hurt Carlos.


    What happened earlier in the storage room was due to her carelessness. She was unable to control her feelings, which finally gushed out, like a dam with its gates fully opened.


    The corners of her eyes have already turned red, but she still tried her best topose herself as she approached Jun and Adrian.


    "H-hello guys... Sorry about that. Please don''t mind it. By the way, I''m She. My father should be arriving in a few minutes. In the meantime, is there anything that I can help you with?" She asked the question professionally as if everything she said was something already ingrained in her memory.


    When she finished talking and finally saw the blood-stained baseball bat that Jun was holding, she became frightened. She can''t help but think that something terrible will happen to her, she might get abducted, taken advantage of or worse killed.


    Expectations were different from reality, though. Jun didn''t even nce at her.


    Instead, he was murmuring something while holding a bulging green eco-bag on top of his hands.


    A small ck hole appeared in front of Jun''s hand. He slowly put the bag he was holding inside the ck hole. When he pulled his hand back, the bag isn''t there anymore.


    As if he was enjoying the feeling of his hand being inside that hole, he inserted his hand inside the ck hole once more.


    This time, the bag reappeared on his hand, but it was t and appeared to be empty.


    Adrian and She both felt shocked. The two ''normal'' people who haven''t reached level one, which seemed to be the minimum requirement to gain ess to the menu screen, were both looking at Jun in astonishment.


    Their astonished expressions gave Jun a satisfying feeling.


    He stood up and said to Adrian, "I think it''s time. Go and guard the door. If that guyes back here, kill him. And exin what''s happening to her. I''ll search around and grab everything that I can. Just shout if there''s a problem."


    Adrian was surprised at the order that Jun gave.


    He was not sure if what he heard was correct, not because Jun asked him to kill someone but because Jun asked to help someone.


    Adrian thought that in order to survive, he would need to follow this cruel man, and so he already prepared himself for the things that he would have had to dobut helping someone? It didn''te across his mind that his boss still had a humane side to himself.


    The way he looked at Jun softened, and following this boss seemed more eptable.


    "Okay. But I don''t have any weapon. The only thing I brought with me was this lock pick." Adrian raised his left hand, holding the lock pick.


    "That''s okay, just use this one. Be sure to go for the neck or the chest. One stab should do the trick." Jun replied as he took a military-grade knife hidden on his back.


    After handing the knife to Adrian, he then proceeded to loot the pharmacy. He took every single bottle of medicine, syringe, and misceneous things like cotton, bandages, and alcohol. He deposited everything into his dimensional storage.


    He finally felt how useful the dimensional storage could be. He looted the entire clinic, but he didn''t have to carry anything.


    When he opened his dimensional storage, he saw that it didn''t even reach half-full. Most of the items were stacked, sorted by names.


    When he felt that there was nothing else that he could loot, he chose to go out and meet with the people outside.


    Jun noticed a person lying face down on the floor. Blood was spilling from his neck, which covered the tiles, further staining his clothes.


    Adrian was clutching the wall in a corner, vomiting his guts out.


    She, on the other hand, was sitting on the sofa, staring lifelessly on thin air.


    As Jun approached Carlos'' body, he can''t help but notice the varying sizes of bite marks and the chunks of missing flesh.


    He then squatted down and leveled his eyes with She. While staring at her soulless eyes, he indifferently said, "I think Adrian already exined some things to you, so I''ll just tell you a summary of what I know. The world change into something terrible or good, depending on how you see it. People be infected when they got bit, and getting bitten, from my limited knowledge, is bad. Very bad."


    "You now have two options. Either you choose to follow me willingly, or I will force you to do so. Of course, I won''t take advantage of you. In return, I will make sure that you''re always safe. And just to make things clear, I don''t need your body. What I need from you is your expertise. So, what do you think?"

 Chapter 12: Skirmish

    Chapter 12: Skirmish


    She Arada is currently 20-years-old. She enjoys listening to music, baking, and watching television. She is kind and graceful, but can also be very foolish and a bit dull. People of old and young tend to like her on their first meeting.


    Physically, She is in pretty good shape. She had average height with light skin, ck hair, and brown eyes.


    She grew up in a working-ss neighborhood. She was raised by her father when her mother left when she was young. Her father owns the clinic and is one of the reasons why she chose to be a nurse. She always felt that her father tries his best to keep on smiling so that she can forget the past and grow up happily.


    Hearing Jun''s exnation, and seeing Carlos''s body riddled with missing flesh, she had no choice but to ept the fact that the world had changed.


    Instead of feeling scared, she became anxious. Her father should have arrived five minutes ago, and knowing the situation didn''t make her feel good.


    When she was staring nkly ahead, looking soulless, Jun asked her the same question.


    [A user sent you an organization invite. Would you like to ept? You gain 10% EXP gain and 10% overall stat increase. Declining the offer will stop you from receiving invitations for the next 12 hours.]


    "I have a request," Shi said, her eyes filled with hope. "I want you to help me find my father. I will follow you willingly and do everything that you ask me to. But you must help me search for him. Even if it''s just his body." Tears started flowing down her cheeks, and her voice filled with despair.


    Jun looked at her indifferently, contemting her request. "I can''t promise you that. You don''t even know where he is. We can check your house, and that''s the best concession I can give you. I don''t have enough time, so I need your answer now."


    She felt troubled. Her request didn''t go ording to her n. She thought that Jun badly needed her and would try his best to gain some ''gentleman points.''


    She thoroughly misunderstood Jun. The only reason Jun was having this long-winded conversation with her is for his father.


    After leaving the bank, he nned to go back home and secure the house. He''s an unfilial scum of a son, but the thought of his father getting feasted by a group of infected still made him feel bad.


    Jun is not someone evil. He chose to do wrong just to annoy his father, to make him see what his son had be. Jun''s hatred was so deep that he''s trying to recruit a nurse, so that someone with proper training and knowledge, can take care of his father.


    "Okay, I''ll follow you. Please keep your promise."


    As soon as She agreed, the idle notification on her side updated itself.


    [Congrattions! You have joined a faction. You can join and leave a faction anytime you want. Leaving a faction gives you the ''Hunted'' debuff. When fighting someone from your old faction, receive 10% reduced overall stats.]


    [Hunted]


    [Description] You are hunted. When someone from your old faction is near, they would be able to feel your presence.


    [Faction Member: Rank - Recruit]


    [Effect] Gain +10% EXP Gain & +10% overall stat increase.


    Jun ced his hand on Carlos'' body with the intent of absorbing some free stats.


    To his surprise, he received the ''looting'' notification instead of ''legacy'' notification. He was confused about why this happened. When he ced his hand on Jake''s body, he absorbed some of his stats, but when he did the same thing to Carlos'' body, the results changed!


    Thinking about it now, the only difference between the two was one got bitten, and the other was not. Was that the reason?


    Jun decided to ignore the matter for now. He nced at Adrian, leaning on the wall. "Are you done? We''re leaving.", he said, then took the military knife from Adrian''s hand. He gave him his baseball bat, and the knife to She.


    Jun looked around and found a coat rack beside the door.


    The coat rack was made from cast iron and had a simplistic design. It''s height almost reaching up to two meters. There were four hooks on its top, spreading in four different directions.


    He took the coat rack and was instantly surprised. He was holding a two-meter iron coat rack, but the feeling it gave him was as if he was holding onto a tree branch.


    As if using a spear, he practiced swinging left and right, testing the range of his new weapon. He made a diagonal sh, brought it up, and finished with a simple thrust.


    ''It''s really light!''


    When he was finally satisfied with how he handled the coat rack, he opened the door. "Let''s go."


    ***


    There were four infected hitting the gate.


    Above the gate, the durability bar shows that it had only 40% durability left. Jun strode forward with no hesitation, using the coat rack as a spear, he stabbed the infected''s knee joints through the gaps on the metal fence.


    He used the same technique on each of the infected, making them unable to stand due to their knee''s inability to hold their weight.


    Every stab he made was precise and powerful.


    When all of the infected fell and could only growl at them, he opened the gates and went outside. He hurriedly stabbed the joints in their shoulders then whispered authoritatively. "Kill them, be sure to go for the head. Both of you get two each. Hurry up! We don''t know how fast they can recover!" Jun said anxiously. He noticed that the horde of infected who was 50 meters away when he first entered the clinic hade closer and was approximately 30-40 meters away. He then chose to guard the perimeter outside the gate, so the two behind him can focus on the task.


    Adrian and She followed his orders without questions.


    Adrian swiftly stabbed the military knife on the forehead of an infected that was nearest to him. When it stopped moving, he then looted its body.


    He had been observing Jun''s action starting from when they first met at the bank. He needs to ce his hand on top of the dead body to loot it.


    He chose to loot the body first while being cautious of the other infected next to him.


    Jun can see that Adrian has already begun to adapt, and his n to make them reach level one seemed achievable. That hope vanished when he turned to the side and saw She standing idly near an infected.


    She was trembling while hugging the bat close to her body. She raised it forward and smashed down on the infected''s head. Due to her force not being strong enough, it only caused the head to cave-in slightly, but the infected didn''t die.


    The infected who got bashed in the head started snarling, causing the group of infected to notice them.

 Chapter 13: Robbing the Bank

    Chapter 13: Robbing the Bank


    Jun pierced the eye of the infected, stopping it from making noise. He pulled back his makeshift spear then aimed at thest infected''s head. With a single thrust, the spear crushed its forehead.


    A small ck hole appeared beside him, and he shoved the spear inside. He grabbed one leg from the two infected, and hurriedly pulled them inside the gate.


    While he was doing all this, She finally managed to calm herself and was now observing the situation.


    She still looked pale, but the fear in her eyes earlier has now changed into confidence. Although she was scared, the sole reason for her vomiting was due to the sensation of the skull getting broken.


    She may have been a nurse, but what she usually does on her work would never include bashing people''s heads.


    Adrian, on the other hand, was doing a perfect job. It''s like he just needs to know the basics, and he would naturally know what to do.


    After looting the first infected, its body turning to stardust, he then lunges at the second one. Knowing that he doesn''t have enough time since a group of infected was madly running towards them, he chose to copy what Jun did and pulled the infected''s body from its leg.


    After he got inside, Jun immediately locked the gate. She then began looting the bodies that Jun brought inside.


    Jun squat down beside She, the iron-cast coat rack already in his right hand, standing tall vertically. "I know that you''re not used to this yet. But I need you to adapt quickly. The world is changing, and it''s your fault if you get left behind."


    She shivered slightly, hearing Jun''s gentle and warm voice. It was advice filled with concern and worry, giving her a creepy feeling that raised the hairs on both her arms and back.


    She slightly lowered her head and responded with a nod.


    The group of infected finally arrived. Counting their numbers won''t be possible since the forefront runners were blocking the sight behind them.


    Instead of being discouraged, Jun felt ted. He noticed that there were only seven running infected, mainlyposed of those who had broken and severed arms. They might be infecteds who crawled out of the overturned jeepney. He just needs to disable their movements, and his group should be able to do the rest.


    Using the gate as a barrier, tanking the infected''s every hit, Jun chose to kill those infected who hadplete upper limbs, while disabling those infected who had single or no arms at all, for Adrian and She to kill.


    When the first wave of infected was dealt with, the leftover group was still ten meters away.


    When he saw that thest batch of infected was crawling slowly, Jun courageously opened the gate. The group of crawling infected have missing or crushed legs, making their movements slow and predictable.


    Jun turned to She and swapped his makeshift spear for her baseball bat.


    "Use this one. It has a longer reach, so you don''t have to go near them. You should stab them through their eyes, it''s soft, and the rack should be able to pierce through. Just add more force than you would normally do."


    "I don''t usually stab people in their eyes," She replied anxiously. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before walking forward.


    Jun faced Adrian on his sides, and said, "Your priority is to level up, I don''t know how many infected you need to kill but try to get as many as possible. Also, help her if she''s in trouble."


    "Okay," Adrian replied. As he strode forward, he tilted his head, then teasingly said, "You''re acting like an overprotective boyfriend. Do you like her?"


    Jun just smiled and shook his head as he knelt and started looting the corpses.


    After watching the shimmering stardust fade into thin air, he stood up and surveyed the area.


    Adrian and She were now looting the infected that they have killed. Their fight with the group of infected was a one-sided ughter.


    The crawling infected couldn''t reach She due to her using a weapon with a long reach, allowing her to get some easy kills for herself.


    On the other hand, Adrian fought with strategy. Although he had a short-ranged weapon, he used his swift movements to go behind the infected and stab them in their heads, killing five infected in total.


    She managed to kill four infected and now has a resolute look in her eyes. It seemed that she finally gained the courage to fight for herself. She was looking left and right cautiously while looting the bodies, making sure that there''s no infected in her vicinity.


    After looting the bodies, they met up with Jun, who was standing in front of the bank.


    "What are we doing here?" She asked impatiently.


    It''s not a question of why they were at the bank, but a question of why they were standing still in front of the bank.


    Jun smiled and replied, "I''m thinking of robbing the bank."


    ***


    "Mr. Manager, my old friend, why are you looking at me like that?! I just want to take a peek inside the vault. Aren''t you a bit too stern? I gave you a precious item, and you can''t even give me a simple favor. Okay, look here, I''ll make some concessions, so no one gets hurt."


    "How about I go inside the vault for one minute, you guarding outside, and I will leave with whatever I can carry? What do you think? I only have these two small hands of mine, so I can''t probably take everything with me even if I wanted to." Jun said to the old manager with a tone that sounds like he was the one being taken advantage of.


    If you look around the area, Adrian was holding a knife towards Pablo''s neck, who was currently kneeling on the floor with both hands raised in the air. She was unwillingly aiming the pistol at the civilians huddled on a corner of the bank.


    The n that Jun managed to crop up was to rob the bank forcefully. Entering through the front door and robbing the bank with brute force, Having the element of surprise made him think that the n will seed.


    Adrian thought the opposite.


    Since he knew that he couldn''t change Jun''s decision to rob the bank, he decided tomit fully and help with nning.


    Adrian was a master burr. When robbing someone, he first umtes knowledge on what he can get and what he would have to risk.


    He knew that Pablo had a gun, so walking inside the bank while shouting, ''Hands up, we are robbing this bank,'' would inevitably fail. They might even die from being shot since robbing a bank shouldn''t be a minor offense.


    The goal was to rob the bank, and the risk is dying from being shot. With that goal in mind, Adrian made a simple n.


    She walked in front of the two while walking inside the bank. The people''s attention focused on her, and their anxious expressions seemed to have calmed down.


    Jun walked towards Pablo. "Where''s the old manager? I need to ask him some questions," he said sternly, not being polite at all.


    "He''s upstairs, trying to contact the main branch and local authorities. The phones don''t seem to work, though. You''ve got a new friend?" Pablo said, ncing at She.


    "Not really. We found her outside, so I decided to bring her here. You should talk to her. I think she''s wounded." Jun replied as he climbed the stairs.


    Pablo watched Jun climbed the stairs, deliberating if he should stop him. Before he could decide on an answer, a gentle voice sounded next to him.


    "Can you help me? I think my back got scratched." She said, while looking worried.


    "Yes, I can help you. Can you tell me where it hurts?" Pablo said as he moves towards her back. When he arrived, he noticed that there wasn''t any cut on her back. Before he could raise a question on why isn''t there a wound on her back, a cold metallic feeling came from his neck followed by an apathetic voice.


    "Don''t move or I''ll slit your throat."


    Adrian''s voice was not loud, so no one should have heard what he said, but everyone isn''t blind. Almost everyone was now looking at them, not knowing what to do.


    When the door got breached, they thought that they would all die, but Jun and Pablo managed to defend the ce.


    Afterward, Jun left, and Pablo exined the probable reason that those infected might be attracted to sound, and if everyone remains quiet and cooperative, the bank should be temporarily safe.


    Knowing that screaming and shouting will do nothing good for them, the people chose to be still and just watched the situation unfold, resulting in the current situation now.


    With no other option and with the ''reasonable'' proposal that came from Jun, the manager grudgingly epted. He opened the vault and stepped to the sides, letting Jun go inside the bank''s vault.


    "I knew that you''re someone with a good heart!" Jun happily said as he passed by the manager. "You should start counting only when I got inside, okay? Ready, set, go!"

 Chapter 14: Quest Clear!

    Chapter 14: Quest Clear!


    Jun got inside the vault and was weed by piles and bundles of cash. Stacks of bills and bags of coins are neatly arranged on one side of the table.


    It seemed that a clerk hadn''t finished counting the money as there''s still a messy pile beside the money counter machine.


    He didn''t have enough time to appreciate the view fully, so he used his left hand to open his dimensional storage; a small ck hole appeared on top of his palm.


    He then used his right hand to push and sweep everything on the table towards the ck hole. Afterward, he ransacked the drawers, taking all kinds of expensive stones; diamonds, ruby''s, and more.


    He stopped looting when he passed by ''Leonel''s footlocker.


    He would have ignored it if it was any other time, but seeing the stickers that said ''Danger'' and ''Do not open,'' he''s curiosity was instantly piqued.


    He opened the locker and found himself staring at a ck colored shotgun.


    There''s a Remington 870 hanging on the left side, while a Colt .45 ACP was ced beside it. On the lowerpartment were two boxes of 12-gauge shells and two clips of .45.


    He felt happy and fortunate, gaining some unexpected loot that could actually help him survive. He knew that having lots of money at this time wouldn''t make him ''rich'' anymore; he was doing this just to satisfy his vanity. At least when he dies, he can tell himself that he was once rich or any other bullshit story.


    A shout came from outside while he was emptying the footlocker. "Time''s up! Pleasee out." the manager said with a pleading voice.


    Jun took a random bag and stuffed his pockets with stacks of bills. He then walked out joyously. "You''re so strict! I can''t even search properly. Look! I only got this much!" Jun waved the bag he was holding, making sure that the manager can see his hands.


    He then closed the vault''s door with a smile on his face. He put his arms around the old man''s shoulder, then brought him down to the first floor.


    Pablo was still kneeling on the floor, ring daggers at him. "I''m feeling generous, so let me tell you something," Jun said to the manager.


    Jun grabbed the manager''s neck and used his second skill [Rob]. A dim red-light covered his hands, followed by a series of notifications.


    [Rob activated! You used 10 energy.]


    [Stat check... 8:4... checkplete.]


    [Robbing the target was sessful!]


    [There are no items to be taken.]


    It seemed that the old manager received notifications that he was being robbed, as the color and expression of his face changed from tion to anxiety.


    Since Jun already started his quest, he might as well finish it here. He robbed everyone inside the bank, including Adrian and Shi. When it was She''s turn, Jun took the pistol and tossed it in his dimensional storage. He can feel that his expertise in using his dimensional storage increases the more he used it.


    She felt disheartened when she was robbed and got disarmed, while Adrian felt like taking the gun from her was the reasonable thing to do. Although they were together, they don''t consider each other as friends. The main reason that they were sticking together is due to their own interest.


    In short, they''re just using each other. Jun needs Adrian''s lock picking skills and an extra hand for killing and looting infecteds, while She is kept around for her medical expertise. Adrian is following Jun''s leadership since he had this overwhelming confidence that can make anyone feel assured. She, on the other hand, simply wants to find her father by relying on someone''s help.


    When Jun finished robbing She, a series of notification continuously covered his front view.


    [Quest Complete! ''The Big Boss I'' ]


    [You received 50 EXP]


    [You received x1 Random Weapon Crate]


    [New Quest: ''The Big Boss II'']


    [The Big Boss II]


    [Description] You managed to tell the world that there''s a new boss in town. Now, you just need a base of operations and a territory to lord over.]


    [im or build a base. 0/1]


    [Clear all of the infected in an area to be its lord. 1 km radius 0/1]


    [Reward] Increased follower count.


    Despite robbing everyone, Jun was still smiling contentedly. He finished his quest easily and received the rewards with little to no effort at all. After reviewing his new quest, he figured that it would take him a lot of time and manpower to clear an area. Even managing an area would need manpower. So for now, he just shoved this quest on the back of his head.


    "The world has changed, and to be safe and be able to protect yourself, you need to be stronger and level up, or the same thing that happened today will happen again. That''s my generous self being helpful. See you next time, old man." Jun said as he left the bank with Adrian and She in tow.


    ***


    The three of them walked in silence. No one was talking nor had the intent to start any kind of conversation. They traveled unhindered as most of the infected were already dealt with, and the nearest group of infected were at least a hundred meters away, causing an uproar on a nearby elementary school. Jun unlocked the gate of his house and headed towards the backdoor.

 Chapter 15: Alone

    Chapter 15: Alone


    Jun noticed that something was wrong when he was unlocking the back door. Usually, he would see a question mark above a stranger''s head, and if he knows the person, it would instead disy their names.


    In addition to that, there were varying name colors, depending on how they think of him, just like Adrian''s and She''s green names above their head.


    Jun nervously opened the door.


    The strange feeling inside him intensified, making his heart beat faster. Everything inside the house looked exactly the same the way he left it, the kitchen table with a flower in a vase and the dusty living room that seemed like it hadn''t been cleaned for weeks.


    "The fridge has food and some drinks. Get some rest, I''ll check on my father first." Jun said and then walked towards the stairways.


    She and Adrian were making eye contact as if waiting for something. Adrian opened the fridge and took a carbonated drink, twisting the cap and taking big gulps, enjoying the fizzy feeling that entered his throat. When Jun was finally gone, She released a deep sigh.


    "You saw it too, right? That notification. He robbed us!" Sheined to Adrian discontentedly. Her brows were arching up, making her face appear fierce.


    "I think there''s a reason why he did that. Besides, nothing was stolen from you.", Adrian replied while munching on a chocte bar.


    "He took my gun!"


    "You''re lucky you still have that coat rack. He could have taken that too, you know? Letting someone have a gun is quite stupid, and what he did was actually reasonable. If you have that gun, you can just threaten him, or me, and we can only follow your orders." Adrian said.


    She shook her head left and right. "No, I will never do that."


    "He doesn''t know that. And I don''t. The best thing that we can do now is to build some trust with each other slowly. I don''t know him, and he doesn''t know me, but he gave me this knife. It''s because he''s testing me, and at the same time, he''s already trying to prove himself."


    "Did you ever notice that he''s always taking the most dangerous task. The only time that he let us go first was our fight with those crawlers, which was rather easy. He''s taking the dangerous tasks and proving himself as a leader while you''re sulking here, talking behind his back." Adrian coldly stared at She. "Let me remind you of something. I chose to follow him, and you were forced to."


    ***


    Jun idly stood in front of the door, while looking down. He''s currently observing the changes in Adrian and She''s name. Their names changed color practically at the same time, Adrian having a yellow-green while She had a darker shade of green.


    Most of what Adrian said about Jun is the truth. Jun was trying to impress his two subordinates and gain their recognition as the leader of the group. Although he made some terrible decisions here and there, he still felt like he did an excellent job overall.


    He''s not someone with a high intellect, who can solve mathematical problems instantly. Still, when ites to group behaviors and managing subordinates, he can im himself to be an expert.


    Jun can handle all kinds of people due to the nature of his work. He developed his dominating and confident aura as he ordered and mugged people every day. Now that the world changed and hecks people, he had no choice but to make do with the limited resources that he has.


    Jun couldn''t open the door, and he had been standing there for almost a minute. The more he tried to gather courage, the more he felt that his courage was slipping away.


    Jun was scared of facing the truth that his father should be inside the room, but there are no floating name tags to be found.


    He twisted the doorknob but stopped halfway. He paced around while thinking whether he should enter or not.


    A sound was heard inside the room.


    "Dad?" Jun called, his voice filled with hope and desperation.


    No one answered.


    "Dad, you in there? Say something. Please."


    Jun was holding on to a sliver of hope, a small chance that his father could be alive, and the skill that he got was actually malfunctioning.


    But it didn''t.


    A loud bang came from inside the room. A durability bar appeared above the door, and it decreased every time it was hit.


    Jun holds his head with both hands and mutters to himself, "No, no, no, this is impossible. There are no infected that managed to break into the house, so why? WHY?!"


    A bloodied baseball bat appeared on his hand from the void. He then used the bat to tap back at the door every time it was hit. He could feel his throat tightening, hearing the growling sound that came from inside the room.


    Tears finally slid down his face.


    For a long five years, tears finally came out of his eyes. He never cried in front of adversaries, and no problems, either financial or social, could make him cry.


    Jun himself didn''t know that he''s actually lonely.


    He always longed for the day that his family would finally be together again. He dreamt of it every day, and that''s why he looked into his mother''s address for years, even though he was left behind.


    A crack appeared on the door when the durability reached half, followed by a small hole. The small gap widened and became big enough to allow someone to take a nce at what''s happening inside the room.


    ***


    "Why do you think he''s taking so long?" She asked, her mouth filled with chips.


    BANG! A loud gunshot echoed inside the house. The nearby infected couldn''t pinpoint where the sound came from and kept running back and forth outside.


    Adrian hurriedly ran upstairs while clutching his knife. He arrived just on time to see Jun lower his hand, which was pointed towards the door.

 Chapter 16: Blueprint Creation

    Chapter 16: Blueprint Creation


    She finally caught up, just in time to see Jun put the gun in his dimensional storage. He turned to the two arrivals with a sharp gaze, then said, "Gather every food downstairs, I''ll go downter. I just need to do something."


    She immediately went down, not daring to stay any longer.


    Adrian was a bit hesitant after seeing Jun''s expression. He knows that this is Jun''s home, and people that are staying here had to be his family or someone he had a rtionship with.


    As he watched him enter the room, he felt a slight pang in his chest. They might be strangers and haven''t known each other for long, but Adrian knows the feeling of losing someone special. And because he already experienced it, he knew that no amount of counsel could help alleviate the pain he''s currently feeling. The best thing that he could do is to watch over him from the sides.


    Adrian''s not someone who easily gets swayed by his emotion. The main reason he felt concerned about Jun was that he knows that people can be insane and possibly die under intense grief. Losing a qualified leader who can maintain a clear mind to devise a n and have the courage to fight a group of infected would surely reduce his chance of survival. He went back to the kitchen and saw She already sorting cans of food in the table.


    She stopped when she saw him and asked, "Aren''t you scared of him?"


    "Why?" he replied as he searched for stic bags.


    "Well, you know... He acts like a hooligan and keeps bossing you around." She said while making a small circle on the table with her fingertip.


    Adrian sat down, holding two eco-bags that he found inside a drawer. He then replied, "Then, do you think he''s bad?"


    She pondered for a bit, most of her interactions with Jun were initiated by him, and he always treated her gently. Even though she made some mistakes, he didn''t even reprimand her and instead gave her another chance. "No, he''s actually quite approachable and has lots of patience..." her voice trailed off and became a murmur in the end.


    Adrian smiled, seeing her reaction. "People tend to get confused when they''re distracted. I''m showing him that I trust him, that''s why he''s trying his best to trust me too. Try and talk to him sometimes."


    "By the way, I''m going out for a bit. You can loot the whole ce by yourself, right? Jun will probably take some time before he coulde down."


    ***


    Jun sat beside the bed. On his hand was his father''s treasured item; a family picture of four.


    His father always liked staring at the photo during his siesta. A beautiful woman was smiling charmingly, holding a little girl that seemed to be about six years old. Beside her was a stern-looking man holding a kid''s hand. They looked happy in the picture as everyone, except for the man, was smiling widely. Holding the picture frame, tears kept falling from Jun''s eyes. He hated his father, and that is a fact, but at the same time, Jun loved him the most. He spent his childhood admiring his father, and when their family separated, it hit him the hardest.


    Besides himy a book that emits a golden radiance. He got the book after looting his father''s body.


    At first, he deliberated if he should loot his father''s body, since looting the body will cause it to disappear.


    On the other hand, he thought of burying his father in their backyard, but his conscience didn''t allow it. He knew that an infected tend to reanimate after a period of time, and if that happened, he has to kill his father once again. That''s why even though it pained him, he still chose to loot the body.


    He dazedly watched the twinkling stardust as they disappear. Then he ced his hand on the book with the intent to read it.


    [Would you like to learn the skill book, ''Blueprint Creation''?]


    [Yes/No]


    Of course, Jun would learn the book. It was the right thing for him to do. For him, it was a precious item left to him by his father. Even if it turned out to be trash, he would still cherish it.


    [You learned the skill book, ''Blueprint Creation''!]


    [Blueprint Creation - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Scan an item to save it to the blueprint library. You can make an item from the library as long as you have enough materials. Blueprint Creation is limited to 10 items. You can delete a blueprint slot to scan new items. Drains 10 energy after scanning an object.


    The first thought Jun had when he learned of the skill book''s name was that he would be following his father''s footsteps and work as an engineer, but after reading the skills description, he was shocked and happy.


    It turned out that the skill book his father left him had an incredible ability, and it might be of superior quality depending on how you use it.

 Chapter 17: Not Enough

    Chapter 17: Not Enough


    Jun shoved his hand into the void and took his baseball bat from his inventory. He used [Blueprint Creation], draining 10 energy, and scanned the baseball. A blue light came from his hands that traveled from the bat''s handle to its end. The blue light came back, and a screen panel appeared in front of Jun.


    [Scan Complete!]


    [Wooden Baseball Bat]


    [Description] A regr baseball bat made from wood.


    [Materials]


    - Log x1


    or


    - nks x 8


    [Requirements]


    - Saw


    - Sharp Tool


    Completion time will vary depending on the tools used.


    Wait? Do I need tools? I thought I just need the materials. That''s sensible, I guess? But isn''t this overpowered? I can just scan every essential food and item, and I can probably survive hiding somewhere.


    A smile blossomed on his face as he thought of his bright future. He then brought out his Colt .45 ACP and scanned it.


    [Scan Complete!]


    [Colt .45 ACP]


    [Description] Semi-automatic handgun with a standard seven-round magazine.


    [Materials]


    - Steel x20


    - Spring x1


    - Screws x5


    [Requirements]


    - Lathe Machine


    - Welding Machine


    Jun raised an eyebrow as he stared at the screen panel. It seemed like producing guns in arger volume isn''t probable in the near future.


    Maybe, once he set up his base of operations and had people gathering supplies for him, then mass-production can happen.


    Not just guns, he nned on making bullets too! With this ability, he can have unlimited bullets making people want to trade with him, and at the same time, gain his goodwill.


    He took a .45 ACP bullet from his inventory, and scanned it, he tried to, but it failed.


    A splitting headache suddenly came and made him clutch his head.


    [You don''t have enough energy!]


    ***


    Jun searched the room after recovering from the headache. He took all of his father''s books in the bookshelves. Most of them are engineering books, but there are some books about algebra and physics.


    Afterward, he changed to a new set of clothes, then put some spare in his storage.


    He didn''t pack too many clothes since he ns on looting new ones in the local mall.


    Jun was walking out of his room when he became surprised by the notification that appeared in front of him.


    [Your follower ''She'' has leveled up! You gain 1 stat point.]


    Jun felt envious every time he remembers the benefits that his subordinates received after recruiting them.


    An additional increase in EXP gain and an overall increase in stats!


    Who wouldn''t be?


    They just follow you around, and they get those buffs, while as the boss, he didn''t get a single buff from them. If it were not for his knowledge during gang fights that there is safety in numbers, he would probably ignore these two and leave them for themselves.


    [''Faction'' feature added on the menu screen.]


    Jun called the menu and navigated to the faction tab.


    [Faction - ???]


    [Leader - Jun Reyes]


    [Members - She Arada]


    Jun focused on her name, and a character panel popped out.


    [She Arada][Profession - Nurse][Level - 1]


    [Health - 100][Energy - 100]


    [Title - Care Giver]


    [Power - 3][Endurance- 3][Speed- 4][Wits - 6][Cunning - 5][Charm - 6]


    [Stat Points - 2]


    [Trait]


    -[Gentle]


    [Description] The opposite gender has a high chance of being positive towards you.


    [Skills]


    -[Minor Healing - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Heals for a small portion of the targets missing health.


    -[Cure - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Regeneration +10 Health and +5 energy per minute. Has a chance to remove illness. Itsts for 5 minutes and can only be used every 10 minutes on the same target. Drains 20 energy every cast.


    -[ded-weapon Mastery - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain 10% increased damage when using a sharp weapon.


    ***


    She hurriedly followed Adrian after she finished looting the kitchen. Looking left and right, she found Adrian leaning on the walls at the corner of an alley. She walked towards him.


    Adrian turned his head when he heard footsteps. When he saw that it was She, the hand holding the hidden knife behind him, rxed, he then turned back and continued peeking on the corner.


    "What are you doing?" She asked, curious about what he''s up to.


    In response, Adrian just put one of his fingers on his lips, telling her to stop talking.


    Inside the alley, there was a male infected mauling a dumpster. A loud banging can also be heard on the door next to it.


    He was nning on killing the infected, but he''s not sure if he can sneak behind it without getting noticed.


    If he can kill it quietly and quickly, then it would be much safer since he doesn''t know if there''s anymore infected in the area.


    But She seemed to have other thoughts in her mind. She walked towards the infected while holding her coat rack, and said, "It''s alone right? There are two of us. We just need to be careful like how we did it earlier."


    Adrian furrowed his brows. He didn''t know if this woman is an idiot or not. The first time they fought the infected, they were behind a fence that''s keeping them safe. On the second, they fought the crawling infected, who are so slow they couldn''t even catch them.


    It seemed that her ego got some kind of boost, and this boost might cost her life.


    The infected noticed her loud voice and turned its head. Its arms had be soft


    and looked bent, the flesh became mushed after hitting the dumpster too many times.


    The infected ran towards its prey ferociously, takingrge strides that immediately closed the distance between them.


    She got surprised at the infected''s speed and appearance that she forgot to raise her spear. She dazedly watched the infected run towards her like a deer in headlights.


    Adrian tackled the infected just in time when it was about to lunge at her. As they fall, he tried to stab the infected in its head, but the force he managed to produce didn''t seem to be enough. It tried biting him in his face, so he used his left hand to hold the infected''s neck, trying to push it away as far as possible.


    With a swishing sound, the infected immediately stopped moving as a spear-like object pierced it from the back of its head.

 Chapter 18: Hidden Inside

    Chapter 18: Hidden Inside


    She pulled out the makeshift spear from the infected''s left eye. She extended her hand to Adrian and helped him up. "Are you okay? I''m sorry. When it ran towards me, my whole body became paralyzed, and I couldn''t move. I almost got you killed." she said as worry filled her voice.


    "I''m oka" before Adrian could finish what he wanted to say, the door beside the dumpster opened. An old female infected with a bulging belly came out. Wearing a loose undershirt, showing its belly that had missing flesh. It was followed by two petite infected who wasn''t even half it''s size.


    Adrian reacted quickly as he pulled the dumpster and used it as a blockade.


    The dumpster was not that high, approximately 1.2 meters tall, allowing both sides to see each other.


    When the infected finally noticed them, they ran towards them and bumped on the dumpster.


    Adrian tried his best on pushing and controlling the dumpster, so it doesn''t tilt to one side. The infected could only stretch their hands above, trying to reach them.


    Adrian''s side was getting pushed back since the infected had more pushing power and didn''t care about pain or receiving injuries. Sweat started to appear on his forehead, and the pain that he felt on his hands, from pushing the dumpster, kept increasing.


    The dumpster suddenly tilted a bit, and one side bes lowered. It''s left side fell onto a crevice making its right side rise.


    Adrian lost control of the dumpster with the sudden change in the dumpster''s center of gravity.


    The fatdy tried to force her way through on the right side, but Adrian immediately used this chance to trap the old infected. She got stuck half-way and could only try to grab Adrian, who was a few feet away.


    One of the petite infected managed to climb the dumpster and pounced on She. A hand grabbed its feet, causing it to fell face-first on the ground followed by the sound of something breaking. When it raised its head, it''s nose was bleeding and somehow looked like a pig.


    "What are you waiting for! Kill it!" Adrian shouted.


    She watched everything that happened before her eyes. The infecteding out of the door, and Adrian using the dumpster as a barricade. Everything that happened took less than ten seconds, and it showed how the two of them were so different. Adrian managed to react in time, but she just watched everything happen.


    With Adrian''s shout, she finally woke up from her thoughts. She stepped on the infected''s neck and stabbed its head with the coat rack. A scraping sound came from behind her, followed by a fat infected who nose-dived into the ground.


    This time, she didn''t need Adrian''s reminder as she poked the infected''s head. Due to her not being used to sudden force exertions, she missed her target and hit the nape instead.


    The infected tried to stand up while its neck was still pierced, causing the skin around it to stretch. She stepped on its head and pulled her weapon out. She then made another power stab towards its head, causing blood to stter on her hands and legs.


    Her heart was beating wildly as adrenaline was pumping on her blood. Everything felt like slowing down as she caught her breath. She used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat on her nose and forehead when Adrian suddenly spoke behind her.


    "I know that you''re a bit exhausted, but can you help me with this one?"


    Both of his hands were trembling. A few droplets of sweat from his forehead had already flowed down to his chin. Thest infected was currently sandwiched between the dumpster and the wall.


    She looked at Adrian apologetically, and hurriedly stabbed thest infected. The force she could exert was obviously smaller after everything that happened, and it took her a few stabs before she could stab through the eye socket since the infected wasn''t standing still.


    A white light covered her vision, and she suddenly eximed. "I leveled up!", her eyes then appeared dazed as if she was reading something.


    "Congrattions. Now, let''s go back. I don''t want to be outside right now." Adrian said, finally having the time to sheath the knife he was holding. Since everything happened so fast, he couldn''t sheath his knife and was only able to hold it. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and no one got injured.


    He took the lead and cautiously walked towards She. When he passed by her, he couldn''t help but scold her. He said, "You''re weak and too eager, but you''re adapting, and that''s good. On our way back, we''ll do it my way, quietly, okay?"


    As they walked further, a bald head peaked out of the dumpster. He had savage-looking eyebrows and an oval face. He opened the cover after making sure that it was really safe, then leaped out of the dumpster. He then followed Adrian and She while maintaining a certain distance, just enough for him to go unnoticed.


    ***


    Adrian and She didn''t encounter any infected on their way back but was greeted by an infected standing 10 feet near the gate.


    Adrian assessed the situation and concluded that it might be one of those stragglers who heard the gunshot but couldn''t pinpoint where it came from.


    She walked forward, wanting to approach the infected but was blocked by Adrian''s hand.


    "This is mine," Adrian said as he pulled the knife out of its sheath. He lowered his body into a squatting position and waited for the infected to turn its body.


    When its back was presented to him, he cautiously sneaked towards it. When he was two meters behind the infected, he lunged at the infected with both hands overhead holding his knife.


    He heard the crunching sound of its skull breaking while the strength on the infected''s body disappeared.


    It made a thud as it falls down lifelessly on the floor, and Adrian''s vision became filled with bright lights.

 Chapter 19: Random Crate

    Chapter 19: Random Crate


    Jun was sitting on his father''s bed while using his father''s mobile phone when he suddenly received a new notification. He then put the phone in his jean''s pocket.


    [Your subordinate leveled up! You gained 1 stat point]


    [Faction - ???]


    Leader - Jun Reyes


    Members - She Arada, Adrian Santos


    When Jun gained the stat point, he quickly put it into power. He added the first 3 points into power since almost all of his skills rely on the power attribute.


    With the sudden increase in the stat, his body felt more powerful and more durable.


    Since he already saw She and Adrian''s character panel, he assumed that an average adult has 5 points as the base. The base point will increase or decrease depending on whether they are good or bad in that area. Just like She''s power and wits, it has 3 and 6 respectively.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 1]


    [Health - 100][Energy - 100]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 12][Endurance - 6][Speed - 5][Wits - 4][Cunning - 5][Charm - 6]


    [Stat Points - 0]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    -[Iron Guts]


    -[Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lvl.1]


    -[Rob - Lvl.1]


    -[Execute - Lvl.1]


    -[Blunt Weapon Mastery - Lvl.1]


    -[Blueprint Creation - Lvl.1]


    With 12 points in power, Jun felt like he could swing the baseball bat with one hand but having the force of two hands! He assumed that he had the strength of 2 adult men!


    While he was feeling satisfied with his newfound strength, he remembered that he received an item earlier. It was the Random Weapon Crate.


    The dimensional storage appeared near his hand, and he put his hand inside. When it came out, he was holding a red gift box with a huge yellow ribbon tied on top. A white question mark can be seen on its sides.


    "Is this the newbie package? But since I only received the quest since I''m one of the first to have leveled up. Does that mean everyone won''t get this box?" Jun thought to himself.


    He yed some games and knew that there are event items and some unique items that the ''top'' yers are privileged of.


    He became proud and happy, knowing that he was a bit special.


    He used his mind for the weapon crate to open itself, but it failed. He tried incantations, and when all else failed, he then used his hand to pull the ribbon manually.


    With a shake, a rattle, and a boom, the crates four corners fell outwards and revealed a red club.


    [Ogre''s Club]


    [Description] A club used by an angry ogre to smash a vampire into mushed meat after being told that he looked like an idiot for having two heads. The club absorbed the vampire''s blood.


    [Durability] 1000/1000


    [Additional Ability - Lifesteal] Convert 20% of damage dealt as health.


    [Requirements]


    - Power 20


    "F*cking!"


    Jun would have been happy after reading the item description and seeing its effect! He would have danced and jumped around if it weren''t for the size of the club being too big! It was at least one meter long and had a width of a man''s head. You can probably chop this into two and use it as fuel for fire!


    Jun consoled himself that, fortunately, he hadn''t reached the requirements to use the weapon.


    He reached out and took the red club that was slowly rotating while hovering in mid-air.


    Thud!


    When he took the club, it felt weightless, and it gave the feeling that it was a stick that you can casually pick up anywhere.


    When he fully grasped the club, it''s weight changed. Jun couldn''t support the weight, and it fell down, causingrge cracks on the floor.


    "Isn''t this almost a tree! Its weight alone could be used as a weapon!", he said sourly.


    Jun opened his dimensional storage and hid the club inside. There''s nothing he could do but level up and wait for his stat to reach the requirements. He then would take it out when he had enough power to use it.


    He took the phone in his pocket and fell on the bed sideways.


    He scrolled upon a message conversation looking for something, then stopped at a recent discussion two weeks ago.


    Anna: Dad! We moved houses again. Please stop stalking mom.


    Dad: I know. I''m sorry I got caught. Where did you move to?


    Anna: Not far, we went back to old granny''s house. Please stop talking to mom and send some money! I need to buy something for my ss.


    Dad: Okay. I''ll send them to your card.


    Anna: How''s older brother?


    Dad: He''s still rebelling...


    Anna: It''s your fault!


    Dad: I know, I''m sorry.


    Dad: Anna? You still there?


    Seeing that the following conversations were his father asking for a reply, he closed the app.


    Jun opened the faction tab, focusing on Adrian''s name.


    [Adrian Santos][Profession - Burr][Level - 1]


    [Health - 100][Energy - 100]


    [Cultivation: Thieves Codex]


    [Power - 4][Endurance - 4][Speed - 7][Wits - 4][Cunning - 5][Charm - 5]


    [Stat Points - 2]


    [Trait:]


    -[Graceful]


    [Description] Makes less noise when moving.


    -[Alert]


    [Description] Gain more focus and can sense changes in the surrounding area.


    -[Dexterous]


    [Description] The user had a deft hand and has a faster unlocking speed for locks and doors.


    -[Cat''s Eye]


    [Description] Gain +20% better vision at night


    -[Keen Hearing]


    [Description] Hearing radius +50% further.


    [Skills]


    -[Stealth - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Lowers the user''s presence in the area. Has enhanced effect when sneaking or inside a shadow. Drains 10 energy upon casting and 5 energy for every 1 minute it was activated.


    -[Pickpocket - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Steal an item from the target. The chance of alerting the target will depend on the user and the targets SPD. Drains 20 energy upon casting.


    -[Backstab - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Deal 3x damage when hitting the target from behind.


    -[de Weapon Mastery - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain 20% increased damage when using a sharp weapon.


    ***


    In the kitchen, three people were staring at each other. Since no one was willing to speak first, Jun started the conversation.


    "I know that you guys leveled up, so I''ll teach you the basics. If you guys already figured it out, then that would be better."


    The two were surprised after hearing what he just said. They indeed leveled up, but there''s no indication or any signs that they did. They were curious as to how Jun knew, but they kept the thought to themselves.


    Seeing that the two remained quiet, Jun continued speaking.


    "You use your mind to navigate on the menu and your will to interact with them. There''s three sub-menus; character, dimensional storage, and faction."


    "You can just think of opening the dimensional storage, and it will in front of your hand. You can store a huge volume of items inside."


    "The character sub-menu shows your personal stats, and it''s the same for the faction. My skills came from my expertise, which is robbing people, and I received a quest for it."


    "I need to rob 10 people toplete it. Since there were only eight people in the bank, I needed to rob both of you. I won''t apologize, and I''m not justifying my actions. I just want to clear things up since we''re stuck with each other."


    "I think that both of you received quests too?"


    She nced sideways to Adrian.


    Jun saw that action, but seeing the green name above her head, he chose to ignore her.


    After a few seconds, Adrian finally spoke up, followed by She. They both admitted that they received quests for being one of the first to level up on their respective professions.

 Chapter 20: Hoarding

    Chapter 20: Hoarding


    Jun listened carefully as they exined what they need toplete their quests.


    Afterward, Jun smiled like a devil, and his eyes brimmed with naughtiness.


    "I have a n. Let''s go to the bank!"


    ***


    Jun decided that they sort the loot since everyone already has their own dimensional storage. He still doesn''t fully trust them, but seeing the green name above their heads allowed him to.


    Jun carried all the weapons and food, while Adrian was assigned to carrying, materials, and misceneous loots.


    She was fascinated as she transferred all the medical supplies, ced on the table by Jun, into her dimensional storage. With her wits, she already started ying with the dimensional storage.


    She was juggling a bottle of flu medicine; a small ck hole appears on her left hand, and when she tilts her hand the bottle drops out from the vortex, the vortex on her left hand disappears and appears on her right hand just in time to suck the bottle inside it. She yed with it as she walked.


    They walked out from the front door, and Jun turned around. He took his final look at the old two-story house where he spent half of his life.


    He then went out of the gate with a firm will to not look back.


    ***


    "I thought we''re going to the bank?" She nervously asked as they stood in front of the local construction materials shop. She kept looking left and right, looking for any unexpected things that could happen.


    After what happened on the alley, she seemed to be a scaredy cat who would stare suspiciously at the nging rusty roof due to wind knocking on them.


    There''s only one single building on the area, as most of the space is used for materials storage. There''s a truck used for delivering materials in the middle of the shop.


    There''s no one to be seen on sight in the open area, human nor infected.


    Jun chose to approach the truck cautiously, holding his bloodied baseball bat on his right hand. If anything were to jump on him, it would be unfortunate for the other party, since he wanted to test how strong he had be.


    After reaching the corner of the truck, he slowed down. Jun made a quick dash, hands tightly grasping on the bat, ready to smash anything that moves.


    When there was nothing on the other side, he lowered his baseball bat, and said, "Nothing here. Adrian, take every piece of wood and metal that you can stuff in your storage. Shi, guard him and pay attention to the entrance."


    "I''ll go and check out the office."


    Jun turned around, not waiting if they would actually do what he said.


    He strode towards the small building, practicing his bat swinging skills. He really likes the weightless feeling the bat gave him. After adding points to power, the baseball bat became lighter in his hands.


    He arrived at the door and twisted its knob. It''s a simple office with four tables around the center. Papers were scattered on the floor, and the water dispenser was on the ground, spilling droplets of water, as most of its contents are already on the floor mixed with the pool of blood that came from a nearby body.


    A middle-aged woman and an old uncle were chewing on a young man. Their teeth couldn''t bite through the skin, but they kept on eating.


    The young man was facing the ceiling, and blood was flowing out of his head. A piece of scraped flesh was still stuck on the table beside him.


    After encountering a lot of old infected and seeing this pair, Jun concluded that there''s a high chance of old people turning into undead due to them not being able to endure the pain. Cardiac arrest? Maybe.


    "Okay! Get up, get up! I can''t be choosy. I just hope your skulls are tough so I can practice a bit." Jun excitedly shouted while taking a few steps forward.


    He repeatedly jumped on his spot as a warm-up and stretched both of his arms while holding the baseball bat.


    The two old infected ran towards him, both infected growling and showing speed that people their age shouldn''t have.


    The old uncle arrived first, followed closely by the woman.


    Jun kicked the old uncle in its stomach, causing the infected to bent forward unnaturally. It then fell on the floor with a plop.


    The middle-aged woman lunged at him. He dodges to his right, making the lunge ineffective. When the middle-aged woman turned its head, it was greeted by the baseball bat. The infected woman fell back with its feet raised and head its head heavily smashed the floor. Blood flowed out of her head, and she stopped moving.


    "That... wasn''t exciting."


    Jun looted the old man after making sure that it was really dead then knelt down beside the aunty.


    He was looking outside the door, staring at the stone wall directly in front of him.


    There''s a white question mark floating behind the concrete wall. He can see it hover towards the left and then went back to its original position as if the person behind the wall was anxiously thinking of something.


    It stayed near the entrance for a few seconds, then a bald head appeared. The shining head gave a sparkle as the sunrays hit the top of the head.


    The guy watched Adrian and She as they gathered supplies. When he saw a vortex appear on Adrian''s hand, the bald man became shocked as he widely opened both his mouth and eyes. He seemed to be doubting what he saw, and so he wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.


    The bald guy then turned his head and saw Jun standing in front of the door while staring at him. His eyes almost popped out as he shouted, "Watch out!"


    Jun was extremely puzzled as to why this guy would shout. The question mark above his head change to green and Jun became more confused. Someone was trying to warn him, but they didn''t even know each other.


    What was he talking about?


    A low growl came from inside the office, and Jun felt every hair on his body stand. He turned around and tried to raise the baseball bat on his chest, but he was a step toote.

 Chapter 21: Bald Hero

    Chapter 21: Bald Hero


    Not all heroes wear capes; some wear simple shirts.


    ***


    Jun got tackled by the young infected, causing both of them to fall on the ground. Hended on his back, and the infected fell on top of him. He got disarmed and was forced to let go of the baseball bat when he got pushed down by the infected.


    Hearing themotion, Adrian and She hurriedly ran towards the office just in time to see another infected limp out of the door.


    The infected was a beautiful woman wearing a blood-stained white t-shirt and a mini-skirt. Her legs were bent backward, and she could only limp forward slowly. Her nose was missing, and blood kept flowing out on its surrounding area.


    Adrian ran as fast as he could to intercept the infected, but someone else managed to reach the infected first.


    A figure pounced on the infected, and they rolled on the ground, umting dirt and grass on their bodies.


    Jun used his 12 points in power to dominate the infected. Since he had no weapon that he could use, he grabbed the infected''s mouth that was trying to bite him with his bare hands.


    With each hand holding the lower and upper jaw, he used all of his strength and pulled as far as he can.


    A sudden ripping noise could be heard, and when it stopped, the infected''s mouth had been stretched by at least one foot.


    Blood kept dripping on Jun''s face, and he had to tilt his head a bit to avoid some from falling on his face. He shoved the body aside and sat down on the ground.


    Adrian pulled his knife from the infected''s head and helped the bald guy up.


    When the man sat down, a visible bite mark can be seen on his right shoulder.


    "I''m okay, I-I''m okay. You guys don''t have to worry. I''m okay."


    ***


    "You''re fine," Jun stared coldly as he circled a bald guy sitting on a chair inside the office.


    "You''re lucky you''re fine. What''s your name again?" Jun asked menacingly as he stopped in front. "I didn''t hear it clearly since I was staring at this!"


    Jun ced his hand on top of the guy''s bandaged shoulder and kept staring at him. The wound was cleaned, and it received [Minor Healing] and [Cure] from She. Jun only got [Cure] since he wasn''t really injured. Afterward, She then tried using [Cure] on herself, and it actually worked.


    Now they''re just resting inside the office trying to calm their hearts.


    When Jun touched the bandage, a small panel appeared and made a brief description of the wound.


    [Shoulder - Slightly wounded] (Bandaged)


    [Description] The user is now infected. When the user dies, the body will reanimate and be a carrier.


    "My name''s Edward. I''ll be a hero who can protect the innocent by using one punch to subdue all enemies. I-"


    "Stop talking!"


    Jun eximed as he fought the urge to strangle his savior. It was thanks to his warning that he was still alive, and the cost wasn''t something that could be taken lightly.


    He was ring at the man in front of him.


    Edward could be considered good-looking from modern standards. Although his head had no hair and his eyebrows made him look a ferocious egg, the charisma he exuded was unique.


    "Can you move your arms?"


    "My arm can feel the strength coursing through it. Although the speed I can produce got reduced, there seemed to be no problem when ites to basic movements." Edward stretched his arm then noticed that Jun was ring at him.


    Jun nced to the side and asked Adrian, "What''s he talking about?"


    "Dunno." Adrian shrugged, then walked to the door, keeping watch of the surroundings.


    Seeing that no one can understand what Edward said, he then chose to ignore it.


    "I don''t know why you saved me, but I don''t like owing favors. What do you want?"


    Edward scratched his head. "You don''t know me, but I know you. You saved me! Ever since your group was formed, this town became more peaceful. Your group helped people!" he eximed.


    He then told how they met and how Jun saved him. There was reverence in his eyes as he narrated his story.


    Edward was a college freshman student. On his way home after the weing party, he was stopped by a group of people. Their intentions were clear, and it isn''t something good. They demanded everything he had, including his clothes.


    As they were merrily toying with him, a man appeared behind them. A band-aid was on his nose and left cheek. Behind him, a guy wearing a ck beanie and a windbreaker was munching on peanuts.


    He charged into the group and fought them alone. The peanut guy just kept watching even when the reckless guy got punched in the face or when he got pummeled in the back of his head.


    He bled and got injured, but he never backed down. He fell down uncountable times, but he always managed to get up.


    His tenacious attitude frightened the other side, and their fighting spirit waned. It was then he fought like crazy and managed to be the only man standing.


    Before he could celebrate, a police officer was seen approaching from a distance, being followed by an old aunty. He ran and never looked back, leaving a stunned naked student.


    She was staring at Jun with confused eyes. Adrian remained undisturbed as he watched the gate''s entrance.


    After hearing the story, Jun''s mood finally calmed down.


    "Let''s go; we''re moving. We need to reach the bank before the people there chose to leave."


    ***


    She chatted with Edward as they walked outside the entrance. The infected were at least three blocks away, and so their group was at ease.


    "Why did you do it?" She suddenly asked. "You could have died before Adrian killed that infected. I don''t believe that you saved him because he saved you once, so I''m really curious. Why?"


    Edward nced at her after hearing the word infected and then sighed before he replied, "Do you guys know that you saved me too? Those strange people also chased me. Fortunately, I found a dumpster to hide. They kept on hitting but never tried to open the cover."


    "Then I heard a gunshot, most of those people left, but one stated. Then I heard voices and fighting. When I finally gathered my courage toe out, you''re already gone."


    "By the way, you guys call those people infected?"


    "Long story short, they''re just zombies. Oooohh~" She jokingly scared Edward, which won a few chuckles.


    "I get the feeling that you''re actually normal, so why do you talk like that?"


    Edward smiled as he answered her question.


    He put his hand in front of him and made a fist. Yellow light slowly appeared inside his clenched hand. The yellow light flowed smoothly and covered his hand.


    "It''s because I gained superpowers!"

 Chapter 22: Energy

    Chapter 22: Energy


    She stopped walking after seeing the yellow light that covered Edward''s hand. Adrian, who was at the end of the group, bumped into her.


    "Why did you stop... What is that?"


    "I was gifted by the Gods with this power. I can utilize a fraction of their strength and..." Edward stopped talking as he saw Jun walking towards them.


    He knew that Jun wouldn''t hurt him, yet he couldn''t help himself but get scared every time he sees Jun.


    "What happened? Why did you guys stop walking?" Jun asked.


    She took Edward''s hand and showed it to Jun.


    "I think he can use energy!" She eximed.


    "Maybe that''s one of his skills? Everyone has them." Adrian said, then rebuked himself. "No, that''s impossible."


    "I don''t think he leveled up, and if that''s the case, he shouldn''t be able to ess the menu." Adrian made his own conclusion and muttered to himself. "How did you do it?"


    Edward raised both of his hands. Yellow light crawled on his skin and fully covered his hand. He was going to speak some nonsense, but Jun''s presence didn''t allow him to.


    "I don''t really know how I did it. I was trapped in the dumpster, and it was dark, so I wished for light, and it came. I dunno, maybe I was too scared of the dark or those infected banging on my hiding spot."


    "I used this on my hand when I tackled the infected earlier, and surprisingly it couldn''t chew my hand!" Edward puffed his chest, showing how proud he was of his feat.


    "So, how did you get bit?" Jun asked sarcastically.


    Edward slightly lowered his head. "Uhm... Some blood from her nose fell on my face, and so I panicked. I wiped it with my hand and the next thing I knew, I was already bitten."


    She felt bewildered after hearing his reason. A moment of carelessness almost cost him his life.


    Fortunately, he was bitten on his shoulder and not on his neck.


    She then thought of something and asked, "Can''t you just cover your shoulder with those light?"


    "I... haven''t thought of that."


    "You''ll have enough time to experiment on your own. We need to go." Jun interrupted their conversation as he looked in a particr direction. "The bank encountered some trouble."


    A group of infected was blocking the entrance of the bank.


    ***


    With Jun as the vanguard, they approached the bank. He swung the bat left and right with one hand then with a thud, hit the nearby trash bin.


    It flew towards the group of infected and hit the ones in the back. The back-line split with the leading group and charged towards them.


    With their group''s previous experience and with the addition of Edward, they killed all of the infected easily.


    Jun bashed the first one on its head. Due to inertia, its body fell onto him, which he dodged by simply stepping to the side. The next one lunged at him, and he choked it with his left hand. The infected scratched his arm and caused bloody w marks to appear.


    Since he knows that you won''t die even if you get bitten, the fear that he felt since the beginning finally disappeared, making him much braver than before. Also, if he got bitten, he just ought to not die, right?


    Adrian came from his side and stabbed the infected in the head, its hands became limp, and when he let go of his hand, it fell down.


    A refreshing feeling surged in his body as a warmth came from behind him.


    She took her hand back and nodded. She slowly advanced forward while holding her makeshift spear. Her form isn''t perfect, and Jun could tell that even though he isn''t an expert.


    Edward charged forward but was blocked by Jun''s body. "I''ll help you level upter. Loot the bodies." Jun walked a few steps then faced back to him. "Just ce your hand on top of the body."


    With Jun joining Adrian and She, the fight ended quickly with no casualties, besides his initial injury which already formed scabbed, everyone else was scot-free.


    On the other side of the barricade, Pablo was just staring at them. He was holding a sharpened PVC pipe together with the manager.


    Jun ced his bloody baseball bat on his shoulder and grinned as he turned to face the two of them.


    "Old friend, can you let us in? It''s not safe out here, you know?"


    ***


    "What happened here?" Jun frowned as he saw a group of people encircling a middle-aged woman. The arm was bandaged near her wrist, and her breaths were bing slower.


    "People tried to leave but came back after they got chased by those... those things.", the old manager exined. "They think that she will be one of them, so they''re keeping watch."


    After hearing the problem, Jun walked towards the woman and checked her pulse. "She''s fine, just need a little help."


    With that said, he beckoned for She toe forward, and she did the rest. After using Minor Healing and Cure, the woman''s expression softened, and her breathing stabilized.


    Everyone was stupefied after witnessing such a thing. Though nobody dared to ask about what just happened, their expressions were filled with joy and curiosity.


    Jun stood up and looked at everyone.


    In return, everyone was looking at him.


    "The world has changed, and you already experienced what it''s like. It''s not safe here anymore, and my group ns on leaving as soon as possible. I''m nning to stay at Super-9 since there''s lots of food and drinks. Anyone who wants toe cane, but we''ll have to conduct a simple check just to make sure that everyone who''sing is okay."


    After saying his piece, Jun went beside the door and stood guard.

 Chapter 23: A Safe Place

    Chapter 23: A Safe ce


    She stood in the center of the room, and eight people were staring at her. She took a deep breath and spoke confidently.


    "Please make a line ande here. We''re conducting a simple check if you want toe with us. You can also stay here, and we won''t force you if you don''t want to."


    It took a few seconds before someone actually moved.


    It was the old manager who took the first move.


    "I''m clean, no bites.", he said as he spun on his spot to prove that there''s nothing suspicious of him.


    "Okay, I''ll now check your pulse.", She said.


    She''s quest was to use [Minor Healing] on 10 unique individuals, while Adrian''s quest was to use [Steal] 10 times.


    She already used it on Edward and Jun, so with the number of people here, she could finish her quest. Although she used her energy a few times earlier, with the cure energy regeneration, she managed to recover her energy to full again.


    After checking his pulse, she brought him to Adrian''s side. She stayed in front of the old manager as Adrian does his job.


    "Please put your hands to the sides and turn around," Adrian instructed.


    The old manager followed him and turned around with his arms on the sides.


    When Adrian put his hand near the back pockets, a small vortex appeared. He inserted his hand, then immediately took it back out.


    "Okay, your good. Please wait at the side. We''re leaving if no one else wants toe." Adrian said to the others while emphasizing that they would leave now.


    With the manager as a precedent, Pablo and all of the employees lined up, causing the civilians to fall in line since no one really wants to be left behind.


    After repeatedly doing their "checks," they managed toplete their quests with ease.


    ***


    Jun observed everyone inside the bank. When they first arrived, everyone''s name was ck, including the manager who always had a white-colored name.


    Ever since he knew that he gained this unique ability, he tried to understand and learn what those changes in colors mean.


    Although his understanding of them were just assumptions, one thing is for sure, its connected to how they see him or think of him at the time.


    That means he can''t fully trust the person since they could betray himter, but it would be a good indicator of whom to trust.


    "I need my gun back," Pablo said while staring at him, his eyes are saying that won''t take no for an answer. "You took all the guns upstairs, and we could have died losing those guns!"


    Jun grinned and said, "Yes, I took them. We came back and dealt with the problem, right? So what''s the problem."


    Pablo looked tired of the conversation even though they just started it.


    He sighed and reasoned with Jun. "Just give me a gun. I''m a better shot than you, and people feel safe if someone who has AUTHORITY is in charge."


    Jun frowned but still chose to agree. "Sure." He took Pablo''s gun from his storage and held it at the barrel. "...here, take it."


    Pablo took his gun back and pointed it towards him. His face became savage as he smiled wickedly.


    "I want you to kneel and raise your hands."


    Pablo''s eye bes bloodshot. All the rage he held in was finally released.


    "Hahaha!" Junughed hard and attracted everyone''s attention.


    When everyone noticed the situation, they stopped whatever they were doing and just watched except for Adrian and She, who already brought out their weapons from their inventory.


    As they inched forward, Pablo pointed the gun towards them, causing them to be unable to move.


    They became paralyzed as this is their first time standing at the other side of the gun. If they make any wrong movements, they could die.


    Jun was stillughing but slowly recovered. When he finally controlled hisughter and managed his expression, he approached Pablo.


    "I knew it. We''re both a**holes! It''s just I''m the better one." Jun angrily shouted as he suddenly grabbed Pablo''s neck.


    Pablo was surprised, and so he aimed the gun at Jun and pressed the trigger.


    The loud gunshot should have killed Jun, but instead, the pistol only produced clicking sounds.


    There were no bullets!


    Jun raised him up, making him unable to breathe.


    Jun stared at him, then said, "I have AUTHORITY, and I''m the better one."


    After saying what he wanted to say, he released him and took back his gun, leaving Pablo coughing on the floor.


    He then started walking.


    "Let''s go!"


    Since everyone''s already finished with their checks, and already finished watching the scene, they followed behind him. They felt less guilty about leaving Pablo after what he had done.


    Their group of eleven made a beeline for the grocery retail store, Super-9. It''s a vast warehouse that sells groceries in retail.


    They didn''t encounter a single infected, and they managed to cross the street swiftly.


    After reaching the storefront, Jun called for Adrian. They both looked at the thick padlocks attached to the shutters.


    "Can you unlock it?"


    Adrian smiled and replied confidently. "Of course, there are no locks I can''t open as long as I have enough time."


    He knelt down and started tinkering with the locks.


    The new members of his group were frightened as they looked around the streets. The area was chaotic and filled with signs of ughter, pools, and sshes of blood scattered in the surrounding. The strange thing that they noticed was theck of dead bodies in sight.


    As they scanned the surroundings, they noticed three infected in the distance.


    "Hey, look over there!"


    "Those are zombies, right?"


    "Eh? Why are they looking here? Did they notice us?"


    "Ack!! They''reing"


    Jun couldn''t help shaking his head, listening to their conversations. Most of the members of this group were female, so he could understand why they were talkative and curious, but what pisses him off was no one at least tried to hide as they openly stayed in the middle of the road.


    He turned to Edward and inquired about his injury. "How''s the bite? Can you fight?"


    He didn''t talk nonsense and said excitedly. "The wound already scabbed, and it''s so itchy! I think I can fight as long as it''s one on one."


    Jun then asked Adrian, "How much time left?"


    "Just one minute is enough. Three fat locks to tinker with."


    Jun faced She. "Can you fight alone?"


    "I can''t kill one, but I can stall one. You can quickly kill one anyway."


    "You should practice as early as possible."


    "Maybe, some other time."


    The female employees were now staring at him, watching their casual attitudes as if they''re on a pic distributing chores.


    "Okay! Here theye." Jun reminded them.


    She took a basic stance with her coat rack while Edward bumped his fists together, yellow aura slowly covered his hands.

 Chapter 24: Evolution

    Chapter 24: Evolution


    The three infected dashed towards them as a group.


    "Let''s spread them out. Edward, go near the car on the right. She, you take the left side. I''ll stay here at the center."


    Jun stood between the two, and they made an arc formation. He chose this formation so he could aid them if they got in trouble.


    Edward climbed up a nearby car''s hood. He then shouted iprehensible things to himself as heughed. His voice attracted two of the infected as they switched direction to him.


    She raised the coat rack and aimed it at the lone infected''s head, the result already expected.


    Since two infected went in Edward''s direction, Jun rushed to give aid.


    Edward jumped down on the other side of the car, which divided the infected into two.


    Jun taunted one by waving his baseball bat in front of him. Since it lost its momentum and couldn''t lunge at him, it raised one of its hands and tried to maul him.


    He dodges to the side then tripped the infected. It fell face first and stopped moving for a brief moment.


    Jun didn''t give it any chance to stand up as he swung his baseball bat downwards.


    He stopped after two more hits and looked around. She was already looting the body while Edward was feeding his hand to the infected.


    His hand was being chewed by an infected, but he seemed not to be affected.


    "Look! I''ve gained the immortal body!" Edwardughed and then mauled the infected''s head with his other arm.


    Before Jun could rebuke that he was just using a skill, a shout came from the store''s entrance.


    "I got it!" Adrian smiled while showing two padlocks on his hand.


    "Shall we go inside?"


    ***


    Jun took a glimpse inside through the gaps before fully opening the shutters. It created a lot of noise, but considering that they just cleared the surroundings, there shouldn''t be a problem in the meantime.


    Jun strolled inside freely, apanied by the group. They pulled the shutters down and secured its lock.


    A spacious aisle weed them as they entered. On the right side was a stairwell with a locked gate, going up to the second floor. A school advertisement was posted on the wall.


    They continued walking and finally reached the disy area, where most of the goods were ced.


    "We''ll stay for the night here. It''s almost dark outside, and we need a safe ce to rest."


    When Jun mentioned that they could rest, Adrian and She felt relieved. Even though they adapted quickly, everything was still a new experience for them. They were both physically and mentally tired. Not even half a day had passed, but a lot of things have already happened.


    Humans are social animals. After surviving with each other, they be closer to each other. Everyone gathered at the center of the disy area, sitting on white monoblock chairs.


    They started introducing themselves and began chatting merrily with each other. The old manager was called Bernard, and his four employees were Alex, Jamie, Kareen, and Ester. The two middle-aged women were Gina and Dyna; both were fish vendors on the wet market.


    After the introductions, Jun''s group camped around the stock room since it has electric fans avable in the area.


    She watched the youthful aura of the employees as they went on a shopping spree.


    She asked Jun. "Aren''t we going to stock up on food?"


    "We don''t have enough space. I''m going out to babysit Edward into leveling up, so we can have another dimensional storage."


    Jun then looked around and whispered, "Let them do what they want. Just observe them, look for anyone who seems useful."


    Jun invited Edward to his faction, which he epted, and then they walked towards the entrance. He was stopped by Gina, who thanked him for saving her life. He exined that she should be thanking Shi since most of the credit goes to her skills.


    Jun and Edward left the store confidently like everything will go the way they wanted things; it didn''t.


    They came back when the sky became slightly dark. Edward leveled up, and Jun got a free stat point, which he put further into strength, reaching 13.


    Their goal was achieved but not without injuries; Edward''s right hand got bit.


    When Jun narrated the story, their small group couldn''t help but shake their head. Edward could only smile wryly as he epted Adrian and She''s rebuking gazes.


    Edward insisted that he train on using energy instead of using a weapon. He got bitten because he couldn''t use his aura to protect his hands. With a little brainstorming, they concluded that he probably doesn''t have enough energy to continue using the skill.


    Once the protection aura was gone, his hand became a soft delicacy for the infected to nibble on.


    Luckily, the bite was shallow and didn''t take any of his flesh. Looking at the bite''s swollen appearance, he would probably need a long time before he could fight again.


    After receiving first aid and basic heals from She, Edward''splexion somewhat eased. He still looked nervous, but he''s finally starting to talk like his usual self, which didn''t impress anyone.


    Jun taught him the basics of navigating on the menu. He also advised him to start practicing control over his energy consumption so that simr incidents wouldn''t happen.


    Adrian tested his stealth skill while walking around the area. Although it only lowers his presence and not actual invisibility, he was still happy with the results. As long as he doesn''t speak or intentionally block someone, no one will notice him.


    With Edward''s newly gained dimensional storage, they ransacked most of the canned goods section and a few gallons of water.


    Their group of four became happy as they felt secure, and they would never feel hunger for the nexting days.


    Some people weren''t happy after seeing that they almost emptied one of the shelves. They just couldn''t voice it out as Jun was in the area.


    Seeing their attitudes, Jun gave them an ultimatum. He announced that his group would be leaving tomorrow and would ept anyone who can fight and kill an infected.


    They would be protected, and safety is guaranteed, but they need to make thest hit.


    Not everyone is fond of the idea; only Bernard and Gina came forward. Most of the bank''s employees chose not to dirty their hands.


    Jun exined the n to the two. At dawn, they would go outside and kill the infected in the area. To be safe, they would only target lone or at most two infected at a time.


    Jun assured them that as long as they followed the n, with their group''s protection, everyone will be safe.


    The two of them couldn''t hide their excitement after their small meeting. They went back to their own areas to rest.


    Jun searched the second floor with Adrian''s help. Adrian unlocked most of the doors then picked a room to slumber into.


    The second floor is a private school, and has only four rooms, with three ssrooms and one principal''s office.


    Jun went inside the office and sat on the swivel chair. Although notfortable, it was still better than the cold floor downstairs. He dragged his tired feet on the table and closed his eyes.


    ***


    It was a bright moonlit night.


    In the middle of the street, an infected that had bulging muscles was chewing the face of a dead body. On its side was a lean infected that had one leg missing, devouring the leftover intestines.


    When the moonlight hit them, they suddenly convulsed. They rolled on the ground for a few seconds, and when they stood up, something already changed in them.


    The muscr infected be bulkier, its arms bing longer. Usually, an arm should only have an average length of 2-3 feet, but this infected''s arm reached almost 4 feet. The lean infected became slightly smaller and recovered its lost leg as it stood.


    A nging sound attracted their attention. The bulky infected roared and ran like a gori, making the asphalt road shake. The thin infected overtook the bulky guy as he dashed speedily and pounced on the rolling trash bin.


    They looked around the area and left when they couldn''t find anything.


    On the other corner, a silhouette appeared. A man was chewing peanuts as he surveyed the surroundings.


    The person beside him whispered to him, "I told you! We should have waited for him toe! Why are we out here in the middle of the night! We could die here!"


    The man chose to ignore the angry person behind him and opened another pack of peanuts.

 Chapter 25: Whack-A-Zombie

    Chapter 25: Whack-A-Zombie


    Jun woke up at dawn, shivering. The cold air in the morning made his body felt sluggish. After yawning and stretching his arms, he went out of the room.


    Jun noticed the wandering infecteds that were gathering outside.


    He went downstairs and woke the group up.


    Bernard stood up dazedly, still half asleep, followed by Gina and Dyna.


    The first thing the group of women did was to help each other tidy themselves. They then stood up and walked towards Jun, with Alex as the front.


    Shebed her hair with her hands and then slowly put her hair behind her ears.


    "Umm... after talking to each otherst night, we changed our mind. We realized that we wouldn''t survive alone, and we should stick together as a group." Alex said anxiously. "Can we still join your group?"


    "We''ll know that soon enough." Jun turned and walked towards the entrance. After peaking on some small holes, he called for Adrian.


    "Give me some wood, choose therger ones, and put them here," Jun said as he pointed beside him.


    Adrian walked over with a vortex on top of his hand. He ced several piles of wood tidily on the floor.


    Jun ced his hand on top of the pile.


    The pile of wood distorted then suddenly melted while being covered by white lights. The light then slowly changed its shape into baseball bats.


    A ck line appeared and seemed to print the baseball bat out-of-nowhere as it regained its color and texture.


    When the ck line finished printing the baseball bat, it instantly vanished.


    ''Ding!''


    [Item Creation Complete!]


    - Wooden Baseball Bat x4


    [Wooden Baseball Bat]


    [Description] A baseball bat made from coconut lumber.


    [Additional Effect - Increased item durability.]


    [Durability - 150/150]


    "Okay, everyone,e here. We have a new n."


    ***


    Bernard was feeling nervous. "Can we really do it?" he asked Jun, who was standing on his left.


    There are two rows of people, four in front and two in the back.


    Bernard, Gina, Dyna, and Alex were in front, holding baseball bats. Behind them were Jamie, Kareen, and Ester standing between the gaps, showing nervous expressions on their faces.


    "Remember, it''s just whack-a-mole, keep hitting them in the head until they''re dead.", said Jun to Bernard''s row. "Focus on killing them as quickly as possible. The support group will take care of looting the bodies."


    Jun took onest look on them before nodding towards Edward.


    Seeing the signal, Edward raised the shutter and made sure to level it with his knees. He then plugged a wooden stool underneath to fix its current height.


    Raising the shutters caused enough noise to attract the infected in front of the shop. They dashed towards the sound.


    Edward peeked below and shouted, "Minions of the Underworld! Are you brave enough to fight us to death!? Come here! Yes, that''s right"


    Edward couldn''t finish what he was trying to say as an infected dived at him. Itnded between Alex and Dyna, which shocked the two.


    The infected shrieked and wiggled its body as it crawled forward.


    Gina was the first to react. She raised the baseball bat overhead and swung it down.


    Blood sttered on their feet as the head shattered. Her hand and legs trembled as she went back to her position. Jamie, who was behind Alex and Dyna, closed her eyes as she unwillingly grabbed the infected''s neck.


    "Focus! Here theye!" Jun reminded them as the shrieking outside increased.


    The infected started hitting the shutters, and some of them began to crawl underneath.


    The loud rattling noise of metal hastened the heartbeats of the group. Some tightened the way they held the baseball bat, and some chose to focus on the gap.


    The infected kepting one after the other. The rate of infected being killed decreased when the dead bodies blocked the others from crawling through.


    After eight waves, the front row had be exhausted. Fortunately, most of them leveled up, except for Alex.


    Jun received two stat points as a reward for his subordinates leveling up. He managed to invite Bernard and Gina into his faction. He tried inviting more, but he received a prompt that the number of direct subordinates has already reached the limit.


    He put all of his newly earned points into power since he''s trying to reach the requirement for the Ogre''s Club, which needs 20 points in power.


    The three stepped back and swapped roles with the support team; Jamie, Kareen, and Ester.


    Having looted a lot of bodies and after being exposed to the gory scene, they did well on their first wave.


    After a few minutes of head bashing, they finally level up. The ttering outside was also noticeably weakerpared to before. There were only two pairs of legs that firmly knocked on the shutters instead of crawling through the gap.


    "Congrattions." Jun smiled at them. "You guys are now officially members of my group."


    Jun looked everyone in their eyes and dered, "There''s only one leader here, and that''s me! You''ll follow whatever I say! Whatever I tell you to do!"


    "And in return, I''ll make sure that you stay alive."


    It wasn''t a grand speech that can move people''s feelings,s but it achieved what it was meant to do. After experiencing how fighting an infected felt, that deal sounds good enough for them.


    "Go back and loot everything inside; food and water are the top priority. She, go with them and teach them how to use the menu screen", Jun said.


    The newborn survivors felt excitement and exhaustion take over their bodies. They happily followed She into the store''s disy area.


    When the group was a distance away, Jun waved for Adrian toe closer.


    "Follow them. Listen to their conversations."


    Adrian stepped back and didn''t reply. In the next second, he was gone.


    Jun was a bit surprised. He searched for him with furrowed brows. After focusing hard, he found Adrian walking along the walls.


    The ttering outside reminded him of the threat out.


    "Are you ready?" Jun said to Edward, then shifted his body sidewards as he took a batting stance.


    Edward nodded, and a thin protective aura covered his hands. He squatted down and held the shutter, then pushed it all the way to top.


    The two infected who were hitting the shutters fell forward after hitting thin air.


    Jun took advantage of this and killed the infected nearest to him.


    Edward chose to punch the infected to death.


    A familiar feeling came from inside him, and it spread evenly on his body.


    [You leveled up!]


    [You received two stat points.]


    Jun opened his character panel and unhesitatingly added two points to power. He noticed that most of his skills have leveled up, and one actually evolved.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 2]


    [Health - 150][Energy - 100]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 15][Endurance - 6][Speed - 5][Wits - 4][Cunning - 5][Charm - 6]


    [Stat Points - 0]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    -[Iron Guts]


    -[Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lvl.2]


    [Description] The user''s voice bes threatening, reducing the enemy''s overall stats by 25%. Drains 11 energy upon activation and 6 energy for every minute it was continuously active.


    -[Rob - Lvl.2]


    [Description] Gain a 50% chance to take 6 random items from the targets dimensional storage. If the user''s strength is three times higher than the target, Daylight Robbery is activated. When Daylight Robbery activates, the user can choose 6 items to take instead. The target bes immune to the skill for 24 hours. Drains 10 energy when used.


    -[Execute - Lvl.2]


    [Description] Gain a 12% chance to instantly kill the target when yound a critical hit on a vital area.


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain 20% damage when using a melee weapon.


    - [Blueprint Creation - Lvl.1]

 Chapter 26: Wait

    Chapter 26: Wait


    "Is everyone ready? Let''s go."


    A man cautiously surveyed the surroundings as he started walking, behind him was a groupprised of ten people. An old man in a suit, two middle-aged women in casuals, four youthful women in uniformed clothing, two male teenagers, one wearing a t-shirt while the other one was hooded, and thest one, a woman on a simple round-neck shirt and faded jeans.


    It was, of course, Jun''s group.


    After taking everything that they could loot from the store, they decided to talk about some important matters. The group was worried about their families and requested that Jun must help them. They even swore that if he helped them, they would willingly follow him.


    The meeting ended with a bright tone. Everyone was happy because when they were talking where they live, they realized that they just live near each other.


    With their families as the topic, they ate breakfast cheerfully.


    Jun told them that their destination is the city hall, but he didn''t provide any reason.


    Most of them were obviously happy about where they headed since they would pass by their homes.


    Bernard suggested finding a vehicle that they could use, but Jun was totally against it.


    Of course, Jun had his reasons.


    The most obvious would be that they would make too much noise, which could attract hundreds of infected. Besides, the roads are too narrow and could only allow one vehicle perne, making it hard to maneuver.


    Alex looked left and right as if she was looking for something. As they walked, her gaze wandered from a car''s window to a building''s window.


    Every window that showed slight movements caught her attention.


    She was staring hard at a car''s tinted window when a hand caught her shoulder.


    She gasped and was about to scream when someone spoke behind her.


    "Are you alright? Is there anything troubling you?" She asked, concerned.


    Alex sighed. "Please don''t do that again." she then hugged the baseball bat closer to her body.


    "Sorry, did I scare you?" said She as they continued walking.


    "I''m fine. I''m just not used to this yet. "


    "That''s okay, most of us aren''t." She patted Alex''s back.


    ***


    "What do you think?" Jun asked Adrian.


    "It''s impossible. We won''t be able to go through that. There are too many vehicles, so our visibility will be limited."


    The group had to stop because of the traffic ahead. They stayed in a circr formation grasping their weapons while keeping watch in different directions.


    The highway was jam-packed with vehicles that you can''t even see where it ends. They could also see some infected standing idly in between cars.


    They''re currently traveling along the national high way, which should be the shortest route to reach the city hall.


    The road ahead has residential houses on each side, which means more infected and more blind spots. Although they could go through the sidewalk and proceed carefully, they could still be noticed as a group of their size couldn''t pass sneakily. In the worst-case scenario, they would all get surrounded and killed.


    "Any suggestions?" Jun asked as he looks around. "None? Then we continue that way."


    He could hear a few whispers about going back, but since they didn''t even dare to voice it out, he just ignored them.


    Adrian took the lead, followed by Jun. With his stealth, he effortlessly killed lone infecteds that blocked their way.


    They moved slowly and carefully from corner to corner, stopping at every sight of an infected.


    They were doing very well at being sneaky when someone called from above.


    "Wait! Please wait for me!"


    They all looked up while preventing the curse words that almost spat out from their mouths. It was an old man in a formal suit. Although his voice wasn''t that loud, it still caught the attention of the infecteds on the other side of the road.


    "Go inside! Hurry! Go!" Jun yelled as he pointed to the house where the old man was on. The panic on his voice can be clearly felt.


    Everyone ran towards the door, not even waiting for Jun to take the lead. They readied their weapons in case there are infected on the other side of the door. Bernard twisted the knob, and it wouldn''t open.


    "It''s locked!" shouted Bernard.


    "Damn!" Jun cursed as he saw numerous infected dash towards them. A figure passed by his side and knelt down beside the door.


    Adrian examined the knob and yelled, "I need five seconds!"


    Hearing what Adrian said, Jun took a few steps forward and waited between a car''s trunk and a car''s hood, using the small passage to control the approaching infected. Edward and She stood behind him. The ''newbies'' remained near Adrian and stood in formation, four front-rows, and three back-rows.


    "You''ve already done this! They''re just running this time!" Jun reminded them as he took a batting stance.


    The first infected came, immediately followed by two more. Three more infected appeared behind them. The first three took the center path, where they could only approach one at a time. The other three climbed on the car''s hood and trunk.


    With a single swing, Jun quickly dealt with the first infected. When he hit the first infected''s head, he actually scraped the face of the one behind it. The infected''s jaw was now tilted to the side, and half of its face got erased, reced by scraped flesh dripping with blood.


    Jun pushed the body of the first infected and forced back the two infected behind.


    Edward and She behind him saw everything. What terrifying strength! They were shocked but still managed to focus on what needs to be done.


    She held a long spear on her hand. It was the weapon she got from her random weapon crate. Its shaft was made from wood and had a three-pointed end like a trident.


    She chose the lone infected on the trunk as her target. Instead of stabbing, she decided to sweep the infected''s leg with the spear, causing the infected to lose bnce and fell down. Before it could even stand, a spear already pierced its head.


    At the same time, Edward''s hands were being chewed as he grabbed each of the infected''s jaw. Jun used an overhead smash and killed both infected in one strike. Edward, who bore some of the impacts felt numb, while his energy dived towards the bottom. He was about to open his mouth toin when he heard some good news.


    "It''s open! Let''s go!" shouted Adrian.


    Jun nced at the dead bodies on the ground, then towards the infecteds that started appearing on the sides.


    He felt sad that he couldn''t loot the bodies, but he isn''t stupid enough to try and drag them back.


    "Go! I''ll take the rear guard."


    Edward and She turned around, then ran.


    They noticed two infected bodies on the ground, both elderlies.


    Bernard smiled after taking some deep breaths. On his arm were bite wounds that already turned pale with dark webbings on the edge of the bites.

 Chapter 27: Cure?

    Chapter 27: Cure?


    Inside the house, in the living room, Bernard was sitting on the sofa while She tended to his wound. Bernard had to endure the painful feeling every time the alcohol-filled cotton touches him. If it were not for the warm energy that circted inside him, he would have a hard time moving.


    He asked, while feeling breathless, "I won''t die, right?"


    "Of course not, you''ll be okay," She said assuringly.


    The wound was finally cleaned, and she started bandaging the wound. She took a few medicine tablets from the ck hole beside her and gave it to Bernard.


    "I''m sorry... it''s my fault." Ester said as tears fell down her cheeks. "I should have killed it... but I couldn''t."


    She started huping, and then her sobs turned into crying. A few of her workmates consoled her to stop her from crying but failed.


    Bernard stood up and took a scarf from his pocket. "Don''t cry... it''s not your fault. I''m still alive and kicking, look."


    He moved around and showed how energetic he was. Seeing that, Ester stopped crying.


    Bernard went back and sat down, thoughts about his family filled his head.


    ***


    "The door won''t stand for long. We need to get out of here," said Jun as he entered the living room.


    Edward anxiously appeared behind him, looking at the front door that repeatedly produced pounding noises. Roars and growls can be even be heard from the other side.


    "Right! Let''s go! Although this lord isn''t scared of a dozen devil''s minion, everyone''s safety should be the top priority." he said panicky.


    Adrian went into another room and searched the area.


    She stood up and said, "We can''t leave right now. Bernard needs to rest. I don''t know why, but his body suddenly became weak."


    Jun frowned. He knew that getting bitten shouldn''t have this effect. He scanned Bernard and didn''t notice anything remarkable except for the bandaged wound.


    He ced his hand on top just to make sure.


    [Left Arm - Bitten (Bandaged)]


    [Description] The user is now infected. When the user dies, the body will reanimate and be a carrier.


    Stacks: 2


    [Additional Effect - Sickness]


    "It''s because of this!" Jun thought to himself. He ced his hand on Bernard''s forehead and was immediately greeted by the hot sensation.


    "He''s sick. Have you tried giving him medicine?"


    "That''s impossible! I just checked him earlier!" said She while checking Bernard''s temperature.


    Her expression darkened as she muttered to herself, "...its true, but how?"


    "Didn''t you heal him?"


    "I healed him! But I didn''t use a cure since he didn''t seem to need it."


    Their conversation was interrupted when someone barged into the room.


    "Oh, thank God! Some people are still alive. I thought I was hallucinating for a momen"


    The old man couldn''t even finish hisst words before a fist struck his face.


    ***


    Am I dead? Ugh. My head hurts. Someone is shouting. I focused and tried my best to listen.


    "Don''t stop me! This asshole almost got us killed! Move!"


    I opened my eyes to see a young man being held by three people.


    "Look! He''s fine! A few more punches won''t hurt him! Let me go!"


    Is he crazy? Why do I feel like he wants to kill me? Are young people nowadays this blood-thirsty. Has this be the norm? Since yesterday, everything has be weird.


    "Can you calm down for a moment?!" a woman shouted.


    "I AM CALM!"


    ***


    "Haa... haa..."


    Jun panted as he tries to catch his breath. All the shouting seemed to increase the infected''s enthusiasm as they pounded harder and faster. More and more infected gathered outside!


    Kching!


    The windows ss was broken by an infected, who got its head stuck on the window''s bar''s, then two more infected followed suit. Their hands stretched as far as possible, trying to reach the people inside.


    "We''re not safe here. We need to find an exit." Jun said as he killed the infected for EXP. Since they hadn''t had enough time to search the area, they, of course, don''t know the houseyout.


    "There''s a kitchen here, but there''s no exit.


    At that time, the old man called to them. "Follow me!" he then ran through the same door where he came from.


    Nobody moved, all of his group members were looking at him, waiting for him to decide.


    Jun could only sigh and control his anger.


    "Follow the old man. Adrian, take the lead." Jun said unwillingly. "She, If I remember correctly, you''re cure can remove sickness, is that right? Can you try it now?"


    "It''s only a chance, but I will try!" She straightened her hand and patted Bernard''s left arm.


    Bernard''splexion visibly lightened, which meant that the skill was effective.


    "It worked!" She rejoiced.


    Bernard''s temperature came back to normal, but his eyes seemed to be delirious.


    "It probably takes some time." Jun thought. He then went forward to help Bernard up.


    With his 15 points in power, carrying an adult man shouldn''t even be a problem.


    He carried the unconscious Bernard like a princess. To prevent his hand from dangling, he took hold of it. Since he couldn''t see the arm from his position, he identally held the bandaged wound, causing the screen to pop-up.


    [Left Arm - Bitten (Bandaged)]


    [Description] The user is now infected. When the user dies, the body will reanimate and be a carrier.


    It was the usual messaged of someone infected. The stacking effect and sickness debuff were already gone since She already cured his sickness. Then Jun became shocked when he thought of something.


    If they really stacked, then is the infected debuff considered an ailment? Then, is it possible for Cure topletely remove the infected debuff?


    ***


    After making a few turns on the house''s hallways, Jun and She caught up to the group. The group was peeking through the ss door, looking carefully outside. He noticed that someone''s missing and so he asked, "Where''s Adrian?"


    Edward put his finger on his lips before answering his question. He whispered and pointed outside with his head, "Killing infecteds. Sssh."


    He looked outside and immediately saw a white van parked at the corner of the street. There are also several old cars parked on both sides of the road.


    Adrian was sneaking towards an infected.


    When he was close enough, just an arms reach away; he grabbed its hair, limiting its movements and stabbed it through the ear. He caught the body and slowly ced it on the ground. Behind him were two more dead bodies, at least five feet away from each other.


    "Why is no one looting the bodies? Don''t you guys know that they reanimate!?" asked Jun angrily.


    "What do you mean, reanimate? Those dead people can stille back to life?" She asked, unable to believe what she just heard.


    Not only her, everyone in the group was in doubt whether that im was true.


    Jun handed Bernard to Edward. "We''re not done yet," he said to the old man on a suit, then went outside.

 Chapter 28: Howling Rage

    Chapter 28: Howling Rage


    Adrian peeked on the street corner and saw that most of the infected have gathered at the front door.


    The street on the right had be free of infected. Most of the cars had broken windows, and some had dried blood on the sides.


    As he surveyed the area, a strange feeling told him that someone was behind him.


    He didn''t know that it was the effect of one of his traits, Alert.


    He quickly turned around and saw Jun standing two feet from him.


    "What are you doing?" asked Jun with a frown.


    "What do you mean?" Adrian replied, a bit confused. "I''m securing the van. I chatted with the old man. He said-"


    "What I want to know is why aren''t you looting the bodies!?" he yelled softly. "They could have reanimated and surrounded you!"


    "What do you mean?"


    "You were with me at the bank! You saw it yourself! Didn''t you read the description while looting the bodies?"


    "The old grandma in the bank? Isn''t it normal for zombies not to die when shot in the chest? You also knew and waited for it. Wait, what descriptions?"


    Although their conversation was hushed, a few infected still got attracted by them. Thankfully, the door pounding caused a louder noise, which kept most of the infected uninterested in their little chatter.


    They backed off and waited for the infected toe.


    Two infected appeared on the corner as they limped towards them; both infected had leg injuries. One had its ankles bent strangely, making it walk one step at a time while the other one who wore shorts had missing flesh on its thigh, making the legs unable to support the upper body weight, slowing it down.


    Jun made quick work of the two without Adrian''s help. Although this time, he didn''t kill both infected as he left one alive.


    He hit their legs and bodies until they stopped moving. Jun bashed the head of one infected and left the other one to reanimate.


    "Loot it and tell me what you see., said Jun pointing at the infected with shattered head.


    Although he doesn''t really understand what Jun wanted to prove, Adrian still followed and looted the body.


    "It''s just the usual interface, name, and cause of death. Whoa, this guy got bitten and jumped from the third floor of a building." Adrian said then looked around for the building.


    The body disintegrated into stardust, and a crystal appeared on his hand.


    "It''s the same with the other shards we got, essence shard, nothing else.", Adrian looked up, then noticed that Jun was frowning. "Why? Is there something wrong?"


    Currently, Jun was extremely shocked. Adrian can''t be lying as his name is green.


    Could it be true that they can''t read the description and it was only him who could see it?


    Then, did he kill Jake for nothing? Jake''s name was colored red, and he showed killing intent!


    Thinking about it now, was red really killing intent? It was just his assumption, and he didn''t even have enough proof for it.


    "Loot the other one," said Jun feeling down.


    Adrian got used to Jun''s way of doing things and looted the body.


    "Name and cause of death. Ugh, this one died unluckily. A dog bit him and got chewed to death. Wait, a dog?!" Adrian eximed then looked around.


    Due to shock, his voice raised a bit and attracted some infected.


    "Get everyone inside the van. We''re leaving." Jun said as he watched three infected dash towards them.


    Since Adrian didn''t mention anything about reanimation, he finally epted the truth.


    He killed someone, and he could see additional information while others could only see the necessary information. He could also see names above a person''s head with unknown color-coding. He was sure that others don''t have this ability since no one really looked above his head. But just to be sure, he nned to ask Adrianter if he can see anything.


    His expression finally became serene. He had a calm expression on his face, but his heart is currently in turmoil.


    Instead of waiting for the infected toe, he charged at them. A vortex appeared beside him, and he took his baseball bat, the same baseball bat that he used since the beginning.


    The first infected lunged at him. He didn''t even dodge and used an overhead strike. The baseball bat sunk up to the infected''s nose, it''s forehead caved in and began spurting blood. The body fell towards him, and he stepped to the side.


    The next infected reached him, followed by a muscr infected. The infected tried biting him, but Jun used the baseball bat to block its mouth, then forcefully shove it away. The muscr infected reached him, but instead of trying to bite him, the infected used its hands to maul him. Due to the sudden change in attack, he couldn''t react in time and could only raise his arm to block. His arm felt numb from the hit, and he failed to counterattack.


    An unknown feeling rose inside him. It may be hate or guilt; he doesn''t know. All he knows is that this feeling doesn''t feel right.


    It felt like something wants to crawl out of his body and be freed.


    And so he did.


    He stared at the infected and let out a beastly roar filled with rage.


    "Raaah!"


    His eyes turned bloodshot as he raised the baseball bat above his head, leaving his chest wide open. Since they were so close to each other, the force he could use was limited, but he chose not to back down and risked it all.


    [You created a skill. Received 1 stat point.]


    [Generating name... description...]


    [Howling Rage - Lvl.1]


    [Description] Gain 20% increased damage for one minute. Reduce the enemy''s defense by 10%. Drains 20 energy.


    Jun didn''t have enough time to read the screen that appeared on his side.


    He struck the baseball bat downwards with all his might. The muscr infected flinched upon hearing Jun''s roar, it squatted down and roared back in return.


    Jun shattered its head, and it fell to the side. As he regained his posture, a scorching feeling came from his legs. When he looked down, he saw a dog biting through his jeans.


    He used the baseball bat and hit its head until it died. Some of his muscles got damaged, and it was affecting his bnce.


    A group of infected appeared on the street corner, then rabidly ran towards him.


    At that moment, the sound of a car''s engine stopped on his side. The door opened, and Adrian pulled him in.

 Chapter 29: Lovely Paradise

    Chapter 29: Lovely Paradise


    The inside of the van was spacious. It was an ordinary passenger van used bymuters called UV Express. It can carry up to sixteen passengers at a time.


    Adrian ced the unconscious Jun on the nearest seat. Upon seeing Jun''s state, everyone became frightened. She hurriedly checked Jun''s pulse and temperature. Jun had normal heartbeats, but he''s currently burning like lit charcoal, although not too hot, it isn''t healthy.


    She used minor healing and cure on Jun, then rechecked his vitals.


    "His temperature''s not going down!"


    The chance to cure ailments failed. She then turned to his leg. "We can wait until I can use Cure on him again, but his leg injury is the real problem."


    "I can heal his health back up, but I can''t regenerate torn muscles.", she said, then looked at Adrian, "Why didn''t you help him?"


    Adrian kept quiet. Although it hasn''t been a long time since he met Jun, he could at least say that he understands him the most.


    He watched him kill someone for no reason; he was with him on the clinic and saw how he ignored a person''s safety as he let him leave with no warning at all. He knew that Jun could be a cold and ruthless person when he wanted to. At the same time, he could be the nicest person when you get to know him.


    Ever since the world changed, he was always at the front, taking responsibility to lead them, keeping everyone safe on his back. Just like when they were stuck at the locked door, instead of waiting on the door, he advanced and blocked most of the infected, lessening the burden for the members of the group. Although some unfortunate things happened, he still did his best.


    This time he knew that something was wrong but still chose to let Jun do what he wants.


    He ignored the question and sat down, closing his eyes.


    "I just allowed him to vent this time. There won''t be a next time." he thought to himself.


    She cleaned the wound and bandaged it. She could only apply first-aid since the car was shaking a lot.


    The car attracted dozens of infected as it traveled the highway.


    The old man drove smoothly as he maneuvered the maze-like highway, leaving those infected behind. After a few minutes, they turned right and started traveling on a dirt path.


    She noticed the abrupt change and asked anxiously. "Where are we going?"


    Adrian opened his eyes and looked outside. Trees and bushes were on the roadside, and there were no houses at all.


    He stood up and red at the old man. "Paterno, where are we going?" Adrian asked, puzzled. "You told me that you know of a safe way to reach the city hall. Did you lie?"


    Being bombarded with questions, the old man, Paterno, answered. "This is a diversion road. It''s still under construction and not open for public use. This brings us to Man East Road National highway. The city hall is a minute drive from there."


    The wrinkles on his forehead increased after speaking. It seems that something was bothering him.


    The car stopped causing everyone on board to look around.


    "Why did we stop?" Gina said worriedly.


    "This isn''t the city hall?"


    "Where are we?"


    The group chatted as they looked around. A sign hangs on the entrance of the gate, "Lovely Paradise."


    Paterno got off the car and ran to the gates. He tried opening the entrance, but a padlock locked it. He pulled some keys in his pocket, then unlocked the gate.


    Just as he was about to enter the resort, someone held his shoulder and forced him to turn around.


    Adrian was ring at him; the man''s eyes seething with anger. As they traveled, he tried his best to remain calm, but seeing the unconscious Jun inside the car made him felt remorse. He thought what if he helped him, wouldn''t he be awake and know of what to do.


    He made a fist with his hand and said, "Please exin yourself."


    Noticing Adrian''s seemingly unstable mind, Paterno didn''t dy, and hurriedly answered.


    "I own this resort, my-my wife and granddaughter currently stay here, so I wanted to check on them." he stammered as he saw Adrian pulled a knife on his back. He lowered his head and quickly apologized, "I''m really sorry! When I woke up yesterday, people were acting weird. They were biting and killing each other. I was worried but didn''t have the courage to go on my own."


    "That''s why when I saw your group capable of fighting those things, I took my chance.", he looked at Adrian filled with sincerity.


    Seeing that Adrian didn''t react, he turned around and entered the resort.


    Adrian looked up, looking at the sun, shining brightly above his head. He then walked back to the group and said, "We will stay here until they wake up. Let''s just y it safe."


    He carried Jun over his shoulder and headed towards the resort.


    Since they didn''t have to carry anything, everyone alighted the van and followed closely behind him. Edward took Bernard on his back as he slowly trudged forward.


    They arrived at the reception area. The room was filled with wooden chairs and tables. Tropical nts were ced at every corner, giving out the impression of taking a rxing vacation on a sunny beach.


    "Be careful, stay on guard," Adrian said.


    He sat Jun on the chair and surveyed the surroundings. There''s a corridor that split into three. The left one goes outside to the pool area. The right one leads to a wooden stairwell going up, and the center has the canteen.


    Paterno''sughter was heard outside in the pool area.


    "There you are! Honey, where''s granny? Is she cooking your meal? What the"


    Adrian and She looked at each other.


    "Take care of him!" Adrian shouted as he ran outside.


    She nodded, even though Adrian wouldn''t be able to see it.


    Seeing that the ce wasn''t safe, everyone tensed up. They took their weapons out of their dimensional storage and kept a tight formation.


    She said. "Don''t worry. From what I heard, there are only two people here. Let''s search this area and make sure that it''s safe."


    "I''ll search upstairs. You guys should group up and search the canteen," said Edward.


    Everyone nodded and began walking when they heard a weak voice from behind.


    "Let me help."

 Chapter 30: No More Bites

    Chapter 30: No More Bites


    "Let me help."


    They turned around and saw Bernard standing straight. His skin already regained some color, and he had a bright smile on his face.


    "Thank God!" Ester ran and hugged him. "I''m sorry... it''s my fault. I should have been the one who got bit."


    "It''s okay, I''m fine." Bernard patted her head like how he would assure his daughter.


    Bernard looked around and noticed everyone''s warm gaze. He felt good inside like he somehow found his ce in this new world.


    "I''m okay now. Let''s go!" Bernard said as he took his baseball bat from his dimensional storage.


    Edward went upstairs cautiously, yellow light covering both his hands. There are three rooms upstairs with a single hallway.


    Edward opened the first door slowly. He peeked inside, searching for anything that is moving.


    He first saw the table beside the wall, then a closet, followed by the bed. He chose to open the door widely and was greeted by a perfectly tidy room. There were towels on top of the bed and some gifts for couples besides the tablemp.


    "Any devil''s minion here? None? Okay~" whispered Edward then went to the next room. He did the same thing asst time and quietly opened the door. Just like the first room, it was empty.


    Edward stood in front of thest room, and as if bored, this time, he wanted to do it with a bang. He yelled as he charged into the room. He stopped in the middle of the room, then spun looking for any infected that might attack him. To his disappointment, the room was also empty.


    Edward forgot about something, or maybe he didn''t even think about it. The rooms on the second floor were for the customers to use, so it would be strange to find an infected here. Instead, it would be odd if the owner doesn''t have his room in his resort.


    She took the lead as they searched the canteen. The search was quick since the room was mostly filled with tables and chairs. Besides the empty kitchen, there were no other points of interest.


    ***


    Adrian ran as fast as he could. He could feel the wind brush onto his skin as he ran. When he leveled up, he put all his stat points into SPD, which now showed its effect as he ran like a professional athlete.


    When he reached outside, he looked left and right, searching for Paterno. He found him in between the pathway for the kiddie pool and the adult''s pool area.


    Paterno was currently kneeling on the grass while holding the shoulders of a little girl, who repeatedly tried biting him.


    It seems like he already found his granddaughter, but not like how he wanted to.


    The little girl was barefooted and wore a ruffled dress with a few frills on its end. Her eyes were yellow, and they shone brightly. They didn''t emit light but had some unique brilliance deep inside it. The surroundings of her eye had web-like cracks which appeared dry while her arms hung on her sides like the usual obedient child. Her humerus bone, the bone after the shoulder, was showing. There was a considerable amount of missing flesh, making her unable to control her muscle to raise her hands.


    Paterno stared at the little girl trying to wiggle out of his hands. Tears appeared on the side of his eyes as he pulled his granddaughter into a hug.


    "It was Old Pat''s fault. I promised you that I''ll be back quickly but reneged on my promise. It''s my fault." Paterno said, patting his granddaughter''s back.


    The little girl didn''t bite him and instead knocked her forehead on his shoulder.


    Paterno was surprised since he thought that his granddaughter would surely bite him, and so he happily turned his head.


    An action he wished he could take back, but couldn''t. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the knife lodged in his granddaughter''s head. He followed the hand holding the de, and his eyes met with Adrian.


    Adrian yanked the knife out then shakes it, causing the blood to fall. The serrated part of the de brought out some flesh and other solid substances from the head.


    The little girl slumped on Paterno''s body; her blood flowed down on his shoulders.


    "No one else gets bit today," Adrian said then walked off.


    After taking a few steps forward, Adrian felt the whole world turn around. A heavy feeling came from his back as he was now lying on the ground. He rolled with all his might and felt the weight on his back disappear.


    After rolling, he saw Paterno, who hasn''t stood up, crazily charged at him. His feet pushed on the ground repeatedly, then tackled Adrian.


    Paterno was an old man, and he looked to be in his early fifty''s. Although he was old, he didn''t cower and proved that anger could raise someone''s strength onto a whole new level.


    They rolled around on the grass, and for safety reasons, Adrian threw the knife away.


    Paterno won the rolling game and sat on top of Adrian. His hands rapidly went for Adrian''s neck, wanting to choke him to death.


    During their struggle, the serene pool made sshing sounds. From the adult pool''s area, a head appeared. When it''s whole body finally climbed up, an elderly figure was shown, it was the missing person that Edward''s group have been looking for, Paterno''s wife. Her hair was sticking close to her skin as water dripped from her body. Her skin was bloated as if she had absorbed a lot of water.


    "Pat! Hold up!" Adrian shouted.


    Adrian could only watch as the infected dashed towards them. When the infected pounced on them, he pushed Paterno to the side.


    The infected fell right on top of him and immediately started biting him. He used his right hand and blocked its advance so it couldn''t reach his neck.


    "Elisa?" Paterno said emotionally. He was looking at his wife longingly when Adrian''s yell resounded on the area.


    "What are you waiting for! Help me!" Adrian signaled with his eyes for Paterno to look to his right.


    Paterno followed where he was looking and saw the knife that Adrian threw away earlier.


    "Kill it!" Adrian shouted.


    "I can''t! I can''t..."


    "Then, are you letting it kill me? Are you going to watch her kill someone?" Adrian shouted, looking into Paterno''s eyes. He then slowly pulled his hand away, leaving his chest and face wide open.


    Paterno was shocked. Does he really need to kill her? Or does he want to watch her kill someone? Both weren''t options that he would like to take but have to make his choice as soon as possible.


    When he saw his wife nning to bite Adrian''s neck, a firm will rose from inside him, the will to keep his wife''s pleasant image in his memories.


    He quickly grabbed the knife on his side and tackled his wife.


    As he sat on top of her, tears flowed down from his eyes. His wife produced a shriek that a human couldn''t have possibly made, then he firmed his will and stabbed her in the head.


    When everything became quiet, he started crying and lied on top of his wife.


    Adriany down on his back while staring at the clouds. He wryly smiled as he stared at his uninjured arm filled with saliva.


    Then he muttered softly. "No one else gets bit for today."


    ***


    Edward came down and noticed themotion outside. He ignored them and chose to head into the canteen to quench his thirst. He found a pitcher on one of the tables and poured some water onto a cup.


    "Uwaaaah~ that''s refreshing. But why does it taste sweet?"


    He then opened the pitcher and found a set of dentures inside. He ran towards the sink then tried vomiting what he just drank but failed.

 Chapter 31: Stat Builds

    Chapter 31: Stat Builds


    When Jun woke up, he saw the unfamiliar ceiling. He then heard voices and people surrounded him, or maybe just one or two.


    He then felt a rxing feeling course through his body when a hand touched his leg. His misty vision cleared up, and when he came into himself, he saw everyone looking listless. She narrated the story to him, how Paterno selfishly drove them to his resort, and how he tried to kill Adrian.


    After hearing her side of the story, he approached Paterno, who was clutching two crystals on his hand. He tried asking, but the old man chose not to speak. He looked around and saw Adrian leaning back on a chaise lounge by the side of the pool.


    They didn''t talk immediately but gazed at each other. Afterward, Adrian sighed and sat up. He told his story and showed his hand.


    Jun found something strange from their story but didn''t voice it. If there were only two people inside the resort, and one was a harmless old woman, how did the little child die?


    Jun looked around the area, confused.


    Inside the room, a picture frame was on top of the desk. An old couple looked worried, holding a smiling girl. On the girl''s hand was a white cat that had some rashes.


    ***


    It was high-noon.


    A white van was traveling on a spacious highway. There were few cars on this highway and had less number of infected.


    An infected standing idly in the middle of the road, flew away when the car hit it. The driver had an indifferent expression on his face as he watched the infected stumble through the side mirror. On his chesty a simple ne with two transparent crystals.


    The road showed a fork ahead, one goes left, and the other one goes right.


    "Take the left turn."


    A raspy voice came beside the driver; the man''s face was stern.


    "The national highway is to the right..."


    "Left turn."


    The driver wordlessly turned left, although he followed what the man said, the way he drove showed how he truly felt.


    As they traveled, the car kept hitting infected on the road. The infecteds that got hit either flew to the side or in front of the vehicle. The infecteds got ran over, making the ride a bumpy one.


    After a few minutes of riding an "Earn to Die" UV express, they finally arrived at their destination.


    The car stopped in front of an intersection. Jun, who was sitting beside the driver''s seat, surveyed the area.


    On the left was the long parade of cars that blocked their group''s advance earlier. A tall building especially stood out, as an infected was dangling on one of its railings. Its thigh was split and broken into two, allowing the lower part of the leg to serve as a hook, resulting in its current situation.


    Jun looked behind; everyone had their eyes on him.


    "We''ll start searching for your family, from the nearest house, and decide based on the circumstances where to go next as we make our way forward. I hope everyone stays calm and cooperative. As long as we stay in formation, there shouldn''t be a problem."


    Jun then left the car, and the group followed.


    One person remained.


    It was Paterno sitting on the driver''s seat with his head slumped down on the steering wheel. He looked sideways when he heard growling voices from afar. The dangling infected saw the group and was now wildly moving its body. As it kept moving, the flesh that was supporting it started to stretch, like a thread that was cut, it broke. The infected''s body rotated in the air as it fell. It sttered when it dropped on a fenced wall.


    Jun stood in front, leading the group. He was limping, but he still walked quickly.


    The stat point he received when he created a skill was added to endurance. It pained him to do so since he was nning to use the Ogre''s Club as soon as possible, but there was no other choice.


    The world was acting like it was a game, and he decided that he would "y" the game, just like how it wants to be yed.


    Since investing in power increased his physical strength, just like on any other game, shouldn''t endurance do the same? Like improving one''s physical resistance or increasing one''s max health.


    Although he wasn''t too sure about how it will affect his body, he needed to try. The things he noticed were increased health by 10 and the reduced pain on his legs. It could have other benefits, but he needed to do some experiments for him to know, which should be impossible since he didn''t have enough points.


    As they walked forward on the sidewalks, Jun decided to inquire about how his group allocated their stat points.


    Adrian said, "I put one on speed and cunning. Why? I just want to.".


    She said, "Of course, I added two points in power. I needed power for the spear''s requirements."


    Then Edward, "What stat points? Uhhh... Do I need to use them? Where do I add them? Okay, endurance it is."


    Jun was surprised by their answers. He turned to the rest of the group, and they gave the same answer, just like Edward.


    To think that his group doesn''t have an optimized stat configuration, he felt the need to exin it to them. They went to the nearby parking lot and held a short meeting.


    Jun exined what he thought of what benefits each stat could give and whether what build they should go for.


    For example, if you want to fight infected, power, endurance, and speed should be your main attributes. Even if you don''t main those attributes, it doesn''t stop you from fighting with infecteds. It''s just the optimal one for smoother performance.


    After listening to Jun''s exnation, everyone contemted on how they want to grow themselves.


    Bernard chose to put all his stat points to endurance. He said he would like to help in defending the group rather than actively killing infecteds.


    Gina and Dyna chose to split their points into wits and cunning while Alex''s group decided to invest everything in charm.


    Jun didn''t stop them from allocating their points. It''s their choice, and it''s their life. He was actually curious about what charm could do in the apocalypse.

 Chapter 32: Armored Truck

    Chapter 32: Armored Truck


    On the parking lot, Jun''s group was having a discussion when a loud shriek echoed in the area.


    The group looked around but couldn''t find the source. After a few seconds, an infected that seemed to be just passing by appeared on the corner of the street, then another one, and another. Their numbers continuously increased and have already exceeded ten. With the appearance of infecteds, their meeting was finally adjourned.


    Although the group of infected rabidly charged towards them, no one seemed to be scared as all of them remained calm.


    Jun walked in front of the group with a baseball bat in his hands. He grinned while watching the charging infected, then said, "Formation!"


    Before he could even finish, Adrian and Edward were already on his side, holding a knife and with hands fully covered with energy. She stood behind him, holding her new spear. Behind them, Bernard, Gina, Dyna, and Alex stood in a row, in between them were Jamie, Kareen, and Ester, all seven of them were holding baseball bats.


    "Just consider this as practice. You guys need to get used to this soon."


    ***


    The orange rays of sunlight finally dimmed on the horizon. The night hase, and the street lights lit up one-by-one.


    The group cautiously advanced towards a subdivision.


    This time, Edward was walking in front of the group.


    Since he could fight and stall a group of infected on his own, he was assigned as the group vanguard.


    Behind him was Jun and Adrian as reinforcements, tasked with killing the infecteds that he couldn''t kill.


    They entered the first house they saw and searched every room for infected. After a minute, the group gathered in the living room.


    Jun stood at the center and said, "This house should be safe for now." he then looked towards each of his members, "I will check your houses, Adrian and Edward wille with me. Everyone else should stay here and keep the area clear so we won''t have to worry from anythinging from the back."


    Jun started walking but turned back after taking a few steps.


    "By the way, who knows how to cook?" he asked. "It would be nice if we could eat real food. I''m sick and tired of these energy bars."


    "I know how to cook.", Gina stepped forward.


    Then as if envious of her for taking the initiative, almost all of the female members chimed in.


    "I can cut well!"


    "I can make soups."


    "We''ll make sure that you''ll have a real meal when you get back."


    "Please hurry..."


    "Be safe."


    Jun smiled and nodded his head.


    ***


    Knock, knock, knock!


    "If there''s anyone inside, please speak up!"


    Jun stretched his head to try and peek on the second floor of the house, but there were no movements. There''s a limit to how far he can see floating names, so he might as well call out loud.


    Edward and Adrian were a few meters away from him, guarding his back.


    They looked around with hawk-like eyes, scrutinizing everything that moves, and every corner where infected could suddenly appear.


    "It seems like it''s empty again. Do we go in?" Jun asked.


    This is the third house on their itinerary. The first two houses they first went into were also empty. On the way here, they never met any infected, which made their search unexpectedly quick and safe.


    "Let''s move into the next house. This ce should be empty too."


    "This ce seems strange. I don''t wanna stay here any longer."


    "Okay, then. Let''s go."


    As they walked, they finally noticed what was strange in this ce.


    It was too quiet as if it was really empty!


    There''s no infecteds inside the house or roaming the streets. There were literally no bodies to be seen!


    The area shows that the ce once belongs to the living, but something tragic happened. There were bloodstains everywhere, and cracks filled the road.


    After searching thest two houses on their list, they, unfortunately, had to return empty-handed.


    They chatted as they traveled back from where they came from when suddenly, the ground trembled, followed by a loud noise as if something was being repeatedly pounded.


    A weak vibration came from the western side of the subdivision. Jun and the two fellows beside him looked at each other.


    Adrian chose to speak first.


    "It''s either an infected or someone armed with something ''good.'' We can check it out and leave if we can''t handle it. At least, we got to see what they look like. You must know your enemy to win the war, right?"


    "This lord isn''t a coward. I just hope the energy in this mortal body is enough to negate the strikes from whatever that is." Edward said.


    Edward was a college freshman, a young man barely in his twenty''s. He lived a normal life and was content with it. His exposure to violence isckingpared to Jun and Adrian, who both had dark pasts. Still, to be able to adapt in a violent environment and to be someone capable of fighting face to face with infecteds, he had no choice but to force himself to change.


    Jun finally made a decision after weighing the pros and cons. He brought the two and followed the pounding soundsing from the west.


    When they got closer, they finally saw what was causing the loud noise.


    They watched a two-meter tall, muscr infected continuously strike the back door of an armored truck.


    The infected''s hands were starting to turn into jelly as the flesh swelled and be covered with blood.


    Although it couldn''t do damage on the thick door, the infected continued hammering on the door.


    Edward curiously said, "Is it knocking?"


    Hisment garnered a ridiculing frown from Adrian, then Adrian exined the possible cause for the infecteds action.


    "Based on our experiences, just like any other infected, there should be something that it wants from inside that truck."


    Edward said, "Something that devil''s minion want? You mean someone''s trapped there?" he then muttered. "Poor guy... or girl."


    As the two finished talking, they noticed that Jun was unusually quiet. When they turned their heads, they saw him extremely anxious while staring at the infected''s direction.


    Jun''s expression worsened, which surprised both of them. Adrian and Edward couldn''t help but think that Jun was scared of this unique infected.


    As if to prove that the two of them were wrong, Jun stood up and openly walked towards the infected.


    They came from the back and should have been able to sneak behind it if they chose to do so. But all that was now gone. The chance to escape will be slim if they get noticed by that muscle infected.


    A ck vortex appeared and followed beside Jun as he walked. Then he shoved his right arm in and pulled something out.


    A shotgun was now on his hand.

 Chapter 33: Essence of Power

    Chapter 33: Essence of Power


    A two-meter tall sturdy-looking infected was pounding at an armored truck''s door. The muscles from its hands became swollen after producing a force that its small body shouldn''t be able to.


    A man holding a shotgun started walking towards it. The man stopped a few meters behind the infected''s back. Then, a loud gunshot echoed in the area.


    Bang! Chkck. Bang!


    Jun was aiming at the infected''s head, but due to not being used to the recoil, the shot missed the head and hit its neck.


    He then followed up with another shot in the head to make sure that it would really die.


    The head blew up like how a watermelon explodes when smashed by a baseball bat. The headless body of the infected leaned towards the armored truck, then slid down to the ground, staining the door with its blood.


    Jun approached the truck, his eyes not looking at the dead infected, but at the two names inside the truck. There were two people inside; both were green, but the other one has a tint of red.


    Instead of question marks, actual names were hovering inside, which could only mean that Jun knew the people inside the armored truck.


    When the shot sounded, one of the people inside peeked at the bulletproof ss window on the door. A pair of green eyes stared at him, followed by the crying voice of a young girl.


    "Jun, you''re a jerk! What took you so long!? Waaaaa~."


    A soft tender voice came from inside, and the door opened.


    Adrian and Edward, who were standing idly beside Jun, saw a beautiful girl appear on the door''s entrance.


    She had a long ponytail that suited perfectly well with her slim body. Her loose short-sleeved blouse couldn''t hide the huge blessings that the world gave her. She wore a ck mini skirt and ck stockings that tightly wrapped around her skin. Though her backside wasn''t that nourished, her long slender legs totally made up for it. On her feet were a set of high heels.


    She then stepped out of the truck. Due to her crying, she didn''t notice that there was a headless infected below. She tripped on the body and fell sidewards into the pool of blood.


    "What the! Ew! This is my only dress! Oh gosh! My heels broke! I just bought these. That saledy surely tricked me!"


    The feminine aura that she was emitting earlier totally disappeared. Her attitude took a 180-degree turn and was now hurling curses at the infected.


    Adrian and Edward, who were smitten at first, were now shocked at the sudden personality change. They both turned to each other and noticing the other person''s expression; they could only smile wryly. The old saying was still true; you can''t judge someone by their appearances.


    Jun tried to help the girl but got rejected. She stood up on her own and dusted some blood off her body.


    "What took you so long?!" the woman shouted.


    Jun ignored her question and chose to ask instead.


    "This isn''t the agreed location. What are you guys doing here?" he then advised, "And please stop yelling. Do you want to attract every infected in the area!"


    She was going to shout once more, but after Jun''s reminder, she chose to shut her mouth. That didn''t stop her from ring at him, showing her dissatisfaction.


    "Go ask that friend of yours!" she said.


    As if she remembered something unpleasant, her voice raised one notch higher. Finally noticing the two people beside Jun, she tried fixing her hair but became angrier as blood stuck to her hair.


    Jun watched her with a light-hearted attitude. Hearing her mention his friend, he turned to the door.


    A schrly-looking individual was weakly leaning on the door.


    He had average height and had a petite body. His defining facial features were his two eyebags and gentle eyebrows.


    Jun said, chuckling. "So, there are times that my genius friend would actually need my help."


    "Well... I ran out of peanuts."


    ***


    The two arrived at the subdivision almost twelve hours ago. They traveled sneakily, avoiding all the infected in the area.


    Its been almost two days, and they haven''t fought a single infected directly. They ran out of provisions, especially peanuts. Although they still have foods on their backpack, they went to a nearby store to get some. Just as they walked out with new foods and, of course, peanuts, a huge infected saw them. They went back inside and went out through the back door. They hid in houses, but the wooden doors couldn''t stop the big guy. Though the doors couldn''t stop the big guy, it was still able to stall it for a few seconds. They ran and hid on different houses, and then they found the armored truck. They hid there for almost half a day, with the sunlight as their only lighting.


    Jun couldn''t help butugh after hearing the whole story. Even Adrian and Edward was a bit surprised after listening on the sides.


    "You never changed! You''re still unlucky even though the world has changed." Jun tried his best not to chuckle but couldn''t.


    "By the way, these are Adrian and Edward. These are Marianne and-"


    Before Jun could say the name, he was interrupted.


    "Evo... Just call me Evo."


    Jun smirked but didn''t say anything.


    On his hand was a red gem that emitted a powerful pulse that made it seem to be alive. He got five shards and this red gem after looting the infected.


    [Essence of Power]


    [Description] A gem filled with the essence of strength. Increase power by 1-2 when used.


    Jun tried interacting with the gem-like how he usually interacted with the screen, but there was no reaction. After trying a few more times, he gave up. He tossed it in the vortex that appeared beside him, then searched inside the truck.


    The space inside the armored truck was small, considering the size of their group. Although they can''t use this as their primary travel vehicle, there shouldn''t be a problem if they want to use the armored truck as an infected mower.


    Jun looked around and found some keys on a nearby dried pile of blood. He wiped it clean and tried starting the car.


    "Bbbrrrg."


    The truck came to life, and they quickly left the ce.


    In a dark corner of the street, a pair of yellow eyes gazed at the dead infected.


    A few secondster, a blurry figure quickly dashed towards the direction of the truck.

 Chapter 34: Disadvantageous Essence Shard

    Chapter 34: Disadvantageous Essence Shard


    "I''m happy that you''re here now, but really... what took you so long? Safety Code #02, in case of emergency or problem that can endanger your life, in the next 12 hours, head to the nearest local authority. That''s the rule you made. And here you are, the one breaking it."


    Beside the driver''s seat, Marianne unhappily stared at Jun.


    She sat with one leg above the other while her hands were crossed in front of her as if waiting for an exnation. Although it might be a coincidence, her chest area became bigger and more attractive as one of the buttons of her blouse got loose.


    On the driver''s seat, Jun tried his best to ignore the meaty legs that presented itself to him. He focused on his driving but still couldn''t help himself from taking a few nces, which was seen by Marianne. His action seemed to make her happy as a smile blossomed on her luscious pink lips.


    "I live near the town za, and there''s a lot of infected. I helped a bunch of people, and we became a small group. I also needed to take care of my father..." after mentioning his father, Jun stopped talking and focused his attention on driving.


    "Ohh, you''re still taking care of him. Sucks. Where is he?"


    "Dead," Jun replied with a smile. "Okay, we''re here. Let''s go inside."


    ***


    Everyone was gathered at the table. After learning the news that the search group didn''t find anyone, the joyous atmosphere that the waiting people have disappeared.


    To some extent, after experiencing fighting the infecteds, they knew the oue themselves. They just took that small chance, that maybe, just maybe, their families could be alive.


    The table was filled with meat and vegetable dishes, with some steamy soup on the sides. Jun sat between Evo and Marianne.


    Marianne changed into a new set of clothes. Although it was just a simple shirt and jeans, it emphasized certain areas and made her look more bountiful. She also swapped her high heels into a morefortable sneaker.


    As they ate, Marianne chatted kindly with everyone. Herughs and the contagious smile turned the gloomy dinner into a livelier one.


    "Okay, here''s another topic." Marianne looked around, then continued. "What''s your current goal? Since the world has ended, you should have things that you want, right?"


    Her question made everyone think. Even Jun contemted on what he really wants.


    Then everyone realizes that they really don''t know what to do with their life anymore.


    Seeing that no one had an answer to her question, Marianne spoke first.


    "I was a cosyer and streamer just a few days ago, and I n to continue doing just that. Although I don''t think the inte is working anymore, so streaming would be out of the picture. Well, that''s what I want to do."


    With her taking the lead, Gina followed.


    "I want to build a store," she eximed. "I''m sure that we will get through this, and other people will survive, just like us."


    Gina looked around with resolute eyes. As if she knew that what she said would be the truth.


    "That''s true."


    "We will."


    "We need to start hoarding things to sell."


    "I''ll be the cashier, hehe."


    Jun was unanimously voted as the owner of the store and the one in charge of everything.


    The group went and did their own things after eating dinner.


    Adrian smoked on the front door while Edward sat beside him, eating the leftover foods. The girls stayed in the kitchen to clean up.


    Jun then brought Marianne and Evo into a room.


    "Jun, I don''t like it when other people are watching," Marianne smirked as she faced Jun, her eyes already flirting with him.


    Evo knocked her head softly, then turned to Jun. "What now? Adrian and Edward already exined a few things to me. Are you going to help us level up tomorrow?"


    "What level up?" Marianne said.


    Evo gave her a brief exnation about the system and how zombies reanimate when not disposed of. When he finished his summary, Marianne looked at him astonished.


    "When did you learn all this? We were together the whole time!"


    "Did you not listen to anything that I have just said? On the way back here, when we''re on the truck, I chatted with Adrian and Edward. All you know is how to flirt."


    "You!"


    Jun interrupted them before things got any worse and to help himself get some peace and quiet.


    He handed a transparent crystal to each of theman essence shard.


    After handing the crystal to Evo, it quickly disintegrated into stardust that vanished in thin air.


    On the other hand, Marianne was scrutinizing the small crystal in her hand. "I like this! Thanks, do you have more?"


    Jun smiled wryly, then proceeded to exin what she needs to do. Although unwilling to part with the crystal, she still followed his instructions and managed to absorb the essence shard.


    He then gave each of them one more shard, and they absorbed it. After killing infecteds along the way, Jun had a stockpile of 112 essence shards.


    The two gasped after they absorbed their 50th crystal. They finally leveled up and have now gained ess to the system.


    Evo quietly navigated through the interface while Marianne pestered Jun to teach her how to.


    Evo muttered under his breath. "It seems like everything here is based on my real stats. My attributes perfectly show how unfit I am, and my skills are rted to my work." he sighed, then added, "I should have exercised more often."


    Junughed heartily, seeing his friendment over his attributes. "What is your main stat? Mine''s power. I have 15 points on it right now." he said braggingly.


    "Its wits, with 8 points on it." Evo ignored him. "By the way, how do I use skills?"


    "Just press the hotkey." Marianne interrupted their conversation. The two were already used to her and chose to ignore her.


    "You guys! Stop ignoring me! Jun, teach me too!"


    ***


    "What do you mean, you only have two skills?" Jun asked Evo. "I have four of them when I first leveled up!"


    "It''s true. They are called Debugger and Backup. Can you tell me how you leveled up?"


    Junplied and narrated how he fought the infected siege at the bank.


    Jun was very attentive and patient when he exined to Evo. Simply because Evo was the brain of their old group, and he was the brawns. So, he usually leaves troublesome matters on his table.


    Yes. Table.


    Evo was someone intelligent and someone who knows how to code, a programmer. He takes care of problems by hacking into the root of the problem.


    You''re someone with status? We can''t beat you up? Okay! To the table it is!


    Posting shameful photos, confessing love for someone, believing in Half-Life 3, etc. Those were the light punishments when he''s bored. Don''t be mistaken, though. Evo can be bad when he wanted to, really bad.


    "Based on what you said, I''m pretty sure that everything you do before you level up can affect your gains. Now, we don''t know if it''s just on the first level up or every level up. We need more data for that one."


    Marianne got bored watching the two of them and decided to butt in.


    "My skills are Broadcast and Illusion. Jun, can you exin things to me? Why is my cunning at 8 points? Why is it higher than my charm? Why is my wits lower than my charm? Jun, wait up!"

 Chapter 35: Skill Test

    Chapter 35: Skill Test


    In the living room...


    Evo was sitting alone on the sofa, shuffling a ballpoint pen between his fingers. The pen never stopped, and Evo didn''t even look at it.


    He suddenly threw the pen up in the air. When it reached the maximum height it could climb, it shined brightly then fell down. As it fell, it changed into a green stress ballmonly used by elderlies.


    What happened seemed like a magic trick, but it was a simplebination of his skills. Debugger and Backup.


    Evo tapped the ball, and an interface appeared.


    [item; Stress Ball


    change item to ballpen


    apply; Skill Backup


    use; Skill Backup after 10seconds]


    This experiment caused him forty energy, ten energy for activating Debugger, twenty energy for transforming item property, and ten energy for using Backup.


    This little experiment helped him understand how his skill works and made him realize how hard it was to adjust an item''s parameters.


    Earlier, he tried adding one-hit-kill as an effect and was weed by a whooping five thousand energy point requirement. The skill failed, and his energy was almost drained. He had to wait nearly thirty minutes before his energy became practically full.


    After learning his lesson, he adjusted his goals and managed to reduce his energy consumption.


    "You look pleasing to the eyes when you don''t talk."


    A familiar voice came from behind him. He saw Jun holding onto a pillow and sat down beside him on the sofa.


    "And my eyes hurt whenever I look at you." Evo chuckled slightly, then said, "What are you doing here? I thought you''d sleep on the kitchen table?"


    Jun sighed exhaustedly. "I woke up. Marianne slept on my side."


    "Ohh, isn''t that good?" said Evo with teasing eyes.


    "...she''s snoring like a"


    A pillow hit his face before he could finish what he wanted to say. An angry Marianne was standing on the kitchen''s doorway.


    "Jun... SHUT UP!"


    A loud bellow came from her mouth. Above her head was a blue megaphone icon.


    Behind her, raging mes appeared and emitted intense heat that surrounded the living room.


    "Calm down! Calm down! I haven''t said anything!"


    The room where the women were sleeping flung open, four heads peeked out, and they started whispering towards each other.


    "Did he do it?"


    "I knew he would do it."


    "No one can escape those temptations. Haa..."


    "I wish I had those..."


    ***


    A silhouette appeared on the window of a two-story house. It watched in astonishment as most of the infected that crowded the streets below ran towards a particr direction.


    The person looked back towards the door of this room that kept making pounding noises. Low growls could be heard from the other side.


    The person searched the kitchen. He found a set of knives for cooking and chose to pick-up a butcher knife.


    ***


    It was alreadyte at night, and most of the members of the group has fallen asleep. Only four people remain awake and had their own things to do.


    Adrian and Edward were both outside sitting on the front entrance, while Jun and Evo discussed things on the living room.


    Adrian took a puff of the branded cigarette on his lips, then blew it out, creating a cloud of smoke that was immediately carried away by the cold night winds.


    Edward coughed hard since most of the smoke flew in his direction.


    "That''s bad for your health, you know?"


    Adrian nced at him, then shrugged.


    "Isn''t it better to die peacefully than getting chewed to death by infecteds?"


    "Yet, it still feels better to be alive." Edward retorted.


    "What''s there to live for anyway?"


    "If you have asked me this question this morning, I probably wouldn''t know how to answer. But after listening to the new girl, I found my personal goal. To be strong and protect everyone."


    Edward smiled sheepishly when he saw Adrian frowning.


    "So childish... It''s cold out here, but you''re the one who''s making me shiver. Ugh, so cold. let''s go inside."


    In the kitchen, Jun was still having a discussion with Evo. Although it was a discussion, most of the time, it was him listening while Evo exined his newfound theory about essence shards.


    His discovery was actually something simple. Since those crystals were called shards, then there''s a possibility tobine them and make a new item out of it. They experimented for an hour before finally getting results. This hour-long experimentpletely drained them of their energy and has used ten essence shards. Jun and Evo both felt physically and mentally exhausted, but upon seeing the transparent round crystal on the table, the two of them became ted.


    Evo picked the round crystal to check its descriptions. "Essence crystal, it can store essence, destroyed upon use. Do you know what this means?"


    Jun furrowed his brows and sarcastically replied. "You don''t know, and yet you''re asking me." Jun shook his head, then said, "Let me see that."


    Evo handed the round crystal to Jun.


    [Essence Crystal (Low-Tier)]


    [Description] A crystal that can absorb the purest of life essences. It can store up to 5 attribute points. This item will be destroyed after a user absorbs the stored essence.


    Jun exined what he saw to Evo, who scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. Evo was curious about how did he manage to understand the item without further testing.


    Evo was a core member of his old group, and Jun trusts him like his very own family. The two of them have already known each other for a long time and understand each other the most. He told him that he could see extra information on any item that he touches, and he could also see names with varying colors above a person''s head.


    There''s also a reason for telling his secrets to Evo besides trust. It''s taking a toll on his brain, and he badly needed some help.


    "You have two unique abilities that most people don''t have, got four other abilities when you leveled up, and two abilities you learned along the way. I can only say that you''re so lucky." Evo said unresigned after remembering his two pre-generated skills.


    Since they already know that Jun can see additional information, the two of them brainstormed about what the colors could possibly mean. After pondering for a while, Evo pped his head.


    He then turned to Jun with a condescending smile.


    "Wow~ you''re quite narcissistic."


    "What do you mean?" said Jun, confused.


    "Have you ever yed The Sims? Obviously, no. In that game, the characters have this green diamonds called plumbob above their heads. It shows what the character currently feels, and you need to tend to them based on what they want. This is the closest that I could think of, and I think its a match. We just need to do some additional experiments to make sure."


    Suddenly, a childish voice came from the living room that was connected to the kitchen area.


    "Wow... we''ve been here for so long, and they still haven''t noticed us," Edward whispered. When he turned his head back, he saw Jun and Evo looking at him.


    Adrian nced sideways as if looking at an idiot. He muttered softly to himself, "Rule number one in eavesdroppingbe quiet."


    Adrian then faced Jun with an unhappy expression on his face. He then turned to Evo, then said, "Can we join that experiment?"

 Chapter 36: A Peaceful Night

    Chapter 36: A Peaceful Night


    At first, Evo was nning to use himself as the test subject for Jun''s ability, but with Adrian volunteering, and Edward looking interested in the topic, the number of experimental subjects increased.


    With the increased number of people joining the experiment, the more data they could gather. Therefore, reaching a higher chance toprehend Jun''s ability.


    With that said, they started the experiment.


    The four sat around the table, upying one side each. In front of Jun was Evo, while Adrian and Edward sat to his left and right, respectively.


    "So, how do we proceed?" Evo said.


    Jun stared at them for a few seconds then said, "Based on Evo''s hypothesis of The Sims plumbob, we should start by telling me what you feel right now."


    Jun observed if there will be any changes in the colors of their names. Currently, Adrian has reddish-ck while Edward had yellow-green. Evo, who was sitting in front, had white and green alternating from time to time.


    "I''m annoyed," said Adrian.


    "Well, I''m curious about what the results will be, so should I say that I''m excited?" Evo said.


    Edward had a huge smile on his face and was thest to speak.


    "This lord is ted. It turns out that the emperor has been blessed by the Gods too!"


    After listening to them, Jun told them their name''s colors. The first experiment ended, and they proceeded to the second. Then, the third.


    After a few more experiments, they finally concluded that Evo''s theory was right. It was the person''s present emotion or mood, just like The Sims, but a bit different. There are five known primary colors, and colors can have a mixture of two or more. Jun didn''t see any three color mixture, but Evo said that he could probably meet one in the future. Abination of three colors? What kind of feeling would that be?


    The four of them chatted on the table while drinking coffee, talking about everything that happened today. Edward was joyouslyplimenting himself for having thought of a good name for the muscle infected they saw earlier, a destroyer. He was saying things like how it liked to destroy everything on its way. It doesn''t even think and just keeps on using brute strength.


    Adrian and Jun were indifferent, but Edward managed to get an enthusiastic reply from Evo.


    Evo bbered like there''s no tomorrow exining that since the world has changed, there would be a lot of new things that would need categorizing and that they should start nning early too.


    In the past, having the right to name something officially usually takes a lot of money. Commoners don''t even have the chance to even if they have enough money since they need connections or a certain level of prestige in that area; for example, naming a newly identified nt species or a recently discovered underwater life.


    Fame was something significant if you n to appear in public. Edward thought that they would have to discuss who and what should be the official name for that type of infected.


    Contrary to his expectations, the other three seemed not to care, and they settled to call it Destroyer.


    Adrian was indifferent to the whole naming thing while Jun appeared more interested in what Evo meant by nning ahead.


    ording to Evo, there would be no infected after ten years or less. Since their bodies disappear after looting them, the remnant of the government would surely do their best to clear the whole country of infected even if it took a long time. Unless the infected from other countries evolved and gained the ability to fly, there would be not enough infected for everyone to share for the next ten years.


    Considering the theory that people who died during the initial phase were turned into infected, mostly made of elderlies and those who got into lethal idents, there should be at least one-tenth of the poption left alive. With a poption of nearly 109 million, there should be approximately 10 million people alive and currently trying to survive in their own ways.


    It''s indeed hard to kill an infected when you''re by yourself, but humans are group animals. They tend to gather under a capable leader and live under the alpha''s rule. A single infected is outmatched by a group of people, making hunting ratherfortable and safe.


    Even if people encounter an evolved infected, that doesn''t mean that they would be killed easily since humans can grow too. The infected''s rate of evolution is currently unknown, but as for humans, they can track their progress visibly. And due to futurepetitions for growth and power, the rate of leveling would surely be faster. Civilization would once againe, and those in power would decide everything.


    Jun doesn''t really care about power, but the idea that someone can boss him around doesn''t sit well with him. When he remembered how people in power used everything possible to kick his father down while he was cornered on all sides, rage ran wildly inside him. His body heated up, and his breathing turned rough.


    Just then, Evo''s calm voice sounded, making his unstable expression calm down. He then pushed a USB towards Jun''s side of the table.


    "Everything you''re looking for should be inside. I worked hard to get them, alright! I knew it took a month, but hey! I still got them... that was two days ago." he stood up and ced his hand on Jun''s shoulder. "I don''t know if they''re still alive, but make sure to beat the heck out of them."


    Seeing that the atmosphere turned ufortable, everyone left and chose to get some sleep.


    ***


    When the city square''s clock''s long arm moved to twelve, it rang and made the reverberating sound it usually makes.


    In the middle of the night, outside the streets, the moonlight showered every infected with its radiant light.


    The infected in the area reacted differently to the moonlight.


    All of the infected were idly standing while looking up towards the sky; their skins shone brightly as the moonlight entered their bodies. Some infected rolled and wiggled on the ground.


    A few secondster, they stood up with visible changes in their bodies. Most of the infected recovered their injuries while others evolved differently; some dashed and searched the surroundings while others overturned the cars as if searching for something.


    When they stopped searching, they also looked up into the sky and shone brightly, white moonlight entering their bodies.

 Chapter 37: House Attack

    Chapter 37: House Attack


    A scrawny infected stood up after rolling on the asphalt road. Its body had visible changes, especially its jaws and legs. All of its once humane teeth now became ragged while its legs shortened, making its length almost the same with its arms. The nails on its hand became slightly longer and sharper.


    It looked around the area as if it was searching for something, and when it failed, it then looked up towards the sky. The moonlight fell on its body, and its irises changed its color; from the usual yellow, it turned into pure white.


    After a few hours of absorbing the moonlight, as if on schedule, every infected stopped looking up and did their own things. Some stayed standing on their spot while others shambled randomly in the area.


    The scrawny infected let out a roar when it woke up from its trance. It then plopped down to the ground on all fours, and then it ran like a dog while roaring wildly towards the east.


    A few infected started to follow, then as they get further, a long parade of infected that got attracted by its roars formed and ran after it.


    ***


    Jun was sleeping cozily on the couch when he suddenly felt someone biting his shoulder. He shoved with his hands as a reflex before he could even open his eyes.


    A soft squishy sensation filled his palm.


    "Hey, gently~."


    The woman on top of him coquettishly said, with her index finger on the tip of her lips. Her seductive eyes were inviting Jun''s soul toe out and y.


    Jun shook his head before covering his eyes with his arm, trying to go back to sleep.


    "Marianne, can you get off me? You''re not that light anymore..."


    "Wow~ how dare you say that to ady. You''ll never have a girlfriend at this rate!"


    Marianne leaned forward, locking Jun in between her arms, their faces inches away from each other.


    "Lucky you, you have this young maiden here by your side, willing to do anything for you as long as you say it."


    Marianne winked then slowlyy down on top of Jun.


    She then whispered while making circles in Jun''s chest. "You''re acting so weird. It''s like I barely know you anymore."


    Afterward, silence permeated the air, followed by her slow breathing.


    Jun could feel her bountiful chest go up and down, causing an intable tent to erect by its self down below. Her sweet fragrance traveled into his nose and woke up the sleepy Jun.


    Jun took a deep breath before cing his two hands on her back, hugging her.


    "You''re still the best hug pillow! Ever!"


    "What? After everything I''ve done, I''m still a hug-pillow? You evil hug monster!" Marianne hit Jun''s shoulders a few times jokingly. Then softly said, "Can I apply for a promotion?"


    Which Jun hastily turned down. "No."


    Then it became quiet again.


    Marianne knew Jun wouldn''t say yes and wasn''t affected. The thing she really wants to know is why Jun is acting weirdly.


    The Jun she knows would alwaysugh and yell while ordering everyone around like some privileged king from ancient times.


    Marianne tried asking him, but he wouldn''t budge. And so she asked the most probable reason and the hardest question she could probably ask of him.


    "Is it because of your dad? I thought you hated him."


    Silence.


    Marianne knew Jun''s strengths, and of course, his weaknesses.


    Jun is someone who is sensitive and cares too much for other people. Once he treats someone like a family, that person''s actions and circumstances heavily affect Jun''s state of mind.


    If one of his family members ever got into trouble, he would rush and help them. If someone''s celebrating something, he would visit and bring gifts for the celebrant. He is someone passionate when ites to his ''family.''


    "I know you can get past this, but you need topose yourself. You can''t let the crew see you like these."


    "...I know."


    Just then, a voice interrupted the two of them.


    "I hate to disturb the two of you, but we have a huge problem."


    The two turned their heads at the same time towards the voice.


    Adrian was standing on the window, looking outside, peeking through the curtains.


    Marianne got off Jun while ring at Adrian with no intention to hide the dissatisfaction she''s currently feeling.


    Jun stood up next and walked towards the window.


    "What''s the problem?"


    Adrian didn''t answer his question and stepped back instead, letting Jun see the situation for himself.


    Jun took a peek outside the window.


    At that time, he saw an infected hit the armored truck that they got earlier. Its hand-created sparks as the nails scratched the ted outeryer of the truck. Based on its external appearance, Jun was sure that this infected already evolved.


    As if knowing that its attack failed, it roared loudly, then circled around the truck. After circling for a few times, it stopped on the truck''s passenger door and sniffed like a dog.


    It continued sniffing the ground, then turned its head towards the house where Jun''s group currently stays.


    Jun stared back, and their eyes made contact with each other. An impending sense of crisis rose within him as sweat appeared on his back.


    He turned to Adrian then said, "Wake everyone up! Take the backdoor. Quickly!"


    At the same time that Jun was rying his message to Adrian, the evolved infected looked into the sky and made a long howl that reverberated in the quiet subdivision. Afterward, it shrieked as it charged towards the door.


    His face paled as he watched the scene outside. Jun brought out his shotgun from his inventory and readied himself for battle.


    "What happened?"


    A panicked voice came from behind him. He didn''t even need to exin since a loud scratching noise came from the door, followed by some beastly roars.


    "Hurry up!" Jun yelled without looking back. He stood in front of the door anxiously waiting for the infected to show itself.


    Don''t be mistaken.


    Jun isn''t scared of a single evolved infected. What truly scared him was the numerous things scatter outside the streets.


    When he took a peek earlier, his attention was solely focused on the unique infected, and so he didn''t notice that the once empty streets were now filled with hordes of infected.


    He only noticed them when they started running and clustered into a group that wasrge enough, that there were no gaps to see the backline.

 Chapter 38: Go! Stress Ball!

    Chapter 38: Go! Stress Ball!


    "Graaah!"


    The evolved infected growled as it struck the wooden door.


    Edward appeared by Jun''s side. Since he was alone with Jun, he didn''t talk bullshit and started talking normally.


    "What''s happening here? Can I help? Should we fight it? I have better energy control now; I practiced."


    "Go help at the back, follow Adrian, tell him to go quickly but quietly. I can''t stall these infecteds for a long time."


    "Why don''t we just fight them?"


    Edward''s suggestion garnered the attention of some of the nearby group members.


    Adrian was the first to voice out his opinion. "Yeah, we can try to fight them here. We can use the door as"


    But before he could finish his sentence, a hand with sharp fingernails pierced through the door, wing at the nearby space around it.


    The area around the wrist was scraped and was bleeding profuselylines after lines of blood formed around it. As the infected continued wing on the space, droplets of blood flew everywhere.


    There''s something a bit unusual, though. The infecteds hands that should have taken damage for piercing the door have no injuries at all. Instead, there were small pieces of wood stuck on its fingernails.


    Jun aimed with the shotgun and shot the infecteds hand. It was impossible to miss with such a close distance, and the shot hit right into its palm, which caused Jun to be shocked. Not because the shot missed the infected, but because the shot didn''t achieve his expected result.


    Imagine a shotgun fired at close proximity. What would happen to its target? It should be gone! sted to pieces! Or at least destroyed!


    "F*cking heck!"


    Jun fired once again and aimed at the arms instead. Pieces of flesh got blown off, but the bones received little to no damage.


    The infected wailed and shrieked as it pulled back its arms. Its yellow eyes red at Jun through the hole on the door.


    Jun stared back and raised the shotgun wanting to fire one more time, but the infected quickly dashed away. Jun turned around then shouted.


    "Run! Go! Adrian, take the lead."


    Everyone was already awake and was now gathered in the living room. Some of the women were already showing panic on their faces.


    "Do you need help?" Evo asked indifferently. Marianne beside him had a worried expression as she stared at Jun.


    "No, I''ll just stall them until everyone gets a head start."


    "Take this."


    Evo handed a green stress ball to Jun.


    "Squeeze tight for three seconds, then throw it. Remember, three seconds. No more, no less."


    "Okay."


    The group then headed to the backdoor with Adrian and Edward as the front.


    At the same time, the horde of infected finally reached the front door. They started hitting the door while others got pushed into the window, their faces being crushed by the metal bars.


    "Where''s the nts when you need them?"


    Splinters of wood flew everywhere. Maybe because it already received damage and was already on the brink of being destroyed, the door got broken unusually fast.


    When the door broke into pieces and fell on the floor, the evolved infected appeared on the doorway. It was surrounded by dead infected that probably died due to friendly fire.


    It sat like a dog on the ground while ravenously feasting on a severed infected''s arm.


    When most of the flesh was gone, it tossed the bone to the sides. It stared at Jun with eyes that showed hints of vengeance within them.


    The evolved infected''s injured arm brightened. When the lights dimmed down, the missing flesh from its arm haspletely recovered.


    The evolved infected shrieked at Jun before charging forward.


    "Bang!"


    Jun fired and hit the evolved infected''s shoulder, causing it to stop and be overtaken by other infected. Although there was no visible damage, it chose to back down and hid behind the horde.


    At first, there were only two infected who charged at him. They ran while opening their mouths wide as if they wanted to swallow him whole.


    Jun stepped to the side, waiting for the two to make a single line. And when they did, Jun fired. The chest of both infected had a huge gaping hole in it. Jun can even see the evolved infected on the back, ring at him. It went further back and disappeared from his sight.


    There''s only one way to ''truly'' kill an infected as far as Jun''s knowledge could remember, and that is by looting their bodies, vanishing them into stardust.


    Since he didn''t have enough time to loot them, he chose the best method when dealing with arge number of enemies at the same time.


    Kiting!


    Jun took something from his pockets as he slowly retreated towards the kitchen doorway. He then made a fist as he waited for new infected to charged at him. The two dead bodies on the floor showed no movements and have be crushed after being stepped on by the others. Most of the infected ran towards Jun, while those who tripped became another set of obstacles for others to trip on.


    More than seven infected charged at him at the same time. It seemed like it was the most number of infected the room could handle as the others were left behind only able to follow the seven''s lead.


    Jun threw the item that he had been squeezing since earlier on the nearest infected. It hit the face of the infected and bounced on the floor while shaking three times.


    At the same time when the green stress ball was still shaking, a few infected ran past it. Those infected haven''t even taken two steps when they were suddenly pushed back to the ground, unable to move.


    The small stress ball was now expanding non-stop. The spikes on its round body struck the infected but didn''t kill them. The ragged stic spikes only kept the infecteds in its ce.


    The rate of sudden expansion was less than a second. Though it continued expanding, it was a bit slow.


    And after reaching the roof, it finally stopped.

 Chapter 39: Absorbing the Stones

    Chapter 39: Absorbing the Stones


    At dawn, inside the living room.


    The infected who got crushed by the giant stress ball growled and wed at Jun. Some were stuck on the roof, on the floor, and the walls. Most of the furniture in the living room got pushed to the sides, dragging the infecteds near to it.


    Jun reloaded his shotgun before storing it in his inventory. There''s no point in using such a powerful weapon when you''re taking out disabled enemies.


    Jun brought out his baseball bat and started his infected killing spree. Everything went too easy that Jun couldn''t believe it himself. With each infected dying by taking one hit in the head, the surrounding area in front of him was finally cleared.


    Now, he just needs to "kill" them and take his hard-earned essence shards.


    Behind the giant ball of spikes, the shrieks and roars of infected could still be heard. The infected on the other side seemed to be hitting the giant stress ball, causing it to vibrate repeatedly.


    Jun looted thest corpse and was surprised by what he got. A yellow stone appeared on his palm together with an essence shard. He quickly checked the item description.


    [Energy Stone]


    [Description] A stone that contains powerful energy. Increase maximum energy by 10 when used.


    Jun was speechless. He thought that there was nothing else that dropped from this regr infecteds, but here is the proof that he shouldn''t make assumptions based on logic. When he read the item description, he immediately thought of Edward.


    It would be useful to Edward since he could tank longer, but Jun still chose to use it for himself simply because he had skills that drain a lot of energy too. He just consoled himself that he would surely give Edward the next energy stone that he would find.


    Now that he thinks about it, he still had that red gem from the Destroyer that he killed. He couldn''t use it since he doesn''t know how to absorb it. Looting the energy stone gave him some idea, and he wants to try it right now.


    Amidst the crazy roars on the other side of the living room, Jun calmly took his time as he tried feeling out the "energy" in his body. He stared at his hand, fiercely like wantingsers to shoot out and disintegrate the gem in his hand.


    Of course, that method failed.


    He took a deep breath, then calmed himself down. With his eyes closed, he gripped the gem softly. He was looking for any small sparks or changes in his hand.


    A few secondster, a warm sensation came from his palm, that same feeling when he first used the skill that he created, Howling Rage.


    The feeling circted on his palm, followed by a melting sensation that crawled into his wrist, then to his body. When he finally opened his eyes, the red crystal was nowhere to be seen.


    A notification then said that he gained +1 power.


    Jun smiled wryly before absorbing the energy stone.


    "Fvck! So I really need to use energy to absorb it. That was quite simple."


    Jun thought that he could finally have an "unbitable gloves," but when he tried to use energy to cover his hands, he miserably failed. The energy he could generate on top of his palm wasn''t even the size of a beansprout.


    "Is that brat actually a genius?" Jun thought to himself.


    Just as he was pondering over things, a bright sh of light came in front of him. The giant stress ball that blocked all of the infected started shrinking down at a fast rate, like a balloon that started losing air, it returned back to its original size.


    "Holy mother of!"


    Jun decided to ran instead of finishing whatever he wanted to say. Behind him was a group of infected who got released from the stress ball. Since nothing is blocking their path, dozens of infected charged at Jun.


    "Unlucky, so unlucky! Evo! You should have at least told me that there''s a time limit! Fvck!" Jun yelled as he ran onto the kitchen''s backdoor.


    ***


    "Where is he? Did hee out? Did you see hime out?"


    Marianne continuously asked Edward as he used a toy binocr to look at the house where Jun is.


    Edward said, "I don''t know. I don''t think this is even working. It''s so hard to see using this!"


    "Can you two lower your voice?" Adrian said while pulling out the knife from an infected''s head.


    They''re currently standing in the middle of the street, two blocks away from the subdivision. The number of infected roaming on the road could be counted by one hand, and they were being taken care of by Bernard and the four women from the bank''s group. She was guarding the back of the group, making sure that no infected could ambush them.


    It seemed that most of the infected in the area were gathered at the house they were previously at. Arge group of infected was randomly running around the area.


    At that time, the kitchen''s backdoor finally opened, spatting Jun out, who didn''t even close the door as he ran without looking back. There were no weapons in his hand as he madly ran for his life.


    After a few seconds, an infected mmed on the door as it couldn''t stop its momentum from running, followed by another one, and another. The first infected got sandwiched by the wall and the infected behind it. As the number of infected piled up, the first infected became crushed.


    The roars of the infected echoed in the once quiet subdivision.


    Seeing that there were only a few infected chasing after Jun, Adrian''s group confidently formed an arc formation. They acted like this since only Adrian and Jun knew that there were dozens of infected were being led by an evolved infected.


    "Get inside the building!" Adrian shouted while pointing at the nearest house. He then took the lead as he ran towards it.


    Evo stared at the horde of infected following Jun. He then took an item from his inventory, a small circr stone. He yfully tossed the stone, then caught it, doing the act three times, then pinched hard.


    "Jun... this took me three hours to make. Let''s hope that I''m a good thrower." Evo muttered to himself. He took a throwing position as he gathered every power into his hand.

 Chapter 40: Old John

    Chapter 40: Old John


    "Haa!"


    Evo threw the stone with all his might. With its current trajectory, it should be able to reach Jun''s location with no problems at all.


    Everything was going fine until half of the stone''s journey. The small stone suddenly expanded and became a huge boulder that''s at least two meters in height. With its weight, it immediately dropped down to the ground, losing all of its forward momentum.


    "Seems like bowling with stone isn''t possible," Evo muttered. "But maybe, I can use this as rolling stones when I have the high ground."


    With an earth-shaking thud, the boulder fell a few meters in front of Jun. Evo couldn''t even see him as Jun got utterly hidden behind the boulder.


    Jun''s panicked voice and non-stop cursing came from the other side of the boulder. When Jun appeared on the corner, uninjured, he quickly looked for the culprit, while shouting profanities.


    Seeing Jun still alive and kicking, Evo sighed in relief.


    "Hurry! We''re hiding in that building!" Evo ignored Jun''s ramblings like he was already used to it, then turned around and ran towards the building.


    Jun, who was far behind him, actually caught up. "Are you trying to kill me? Are we really friends? Just because I unfriended you on Social, doesn''t mean we''re not friends!"


    Evo ignored the hysterical Jun as he opened the ss door. There''s a lot of furniture blocking the entrance, and so they had to worm their way in slowly. Jun looked around the area as he clutched his knees, trying to catch his breath, then he smiled sheepishly.


    They''re currently in the lobby of a two-story motel. A stairwell that goes to the second floor was on the right side beside the reception area. The ce seemed empty since there were no humans or infected in sight. Though there were signs that people have stayed in the area, there''s currently no way to tell if they''re still here; dead or alive. Jun carefully trudged forward, looking for anything that might be dangerous.


    "Are you sure they went here?" Jun said.


    "Of course! Maybe they''re checking the ce for infecteds."


    As they were chatting, amotion came from the second floor.


    ***


    Adrian stood in front of the group. They stuck firmly to each other and looked around for anything suspicious. When they entered the motel, the first thing they did was to secure the ce. They went by three''s and checked every room on the first floor. Afterward, they grouped up and searched the second floor.


    They thought the ce would be empty just like the first floor, but they were mistaken. There''s a group hiding inside on one of the rooms, and both groups were clearly surprised to see each other. Before Adrian could react, a pistol was already pointed at them.


    On the other side of the room, there are three people of varying ages. There''s an old man, a teenage girl, and an early twenty''s burly man. The old man and the girl hid behind the burly man.


    The burly man red at Adrian''s group.


    "Don''te any closer."


    Instead of cooperating, Adrian red at the man while unsheathing his knife.


    "Lower your gun, right now," Adrian said menacingly.


    She stepped forward, not happy with Adrian''s way of doing things. "Please lower your gun. We''re friendlies. There''s a horde of infected two blocks away, and we don''t want them hearing any gunshots. We''ll just hide here until they leave. Please?"


    Everyone has their own traits. Usually, it wouldn''t have any effect on our daily life, but after the world changed, they be essential. One of She''s trait is gentle, which makes the opposite gender act kindly in front of her. Due to this trait, the seemingly uncooperative man hesitatingly lowered his gun.


    "Thank you." She gratefully said.


    The man looked at her, then huddled closer with his group. They then started whispering with each other.


    She turned to Adrian. "What''s wrong with you?" she said before walking away.


    Their group warily sat on the other side of the room. Although Adrian''s group have the number advantage, the other group had a gun. A single shot could kill them if that man chose to.


    Just then, two people walked in. The leading person warmly smiled as he stood in the center of the room, facing the unknown group.


    Strangely enough, his group members finally sighed in relief and were already feeling safe with just him standing there. His back seemed wider and reliable as if it could protect the whole group from any threats.


    Jun smiled as he walked forward a few steps. He stopped when the gun-wielding man stood up and pointed the pistol on his head.


    "Old John, you never changed, huh. I see that you still prefer the innocent ones. This is the first time I saw this guy. Is he new here?" Jun said. Ignoring the fact that there''s a gun on the side of his head, he walked a few steps forward with a smile on his face.


    Old John was the owner of this motel. He''s also one of Jun''s regr customers and source of ie.


    Running this kind of business attracts some sort of people that aren''t very well mannered. To keep the business running, Old John chose to pay for protection fees.


    Sometimes, there were customers who intentionally cause trouble, and he had to call for Jun secretly. A group of bystanders will then identally pass-by then beat that customer. Old John would then protect the customer, and the customer would feel indebted to him. Some gave him money while others cursed as they limped their way out.


    Old John angrily cursed at him. "Starry head, don''t go spouting nonsense! This is my niece. If you want to tarnish this gentleman''s image, even if I''m old, I would have to fight it out with you. That man is for security. I hired him a few days ago, and after all this shit, I think I finally managed to make some good investments."


    "Your group sucks at protecting properties! I want a refund on my protection fees!"


    Jun smirked. "We don''t ask for any protection fees. Those were donations that people willingly gave to us. By the way, if he doesn''t lower his gun, I''ll beat him up."


    The old man signaled for the guard to lower his gun. The manplied and went to the old man''s side.


    Jun gave a bear hug to the old man then whispered, "Fess up, old man! Is she really your niece?"


    "Of course! Why would I lie about that!"


    "Then, is that guy a professional? How did you find someone like that?"


    "Apparently, he likes my niece."

 Chapter 41: Teaching Energy

    Chapter 41: Teaching Energy


    Old John introduced his niece and the burly man to Jun. They greeted each other and proceed to whatever they were doing earlier.


    Jun took a peek on one of the windows.


    The area outside was littered with infected randomly roaming the streets. The huge boulder was now nowhere to be seen, which probably returned to its original form. On its ce was a huge circr pit that has a depth of at least two feet into the ground.


    "So, how are you doing?" Jun abruptly said. "What happened here? This ce is so clean. It''s like this ce was never affected by the outside."


    "What do you expect? Do you want my motel to be filled with those things?!" Old John rebuked. Hebs his hair then said, "It was a bad day for business, and I''m thankful that it was. When I first noticed that things aren''t looking good, I hurriedly locked the doors."


    "Oh, that''s lucky for you." Junughed then sat down on the floor. He brought out some essence shards and used his energy tobine it to make an essence crystal.


    When he felt the energy leaving his body, a crystal appeared on his hand. He checked the description and saw that it was low-tier.


    Jun and Evo have concluded that everything needs energy to be activated. If you want to use skills, you need energy. Craft orbine items, you need energy. Evo even experimented using the dimensional energy. He found out that using dimensional storage drains one energy per minute.


    Although it was a negligent amount, knowing that information would still prove to be useful. The energy recovery rate also depends on the individual. Since he was alone and there are not enough people to participate in the experiment, Evo could only let the matter go, and leave it for ater time.


    When he was looting the dead infecteds earlier, he tried using the essence crystal on one of them.


    The insides of the crystal glowed when it touched the infected''s body; white light burst from it, then it cracked. Jun thought that maybe his luck wasn''t that good, so he just looted the other bodies.


    Adrian walked to Jun with Edward and She in tow. Ester and Jamie went out to go to the bathroom. Bernard followed them, saying his stomach wasn''t feeling well too. The rest of his group members were eating something as they rest while leaning on the wall.


    Adrian said, "What''s the n? Are we going to wait until they all left?"


    "Of course not. I''m just resting. I want my energy to recover to full before we head out. By the way, listen up! I learned a new skill, and it''s quite useful. Evo did some research about energy yesterday, and I got results to prove that they''re correct."


    While sitting, Jun stretched his feet for everyone to see. A few secondster, white lights appeared below his feet. There was a soft whistling sound that can only be produced when moving at high speeds.


    "I learned Sprint, it''s a toggle skill that temporarily increases your speed at the cost of energy. This skill saved me earlier, and I''ll teach the skill to anyone who can use energy."


    With that said, Jun taught them how to feel the energy inside their body. Everyone tried their best to learn how to feel energy. Some seeded quickly while some took longer. She and Evo had thergest energy balls on their palm, and they seem to have more natural control as they yed around, making various shapes.


    The sizes of energy ball varied by individual, and they found out that the wits stat directly influences energy.


    The higher the wits, the greater the control on energy.


    When they finally all learned how to control energy, Jun taught them how to sprint. It was so simple that everyone learned it on their first try.


    To learn the sprint skill, you only had to focus energy on the sole of your feet. Then, when you feel that your steps be lighter, you need to run.


    Watching everyone try out the skill, Jun had the urge to congratte them. He thought, "Congrattions! You just learned how to run for your life!"


    At that time, Old John, who was silently observing their group, finally spoke up. He inched closer to Jun as he smiled.


    "Seems like you figured a lot of things thisst few days."


    "I had to. Have you tried going outside? Everything changed. It used to be a 5-minute drive from my house to here, but now it took me almost a day. By the way, what level are you guys?" Jun casually said as he ate a chocte bar that he took from his inventory.


    "Level? As in level in those childish games?" Old John said quizzically.


    Hearing his answer, Jun got all of the information that he needs. He then smirked as he looked at Old John. His eyes were showing the evil intentions that are being made inside his head.


    "I can help you level up, but I want that thing," Jun replied.


    Old John''s pondered on what Jun meant, and then his face darkened when he realized what Jun wanted.


    "No! That''s a rare collection of mine!" he then turned to Jun''s members, thinking that he could just get information from them instead.


    Without even seeing the look on Old John''s face, Jun already knew what he was up to. They''ve been dealing with each other for a long time, and they knew how each other think.


    Jun crossed his arms in front of him. "They will never teach you as long as I''m here. So give up. I want that thing. Aspensation, we can add your niece and that guy to the deal."


    As Jun smiled like a local bully looking at his prey, Old John openly cursed at him.


    ***


    "Here! Take it quickly before I changed my mind!"


    "Why do I feel like I''m extorting you? Anyways, thank you! Hahaha."


    Jun grinned as he fitted the round item into his left arm. He then posed left and right, feeling contented. On his arm was a round shield made of carbon alloy. It had a white star design in the center. When his vanity finally quenched, he turned to Old John.


    "Now, you can call me Captain."

 Chapter 42: City Hall

    Chapter 42: City Hall


    The digital clock on the wall reads five twenty.


    In the lobby of the motel, fourteen people were gathered around a single person. All of them armed with melee weapons of their choice.


    Out of the fourteen people, eleven of them had baseball bats as the weapon. The remaining three each had their own unique weapona knife, a wooden spear, and bare fists.


    The man who was the center of them all had a round shield on his left arm while his right arm held a worn-out baseball bat. There are numerous chips and cracks visible on the baseball bat''s body.


    Of course, it was Jun.


    An hour has already passed, and the infected on the streets have already scattered. When they were resting, everyone finally felt more closer to each other. They started telling about their personal lives and even their dreams. Seeing their warm attitude with each other, Old John''s group finally decided to join them.


    Old John introduced the two people behind him. The petite woman was Emma, her niece; she takes care of the overall housekeeping of the motel. The macho man was Jorge; he serves as the security personnel of the motel.


    After their introduction, the group asked them what their n is, which is currently none.


    Old John''s too old to look for his family while Emma''s too weak to go and find hers. Jorge didn''t even care about the issue as he said that he''ll just follow Emma.


    Jun, of course, wouldn''t let them jump on board without knowing if they can fend for themselves. Since they want to join his group, they need to earn it and must contribute in the future.


    After exining the n, which is to help the three neers to level up safely, Jun walked towards the door.


    There''s a lot of scattered furniture in the lobby. They set it up like a maze so the infecteds couldn''t charge directly at them.


    When Jun reached the ss door, there''s already a thin horizontal light peeking on the eastern sky.


    Jun turned to the experienced members of his group. "Don''t kill the infected. If it''s possible, just disable them. Once the three of them reached level one, you can try and level yourselves, okay?"


    Everyone nodded affirmatively.


    Jun slowly opened the door outwards.


    Before he could even do anything to attract the infected, some were already charging at him. Maybe they saw him or heard the soft squeaking of the ss door.


    Jun ran back to the group. If it weren''t for the three neers, he would dly take all of the EXP for himself.


    The whole group seemed calm, except for three people. Old John and Jorge looked rather anxious as they fixed their stance repeatedly. They also tried changing how they gripped their weapons, too many times. Emma, on the other hand, seemed pale and will probably run away if given a chance.


    Jun chose to give them some pep talk. "You three need to calm down. We''ll do most of the work, so just make sure that you kill them quickly. Also, try to hit them in the head, and it''s way better if you kill them in one hit. Well, if you like the feeling of bashing heads, then feel free to enjoy yourself."


    Jun''s pep talk doesn''t seem to be effective, but he chose to ignore it.


    "Okay, everyone ready!" Jun shouted as loud as he can, wanting to attract more infected.


    The first wave of infected came, and the main group, Jun, Adrian, She, and Edward, disabled them. They stayed in front and killed the iing infected until the three from Old John''s group killed all of the infected.


    Jun have considered a lot of things for this. He isn''t risking his life for a mere carbon alloy shield that could get stolen by someone or get scrapped when the item receives too much damage and be unusable.


    There are two main reasons why he''s doing this. The first and apparent reason was to get as much EXP as they could while having a valid reason to do so. People would undoubtedly be dissatisfied if he openly forbids them to take part, and so there was the main group and the support group.


    Things could sound reasonable if you phrased them correctly.


    He exined that the main group would fight first, and any infected that goes past them should be dealt with by the support group, that''s why they''re the support group, the backup.


    When the main group gets exhausted, the support group would then swap with them and fight in front. But when they''re not, they have to loot the dead bodies.


    This strategy was epted without any questions. Some members of the support group were actually happy that they don''t have to fight the infected.


    The second reason that Jun was risking his life was because of Old John. People don''t know, but Jun knew his secrets. It was all thanks to Evo''s help doing some research.


    They were doing background checks on Old John, which is normal when taking new clients, then they found something interesting.


    His family was once a renowned cksmith. Though times had changed, their products were still being sold and used for artistic purposes.


    When Jun fired a shotgun at the Hunter infected, named by Edward, and it didn''t die. He knew. That guns would be useless after some time. That Hunter seemed to have evolved a few more timespared to others since its body and skin werepletely different. Luckily, they haven''t met a Destroyer that evolved up to that level, and the one he killed yesterday seemed to be lower-ranked.


    With the infected evolving and guns starting to show signs of being ineffective on evolved infecteds, he needs to think of something for them to survive in this new world. And the one he thought of is making weapons and armors for them to use, in short cksmithing.


    Remember the bones of that Hunter? It was so durable that it didn''t even get scratched by a shotgun fired at point-nk.


    If they could use those bones as weapons, wouldn''t that be wonderful? The problem would be on how they could manufacture them, but that problem is not his concern anymore.


    When there was no more infecteding in, they finally rxed. The main group didn''t even request a switch since they weren''t feeling exhausted.


    Everyone leveled up by one and distributed their points however they liked.


    Jun put his two points into power, which now reached 17 points. The lobby was filled with pools of blood, but there were no bodies to be seen.


    Adrian and Jun walked out of the motel. They did a full survey of the surroundings to make sure that there are no more groups of infected before inviting everyone out.


    "Let''s go," Jun said, walking confidently towards the city halls direction.


    They regrly encountered groups of infected. Most of the groups have at least five infected in them.


    After the repeated fighting, the group fought fluently and more effectively. Their roles started to be evident as most of the females chose to loot the dead bodies while the men fought.


    Besides the scattered infected on the distance, there''s only trash and abandoned cars to be seen on the streets.


    After walking for ten more minutes, they stopped after seeing what''s in front of them.


    The national highway is filled with hordes of infected. There are no gaps between them as the infected brushed on each other''s shoulders as they walk.


    Jun was about to lead them back and searched for another way when suddenly, gunfires echoed in the area. The sound ising from the right, where the city hall is located.

 Chapter 43: Safezone

    Chapter 43: Safezone


    A group of people wearing blue uniforms was standing in the middle of the za square. They circled around the five-meter tall statue of Jose Rizal, a Filipino hero and one of the most prominent proponents of change in the Philippines during the Spanish upation.


    Numerous infected have surrounded them from all sides, showing no gaps as they growled and stared at them.


    Although nothing was blocking them from attacking the group, no infected dared to step inside the ten-meter radius of the statue.


    "Lieutenant, one of the civilians isn''t looking good. Is he going to turn into one of them?"


    When they first checked the civilian''s temperature, a screen panel appeared saying that that person is infected and can turn into an infected. Though there wasn''t any time indication, they knew that he would die anytime soon, just seeing hisborious breathing and facial expression. The said person had two bite marks, one each on his arms.


    The lieutenant furrowed his brows. The morale is falling down, and everyone is hungry and exhausted.


    His name is Cedric ng, Police Lieutenant of Binangonan, Rizal. There are currently six people around him, waiting for his instructions.


    Under the statue of Jose Rizal, nine civilians were sitting on the ground, dazedly watching the growling infecteds. Three people were ced further from the group, looking pale.


    "Is there any news on Team 2? They''re supposed to radio back after looting the armory."


    "Nothing, sir! They haven''t made contact since ten minutes ago."


    "Fvck!"


    If it were any other times, Cedric wouldn''t have cared if someone waste in executing missions, but this time it''s really different. There''s a lot of things that could possibly have happened.


    Although he tried his best to think positively, his thoughts couldn''t stop thinking the only probable reason why the team was still not radioing back.


    It has been almost two days that they were stuck here. Their food won''tst for long, and their supply of bullets is rapidly dwindling. Although they don''t have much to start with, they managed to conserve ammunition and made every shot count. They only have a few clips left, and after that, they would have to use their pistols as a baton.


    At first, twenty officers managed to survive and hole up in the city hall. They quickly noticed that people have changed, and they started to fight back. They used guns and killed every threat inside the building, securing the area.


    They were supposed to be happy to survive, but after seeing the number of civilian casualties, their expressions turned sour. They then started providing help to the civilians outside, which finally caused some casualties on their side.


    A woman tackled an officer then got mauled to death by a group of people. One got overrun and was bitten to death. As they tried to help more people, the more casualties they received.


    Before they could even go back inside the building, their group was now surrounded. They made a circr formation and ced all the civilians they rescued inside. They tried retreating towards the city hall but got stuck in the area of the statue. They leaned their backs on the statue so they won''t get attacked from behind.


    They nned on risking it all, just so they can go back inside the building, but the lieutenant suddenly ordered a ceasefire.


    Although reluctant, the officers stopped shooting, and then they noticed that those strange people stopped charging towards them.


    Every infected stopped at exactly ten meters away from the statue. As if something was preventing them from entering. The people inside could interact with the infected outside, but the infected can''t do anything other than stare.


    With their safety mysteriously guaranteed, they then nned to secure more arsenal and get some food.


    The police headquarters was on the back of the city hall, and six officers volunteered to go.


    Since it was only the beginning, most of the people were still trying to fight back as they were pinned on the ground. Some tried calling for help, but the group ignored them.


    The people on the statue waited for a day with no results. More and more infected crowded around them. On the next day, due to fatigue and hunger, they formed another group intending to obtain weapons and food. They even convinced some civilians to help them carry things back.


    The remaining civilians helped to attract the infected to cluster on one side of the area so that the team could safely get out. After five minutes, they heard gunshots, then nothing else.


    The infected just stared at them, looking docile. They don''t show any sign that they would attack anyone from the inside. Some civilians actually got fooled by this and tried running outside, but was quickly caught by the fast running infected.


    Lieutenant Cedric was losing hope. They are low on bullets, and they are surrounded. With no food and water, their deaths woulde, and it''s only a matter of time.


    "We need to get out of here. Everyone get up! Use the pistols handle to kill them. Marco, radio Team 2 for thest time, and check for any updates."


    The police officers followed the orders. Rank and discipline need to be followed as these virtues were already deeply ingrained in their bodies.


    While on the civilian side, some chose to help while others just watched.


    They''re not beingzy or anything, its because they knew that those people get up even if they get killed. So there''s no use on killing them again.


    Lieutenant Cedric had to choose. Are they all going to starve, or will they decide to pave their own path?


    He closed his eyes to ponder. Afterward, he took a deep breath and said, "Ready! On my mark!"


    *Crackle crackle*


    The radio that was attached to an officers'' belt came to life.


    "This is Captain Jun, and I''m happy to talk with you. I''m a bit upied right now. So you''ll have to wait a few seconds. Yeah! That was nice, Edward! How did you do that? Ohh, I''m done. Sorry about the yelling. An infected pounced at me from behind. But don''t worry, I''m safe and sound."


    Lieutenant Cedric''s expression became happy. Though the joy in his heart was short-lived as he remembered that he was the highest rank officer on duty two days ago, so it was impossible for there to be a Captain in the station. Even if there was a slim chance that a Captain visited their branch, they are probably dead since it has been two days, and there''s no contact at all.

 Chapter 44: A Liar

    Chapter 44: A Liar


    "Hahaha... Okay, okay. I''ll stop messing around. My name''s Jun, by the way. And yours?"


    Lieutenant introduced himself over the radio. He didn''t even say any pleasantries and went directly to the point.


    "I''m Police Lieutenant Cedric ng. I''m in charge of the Binangonan Police Station. Since you have the radio, does that mean... Are there any police officers in the area?"


    "Of course! We just killed all of them. And some additional infected. I think they ran out of bullet and got overran."


    Hearing the other person''s confirmation worsened the survivors'' morale. Even Lieutenant Cedric felt that things have already gone for the worst. Most of their bullets were given to Team 2, so they could safely reach the armory.


    Lieutenant Cedric gulped at the thought of all of them dying. And so, hepromised and took a bet that the person on the other side of the radio is a good person and would help them.


    "Okay, listen, Jun. We need your help. I''m with a group of survivors, and we''re currently in the middle of municipal hall''s za square. We''re encircled by a group of crazy people. I need you to go to the Armory and get some guns for us. The armory is at the"


    "Why do I need to do that?" Jun suddenly interrupted him. "That''s troublesome. Thanks for the info, anyways."


    Then, the other side hangs up.


    Lieutenant Cedric''s face scrunched up. Anger and frustration filled his heart. He then pressed the radio once more and talked. But this time, he didn''t try to act like he was in charge. Though he didn''t soundmanding, there''s still a trace of stubbornness in his tone.


    "We have fifteen people here, who can die of hunger, three of the civilians we have, got severely wounded and are now in a dangerous state. Mr. Jun, you need to help us."


    Lieutenant Cedric anxiously said, then waited for a reply, but it never came.


    ***


    "Aren''t we going to help them?" She said.


    Jun nced at her as if he was looking at an idiot. "Did you actually believe what that person said? He said that they''re surrounded by infected in the za square. In the za square! That''s an open space! No walls or barricades!"


    "What a liar!" Jun harrumphed then searched the pockets of the infected policeman on the floor.


    Empty.


    The support group looted the bodies and gave all the shards to Jun.


    Adrian arrived after scouting the hallways.


    Adrian said. "The whole ce is secured. The doors were barred, and all kinds of furniture were used to barricade the open areas. There''s no way these infected could have ambushed them. These infecteds must have followed them from the outside."


    The truth about this wasn''t anythingplex. With the help of the main group who were distracting the infecteds in the area, Team 2 managed to sneak back into the city hall quietly. They nned to use the connecting sky bridge from the city hall to go to the police station. They entered with a rxed attitude since they were sure that the city hall was safe because they already cleared and secured the area. It caused them to be caught off guard and were all killed by the infecteds that reanimated in the building.


    "Probably." Jun indifferently said. "I''m more interested where the armory is, though."


    Although guns weren''t that effective as the infected evolved, that doesn''t mean it doesn''t have its uses.


    Having lots of weapons can increase their groups chance of survival. It can also serve as deterrence for people with bad intentions from attacking their group.


    Unexpectedly, Jorge volunteered and took the lead. The group cautiously walked on the sky bridge. They used their usual formation of having the main attackers stood in front while the support group guarding the back.


    The sun started to rise. The hallway they were walking on was then lit by the morning sun. Some shadows on the walls were moving as if they were dancing with the wind.


    Jorge halted on the stairway.


    "Why did you stop?" Jun asked.


    Adrian walked towards the edge and peeked over the railing.


    A K9 dog was eating a dead infecteds body. Its fur appeared clean and looked as if it was regrly brushed. It had a ck cor on its neck connected to a ripped cord.


    The dog raised its head, sensing the gazes of the people on the stairs.


    It bared its fang then growled at them. Mucus slowly drips from the corner of its mouth.


    Jun thought of something. His throat reddened for a second then returned back to normal. He then stared at the rabid K9 before letting out a snarl.


    The K9 stopped moving and only stared at Jun. When it recovered, it started whimpering then quickly ran away with its tail between its legs.


    Jun smiled, watching the scene. Now, his doubts were finally cleared. His Threaten skill can actually work on both infected and animal.


    Also, he noticed that his Threaten skill had a hidden effect. When his power is higher than the target, the target bes paralyzed for a brief second.


    Though he sessfully scared the K9 away, the people behind him weren''t happy. Due to Jun''s shout, the nearby infecteds rushed towards them.


    They killed all the infected using the narrow hallway as a choke point.


    Two infected came at a time. Jun struck every infected that ran into him.


    He used an overhead strike, followed by a powerful diagonal swing, then a right underhand swing. When the infected got too close, he shoved them with his shield. When they lunged, he pummeled them.


    Due to the space being limited, he had to take all of the infected on his own. Once in awhile, one or two infected ignored him and ran past him.


    Those instances were so few, and it only happened when he was too close with an infected.


    Adrian and Edward killed the infecteds that got past him. She didn''t get to kill any infected and only readied herself for the possibility.


    After a while, the infected stoppeding from the outside. Jun took the lead to head out. He stood beside the pir then looked around the area.


    There are two buildings in the immediate vicinity, one on his left and one on his right.


    The left side is where the police station can be found. The station has two floors. The ss doors were broken, and bloodstains littered the area. The small garden on its sides was destroyed. The bush and grasses were ttened as if someone mowed through them.

 Chapter 45: Police Station

    Chapter 45: Police Station


    Jun turned to his right.


    There''s a two-story building with a huge fire truck beside it.


    "There''s probably nothing useful there." Jun thought to himself. "Okay, let''s go."


    Jun started walking towards the police station. The group followed him while looking around the area. They maintained their formation as they walked forward. Although the infected stoppeding, it doesn''t mean that there are no other infected in the area.


    Adrian, who was behind Jun, heard him speak to himself. He said: "This time let''s do it quietly."


    Adrian shook his head as he smiled wryly. He even heard his boss humming a song as if the earlier incident wasn''t caused by him.


    The group entered the police station by batch, depending on their roles. The main group first, followed by the support group. They regrouped at the lobby since the area they need to secure significantly increased.


    The police station isn''t that big, but it''s still spacious. There are three hallways and one stairwell that goes up to the second floor. The hallways had signs ced on the wall on what department you''ll be going. It serves as a guide that helps people navigate when they''reing to visit or do business.


    Based on the sign on the wall, the hallway on the left goes to the canteen while the hallway on the right goes to the station''s prison. Thest hallway, the one in front of them, leads to the processing area, where you get your papers and misceneous kinds of stuff done for. On the stairwell, an arrow that points upwards had the text ''Office'' beside it.


    Since they have seventeen people in the group, Jun decided to split them into four smaller groups. The members of the main group were distributed to the support groups.


    Adrian was grouped with Jamie, Kareen, Gina, and Dyna. Since their group was mostly made of female members, their group was tasked with searching the prison area. Edward had Bernard, Ester, Alex, and Paterno, assigned to search the processing area. On the third group, She has Old John, Emma, Jorge and Marianne tasked to search the cafeteria. The group leader position was given to the main attack group since they have more experience than the others. Thest group was Jun and Evo with an assigned area of the whole second floor. Marianne wanted to join Jun''s group but was sternly rejected.


    The group went on their own ways and finally started their search. Jun and Evo reached the second floor and were greeted by rows and rows of cubicles. On the other furthest side of the floor was an office with blinds blocking any attempt to look inside.


    "Do we really need to split the group? Isn''t it much safer if we just stick together?" Evo suddenly asked him.


    Before Jun answered, he made sure that they were safe. He checked the nearby cubicles before hiding in one of them. Instead of answering Evo''s question, Jun started a new conversation.


    "I need to go to my grandmother''s house. My sister''sst chat with my dad confirmed that she was staying with mother over there. It''s my only lead right now and I need to find them."


    "Then let''s go there after we got some weapons. More people means that we could reach there faster."


    "That also means we need to fight every group of infected we encounter."


    "Then, are you leaving us here?"


    "No! You know how I handle things. As much as possible, I don''t want to risk their lives. Besides, our people would surelye. They''re strong enough to survive and you know that. Someone needs to be in charge when theye or there''ll be trouble."


    Evo started pondering over the matter. "It''s true and I agree that you need to check on your family, but you can''t go out alone. You need to at least take a small number of people with you. The group also needs a secure ce to stay."


    "The city hall should be a good one. The ce is fenced up by stone walls and we only have to secure the za. We can use cars as a blockade and I''ll also help in clearing the rest of the buildings before going to my grandparent''s house."


    Evo sighed, then said, "You''ve already thought this through."


    Jun revealed a victory smile knowing that his friend finally conceded and was willing to take charge for the time being. "I will probably take one to two days before I coulde back, depending on the number of infected along the way. So be safe."


    "You bet. In the past, I can''t fight back when things got physical, but times have changed. Let''s see if there''s anyone out there who can stop my stones." Evo grudgingly said.


    "On that note, can you give some of your stones, balls would be fines too."


    "I ran out. I need to modify them three times so they can be usable. Changing an items property requires a huge amount of energy. That''s why I have to put a time limit, lowering the energy requirement."


    "Okay, okay! I get it. Cheapskate."


    After their small meeting, they cautiously explored the floor.


    They trudged along the wall and watched every aisle for any signs of movement.


    The search took less than one minute since the ce was basically empty.


    The floor was littered with printed documents while swivel chairs were toppled down as if people left in a hurry.


    Jun furrowed his eyebrows when they got closer to the office.


    Although he was ten meters away from the window, he already knew that there were people inside.


    There are three floating question marks moving around the room as if panicked.


    Jun heard sounds of shuffling footsteps, followed by something being pushed, then a thud, like something hit the door.


    Evo nced at Jun.


    "Someone''s inside. And they just barricaded the door."


    "No sh*t," Jun replied sarcastically.


    "Sometimes... I wonder why we be friends."


    "You need protection and I need your brains. Well, I mean not literally. I don''t eat exotic stuff." Jun sighed. "You know what I mean..."


    Jun chose to focus his attention inside the office rather than continuing their conversation. He tried peeking through the office''s ss window.


    Although he could see the number and position of the question marks, he doesn''t know of their genders and appearances.


    Jun politely knocked twice on the door.


    There''s no reaction.


    He tried once again and still received no response.


    Jun was getting pissed. The only reason why he chose to search the second floor with a two-person team was to get more experience.


    With his shield and baseball bat, he was sure that he could take care of any regr infected as long as he fought them in a tight ce. Besides, he already gave the ACP .45 pistol, that he kept on his dimensional storage to Evo, for emergency purposes.


    Now that there''s no infected up here, and someone was obviously ignoring him, his bad attitude was now going to show itself.


    "Open the door! I''m looking for my things and I need to search this room!" Jun shouted while knocking forcefully on the door.

 Chapter 46: Jun, You!

    Chapter 46: Jun, You!


    Inside the office, two people huddled behind a wooden desk while a heavily-built person was guarding the door with a pistol in his hand.


    An old chubby man, who had a shining skinhead, stared at the door. He is the current mayor of this town, and most of the people know him by his alias, Yobet. His real name is Francisco Caesares, the youngest son of the former mayor, Matalino Caesares.


    The people know him as someone polite and respectful, someone they could rely on. But unbeknownst to everybody, he is one of the protectors of drug and group syndicates on the area. In exchange for protection, those groups help him do his dirty jobs, so he wouldn''t have to tarnish his image.


    Yobet raised his head and listened for any noise from the outside. The slim female beside him looked anxious as she tried peeking from the corner of the desk. She has a revealing dress unfit for her position as the mayor''s secretary. A few feet away from the door, the heavily-built man in white long-sleeves, who was guarding the entrance, turned to them.


    Then, he whispered. "Should I open the door?"


    Mayor Yobet showed a hesitating expression.


    "Neil, do you think they''re bitten?" Mayor Yebot said. He then imagined that what if, those people outside were already bitten. They could be an infected any time soon and would be a threat to their lives.


    After weighing the cons, he thought to himself, then muttered, "That would be bad... Don''t let them in!"


    People have amon understanding that once you get bitten, you will die and be an infected. That idea came from ying video games and watching too many movies.


    The mayor''s personal bodyguard, Neil, nodded his head as confirmation.


    Just then, a banging sound came from the outside. The center portion of the door broke, showing a red club that crashed through it. Splinters of wood flew in every direction. The door now has a two-feet long vertical gap caused by the club. The club was then slowly pulled out, causing scraping noises as the club collided with the wooden doors edgy surface.


    Someone grunted, then startedining from the outside.


    "I already have 18 points in power, yet this thing is still heavy!"


    "You need 20 points in power to use that. Did you forget already?"


    "Of course, I remember! But still!" he sighed, then added, "Nevermind, the first time I tried using this, I almost crushed my feet. It''s already a huge improvement that I can swing it."


    "Can you calm down? Don''t hit the We should speak to them."


    "I tried! They didn''t want to. My offer''s gone, and I want to rob them! I''ll strip them down then use this club to p their buttocks."


    "Why are you acting like this? Sometimes, I don''t understand you. That weapon doesn''t suit you. And why is it glowing?"


    Neil waited in trepidation as he listened to the conversation. When suddenly, a set of fierce-looking eyes appeared from the hole. There''s an illusionary red effect on the corners of the eye.


    The female assistant, who was curiously listening to the conversation, happened to be looking at the door. She saw the pair of bloodshot eyes turned towards her, causing her to shiver.


    There are only three requirements to be able to work as the mayor''s secretary. You need to be a dumb, alluring, beautiful young woman. A lot of women regrly applies for the position, since you don''t need any experience for the job. As long as you can satisfy the mayor with your job, he would hire you.


    She thought that everything she heard outside was directed at her, and so she shrieked loudly.


    The bodyguard knew that the people outside were living people. He was going to open the door earlier but was reminded of the possibility that those people could have been bitten, so he changed his mind. When he heard the frightened scream of the woman and seeing the crazed eyes on the door, his professional instincts kicked in.


    Neil''s been working with the Mayor for a long time. He always prioritized the mayor''s safety over anything else. The once rxed hand, holding the gun that was pointed at the floor, suddenly raised itself.


    The bodyguard did what he had to, and that was to make sure that his boss is safe. He started firing his pistol at the giant hole on the door.


    ***


    "Fvck! Fvck!" Jun yelled as he used the carbon alloy shield to block the continuous gunfire. His shoulders and arms shook every time a metallic thud rang the shield.


    "Please stop shooting! We''re humans!" Evo yelled while leaning on the wall.


    After a few more gunshots, the other side actually listened and stopped shooting, or they just probably run out of bullets.


    "I''ll fvcking kill all of you!"


    Jun ran ahead and raised the ogre''s club overhead. He was nning to smash the door open but was blocked by Evo.


    Since he was stronger and faster than Evo, he was already swinging the club down before Evo arrived. Now that Evo stood in front of him, he tried to pull his hand back. Though he managed to slow it down, he wasn''t able to stop it.


    With his strength, he was sure that Evo would die if he got hit by this strike.


    Just before Evo got hit, a medium-sized ck vortex appeared in front of him. Half of the club''s body went inside the vortex while the other half continued on its path.


    Jun felt his hand lighten, and so he quickly pulled it back. Then he noticed that the other half of the club was gone, the part where it was separated was cut neatly and had small ck lightning crawling on it.


    Evo has an exhausted expression, and he could barely keep himself to stand up, all energy on his body seemingly drained. He stared at the two notebooks that the vortex spat out. The journals then slowly dissipated into sparkling stardust.


    "Jun, you a*shole. Pray that there''s nothing important written there."

 Chapter 47: Station Defense

    Chapter 47: Station Defense


    Adrian surveyed the area. Behind him was his group of cheerleaders tasked to be his backup, if ever he met two or more infected. They advance carefully and finally reached the cell blocks. It was a small room, and everything was designed simply.


    The ce was brightly lit and have a single pathway that leads to the cells. Two side-by-side prison cells were connected to the path. The first prison cell has two bunk beds, one each on left and right. A small boy was sitting on the floor, looking towards his feet. The child appeared to be ignoring their group as he didn''t even lift up his head. Based on his looks alone, he should be 8-9 years old.


    Adrian was wondering why is there a little kid locked in a prison, but then he noticed that the cell''s gate wasn''t actually locked. He opened the gate but didn''t enter.


    He then turned towards the next cell and saw three prisoners staring at him. One prisoner actually appeared excited as he smiled widely towards Adrian.


    ***


    She''s group was the first to arrive back at the lobby, followed by Edward''s group. Both of their groups didn''t encounter any infected. They chatted while waiting for the others toe back.


    She was telling Edward how surprised she was when he opened the backdoor of the canteen. The canteen was free of infected, and so her group rxed when they explored the area. She, who wants to breathe some fresh air, opened the backdoor that leads outside. A group of infected, idly standing on the back alley, weed her. The concrete wall behind them was torn down, and a passenger van was stuck on it.


    She quickly shut the door then left, making her unable to see a Hunter that jumped up on the van.


    Adrian''s group came back with four additional people in tow. He exined that it was his old group and that they''re good people. She approached them and wanted to chat, to hear their stories, and why are they in prison. Long story short, they were arrested because they were drunkards. A lot of peopleined that they were noisy and causing disturbances in the area and so the police have to take action. Luckily for them, being imprisoned saved their lives.


    A loud crash came from the canteen; then, the infected starteding in. There were seven of them, and the group faced an abrupt situation calmly. Without anyone speaking, the main attack group took the vanguard position while the support group stayed behind them. The new people were ced furthest at the back.


    Just then, gunshots came from the second floor, causing everyone to look up.


    Adrian shouted, "Focus! Don''t get distracted!"


    Though he said that, he was actually worried. He knew that Jun wouldn''t fire a gun unless it were necessary. Hearing the gunshots only meant one thing, trouble. And not just because guns are dangerous, but because it creates a lot of noise.


    Adrian saw an infected that have the same arm and leg length appear between the gaps of regr infected. It ran to the sides, circling around the canteen.


    "There''s a Hunter!" Adrian said. He turned and looked at She. "I''ll deal with the Hunter. You guys deal with the infecteds."


    Adrian then walked to the side before disappearing from their sight.


    The neers became surprised at what they saw while the others appeared like they were used to it.


    She gathered her thoughts, then started giving out instructions.


    "Marianne, can you check what''s happening upstairs?"


    "Okay!"


    "Bernard and Paterno, cover my left side."


    Bernard left the rear row and stood beside her while Paterno ignored her. Most of the people at the back were females; only Paterno was the male. Feeling their gaze towards him, he felt a bit embarrassed and moved forward.


    "You don''t have to fight them. Just block and stall them. I will kill them. It just takes a bit of time to stab and pull back, but I will kill them."


    She said nervously while staring at the group of infected charging at them.


    ***


    "Are you okay now?"


    Evo asked Jun, who was currently kneeling down on the floor. His blood-thirst was finally gone, but he looked like a wilted nt that lost all its energy and life.


    Jun felt drained mentally and physically. He doesn''t know what the reason was, but he knew that it was rted to his weapon, the Ogre''s Club.


    The club was lying on the floor, neatly cut in half. The ck sparks were nowhere to be seen, and the part where it was cut started bleeding. Jun got curious and picked it up. The heavy feeling that the club gave him was gone. Instead, a strong blood-thirst overwhelmed him and started making him feel exhausted. He dropped the damaged club. A small vortex appeared where it was about to fall, then it disappeared. When he picked up the bat, he quickly checked its description.


    [Cursed Ogre''s Club (Damaged)]


    [Description] A club used by an angry ogre to smash a vampire into mushed meat after being told that he looked like an idiot for having two heads. The club absorbed the vampire''s blood.


    Update* The vampire was on its period when it was killed.


    [Durability] 100/100


    [Additional Ability - Lifesteal] Convert 20% of damage dealt as health.


    [Hidden Effect - Cursed. When holding the item, the user will be aggressive and will have mood swings. Drains energy and mental health, making the user stressed. They''ll also feel dizziness and chest pains.


    [Requirements]


    - Power 6


    Jun decided to shut his mouth after reading the description.


    "What happened here?"


    A soft, mellow voice came from behind them. Evo and Jun looked towards the way they came from.


    Marianne was staring at them anxiously. She then ran forward when she noticed that Jun''s expression wasn''t looking good.


    "Oh my god! What happened!? Are you shot? Were you the one who got shot!? Tell me!" Marianne asked questions and demanded answers non-stop.


    She then noticed the destroyed door that has a huge vertical hole.


    "Jun wasn''t himself earlier. You don''t have to worry. He''s just exhausted." Evo said while standing up. He sighed as he looked at Jun''s current condition then turned around, facing towards the door.


    He then said, "Let''s try having a conversation."

 Chapter 48: Station Defense Part 2

    Chapter 48: Station Defense Part 2


    Evo informed the people inside that he wasing in. He heard discussions then those people agreed on the condition that hees alone with no weapons. He agreed.


    Evo stored his gun on his dimensional storage then went inside while raising his hand where people can see it. A heavily-built person stood on the side, calmly holding amp to his sides. In front of him were an old man sitting on a swivel chair and a gorgeous woman standing beside him. The old man told him to sit down. The man with themp watched him fiercely until he sat in front of the table.


    "Are you bit? Are you still human?" the old man asked nervously.


    Evo chuckled. "Is that the reason why you fired at us?"


    The old man furrowed his brows, then replied angrily, "You''re the one who started it! We''re just hiding here, and you people suddenly started talking crazy!"


    "That''s right!" the woman on the side added.


    After thinking about it, it was really Jun''s fault. If he didn''t start acting like that, they could have a proper conversation and wouldn''t be shot at.


    Of course, Evo wouldn''t admit to that. He ignored what they said and changed the flow of conversation.


    "We clearly said that we''re looking for something. You could''ve just let us in and searched the room."


    The old man''s face twitched. "Do you even know who you''re talking to? I''m Mayor Yobet!"


    Evo became baffled after hearing the other person introduce himself. Looking at the face and the body was enough to verify if what the other person said was true. Evo didn''t really pay attention earlier, but now that it was out in the open, he couldn''t bring himself to talk anymore. When he was about to answer, an angry voice came from behind him.


    A set of skinny hands mmed on the table. "I don''t care who you are! But I need you to tell me where the armory is!"


    "This b*tch dares to! Neil! Teach this brat lesson!"


    The mayor then turned his head just in time to see Neil kneeling on the floor with his hands on the back of his head. A fierce-looking man was pointing a gun to his head.


    "Look at me!" the petite girl shouted to his face. "Where is the station''s armory?"


    The mayor was shocked and cowered back while biting his lips, with the intention of not spilling anything. His secretary had other things in mind, though. She sarcastically said, "Are you idiots? Why are you looking for the armory up here? It''s obviously beside the locker room downstairs. Don''t you guys havemon sense? If the armory''s here, we wouldn''t have stayed here, hiding."


    The mayor quickly turned his head, dumbfounded at the woman beside her.


    Marianne politely thanked her then left with Jun and Evo.


    ***


    Adrian was leaning on the wall.


    Five meters in front of him was the Hunter infected suspiciously sniffing the air. They''re both on the right side of the canteen while the regr infected''s where being fought by the group on the left side.


    The Hunter was about to charge to the group earlier, but suddenly stopped then started looking around.


    Adrian was in stealth 10 meters away, waiting for his chance all this time. He thought that the waiting game had finally ended and was about to attack when the Hunter halted its advance.


    Afterward, the Hunter raised its head and sniffed the air, then turned to his direction. Though it appeared that it couldn''t see him, the infected knew that there was someone there.


    The Hunter shrieked. Saliva and pieces of flesh appeared on its sharp teeth. Its sharp ws dug down a few centimeters on the floor as it lowered its body like a prowling tiger.


    Adrian controlled his breathing, breathing slower and noiseless. When the Hunter was less than three meters, he held his breathpletely.


    "Ahhhh!"


    Bernard suddenly shouted from the left side, seemingly trying to raise morale as the number of infected increased. Edward was busy making blocking five infected by himself while the others deal with the rest of the infected. If it weren''t for the energy covering his body, he would have been bitten to death already.


    "I''m running out of energy!"


    Edward shouted as five infected continued on trying to bite him on his arms and face. She was upied, and most of the members were dealing with infected themselves.


    The Hunter turned to Edward''s then started running!


    Adrian was surprised but hurriedly ran after it.


    Luckily, the infected have to slow down due to the tables blocking the path. When it jumped up to the table, Adrian stabbed it in the back. He felt some resistance from the skin, but he still managed to make a deep stab. He then hurriedly sliced down, making a huge diagonal line starting from the backs upper right onto the lower left side. Dark red blood flowed out like a damn, while the Hunter wailed loudly. It turned around and fell down the table. Even as it wiggled on the floor, it kept on shrieking loudly at Adrian. It finally stabled its footing then red at him.


    The Hunter pounced on him. Its sharpened teeth due to evolution appeared bigger the closer the Hunter was to him. He stepped back and hit another table.


    Knowing that everyone''s hand is currently tied, and there''s no way that he could escape, he readied himself to die, but he would at least try to bring this d*mn infected with him.


    He nned to sacrifice his left arm as he stabs it on the head. He raised his right hand, holding the knife in reverse to his side.


    He calmly waited for the infected to reach him.


    As he watched the Hunter in mid-air, time seemed to slow down.


    Questions that he hadn''t consciously thought of before arose in his mind.


    Why? Why did I try to do this alone? Was it really because of the group''s safety, or was it because I wanted to prove myself? That I''m also someone strong and reliable.


    Why do I need to prove myself?


    To whom?


    Am I actually jealous of him?


    Do I want to be like him?


    Adrian''s mind was clouded, and he can''t think straight.


    The Hunter was already in front of him, and he didn''t even raise his left hand that he was supposed to sacrifice to block the iing Hunter.


    When the Hunter was about to bite him in the face, a circr yellow barrier appeared in front of him. The Hunter crashed face-first into the barrier.


    On his peripheral vision, he saw Edward, with raised arms pointing at him, fall backward unconscious with several infected on top of him.


    Time seemed to turn to its original flow while annoying ringing filled his ears.


    Before the Hunter could reach the ground, a knife was already lodged in its head. It couldn''t even shriek as it fell motionless on the floor.


    "Edward!" Adrian hurriedly pulled the knife back as he ran back to the group as fast as he can. When he reached Edward, he hurriedly stabs the nearest infected in the head. He then pulled it to the side.


    She noticed his actions but remained quiet. Most of the infected in the area were already dealt with. The few remaining ones have been disabled and were being used by the support group as training subjects, on where to hit to slow them down or how to kill them efficiently.


    When Adrian approached thest infected, he noticed that something was wrong. The infected wasn''t moving. It wasn''t even biting the defenseless Edward. He then pulled thest infected off Edward without killing it. He crouched down and turned it around, only to see a hole at the side of its head.


    "They''re already dead."


    Adrian turned around. He saw She standing behind him.


    "I already killed them earlier, but I haven''t had the time to help him push them off. There were still other infected at that time." She warmly smiled. "Well, it''s nice to know that you''re still human."


    She wasn''t someone bright, but she hasmon sense. On Paterno''s resort, she had to do necessary check-ups on both of them.


    After listening to their story, she noticed that something was wrong and thought that Adrian must have forced Paterno to kill his wife. Although Adrian is usually cold and doesn''t like to talk much, she still felt that he was someone good.


    Seeing how he acted right now was enough for her to prove that he can be trusted. She patted his shoulder, then said, "I know you willingly followed him, but that doesn''t change the fact that we''re all members of his team. So let''s work as a proper team, okay?"


    Watching her innocent smile, Adrian could only lower his head.


    "So there are still good people left in this world..." he muttered to himself.

 Chapter 49: Petty Jun

    Chapter 49: Petty Jun


    "There''s new people?"


    Jun asked Marianne as they climb down the stairs.


    "They''re Adrian''s old friends."


    Jun scanned the new faces at the back of the group. Three old uncles and one little boy. All three of the uncles looked like they have their fair share of how the real world works while the child looked like a calmmb that can be quickly brought to the ughterhouse.


    Jun noticed that they were watching something, and so he turned his head. Bernard was teaching the female members some critical points on how to kill using a live infected as the subject. He also saw She patting Adrian''s shoulder. Then, he finally saw Edward, who was lying down on the floor.


    A few support group members, who weren''t that keen on fighting infected were looting the bodies.


    "What happened here? Is Edward okay?"


    When the group heard Jun''s voice, they all turned their heads towards him. Jun was a bit ufortable by the sudden attention, especially by Adrian, who has this weird look in his eyes.


    "Are you guys, okay? Not... Look at you guys. I was just gone for a few minutes, and you''re already like this. You guys won''t probably live for a few days without me." Jun condescendingly said as he startedughing loudly.


    Adrian lowered his head as if he was thinking of something. At the same time, She looked at Jun, then she said, "That''s true. We''ll probably die more quickly without you."


    Hearing She speaks on their behalf; the other members were a bit unhappy. Then they pondered to themselves, which concluded that it was true.


    They voiced out their opinions and thought of other ways to phrase it, but all of them meant that they agree with what She said.


    Jun wasn''t used to them, acting like this. He felt weird having too many people acting affectionate towards him. He smiled wryly as he backed off while scratching his head.


    Just then, his eyes widened when he saw Gina cing her hands on top of a dead Hunter. He hurriedly stopped her, saying that he needed the body for something.


    He took something out of his dimensional storage. A round transparent crystal appeared on his hand.


    It''s the low-tier essence crystal that he crafted.


    He ced the crystal on the Hunter''s body.


    No reaction.


    Then, he used his finger to give the crystal some energy.


    After a few seconds, the crystal brightened. It trembled slightly, followed by a dim sh of light.


    The transparent crystal turned into green with a slight hint of red, then dropped down and hit the Hunter''s dead body. The crystal went through its back, and the body cracked, then turned into dust.


    Jun sighed; he was expecting this since he knew that all of its essences would be sucked out. Although he knew what could happen, he couldn''t help but be disappointed since he really wanted to get some bones from an evolved infected. Jun promised to himself that he wouldn''t absorb the next evolved infected he kills and will use its body for experimental purposes.


    Jun wasn''t satisfied with the results, but that doesn''t mean his group members weren''t. Everything that they witnessed was something new for them.


    They crowded around him, asking what happened. He exined that this item would be their store specialty, so he can only say a few things about it. When he told them that it''s an item that can increase their stats, all the members gulped.


    All of them stared at the reddish-green crystal with longing. But why are they going to sell it? Why don''t they just use it for themselves?


    They didn''t ask more and followed Jun as he went into the armory.


    Jun was able to cart away with the jackpot at the police station. He looted one M60 machinegun, an M203 grenadeuncher, seven M16 Armalite rifles, nine short firearms, and numerous ammunition of different calibers.


    He got three bulletproof Ker vests and four sets of riot suits. He left those foldable baton sticks in the rack and never even looked back. When there was nothing else worth taking, he met with the group in the lobby.


    Jun distributed the loot between the group. He gave one M16 Armalite and boxes of bullets to each member of the main group.


    Since Edward was still unconscious, he kept his M16 and will just give itter. Most of the females preferred not fighting on the front line and only wanted to do misceneous work. Jun saw that there was no need to give them any gun, so he gave Bernard a handgun and two extra clips for their safety. He didn''t even consider giving Paterno and Old John''s group a firearm, and they weren''t also expecting to be given one. Jun gave Marianne a handgun and some extra bullets.


    Jun stashed the remaining loot in his dimensional storage. The guns that remain were one machine gun, one grenadeuncher, four Armalite rifles, one is reserved for Edward when he wakes up, seven handguns. He didn''t distribute the ker and riot gears since it will only encumber the wearer, and there''s no real need for it for the moment.


    They chatted as they walked towards the city hall. Adrian carried Edward like a sack of rice on his shoulders. Jun tried taking Edward, but Adrian insisted that he can do it, even though he was sweating profusely and breathing roughly. It''s almost noon, and the group decided to have a proper meal. The group chose to cook their meals at the municipal building since it was much safer there.


    The ce was already secured and barricaded. Most of the room they already cleared of infected when they came here earlier. They stayed in the lobby since there''s a lot of chairs for them to sit down, and they could see all the entrances of the building.


    The support group brought out items from their dimensional storage. They have a double-burner gas stove, propane tank, lighter, rice cooker, and someone even brought out a water dispenser, then asked the group if anyone wanted some coffee. All of these items have been taken from the Super 9 store that they ransacked.


    The group was harmonious and were happy as they worked. All of them finally have some time to rx and rest. They made a circle of chairs and cooked food while chatting. Adrian was sitting beside Edward. She just used cure on both him and Edward since the personal cooldown period of ten minutes just ended.


    Jun assessed the three new faces and felt like they looked familiar. The one on the right has a mustache, the one on the left has a beard, and the one on the center is a huge fat man. They''re all in their mid-thirties. When Jun asked who they are, they dly introduced themselves.


    The mustache said, "First of all, I would like to thank Mad Dog, for allowing us to stay with your group. I feel really safe here, and if possible, I would like to contribute. Even not as a core membe"


    The fat man stopped the mustache guy from talking. He noticed that Jun wasn''t interested and took the initiative to stop his pal from saying too much nonsense. He then said, "Mad Dog, we really thank you for helping us. People call me the Chanchan, on my right, is the Monkey, and this man on my left is the Bear."


    Chanchan slightly lowered his gaze, not daring to meet with Jun''s eyes. He was also biting his lips while waiting for Jun''s answer.


    If you work on the dark side of things and you live in this area, it''s almost impossible not to know who the Mad Dog is.


    He is someone known for his persistence and pettiness. He has an elite crew that can deal with anything, from physical fights to psychological ones. Once you got on his wrong side, you''ll be in it for a long time.


    Noticing that Jun wasn''t replying, Chanchan raised his head just in time to see Jun in deep thought. All of a sudden, Junughed, which scared the trio, making them shiver from their spots.


    " Hahaha... I don''t really like that name, but well... Nevermind. Do you have food? No? Okay, foods free this time, but you''ll have to work for the next ones." Jun smiled as he stood up. He then patted the trio''s shoulders as he left.


    The trio was ted with the underlying meaning of what he just said. Did they really got epted that easily? When Jun was still a few meters away from them, they started to thank him repeatedly. Mustache kowtowed, and Chanchan tried to do the same but couldn''t because of his stomach.


    As they were peacefully enjoying their time, waiting for their food to be cooked. Several gunshots echoed on the buildings back entrance. They turned their heads and saw the Mayor repeatedly banging on the ss door, shouting for them to open it. Beside him was his secretary holding a baton, looking like a sexy disciplinary teacher. His bodyguard was shooting any infected that ran towards them.


    The group members all looked at Jun, waiting for his decision.


    Jun strode towards the door at his regr pace, but for the three people outside, it felt like an eternity. He stood in front of the door, just watching everything that happened outside. The bodyguard was using a six-inch barreled Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver. It was beautiful. He vaguely remembered a zombie show that uses that same gun but doesn''t know what happened to the show. Too bad that he couldn''t watch the next three movies that were supposed to be released inter years. He loved that show.


    "Hey! What are you dazing out there for!" the mayor shouted. "Open the fvcking door!"


    The mayor red at Jun, his eyes already bing bloodshot. His secretary was now helping the bodyguard as she pushed back any infected that got near while the bodyguard was reloading.


    Jun chuckled at the sight. The thin secretary was more useful than this old man.


    "Hey, a*shole! If you don''t open this door, right now! I"


    "What? Tell me."


    Before the mayor could finish what he wants to say, Jun pulled a handgun from his dimensional storage and pointed it at the mayor.


    The mayor became speechless at Jun''s reaction.

 Chapter 50: Nobody

    Chapter 50: Nobody


    "I''m running out of bullets!"


    The bodyguard killed the remaining infected and shouted as he ran towards the door. He was followed by the mayor''s secretary, who anxiously guarded their backs.


    "Hey man, I''m Neil. I''m truly sorry for what happened earlier. Can you please let us in?" he then turned around to check if any infected ising.


    On the corner of the fire station, two askal dogs appeared.


    Askals were dogs that were abandoned or wasn''t cared for by their owners. They loiter the streets to scavenge for food, and they always roam in packs. They like to fight and are really dangerous. Some askals are crazed and will attack anyone who tries to go near it.


    The askal''s sat down in the middle of the road while scratching their heads with their foot. Afterward, they went closer to a mangled remain of an infected which the K9 left. When the askal''s saw the three people in front of the door, they made growling noises.


    "Come on, man. You won''t let us die out here, right?" the bodyguard tried appealing to Jun.


    "Open. The. Fvcking. Door!" the mayor cursed in a low voice. He was too used to ordering people that he''s not even thinking logically. He didn''t even notice that they''re the one who is currently in a disadvantageous position. The way he spoke gained the ire of the two people beside him, who were trying their best to convince Jun to let them inside.


    "Please, I don''t wanna die. Take me with you; I''ll do anything. I''ve been doing everything just to survive." the secretary begged.


    All this time, she was acting like a stupid girl so that she could get more money from the mayor. The mayor was generous and gives whatever she wants as long as she does certain things for him. Now that their life was on the line and they could die any moment, she decided to leave the sinking ship and jump into another boat.


    "Kukuku..." Jun suddenly chuckled. "I like it! Three a*sholes." he then looked at them while raising his arms to the sides as if weing them, "Just like me."


    The askals stopped warily ten meters away from them.


    Jun said. "I want that gun; it looks cool. Mr. Mayor, you owe me, and we''re going to have a chatter. And you miss, will be my new secretary."


    As Jun was giving his demands, the growling of the askal''s changed into barking. The loud barking helped the three to make their decisions hastily. They all agreed to Jun''s demands.


    The askals noticed that those people were scared and couldn''t harm them and so they charged forward.


    Jun unlocked the door and let them enter before the askal''s could reach them.


    The mayor hurriedly ran inside, followed by his secretary. Neil, who wasst on the line, almost got pounced, but he managed to shot the leading dog. Its momentum didn''t stop even though the gun''s knockback should have been able to. Neil dodges the body then hastily entered the door.


    The other dog halted and watched them. After a few seconds of staring, it ran towards the dead dog and bit its neck, then drag it away while shaking its own tail, as if happy that he have extra food.


    "Everybody hands up, and you, give me the gun," Jun said as he aimed a handgun on Neil''s head.


    The three were surprised by the sudden change in the situation.


    "Turn around, face the wall, and put your hands where I can see them."


    Neil handed the gun, speechless, then turned around and faced the wall. Jun started searching his body for any hidden weapons. Jun found a high-grade serrated knife sheathed on the back of his pants. Then, Jun searched the mayor. There was nothing. Not even a baton to defend himself.


    Jun then move to the secretary''s back. Her figure was beautiful and seductive. She probably even raised her butt to seduce Jun, due to the arc from her hips.


    Jun stretched his hands towards the shoulders. A soft sensation hit his arm, followed by a burning feeling.


    Someone pped his arm.


    He looked to his side to see Marianne looking fiercely at him.


    "What are you going to do?" Marianne red at Jun.


    "Searching for weapons?" Jun replied indifferently.


    Marianne pushed him aside. "I''ll do it."


    Jun furrowed his brows. "Suit yourself."


    He stood to the side, watching what Marianne would do.


    Marianne scanned the body of the girl in front of her, then thought to herself: "This weapon''s too dangerous for you."


    Marianne roughly frisked the woman, starting from her shoulders going down to her hips.


    Mayor Yobet and Neil watched the scene while holding their breaths. A different scene was ying on their minds.


    "Done." Marianne turned around and faced Jun. "There''s nothing on her except the baton. Do you want it?"


    Jun shook his head, then turned to Neil. "I took your gun earlier, so where did you get this?"


    Neil was still thinking if he should answer but was threatened that he would be thrown out if he doesn''t speak. He said, "In a drawer from the Lieutenant''s office. We couldn''t leave the station without a weapon, and so we searched everything. Please don''t throw me out."


    Jun doesn''t really care where he found it. He just wanted to know if there''s any hidden armory he needs to know about. Since there was nothing, he left the three of them alone.


    The secretary tried approaching Jun but was blocked by Marianne. She then hurriedly followed the mayor and started praising him. The mayor ignored her but looked at her filled with lust. They then walked towards the stairs at the end of the hallway.


    Jun squat down beside Adrian. "I need your help."


    Adrian, who was leaning on a pir, turned his head. He was sitting on the floor beside Edward. Jun pointed with his eyes to the mayor''s group and said, "Follow them and see if they''re nning something."


    "I can''t. I''m busy right now." Adrian nced at Edward, hinting to Jun that he won''t leave Edward''s side until he wakes up.


    "I heard the story from She. I think it''s just energy exhaustion. I also experienced it once when I was trying out one of my skills. Although my energy didn''t getpletely drained, it was excruciating, and I got a massive headache afterward. He will wake up after a few hours of rest." Jun said.


    Jun tried experimenting with his Blueprint Creation on the first day of the apocalypse, and he got a severe headache when he almost got his energy depleted. Base on that fact, he knew that Edward must be experiencing something like that, but since he was fully drained, what he''s currently feeling must be worse than that.


    Seeing that Adrian is still listening to him, Jun decided to give him some motivation. "I don''t trust those three, and I don''t really know them. As you''ve seen earlier, we don''t like each other, and they''ll probably think of getting back at me, us. Now, think of this. What if they have guns stashed somewhere? What do you think they would do? What could happen to us?"


    Adrian just watched him trying to convince him. Then he smiled. "You suck on convincing people, and you know that, right?"


    Jun smiled widely. "I''ve been told a LOT of times. That''s why I''m always forcing my way through." he chuckled before standing up. "People only listen when you''re stronger than them."


    Adrian stood up, then dusted off his pants. "That''s true." he suddenly vanished, but Jun managed to hear some faint words. "...but people also listen when you''re somebody."

 Chapter 51: The Truth

    Chapter 51: The Truth


    The group was merrily chatting while making lunch. The woman whispered with each other while the two old men, Bernard and Paterno, watched them. The three new faces, Chanchan, Mustache, and Bear, finally started a conversation with them. Its a bit misleading, seeing a group of five uncles gazing at the youthful women, but no one felt worried since their gazes were filled with warmth.


    Jun strode towards the group, then sat on the chair beside Evo, who was busy writing things in his notebook.


    "Are you writing? That''s odd. Never seen you write before."


    "Have you ever seen me without myptop? That''s right. Right now."


    "Your handwriting looks awful."


    "You''re brutally honest, and you''re not helping."


    "Why? Is what you''re writing important?"


    "I liked the idea of setting up a store. Do you know that life only starts when humans settle down? The nomads got tired of moving from ce to ce and started nting. They then made a smallmunity. People gathered, and civilization finally started. As more and more people settled down, living conditions and technology finally advanced, just like what the ancients did. We need to settle down to start something, and a store can do it. People will need food and shelter, even protection. We can offer that, and you can offer all that."


    "If you mean killing infected and making the ce safe, then that''s easy. We also have experience in controlling an area, so this should be feasible. But what are you writing?"


    "I''m nning for the future. I''m writing everything we know about this new world. This could be useful in the future."


    "We could sell it and earn what? Food? Are we going back to the bartering system." Jun sarcastically said.


    Evo slightly lowered his head and began thinking. He muttered to himself, "We can''t. And if we use the old mary system, only the rich who are probably hidden on their mansions would benefit."


    Evo looked at Jun, then said, "We need a newmerce system."


    "Don''t look at me. If you want me to kill infected, I''ll dly do it."


    "It''s cooked! Everyone, please get your tes and line up."


    "Right on time. I''m starving." Jun said.


    Evo followed Jun to get some food. They went back to their seats and started eating their food.


    At that time, a hand touched Jun''s shoulder. Adrian appeared behind Jun as he was about to swallow a spoonful of food.


    "You need to see something."


    Adrian spoke solemnly while looking stern. Jun chewed then swallowed the food as he nced at Adrian. "Right now?"


    "Yes."


    "Okay, let''s go and see whatever it is."


    Jun stood up and followed Adrian, who walked towards the stairs that lead to the second floor. Evo got curious and followed the two of them.


    "You got any leads? Are they having bad thoughts?" Jun said as they climbed the stairs.


    "No, they don''t have any guns or any ns. I left when I started hearing moans."


    "Ohhh! They''re having a party, and they didn''t invite me... Those rascals!" Jun said.


    Evo smiled wryly when he heard what Jun said. He just caught up to them, and this kind of conversation weed him. He shook his head as he grinned. "Marianne would kill you if she heard that."


    Jun hollowlyughed, then looked below the stairs, searching for Marianne. He found her encircled with other women, who were chattering nonstop.


    "Is she you''re girlfriend?" Adrian asked.


    "No. Where are we going? You need to eat lunch too."


    "We''re here. I probably won''t have enough time to eat lunch, though."


    Adrian stopped in the middle of the hallway, then faced the ss panel on his left.


    A tall statue of the national hero, Jose Rizal, towered in the middle of the za. Further back were three buildings that have the same height that just varied on their sizes.


    The building on the left was the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, also known as TESDA. It serves as the Philippines'' Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) authority. As a government agency, TESDA is tasked to both manage and supervise the Philippines'' Technical Education and Skills Development (TESD). Its goals are to develop the Filipino workforce with "world-sspetence and positive work values and to provide quality technical-educational and skills development through its direction, policies, and programs.


    It''s a school that offers a wide array of courses like agriculture, automotive, electronics, and other useful skills.


    The building on the center was a huge event center, and the one on the right was the District''s Engineer''s office. Seeing the building, Jun was reminded of his father, who used to work at that building.


    Jun became speechless as he looked at what was happening in the za. A horde of infected was surrounding a group of people. Police officers and civilians were fighting the infected. They seemed to have run out of bullets since they were using guns to bash the infected''s heads.


    Jun noticed something wrong when the survivors inside fought calmly and systematically. The infected didn''t charge at them and instead encircled the area. He then remembered his conversation with that ''lying lieutenant.'' The lieutenant said that they were stranded on the za square, surrounded by infecteds.


    Seeing the situation, he finally believe the im. Though it was a bitte, he would still try to help them. Not because he was a good guy, but because he was really interested to know what keeps the infected away from them.


    Jun took the radio from his dimensional storage. At that time, one unlucky survivor actually got caught and was pulled out from the ''circle.'' The survivors near him tried pulling him back and seeded. The upper part of that unlucky person''s body was riddled with bites and was bleeding non-stop. A woman ran and knelt down beside the body.


    Jun pressed the button on the radio. "Hey, lieutenant something. Are you still there? Can you hear me? Hellooooo~ Anybody~."


    Jun waited for a reply and received an unexpected one.


    "You''re a fvcking piece of shit." said the man on the other side of the radio.


    "I agree," Evo said, who was standing at his side.


    Jun nced at Evo, then chuckled. The two of them were already used to each other. Dissing at one another, was one of their ways to pass the time.


    "Is that how you want to thank me for thinking of helping you?"


    "You''re still just thinking of it?" the man replied. "People are dying here. We haven''t eaten for days, and we won''tst another day. The safe radius keeps on decreasing! The infected are now five meters away from us! They don''t even die and keeps standing up after we kill them!"


    Jun became interested in the safe radius that the other person mentioned, but he frowned after hearing thest sentence.


    "Aren''t you looting the bodies?" said Jun puzzled.


    Although he has the unique ability to see extra description, looting the bodies only needed someone to ce their hands on the dead infected''s body. By some luck, people should be able to chance upon it after spending some time fighting for their life.


    "What do you mean by looting the bodies? Do you want us to check their belongings and go out of the circle?"


    Jun contemted for a second. Considering that they were probably using the guns at the start of the apocalypse, they wouldn''t be able to loot the bodies since infecteds would surround it. It would also be suicidal to stop and check things out when you''re in the middle of a chaotic ce. They got stranded in the safe zone, and when they ran out of bullets, they started using the guns as melee weapons. At that time, the bodies should have fallen to their side and not backward. They should have been curious and touched the dead bodies. But why don''t they know about it?


    Jun got his answer after asking a few questions.


    When the infected fell inside the safe zone, the dead body turned into sparkling particles and flew inside the statue. The lieutenant thought that the statue was helping them, and so they tried pulling the infected inside the circle. Things worked for a while, but suddenly, the docile infected charged at them. Then they noticed that the circle radius was reduced to nine meters.


    With the thought that no help woulde, they decided to kill the infected. Since they don''t know of any other way to get rid of the bodies, they used the power of the statue even at the expense of the safe zone shrinking.


    "Stop doing that. We''re going to help you." Jun said.


    "Okay, everyone! Take some rest. Help''sing!"


    Jun could hear cheering from the other side. He watched them celebrate from afar.


    "By the way, what level are you now?"


    "What level?"


    Jun became speechless. "Never mind."


    Evo suddenly said, "Maybe there''s a downside on staying in a safe zone? Like some pros and cons. The ce offers safety while taking away the ability to earn experience. It''s possible, and the most likely reason."


    "Okay. Let''s go down first." Jun said then started walking.


    Adrian ran up to him. "So, what''s the n?"


    Jun casually replied as he climbed down the stairs.


    "We''re eating."

 Chapter 52: Rescue Operation

    Chapter 52: Rescue Operation


    Jun exined the situation to the group while they were eating.


    Although no one really voiced it, everyone isn''t really keen on the idea of risking their lives. It was okay if they were sure and that they could guarantee everyone''s safety, but the ratio of the fighters and the non-fighters was too huge.


    Adrian then suggested on finally using the guns. He nned to use the firearms to reduce the group infected before they go and fight them on melee. They need to fight them in close-ranged so that they can loot the bodies.


    There''s no use in killing infecteds from afar if you can''t loot their bodies or they''ll just reanimate, and you''ll just waste a bullet.


    In the middle of their meeting, some good news finally came.


    Edward finally woke up and even managed to sit up on his own. His first words also made everyoneugh. He said: "Are there any food left?"


    Evo then wrote something in his notebook.


    Edward was given food, and he started eating heartily.


    Adrian watched him eat his food. He didn''t disturb Edward and waited for him to finish. When Edward was done eating, Adrian went and thanked him. Since Adrian was younger than him, Edward blushed and replied shyly, "We''re all in this together. You guys are like my family, so of course... things like this. You know... hehe."


    The meeting continued.


    The group settled with thinning the infected with firearms then going in with melee. They went out from the front entrance, which was the nearest to the za square.


    Just as they got out, Jun couldn''t help but notice the cluster of infected on the za. It was sopressed that they couldn''t even see the survivors inside.


    Jun said. "Remember the n. Don''t waste bullets. If you can''t hit them in the head, go for the legs. Bodies are okay too since they still die, they just reanimate faster. Okay, let''s go!"


    This information was the result of Evo''s research. The infected die when their heads get damaged just like an average human. Body shots can be used to kill them, but it uses too much ammo, while a shot in the leg slows them down. He also wrote that the infected could regenerate themselves if they eat some flesh of a human or infected.


    After approaching sneakily, Jun stopped the group from advancing. He hid on a flowerbed as he observed the National Highway on his left.


    "Fvck."


    Adrian appeared next to him, puzzled. "What''s the problem?"


    Adrian followed where Jun was looking, only to see a horde of infected. Their numbers were easily exceeding the hundreds.


    It would be fine if it were a horde of regr infected, but Adrian saw a three-meter tall Destroyer towering amidst the regr infected. Its clothes were ripped due to the bulging muscles. He even saw a Hunter running around like a dog while chasing an actual dog.


    The regr infected tried catching the dog but was always dodge. They even helped the dog by blocking the Hunter''s path. Those who blocked the Hunter''s way was killed by getting stabbed in their bodies and fell like dominoes. Some infected from the back started rising up from the ground. They were the ones killed earlier by the Hunter and were now getting reanimated after having enough energy.


    The dog just yed around and ran between numerous infected''s legs.


    "So... we can''t use guns?" Adrian said.


    "We can''t fight in the open. We''ll make too much noise, and we''ll be overrun."


    Jun looked around the area. He smiled and asked Adrian. "Do you know how to drive?


    Adrian was confused with the sudden question, but he still answered, filled with hesitation. "No?"


    Jun grinned wickedly.


    "Even better."


    ***


    At the za square...


    The civilians kept asking Lieutenant Cedric questions that have already been answered. Thankfully, his officers controlled the situation and calmed them down.


    "When are theying?"


    "Are they stilling?"


    "Why aren''t they here yet?"


    Those questions entered his mind. He even began thinking that he just got pranked and was about to call the other side when the loud ringing of sirens suddenly filled the za. He climbed up the statue to see what it was about.


    He saw two zing-colored firetrucks appear from the corner of the municipal building.


    The leading truck was making left, and right turns like a zigzag, and the driver was screaming loudly for his life. The firetruck hit a few infected that surrounded the statue while the second truck that followed drove smoothly while ramming every infected that the first truck missed.


    Half of the infected were quickly killed. But Lieutenant Cedric wasn''t happy. He knew that this infected would once again stand up and surround them.


    The trucks mowed down the hordes of infected. At that time, gunfire echoed in the area.


    Since he had a height advantage, he immediately saw people appearing twenty meters away from the za square. Some had rifles and handguns, while most of them held melee weapons. They fired like amateurs and, most of the time, missed their shits because of the recoil. Still, some lucky shots hit the bodies of the infecteds, causing some of them to die.


    The group charged and dealt with the infecteds.


    He squinted his eyes as he saw three familiar faces. He remembered them because he had actually needed to go and apprehend them himself.


    When the three prisoners saw the lieutenant staring at them, they froze for a second but continued killing infected. The three cooperated smoothly. Chanchan stood in front, facing the infected, while the two attacked from the sides.


    Afterward, someone split from the group and approached the statue.


    He shot every infected thate close to him with an M16. The gun made clicking sounds, and it meant that he runs out of bullets and needs to reload.


    An infected noticed him and dashed towards him. A small ck hole appeared, and the man shoved his hand inside, pulling out a rifle magazine. He slowly retreated as he reloaded his gun. Then he noticed that the infected stopped charging at him and only stared at him. The man looked around and saw that he was near the statue. He then took two steps forward, luring the infected to attack him, and it did!


    The infected lunged at him, and so he retreated back. Before the infected could step back, the man caught its hair and pulled the infected inside. The infected shrieked then turned into sparkling lights that got absorbed by the statue.


    The man was, of course, Jun. He could have killed the infected by melee, but he wanted to see for his own eyes the mysterious things that this world has to offer.


    The reason that they used guns to kill the remaining infected was simply that they don''t have enough time. They used the firetrucks loud sirens to cover the sounds that the gunshots made. The firetrucks were also used to thin down the horde of infected on the highway.


    Jun looked around, then stared at the policeman on top of the statue.


    "Lieutenant Cedric?"

 Chapter 53: Rank 2 Destroyer

    Chapter 53: Rank 2 Destroyer


    "Yes, that''s correct. I''m Lieutenant Cedric ng. I''m the current officer-in-charge until the government sends reinforcements."


    Jun raised his eyebrows. "You have contact with the government?"


    Jun''s voice was a bit loud, and it caught the attention of the civilians. Nobody recklessly approached them, but the people were now actively listening to their conversation.


    "No, I don''t." the lieutenant lowered his head. "But I''m sure that they''ll somehow manage to survive. Just like you and me."


    "If you say so," Jun said.


    He looked around and saw the injured people on the ground. He checked their status through the interface. All of them were seriously injured. One was bitten three times, and another one was near-death after being bitten four times.


    The one who got bitten three times has three debuffs; infection, sickness, and weakened while the one who got bitten four times has the same three debuffs with an additional immunodeficiency as the fourth debuff.


    Jun stood up and faced the lieutenant, who finally jumped down the statue. "Okay, I''m not really here to chat. I need extra hands to loot the bodies. This will be simple..."


    Jun exined how to loot the bodies. He also added some free information that will be useful for their future lives.


    Jun finally appreciated that he listened to Evo''s ramblings about the benefits of having more knowledge. He felt good teaching this batch of people as they looked up to him in awe.


    The survivors listened attentively to every single word that Jun spoke. Though that change after a few minutes, when Jun got tired of talking and exining things. He suddenly wished that Evo can finish whatever he''s writing so they can sell them as introductory guides, and he wouldn''t have to exin to anyone anymore.


    Why is he even doing this? Does he even need to teach them? NO! But since he looted their armory, he must give them something, or it won''t sit well with him. The thing he hates the most is owing to somebody. Naturally, he shouldn''t have owed anything to the policemen, but he just wanted to.


    After a two-minute crash course, the policemen and civilians helped to loot the dead bodies. Jun''s group have the proper experience and was assigned as a look-out to keep everyone safe.


    The lieutenant approached Jun, asking if they can have some guns and ammunition. Jun wanted to reject his request since he already went through the trouble of teaching them the basics. But remembering the horde of infected that they have to fight, he finally epted and gave him four handguns, and some ammunition''s that they got from the armory. A few more capable hands would be useful.


    The firetrucks made threeps mowing infected, reducing their number advantage, before circling back. Not because the drivers were tired of killing the infected, but because the trucks were now heavily damaged.


    The sides of the trucks have huge dents after being chased and attacked by the Destroyer. Both firetrucks were chased by a unique infected: the Destroyer and the Hunter.


    With the Hunter hitching a ride on the truck''s roof, the driver must have felt really scared.


    The firetrucks were parked like the letter-V, with the tip pointing at the group. They parked near the statue so the group can retreat safely if they were about to be surrounded. The two firetrucks acted like a funnel to gather the infected and also served as a blockade to limit the infected''s movements.


    With the limited space given to them, the infected would have gathered at the center, where Jun''s group would be waiting to kill them. The more infected that clustered together, the easier it would be for Jun and his group to deal with them. The group just hoped that not too many will choose to detour to the sides.


    Adrian alighted from the firetruck. Jun was expecting him to be mad, but Adrian''s expression was filled with joy.


    Jun''s curiosity was piqued. "Are you okay? Something good happened?"


    "Yeah, I think I''m good at driving, hehe," Adrian replied, he then started chuckling as he walked towards the statue.


    Jun frowned and thought to himself: "Did that brat be crazy?" Jun only told three things to Adrian. How to elerate, how to use the brakes, and to always drive forward! Adrian''s still a teenager and killing too many infected might have affected him.


    The door of the other truck opened, and Paterno climbs down. He nced at Jun, then followed Adrian. The two sat down near the statue.


    Jun''s group, who were dealing with the nearby infected, finally gathered around him. The five-meter area around the statue suddenly became too crowded to house all of them. Some climbed up the statue so that more people could enter the circle.


    The main attack group went out of the safe zone and watched the iing infected. Those who have handguns split themselves into two groups and joined those who have melee weapons, which were assigned to the sides, waiting for any infected that splits up from the herd.


    On the funnel, one of the leading infected has an injured ankle and was wearing a bucket on its head. It trudged forward while dragging its foot. Behind it was the horde of roaring infecteds. The number of growling infecteds caused the illusion that there were thousands of infected in the area, madly charging at them. That unique infected got overtaken by the fast runners and was never seen daylight again.


    Through sight estimation, the horde of infected that remained standing after the firetruck mowed the infected was higher than they expected, numbering about eighty to ny.


    Jun was expecting to reduce the number of infected to at least half, but it seemed that Adrian''s driving skills were actually excellent, since more than half of the infecteds remain.


    Nevertheless, things don''t always go your way, and they can''t afford to waste any time right now.


    Jun brought out the M60 machine gun from his dimensional storage. After tinkering a bit, he then started firing.


    The infecteds in the line of fire were immediately killed. Stray bullets hit the infected at the back. Some get hit on the chest, some on their legs. Overall, the dead bodies were quickly piling up. With bodies that have lots of holes, it should take a lot of time before they could reanimate.


    As everyone fought together, the regr infected started to thin out. Some got close enough to try and lunge at them but were still shot dead.


    Just as everything was going smoothly, a loud roar came from the distance. The Destroyer that their group was worried about, finally appeared.


    The hulking infected showed itself on the distance. Its towering height already nted a seed of despair in the hearts of some survivors. The ripped shirt it wore showed its chiseled body. Its muscles trembled as the arms swung back and forth while running.


    Jun noticed that this Destroyer was taller than thest one that he killed. He then remembered the Hunter that he fought im that same subdivision.


    Different questions filled his mind. Are they evolving? Of course! But how do they do it? And why is it so fast! Do they actually level up when they kill people?


    Jun knew that he would see the answer in the future. The more that he survived and stayed alive, the more mysterious this new world could be.


    The group on the sides were already engaged with the infected. Some of the infected have already split from the herd due to the small capacity of the funnel.


    Jun focused fire on the Destroyer. Most of the bullets ricochet from the body, causing sudden sparks and metallic sounds to rung out.


    When it was ten meters away from the truck, the infected jumped high in the air.

 Chapter 54: Crisis

    Chapter 54: Crisis


    The Rank 2 Destroyer started falling from mid-air, then BOOM!


    A loud explosion hit the Destroyer in the body. ck smoke filled the surrounding area,


    Jun unloaded the shell from the grenadeuncher and loaded a new one. He was using the grenadeuncher as a stand-alone instead of an attachment to the M16.


    Jun isn''t knowledgeable with firearms, but he at least knows how to aim and fire. You don''t need training when there are live targets everywhere.


    When he saw that the M60 wasn''t dealing any damage, he quickly swapped his machine gun with the grenadeuncher stored in his dimensional storage. Jun noticed that the Destroyer was a bit shaken from the explosion.


    He became happy knowing that one of the few weapons he got finally have some effect. At least, he could do some damage now.


    He nced at the ck vortex on his side.


    Actually, what he was seeing wasn''t just the ck vortex. He was also looking at his dimensional storage, checking his inventory. There''s only four 40 mm grenade cartridge left, and he had to make sure that every shot counts.


    Jun advanced forward to get a better aim. She appeared next to him, dealing with any infected that got too close to him.


    The groups dealing with the infected on the sides managed to control the flow, and killing the infected became easier.


    Since a lot of people were shooting, the noise they created spread equally on the za. When they became used to the rhythm, additional infected appeared on the buildings and alleyways near the za.


    This could be seen as an opportunity or a disaster, depending on how you view the current situation.


    If they cleared all of the infected on the surroundings, that means that this area would be temporarily safe. They would have just to actively clear roaming packs of infected that might pass on the highway. This could also be a disaster, and they would all die.


    Jun aimed at the Destroyer while it was still busy shaking its head. He pressed the trigger and caused another wave of explosion when the grenade hit the head. He was standing almost ten meters away from the Destroyer.


    The Destroyer staggered backward a few times. It got off bnce for a brief moment and knelt down on the road.


    Jun prepared to shoot one more time but paused for a second. A Hunter appeared on the sides of the truck and jumped toward them. Before the Hunter could reach Jun or She, its body mmed into a circr yellow barrier. Edward, who was behind them, was pointing both of his arms.


    Edward blocked the Hunter''s attack using his newly created skill, Barrier.


    Seeing that Edward could really block an evolved infected''s attack, Jun took a deep breath.


    Everything is going ording to n.


    Adrian, who was resting and trying to get his soul back from near-death experiences, stood beside Edward. The two of them were tasked with killing the Hunter.


    The group was divided into five smaller groupsJun and She, who was dealing with the Rank 2 Destroyer, Adrian and Edward were fighting the Hunter, two groups fighting regr infected and a scouting group that remained inside the safe-zone. Most of the people in the scouting group were the injured people and old people who couldn''t fight anymore.


    Adrian took his M16 from his dimensional storage, unloaded the magazine to check the bullets, then popped it back in. Edward''s hand lit up with energy as he ran towards the Hunter.


    Jun shoved the Hunter away since it was too close. She followed up with a quick stab. The Hunter got its shoulder pierced and started shrieking as it retreated.


    Adrian started shooting at the Hunter. His aim was still a bit off since it was his first time firing a gun.


    The Hunter hid behind the firetruck and watched the group as it waited for a chance.


    Jun, who was busy watching the Hunter run away, felt vibrations. He noticed that it suddenly became darker. The sun that was sending hot rays of light disappeared. He didn''t even turn his head to know why. He hastily tumbled to the side. Right after that, a swishing sounded from where he was before, followed by a loud cracking sound. Asphalt fragments scattered in every direction.


    "ROAR!!!"


    The Destroyer pped the nearby She with its muscr left arm. Though a yellow barrier appeared in front of her and she tried to block with her spear, the Destroyer''s arm still reached her. The barrier broke, and the bulky arms of the Destroyer sent her flying back to the safe-zone.


    The scouting group slightly panicked when they saw something flying towards them. When they saw that it was the woman who nursed them earlier, they hurriedly ran forward to catch her.


    She spat a mouthful of blood, before kneeling down. Her physical attributes were deeplyckingpared to others. She started losing consciousness, but before she did, she used Heal and Cure to herself. The group of men carried her to the innermost part of the safe-zone.


    Jun restrained himself from the urge to shout her name. Attracting unnecessary regr infected wouldn''t help them in this situation. He fired the grenadeuncher and hit the Destroyer''s body. Jun reloaded as he waited for the smoke to dissipate.


    The Destroyer stoodpletely still this time. Its arms formed a cross in front of its body. It seemed that the Destroyer tried to block the grenade cartridge with its own arms. A few burn marks appeared along its muscr arms. The smell of burnt flesh circted the area.


    The Destroyer roared angrily before charging at Jun.


    Jun felt the quaking of the ground, every time the Destroyer stepped forward. He finished reloading another shell, but the Destroyer was already in front of him, raising its arms overhead.


    Jun barely dodge the ensuing attack. He fired once again. The explosion was so close that he felt a searing heat on his skin. They''re probably burnt, and he wished that She knows how to treat degree burns.


    The smoke lingered longer than usual. A swooshing sound came from the inside, and a hand appeared trying to grab Jun. A barrier appeared, and it was the one that got caught.


    With the given opportunity, Jun escaped and retreated a few meters away.


    He saw Adrian and Edward fighting the Hunter. Edward was at the front, tanking the Hunter''s attack while Adrian deal damage using the M16. He sometimes would go to melee using a military knife, sheathed on the side of his pants.


    When the Hunter flees and hides, Edward turned around and watched Jun''s situation.


    Jun felt disappointed in himself. He was supposed to take care of them, but he was the one being taken care of. At the same time, he felt happy. So this is the feelingthe feeling of being cared for. Jun smiled. A genuine smile that looked crooked for anyone who happened to see it.


    This is the moment that he finally considered this group of people as a new member of his family.


    Jun turned around and faced the Destroyer. With a loud yell filled with his anger, disappointment, and newfound happiness, he used Howling Rage and Threaten at the same time. His eyes turned bloodshot and red lights appeared on the sides of his eyes.

 Chapter 55: Awaken

    Chapter 55: Awaken


    The Destroyer flinched and stood frozen for a second before it roared back.


    Jun''s body appeared to be shimmering with a red glow. Like he was emitting a red aura filled with power.


    Jun aimed at the Destroyer that was closing in at top speed. He took a deep breath before pulling the trigger.


    The explosion was louder than usual, as it echoed in the za square. Some people couldn''t help but turn their heads towards the explosion.


    For the first time, the Destroyer made some anguished shriek as if it finally felt some damage. It got out of the smoke while clutching its face and unstably strode forward. Its arms and chest were burnt, and some sizzling sounds could still be heard. Smoke was rising from its body when it suddenly opened its eyes that showed through the gaps of its hand. It stared at Jun as if he was its mortal enemy.


    The upper body of the Destroyer was severely burnt, and some patch of flesh was already falling off.


    Jun became speechless. He knew that he would be stronger after using skills, but he didn''t expect that using a skill can have a significant effect on the battle.


    Howling Rage increases damage dealt by 10% while also reducing the enemy''s defense by the same amount. Threaten reduces the overall stats of the target by 20%. That means that the Destroyer lost a lot of its defense, its movement speed reduced, endurance, and physical resistance, everything was affected!


    With thebination of Howling Rage and Threaten the imprable skin of the Destroyer finally opened up. The duration of Howling Rage was only one minute, and Jun decided to use it efficiently.


    He fired thest shot causing another explosion. He then stashed the grenadeuncher on his dimensional storage. It would probably take a long time before he could use it again since he doesn''t know when or where he could find ammunition for it.


    Looting an entire armory was already lucky for their group since it was still the early days of an apocalypse, and people are still figuring things out. After gaining a foothold in this world, people would surely stock up for weapons to use.


    This time, the Destroyer didn''t scream. Though, its movements slowed down and the frenzied feeling that it emitted was reduced, its bloodshot eyes still only looked at Jun, who dealt the most damage to it.


    Jun, of course, noticed that it''s already weakened. He brought out the Ogre''s Club that was already cut in half.


    The Ogre''s Club used to be a one-meter long club that was thin on the handle and bes bigger as it reached the end.


    The other half, the massive part, was gone since it was cut into half due to his fault and Evo''s self-defense. Thankfully, the club still retained the life-steal effect even though everything that happened.


    The club looked like a regr baseball bat. It became half-meter long, which is about 1.6ft long and some extra inches.


    Jun and the Destroyer finally shed.


    Jun used the Ogre''s Club to attack and defend while the Destroyer fought, ignoring its defense, putting everything into attack.


    The Destroyer swatted him, Jun dodged. It punched, he blocked.


    He skidded away and had to jump to release the force that pushed him away. As hended, he stepped back a few times to bnce his body.


    The Destroyer charged once again. Jun became used to its attack pattern. When he was within arms reach, it would punch straight or do a hook. Every time, it would overstretch, and Jun used those opportunities to hit the Destroyer''s arm muscles. When he was a few meters away, it would lunge on him and swat down with its arms. Jun would then hit the flesh on its legs.


    Jun finally wished he had a sharp weapon to cut the Destroyer''s muscles. Its legs and arms reddened, dark blood was flowing out of its pores. The Ogre''s club absorbed some of the blood every time it hit a bloodied part of the Destroyer''s body.


    Jun dodged another attack, and the Destroyer lunged at him. Jun was preparing to avoid to the sides when suddenly, the Destroyer spread its arms to the sides, changing its pattern, and managed to grab his left arm.


    "Jun!" Edward shouted anxiously.


    After hearing his panicked shout, Adrian and the rest of the group looked towards Jun. The side group who were clearing regr infected were doing a good job that some people could take brief rests.


    Marianne and Evo were the one''s who quickly turned their heads. They saw Jun dangling in mid-air being held in the arms by the three-meter tall Destroyer.


    Marianne''s face became filled with horror as she ran towards Jun.


    "Please take care of this side!" Evo said to the person next to him before running to follow Marianne. He wanted to use the M16 that he was holding, but was scared that he would shot Jun due to his miserable aim.


    The Destroyer tried biting Jun but was blocked by a barrier. After the continuous usage of the skill, Edward appeared to be exhausted and was having a hard time raising his arms.


    Marianne and Evo were still too far away, and Adrian was busy fending off the Hunter.


    Jun saw the disgusting teeth of the Destroyer, closing in. He knew that this was it.


    There were no more chances.


    He nned appropriately but still met a bad end.


    He was just unlucky. He slowly closed his eyes. Memories of his father shed by. His mother. His little sister.


    He wished that they''re okay and doing well. He hoped so deep in his heart.


    He suddenly heardughter.


    He opened his eyes and was shocked to find himself inside a dark ce. There''s nothing over here, and the ce was like a void. Except for the ce where he was standing, there was only darkness.


    Jun was jolted by an old reverberating voice that echoed in the area. He looked around but couldn''t see anyone.


    The voice chuckled and said in an amused tone: ''I want to see the world burn. You are my eyes. Please me.''


    Jun was puzzled. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he has already returned to the real world.


    The Destroyer in front of him was stretching its mouth, trying to bite him. Edward used barrier onest time, before kneeling on the ground, exhausted.


    Everything was moving slowly, even himself.


    As everything happened abruptly, Jun doesn''t know that his eyes were emitting ck sparks of lightning.

 Chapter 56: Time Perse

    Chapter 56: Time Perse


    It became extremely quiet.


    The rhythmic sound of gunshots was gone. The shrieks and moaning of the infected stopped. The tense shouting of the people. All of them disappeared.


    Jun stared at the hulking infected in front of him.


    Its stinky mouth was only a few inches away from him. The veins on the whites of its eyes were red. The yellow irises shaped like a gem looked savage.


    A few seconds have already passed, yet the Destroyer wasn''t moving, still holding him up with his bulky left arm.


    ''The time stopped.'' Jun thought.


    He slightly turned his head to the side but noticed that the infected in front of him inched a bit closer. He returned to his initial position, and the Destroyer''s face came even more closer.


    Jun widened his eyes when a sudden realization hit him.


    Time really stopped!


    But only when he''s not moving?


    Thankfully, breathing and blinking don''t resume the time.


    What is this? What''s happening? Is this because of that voice? Jun pondered.


    If he moves, he will surely get bit and die. And it''s impossible to stay like this forever because he can feel his energy being drained at one energy per second.


    Jun closed his eyes, trying to think of a n, anything that could help him. When suddenly, his vision became elevated. He looked around and saw his immediate surrounding.


    Marianne was stuck at a running pose. Evo was aiming in his direction with a rifle on his hand. Edward was half-lying on the ground, pointing his hand towards him. Adrian was gunning down a Hunter that jumped down from the firetrucks roof. He looked down and saw himself dangling in the air.


    Usually, anyone in this situation wouldn''t have time to look around their surroundings or wouldn''t have the time to think of a n. But thanks to his new ability, he was able to do so. He knew what the people around him were doing and probably thinking.


    Jun knows that Edward will use a barrier, and probably hisst one, before passing out due to energy depletion. Evo will take the risk of him being identally hit and chose to shoot the Destroyer.


    With this information, Jun formted a n.


    Jun runs the n on his head one more time before opening his eyes. He noticed that the Destroyer''s face was slightly closer. He kept in mind that time also passes even if he''s not moving.


    Jun took a deep breath and calmed himself. He let go of the baseball and formed a fist with his now empty hand. He felt that a chunk of energy was drained after that movement.


    Sweat appeared on his forehead.


    At this rate, his energy would get depleted, and he would fall unconscious, causing his death.


    Jun gathered energy on his fist and willed for time to resume. From his experience, any interaction with the system needs the user''s will as a confirmation, while items need energy for interaction.


    The Destroyer resumed its biting motion but was blocked by a yellow barrier. Jun punched the infected in the jaw, then used Threaten. The Destroyer flinched. With the dizziness from the punch and the effect of Threaten, Jun managed to break free from the infected''s grasp. The infected shook its head and touched its jaw.


    As he fell down, he quickly took out the M60 machine gun from his dimensional storage. He could feel his arm burning due to the tight grip of the infected. Ceaseless gunfire shot from behind him and rained down on the infected''s body. Most of the bullets ricochet and almost hit him, but luckily, some of them hit the burnt skin and went deep inside the infected''s body.


    The Destroyer groaned and stepped back a bitan action that gave hope to all of them. Compared to the earlier battle, the situation finally turned to their side.


    Jun knew that shooting the body wasn''t that effective, so he chose to fire at the Destroyer''s face. He slowed the passage of time at the cost of some energy. This time, he aimed at the eyes of the infected.


    Jun isn''t used to shooting guns, and he knew his aim sucks. He was bewildered when his vision suddenly zoomed in to the Destroyer''s face. He felt his energy consumption increase and quickly fired before he passed out.


    He pressed the trigger and resumed the time. He didn''t remove his hand until his magazine run out. The infected''s head shook, and most of the bullet went through its eyes. His aim suddenly became good.


    In reality, all of this happened within three seconds. He used energy and Threaten to make the infected stunned so that he could break free. He then took the machine gun from his dimensional storage and bombarded the infected with gunfire.


    All of this was possible because he knew that Edward would use a barrier, and Evo would provide some cover fire.


    Thankfully, his energy didn''t run out. Maybe he should use every energy stone he gets, to increase his energy pool.


    It''s probably past noon.


    The burning sun appeared directly above him as Jun watched the three-meter tall infected fall towards him. He hurriedly dodged to the side and heard the rumbling sound when the infected''s body fell down. The ground shook a bit, and dust flew away from the body.


    Suddenly, his vision tilted, and he was forced to take a step to the side to bnce his body.


    A soft sensation coupled with a fragrant scent came from his sides, followed by a sniffing sound filled with sadness.


    He turned and saw Marianne hugging him.


    Jun asked. "Are you okay?"


    Marianne shakes her head repeatedly like a little kid.


    Jun felt something hot seeped-in on his shirt but chose to ignore it. He didn''t say anything and let her hug him.


    Jun looked around.


    Edward was unconscious on the floor. Adrian was looting the Hunter while looking at him. Evo stood from afar, smiling. There''s something identical with the two of them. Both of them looked awestruck at Jun. They couldn''t help but do so after watching a fast-paced scene like that. Adrian was awestruck because of his reaction time, while Evo was really impressed with his decision-making skills. Both of them didn''t know that it was because of Jun''s newly gained skill.


    ''Time Perse.''

 Chapter 57: Clean-up

    Chapter 57: Clean-up


    Some of the scouting group witnessed everything that happened. They stared wide-eyed at Jun.


    "Did you see that?"


    "I saw it! It was awesome! It made my heart race, and I even felt something crawl on my skin!"


    "What do you think? Should we follow them?"


    "Eh? But shouldn''t we stay with the police? Isn''t that better?"


    "They don''t have guns. And look! That group seemed to know what they were doing, unlike these people. They even managed to kill that... that giant!"


    "Lower your voice. Look, the policemen are now looking at you."


    ***


    The za was already cleared, and the stragglers were being dealt with by the others. Some police officers and civilians have leveled up in the process of defending and clearing the za.


    Jun brought Edward to the innermost part of the safe-zone. He saw She leaning on the rough stone statue, unconscious.


    Jun runs back to the Destroyer to do what he had to do. It would be tragic if the Destroyer reanimated while he was worrying about his group.


    He saw Adrian about to loot the body, and he hurriedly stopped him. Adrian stopped and didn''t ask why; he just stepped back and guarded the area.


    Jun didn''t loot the Destroyer''s body, nor did he extract its essence into a crystal.


    Jun borrowed Adrian''s knife. He knelt down and started cutting the infected''s flesh on its arms.


    Jun started from the shoulder joints. Because he wasn''t knowledgeable about how to cut or where to cut, it took him a few minutes before he could cut off one of its arms. When the body shook and showed signs of reanimating, Jun would stab it through the eye. He then moved to the next arm.


    Though he tried not to show it, the stench and rotten skin really made him want to vomit. In the end, he at least manages to hold himself back and cut off the remaining arm.


    When suddenly, Adrian, who was idly standing beside him, raised his M16.


    "Hands up. Stay where you are and drop your weapon."


    Jun looked up and saw a fat man walked towards their direction.


    The man has a plump face, making him appear cute. Though he looked like that, he''s already in his mid-thirties. He''s wearing a dark red apron and had no hairs on his round head. He had a huge smile stered on his face the whole time.


    The fat man halted when Adrian pointed the rifle on him. He nced at Adrian then turned back to Jun. He said, while retaining his wide smile: "Having trouble cutting up something?"


    Jun smiled back. "Yeah. This one''s pretty tough. I don''t know if you can handle it."


    "I saw that you were able to cut the upper limbs, so I don''t see any reason why I can''t."


    Jun motioned for him to try, and the man chuckled before continuing to walk forward. He ignored and passed by Adrian, who was pointing a gun at him.


    "I want all of the bones inside its body. Don''t damage them." Jun said.


    The man replied indifferently: "Okay, you''re the boss."


    He noticed someone stood beside him. It was Evo. "I didn''t know that you like torturing yourself."


    "I don''t. I''m watching for research purposes. I might find something useful in this."


    The man paid no heed on their conversation and started butchering the infected. He started on the legs, and sparks fly every time the butcher''s knife hit the infected''s body.


    "How did you cut the arms again?" the man asked Jun, seemingly embarrassed.


    "I dug the knife through the armpit, then slowly circled through the arm."


    "That''s right! The soft and tender areas, the joints too!" the man hacked at the infected''s groin. "Wow, this zombie is too weird! Its skin is so tough." the man took one of the legs to spread it over. Jun pulled back, dragging Marianne away.


    As Jun stood up, he noticed that Adrian was still wary of the neer and so he decided to introduce the two of them.


    "Adrian, this is Mike, our new cook. Mike, this is Adrian, a master thief."


    The fat man, Mike, who was happily chopping at the infected''s legs, suddenly stopped. He looked at Adrian as he said, "A thief? I lost a few of my knives. A thief probably stole it." he stood up and red at Adrian. "Right, a thief stole it! Of course!"


    Mike looked like he was about to tackle Adrian any time soon.


    Jun knew that he messed up.


    Some members of the group would prank Mike just to see his reaction. They would hide some of his knives, and Mike would always make a scene every time. The problem would be solved when they med the thieves for stealing his knives. They would return the knivester, saying that they recovered the item when they found the thief who stole it. Every time they pranked him, he would request to meet the thief, but the members would always stop him from doing so.


    Jun quickly intervened. He wasn''t paying attention since it was a casual introduction, but things just have to escte.


    "Mike, calm down. He''s not that thief, okay?"


    "If he''s not it, then who?"


    Jun turned to Adrian. "Do you know thieves that operate in our area? Around the Central za?"


    Adrian furrowed his brows. "Of course, I know someone. That ce belongs to you guys, so I steer off it. What''s his name again..." Adrian thought for a bit, then snapped his fingers. "Richard! That''s the name! But isn''t he a member of your group? He always brags about it."


    "Fvck." Jun thought as he smiled wryly.


    ***


    The matter was solved after Mike cursed Richard a few times. Jun managed to calm him down by threatening him that if he doesn''t, he would be fired and wouldn''t be able to cook anymore. Mike doesn''t like cooking. He just loves the feeling of slicing or butchering something. Mike has some mental issues, and he acts like a child. A kid who was transitioning into his rebellious period. Every kid goes through that stage, but Mike stayed there and didn''t grow up.


    After severing all of the infected''s limbs, Mike defleshed the arms and legs, then collected their bones. Jun got eight small bones.


    It was the bones of a three-meter tall giant, and the shortest one that he got was at least 2 feet long while the longest one was three feet. He stored the harvested bones into his dimensional storage.


    She finally woke up, thanks to her skills that hastened her time of recovery. The first thing she did was to help the injured. Edward was still unconscious and received She''s Minor Healing and Cure.


    The za was in a mess, scattered dead bodies piled up on the sides of the firetrucks. The infected on the area came out of their hiding ces: street corners, alley, and buildings.


    After ten minutes, there were no more infected rushing towards the group. Unless they were trapped or locked inside somewhere, they should have followed the loud gunshots towards the za. The group looted the dead bodies and regrouped at the statue. The injured were tended, and now they were resting.


    Lieutenant Cedric approached Jun.


    "Thank you for helping us. We could have all died without your help."


    "Okay," Jun replied coldly.


    He wanted to take the pistols that he lent them but hesitated. In the end, he didn''t take them back. They will run out of bullets soon enough, and those guns would be useless.


    Jun walked towards the statue. He was very intrigued by its ability to create a safe-zone and give refuge to the people.


    He ced his hand on the statue.


    [Teleport Portal]


    [Durability - 345/1000]


    [Set this Portal as Home?]


    Jun epted the prompt, then watched as a wisp of light came out from the statue. That orb of light flew inside his chest and disappeared.


    As everyone gathered around him, Jun had to exin what happened. All of them interacted with the statue and set their Home Portal.

 Chapter 58: Home

    Chapter 58: Home


    Three groups are resting inside the safe-zone, the policemen, and the civilians.


    Jun''s group fell in the civilian category, but they separated themselves with the real civilians that the policemen take care of.


    Its been almost thirty minutes and the group''s energy and stamina have already recovered.


    Lieutenant Cedric tried recruiting their group to join the police force but was declined. Jun experimented with the portal. Since he can see more detailed information than the others, he was able to decipher how to ''actually'' use the portal.


    He searched for the orb of light that seeped in his chest and covered it with energy. He felt a warm sensation, then suddenly, runic symbols circled the orb. After a few seconds, the runes expanded and went out of his body. This sudden change caught everyone''s attention.


    They stared at Jun filled with curiosity.


    Though they were curious, no one stepped forward to disturb him.


    A few more seconds and Jun got covered with a sh of dim light.


    With the same sh of light, he appeared on the other side of the statue. Everyone was shocked to find him on the other side. His group members thought that Jun was able to use a skill rted to blink or teleport.


    Unlike earlier, he didn''t teach them how to teleport or recall. Evo told him that information is power. The more information that they have, the more powerful they would be.


    For example, the essence crystal. It''s a simple item that wasbined with numerous essence shards. You canbine ten essence shards to make a low-tier essence crystal. They haven''t experimented about higher tier shards since they haven''t got enough shards. With this campaign, they should have enough to try things out.


    But also take note that not everyone knows the usage of essence shards. They just probably know that they are useful items that give experience and would keep it to themselves.


    The most crucial information that they currently have is their knowledge of energy.


    How to use energy, where to use energy, and other applications of energy.


    With the battle earlier, Jun proved that energy could be manually used to strengthen yourself. His fist became hard and much more powerful. With the help of energy, he was able to shake the infected''s head and free himself.


    Energy is a new source of power, and people aren''t used to it yet. Some may be born with the gift to wield it naturally like they''re just breathing air, but most people cannot.


    Jun checked the portal and noticed that its durability was decreased by 1. He called Evo and talked to him alone.


    He asked Evo to think of a way to repair the portal''s durability. He can''t divulge the guide to his members on how to use the portal if they can''t find a way to fix it.


    Edward finally woke up after the repeated Cure from She.


    Jun gathered his members and announced that they would be leaving.


    The group collected their belongings and cleared their side of the safe-zone.


    Jun started walking towards the highway while holding a red club. Evo appeared on his side with an M16, warily looking around.


    "Shouldn''t we camp at the Municipal Hall? That ce is safe. There are barricades; the areas are clear of infected. And there are more people. Safety in numbers, right?"


    "I don''t like that ce," Jun said.


    He stopped and turned towards the municipal building.


    He saw an old man standing by the ss panel, watching everything that''s happening on the za square.


    "Besides, somebody already owns that building, and I don''t want to live in someone else''s house. Especially when I don''t like them."


    Evo turned around and saw the mayor looking at them. Then, he turned around and pointed towards the civilians. "What about them? They know nothing."


    "That''s why there''s the police. There''s still a government. That''s what that lieutenant ims, and we won''t interfere with them. If they want to join us, they can. But I must remind you, food will be scarce. And with arge group, resources deplete faster before you know it."


    Jun continued walking.


    As they got closer on the highway, some infected appeared on the distance. All of them were regr infected that have problems with their legs.


    Jun passed by a car that has an old infected stuck in the driver''s seat. He killed it by shoving the tip of the ogre''s club into its mouth and destroying its head. He then heard a groan behind a truck. There''s an advertisement on the side of the truck that says "Crystal Clear."


    Jun traversed the corner with his weapon at the ready.


    With a quick turn on the corner, he saw an old man sitting in a wheelchair. There were numerous bites all over his body; the face, the arms, and some on his neck. The groaning turned into a growling, then shrieking, right after the old man saw him.


    Jun looked around, making sure that there''s no other infected, before proceeding to kill the old man. When the old man died, he received a notification that he leveled up.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 3]


    [Health - 170][Energy - 110]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 18][Endurance - 7][Speed - 5][Wits - 4][Cunning - 5][Charm - 6]


    [Stat Points - 2]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    -[Iron Guts]


    -[Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lv.2]


    -[Rob - Lv.2]


    -[Execute - Lv.2]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.1]


    - [Blueprint Creation - Lv.1]


    -[Howling Rage Lv.1]


    -[Sprint - Lv.Max]


    [Description] Increase movement speed by 10% for 5 minutes. Additional increase of 10% when running on t terrain. Drains 10 energy upon use. Additional 5 energy per minute.


    -[Time Perse - Max]


    [Description] Activate to stop time temporarily. Drains 1 energy per second. Large movements drain 5 energy per second. Cooldown: None.


    Jun felt disappointed after leveling up. The goal that he was working forward to was already achieved. He hasn''t thought of where to allocate the points and chose to store it for ater time.


    Though the Ogre''s Club was broken in half, it actually felt like a blessing. Almost anyone can use it since it has a low stat requirement and its very easy to use besides the negative buffs that it gives, its still an excellent weapon to be used as a vanguard due to the life-steal effect that it provides.


    The group resumed walking and finally stopped in front of a huge building.


    Jun said to Evo, who was standing beside him. "This is our new home."


    "Everyone will like it."


    Evo gazed at the Gaisano Mall in front of him.

 Chapter 59: Taking Over the Mall

    Chapter 59: Taking Over the Mall


    The mall was closed since things started out very early in the morning. There were no cars in the parking lot, but a single motorcycle stands out. A ck Kawasaki Barako that old men like to use.


    The mall was an inverted-L, and the empty space was the parking lot. It''s smallpared to the chain of SN Malls throughout the country, but considering the size and spending power of this small town, this two-story mall should suffice.


    Adrian took a transparent slime from his dimensional storage. It was the item that he got from the Random Weapon Crate. Its called "Slime" with no attack damage but has high corroding properties. It''s a trapping type of weapon that will stick to something when you got to close to it.


    Adrian had to feed it some blood before he was able to hold it up. It''s a weapon, but he hasn''t even used it for fighting since its only the size of a fist. It''s too small to envelop a regr infected, but it could be used to trap their feet since the slime is super sticky.


    Adrian ced the slime on the metal padlocks. There were eight padlocks, but they only destroyed two, which is the minimum to raise a single shutter.


    The corrosion was so quick that it only took two seconds to dissolved a hardened steel padlock.


    Jun raised the shutters, causing loud creaking noises followed by loud banging sounds. These shutters make too much noise!


    His group looked around to see if any infected would rush towards them.


    Nothing.


    The members rxed after they entered the building. The ce was dimly lit by lights on the ceiling that were ced five meters away from each other.


    Jun pulled down the shutter so that no lucky infected could follow them.


    "Where do we go?"


    Evo asked Jun as he surveyed the area.


    "We will check every room and any ce that could hide people. The ce is locked down, but there''s no harm in securing the area. We''ll divide the groups with the same arrangement as earlier. Let''s get this done before nightfall."


    ***


    The group jointly searched the first half of the first floor. They searched the three food stores in the area. After making sure that the surrounding was safe, they divided themselves into their groups.


    Adrian leads his group while using stealth, making sure that he can see any threat before the threat could see his group. They were tasked to search the first half of the second floor. The ce had an arcade, a hardware store, an appliance store, a Japanese second-hand retail store, and a pathway that leads to thefort room.


    Edward''s group searched the other half of the second floor, which is the Department store. It was spacious and had different items, such as clothes, beds, bags, shoes, and other supplies. There''s an esctor that leads to the first floor in the middle of the department store. His group was so rxed as they chatted and searched. The women in his group were already eyeing beautiful dresses that they like. They used their voices to call out any infected that might be hiding. If there''s an infected that rushed at them, they were confident that Edward could take care of it. But seeing the neat disys surrounding them, they doubt it.


    She''s group strode towards the supermarket at the end of the first floor. They need to search for the second half of the first floor. There are an activity area and a pathway to thefort room. Further inside, a department store signage was hung on the left while on the right was a doughnut shop, followed by the baggage area, then finally the supermarket. Marianne, who was grumpy about not being able to join Jun''s group, used her Broadcast skill to tell the world about how Jun''s being cold. The loud sound echoed to the second floor where Jun''s currently at.


    Evo, who was beside him, teased him.


    "Your girl seemed unhappy."


    "Stop that."


    "Don''t you even consider it?"


    "You know I can''t. It''s trouble."


    "That''s true. Her family is indeed trouble." Evo sighed, then grinned widely. "...so you were considering it!"


    Evo''sughter was so loud that the group could hear it on the first floor.


    Everyone''s chattering reverberated in the empty mall.


    With their assigned tasks being close topletion, setting the mall as their home base was now in the palm of their hands.


    Jun and Evo headed to their destination.


    If there were any ce that would have people, it would be the security department, where guards were always stationed.


    Jun knocked on the door.


    They could hear some moaning from the inside.


    The two of them readied their weapons. Jun had his shield and club on his left hand while he held the doorknob. Evo raised his M16, aiming at the front.


    "On three," Jun said. "One. Two. Three!"


    Jun pushed forcefully after twisting the knob and rushed inside. He took the club on his left hand and blocked anything that could lunge at him with his shield.


    He advanced forward but stayed to the sides so that Evo could have some shooting space.


    Someone was tied down on the floor and has duct tapes covering his mouth.


    It was a security guard that clearly turned into an infected.


    They looked around and saw five offices in a single row to their right. There''s a wide corridor that serves as the walkway for all of the rooms.


    There''s a turn at the end of the corridor, which could lead to a dead-end or a group of infected.


    "Try not to fire. Let''s do this slowly and quietly." Jun said.


    Evo nodded and stared at the end of the corridor. The looming feeling it gave as he watched the far end gave him some shivers.


    Jun and Evo trudged along the walls and walked towards the infected. Evo aimed at the head, but before he could shoot the infected, a voice came from one of the offices.


    Someone was looking at them through a small opening on the door.

 Chapter 60: Trouble

    Chapter 60: Trouble


    An old man appeared on the door. He had a wrinkly face and grayish-ck hair.


    "Don''t kill Harry."


    "Hello there. My name''s Evo, and this is Jun." Evo greeted the old man before Jun could start a conversation. He learned that if he wants a conversation with a stranger to go smoothly, he should never let Jun handle the talking.


    "Hi, I''m called Robin, but the people who used to work here refer to me as Tatang." answered the old man.


    Evo nodded.


    Instead of thinking of why there is an infected tied up, iling on the corridor, Jun was more curious as to why the old man hasn''t killed it yet.


    Since he was able to tie its hands and foot with duct tape, he should have been able to kill it by himself.


    The next thought that came to Jun''s mind was, could this be legal? The old man should have retired already based on his looks alone, but here he is, wearing his security guards uniform, working his shifts like its the best thing on earth to do.


    "Then, what do you want to do with him? Want to make him your pet?" Jun said sarcastically.


    "No. I-I just don''t want him to die again."


    Evo elbowed Jun. "Please ignore him. Do you know this person?"


    The old man looked at Henry, who was wiggling on the floor. Though his mouth was duct-taped, it was so evident that he was trying to bite Jun''s feet as they watched it eagerly stick its face on his feet.


    The old man sighed. "Would you like toe in? I have some coffee and biscuits.


    ***


    Inside the office.


    Dozens of monitors were showing the live happenings inside and outside the mall.


    Jun watched several infected drag their feet towards the mall''s entrance. When they saw how empty the front door was, the infected became idle and stood on their spots.


    His group members were almost done with their safety checks and were excitedly looking around the ce.


    The old man interrupted the two of them. "It''s fun since it''s a new experience for the two of you. But after a while, it gets too boring."


    He handed the coffee to them.


    Henry was supposed to be the shift reliever for the old man, Robin.


    Robin watched everything that happened since the beginning of the apocalypse through the surveince cameras of the mall.


    Everything happened quickly.


    It was the end of his shift, and Henry would be arriving anytime soon when he suddenly felt dizzy. He felt anguishing pain forcing its way into his head. He thought he was going to die due to the extreme pain, but he managed to persevere, then he passed out. When he woke up, the first thing he checked was the situation of the building.


    He spoke slowly and exaggeratedly as he told stories of how people tried going inside the mall, climbing the electric poles so the infected couldn''t reach them and how people died trying to flee from those terrifying things.


    Henry initially helped those injured people but got bitten instead. He managed to distract the infected by shoving it away, causing it to chase other people. He reached the employee''s entrance near the parking area but got bitten a lot of times. His body was ridden with bite marks everywhere.


    From Henry''s understanding of zombie movies, once you got bitten, you would turn into one. He met up with Robin with a burning fever, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He requested to be tied up in case what he thought was the truth.


    And it was.


    After drinking a sip of coffee, Evo nced towards Robin.


    "You didn''t try killing him?"


    Robin tilted his head. "I tried. But I couldn''t kill him. All this time, I sat in front of those monitors, watching everything that''s happening outside. At first, I thought I was lucky." Robin chuckled.


    "I''m inside a very safe ce that anyone could have ever wanted. But then, something appeared and destroyed that belief. A monster among monsters. Every time it faced towards the camera, I felt like it was staring at me and would charge towards this mall any second now. But once again, I became surprised. A group of young men managed to kill that monstrous being.", heughed heartily before wiping his eyes.


    "Do you know that I was nning to kill my self this morning?" he stared in Evo''s eyes, not looking for a response but just to affirm if the other person believed what he was saying.


    "After the gunshots ceased firing yesterday and seeing the hundreds of those zombies, I knew. I knew that everybody was dead and I''m the only one alive. I spent all those hours, thinking about my son, my daughter", Robin suddenly started sobbing.


    Jun and Evo didn''t need to hear the rest of the story. Evo gave him some water while Jun brought out an Alfonso, a kind of hard liquor, and a shot ss from his dimensional storage.


    Tatang Robin took the Alfonso from Jun''s hand. He didn''t even use the shot ss that Jun brought out and drank a mouthful, spilling some in the process. After taking a swig, he coughed a bit and said, "I should stop smoking. Or drinking. That''s what I would normally say, but to heck to that!"


    The old man kept on drinking while the two watched them.


    With this chatter, they knew that the entirety of the mall was safe and locked down. The only entrance that''s currently open was the one where they came from.


    Tatang Robin shook his head after drinking another mouthful.


    "Are those people your friends?" he said as he stared at the monitors.


    Evo replied. "Yes, we know that the ce should be secured, but there''s no harm in making sure that it really is."


    "No, not those people. That group." Tatang Robin pointed to the monitor that shows the live feed just outside of the mall''s entrance.


    A group of people was fighting several infected. There were five policemen and four civilians. The civilians were an old man who wore a straw hat and three teenagers of two boys and one girl. Most of them were holding shovels while the policemen held fire axes. The group operated somewhat chaotic. The policemen fought bravely in front of the group while some civilians watched in the back. Though it was obvious that they were scared, some civilians still helped with killing the infected.


    When the group killed all of the infected, they regrouped and headed for the mall''s entrance.

 Chapter 61: Bickering

    Chapter 61: Bickering


    Edward was full of smiles and was vibrantly chatting with Jamie. Some of the women have already changed into a brand new set of clothes. All of them dressed smartly and chose sports wears.


    "Boss, look at these! I think these are useful!"


    Edward called to Jun as he passed by the clothing section. Edward noticed the stern expression on Jun''s face and dropped the jacket he was holding. He followed after Evo, who was walking behind Jun.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "It''s not really a problem. There are just a few things we have to deal with. There''s nothing to worry, though. Jun will take care of it."


    The people finally noticed that something was happening and had to follow the trio. They thought that the infected were attacking again, and some readied their weapons.


    Adrian was ying with a panda plushy when he noticed the parade. He quickly hid the item in his dimensional storage.


    Unlike Edward, he didn''t ask anything and just followed.


    The line of people followed Jun towards the entrance.


    She''s group met them on the stairs when they were going up. They reported that the area was safe and asked what''s happening. Evo gave a simple exnation; there are guests outside.


    Everyone has different reactions to the news. Now that they thought about it. The mall is one of the most safest and most sought out ces in the whole regiona stockpile of food, clothing, and other necessities that are needed by everyone to live daily. Most important of all, it has a working security system and surrounded by walls that make everyone feel safe.


    The Gaisano Mall is located in a unique spot. Behind the mall was the Lagunake. A man-madeke than spans hundreds of kilometers that take hours to navigate from end to end. You can even go from Laguna or Pasig using thiske. Just be careful of where you pass by. There''s a lot ofs in the shallow areas due to being used as fish ponds by people.


    The left side of the mall was an old warehouse owned by a privatepany. To the right was an empty plot ofnd full of weeds and wild shrubbery.


    Jun heard the screeching noises of the shutter being lifted up. He took his shield from his dimensional storage and wore it on his left hand. He readied the revolver that he got from Neil and made sure that it''s loaded.


    The shutter was opened, and Lieutenant Cedric smiled when he saw them.


    Before Jun could say anything, Evo ran to the front.


    "Hello there, Lieutenant. Nice to see you here. In our house. Can I do something for you?"


    Evo wasn''t polite. He didn''t use any respectful tone nor an inquiring one. He was literally asking if there is something that they need.


    Lieutenant Cedric frowned. He was feeling the cold atmosphere that the opposite group was sending him but chose to ignore it.


    He was sent here on a mission by the mayor. They need to get a lot of food and a lot of water. With their dimensional storage, hauling an entire shelf back should have been easy.


    "Didn''t know you own this ce." he chuckled and stepped forward. Before he could take another step, a chubby arms holding a newly cleaned butcher knife blocked him.


    Mike stared at the lieutenant with no care about the res of his officers.


    "Boss doesn''t like strangersing into his house. You are strangers. Not allowed."


    Lieutenant Cedric shook his head and chuckled. Even though he saw this guy earlier, he wasn''t sure if he was a neer or a hidden member of the group.


    "No, no. Jun knows me. We fought the zombies together."


    Jun stepped forward. "That''s true. I''m iming the mall and the surrounding area as my territory. Is there something you need from me?"


    Seeing how cold Jun was suddenly acting, the lieutenant couldn''t help but curse inside his head.


    "We are scavenging food for the survivors. This is the most probable ce that has everything, so we''re starting here."


    "I know what you mean." Jun grinned. "But I can''t allow that. Look here, what would you feel when people start looting your house? I would feel sad. I would be so angry; I might kill them."


    As Jun spoke, his throat had a bit of red light. He was using Threaten as he talked with the lieutenant.


    The lieutenant flinched and took a step back. When he noticed himself getting scared by this young man, he felt shame and anger boil inside him. He took a step forward and proudly raised his chin. He stood correctly, showing his blue uniform stained with blood.


    "You don''t own this ce. You can''t stop me." the lieutenant said and walked forward.


    "I can," Jun said as he raised the revolver in his hands.


    The majestic looking Colt Python, with its white body, sent shivers to the people watching the scene.


    The officers who were used to being respected were unhappy. They took their guns out from their backs. Although they have dimensional storage for storing things, they were too used to having a duty firearm on their sides. Due to having no holsters at the moment, they had to put them in their pants.


    The police officers drew their guns, and so Jun''s group was forced to defend themselves.


    Adrian was the first to react and quickly brought out his M16 rifle; he stepped backward and vanished from sight. Marianne had this illusion of fiery mes burning behind her as background. Its actual effect was still unknown. Bernard shouted, "Haaa!" and everyone felt a sudden increase in their defense. .The rest of the members aimed their guns towards the officers.


    "You need to leave," Jun said.


    "We can''t leave without food. We haven''t eaten for days."


    "People will die if you don''t."


    "There''s a huge probability that that''s true." the lieutenant calmly took his gun from his back then aimed at Jun.


    Both groups seemed to be scared, but none were willing topromise. They were waiting for the leaders to make their decisions. When suddenly, someone shouted.


    "Okay! That''s enough! Nobody needs to die." Evo said. Then, he whispered to Jun, "We''re setting up a store, right? This should be a good ce to start things up. Don''t scare our first customers away."


    Jun raised his brows. "And what? Will they pay us paper money?"


    "Of course not!" Evo replied while looking at Jun as if he was an idiot. "We''ll trade them for crystals. "

 Chapter 62: Preparations

    Chapter 62: Preparations


    Both parties agreed with the proposed idea.


    The police officers were happy to settle the dispute and exchange those shards for some food. They knew that those shards could give you a little bit of experience, but since they were able to kill zombies, a bit of experience isn''t really needed.


    Jun''s group exhaled the deep breathe they have been holding on for a long time. The members weren''t ready to kill and were d that it didn''t have toe to that.


    Lieutenant Cedric was willing to trade seventy essence shards to Jun. Most of the people who looted the dead bodies earlier were the civilians rescued by the police, resulting in therge number of shards in their hands.


    The two haggled for a few minutes and finally settled with ny shards being traded for 30kg of rice, 20 canned foods, and fiveplimentary gallons of water.


    Evo evaluated the value of the items. He used the supply and demand to raise the price as high as possiblean amount that the other party could find eptable.


    Evo set the price of rice to two essence shards per kilogram. The canned foods were set at the same rate at two shards for a single can.


    Evo added a lot ofplimentary gifts, not only to increase customer satisfaction but to help the civilians survive.


    In the end, they need customers who will buy their products if they want to start a retail business.


    Besides, they were probably the only live person in the vicinity. Helping each other is the least that they could do.


    Jun wasn''t acting like an a*shole purposely. He always sticks to his motto, ''What''s mine is mine and what''s yours, can be mine.''


    After the trade, most of the members of the other group left. Two people were left behind, the old man with a straw hat and a teenager that seemed to be his son. The two looked like country bumpkins as they wore old tattered clothes.


    The old man stepped forward and said, "Please take us in. My name is Felipe, and this is my son, Anthony. Though I''m a bit old, I can still fight zombies one on one. My son here can also fight a zombie on his own. We were farmers from the Old district looking for financial help from the Municipality when things changed for the worst."


    Jun thought for a bit. Having a farmer would be extremely beneficial early on. They could have another source of foodhopefully, a stable one.


    "I can ept you, but I need you to answer a few questions," Jun said. "Why do you want to join my group?"


    "Because you''re group knows what you''re doing."


    "And the authorities don''t?"


    "They probably will... after some time," Felipe said matter-of-factly. "I''m already an old man, and I always trust my own judgment than what my eyes can see."


    Jun doesn''t know what he meant by that but decided to ignore it. He asked the most important question that he needed to know the answer to. A question that he would probably ask everyone in his group and anyone who would like to join his group.


    "Are you willing to exin your skills?"


    "Of course! I can till the soil and grow some crops. Nothing fancy, a simple vegetable garden, but it could help. I can also"


    Jun held his hand up to stop the old man. "What I mean is the skills you got when you level up. Have you leveled up?" Jun asked.


    "Oh, that. Yes." Felipe scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed. "I have two skills. Till and Inspect. Both are nt-rted skills, Till causes thend ten meters in front of me to flip inside-out. While Inspect checks for anything wrong with the nt, I tried using Inspect earlier on a dead body, but it failed to activate."


    Jun used Threaten to instill fear on Felipe, then he asked, "Are you lying?"


    Felipe gulped and stepped back due to the pressure emitted by Jun. Heposed himself and managed to answer back. "No."


    Hearing his answer, Jun smiled and stopped using the skill. The pressure that Felipe was feeling went away.


    Jun turned and started walking. "Everyone, let''s go inside. We''re having a meeting."


    ***


    "Lieutenant! Are we letting them get away with that!? We should arrest them!"


    "Stop thinking like that." Lieutenant Cedric said. "Things have changed. And if we insisted on what we want, we were the ones who would have died."


    Lieutenant Cedric was someone who rose the ranks through his sheer talent and years of effort. He was able to be the highest officer and the person-in-charge of the police branch due to his aplishments.


    He had a keen observation and level-headed thinking. He saw someone from the opposite group vanish right in front of him. The teenager had an M16 on his hand, and he had to focus hard enough just to be able to see a silhouette walking off to the sides.


    He was sure that if things turned to worst, they would have all died without even being able to fight back. He realized and finally epted that the world had changed. There are now skills and strange beings that changed everyone''s way of living.


    The group arrived at the Municipal Building. They reported the result of their scavenging and their encounter with the mayor. When the Mayor heard the report, he became happy. The things that he does best could finally be used.


    He gathered everyone in the waiting area on the first floor. The mayor dramatically narrated the story. The way he told the story made the people that took over the mall the bad guys, that they were unwilling to share the food, and the police have to beg and trade for them. The armed group also threatened the authorities, not willing topromise.


    The mayor ended his story with the local government as the hero. That they were doing their best, but some people weren''t cooperative and were selfish. He nned to nt a seed of hatred and injustice among the popce. He couldn''t use these people as he wants, but he can guide them on what he wanted them to do.


    The mayor grinned, just thinking of what that man''s face could look like when hordes of angry peoplee knocking at his door.

 Chapter 63: Be Good, Be bad

    Chapter 63: Be Good, Be bad


    Inside the activity area inside the mall, two young men were discussing something with each other.


    The group sat on mono-block chairs as they chatter while waiting for something.


    After a few minutes, the man with a fierce eyebrow finally stood up. He looked at everyone''s faces sitting in front of him. Some were his old friends who knew him for a long time, while the others were a new batch of people that made their way into his life. This person treats ''family'' as his only treasure. Knowing and not knowing whether his family is alive, he tried to remain strong, calm, and collected. The only reason is for this group of people in front of him.


    His new ''family.''


    As he gazes at them, memories of the few days they''ve been together shed from his mind. How he acted bossy towards them, how they cooperated, and how they took care of each other.


    Jun was a simple man. When he likes you, he''ll give you all his love. And if by chance you hurt what he loves, you''ll be in a lot of trouble.


    Jun solemnly spoke. "I gathered everyone to inform you of what my ns are. As a leader, I must bring confidence to my people. I n to secure this ce and to have a stable supply of food." he turned to Felipe as he spoke. The only reason he quickly epted them was for this reason. Food would eventually run-out even if they ate their stocks conservatively. Setting up their farm early on should be a wise move.


    "The world changed, and a lot of things would still change, now and in the near future. We don''t know what lies ahead, and we could only survive by sticking together. When you decided to join this group for safety, for food or any other reason, you decided to submit yourself to my rule and have no choice but to follow mymand. Always remember to follow my rules, and everything should be okay. I''m not here to lecture everyone on how I want things done, but to tell you guys that I will do anything, ANYTHING! Just to keep this group safe. And I hope that you guys do it too."


    "The first change will happen now. There will be a new mary system that our group will use." Jun beckoned for Evo to stand on his side.


    Evo stood up beside Jun. "I''m currently developing a new mary system that uses credit points as the base. It''s in the theoretical stage, but I have the basics down. The gist of the project is that you can exchange any items for points and buy anything using points. We''re still thinking of giving points based on the contribution, but that would still need a few days to finalize."


    "The points will be given by Jun or me and will be monitored by us. I''m still thinking of security measures or how to implement the system. Though it''s still not fleshed out, I still hope that I can get it done to an applicable state by tomorrow. You cane to me at any time if you have any suggestions or if you just want to help. Having more heads to brainstorm would be better."


    Evo smiled then went back to his seat.


    "Everything will cost credit points. As a member of the group, you can buy things at a lower price but don''t sell them to profit. The n was to introduce the new mary system to everyone, including those survivors in the city hall. There''s a lot of new things that this world has to offer, and we need something to buy them over." Jun showed the essence shard to everyone.


    He then took his damaged Ogre''s Club and passed it for everyone to see. The group saw the stats and were shocked, Jun stashed the club and continued speaking.


    "Some of you have skills that will be useful in the future, and we will use that as an attraction for the store that we will set up," Jun said as he stared at Old John.


    "We would need managers, clerks, and people who can do customer service." Jun turned towards Bernard and to every woman in the room.


    "As I''ve said. There is a lot of new things to see in this world, and we might have to fight to get those. So, I''ll tell everyone my first simple rule. Be good and be bad. I want you guys to understand that our lives are at risk, not only because of the looming threat of infecteds but due to the survivors as well."


    "That ends this meeting. As a gift for us being alive, everyone can eat anything they want and choose seven sets of clothes for themselves."


    Jun ended the meeting with a smile.


    Mike appeared pushing a shopping cart with an aluminum pot inside it. He distributed to everyone a bowl of hot soup to fill their stomachs.


    Jun faded from the scene as everyone ate their soups. He sat down beside Evo, who was slightly shaking while clutching his stomach.


    Evo then raised his arms like he was reciting a poem. "I am Jun Reyes, adore me!" he teased Jun as a stifledugh finally escaped from his mouth.


    "I hate you," Jun said.


    ***


    After the group finished eating, they finally started their shopping spree. They shopped like they have never before and chose the most good looking dresses and coats that they saw. Since it was free, they must make full use of it. The women chose somefortable clothes and a few elegant ones while most of the men chose outfits where they could move flexibly.


    Edward was picking his leather jacket with Jamie. The twoughed as they window shopped around the department store. Adrian was still looking around for panda plushies. The rest of the women stared at the two jealously. The rest of the group started clearing two stores that would be used as their rooms.


    Old John approached Jun, who was picking a leather jacket from the clothing section.


    "You knew?" Old John said usingly.


    "Just recently," Jun replied.


    Old John silently stared at Jun.


    After a few seconds, he nodded to himself. "Want me to do something?"


    "Actually, yes." Jun took out the set of bones from the Ranked 2 Destroyer that he killed from his dimensional storage.

 Chapter 64: University

    Chapter 64: University


    Each store had a set of beds that the men carried.


    They tried using the dimensional storage, but the size of the ck vortex couldn''t eat up the beds, so they carried the beds manually to each room.


    To give everyone privacy and to keep everyone safe, the men and women were separated into two different rooms.


    Jorge volunteered to take the night shift at the surveince room so Tatang Robin could take some rest.


    Evo was sitting on a table in the furniture section together with some volunteers. They helped him on finalizing the new mary system that they were nning to use.


    Jun was sitting in the corridor, contemting on how to increase his strength. Leveling up should be the best way to go. The next things should be familiarizing himself with the uses of energy, how to efficiently use the dimensional storage and get some weapons and armor.


    His whole clothing was revamped.


    He wore a motorcycle leather jacket that tightly hugged his body. There were straps, pouches, and a white outline flowed from the sides. He chose stic jeans that looked easy to move in, and a pair ofbat boots. The toughness of its frontal section should be able to cause damage to any regr infected he kicks.


    He was guarding the front door since they couldn''t lock the shutter from the inside. Though they used the master key to close the ss doors, it could be easily lockpicked or broken.


    He was exploring the system when he noticed that one of the quest requirements was actuallypleted.


    [The Big Boss II]


    [Description] You managed to tell the world that there''s a new boss in town. Now, you just need a base of operations and a territory to lord over.]


    [im or build a base. 1/1]


    [Clear all of the infected in an area to be its lord. 1 km radius 0/1]


    [Reward] Increase follower count.


    He wondered how it happened since he was sure he didn''t im the building. If setting up camp is considered building a base, isn''t this too easy?


    Jun didn''t know that his earlier actions and some luck helped him in iming the building.


    The first action was to clear all of the infected in the building. When Jun and Evo left, Tatang Robin finally willed himself to kill Henry, killing thest infected in the building.


    He also verbally said that he is iming the mall and its surrounding area as his territory.


    With everything set in ce, the infected-free building, and his verbal confirmation, he finally cleared one of the quest requirements.


    He now nned on how to do the second one as he thought of routes on how to reach his grandmother''s house.


    As the night went on, the group finally sumbed to fatigue and slept.


    ***


    Before the sun could rise up from the east, people were already working hard doing various stuff.


    The women were helping Mike prepare food. He looked cute and innocent like a little kid, so the women worked with himfortably.


    A bus was being driven in front of the mall.


    It drove towards the wall and stopped right before its hit bumper hit the concrete, leaving no gaps at all. A jeepney followed and slightly bumped the rear part of the bus, causing both vehicles to shake.


    Paterno came out from the bus while Bernard came out from the jeepney. Heughed, asking if he should pay for the damages that he caused. Paterno shrugged and went back to clear the cars on the streets.


    With the blockade in ce, the only way to enter the mall was through the parking area. The toll gate should suffice to monitor the number of peopleing in and out of the area.


    On the streets, cars were being carpooled into a maze-like passage. The first idea was to block the road with cars, but having the infected learn how to climb would be bad, and so they chose to dy and minimize an infected''s movements. If they can predict where the infected would go, it would be easier to kill them.


    Two people were tilling the plot ofnd beside the mall, the father and son duo, Felipe, and Anthony. They willingly picked tools and already started their works. Jeepneys and UV''s surrounded the farm and were being used as a fence. They could also be used as hiding spots if any infected manage to slip in.


    Three people gathered into a group, a bald man, a fierce-looking guy, and a gentle-looking woman.


    They were headed towards the west, walking on the sidewalks.


    They passed by an alleyway that leads towards the gymnasium and TESDA building. They journeyed forward and killed infecteds that were stuck on the driver''s seat. They met some survivors from the city hall, still looting a convenience store.


    The three stopped in front of an arcing gate that weed them.


    "Is this your college?" She said.


    Edward replied. "Yes."


    "So, what are we actually doing here?" Jun asked impatiently.


    He nned to set out early for his grandmother''s house. He chatted with Evo for a while, discussing the development n for the mall and the shop that they were nning to set up.


    When they finished talking, and he was on his way out, he encountered She doing some stretching exercises outside the mall''s entrance.


    She reminded Jun that he was supposed to help her in finding his father.


    Jun exined that it would require time and luck to find her father, but he would certainly do it. She then asked where he was going, and he told her that he''s just going around, she insisteding with him, saying that they might find her father on the way.


    Jun knew what she''s currently feeling since he was also experiencing the same thingnot knowing whether the important people in his life were dead or alive.


    He agreed with her request just as Edward happened to pass by.


    Edward overheard their conversation and requested that he tags along. He asked that they helped him retrieve something from his university.


    Safety in numbers, he said. He also stopped speaking gibberish and startedmunicating with everyone normally.


    Jun couldn''t refute him and agreed.


    Having fought arge number of infected and having enough experience in fighting the infected, the three strode inside the university filled with confidence.


    Jun hit the shield on his left hand with his new aluminum bat, causing loud ringing sounds to echo on the seemingly empty school. He got this new weapon from the sports section of the mall.


    Even if he wanted to use the Ogre''s Club, the raging feeling that he felt every time he used, it was still suffocating. Losing control of your mind is something he doesn''t want to happen since he could injure the people near him.


    The depleting durability is also another reason why he stopped using it. Unless he could find a way to restore or repair the durability of the item, he prefers to stash it in his dimensional storage. He will only use it for emergency purposes.


    Shrieking sounded out from every direction.


    In the distance, several infected dashed ferociously towards them.

 Chapter 65: Survivors

    Chapter 65: Survivors


    Through Edward''s introduction, Jun and She learned of the school''s structure.


    The university is shaped like the small English alphabet-h. Most of the rooms were ssrooms, and there was a college faculty on every floor of the building.


    The remaining space was the canteen, and the parking lot was in the area between the buildings. A half-court for ying basketball was on beside the parking lot.


    The three advanced and met a batch of infected, which they killed with ease. The one-sided ughter was quick and safe, but looting all the bodies took more time. She and Edward chatted while Jun surveyed the surroundings.


    Considering that most of the infected were already killed, there should still be some hiding in the corners or hidden inside the rooms, trapped.


    Since their goal was to retrieve something, they should be able to get out of here quickly after finding the item.


    "So, where are we going?" Jun asked.


    The two stopped chatting, and Edward turned his head.


    "It should be in the faculty room."


    "What are we actually looking for?"


    It was She who spoke, finally looting thest body. She dusted her hands even though it wasn''t dirty. A human''s habitual manner perhaps.


    "Something really important to me."


    Edward scratched his head as he smiled shyly.


    "Help!"


    The loud shriek of a woman echoed from the building.


    The three of them looked towards the corridors through the first floor up to the fourth.


    They don''t see anyone running, but they could hear her screams as if she was almost about to die.


    Jun slowly walked forward, looking left and right, then stood in front of the school map encased on a ss panel on the wall. It was a top-down view of the university, and nothing was specified. He turned his head to Edward and said, "Lead the way."


    Edward and She became dumbfounded after hearing what he said.


    "Aren''t we going to help them?" said She puzzled.


    Jun shakes his head. "Rushing in would be a bad idea since we don''t know if there are any evolve infected in the area. We''re not sure if we can arrive there on time, so why take the risk?"


    Edward looked unhappy with his decision but chose to shut his mouth.


    Jun noticed his reaction and said. "I don''t have any responsibility to help everyone that get themselves in trouble. My only goal is to make a safe ce for everyone. Let''s go! Lead the way."


    The three climbed a set of stairs that led them to the annex building. They arrived on the second floor and readied their weapons as they slowly move forward the narrow corridor.


    They heard growls on one of the ssrooms to their left. Jun took a nce inside through the slightly open door. He saw five infected stuck on the window. The infecteds were looking up towards the other side of the building.


    Jun scanned the room and didn''t saw any hidden infected inside. He checked the corridor once more to make sure that there''s no infected in the area.


    "We''ll kill one each, then deal with the rest," Jun said. He nned to finish this trip safely and quietly.


    The three of them went inside the room and advanced slowly.


    They carefully passed rows after rows of wooden chairs, but halfway through the room, She''s spear slightly bumped on one of the chairs.


    Thanks to the infected''s growling, the low thud wasn''t heard clearly. She sighed on relief when one of the infected slowly turned its head.


    She cursed herself for celebrating too early.


    Jun readied his shield and club as he ran forward. Edward and She ran after him.


    The infected shrieked loudly, attracting the attention of the other infected besides it. The others turned their heads and finally noticed their group.


    The infecteds shrieked then followed the first infected that rushed towards them.


    Since Jun was ahead, he encountered the infecteds first.


    Jun bashed the first infected in the head, quickly killing it. His strike was so strong that the head shattered, and the club dug deeply and only stopped at the infected''s nose. He kicked the body away to release his weapon. At the same time, he used his shield to block the infected that lunged from his left.


    The infected stepped to the side unsteadily when a spear suddenly pierced its head. She withdrew the spear and stood by Jun''s side.


    Jun readied his stance when he saw another infected pounced on him from his right. A yellow barrier appeared and blocked the infected. Edward appeared on the side then pulled the infected away with his bare hands.


    Jun charged at the two remaining infected. He kicked towards the infecteds chest then used the shield to separate the infecteds.


    She killed one while he tackled thest one with the shield. Cracking bones sounded, and some blood spurted out from the infected''s mouth and stomach. The infected''s shirt became dyed with blood as several holes appeared on the chest area.


    Jun quickly knelt down to start looting the body.


    "I''m sorry. I wasn''t paying attention."


    She looked down on the floor as she looted a dead body.


    "Let''s finish looting everything and move on. You need to learn how to use your spear properly if you want toe with me."


    Jun stood up and let the two of them loot the rest of the body. He looked outside the window, trying to find out what the infected were doing. There should be something that caught their attention if they''re reaching out and growling like they found some prey.


    He scanned the area.


    The scenery was nothing special, mostly ssroom windows and the backside of A/C''s. The only point of interest he saw was the rooftop of the school building.


    As he was about to turn back, he saw a head pop up on the rooftop.


    A girl with sses stared at him in shock. She disappeared for a second then came back with two more heads. Two men appeared beside her and gasped in shock as if they couldn''t believe that what they''re seeing is real.


    The girl waved at him then turned around, proceeding to discuss something with the two.

 Chapter 66: Understanding

    Chapter 66: Understanding


    "I told you I saw someone earlier!"


    A woman with eyesses angrily said. She wore a blue sailor uniform that tightly grabbed her lean body. On her hand was a pointed wooden shaft made from broomsticks. Her name is Prisci Arabit, the current student council president.


    "Yeah, we know now, Pres." sarcastically replied the skinny man in sses that stood next to her. He is called Kevin, also known as the student council''s secretary.


    "Calm down.", a male student with pomade hairstyle said. He wore a long-sleeved checkered shirt folded up to his elbows. The man ced his hand on Kevin''s shoulder and patted twice before going to Prisci''s side. "She was just looking out for any help that mighte, and she did found some. Give her some ck."


    "Yeah, right." Kevin scoffed. "Those people ignored us, and now we''re trapped here on the rooftop. Zombies are waiting behind that door, and there''s nowhere we can go! Sam, you can''t always side with her! What are we going to do now?!"


    Just as he finished talking, the door behind them created pounding noises followed by the riled up growling of the infected.


    Kevin shook his head and turned to the wall to his side. He looked down and stared at the ground, filled with gravel and scattered leaves.


    The three of them were stuck on the Student Council office on the fourth floor when everything happened. They were having a meeting when they fell unconscious.


    When they woke up, they just shrugged it off and continued their meeting.


    After the meeting, they went out and saw the torn limbs and scattered blood along the hallway. Kevin panicked and shouted, attracting all the infected on the floor. They went back inside the office hurriedly, hastily blocking the door with all the furniture nearby.


    The infected repeatedly struck the door causing their hearts to beat faster.


    Prisci thought hard of a solution to solve their current predicament.


    She used the PA system attached to the hallways to attract the infected away. Since she doesn''t know where those things were, she gambled, controlling their movements through her judgment alone. After that, they were able to survive by holing themselves shut inside the office, trying their best to remain as silent as possible.


    They had some stocked food on the shelves, but it was starting to run out, and so they had to decide whether to go out or not.


    In the end, they chose to go out with the condition to stay nearby the office and to first assess the immediate threat in the surroundings.


    Kevin checked the stairs that lead to the floor below, while Sam checked the one that leads to the rooftop. Prisci stood guard on the hallway in case something came from this side.


    She then heard the metallic ringing of Jun''s shield and aluminum baseball bat hitting each other. She ran towards the railings and saw that a real person was standing before the field, just idly waiting for those evil things to reach him.


    She turned around saw Kevin fending of an infected. She instinctively called for Sam''s help, which resulted in more infected to rush at them from below.


    Sam came running and pulled her wrist while shouting for Kevin to follow.


    The office was on the opposite side, and the infected were blocking the hallway, so they had no choice but to go up, which resulted in them getting stuck on the rooftop with nothing but empty space for themselves.


    The three of them stared at the ground below. Then Prisci''s eyes started to brighten.


    ***


    "We''re here."


    Edward stood in front of the College of ountancy faculty office. He slowly opened the door, showing enough gap for him to peek inside.


    "Just go in. We can deal with anything." Jun said.


    Edward opened the door and curiously stared at the empty room. Five professors shared the room based on the number of cubicles in the room. There were four cubicles taking half of the room, while the college dean''s office owned the other half. A que ced on top of the table with ck and gold colors had the name of the dean written on it.


    Jun took the lead and went inside. He picked random things on the disys as he passed by, before getting bored with them, and deciding to toss them around the room.


    He sat down on the nearest swivel chair, which happened to be the dean''s chair.


    "Have you found what you''re looking for?" Jun asked as he watched Edwarde out on one of the cubicles.


    Edward raised his hand, holding a mobile phone. He smiled as he operated his phone.


    "That''s what we came here for?" Jun stood up. "There were lots of phones back in the mall"


    Before Jun could finish his nagging, Edward turned his phone and showed something to Jun.


    On the screen, a family of seven was happily smiling at the camera.


    Edward stood between his two little sisters while behind them was their parents. Seated in front were his grandparents already in old age.


    In the Philippines, it ismon to see extended families. Almost every household has this setup, and this is one of the most basic ones. Some had their uncles and aunties living nearby, and the surrounding area bes theirpound.


    Edward took back his hand and smiled as he stared at the screen.


    "This is the only copy I have. I have lots of other pictures online, but I''m not really sure if I can still surf the web. My family lives in Morong, and it''s too far, considering all the possible blockades on the road. Even if I go on foot, I''m not even sure if they''re still alive."


    "You can''t do that."


    A sorrowful voice sounded behind him.


    Edward turned his head and saw She, teary-eyed.


    She said. "You can''t give up like that. You can''t. Do you know what happens if you think like that? They''ll really die. Not literally, but in your heart and mind. What will happen if they somehow lived? What if they were searching for you? Right now! Lost on where they would start looking for you."


    Tears started to fall on the sides of her eyes. "I wish my dad is alive. On the other hand, knowing that there were strange zombies everywhere, my heart feel at ease when the thought that he could''ve died in the beginning crossed my mind. I hated myself when I thought of that! I-I''m such a bad daughter."


    Edward speechlessly lowered his head.


    This is a first for him, a girl crying in front of him, and the decision whether to ignore or tofort her lies in his hands.


    Luckily, or unluckily, he didn''t have to make that choice.


    A loud shriek echoed from the outside.


    Jun hurriedly opened the sliding window and peeked outside. He immediately saw the source of the noise.


    Three students were walking along the ledge of the rooftop.


    The ledge was narrow, about two to three-foot and appeared to be slippery since some infected behind them kept on falling down as they tried to stand and run forward.


    There were some unfortunate infected who slipped and fell down to the ground, headfirst.

 Chapter 67: Im Learning

    Chapter 67: I''m Learning


    The infected run forward and slipped again. It fell on its jaws and blood appeared from the corners of its mouth. Its body slid to the side thanks to the green moss on the ledge.


    "Calm down. Walk slowly and carefully." Prisci said as she bnced herself from the slippery floor. Water and moss filled the space in front of her.


    It was her idea to cross the ledge and go for the other buildings rooftop. The dangerous thing about this n was that there''s nowhere to hold after reaching the other buildings side.


    A storage room was built on the rooftop, and there were walls instead of railings.


    "We''ll die if they catch up!" Kevin shouted in panic.


    Sam replied. "And we might fall if we rush, then we die."


    The two trudge slowly towards the other end.


    They were at least seven meters away from the other side.


    An infected pounced and fell a few feet away from them. Its body started to slide forward and wed at them, shrieking loudly while staring at them.


    The three continued onwards without looking back, hoping that all of the infected would trip and won''t reach them.


    There were at least five infected who jumped over the railing and followed them.


    One already died while four were still behind them. Thest infected that jumped over the railing slipped and slid towards the edge.


    As it fell, it wed and shrieked towards the three of them.


    Prisci hastened her steps a bit which caused her to slip when she stepped over a pile of moss.


    She almost slipped but was caught by Sam behind her. Prisci thanked him, and Sam returned a slight nod. He then took the lead and slowly navigated forward.


    Jun watched them filled with curiosity. He took out his M16 when he noticed an infected gaining speed. It was the infected that pounced at them. Instead of trying to run, the infected began crawling forward.


    Jun used Time Perse, then zoomed in as far as he could for greater uracy.


    With a twenty meter distance, the skill activation and zoom in cost him two-thirds of his energy.


    Aiming through the stock scope, Jun pulled the trigger. The loud sound echoed along the hallway.


    The infected was madly crawling forward when its head suddenly jolted to the side.


    Sam turned his head and saw Jun firing another shot.


    "Move! Don''t just stand there!" Prisci nudged him from behind.


    "S-sorry."


    The three of them reached the railings on the other side of the building.


    When they climbed over to the other side, they finally heaved a sigh of relief. The gunshots stopped a while ago, and there were no more infected behind them except for the one lying on the ledge.


    "What do we do now?" said Kevin.


    Sam replied. "Let''s go down first."


    Sam scouted the area as they climb down the staircase. He carefully scanned every nook and cranny before stepping out into the hallway.


    The first thing he noticed was the scattered blood on the distance. Pools of blood were a few meters away from each other. He doesn''t know if it has been a long time since it was there, but he had no ns of going anywhere near it anytime soon.


    Prisci looked left and right the corridors before opening the faculty room. The ce was clean and neat, but the bookshelves were empty. She called out, but no one answered. She searched every cubicle but failed to find anyone.


    ***


    "Shouldn''t we help them?" She asked Jun.


    They were currently walking towards the gate of the University. They fought through a group of infected as they go out, due to the noise created by the gunshots. There were two ways to exit the building; the way they came from and the one were infecteds wereing from.


    Jun chose thetter since there was no evolved infected. Earning more experience as much as possible shouldn''t be a bad thing.


    "We already helped them. The ce is already clear, and it should be safe for them toe out on their own."


    Jun doesn''t like babysitting. He assigns tasks like this to his subordinates.


    He already killed most of the infected they encountered, so it''s not his problem if those people can''t defend themselves on their own. Jun thought that since they were able to survive for days on their own, they should be somewhat capable. He doesn''t know that aside from hiding and staying quiet, those students don''t even have sufficient fighting experience to kill lone infecteds.


    As they exited the gates, Edward took onest nce at the University. Though he wasn''t emotionally or spiritually attached to the University, he couldn''t help himself but feel nostalgic about the past when he was still studying here.


    It was only a few days, but he felt like it was already a year. Now that he thinks about it, where could his friends be? Are they safe? He silently wished for them to be safe or doing well.


    Jun searched the parked cars on the roadside for their keys. Of course, he wouldn''t find any. Why would a car owner leave their keys inside their vehicles?


    He then moved on and checked the cars that were involved in an ident. He looked through the car''s window and finally found one. A ck SUV that crashed onto a white Honda sedan.


    Jun tried opening the door, but it was locked. He then broke the window using his shield. He stored his weapons into his dimensional storage as he entered the car.


    Edward and She rode in the backseat, making Jun shook his head at how his subordinates were treating him. When you look at the twofortably sitting at the backseat, you will receive the impression of a youthful woman and a dashing man. On the other hand, he looked like he was the driver of a wealthy family.


    Jun turned the key, and the car came to life. The fuel meter reached the highest possible number then slowly went down towards the middle.


    He then turned towards the right, looking for the gear shift. When he couldn''t find it, he just thought that this car runs on automatic by default.


    Jun stepped randomly on one of the pedals, and the car elerated forward, grinding the sedan''s trunk, pushing it forward while causing screeching noises.


    The SUV shook and slid to the side, passing a few other cars, dodging them by a hair''s breadth.


    Jun pulled his feet back up, then stepped on another pedal, which happened to be the one responsible for the brakes.


    The SUV halted in the middle of the road, and the two passengers at the back flew forward, hitting their faces towards the back of the front seats.


    Edward and She massaged their faces as they leaned back on their seats.


    "You know how to drive, right?" She nervously asked.


    Jun looked at the rearview mirror with a naughty grin on his face. "No, but I''m learning."


    The two at the back hurriedly wore their seat belts.


    The SUV would move forward, then would stop after almost hitting an abandoned car.


    From time to time, shrill screams sounded from the car''s backseat.

 Chapter 68: Warning

    Chapter 68: Warning


    Earlier that morning.


    Evo was working some things with a pile of reward points card. He was editing the values and the way how the cards work.


    He tapped the card, and a hologram floated out from the middle of the card.


    There''s nothing to read since it was still the beginning stages, but a piece of paper wasid t on the table. Phases and developmental ns were written on the paper, including three essential information, the name of the card owner, the remaining bnce of the card and the transaction history.


    The first two were the core of the new mary system, while the third is a vital one.


    Evo knows that the probability of other people having the ability to edit items or having simr ability would be rather high. He doesn''t expect that he alone would have that kind of ability. So, setting up safety measures early on should save him the hassle of dealing with this kind of problemter in the long run. He''s also making a secure code that would destroy the card if someone tried to tamper it. A simple tampering of name or any information would turn it into dust. The only one who has the authority or administrator rights to edit the cards was him.


    It took him two hours to edit the first card to its current state. But now having the experience of how to do it, he should be able to quicken the pace. Adding the needed information should be his next priority.


    Evo ced the card down on the table and stretched his hand. He took the lemon juice on the side of the table.


    As he was opening the cap, he caught a glimpse of Jun and Adrian talking on the corridor. They seem to be discussing something important, something that was hard to do since even Adrian, who appeared to be ruthless and cunning looked apprehensive about the matter.


    Evo pretended he didn''t see anything and drank some juice. He then continued working on his project.


    ***


    "Adrian!" Evo shouted at the teenager, kneeling with one foot on the parking lot in a shooting position. He must have tried learning how to shoot more urately, or he was still trying to learn how to.


    In front of the toll gate were several civilians holding onto all kind of pole weaponry. One adult man was down on the ground, wriggling like a worm. The man''s shoulder was dyed red, and some blood already spilt on the floor.


    Amotion happened earlier when their group finished making thebyrinth of cars along the road.


    The men noticed the group of armed civilians heading towards their direction. They decided to inform the higher-ups and let them decide on the matter.


    At first, the civilian group was peacefully having a conversation with them, chatting like they were some old friends who haven''t seen each other for a long time. That quickly went downhill, when an individual requested for relief goods, then another one demanded to be allowed to take whatever they want.


    Evo arrived at the scene and immediately knew that someone was surely controlling this event behind the scene.


    The only person that came to his mind was the mayor. He should be the one who instigated this lot to rally and cause some trouble for them.


    Evo was thinking of ways to fend off the civilian group when one of them angrily brushed off Bernard who was blocking the civilians from advancing.


    Bernard tried pulling him back but was pped back-handed in the face by the man.


    The man runs past the toll gates, then suddenly fell down.


    Loud gunfire echoed across the area.


    The man dropped on the ground, wailing at the top of his lungs while clutching his bleeding shoulder.


    Adrian''s invisible body slowly appeared ten meters away from the man.


    "Adrian! What are you doing!"


    Evo shouted as he runs towards the wounded man.


    Adrian stood up and walked forward while not lowering his guard, watching everyone on the other side of the gate.


    The members of their group working on the carbyrinth took out their weapons and slowly backed off. There was rising tension between the two groups as the pole wielding civilians red at them. No one from their side tried to approach closer, afraid of escting the situation.


    Evo checked on the wounded man. He may not be knowledgeable with gunshot wounds, but he could tell that the man isn''t in any grave danger. He then turned his head back to Adrian.


    "Was it Jun?"


    "Yes." Adrian coldly replied.


    There were no emotions in his eyes. It was like what he did was something normal, and he was just following orders.


    "You didn''t have to do it, right? He gave you a choice. I''m sure of it."


    "He did. But he also told me that we have toy the rules and set examples. I''m actually weak whenpared to him. He told me to kill the first one so that the others know that we''re serious business. I tried killing that man, but couldn''t pull the trigger. I tried."


    Adrian looked towards the other civilians. "Please go back and tell whoever sent you here to stop causing trouble or I may be forced to do something."


    "What about him?"


    One of the civilians asked what will happen to the wounded man.


    "Take him back. Our medic isn''t currently in, and the police officers should know some first aid." Adrian said.


    Bernard and the other group members split in the middle, paving the way for them to collect the man.


    The civilians warily advanced. They helped the man up then cautiously backed off.


    Before they could reach far, Evo''s concerned voice sounded from behind. He said. "There''s a convenience store near the University, a restaurant and a bar on the opposite street. I don''t know why you''re wasting energy on idiotic things instead of scavenging for supplies. We should fight these creatures together and not fight with each other."


    The civilian group turned back, looking at him. One of them replied with a chuckle. "I know, right?"

 Chapter 69: Roles

    Chapter 69: Roles


    Evo watched the group of civilians walk back towards the city hall. When they were far enough not to hear them speaking, he turned to Adrian on his side. He didn''t say anything but just red at him.


    Adrian looked around.


    Bernard and the group looked at him with fear and uncertainty in their eyes. Evo was silently ring at him. He also felt some gazesing from the mall''s premise. He turned his head and saw some curious women watching by the door. He also noticed the CCTV camera installed on the pole of the parking lot.


    Adrian breathed deeply. Trying to digest everything that is currently happening.


    Adrian spoke after a few more seconds of silence. "I was given a role and I acted upon it. That was to make sure that this ce would remain safe. Everyone has their own role and they''re doing it to the best of their capabilities to contribute to the group. I will keep on doing my assigned role and everyone will continue doing theirs."


    "What you did might start something though." Evo said.


    "Are you implying that I should go out and kill all of them now?"


    "What!? How did you even came to that conclusion?"


    The two would have argued further if it were not for theughter that sounded from the side. Paterno wiped the tears welling from the sides of his eyes. He dry-heaved before looking at the two.


    "I''m happy to know that you''re still the same fvcked up shit of an as*hole."


    After saying his peace, he walked away from the group. Bernard ran after him and asked where he was going. He answered: "Scavenging. So we have more things to sell."


    Paterno finally epted the fact that he was stuck with a group of highly dangerous individuals. He was not staying with them for self-preservation nor because he wanted to help the group. He ns to stay with them so he could witness all the atrocities this people would do in the future. At the time that government regained its power, he would be the first one to sell this group to condemnation.


    The words that Paterno said rung repeatedly over Adrian''s head. He grinned then startedughing maniacally. He tried covering his face with his hand but failed to hide the smile underneath it.


    "That''s right. I was like that." Adrian chuckled then an image of woman shed on his mind. He mumbled, "I''m bing an idiot because of her. I should stop listening to her."


    Adrian''s eyes glinted with savageness as he turned his head to a certain direction.


    ***


    There were three scavenging groups that were formed. A group consisted of three people capable with fighting an infected one on one and additional member for carrying things. Not carrying in a literal sense, but as an extra dimensional storage. Since the store isn''t in operation yet, some women volunteered looting the nearby cars while the rest of the women helped in setting stalls on the parking lot. It has been discussed that strangers wouldn''t be allowed to go inside the mall since they could take anything they want with a swipe of their palms. Marianne spearheaded the decoration of the stalls and the proper lot allocation between them. Food stalls would stay near stalls that sell drinking water and other consumables, while clothing stalls would be near the weapon and armor stalls.


    The proposed idea was to have disyed goods in front of the stall with their price attached to them. The members would act as shop owners selling items on the stalls like an NPC from online game. For example, Gina volunteered to be the seller for all the staple food products like meat, fish and breads. She would fill her dimensional storage as long as her dimensional storage allowed it. A simple printed paper was stuck on her stall. FOOD: meat, fish, bread. More stalls were being disassembled from the mall and taken outside at the same time.


    The scavenging group searched in three different directions to maximize their time. They started searching far away from the vicinity of the mall. They let the bored female members scavenge the cars and trucks by the roadside.


    The farmer father and son ignored themotion and continued with their daily work.


    The groups scavengers met with some police officers and some of the civilians scavengers. Some nasty words were spoken but no actual fighting happened. Their hotheadedness weren''t caused by the earlier incident. It was impossible for information to go around since mobiles phones aren''t working. Though two-way radios were fine, not every group were armed with them.


    The scavenging group returnedte in the afternoon with their dimensional storage filled to the brim. They piled everything on one of the corners of the supermarket. The women helped in arranging the things that the group brought back.


    There were varieties of items piled up, from food consumables to daily necessities. Food was the most numerous since it was the number one priority. Shockingly followed by a lot of hygiene items like soap, perfumes, toothpastes, etc.


    The group happily ate an early dinner. The men happily epted the meal since they ate junk foods as they scavenged since the morning. Though electricity was working, eating noodles for breakfast and lunch already made them hate it. With a proper meal in front of them, they feasted themselves over it.


    Evo finally finished coding twenty reward points card into a functional credit point card. It took him less than hour to finish those twenty cards once he finished the first card. The first card took at least three hours of his time but the rest were just copy-pasted code. He had to ask for everyone''s name which helped everyone to introduce themselves to the other members. The biggest hurdle for this project was his energy consumption.


    Evo had a regr energy pool, which amounted to a hundred. Though he leveled up, his max energy never rose even by a small amount, it was the same for the others. Since ten energy points was needed to activate his debugger skill and an additional points depending on the various changes made on the item, he was able to create five credit points card within an hour. The average cost of energy per card was about seventeen or eighteen. After four hours of work, he would finally test how this new item work its wonders.

 Chapter 70: Pit Stop

    Chapter 70: Pit Stop


    A ck SUV stopped at a gas station. Its bumper and hood was filled with dark-red bloodstains while the windshield have several cracks on it.


    The SUV was parked between two parallel overturned jeepneys. There''s a two feet gap in between the cars that only allowed a person tofortably pass through.


    Jun stepped out of the vehicle leaving the engine running. He looked around the area. There''s a few infected that came out of hiding after hearing the car''s engine. He took out his shield and aluminum baseball bat as he walked toward the convenience store.


    She and Edward alighted from the car puzzled.


    "Why are we stopping?" said She.


    Edward shrugged. "Don''t ask me. I''m just as confused as you are."


    The two followed inside the convenience store. The ce was neat and fully stocked with variety of items. Half of the items were rted to cars; mostly oil, etc. while the other half were food and drinks. On a corner, they saw Jun, standing with crossed arms, cooking a cup of noodles on the dispenser.


    "Really?" She rolled her eyes, then copied Jun as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "What are you doing? I thought you were in a rush to go home?"


    "We need to replenish our energies too. Come on, get yourselves some."


    "There''s one thing I learned after being with him for a few days, that is, there''s no use discussing things with him." Edward smiled and approached the shelves of cup noodles.


    She sighed then followed Edward. There weren''t many variations so She chose a spicy vored seafood while Edward chose the regr vored blo cup noodle.


    They sat near the front door so they could see everything from the outside and the inside.


    "Is this ce safe?" She worriedly looked around.


    Jun who was about to drink some of his hot noodles, suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Anyone here! Hello!!"


    Jun looked around and waited. No movements or noises. He was about to shout again but She stopped him from doing so.


    Sheined to Edward that Jun didn''t have to do that. They could have been swarmed by infected and that would be a bad thing. They could deal with infected in a narrow passage where they can control the number of infected they have to fight but in this open space, infected could attack them from everywhere.


    The two men nonchntly ate their food while the only woman anxiously looked around as she ate her cup of noodles.


    After exactly one minute, Jun finished his cup and toured inside the store. She watched him curiously as he fiddled with a few branded engine oils. On her mind, she thought that Jun likes his cars clean and well maintained. She watched Jun took a gas canister on disy and go out of the store as she ate her noodles. When Edward finished his cup, She hurriedly ate her food. The two of them followed Jun outside.


    Jun was currently refilling the gas canister with fuel. Afterwards, he went straight back to the SUV. He spilled all the fuel and oil around the car.


    Just as his twopanions was about to ask what he was doing, a horde of infected appeared on the distance.


    Jun took out two propane tanks and ced them between the vehicles.


    "Aren''t those the infected we passed by?" She said as she stared at herge group of infected. That group should have more than thirty infected.


    "We were waiting for them to catch up, right?" Edward grinned as he turned to Jun. Seeing his action of preparing in advance, he was confident that he hit the right mark.


    "Ready your guns. We''re not going to fight in closebat."


    Hearing his reminder, the two people behind him sighed in relief. They thought he would say something crazy and fight the infected on melee. That was just suicidal! The two happily swapped weapons.


    Jun also thought that since they couldn''t mask the sound of explosions, they wouldn''t make it hard for themselves to fight the horde of infected.


    His idea seemed absurd and dangerous but Jun thought this through beforemitting to it.


    The mall was just a five minute drive away from here. Sooner orter they would encounter this horde of infected. Calling out all the hidden infected and the nearby infected was also part of the n. A safe neighborhood is the best neighborhood.


    The highway was at least a few kilometers long and when they got out of the vehicle earlier, he noticed that there was a dot on the horizon.


    Jun also saw earlier that there was a Rank 1 Destroyer among the horde. That''s why he formted this explosive n, testing out if explosions of this caliber could be used to deal with evolved infected. Even if the n failed, he was confident that he could kill a lone Rank 1 Destroyer by himself. Heck, he even managed to kill a Rank 2 Destroyer.


    The credit wasn''t all to him and he almost died, but he can atleast say that he killed an Rank 2 Destroyer at close quarters. This should also be a good experiment whether explosives could work against them.


    Jun already knew that shotguns can kill a Rank 1 Destroyer, so he would also like to test the piercing power of the M60 machine gun on the infected''s skin.


    After setting up the pathway filled with gasoline, the three stepped back at a safe distance and waited for the horde to arrive.


    The main character of the horde was the two meter muscr giant that was running like a gori. Its body that inclined forward was supported by its elongated arms.


    Jun aimed at the towering infected and pulled the trigger. The M60 machine gun roared and spat out bullets after bullets.


    The Rank 1 Destroyer howled in pain every time a bullet struck it. Though the bullets didn''t pierce the body, it still gave some damage on the infected as red marks appeared everywhere it was hit. The skin also appeared to be burnt.


    Though it was rained down by numerous bullets, the infected endured and advanced forward. When the Destroyer was ten meters away, Jun used Time Perse to stop the time. He used some energy to move and aim at the head. He zoomed in a bit for greater uracy, then fired. Two bullets went through the eyes and killed the Destroyer. The body fell forward, stopping right in front of them.


    At the same time, the regr infecteds finally reached the detonation zone.


    "Light them up!" Jun shouted. He then knelt and started looting the body.


    Edward and She sent a hailstorm of bullets towards the propane tanks.


    Afterwards, a series of explosion came one after the other.


    The bodies rained down on the area. Most of the bodies were burnt and had iplete limbs. Some infected were still alive but could only crawl. A few lucky ones that could stand were quickly dealt with.


    The three advance forward and killed the remaining infected. The smell in the air turned so bad that She wasn''t able to stop herself from puking. The noodles she just ate spilled on the ground. Seeing that the noodles mixed with some ck burnt limb, her body reacted naturally and made her puke again.


    Jun tried looting the severed bodies but didn''t receive the Looting Notification. He thought that something was wrong but the notification came back when he looted an intact body.


    When they finished the looting session, three new batch of infected came over. This time all of them were regr infected.


    "Backs on each other!" Jun said.

 Chapter 71: Every Little Thing

    Chapter 71: Every Little Thing


    Inside on one of the many rooms of a two story apartmentplex, a couple in their mid-twenties was shivering in fright every time the door got pounded by the infected outside. The man held a kitchen knife in his hands as he watched the door shake every time it got hit. Though there were sofa''s blocking the door, the couple didn''t felt safe and instead felt more anxious.


    By the road side, a mother in her thirties and her two young daughters were hiding inside the back of a van. The infected lingers on the area, shrieking, sniffing, hunting for their next prey.


    The same thing were happening almost everywhere, people hid and were surrounded by groups of infected. Some stayed in their houses, some managed to climb into a high ce for safety, some desperate ones even hid themselves on bushes.


    Some people luckily hid themselves but were unable to move to a different direction due to the current circumstances. Some fortunately hid on ces that have stocks of food while the others weren''t that fortunate.


    For thetter kind of people, their number one enemy isn''t the infected, but the pangs of hunger that currently made them consider to risk going out to look for food. It''s been a few days without food and water and their throat were parched while their stomach were rumbling.


    When the mother hiding in the van finally willed herself to go out, she saw her husband standing idly a few meters away. Her husband sacrificed himself so that his family could safely hide in the van. He even lured the nearby infected away from the van before he got pounced and killed.


    Tears welled up by the sides of her eyes as she examined her husbands current appearance. His face was torn, his neck have missing flesh and blood was dripping from it. While her husband was fighting for them, she just cowered inside the van, hugging their daughters. Like a water fall, tears finally released itself from her tired eyes.


    BOOOoom!


    A loud sound came from the distance.


    She turned her head and looked at the things that flew up in the air. She watched as the infected surrounding the van and the nearby infected idling in the nearby area, run towards the direction of the explosion.


    She watched her husbands back get further and further. She surveyed the area with her eyes. When all of the infected were finally gone, she mustered up all of the courage she could gather just to lift the tailgates of the van. She felt scared and was even trembling as she took her first step.


    She turned around and faced her daughters. "Stay here, okay? Mom will buy some food for you."


    The kids nodded their heads, though fear was still evident in their eyes, the hunger was already making their senses numb.


    The mother weakly trudge along the sides of the van. Her goal was the street food cart on the distance. She made sure that the ce was really safe before walking forward. Looking left and right for any infected that might have been left behind.


    Since there was nothing, she finally sped up and reached the food cart. She opened the cab and found four bags of fish balls, three bags of kikiams, two bags of hotdogs, squidballs and chickenballs.


    She took two bags of hotdogs then proceeded to light up the stove. There was already oil on the pan and so she directly put the hotdogs inside without waiting for the oil to get hot.


    Since it was a street food vendor, the cart was facing the streets. She didn''t notice an infected closing on her from behind. Its jaws was ripped open and so it couldn''t make any sounds. One of its legs were mangled like it was bitten by an animal. The muscles on the legs were so damaged that the infected limped every time it took a step forward.


    The mother was happily cooking the hotdogs when she suddenly heard running footsteps. She turned her head and saw a man dash towards her while holding a knife. Her eyes widen and was about to shout when the man lunged in a different direction.


    The man tackled the infected to the ground, then stabbed it in the head repeatedly.


    The mother saw the event and instantly knew that she was being saved. She expressed her gratitude verbally and offering some of the hotdogs. The man declined but she insisted. The man called for someone, then a skinny woman appeared with two cute little girls on each hand.


    They happily shared the food. The mother even added a variety of street food to the pan when something appeared on the alley.


    A Bullmastiff came out, sniffing the ground as if looking for something. It appeared that it was hungry as it stared at the hotdogs being held by the children. It also looked like it has a high chance of turning rabid any moment now if it weren''t fed anything.


    The Bullmastiff is arge strong breed of dog that has been used as a guard dog for many years. This majestic dog has a short coat that lies t on his body. Coat colours include fawn, brindle and the dog have ck markings on the head. Its a stubborn and loyal breed of dog. The Bullmastiff is all muscle and does not require a huge amount of exercise. While puppies are full of energy this breed will eventually settle. Adult Bullmastiff''s have a calm nature but if provoked they will be fierce and hard to settle.


    The bullmastiff growled as it prowled towards them. It seems like hunger can really turn one into something terrible as savageness filled the dogs eyes.


    They unconsciously back off towards the van as the bullmastiff came closer. They didn''t run since it may result in being chased by the dog. One of the kids suddenly stretched her arms, trying to hand over her food.


    The bullmastiff stop and tilted its head, then dangled its tongue like it was a docile innocent dog. The adults saw its reaction and threw some hotdogs towards it. The dog barked and seemed to be enraged, but still ate the hotdog on the ground. They continued backing off towards the van while feeding the dog. They don''t know if it will attack them if they have no more food to feed it, and fear already clouded their minds, fear of the unknown. Whether the dog is good or not, they wouldn''t risk their lives to know it. They would just wait it out until the dog leaves on its own.


    As everyone got safely inside the van, they watched the dog sat in front of the van''s door as if waiting for more food. After a few minutes, the dog left and approached the dead infected by the food cart. It sniffed the body, then shook its head as if it got dizzy by the bodies smell. It raised one of its legs as it peed on the dead body.

 Chapter 72: The Last One

    Chapter 72: The Last One


    An infected fell down as a bullet struck its head.


    Jun turned around looking for any remaining infected. The street was littered with corpses. The intact bodies were mixed with the burnt and iplete ones.


    Edward and She were already looting the bodies while Jun stand guard.


    "We should assign jobs on each group."


    Edward abruptly said which gained the two people''s curiosity.


    "What do you mean?" Jun raised his brows.


    The first thought that came in his mind was that Edward isn''t happy with him being on guard duty while they do the manualbor.


    Jun''s face turned stern as he waited for his reply.


    "I think I said that wrong. What I mean is, we need to have an extra body looting dead corpses and taking care of inventory. Like a porter or something."


    She didn''t speak, but nodded in agreement. All the sitting, crouching and moving were exhausting her energy that was supposed to be reserved for crucial moments when they have to fight infecteds.


    Jun thought about what Edward said and nodded his head. "That''s true. Let''s discuss things when wee back. Every suggestion is wee."


    Jun found the easiest way to look for a working car, by searching for traffic idents. He found an old pickup truck from a nearby car crash.


    She reluctantly hopped on the passenger seat as Edward volunteered to sit on the trunk.


    "You know how to drive on manual?" She inquired as she watched Jun smoothly reversed the car.


    Jun smiled. "There''s a lot of things I''m willing to learn. You should try learning some too."


    The truck failed to start a few times, but still managed to, when Edward pushed the car for a few feet. The truck roared to life and drove flew forward.


    Edward run hastily and pulled himself up into the trunk.


    They passed by an intersection that had a lot of stranded cars, most probably left behind by their owners due to the fact that the doors were left open for most of the cars. The people must have panicked and run for their lives when infecteds loitered the streets.


    A few infected appeared but were quickly left behind. Unless they gathered into a horde, Jun wouldn''t care about them.


    They turned left into a narrow dirt road with rice paddies on both sides. The modern feeling that the National Road gave faded as trees and bushes filled the surroundings.


    After a few minutes of bumpy rides, the truck stopped in front of a wooden sign that said, "BEWARE! No Trespassing!"


    Jun alighted from the car and started walking towards an old fashioned house. There were antique wooden windows and unique looking doors all over the house.


    This is Jun''s grandmother''s house. She owned it and stayed here even though, Jun''s mother asked her to moved in with them. His grandmother valued this house greater than luxurious apartments or modern houses. When asked why she doesn''t want to leave here, she replied that she treasures every memory she gained here, that she would like to stay here until her final days.


    Edward and She who were following Jun gasped at the scenery. A row of mango trees that have ripe fruits hanging on thin branches astonished the two of them. They were too used on living in the modern part of the town that they forgot that this ce was still a province.


    She ran towards Jun who was walking along the dirt path. "Do your parents own this farm?"


    Jun turned to her and smiled proudly. "No, my grandparents did. They own four hectares ofnd which they mostly used for farming. Oh, and don''t expect us to be rich."


    She nodded her head nkly as if thinking of something. Her curiosity got the best of her and she asked: "But if your grandparents owns thisnd, why do you live so far away?"


    She looked around, then pointed towards an empty lot. "You could just build a new house over there."


    Jun wryly smiled as he remembered an old story that her mother used to tell him. "My father suggested on turning the farm into an apartmentplex. He was an engineer and he knew a lot of people. In short, we can be rich with almost no investments! We own thend, he knows who to speak with and has ess to supplies. My dad''s idea was a good one for modern people, but a terrible one for my grandparents. We were driven out of the house, and we never came back. Sorry, I was rambling on my own. Its just... I can''t help but think of the past."


    "It''s okay. It didn''t bother me."


    They arrived at the door. Jun looked around the house then readied his arsenal; his shield and aluminum baseball bat. He opened the door and secured the immediate area. When they all got inside the house, he noticed how neat the ce was. Should he be happy that the ce seemed safe or be worried that there seemed to be no one inside.


    He called out loud, shouting for anyone to answer, but failed to receive one. He searched the kitchen, then the bathroom before going upstairs. He searched every room but still didn''t find anyone.


    Jun gloomily sat down on the living room. His heart felt like it was being clenched tightly. An unknown feeling of sadness filled him. He doesn''t know what it is, but the thought of finally being alone scared him. Deep in his mind, he atleast wanted to find out whether they were really dead or still alive. His search for his family suddenly went down the drain with his final lead resulting in a failure.


    Edward and She stood silently on the side when a loud barking sound came from the backyard.


    Jun quickly stood up and run towards the kitchen. He opened the backdoor and saw a group of people walking along the vegetable garden. The group was being led by arge dog.


    When the door opened, the group tensed up. They warily stared at Jun who currently looked like a madman due to his reddened eyes.


    The dog barked then wagged its tail. The dog excitedly run towards Jun and climbed up his pants.


    Jun hugged the dog and softly mumbled, "Don''t leave me, okay?"

 Chapter 73: Return

    Chapter 73: Return


    The hot rays of the sun shone at its brightest.


    By the roadside where the explosion urred, pieces of burnt bodies where scattered everywhere. The ce would be tranquil if it wasn''t for the insect noises, reminding everyone of how peaceful the summer can be.


    A malnourished stray dog passed by and ate some of the burnt flesh. The dogs body has skin disease and some patches of fur were missing. The dog happily ate the cooked food when its body suddenly jolted and fell to the side. Its whole body shook and it started wailing pitifully. The strange scene continued for less than a minute. When the stray dog finally stopped convulsing, its body visibly received a massive changed.


    The stray dogs physique greatly changed. The size of its body grow a bit bulkier and fleshierpared to its earlier malnourished state. Its paws grew a few inchesrger while its nails appeared sharper. The fur grew back on some empty patches and all of its hair reflected the sun healthily.


    The stray dog stood up and looked around. The ce was safe and so it ate a mouthful. As it chewed, the dog started to shook its head as if it ate something disgusting. It spat out the mashed flesh then stuck its tongue out. After recovering, the stray sniffed the ball of mashed flesh. It pulled its head back, then turned its head to eat another burnt piece. The same thing happened and the dog spat out the chewed meat. It sniffed every piece of burnt flesh and finally lost interest. It left disappointed as it looked for other food.


    After some time, a fragile-looking old man appeared on the street corner. He unstably walked along the road filled with roasted flesh and felt disgusted by the scene. He stared at the pieces of flesh, then shook his head. He went towards the convenience store and stayed there for safety.


    Time passed and the sun was already on its descent.


    Shadows were already appearing on the streets, on the poles and under the cars. The tranquil road became bustling when a group of seven people appeared. Three of them wore police uniforms while the rest wore civilian clothing. They cautiously advanced forward, watching every corner for blind spots.


    As they felt confident that the ce was safe, the group finally moved freely and started scavenging the convenience store. It didn''t even took long as most of the items were just shoved into their dimensional storage.


    The group left the gas station with eight people. The group found someone hiding on the stockroom, surrounded by empty packages of boxed lunches.


    After a few hours while the sun was on itsst ray of lights, a white van passed by. It drove carefully around overturned cars and swiftly on open highways. A few minutester, they arrived at the municipal square. The door opened and its passengers alighted one by one.


    Jun was also seated on the passenger seats. He got off the car after Edward and She. A brownish bullmastiff came out following after Jun. It rolled around as if it was happy of finally standing on firm ground. After its little celebration, it sat straight beside Jun while scanning the area. It barked when a man got off the drivers seat and walked towards them.


    "Are you sure that you''re not going with us? The government should be able to provide food and shelter."


    She who stood by the side couldn''t help but roll her eyes. Inwardly, she thought poorly of how the government reacted to the apocalypse.


    Jun smiled and replied. "We''re good. Thank you for helping my dog. He''s a bit troublesome when he gets hungry. I''m sorry for the troubles my dog gave you."


    The two bade farewell and the group divided into two. The bullmastiff barked twice as if saying its goodbyes. The man turned around and replied with a wave of his hands.


    "Takaw! Let''s go!"


    Jun walked the remaining distance towards the mall. They didn''t use the car and took the chance to exercise a bit.


    The first thing they saw was the mazes of car along the road. As they approached closer towards the mall, they were greeted by Jorge and Emma, chatting on top of a bus. The toll gate opened via remote control and the three entered the parking lot.


    There was a huge tent on the left with a red cross logo. On their right was rows of wooden stalls that looked exactly the same from the ones inside the mall.


    "Its cool right?" Emma said. "They took the stalls from the mall and set it up outside. To be honest, I''m not really fond of the ''selling'' goods idea but I''m excited meeting and talking with other people."


    Edward and She checked a few stalls. The stalls were simple square boxed up stores that has an over-the-top counter and some cabs for storing supplies.


    Edward stopped by the Currency Exchange stall. He scanned the list of goods were printed in front with matching pictures of the item.


    An essence shard is equivalent to five credit points while a canned food was priced at ten credit points. He thought the price was reasonable since killing a regr infected is quite easy. But he doesn''t know that there was a long debate before the price of an essence shard could be settled. Some thought that the price was too low for the risk of dying. All of those who believe that were silenced by Evo. He told them that they weren''t running a charity and he preferred if there were less people buying their food supplies.


    Though a farm that should be sufficient for the groups consumption is being made, it would still take some time before they could reap its benefits.


    A gallon of drinking water was priced at twenty credits while clothes ranged from twenty to fifty credits. The clothes weren''t priced highly since it wasn''t something essential.


    While the pricing of goods happened, Evo hoped that their nned economy would go well, so people could live stable lives. Thus, making the economy stable and profits would finallye in.


    When people be stronger and have stable lives, they would then strive for a better life. To be stronger, they needed something that will help them be someone above the rest.


    At that time, the essence crystal would finally show its worth.

 Chapter 74: Night Raid

    Chapter 74: Night Raid


    Inside the mall.


    Jun stared at the ck card on his hand. A simple white logo centered on the ck card, the two alphabet letters, BH. It simply stands for ck Haven, which is their groups name. This is the newest invention by Evo that would serve as an identification card and ount card for its owner.


    Jun held the card on his right hand and tapped the logo with his thumb.


    A hologram flew out from the logo and appeared in front of him.


    Name: Jun Reyes


    Bnce: 1000 CP


    [Transaction History]


    The first two lines were written text, while the third line, which is the transaction history, was a hyperlink.


    Jun tapped the hyperlink and a new window showed up.


    [Transaction History]


    Primetivo Javier sent you 1000 CP.


    Jun chuckled after reading the entry.


    "I still can''t help myself butugh every time I see your name." he said as he stared at Evo that was now ring at him.


    "Stop it. This is embarassing." Evo looked around to see if anyone was nearby.


    The two were in the corridor of the Department Store. Luckily, the members were doing their own things and no one really bothered with them.


    "Why? Isn''t your name cool? Like some primitive ancient man." Junughed again, clearly enjoying the expression on Evo''s face. "What''s the point of hiding it when you already gave everyone their points. They should know it by now"


    "Why would I use my own card? Of course I used yours!" Evo sighed. He was already used to the way how they do things. Jun would always treat unimportant things as jokes and as ways to entertain himself. He doesn''t care about what normal people would care about. He also has a very low bar when ites to triggering his emotions. Anything could upset him when he''s not on the mood and anything could make him happy when he''s on a good mood.


    "Don''t tell anyone about this, okay? You''re bnce is 1000 CP, but it''s actually infinite. I don''t want to give sries and you should do that job. And I know you wouldn''t do that, so I gave Bernard 50,000 CP to handle that. You can use the card to reward people, but please! Don''t ever lose that thing. That would cause trouble. And be responsible! Don''t just give random amounts of credit to people, that would cause a huge problem for the economy."


    "I know, I know! Don''t nag like you''re a mum. It doesn''t suit you." Jun replied. He threw the card into a ck vortex that appeared on his right, then caught it on the ck vortex that appeared on his left.


    It looked like Jun was ying a simple game, but he was actually practicing his reaction time with opening and closing the dimensional storage. With his current experience with the infected, he knew that switching weapons in the middle of a battle could prove useful in the future. Not only that, it could also be used as an element of surprise when fighting other people. Improving his reaction time when using the dimensional storage could only give him benefits.


    Jun said. "How do I use this?"


    Evo smiled widely as if he was waiting for that question. He took his own card from his dimensional storage and held it in front of Jun.


    "The one on top would be the sender while the card under would be the receiver. Try it, ce your card on top." Evo exined excitedly.


    Jun followed his instruction and a trade window appeared in front. It was a basic trade window that only had a numeric pad and a digital floating numbers. To test things out, he put 1000 CP in the trade window and confirmed the transaction.


    A notification for sessful transfer popped up and the trade window closed down.


    Jun raised an eyebrow in shock and happily switched roles. The trade window showed up with the only difference of not having the numeric keypad.


    [Primetivo Javier sent you 1000 CP.]


    Jun chuckled when he saw the notification but was able to stop himself fromughing. Evo noticed his reaction and knew what he was thinking. Evo shook his head, then turned around and started walking.


    Jun apologized as he ran to catch up to him. He cleared his throat as he matched with Evo''s pacing.


    "There''s something we have to discuss. I need you''re feedback."


    Evo''s interest got piqued. There''s only a few times when Jun requests for his help, it only happens when it concerns deep thinking and nning. Jun was the type to charge forth and solve the problem with his head, literally.


    Evo stopped and turned towards Jun. "Go on."


    Knowing that he got Evo''s attention, Jun hastily spoke. "On the way back, I saw other survivors scavenging almost every food store that they passed through. We should arrange scavenging groups for tomorrow. There''s another matter that I have to discuss with you. Group formations, there should be a specified looter in the group so capable fighters could preserve their strengths for fighting the infected."


    Jun felt happy watching the surprised expression on Evo''s face. But the smile on his face disappeared when he heard what Evo replied.


    "You managed to think those up?!"


    Though he knew that Evo was messing with him and was probably teasing him for his ideas, it still felt annoying remembering that shocked expression.


    Evoposed himself. "We''re already doing that. It just happened that way. Earlier this morning, maybe out of boredom or just because they want to do something, the members scavenge the whole vicinity. Some even went further and managed to get a huge haul. They went out in group and safely came back this afternoon. But you''re idea about formations is a topic that we should discuss with the group."


    Evo walked towards the second floor, where most of the members were staying. The furniture section of the Department Store became a huge kitchen, There''s a living room set up a bit further, and people where chatting there.


    Evo and Jun joined the group.


    After some casual greetings, they went straight to the point. Everyone would receive one hundred credit points per day, as long as they contribute to the group. Doing simple jobs like washing dishes, maintaining the cleanliness of the area, security, etc. A new changed would also be implemented regarding food, every member would receive two free meals per day. This was discussed by Evo and Jun as they were walking up the esctor. Except for the lights and a few speakers, everything that consumes power were shut down. Though they used cooling fans forfort in their rooms.


    Tactics and formations were discussed.


    The group taught each other how to fight, shared thoughts on how to know if the ce they were going into was safe or full on infected, and what items to take. Regarding the formation, they settled that a group should have four or five members. A pathfinder, in charge of leading the way and choosing which route to take, also the leader of the group. two or three capable fighters for obvious reasons and the porter. The porter would be an essential member of the group since he would bring all of the groups equipment including the loot.


    The job of looting the corpses was discussed and by vote, the idea of one person looting all the dead bodies was rejected. It would take to much time if one person alone would loot a dead horde of infected. They settled with everyone helping each other, and taking turns being the lookout when the looting sessiones.


    Just then, the mall''s PA system was brought to life.


    Tatang Robin''s worried voice came from the speakers.


    "We have a situation at the entrance."

 Chapter 75: Unnecessary Mercy

    Chapter 75: Unnecessary Mercy


    It was about eight in the evening when an armed group of civilians, wielding sharpened poles, approached the mall.


    Jorge, who was on guard duty, stopped their advance.


    Emma, who sat beside him, called for backup on the radio, but no one replied. She then switched the channel, and Tatang Robin answered.


    Tatang Robin reported the situation to everyone, resulting in the current parade of people heading out.


    Just as they stepped out of the building, a gunshot echoed in the area.


    They all turned their heads towards where the sound came from and saw Jorge clutching his sides while falling from the bus.


    Emma quickly raised her hands as if she became a hostage.


    A few secondster, another gunshot roared, and Emma fell backward, falling next to Jorge''s body.


    "What''s happening?" someone shouted.


    "We''re being attacked!" Jun shouted. "Everyone, go back inside, those who have guns stay here and don''t let anyonee closer. Find some cover and provide cover fire. Edward, follow me. Adrian, nk them."


    Jun readied his shield and equipped a revolver from his dimensional storage. Using the aluminum baseball bat in this situation seemed foolish.


    Before he could take a step forward, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Old John stared at him fiercely.


    "Kill them. Kill them all. Please."


    Jun watched as tears slid down the old man''s face. Having the hope of people you knew and love, then in a brief moment losing that hope, the old man seemed to have aged a bit, looking pitiful.


    Jun nodded. He didn''t say anyforting words because he knew, based on experience, that no words could help him right now.


    Jun''s emotions became unstable. He smirked then stashed his revolver.


    A new weapon appeared on his hand, a half-meter club that radiated red aura. That aura spread around Jun''s body, outlining him, making him look domineering.


    Jun turned away, then said:


    "I''ll make them suffer."


    ***


    Jun and Edward ran on the parking lot, weaving between stalls, evading the eyes of numerous people. Adrian was sneakily walking along the walls on the eastern part of the entrance.


    The n they set up before moving out was quite simple.


    Since they have no information about the enemy, they have to fight them conservatively.


    The first part of the n was to gain knowledge of how many enemies they were facing, what weapons they have, and how many of them has guns.


    Jun and Edward would act as decoys to attract the gunman''s attention while Adrian identifies them.


    At the same time that Jun and Edward reached thest stall near the toll booth, a man appeared on the roof of the bus and quickly fired at them.


    The two took cover behind the stall and waited for the man to stop firing. From the sound and rate of fire between the shots, Jun deduced that the shooter was using a pistol.


    Jun looked towards the east and saw Adrian kneeling on andscape of shrubs. Their eyes met, and he signaled for Adrian to wait for a bit more.


    The firing stopped after eight rounds.


    Jun took a deep breath then shouted. "Hey, fvcker! How''s your day?!"


    No reply came from the other side.


    Jun furrowed his brows. He peeked on the corner and saw people advancing, holding sharpened poles.


    "Are you sure that you can do this?" Jun asked Edward, who was intensely breathing by his side.


    Edward turned his head in confusion.


    "You might have to kill someone with how things are going. Are you ready for it?"


    Jun noticed the fear and reluctance on Edward''s eyes right after he finished his question.


    Edward knew that he wasn''t like Jun or Adrian, who grew knowing the dark side of life.


    Jun didn''t force him but left him the question for him to ponder on his own.


    "This is a new world. It''s your choice whether to kill or not to kill."


    Jun stood up and ran towards the enemies. There''s one thing that he didn''t tell Edward, that is, he chose to kill because he had to protect something.


    His life.


    He still hasn''t gotten his revenge for his family, and until the time that he achieves his revenge, he cannot die.


    Five pole-arm wielders appeared in front of him. They stood side-by-side, pointing the sharpened poles forward.


    Jun charged at the group to avoid being shot at by the gunman. He immediately got surrounded and attacked from every direction.


    Edward ran after him and covered his back. He used barriers from time to time, to block the critical strikes that he couldn''t dodge.


    After exchanging a few blows with the group, Jun noticed something strange. Every time he was hit, it would always be in a safe spot with little to no damage, not leaving him in any danger.


    After a few more stabs, Jun felt shocked when he finally realized the reason! This group of people was amateurs! They don''t know where to hit someone or how to inflict more pain.


    Thanks to his leather jacket and improved body endurance, all the stabs felt like he was just getting poked by a finger. Although he could still feel the pricks, they were still on a manageable level.


    The red damaged club on his hand glowed redder the more he got hit. His consciousness started fading away, not because he was losing blood but because his mind was bing clouded by a wave of unknown anger.


    Like an irritable woman on her period, Jun''s body sluggishly moved on its own.


    He started mauling anyone in front of him like he was just using a punishment stick to hit them.


    The armed civilians finally showed gaps in their encirclement after receiving a few hits.


    Edward noticed Jun''s eyes that glowed crimson and hurriedly distanced himself from him. He knew that something already happened to Jun, and he could only stand on the side and protect him.


    He doesn''t have enough power to stop Jun, nor he was willing to. Two of their people got shot, and there''s a high probability that they could die. Even if these people weren''t the ones who fired, they still must shed some blood.


    When every civilian was down on the ground after receiving violent stickshings, Jun raised his damaged club to finish them off.


    A shrill noise resounded apanied by white sparks as an energy barrier blocked the attack.


    As if taunted, Jun turned his head to Edward.


    Edward realized that Jun was unconscious and hastily backed off.


    "I know that you''ve decided to kill them, but at least do it when you''re conscious of it!"


    Jun didn''t answer him. He dashed forward with crazed eyes andborious breathing.


    Edward dodged a few easy strikes while using a barrier to block Jun''s path and gain some distance between them.


    They arrived in the middle of the parking lot with someone doing his best not to get hit while the other person madly swung a glowing red stick continuously.


    Evo thew a ball of yarn to stop Jun''s unconscious rampage.

 Chapter 76: Sleepless Night

    Chapter 76: Sleepless Night


    The ball of yarn bounced a few times, then exploded.


    Yarns flew everywhere and expanded at an rming rate.


    Jun and Edward got caught in the st and became entangled by yarn.


    Evo carefully approached the two. He forcefully removed the red club from Jun''s hand.


    After a few seconds of struggling, Jun slumped down his head. He felt severely exhausted, mentally, physically, and spiritually.


    The red damaged club must have drained some energy from him to be in that frenzied state. With the addition of the mental curse, Jun''s head began throbbing from pain.


    Evo turned towards Edward before nodding his head in appreciation. If it weren''t for Edward, a lot of people could have died pointless deaths.


    She ran and knelt down while healing Edward and Jun.


    "Check the bodies if they''re alive. Heal them." Evo said.


    "What?!" She swiftly turned to Evo, unable to believe what she was hearing.


    Almost everyone nearby reacted in the same manner.


    They were shocked, feeling betrayed.


    "What do you mean? Those people just attacked us! You want me to help them?!" She burst out. "I won''t do it!"


    "Heal them. We need to know who did this, and I have a n for that," said Jun, who managed to turn his head in their direction. His breaths had a rhythm that showed his exhaustion.


    Jun already realized something when he was fighting those people. They were only y-fighting as if stalling for time.


    Just like people who were afraid tomit fully on a fightthey just stabbed their poles forward, so they could im that they fought the battle.


    He wanted to stop fighting and talk to them, but he lost control of his consciousness and went on a rampage.


    With them healed, he could at least be a good hypocrite and exact vengeance. He already thought of ways to make them talk that would make them wish that they were dead.


    He should have realized it soonerthat people won''t cause trouble with just the amount of resources one could find in the mall.


    There''s a huge chance that someone was behind the attack and not these people''s decisions.


    His y-fighting with them proved it, and they were probably waiting for the order to retreat, but it never came.


    With no knowledge of Jun''s thinking, She resentfullyplied. The name above her head turned ck.


    "We could use this as an advantage," Evo said, then suggested something with a target in mind. "We should interrogate them and find out who''s order was this."


    She first walked towards Old John, who was kneeling beside Emma and Jorge.


    "Let me heal them," said She.


    "It''s alright." Old John smiled without facing her. "Let them rest."


    She became confused. She got closer and saw a floating ck vortex above Emma''s chest. She turned her head towards Jorge and saw the same thing.


    "What is this?" She inquired as she stared at the vortex.


    Old John ignored her question and chose to remain silent.


    She touched the vortex, and a window popped up. It was a dimensional storage filled with various things.


    When realization struck her, she hurriedly pulled her hand out and turned towards Old John.


    "I-I''m..."


    "It''s okay."


    Old John smiled. If Jun were to see his smile, he would immediately know that he''s just trying to hold his tears.


    She stood up and headed towards the incapacitated civilians.


    The first thing she noticed was the bruises on the civilian''s body.


    She had mixed feelings as she strode towards them.


    ***


    On one of the rooms on the second floor of the municipal hall, several police officers were talking with each other.


    "We should have stopped them."


    "What they''re going to do is wrong!"


    "Lieutenant!"


    Lieutenant Cedric listened to his officers as they panicked.


    Earlier, the mayor requested that they go for a night raid. The goal was to steal as many things as they could from the mall, then leave without getting anyone injured.


    Of course, he immediately rejected the idea. The police force managed to scavenge a good amount of supplies that wouldst them for a month if they rationed it well and two weeks if not.


    As he looked out the window, he noticed a parade of civilians with hands on the back of their heads. Fifteen people walked in a line, making a beeline for the police station.


    It was an unusual sight to behold.


    Lieutenant Cedric turned around and went to the mayor''s office.


    When he reached the office entrance, he heard the loud scoldinging inside.


    "What do you mean you lost? You guys have the number advantage! You have the element of surprise! I even borrowed five guns for this! How did you even mess that up! We even have someone who knows how to use stealth! So, tell me! How in the world did you fail?!"


    "The guard on duty noticed us. I don''t know how, but he noticed us, even when we were still a distance away. We tried talking to them to stall some time, so our stealth guy could get close to them quietly, but that man pointed the gun at him as if he could see him. Our guy panicked and shot the man. At that moment, I knew the raid already failed since we were outgunned, so I left them."


    "When I was a distance away, I saw how a single man armed with a rifle outsmart them. Made them all kneel, took their guns, and made them march in a line. He became invisible, so I ran back as fast as I could."


    "Useless! How is that even possible! One man against fifteen people?"


    A loud, smacking sound echoed across the room.


    Lieutenant Cedric felt some chill behind him, then decided toe into the room. He pushed the door open and saw Neil on the ground, wiping the blood from the side of his mouth.


    Lieutenant Cedric sternly looked at the mayor. "People died? Is that right?"


    Mayor Yobet panicked. "Some people got shot, but we''re not sure if they''re dead. People panic and that''s natural," he frowned after getting questioned and rebuked the Lieutenant, "Why do I feel like you''re siding with them?"


    Before Lieutenant Cedric could answer him, a loud gunshot echoed in the room.


    A small dot appeared on the mayor''s head with blood spilling out of it.


    Lieutenant Cedric quickly pulled his gun on his waist, then turned around.


    Neil, who just managed to stand up, watched the mayor''s body fall to the floor. The mayor''s eyes were wide open as he hit the floor.


    Lieutenant Cedric gulped as he saw the face of the same teenager from this morning slowly fade away and turn into a dark silhouette. The ring dead eyes stared him, and when he closed his eyes, he could see it clearly as if the other person was still staring at him.


    The silhouette disappeared by the time that he opened his eyes. He looked around and tried to focus more, but he couldn''t find the profile anymore. He heard some repeated thudding sound, so he turned his head.


    Neil was furiously kicking the dead body of the mayor.


    ***


    Inside the mall...


    Old John finally absorbed the legacy from the two bodies after emptying their dimensional storage.


    He received a massive boost to his stats, but that didn''t reduce the sadness that lingered in his heart.


    He first nned to bury the bodies since the two weren''t bitten, but decided not to do so when he remembered a story the old farmer told him earlier this morning.


    The small farm they set up outside was growing nicely, thanks to the giant worms that were helping on making the soil healthy. The worms were about one foot long and one inch thick.


    Old John doesn''t want to bury his loved ones when he knew that their bodies wouldn''t rest in peace even if he buried them. With no other choice, he absorbed the body''s legacy.


    Everyone was alert and couldn''t fall asleep.


    Tatang Robin observed the monitors with more focus. There were already stacks of coffee packets by his side so he wouldn''t fall asleep.


    People who can''t sleep gathered at the door to stand guard.


    Evo was working on something in the electronic section.


    Marianne snuck herself on Jun''s bed and lied down next to him. Jun, who was feeling mellow, hugged her.


    "Where did you go earlier?" Marianne asked, but Jun didn''t answer and just kissed her forehead.


    In the city hall, inside the mayor''s office.


    Several police officers discussed how they should announce this matter to the public. The citizens were now in panic downstairs, and they have to do something.


    Lieutenant Cedric finally decided to cover the matter up as a suicide.


    As long as Neil remained quiet, which he probably would, there should be no problem.


    Maintaining the government''s image should be the priority, and the topic about the raid needs to be removed in their minds.


    He asked Neil to call everyone involved in the incident. He ns to have some proper talk with them.


    ***


    In the middle of the night, the ground suddenly vibrated.


    Every living person woke up, wherever they are.

 Chapter 77: A New Dawn

    Chapter 77: A New Dawn


    Ashes fell down from the sky.


    A long sleeping volcano erupted from Albay.


    The streets turned gray due to the umtion of ash falls.


    nts died buried down by piles of ashes.


    Some regr infected mutated. The mutated infected have zing veins that burned their skins. Their eyes were aze as they look for sources of energy. Most of the time, they stare at the sun to absorb its light, but when its night time, they rampage with mes circling around their bodies and flying out from their hands. They don''t look for food and just destroys anything that angered them. A store that has a noisy roof got burned down, a rustling bush, and a car that has a triggered rm.


    A lot of changes were happening because of the ashfall.


    After a few days of non-stop ash fall, the nts showed an unprecedented growth rate. Wild trees that were only a few years old grew rapidly to its mature age. Some old trees grew bigger and wider, looking like an ancient tree that has lived for centuries. Infected who got caught in their roots were contaminated and mutated into weird infected that could control the earth. They used the soil to break free from the roots that entangled them. They made spikes rose from the ground then cut through the roots.


    On agoon, the clear blue waters that it used to have was gone and was reced by grayish color. Infected that were in contact with the water started to gain control of its powers. The mutated infected would scream but instead of a shrill scream, water woulde out like it was fired from a firetrucks hose. The water would easily reach ten meters away from the infected.


    A hanging infected on a building was being pushed back and forth by the wind. It fell down to the ground head first and died.


    ***


    It''s been a week since the world has changed.


    Even now, the world is still changing.


    The ash fall finally subsided and people could finally go outside.


    The first and second days were the times when the fall was heavy. People wouldn''t go outside to scavenge, afraid of bing sick. On the fourth day, the ash fall became weaker and some groups decided to try their luck.


    They regretted it.


    Fighting on a dusty roadside with nothing but scarfs on their faces was proven to hard to fight efficiently. Every time they swung their weapons, ash particles would scatter along with the wind and would enter their eyes, making them unable to see their targets. Their eyes felt irritably itchy, so they scratched it, resulting in infections.


    Though they hated and regretted it, they still continued scavenging.


    Jun''s scavenging groups were better armed with eye goggles and dust-proof full-face masks. They wore ck motorcycle masks that cover their entire heads that only showed their eyes.


    When the ash fall finally stopped falling from the sky, the father and son farmer duo became the happiest. They collected the piles of cooled ashfall by the road, the sidewalk, the roof, and almost everywhere they could find them. It took them a lot of time and needed a lot of helping hands for the work to be done. They n to use them as fertilizers.


    After a few days, the first potential customers finally arrived at their front door.


    Two police officers warily came towards the toll gate when they saw the huge words on the bus that said, OPEN FOR BUSINESS. The two officers inquired where to buy face masks. They were allowed entry and was told to go to the Exchange booth. They saw a few pages of paper on top of the counter. It was the list of tradable items with corresponding pictures and descriptions. The pages wereminated to make them durable andst longer.


    They traded two hundred essence shards for credit points. It''s the whole stash, with a few in reserve, after working and killing infected for thest few days. They received a ck card that had a simplistic design. They were thought how to use it and immediately became awestruck when they operated it themselves.


    They became shocked when they were informed that the card was manually made. The hologram that floated in front of them seemed surreal. Though they were used to seeing the menu interface when essing their basic information, an item that you can interact with seemed rather fresh to them. They looted weird looking objects from dead infected and they could read some items description, but they never found any item where they could interact with it.


    "If you want to embed a name to the card, we can do it for 10 CP. Having a name on the card makes it more secure and easier to find when stolen. Since we can distinguish who owns it, you can inform us and we''ll freeze the card. "


    "No, it''s good."


    The officers declined and entered the market area. There were rows after rows of stalls on the parking lot. The first stall was managed by a middle-aged woman.


    Gina smiled warmly. "Do you need anything?"


    A police officer smiled back and approached the stall.


    "Do you know where we can buy face masks? We''re having a hard time breathing some fresh air these days."


    "I know what you mean. Thankfully we have those so you can probably get some fresh air soon enough. Go to the third stall on the third row, misceneous medical supplies should be there."


    The officers thanked her, then moved on. As they traveled, they noticed how clean the ce was despite the recent ashfall. There were a few spots that still have some ashes, but over-all the ce was clean.


    They stood in front of the third stall and saw a youngdy still wiping the counter-top with a wet towel. Thedy noticed them and stopped cleaning for a second.


    Jamie smiled. "How may I help you?"


    "We want to buy some face masks."


    "Okay. It''s 5 CP per piece. How many do you need?"


    "Why is it so expensive?"


    "Please don''t buy it."


    "Give me ten."


    Jamie taught them how to pay using the cards. After the transaction, the officers once again felt awestruck about this item.


    ***


    Jun stared at the unknown flower in front of him. It has five petals and radiated purple light.

 Chapter 78: A Regular Day

    Chapter 78: A Regr Day


    Jun dug the soil around the flower using his hands. To not cause scratches, he strengthened his fingers and applied some energy on his fingertips. His hand easily dug through the soil with little to no resistance.


    Jun ced the flower in his dimensional storage. This flower was one of the few unique things he found after the ashfall. Some animals that fed on wild nts became bigger. Various insects that usually looked like a dot were now asrge as a fist.


    Things are changing fast and humanity is being left behind.


    A few things happened this week. Some were small matters like new survivors popping out of nowhere, and somerge cases like deaths. The most notable one was the mayor''s death.


    The public was told that the mayor couldn''t ept the changes and decided to kill himself. Though the citizens were sad about the news, they really couldn''t care about that right now, when there''s a possibility that they could die too.


    The two powers that currently control everything in the region was the National Police and Jun''s group.


    Jun gathered everyone onto the za square. He stood beside the portal and ambitiously dered that he owns the 1km radius with the portal as the center. Any individual who stays inside the radius would have to obey his rules.


    The citizens have a divided view of the event. Some were happy while others were clearly unhappy.


    The remnants of the police force were of thetter side. Though being used to following orders, taking instructions from a civilian group still felt wrong to them. If it weren''t for the fact that they were outgunned, they would have already fought the opposing group.


    Jun and Lieutenant Cedric talked privately on the mayor''s office. Though there were shouting and desk banging that happened in the room, they peacefully settled their disputes.


    The police force would operate on their own and would rescue survivors under the name of the government. Aspensation, everything that they found would be given to Jun. The task force would receive food and supplies like clothes, etc. in exchange.


    Jun happily agreed with that deal. It was a total win for him and Lieutenant Cedric didn''t even know about that.


    With the police force helping him in clearing the surrounding area, the requirement for his quest to clear a one-kilometer radius should be finished in a few weeks.


    After the meeting, he donated a pile of food for the civilians. It was to make a better image for himself and to promote the ck Haven market.


    You only need to pique a person''s interest and they would do all the work to know more. Some people quickly found out about the market and went to look.


    Unfortunately, only those who own a ck Haven card can enter. Anyone who owns a card can bring another person to shop around. To own a card, someone must exchange one hundred credit points worth of goods.


    It would seem high if you would just exchange the ''cheap'' items like essence shard and the like. But when you think about exchanging foodstuffs, which are exchanged at a higher price, one hundred points to get a card was quite easy to achieve.


    And that was what happened.


    Some of the curious folks, who fortunately looted a lot of goods on the first few days of the apocalypse, traded their items for points. Their n was to look around and brag about what they saw inside to those poor ones outside. It was part of the human instinct to brag and show-off to those who were less fortunate.


    That day Bernard had to ask for help and Ester helped her. Ester became in charge of issuing new cards. Bernard gave her the necessary funds for topping up the cards when a customer exchanged for goods.


    The ck Haven market wouldn''t attract customers if they just tradedmon goods. That''s why Jun ced his newly finished set of swords made from the Rank 2 Destroyer on one of the stalls. Together with the glistening essence crystals, it served as an attraction to curious individuals.


    There were two swords, one rapier, and five essence crystals disyed on the counter-top. There were price tags on a piece of paper ced in front of the items.


    You can buy a sword at a staggering price of 10,000 CP, the rapier was priced at 9,500 CP, while the essence crystals were priced at 5,000 CP.


    Marianne became the promo girl for this stall. She wore a red fitting dress that tightly hugged her body, paired with a set of high heels. The dress showed enough curves in the right ces, attracting a lot of onlookers.


    When there''s a line, people follow. The group becamerger and she finally introduced the items. The crowd went crazy after listening to her descriptions. A sword that can easily cut through any infected and a crystal that could be absorbed to increase your stats.


    Staring at these mysterious items would prompt you to steal it, but after seeing the guards, armed with assault rifles, stationed on its sides, no regr civilian would try and dare do something.


    Most of the sales this day were medical supplies.


    Since the start of the apocalypse, people prioritized food over medicine. Luckily, Jun raided She''s clinic and the members scavenged more from the area.


    The n was to introduce the mary system to the public even if they make some losses. No business would skyrocket at its starting phases. While some start to gain their investment in the early stages, most businesses recoup or start earning on the mid-stages.


    After months or even years, when people epted the new system as the new money, ck Haven would finally stand tall. Just imagine people selling rare or unique items and types of equipment, ck Haven could buy it without blinking an eye.


    No one would use the same set of armor and weapon forever, even clothes! They would want to buy a new one, for ir and prestige, then get rid of their old ones.


    Jun watched the bustling crowd in front of the gate. He smiled then turned towards Felipe who was watering the crops.


    "Can you help me for a second?"


    A variety of flowers appeared on Jun''s hand.

 Chapter 79: Youth

    Chapter 79: Youth


    "Can you help me for a second?"


    Felipe turned his head. On top of Jun''s hand was a bouquet of varying flowers. He stopped watering the nts and ced the watering can on the ground. He took off the straw hat on his head and held it by the stomach.


    "How may I help you, sir?"


    Anthony who was tending the tomatoes in the corner noticed that his father stopped working. He turned his head only to see that his father was talking with the leader of the group. He carefully walked forward and heard some of the conversations.


    "I want to ask your opinion about something. I found these strange flowers when I was scavenging yesterday. I know that they''re useful but I can''t tell exactly how. I''m also here to ask whether you can cultivate these flowers."


    There were three flowers on each of Jun''s hands that have differing colors. On his left hand were flowers that were colored red, yellow, and white, while on the other hand were blue, purple, and pink.


    Felipe shook his head. "The level of my inspect skill is too low for me to be able to identify these flowers. Maybe after a few days, I can determine what they can be used for. But right now, its a bit impossible."


    "That''spletely fine. I''m not really in a rush about it." Jun smiled. "How are you guys doing? Are there any problems with the crops?"


    "We''re living the life.", the old man chuckled. "Ever since I leveled up, I felt my health going up to the sky. No more joint pains and back pains. Well, the cold still bothers me anyway. My son, Anthony, is really happy with our room. Ever since we got our own room, I am always kicked out in the afternoon. Maybe that son of mine is bringing someone back there."


    "Pa! That''s unnecessary!"


    Felipe turned his head and saw Anthony shyly looking at them.


    "What? I''m just telling the truth. These days, every evening you would follow that woman everywhere. It''s not that I''mining... I also want to see my grandkids before I passed on."


    Anthony hanged his head while he scratches it. A sheepish smile blossomed on his face.


    Seeing his son acting in love, Felipe grumbled. "I can''t even take a nap in my own room... I wish I had a rocking chair for myself. Oh, sorry! You were here. Where did we stop again? Right, the flowers! I can nt them, but I don''t know how to cultivate them. I know nothing about decorative flowers, but I think all nts only need the best soil and a good amount of water. I can try for a few days, but you need to find someone who knows how to do it properly."


    "Thank you! That should be enough for now."


    Before Jun could turn, the old man chattered again.


    "Its also difficult having to look behind our back from time to time, watching out for any infected that might sneak on us. I don''t know about my son, but it was pretty tiring for me. Is it possible to assign someone on watch duty?"


    "Of course! That''s easy."


    Jun escaped before the old man could talk again.


    ***


    Jun ate lunch with Marianne, who treated the meal as a date. The other members ate lunch by turns due to the number of customersing in. The store peak times were around 10 AM and 11 AM in the morning. It was 5 PM to 7 PM on thetter part of the day.


    After a few minutes, the number of visiting individuals were finally dwindling.


    The time periods were the times when people were resting or having lunch. It is also the time when they just returned after scavenging. They traded all those ''useless'' items they found for extra credits.


    The people copied ck Haven''s scavenging group formation and have five people in every team. They thought that it was optimal and well thought off since the small party has enough people to fight infected and fewer people to share to divide the day''s loot.


    The current poption of the region has finally exceeded a hundred.


    The citizens that were rescued by the police force learned to survive on their own. Although they were thankful for being saved, they abandoned the city hall and lived on their own.


    The University became a huge apartment for everyone. They helped each other clear the whole campus and got enough room for everyone to share.


    Jun let them do what they want since having a ce of their own would make them feel that they belong to the area. Finally having somewhere to live, people would now finally focus on enriching their quality of life.


    The first example was young males and females. They were the ones who care most about their looks. Looking good to impress the opposite sex was one of the main reasons why humans are called humans. That''s just the way it is, simply because we wantpetition! We want to be appreciated and loved.


    The clothing stalls finally became lively. The dark sky helped young men and women acquaint themselves with each other. A few showed off their wealth by treating others, while some took the one they fancy on a stroll on the empty streets, showing how brave they are.


    On the distant highway, a man with a tattoo on both of his shoulders smoked a cheap brand of cigarettes. The man stared at the bustling crowd in front of the mall''s gate. His gaze followed a young couple that went towards a dark alley.


    The cigarette lit up and burned faster as the man inhaled a mouthful.

 Chapter 80: Forgotten - Slaves

    Chapter 80: Forgotten - ves


    A few minutes after the civilians'' unsessful raid of the mall...


    The cold winds blew across the dark sky. The breeze made anyone that have thin clothing, shiver.


    Inside the jail cells, a group of civilians huddled together to increase warmth.


    A figure appeared from the open corridor.


    The man walked forward and stared at the people inside. His glistening eyes hinted savagery. On his side, a silhouette appeared and ced his arms between the bars. The man poured out piles of canned foods out of his dimensional storage towards the ground.


    Though the group of people was cold and hungry, they didn''t dare to rush forward and take the food. They just stared at the individuals in front of them.


    The people inside the cells were the ones who attacked Jun''s group earlier.


    They wondered if they would be left to die by cold or would be executed due to their crime of picking the wrong side.


    They wondered whether their families would look for them. Will the mayor help them? They were promised a lot of things; food, wealth, and safety, but things weren''t looking good for everyone.


    As the group waited for their deaths, the one wearing a leather jacket that has some fur on the neck finally spoke.


    The man said, "From now on, all of you are dead. You have been killed by me, and will be resurrected by me."


    The man inserted a key and opened the door. "Those who want to live will follow my orders, and those who won''t will die."


    "From now on, your lives are mine."


    ***


    Jun sat on the sofa at the reception area of the police station.


    In front of him was a wooden table that has stacks of papers filled with words.


    On his side was a middle-aged man wearing a professional-looking sses. The man was looking out the door, watching the officer on guard duty of the police station.


    Lieutenant Cedric knew of the prisoners inside the police station. He identally found out about it when he went back to his office to get some personal things and noticed the shouting in the prison cells. He explored a bit and saw the pitiful looks of the group of people staying in one prison cell.


    The civilians were packed like sardines, almost having nowhere to move and could only sit and stand on their ces.


    Lieutenant Cedric was going to free them but was stopped by Adrian. He was going to argue, but Jun appeared behind Adrian.


    Lieutenant Cedric knew that this man was the one who makes the decisions, so he nervously asked if the people can be freed.


    The man told a story of a fictional group of people attacking a fictional ce, and the Lieutenant immediately shuts up after learning the reason why these people were imprisoned.


    For the second time since the apocalypse started, he closed his eyes and turned a blind eye. It was their fault in the first ce.


    Adrian scoffed at him, but he left without looking back. Afterward, a police officer arrived at the police station. The reason given was to make sure that the prisoners do not escape, which is unlikely, or making sure that the prisoners were alive and weren''t left to die by themselves.


    "You sure that this will make them unable to defy me?" Jun asked while holding a piece of paper. On it was paragraphs after paragraphs detailing a ve contract that would only benefit the owner.


    After learning of Emma and Jorge''s death, Jun changed his mind. From torture and interrogation, he decided to make these people wish that they were dead.


    "Yes, sir. I made sure that they would follow your orders even if it is against their wills. As long as they signed this with their blood, everything will be fine.", the man softly said, making sure that the person outside wouldn''t be able to hear it.


    "Good."


    Someone finally came out of the prison hall. It was a young man in his early twenties. He looked around warily as he walked towards the table.


    "Please sit down.", the man beside Jun pointed towards the chair on the other side of their table. He coughed a bit to clear his throat, then took a short knife from his dimensional storage.


    When the young man saw the knife, he quickly stood up, thinking that he would be killed. Just as he was about to run away, his body suddenly felt weak, and he was unable to move. His legs wobbled, and he fell back down towards the chair.


    Jun''s throat was red as he stared at the man. He used the skill Threaten against the young man. He didn''t even shout like he used to do when using the skill since he knew that there''s a wide gap between their power stat.


    He took the other person''s hand while a scalpel appeared on his other hand. He overpowered the weakened man and quickly made a small cut on his thumb. The wound was small butrge enough for blood toe out.


    He then stamped the man''s thumb towards the paper.


    As the paper absorbed the blood, a wisp of red light particles flew from the paper towards the man, and vice-versa. After that mystical exchange, something solidified inside the man''s mind, like a chain that binds it towards the contract.


    The man beside him stared dumbfounded at the series of actions that Jun made.


    He gulped and acted like he didn''t see it.


    Jun took the piece of paper then shove it towards the man.


    "Go read this over there."


    The man followed.


    "Next!" Jun shouted.


    Adrian, who was facilitating the cells, ordered for the next one toe out and head out to the reception hall.


    ***


    An old man stood in front of the bus that had be an advertisement wall due to the number ofrge notices pasted on it. All of the advertisements were from ck Haven, the group that runs the current market.


    The old man knew that the group has good and bad people mixed in it. He also knew that they''re currently looking for skilled workers since he was staring at arge printed ad that said HIRING, with a list of different upations ranging from physicalbors for fighting and scavenging up to specialized skills like research and development.


    This exins the group of people happily working on the new construction site beside the mall.


    The old man walked towards the gate and inquired about the position he desired. As the old man asked where to apply, a shuddering voice came from the distance.


    "Dad?"

 Chapter 81: Reunion

    Chapter 81: Reunion


    "Dad?"


    She blinked her eyes unable to believe what her eyes were seeing. She scratched her eyes and blinked a few more times to see if she was just hallucinating.


    The old man turned towards her and his eyes widened. He hurriedly walked forward and hugged her.


    "You''re alive! Thank the heavens that you''re alive!" said the old man as he embraced her tighter. "You don''t know how worried I am for you. When I arrived at the clinic, it was already empty and looted."


    She distanced her face and looked at her father. She wiped the tears that somehow sneaked out from the sides of her eyes. "What happened? Where were you?"


    She took her father to a nearby seat. A table dropped down from her dimensional storage, followed by a variety of snacks and drinks.


    Her father, Noel Arada, became awestruck at the scene. He smiled knowing that his daughter was living a good life despite the current disaster. He narrated how he survive the early days of the apocalypse.


    He met a group of people when he was making a left turn on the intersection. The group sessfully garrisoned a fast-food chain. They safely shut the whole ce down and prevented the weird people froming in. The intriguing thing that this group has was that all of them were ferocious and savage, not having second thoughts when killing those unique people. Thanks to that, he, together with a few other lucky ones, were able to survive the cruel fate.


    The safe-haven quickly became a sh*thole when a few of their saviors harassed the women. A few brave men tried to stop them but were one-sidedly beaten up. The leader of the group scoffed at them, berating them for acting justly. What could they get from acting like that? Were they expecting to be viewed as the women''s saviors? Wanting to receive some good guy points or just probably their hormones acting up.


    In the end, a few stupidly stubborn ones who insisted on morality were thrown out of the fast-food chain. Their fates were unknown and the only thing to remember about them was their frantic shouting that slowly faded as they got further away from the food chain.


    Though he was treated better than the others since he was a doctor, he couldn''t ept the things that continued to happen. The usual harassment evolved into something ''not good''. The people in-charge finally felt the power that they have over the situation.


    Since no rescue came after a few days, they exerted dominance and made further advances towards the women. Noone stopped them and that solidified their beliefs that they''re the most powerful people alive and these lowly cowards would be their servants.


    One day, Noel asked the women why they don''t fight back. They answered soullessly, "What could we do? They''re going to throw us out and what? Just to die like the others? After everything that happened, it''s better to just think that I have a stupid boyfriend that could keep me safe and fed."


    At that time, Noel finally realized why things have finallye to this. The people were scared of venturing out and were scared of fighting for themselves. Due to the valiant appearances of their saviors during the first few days, the people epted and settled themselves as the ones who were supposed to be protected. They agreed to themselves that this is how things were expected to be and they just let it happen.


    He couldn''t sleep that night thinking of how his daughter was faring. The women''s answer scared him and he finally made up his mind. He needs to leave this ce and look for his daughter!


    That same night, a hulking infected thrashed around a few cars as if looking for something. The whole group was alerted as they watched the event unfold. He took this chance to escape through the second floor''s balcony on the back of the building.


    He scurried to his clinic as fast as he could. Strangely enough, there were only a few infected on the road with all of them having trouble walking and running. The fast runners were probably far away looking for people to prey on or were already dealt with, which seemed to be impossible.


    As he traveled past numerous tangled cars, he passed by the grocery store, Super-9. He also noticed the make-shift barricade from the bank. He ignored the scenery and walked by. Finally arriving at the clinic that has a gate that was visibly damaged, he sighed in relief. The gate made creaking noises as he opened it. He searched the clinic, but couldn''t find his daughter. He noticed how almost everything was taken and he fell in despair, thinking about bandits and things that could have possibly happen.


    Days passed by as he traveled lifelessly, searching the nearby houses. He picked where to go by choosing less infested roads. That choice led him towards a newly constructed diversion road, which he then heard a loud explosion from the distance.


    When he reached the ce of the explosion, he only saw the remains of burnt bodies.


    He saw infecteds in the distance and decided to hole up inside the convenience store. Several minutester, a group of police officers arrived and found him. They brought him back to the city hall and the mayor immediately appointed him as his personal doctor. He was given food and a soft mattress to sleep with.


    Then something happened. The mayor was killed and he became jobless. Though his job was important, the police force never treated him as an asset. And since the police never got any severe injuries that needed any of his help, they cared even less about him.


    With how they treated him, he decided to leave, and he thanked the heavens that he did. All the tears that he shed on his sleepless nights finally helped him. He was finally united with his daughter.


    As the two continued chatting, the medicine stall became empty. Kareen ced a sign on the counter-top that says, BREAK TIME.


    ***


    The man''s thumb forcefully stamped the piece of paper. After that, Jun shoved him the contract and told him to move on and read it by himself.


    The man by his side felt a bit shocked at how he did things. Jun noticed it but didn''t bother exining anything. Adrian appeared with a teenage boy. He was barely of age and it raised Jun''s eyebrow.


    "You know that your group would kill people that night, right?"


    The boy shook his head as he stared at Jun, showing no fear in his eyes. The boy saw the sheets of paper on the side of the table. He also noticed the fresh blood on the top-most paper. He lowered his head as if he was thinking, then presented his arm towards the most savage-looking man in the room, which is Jun.


    "Please take care of my little sister. The mayor said he will allow the doctor to tend to my little sister if I fought for him. She got bitten and is having a high fever."


    Jun made a small cut on the boy''s thumb, which made the boy wince. He stamped the bloodied thumb on the contract, then red at the boy.


    "No," he shoved the papers towards the boy''s chest, then walked towards the canteen. Adrian and thewyer followed after him.


    Thewyer coughed to remind Jun of his presence. Jun took his card from his dimensional storage, then initiated a trade.


    "It''s double than the agreed amount?" the man said as he noticed that he received two thousand credit points.


    "It''s a tip, so you can notify us of any strange contracts that you might receive and for our future transactions."


    The man thanked him and smiled widely as he walked out of the building. He tried recruiting the man but was rejected. That man was a business-minded individual and wouldn''t allow himself to be under someone.


    "Wouldn''t letting him go bad for us?" Adrian said.


    "It''s fine. We signed a non-disclosure agreement." Jun replied sternly. He turned towards Adrian. "Is this all of them? I thought there were fifteen of them?"


    "One tried to run away when we were headed here. I killed the man and absorbed the body."


    "We''ll start by having them patrol the area. Arm them with some spears made by Old John, the wooden shaft was a bit durable thanmon sticks, while the spearhead was extremely sharp. It should be able to help them in fighting regr infected."


    "Okay." As Adrian was about to leave, Jun stopped him. Jun asked him to find that boy''s little sister. Adrian nodded in confirmation, a warm smile was stered on his face as he left the building.


    ***


    That night, Paterno felt puzzled as Adrian brought him a little girl. The little girl fell towards the floor after being put down by Adrian. Paterno quickly caught the girl, which resulted in some joint pains, which he forcibly ignored as he red at Adrian.


    "What is this?" Paterno grumpily asked.


    "She was bitten and was about to die. She has no family, alone in this world, just like you." Adrian stepped back and pulled the knife on his sides from its sheath. "You can say that I''m waiting."


    Adrian smiled as he finished spouting ridiculous words that sparked some of the old man''s memories.


    With his granddaughter''s memories rekindled, of how Adrian stabbed her in the head, burning fury rose from his chest. The force exerted came out of his mouth and towards Adrian.


    Adrian took a few steps backward in surprise. He remembered that skill! It was Jun''s Howling Rage! Just as he was about to inquire how Paterno learned it, he remembered that they weren''t in good terms and he just provoked the old man a few seconds ago.


    "Leave." Paterno grudgingly said as he covered the little girl''s ears.


    Adrian backed off.


    As he walked along the corridors, he saw She together with an unknown old man. When she saw him, she waved enthusiastically as if calling for him toe closer. He turned around and used the other path to go out.


    "Is he your friend? Did he just ignore you?" Noel asked jokingly.


    "He probably didn''t saw me." She refuted as she followed Adrian''s back.


    Her fatherughed at her silly excuse.

 Chapter 82: Stay Away

    Chapter 82: Stay Away


    On one of the houses of an exclusive subdivision.


    A young girl at the age of nine shouted as he watched her father board the ck luxurious car.


    "Take care~ Always. Be. Careful."


    The child waved nonstop, jumping excitedly from her spot. Her mother stood behind her, worriedly staring at the ck car. She bade farewell to her husband without a single word.


    "When will father finish work?" the child curiously asked.


    "Maybe a few months. You should study hard so you can show your grades when dades back, okay?"


    The child nodded her head vigorously. The motherbed her daughter''s hair using her hands. She then turned and followed the vehicle in the distance with her eyes.


    Just then, a maidservant brought her phone towards her. She took the phone and saw the caller. She looked at the little child in front of her, then kissed her on the forehead. She went to the side and answered the phone.


    "What is it? This better be important since you to disturb my day off."


    After a few seconds, herplexion darkened. The call finished and she hurriedly went back to her room. When she came out, there was a bag slung on her shoulder. She kissed her daughter then bade goodbye.


    The child watched as her mother hastily left her. The maidservant noticed the child''s face turning sad, so she hurriedlyforted her.


    On the cab near them, numerous medals were disyed. There were bronze, silver, and gold medals. The most noticeable medal was the lone medal on the top row. On the medal was a golden cross with a triangle at the center. Inside the triangle are three stars, projected around the cross is a Sampaguita wreath. The cross is suspended by a link from a gold bar bearing the inscription "KAGITINGAN".


    This medal is the PNP MEDAL OF VALOR. It is the highest award of the Philippine National Police. It is awarded to any member of the Philippine National Police who have performed in action a deed of personal bravery and self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty so conspicuous as to distinguish himself clearly above hisrades in the performance of more than ordinarily hazardous service. This award may be given only if the enemy force is so overwhelming aspared to the government troops.


    "Marianne, are you okay?"


    The maidservant panicked when the bubbly child suddenly became quiet.


    ***


    "Marianne, are you okay?"


    "Marianne..."


    "Hey!"


    Marianne jolted awake as her body suddenly shook. She focused herself and replied to She who was sitting in front of her.


    They were in the kitchen enjoying some fries. They bought various snacks from Dyna using their saved up points. She happily stared at the four-digit figure on her card hologram. She then tapped on the history link and smiled at her earnings.


    Since sales employees couldn''t go out and level up, they were missing a lot of things. But considering that if you ever choose to be a saledy, that should mean that you weren''t interested in fighting or adventuring outside. Without them asking for anything, a new system was added to their personal cards by Evo. An employee would receive twenty percent of their total sales for the day as an extra tip.


    Everyone became happy about this new change. Evo didn''t tell them that ''money'' was infinite since they seem to have forgotten about it. They might have forgotten about it or chose to ignore it. He then remembered an old saying, "Ignorance is bliss."


    Currently, there were three kinds of cards. The first one, which is the anonymous card, where the card doesn''t have a name but only has numbers for identification. The second one was the personal card that has the owner''s name on the hologram. Lastly, the third card is only used privately by the ck Haven staff. Any business transaction they made would be done by using this card.


    She dipped the fries in ketchup, then stared at Marianne.


    "So, what do you think? Is he ying hard to get or he just doesn''t like me?" She blushed, then looked around the area, making sure that no one heard what she just said. "I mean, a few days ago, I felt like we were onto something. Then suddenly, he acts cold and distanced himself as if I''m a gued. I tried talking to him, but he would just disappear!"


    She angrily took a few fries from the te, dipped it down on the saucer, then drove it to her mouth. "Is he crazy? He thinks I like him so he''s acting like that!"


    Marianne managed to get a grasp of the story after hearing her grumbling speech. She grinned as she took some fries from the te. "Maybe something happened? Anything thates to mind?"


    A bottle of gin appeared on She''s hand. She swiped on the air a few times as if she was crazy, then suddenly frowned. "Do you have any can opener? I don''t have any in my storage."


    "I don''t, but I can open that for you." Marianne smiled then took the bottle of gin. A small bone dagger appeared on her hands.


    She stared amazed at the dagger. It was extremely white with not even a speck of dust clinging on its body.


    Marianne showed-off the dagger. "Beautiful, right? I bought it from Old John. He said this was a failure, but this dagger looks perfect for me. Maybe it''s just the level of professionalism."


    Marianne shrugged, then used the dagger to open the cap. She pierced the center of the cap, and it easily went through. The cap easily split into two after she pulled the dagger out.


    "You shouldn''t drink that," Marianne warned her, not knowing if some metals fell inside the drink.


    She raised the bottle and shook it. "Looks clear to me."


    As she drunk almost a third of the bottle, she grimaced and ced it down. She blinked a few times, wobbled, then fell face-first on the table.


    The impact was hard and She woke up with a bleeding nose. A momentter, someone came running towards them.


    "Hello, I''m sorry about this. My daughter can''t hold her liquor well. I hope this doesn''t trouble you."


    "No, it''s okay." Marianne smiled sweetly, calming the old man.


    Noel picked up her daughter. He asked where her room is as they walked away.


    Marianne watched the scene lovingly.


    After they were gone, she was left alone on the table. She took the bottle and drunk the remaining liquor inside. She chugged down everything in one sitting, making her throat felt like it was burning. She then stood up and left towards Jun''s room. When she arrived at the room, it was empty. Just like what she''s currently feeling at the moment.


    ***


    At the police station...


    Jun was busily training his new soldiers when he suddenly felt a bad feeling. He ignored it, thinking that it was most probably his imagination.


    He continued the training until everyone was able to master the technique. He was teaching them how to use energy.


    At first, they were unwilling to follow Jun''s call of order. But after a few beatings, they couldn''t ignore the shrieking pains that their bodies were receiving. Though most of them tried rebelling, some smart ones followed at the first order. It was the boy and a few others with varying ages.


    They were taught the most basic energy control and one of Jun''smonly used skill, Sprint.


    Several minutester, the same boy from earlier managed to make a small dot of energy. The dot of energy was way bigger than what Jun could have made. The others followed after a few minutester, all of them were the younger ones. Some of the old folks haven''t even reached the stage of being able to feel the energy.


    Just then, the wireless earphone that he always kept on his pocket vibrated. He wore the item and immediately heardughtering from the other side.


    "You''re so beautiful when you look angry. You know, I really liked you. But you never paid attention to my feelings. You always followed the boss even though he always ignored your advances. Why not focus on me?"


    "Get away from me!"


    Jun widened his eyes in realization. He knew those voices!


    It was Marianne and one of his own gang members. That smooth voice, that manner of speaking!


    Richard!

 Chapter 83: Broadcast

    Chapter 83: Broadcast


    Inside a living room.


    A woman who wore a gray hoodie jacket with a ck lining on its arms pped the hand that tried touching her cheeks. Her skirt that didn''t even reach her knees swayed back and forth when she took a step back and looked around.


    Marianne was surrounded by people she knew. Most of them were the regr members of the old gang''s crew, while Richard seemed to be the only member who was with the higher-ups.


    This whole event was actually her fault.


    By some idiotic decision, since she couldn''t sleep, she chose to get some fresh air. Though the mall looked pleasing to the eyes, it would be tiring looking at the same thing after a few days. Remember that she has been always helping around the Special Items stall, and has only the break times to have some fun.


    She walked around and admired the glowing flowers on the plot ofnd, on the farm. A few minutester, Richard appeared in front of him and requested that shee with him for a talk. She knew that Richard doesn''t have that good of a reputation within the group. She wanted to refuse but felt some presence a few meters behind her. With no other option, she agreed.


    They brought her into a nearby abandoned house, two blocks away from the mall.


    As they walk, she couldn''t calm her beating heart that raced quickly. She prayed that they would just have some friendly conversation and catch up with each other''s stories.


    At first, their conversations were okay. Inquiring how things went for them, how''s life, etc. Things changed when Richard tried hinting a few times that she should switch sides and betray Jun. She knew that things weren''t going to have a good ending and she tried talking Richard out of this.


    But nothing worked.


    It looked like Richard was hell-bent on bing someone who he isn''t. Someone who rules. He exuded a dark aura that his eyes became filled with something evil like he was too drunk in power.


    With no other choice, she inserted her hands inside the hoodie''s pockets and took something from her dimensional storage. It was Evo''s newest invention, the wireless earphone.


    The wireless earphone works like a radio, it can send and receive sound waves. The only downside about this is that it only has a limited range of hundred meters. Anyone further than the hundred-meter range wouldn''t receive the transmission.


    Evo managed to make it run on energy which is an easy and infinite source. You can charge the gadget with energy by holding it in your palm, and transferring energy to it, just like how you apply energy on essence of powers or crystals to absorb it.


    Marianne pinched the earphone and transferred energy to it, activating the item. She doesn''t know if the item worked or not, but she could only pray for it.


    As she was contemting what to do next, she heard chuckling in front of her.


    Richard was ring at her as if he has gone mad.


    "I tried talking to you, but you won''t budge!" Richard pulled a knife that was sheathed from his back, then said, "Maybe if there''s a scar on your face you wouldn''t act like this, right? No, no... I should leave the face alone. You''re stomach or legs should be fine. Don''t worry, I''ll do it slowly."


    Richard approached her while ying with the knife, a broad lecherous grin stuck on his face.


    Marianne gulped, then smiled. "You''ll regret this. You know that, right?"


    "No rooms for regret." Richard smiled. "Unless he can find us, there''s no reason to be scared."


    Marianne stepped back a few times trying to avoid Richard who was advancing forward. Rough hands suddenly grabbed her arms and stopped her retreat. She turned and saw that it was those members who leaned towards doing morally good.


    "You shouldn''t do this, you will all die. You know his temper better than me. You guys fought with him."


    Marianne lowered her head and begged them to stop. A shed of tear slid down her smooth rosy cheeks.


    "We''re sorry, but the boss left us for ourselves.", the man said while the other nodded. "He''s living the good life while we have to fend for our own. He probably forgot about us."


    "You knew the code!" Marianne refuted. "You were supposed toe here!"


    "Doesn''t matter." Richard watching the scene intervened. "We''re free from him now. And you don''t have to worry, we''ll deal with him next."


    Marianne sighed and looked at him as if she was looking at a dead man.


    "Unless he finds you, right?" Marianne smiled, then took a deep breath.


    Richard became confused by what she said. He watched as something materialized above her head. A megaphone icon appeared and stay afloat on top of her head. Though he doesn''t know what the thing can do, knowing what the item can do made him sweat profusely. A freezing chill crawled up his back followed by the goosebumps that spread all over his body.


    "Stop her!" Richard shouted, not even knowing what to do and how to do it.


    The men holding her were even more confused as to why he would act like that. Everything was under their control. When they noticed the odd icon on top of her head, it was already toote.


    Marianne let out a deafening scream that made every person''s ear inside that room bleed. Her scream was so loud that some of the ss windows actually broke.


    Marianne felt her energy draining at a rapid pace and stopped using the skill. It was the only skill she gained after leveling up from absorbing the crystals, Broadcast. The skill had an obvious w since someone can see the megaphone icon when she uses the skill. Though that really didn''t discourage her since she never used the skill for fighting the infected.


    When the skill stopped, her mouth was immediately blocked by someone. She can hear the muffled cries around her. Someined about the ringing sound while others just clenched their heads.


    Richard stood up from his kneeling position and pped Marianne.

 Chapter 84: A Mad Dog

    Chapter 84: A Mad Dog


    Marianne''s head tilted to the side due to the forceful p. Blood appeared on the side of her lips. She looked hatefully at the man in front of her, while that man red at her resentfully.


    "My ears hurt, and that''s your fault. You have topensate me now."


    Richard grinned as he lecherously stared at her body.


    Just then, muffled cries sounded from the outside. Richard turned his head and heard a roar followed by the door sting open with a body flying directly towards him.


    ***


    Thanks to his ability to see names above the head, Jun found out where Marianne is. He knew how many people were inside the building, the number of people in every room, and where his target is.


    Though he doesn''t know how to track, he deduced that Marianne should be somewhere nearby due to her being able to use the wireless earphone. Knowing the area was a big help to him since the only ce where he could search was the houses by the roadside. He climbed the fence for a shortcut and ran like crazy when he suddenly heard a scream.


    As he got closer to the house, a lot of names started appearing on his vision. Names that he knew of, names of the people that he has been waiting forthe ones he had treated like family.


    He tried to deny everything that he heard at first but he couldn''t. It was their voice, and he knew it. The people that he treated as his second family has betrayed him.


    His head suddenly became filled with anger. His breathing became rough. He felt his vision darken. And the next thing he knew, he was already charging forward.


    Halfway through his run, he regained senses and immediately pulled out his carbon alloy shield. He mowed the person guarding the door and forced themselves in. He pulled out his revolver and swung it in the air, switching aims now and then, He saw the surprised faces of everyone in the room.


    The first thing he did after surveying the situation was to stop the time. He then shot the two men behind Marianne, which took a quarter of his energy from moving inside the slowed time.


    Jun resumed the time and aimed at the corner where more people were gathered, before pausing it again. Marianne passed out, probably due to shock.


    Jun noticed that a second activation of the skill actually drained more energy than usual. That didn''t stop him from pulling the trigger. Four consecutive gunfire loudly rang inside the room.


    In real-time.


    Someone charged through the door, pulled out a gun, then started shooting everybody.


    When Richard felt that the situation wasn''t in their favor, he used stealth to try and get away but was suddenly pummeled by a shield. His back hit the wall, and he could hear some of his bones breaking. He spewed some blood, then stared at the man in front of him.


    "Hey~ It''s my boss." Richard coughed out some more blood. "I''m delighted to see you; you know that?"


    Jun sternly red at him, then replied with a fist to the face. The gun he just held disappeared into a vortex that appeared a few inches below his arm. When he was going to punch one more time, the nearby room opened. A person came out armed with a pistol. The girl was pointing the gun in their direction.


    Upon seeing her red name, Jun released Richard and kneeled, covering his body with the shield.


    Pang! Pang! Pang!


    The bullets hit the shield and ricocheted to the side. He didn''t wait for the shooting to stop and instantly charged towards the girl. He pummeled the woman''s jaw with the shield, then punched her in the face. With the extraordinary power inside his body, the woman quickly fell down to the side. Miserable cries apanied by shrieking, weed Jun when he turned his face towards the room. A group of dirty-looking females huddled together.


    Jun turned towards the wall, but couldn''t find Richard. He then looked around and saw a floating name in the corner, just beside the TV. There was no one there, but he could see Richard''s name hovering tinted with crimson red.


    Jun smiled wickedly. He stored his shield, then tauntingly said, "Invisibility doesn''t work on me."


    There was a few second of silence. As time passed by with Jun staring at the supposedly empty corner, Richard''s figure appeared.


    "That''s bad for me, I guess."


    He had this casual look all over his face as if he wasn''t involved in this mess. He staggered as he walked forward towards Jun, holding his hands up in the air.


    When they were a few meters away from each other, Jun felt that something was wrong. He quickly rolled to the side and felt a searing pain on his side. Blood spread around his legs. A part of his pants got grazed, and he instantly knew that there was someone else he had to look out for.


    He heard someughter from the door side, and he quickly turned his head. He saw a face that he hasn''t seen for a long time. Someone he should have probably killed.


    "It looks like I''m the better one," Pablo said.


    He grinned as he looked down on Jun. "Don''t move. Don''t try anything weird. I once told you that I''m a good shot. Boss, what are we going to do with him?"


    Richardughed as he stared at Jun''s miserable appearance on the floor. "I wonder? What do you want, boss? Any request on how to die? Besides old age, of course."


    Junughed at his joke.


    When Jun continuedughing longer than usual, he felt confused. "What? Have you gone crazy? Hahaha! I can''t believe this! My fearless boss became insane from being scared of dying?"


    Jun wiped his face from his forehead to his chin. After that, he slowly stood up before ring at Richard.


    "I once hated these eyes, but now, I''m liking it."


    Jun suddenly grabbed Richard''s face, then mmed it against the wall. Richard''s consciousness instantly disappeared. His body slid down the wall, staining the wall with blood.


    Jun grabbed one of his legs, then mmed him on the wall. Richard''s nose broke, and blood instantly flowed out from his nostrils. Jun didn''t fell contented and pulled the body back. This was only possible due to his power stat that was greatly improved ever since the apocalypse started. He spun the body in the air, which hit a few corners, then mmed it on the ground face first.


    He breathed roughly as he watched the blood seep out of Richard''s dead body.


    When a pool of blood formed under the body, he turned his head to the door.


    Adrian looked at him with no fear in his eyes. On the floor was Pablo''s body with a slit on his throat. "You should have killed this guy that day."


    Jun smiled wryly and said, "I gave him a chance. I thought people changes."

 Chapter 85: A Day of Love

    Chapter 85: A Day of Love


    Jun absorbed every dead body in the room, which made him realize how easy it is to be strong if you were willing to kill for it. The stat he received made his current stat twice as before, making him able to tell the difference by just feeling the changes in his body. He tried giving Adrian some, but the teenager refused vehemently.


    The night ended rather quietly. The captive women who were brought to the National Police since they have better skills when dealing with traumatized individuals.


    Some of the women imed that they were forced to do things that they didn''t want, and they couldn''t do anything but ept everything that happened to them.


    Marianne was unconscious when she was brought back to her room. Luckily, She was her roommate, and she was able to look after her even though she was still a bit drunk. Since she can''t diagnose her, she could only cast her skills on Marianne.


    That night, Jun stayed by Marianne''s side. Marianne woke up past midnight when Jun was about to fall asleep. Jun, who was a bit startled, asked her how her dream was.


    The two smiled at each other and remained silent.


    One implied that what happened was just a dream while the other agreed to never talk about the matter again.


    She, who was sleeping at the side, woke up. She turned her body and felt awkward, seeing the two hugging each other.


    When she noticed that the angle was quite illogical to be hugging, her face reddened.


    The two were actually kissing!


    She blinked a lot of times just to confirm whether what she was seeing was true or not. When the two parted, she hurriedly closed her eyes. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she peeked a few times and caught the two passionately kissing each other.


    When Marianne released a few moans, She decided that it was time to get out of here. She jumped out of the mattress, then ran out of the room while apologizing, egging them to continue their hard work.


    Marianne''s face reddened while Jun continued attacking her.


    ***


    After walking a few meters away from the door, She identally hit someone. She instinctively closed her eyes when she felt that she was going to fall backward. The feeling of pain didn''te as she expected, and was reced a warm embrace. She opened her eyes and saw Adrian staring at her. When she finally realized what was going on, she felt the hand that caught her back slowly let her go, and her body was already standing on its own.


    "Is there a problem? Why are you flushed? Are you still drunk?" Adrian questioned.


    She looked at his eyes filled with worry. Why is he acting like this? Isn''t he ignoring me like I don''t exist?


    When She didn''t answer, Adrian shrugged and walked past her.


    Which resulted in his hand being suddenly pulled back by She.


    "Where are you going?" She said.


    Adrian frowned, but politely replied. "I have something to discuss with Jun. I heard he''s in there?"


    When She heard his answer, she immediately pulled him away. At that moment, she felt so strong since she was able to pull a grown adult all by herself. Unbeknownst to her, Adrian actually enjoyed herpany and let himself be led by her.


    The living quarters were all on the second floor of the mall. The first floor became a huge storage room since the scavenged things were all piled up in the supermarket.


    She finally stopped in front of one of the stalls. Before she could speak, a bottled fruit juice appeared in front of her.


    "I don''t have any hangover medicine, but I hope this helps."


    "T-thank you." She blushingly took the bottle.


    Adrian brought out the same bottled drink from his dimensional storage, then opened the cap to drink some.


    "Is there any problem? I really need to talk with Jun."


    "Is it urgent?" She asked.


    Adrian thought for a bit before answering. "Not really."


    "Good." As if possessed, She suddenly changed her temper and red at Adrian.


    "Let''s sit down. I have a few things to rify with you."


    She looked around but couldn''t find a good spot where there was enough lighting.


    To minimize gas usage for the generators, the mall runs its power efficiently. There were only a few dimmppost lit outside.


    Adrian noticed her predicament, and so he took the lead. "Follow me."


    She became confused but still followed him.


    They climbed up thedder that leads up to the roof of the bus. They saw Bernard and Dyna happily chatting with each other. It seems like it was their shift today.


    Adrian told them that he was here to relieve them, and they could rest now. She, on the other side actually tried to stop him, but Bernard and Dyna quickly agreed with Adrian with a broad smile on their faces.


    As the two left, they couldn''t help but chuckle at the young man and woman on top of the bus.


    Now that they were actually alone, She felt her face reddened even more. They sat on the folding chairs as they gazed at the empty streets.


    Before She could think of anything to say, Adrian said something she would never think he would say.


    "I think I like you, but I''m not really sure about it. Maybe its just infatuation. You know, since we always see each other."


    "Then, why are you avoiding me?! All this time! Its been a few days, and it''s annoying me!"


    Adrian felt shocked. He didn''t know that she could actually act fierce like this.


    "I-I got scared. I don''t know if you''ll judge me. For what I was and what I''ve done. I was scared."


    "Then why are you telling me this now?" She raised her brows inquisitively.


    "I realized that life is too short to be scared. So, that''s why..." Adrian turned his head and stared at She.


    "I''ll be brave."


    Then leaned forward to kiss her.


    Adrian thought that he would be pped and so he readied himself. But she didn''t.


    She actually responded and kissed back. When they parted, She had a wide grin on her face.


    "Just to let you know. I''m older than you, so I take charge of this rtionship, okay? No buts. No questions. You just follow my words and always answer my questions. Okay?"


    "Okay." Adrian nodded his head, then pulled a panda plushy from his dimensional storage. "Take this."


    "Thank you." She took the panda and yed with it. "I like it."


    The next day, Jun walked outside the gate early in the morning. He was fully armored with a new set of leather pants, a leather jacket, and leather shoes.


    He thought he was early, but he saw groups of people already on their way to scavenge scraps or fight the infected for experience and their loot.


    Just before he could leave, he heard Adrian''s voice sounded from above.


    "Arge horde wasing from the town za. The police scouts saw them from afar and had to cancel their operations in the surrounding area. They requested helpst night and is probably waiting for a response."


    Jun looked up and saw She sleeping on Adrian''s shoulder. A jacket was draped over her body.


    Jun nodded. "Let''s see how those bad boys do in actual battle."


    He walked towards the police station and entered the jail. He woke every prisoner by nging on the iron bars.

 Chapter 86: Rescue Operations Part 1

    Chapter 86: Rescue Operations Part 1


    Jun left after waking everyone up and waited in the reception hall.


    Soon after, streams of people came out of the room. When everyone got out, exactly thirteen people, they stood straight in two rows like towering poles. A row has ten people, making thest row only having three people. They were supposed to be fourteen, but one seemed to be missing.


    The prisoners thought that Jun would ask them about this, but contrary to their belief, Jun sat down and only stared at them. Several minutester, a figure came running from the outside. It was a skinny man around his twenties.


    The man stopped in front of Jun. The red glow in his eyes disappeared. He looked confused as he looked around the area. He was sure that he already left this ce this morning. When everyone was asleep, he used one of his skills that allowed his body to be extremely soft like a gel, so that he could pass through the iron bars. Though he was happy, he only celebrated when he was out of the building. He jumped around, then sprinted his way onto the distance. He was searching for food on the nearby stores and houses, but most of them were already looted. Just then, he felt someone calling for him, and the next thing he knew; he was standing in front of that evil person and his cellmates.


    "Wee back. Had your fun?" Jun smirked. A few secondster, the smirk was reced by a stern look. "Smash your head at the wall five times."


    The man felt confused as to why he was being told to smash his head. The next moment, his eyes glowed red, and he faced the wall, banging his head towards it. The first one caused pain for everyone watching the scene, while the second one caused a bulging lump to appear. On the third one, blood spewed out from the lump, and the man fell down, unconscious.


    The onlookers trembled at the sight. Fear and nervousness apparent on their faces. Some gulped, while others stopped breathing, afraid that they will be noticed.


    Amidst their current feelings of fear and terror, Jun nonchntly spoke. "I am a reasonable man. I told you that you were already dead, and your lives are mine. You may think this is unfair, but you can only deal with it. me yourselves."


    Everything was thanks to the contract. He asked thewyer for the skill description before he even worked with him. He kindly asked him.


    The skill was called Bloody Contract. It can bind someone unwillingly to a death sentence if used with that purpose in mind. Like other special skills, the energy consumption was high, depending on how detailed the contract is. There''s also a huge w that it could only be used when the people involved in the contract were facing each other.


    Truthful to its name, the contract must be signed with blood, but it only epts fresh blood.


    In short, the one who holds the contract can forcefully control the person whose blood was signed on the contract.


    The one thing that Jun thought about the skill was what kind ofwyer that man was to generate that kind of power?


    Jun cleared his mind and turned to the first person who arrived on the line. He saw that it was that same boy fromst nightthe cheeky one.


    "Report," Jun said.


    The boy''s eyes glowed red, then replied, "I trained for eight hours after you left. An hour using Sprint to run around the city hall, then seven hours of training on energy control. For unknown reasons, I fell unconscious, and I don''t know the reason why."


    The glow in his eyes dimmed, and the life on his eyes returned. Though the others already saw this for the second time, they were still amazed at the scene. After their amazement, they felt fear. Fear that they might be punished for anything wrong that they might sayter on when it''s their turn.


    Jun turned his head to the next person. "Report."


    "I trained for an hour ever since you left. I went to my family and stayed with them for a few hours, then returned when it was dawn."


    After the man spoke, he looked around dazedly. He noticed the worried gazes of the people beside him and gulped, knowing that he already spilled the beans.


    The man was waiting for his punishment when Jun moved on to the next one.


    Jun noticed his expression, and he was feeling good, so he exined. "If I ordered you guys to charge and kill infecteds and you don''t have the skills to supplement it, don''t me me, okay? It''s you who dies because of yourck of training. Though I prefer that you stay alive, so you can be strong, and by then, I could have you guys as reliable guards."


    Suddenly, the boy butted in. "I want to be your personal guard. I will train hard daily and will be loyal to you. In exchange, please protect and provide for my sister."


    Jun turned his head andughed. "I don''t know if you have the skills yet, brat."


    Usually, Jun would have punished the teenager, but for some reason, he couldn''t. He actually looks forward to this boy''s growth and sympathizes with his feelings.


    Since he was once an older brother too.


    ***


    It was already six in the morning, and the sun has already risen from the east.


    Jun walked towards the city hall with two rows of contingents behind him. The group all wore a grey hoodie and a ck mask, with the only visible difference of stature. One of the hooded man was being carried by two people towards a policeman.


    Someone approached Jun and was guided towards the mayor''s office. He left having no worries that his ves would betray him or spread rumors about him since he gave a direct order to them not to malign him. He even stopped them from talking with anyone. Though he saw that they brought the unconscious guy to the officers, he doesn''t know how they willmunicate with them.


    Arriving at the room, he noticed that the ce was refurbished. Instead of a desk for the mayor, there was a huge long table in the middle of the room. There were six chairs, two on each side, and one each on the remaining side.


    He saw the lieutenant stood up from his seat, then warmly greeted him.


    "Wee, wee. Let''s sit down first.", the lieutenant lowered his head subserviently.


    Jun sat down on the swivel chairfortably. Though he knew of some better chairs in the mall, he felt this was better than the wooden chairs remaining on the side.


    "Do you need my help? How are things going?" Jun asked, going directly to the point.


    Lieutenant Cedric felt disappointed. He realized that Jun wasn''t good at politics, but was only good at forcing his ways in. He discarded all of the words that he prepared in his mind.


    Lieutenant Cedric sighed. "Currently..."

 Chapter 87: Rescue Operations Part 2

    Chapter 87: Rescue Operations Part 2


    Lieutenant Cedric sighed, and said, "Currently, we have rescued less than thirty people in the neighboring area. They were hidden in apartments, condominiums, and other bizarre ces. Like that one guy, we found hidden inside a septic tank. We got used to the horrible stench of those zombies, but we weren''t prepared for that one."


    "Back to the topic, we have some volunteers who helped us in rescuing people. Unfortunately, even though we have numbers, we weren''t able to expand our search radius. You''ve been outside, you know how things look out there. There were hordes of regr infected, together with some evolved infected, and guess what? We encountered a zing infected! I don''t know what that is, maybe a mutated one, but there''s one thing that I''m sure of, I or any of my men, won''t be able to go near it. We wouldn''t be able to kill it without being burned down to cinders."


    Jun nonchntly looked at him and said, "So what''s your point?"


    Lieutenant Cedric stared at Jun. "We need weapons. Any kind of long-range weapon and you could supply as with melee weapons too. I saw your goods, and they are very useful. We need those if we want to fight the infected."


    "Then buy them. Don''t tell me you weren''t able to loot a lot of things while out there. That''s just impossible. Or you could apply for a loan. Or pawn something. Go and talk to Bernard, he''s the old dude that looks friendly. He handles all the financial matters of the market."


    "Will I get better deals?"


    "I don''t know." Jun shrugged. "Well, like I''ve said you can discuss things with him."


    Lieutenant Cedric was a bit skeptical about his reply but kept the matter on the back of his head. He wouldn''t let the opportunity pass by. If he could buy things at a discounted price and on bulk while on credit, it would be a huge boost for the police force''s strength.


    A map appeared on the lieutenant''s hand and he ced it on the table. It was the map of the town.


    A red circle was on the center of the map with a small green circle inside it.


    "We are here, and this area is already secured. We checked all the houses, stores, public facilities, and all the cars that we passed by. There might be a few zombies left behind that we missed, but that shouldn''t pose any problem for any survivors at this point."


    "This red circle is our target area. We n on clearing houses after houses, but since we weren''t equipped well we have to stop and request help from you. I know, I know. I''m being repetitive, but I''m just emphasizing how bad we needed weapons. We were able to fight those Rank 1 Destroyer''s as you call it, but not without any casualties. Though no one died, having broken bones doesn''t make things great."


    "Did you read the guidebook?" Jun said.


    "Of course I did! Who wouldn''t read this, when it could literally help you stay alive."


    Lieutenant Cedric brought out a piece of paper, then ced the paper on the table. "I really like this thing, and how did you guys even do this? It''s so... futuristic."


    Lieutenant Cedric tapped on the paper and a hologram appeared. A screen appeared with a lot of text, he scrolled down and watched as numerous text and pictures passed by.


    "That''s a secret," Jun said.


    Lieutenant Cedric grinned, knowing that he won''t get an answer regarding that matter, he went back to the topic.


    "As you can see, there''s a bridge here, and here. If we can control those ces, we can make sure, that no zombies coulde to this ce. We just need to clear the residential area, then post guards on the bridges. We could have housing and people could live with peace of mind, knowing that the whole region is safe."


    Jun looked at the map. Just like what the lieutenant imed, there were two bridges on the map. Each bridge was on the east and west side of the red circle. On the northern part of the map were vast ins, while the southern area was ake. Both the east and west sides of the map were littered with little houses that indicated the residential areas of the town.


    As Jun scanned the map, he noticed the map legends by the side. There were icons that refer to rivers, creeks, farmhouses, residential areas, and industrial areas.


    "As we were unable to advance to the west due to the insufficient weaponry and various kinds of zombies there, we decided to go east yesterday." Lieutenant Cedric stood up, then pointed on the eastern part of the map. "We searched up to here and saw the hordes of infected in the distance. Thankfully, they just roamed around the area and didn''t leave there. We have to be extra quiet that day. To not attract attention, we only fought infected that were alone or were few in numbers. That horde is growing and we need to deal with it before it notices us."


    "Did you see any evolved or mutated infected?"


    "I saw a few, butpared on the western side, their numbers were nothing."


    Jun put his hand on his chin and thought for a few seconds. He then stood up and said, "Okay."


    When Lieutenant Cedric looked at him puzzled, he borated what he meant and pointed at the map.


    "I''ll clear the western residential area and you''ll secure the northern and eastern side. I don''t need you to fight nor I expect you to, but I need you to clear the north and guard the east. After i dealt with most of the infected on the west, we''ll swap sides. You clear the remaining infected on the west while I''ll deal with the horde at the east. Alright?"


    Lieutenant Cedric raised an eyebrow after listening to his n. "Though I know that you''re strong, I think going alone would be suicide. I''ll have some of my men follow you and you canmand them as you see fit."


    "I appreciate it, but I''ll have to decline." Jun turned around and started walking. As he got out of the door, he muttered, "I''ll make my own army."


    They left the city hall with his contingents, then arrived in front of ck Haven. He told his prisoners to stand guard and wait for him. Their eyes glowed but quickly returned to normal. Uniformly dressed in grey hoodies and ck masks, the group gathered quite an attention. Simply because it was too bizarre to look at. Having something to gawk upon and gossips to share became one of the past times for civilians who were nobatant.


    Jun went straight into the back office where he found Old John, smithing inside one of the rooms. Well, not really smithing, but shaping and sharpening various bone products. He held into a lustrous sharpening knife made from Rank 2 Destroyer''s tibia bone. The tibia is arge bone located in the lower front portion of the leg. The tibia is also known as the shinbone and is the secondrgest bone in the body.


    "How are you doing old man? Still alive and well?" Jun said.


    Old John sharpened the bone he held, then replied without looking at him, "What do you want?"


    Jun noticed the loneliness in his voice but decided to ignore it. "I need more weapons. Have you finished some?"


    As Jun finished talking, Old John raised his hand to the side, a ck vortex appeared and piles of swords and daggers with differing sizesy down on the table.


    After bringing out every finished product, Old John resumed sharpening the bone. The Rank 2 sharpening knife easily carved out some of the bone''s outer parts. Old John raised the bone he was working with and scrutinized it.


    He sighed and said, "Another failure... I always cut too deep causing a defect. How do you control energy? I still can''t get used to it."


    The old man ced the newly finished on the table, together with his other works. The bone dagger he just finished easily scratched the surface of the wooden table.


    Jun ced everything on his dimensional storage, then turned to the old man. "Aren''t you bored here? You''re always alone and you won''t even go outside for dinner."


    "I''m fine, just have my food delivered here."


    "There''s a new building being constructed outside, you could set up your workshop there, so you can meet more people."


    "I''ll think about it."


    Jun was about to turn around when he noticed the dark bags under the old man''s eyes. He raised an eyebrow, thene closer to Old John.


    "When is thest time you slept?"


    Old John pondered. "Hmm, I don''t know. Maybe two days ago? Don''t bother stopping me. I''m old enough to know my own body. Besides, I have a lot of bones to keep me busy."


    "Okay, as long as you can do it, I''m fine with it. Just tell me if you need anything, alright?"


    Jun turned around, ready to leave when he was stopped by Old John.


    Old John said. "I have a favor to ask."

 Chapter 88: Rescue Operations Finale

    Chapter 88: Rescue Operations Finale


    Roars and wails of infected resounded in the middle of the road.


    A group of hooded individuals were fighting infecteds, led by a shield-bearing figure. They formed an arrow formation as they marched forward.


    The ones in front would sh and dice any infected thates forward using the extremely sharp short swords provided to them by Jun. The people at the back of the formation held daggers that have the equivalent sharpness of those short swords.


    These batch of weapons were made from Rank 1 evolved infected bones.


    The only reason that they could kill infected this quickly was due to their weapons. The swords sliced any infected that came close like they were slicing tofu. The good thing about using this material was that it was extremely light, while the negative side would be that it is incredibly brittle and has low durability.


    The dagger quickly butchered the body separating its limbs, then storing the body parts on the dimensional storage. They haven''t found anything useful for the flesh except for that they could use it as throwables to stall time when running away. Infecteds love to eat meat and would regenerate some damage after ingesting flesh. Though it''s a wonder why they are not eating and killing each other.


    The Porter stabbed the dagger around the heart of the infected, then pulled out the heart. The infected''s body immediately stopped moving and regenerating. The man cut the heart in the middle and pulled out the essence crystal inside.


    They identally found out about this when someone shed an infected in the chest area. The short sword easily sliced the sides but met some resistance on the chest. They killed the infected and investigated the issue.


    Jun tore open the sides with his raw power, causing blood and flesh to scatter on the road. His contingents, who were already bing used to killing the infected, felt disgusted at the scene.


    The body that split in half was now for everybody to look at. Among the innards that fell out, they saw the bleeding heart, cut-open in the middle, sheltering a cracked essence crystal inside. The short sword that hit the essence shard had its durability decreased a little.


    After killing thest infected, Jun called for a break. He stood guard while the others looted the bodies. They''re currently on the outskirts of the red zone.


    After this break, they would finally enter the kill zone, where they most probably meet numerous types of infected. This trip today wasn''t to clear the area of the infected, but to train his prisoners and to also survey the enemies actual firepower.


    When it''s time to clear the residential area, he ns to bring his elite team over to guarantee the sess of the operation. Though he would bring them, there''s still the fact that there is no certainty whether they could actually safely conquer the residential area.


    After their rest period, the group marched onward the red zone. As they walked, Jun taught his prisoners how to use Empowered Strike, a manual ability he created for himself that only a few trusted members of his group knew of.


    Empowered Strike uses stored up energy, then unleashes it at an impact point. It can be used when stabbing, shing, and throwing things.


    The group easily learned the skill after a few life and death struggles. They have to. They were forced to. Though filled with anger and hatred, they couldn''t help but gasp at the fact that they were steadilybing stronger, bing a true survivor.


    As they walk forwards cautiously along the main road, Jun already noticed that they were attracting attention, not from the infected but from the living survivors in the area.


    While they were fighting forward, survivor groups would pop-up the alleyways and happily help them. After the fight, some of the survivors wouldugh and cry, unable to control their emotions. They have suffered for a long time and were finally together with a group that seemed to be strong enough to survive.


    This became a usual event after every two blocks, and they have to rescue some unfortunate ones from the surrounding infected. Those who were bitten fell into despair as they bade farewell to their groups, but Jun brought them back to life.


    "You don''t die from bites; its the side effects that kill you."


    Afterward, every group they met was told to go to the city hall. The National Police were doing their best to rescue and shelter those who are in need. Jun couldn''t help but grin while thinking of what would be that lieutenant''s face would be when he saw the horde of survivors. Would he be happy having more people or anguished at having more mouths to feed?


    While he was blissfully thinking of his evil scheme, his prisoners had a revolutionary feeling inside them. They felt good after being thanked repeatedly by those who they were able to save. The survivor''s smiles and tears became etched in their minds, bing one of their treasures and motivations to keep on fighting the infected.


    The only reason they fight the infected was to survive and because it was an order. After this encounter, they found a new reason to fight. One that they could willingly fight for and ept.


    After passing a gas station, the group finally met their first evolved infecteda Rank 1 Hunter feasting on a survivor''s remain. They crouched as they trudge along the roadside.


    As the distance became shorter, the Hunter finally noticed the group and screamed at the top of its lungs.


    "Fvck. Why does this one scream so loud! Just moan like the others!" Jun irritatedly said, then ran towards it.


    The Hunter copied his action and dashed forward. In the middle of his run, he saw groups of infectede out from the convenience store by the side of the gas station.


    "You guys deal with those normies. Keep the area clear!" Jun shouted as he stepped to the sides dodging the Hunter''s lunge.


    A short sword appeared on Jun''s hand; it was a sword made from a Tier 2 material, a Rank 2 Destroyer''s bone. He then used it to effortlessly shed forward.


    And as expected, he missed.


    He wasn''t really trying to inflict damage to the infected, nor was he expecting to hit the Hunter. He was merely trying to attract its attention, so his prisoners could pass by safely.


    The Hunter raised its arms and swiped downwards. He blocked the strike causing metallic scraping noises as the surface of the alloy shield earned its first scars.


    Before the Hunter could retrieve its arms, Jun already made shed towards it. Though the power wascking and the sword met some resistance, the sword still cut through and dug halfway through the muscles. Blood flowed out from the wound, and the Hunter shrieked loudly like an abused dog as it backed off. Jun tried to finish it off but had to stop.


    In the distance, a skinny Rank 1 Hunter ferociously ran on its four limbs towards him, followed by two Rank 1 Destroyer''s stomping on the ground, causing mini-vibrations as they ran.


    ***


    "We''re doomed." a teenage boy thought to himself as he watched the huge abominationse closer to their group. The boy felt cheated as he waited for their impending doom.


    His driving force to train hard and be stronger was his little sister.


    Earlier this morning, he was so happy when he saw his sister ying around the mall. She was behaving as if she knew those people for a long time. She even looked at him, but since he was wearing a hoodie and a ck mask that hid his face, his sister ignored him.


    However, he doesn''t know that his sister was actually looking for him and pestering Paterno to look for him all day and all night.


    They managed to survive and be experienced after fighting the normal infected''s, but their luck seemed to have finally run out.


    As he stared at the distant infected, he felt a swooshing wind pass behind him, followed by a thud. When he turned around, he saw an infected drop down on the ground. An old man that he became acquainted with after training and sharing stories with looked at him worriedly.


    "Hey, Nik! Focus! It''s not time to daydream right now! We don''t die today!"


    The old man said, feeling vigorous and valiant as he turned and helped the others fighting the remaining infected.


    Nik woke up and came to himself. He dashed forward using Sprint, then maneuvered between infected''s as he slit their throats using a dagger. The wound doesn''t really kill them, but it helps in fighting the infected. The infected would stop for a second as if stunned, then would have trouble when biting someone since they couldn''t control their neck muscles.


    With the addition of Nik, the group easily dealt with the infected. Seven regr infected sprawled on the ground and were being looted now. As they were about to celebrate surviving another fight, a shrill scream resounded. A Rank 1 Hunter pounced on someone who was looting a dead body.


    The Hunter tried biting the prey under it but was tackled to the side by Nik. The two rolled a few times and fell on a decorative bush.


    The group panicked as they ran towards them, holding weapons at the ready. No one was brave enough to go forward to investigate when suddenly, the bush rustled. They gulped as they waited in bated breathe two meters away.


    A sharp w appeared and sliced downwards, just as it flew out from the bush. The group shouted in rm as they backed off. The w was followed by another arm, then finally, the whole body.


    When the Hunter''s entire body was eventually tossed out of the bush, Nik stood up straight with his arms bleeding, showing numerous gaping holes.


    He climbed out of the bush and said, "I''m fine."


    "We don''t die from bites; its the side effects that kill us, remember?" Nik said as he blinked a few times groggily. "The teeth are so sharp, I didn''t feel the pain initially, but I think... I''m feeling it now."


    Nik fell forwards with closed eyes.


    It wasn''t because of exhaustion or shock. He fell due to the adverse effects of being bitten, kicking in too fast.

 Chapter 89: Evil Lurks on Every Corner

    Chapter 89: Evil Lurks on Every Corner


    The group anxiously surrounded Nik, not knowing what to do with his bleeding arm.


    "Use this."


    They turned their heads to see Jun handing over a first aid kit.


    "If you don''t know how to bandage the wound, just wrap the wound and make sure that it stops bleeding. I don''t know how to use that, so don''t ask me."


    "Thank you."


    The old man who helped Nik took the first aid kit. Then, quickly kneeled down beside him.


    "Do it quickly. We can''t stay here any longer." Jun turned around and started butchering the Destroyer''s body.


    Since looting a dead infected mostly gave essence crystals, with low chances of getting a few random items, he thought that its best to just manually loot it. Of course, he used a Tier 2 Dagger to cut the body of the Rank 1 Destroyer.


    By the time he finished butchering the body, the wounded boy was fully bandaged. It seemed like the old man at least knew how to apply first aid.


    "Let''s go," Jun said.


    They walked back more carefully this time, always watching corners that they have not fought infected before.


    As they travelled back, Jun rescued a few more survivors, thanks to his ability to see names, who were left behind because they were too afraid to leave their houses. They marched on as their group became more massive, almost outnumbering thebatants to nonbatants ratio.


    As expected of a group with arge number of nobatants, they would scream and cry when groups of infected came charging at them.


    The uninjured hardened prisoners fought back wave after wave of small groups of infected. Though there were no casualties within the group, the mental and physical burden for the defenders started showing after more battles. Their breathing became rapid, and sweats were visible all over their body.


    All this time, Jun never helped them nor gave them a breather. He just spearheaded the march and killed every infected that came on his way.


    When they reached the outskirts of the green zone, they met curious scavengers who couldn''t help but gawk at the scene. It wasn''t an everyday scenario to see a new batch of survivorsing to the town. Every scavenger groups they passed by, whether alone or in a group, would happily greet them, cheering them up.


    It may be because they were given hope that more people could have survived and were just waiting for rescue. Perhaps their families, rtives or someone they know will find their way here or be rescued someday.


    That small spark of hope rekindled their will to survive and live for another day in this harsh new world.


    It was already past noon when they arrived in front of the ck Havenpound. They started hearing gossips of how a group of valiant hooded masked saviors rescued arge number of trapped survivors this morning. So when Jun''s group arrived, arge volume of civilians rushed towards them from all over the ce.


    Though Jun doesn''t remember these people, his prisoners were able to. They remember those faces filled with joy and tears after being rescued, those eyes filled with gratification as they thanked them profusely. When the rescued survivors came over and thanked them again, the warm feeling on their hearts was once again filled to the brim. They were sure that they would happily do this again and exert more effort to train, so they could be stronger.


    Afterwards, the people started calling them ''the Saviors''. When they were sent on a mission by Jun, people would happily cheer and greet them when they pass by. Because the people knew that when they head out, they would be helping other people or fighting for the people. Though the popce didn''t know that they were only sent out to kill hordes of infected and gather resources for Jun, which he called the Death Squad.


    ***


    After eating lunch with Marianne, chatting with Evo, hearing various strange news from Edward, Jun heads out of thepound once again. This time, he was alone. His ''guards'' were sent to train on their own or rx if they wanted to, whatever the choice they made it''s all up to them. Jun really doesn''t care how they use their time or what they do since his secret about the contract is totally safe. They were bound to the contract and unable to talk or do anything that willpromise it.


    He walked towards the east and watched the scenery along theke. He passed by residential houses and scavengers who warily stayed out of his way. He met some police officers who saluted him even though he doesn''t know them. He met people who greeted him, most probably people that he identally saved, and he replied with a smile. Well, at least he knows basic manners, just like what the old saying said, "treat others like how they treat you."


    After several minutes, he stopped in front of an old motel. It was Old John''s motel where they first met him and where they took shelter from a horde of infected. He didn''t go inside and instead head towards the garage found on the back of the motel. He opened the dpidated wooden gate, which creaked as it opened, then raised the shutters. It was Old John''s personal garage filled with all kinds of antique junks that he doesn''t even know what they are called.


    The request he got was to retrieve all of Old John''s smithing equipment which he stored here. Well, Jun doesn''t really know what they looked like besides the anvil and tongs which he saw on TV shows and inte, so he took them all and stashed them in his dimensional storage.


    As he finished loading everything into his dimensional storage, he suddenly felt his body be exhausted and burdened. He stepped backward and felt massive weight slowing him down. He opened his character screen and saw the ''Encumbered'' status.


    "What is this!? There''s things like this!", he thought as he widened his eyes. He opened his inventory and saw that there''s still lots of space for things to put on. He also noticed thatrge equipment took more spaces than usual; for example, the anvil, which took six squares of his inventory.


    Considering his total power, he was as strong as three adult men, but having a variety of items and equipment on his dimensional storage made him realized that he might have overloaded his storage, reaching past his total carry weight.


    He decided to throw out some metal bars, wood nks and logs that he stored for when he might actually need it. The items kept falling out from the vortex beside him and dropped down to the floor.


    Before he could even finish unloading all the unnecessary weight, he heard rustling sounds from the sides. He turned around and saw a sleeping bag with someone squirming inside it. It looked like the person inside just woke up as they made several stretching gestures.


    Jun ignored the person and finished unloading all the excess weight until he felt his body lighten. At the same time, he noticed that the person inside the sleeping bag still hasn''t gone out.


    "Hello there. Sorry for disturbing your sleep, but you see, I couldn''t really help it since I need to unload some shit. By the way, this is my friend''s garage, so I can let you stay here for a discounted price or you could choose to rent some rooms upstairs. What do you think?" Jun said hoping to start a conversation. He doesn''t really care about rent, he just wanted to make some small talks.


    But the other person didn''t reply.


    He furrowed his brows as he armed himself with a short sword.


    "Man, I really hate to do this today. Can you talk? I really hope that you talk, I just ate my lunch, so I want to take things leisurely for some time. Well, I''m not easily disgusted, I just... haaa."


    Jun walked forward and opened the bag using the sword;s tip. The zipper broke due to the tips sharpness and Jun decided to cut open a part of the sleeping bag.


    After making a small cut, the arms inside revealed itself. It was dried and skinny while showing ck veins that coiled around its arms. The corners of the nails were purplish-ck and has wrinkles on it.


    He cut open the part where the head is supposed to be and saw the dried up face of a man. He couldn''t tell its age due to how dry his skin was, but taking a guess by looking at the body size and figure, the man should be around his early twenties.


    At first nce, he already felt that something was wrong with this infected, but he couldn''t pinpoint what it is. Afterwards, he noticed its eyes that were staring back at him. Unlike the usual infected that he meets, the colors of the man''s eyes were ck!


    "Did he die while sleeping?" Jun thought.


    Never the less, an infected is still an infected and infecteds gives out EXP''s. He stabbed the man in the head and he leveled up. Jun decided to start investing in his Endurance, which visibly increased Health stat. If he has to exin how he thought things worked, 1 Endurance equates to 20 Health and every level up grants 10 Health. That''s the only usible exnation he could think of.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 4]


    [Health - 560][Energy - 110]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 28][Endurance - 26][Speed - 15][Wits - 14][Cunning - 14][Charm - 16]


    [Stat Points - 0]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    -[Iron Guts]


    -[Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lv.3]


    -[Rob - Lv.2]


    -[Execute - Lv.3]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.2]


    - [Blueprint Creation - Lv.1]


    -[Howling Rage Lv.2]


    -[Sprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Time Perse - Max]


    [Description] Activate to stop time temporarily. Drains 1 energy per second. Large movements drains 5 energy per second. Cooldown: None. [Tip] Recasting within a short period of time increases energy drain.


    As he slid the de out of the man''s forehead, he heard footsteps outside, followed by an anguished wail of a woman. He turned his head to see a woman ran towards him and hugged the body. her clothes were dirty, filled with blood and other things that she might have rolled into. The grey question marks above her head told Jun she meant no harm to him.


    Jun was going to loot the body, but decided not to after watching how sorrowful the woman was. It was probably someone rted to her for her to act like this.


    He slowly backed off as he felt guilty about what he did. Not because he killed an infected, but because he made someone felt pain by losing someone they loved. Normally, he wouldn''t care about this, but today, he felt emotional. He ced stacks of food and bottles of water on the table. He didn''t apologize nor ask for forgiveness as he left the garage.


    After he was gone, the woman stopped crying. She pulled the body out of the sleeping bag and dragged it outside carelessly as if she was pulling something worthless. The body dropped on solid ground, then the woman sat beside the body.


    "It''s fine, Sam. Though you died for real, I''ll find some other use for you. Maybe I can sell you for some points. Don''t worry baby, I''ll make sure that I''ll be able to maximize my profit off you."


    The woman giggled as she naughtily touched the dead man''s chest. The ck eyes slowly turned yellow as ity down under the sun. Several minutester, the wound on the forehead finally regenerated and the man started to moan as a sign of reanimation. The woman stabbed him in the head and chopped him up into pieces, storing him in her dimensional storage to be soldter as goods.


    That same night...


    A pretty girl seductively posed on the streets of ck Haven. Some ignored her while others gawked at her. She waited and waited as she observed everyone passing by. When a slightly chubby man passed by, she said, "Hey pretty boy~ Wanna have some fun?"

 Chapter 90: A Mysterious Thief

    Chapter 90: A Mysterious Thief


    A Mysterious Thief


    "This can''t go on anymore! We have to find that lecher and exterminate him from the face of this world!"


    "Why are you talking like that?"


    "S-sorry. After I started living with Edward, I adopted his way of speaking."


    "Edward talks like that?"


    "Well, not really... just sometimes. He talks in a weird way like some protagonist on a fantasy story. He said that it makes his energy purer and much more powerful. I don''t really understand, but in his own words, it makes his skills stronger."


    Jamie exhaled after her long exnation.


    There were six people surrounding the table. Excluding herself, there was Alex, Ester, Kareen, She, and Marianne.


    They all wore uniformed clothing custom-made for ck Haven staff. A ck business suit that has intuitive designs. A simple redlining were by the hem of the clothes. The attire stuck tightly on the wearer''s body, showing an appropriate amount of curves, but not too revealing to cause lecherous stares.


    Gina and Dyna happened to pass by.


    "Wow, this is rare. What are you guys talking about?" Gina asked curiously.


    Ester replied. "Jamie found her undies littered outside her room. There were wet stains all over it."


    "This is the second time it happened. And we''re worried since the next time is probably just around the corner." Kareen said.


    "I don''t think it''s any of the guys. They seem to be gettingid enough, to not do things like that." Alex made some guesses, then looked around.


    The first one she turned her head towas Marianne, then She, to Jamie. Her expectations were absolutely contrary to the truth.


    Gina and Dyna coughed after drinking some juice, while Marianne, She, and Jamie only shyly lowered their heads.


    "What? Am I wrong? The good breeds already have their own farms to plow."


    "Let''s go back on the topic, please." Jamie managed to raise her head which had a rosy gloss on her cheeks.


    "I agree with Alex. I also think its an outsider. But how do we find him? We can''t guard the room all the time, right?" Marianne said.


    "Then, how about if we ask around? Maybe someone saw something suspicious." Dyna suggested.


    "We should start in Jamie''s room. Maybe we can find some clues." Gina said.


    The group went to Jamie''s room, which happened to be Edward''s room too. The room was a refurbished restaurant and has curtains to block visibility from the outside. The ss door opens inwards. As they entered the room, they saw thebination of cute and fluffy things with chromatic colors. There was a huge bed at the center. On the left side were several closets and a side table that holds a lot of makeups. On the other side of the room were various game consoles with numerous game boxes at the side. There were also posters of anime characters pasted on the walls.


    The contingent browsed the room and Jamie felt embarrassed. She picked up a few littered underwear and shirts around the bed.


    "It''s not usually like this. I always clean the room and make sure it''s tidy. I was just in a hurry earlier that I forgot to clean things up."


    The girls nodded apprehensively.


    "Do you usually leave things around? Maybe that''s why you''re a target. And why do you have a closet? Don''t you store things on your dimensional storage?" Gina said.


    "I kept most of my things stashed there. Everything here is needed. Like this cream, its a facial cream that moistens my skin and makes it healthier. This lotion makes my skin smoother and much more fragrant. This one..."


    Jamie exined most of the products on top of the table, while the rest didn''t even look interested. After investigating for a few more minutes, they came out empty-handed. They chatted as they walk around the mall regarding the incident.


    They met Bernard on the corridor, who just came from the outside. He greeted them warmly, then turned to Dyna.


    "How''s your break going?"


    "I haven''t eaten yet. Are you on your break? Who''s on the register?" Gina said.


    "We closed the market, new policy. We are only open for three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. But we''ll have a 24-hours Exchange Center booth outside. The guard on duty holds the card. I think its risky, but hey, let the higher-ups decide what they want. At least, I have more free time to be with you." said Bernard with a wide grin.


    The two might be enjoying their moment, but the onlookers weren''t. They already left Gina behind after things started bing mushy. They were reminded that they haven''t eaten lunch and only ate some snacks, and so they were headed for the kitchen.


    When they arrived at the kitchen, they saw Mike looking for something as he wanders around the kitchen.


    "What happened? Do you need help?" Alex said.


    Mike raised his head after looking under the sofa. He let go of the hand holding the sofa and it came crashing down causing a heavy muffled sound.


    "Have you seen Takaw? He stoppeding here after I scolded him for eating all the hotdogs yesterday. Oh! Please don''t tell the boss about this. He''ll be furious if he learns about this."


    Alex tilts her head and frowns, thinking whether this guy was an idiot or just a natural airhead.


    "So you''re saying if I tell Jun about how ''you'' scolded his dog, he would be displeased with you?"


    "No, not displeased. Furious! He would be furious, harping madly at me."


    "That''s a joke, right? The guy seemed cool and collected. He probably wouldn''t do that."


    Mike gulped and didn''t answer.


    "So cook something delish, so we won''t say anything." Alex grinned slyly.


    Mike who wasn''t able to process the underlying meaning, thought that she was just requesting a proper meal, nodded his head. "Uhh, sure. Take a seat and I''ll prepare food for everyone."


    Mike lifted a cushion on the sofa, looking for Takaw. Afterward, he went to the kitchen to prepare some food for his guests. He wore a cute pink apron with heart shape designs on its hem. He wore hais, then washed his hands. Various ingredients popped out of the vortex onto the table.


    Mike heated the oil in arge wok at medium heat, then added some garlic, onions, and tomatoes. He stirred until the fragrant smell wafted all over the kitchen. The people waiting at the table gulped at the sudden change of aroma. They felt more hungry as they smelled more and richer fragrances.


    He ced the sliced chicken in the wok and stirred until the color turned brown. He poured some water and covered the wok with a lid. When the water boiled, he added tomato sauce and let it simmer. After a few minutes, he put some potatoes, bell pepper, and carrots into the mix. Momentster, he seasoned the dish with salt and pepper.


    He closed the lid and waited for the dish to be cooked. All this time, the hungry wolves gazed at the dish that''s being cooked in front of them.


    Alex said. "You''re actually good?"


    Mike raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"


    Alex replied. "Well, you know... I thought you just cook things up however you like, but after watching you mince and cut the chicken, I saw that you have some training."


    Mike''s eyebrows rose higher. "I am a real chef."


    This time, almost everyone became shocked at this news.


    "I own a restaurant near the za, almost everyone there knows my name. Though I''m not famous, the locals really like my food." Mike exined feeling disheartened.


    "Are you the owner of the Big D?" Jamie asked and Mike nodded, which made her squeal in glee. She tugged on Kareen''s sleeve, and said, "It''s the restaurant I was inviting you guys to go to! It always has a long queue of customers due to having delicious meals."


    "Oh! I remember!" Ester said. "The one with the long queue with super expensive dishes? We tried going one time, but it took most of our break time without even being able to reach the counter. Well, that sucked so we never returned."


    As they were chatting, Alex turned her head towards this sessful man standing in front of the stove. She watched as he attentively gazed at the wok that''s wafting appetizing fragrances. Maybe she should stop judging people based on their looks.


    "It''s done," Mike said.


    Alex quickly stood up from her seat and went over to the table. "Let me help you."


    ***


    After eating a filling lunch, they headed back to their work stations. They decided to investigateter in the afternoon.


    Paterno was ying tag with Samantha, the little girl he adopted, on the marketce. He treated the child as his own and gave everything that she needed. He spoiled her as much as he would spoil his own.


    When he got tired, he told her to y on her for a while, as he takes some breather. Samantha started ying with a doll he brought out from his dimensional storage while he happily sat down on a stall, watching over her like a loving grandparent.


    Paterno saw their group and noticed their worried expressions. He turned to Gina with an inquiring gaze as if asking what''s the problem?


    Gina whispered to his ears. "There might be an underwear thief lurking around here. Jamie found her undies littered outside her room yesterday, and it''s been the second time that this happened."


    Paterno''s face became furious but regained calm right after. "Do you think its someone we know?"


    "I don''t think so... I mean, everyone seemed alright to me, right?"


    Paterno nodded unconvinced. "Have you checked the CCTV''s?"


    Gina widened her eyes at his suggestion. She replied as she slowly stuck her tongue out, "We haven''t."


    "You should ask for Robin''s help, he should know something. Well now that I think about it, wouldn''t it be weird if he knew this and didn''t tell the group?"


    This time it was Gina''s turn to frown and be puzzled.


    "Let mee with you, I''m curious about this too. Security issues should be taken seriously these days." Paterno said as he looked at Samantha.


    Gina turned around and joined the circle of women.


    As they were about to enter the front door, they met Tatang Robin by the doorway. When confronted about the issue, Tatang Robin chuckled, then smiled wryly.


    He said, "It was an idiotic scene which made meugh that day, so I probably wouldn''t even forget about it for a long time."


    Inside the security room...


    The group watched as a bullmastiff came out of Jamie''s room entangled with various colors of underwear. The dog rolled around and shook its body as quickly as it can, just to be able to free itself.


    After the scene yed out, Tatang Robinughed heartily, then wiped the sides of his eyes.


    "I''m sorry forughing at this. This old man has no entertainment in this room, and no, I don''t like going outside. I''m happy where I''m sitting, drinking all the booze I can fill my stomach with."


    Jamie felt dumbfounded at the video she just watched. Takaw was actually the culprit? Should she lock the room every time they go out or should she clean the room every time they wake up? Wait... Isn''t it more normal to clean up the room and all the problems would be solved?


    She could only smile wryly when she realized her own fault.


    "Where is Takaw now? Mike was looking for him earlier." Jamie said.


    Tatang Robin held the mouse and switch to different channels until they found Takaw, loitering around the supermarket, sniffing at every corner.


    "What are you doing?" Tatang Robin muttered to himself.


    "Is he looking for food?"


    "Maybe, I heard he likes hotdogs."


    They were about to lose interest and leave when Takaw suddenly started acting weird. He growled over empty air as he prowled forward. The canines of his mouth revealed itself. The growls turned to barks and he suddenly pounced forward.


    A silhouette appeared when Takaw hit something, revealing a middle-aged man.


    The man had balding hair and a slightly chubby physique. He started screaming as he tried to stop Takaw from biting him. Bras appeared on his hand and he used it to cover Takaw''s mouth. After doing it a few times, the man was able to escape.


    But not for long.


    Jun appeared on the only entrance of the mall. He randomly walked all over the ce. Taking sudden turns and gazing at an empty location. When he reached a corner, he stood gazing at the wall while saying something. A few momentster, a figure appeared kneeling on the floor as if begging for mercy.

 Chapter 91: Mercenaries for Hire

    Chapter 91: Mercenaries for Hire


    Inside the mall...


    "If he tries to do anything, kill him," Jun ordered the masked men that held the thief. Their eyes glowed and returned with rity, meaning that they received the order.


    "Wait for me over there. I''ll deal with himter. I just have some business to deal with."


    The two masked men nodded their heads. The man tried pleading to be let go, pledging that he would live an honest life, but he failed when a group of angry women stormed out from the second floor. A youngdy smacked him in the face, followed by seven more ps that made the man''s face swell.


    After learning about the reason why the man was held captive, the masked men held the man''s arms tighter and treated him roughly every time he spoke.


    Jun went to the back office to submit Old John''s request, his crafting tools, anvils, and a fewrge equipment. He also requested if he could make any range type of weaponry.


    The old man replied with sarcasm. "Here I thought you were concerned for me. It looks like you''re concerned over my health these days, huh."


    Jun smiled the whole time Old John vexed his feelings out. Afterward, the old man finally answered the question. "I can make bows, nothing special, just simple ones with wood and strings. If you want crossbows, then give me a blueprint, and I can probably craft it."


    Old John muttered in a low voice, then shook his head, "Concern over me, pfft! What a farce. You just increased my workload."


    Jun wryly smiled as he sarcastically replied. "I thought you like working here."


    "Well, yeah. What? This old man can''t voice out his feelings anymore?"


    "You''re social skills suck. I mean, you weren''t good back then, but it really worsened now." Jun shook his head as he left. "You should try and get some apprentice. Having someone to talk with seemed better than spending your day here quietly."


    After Jun left the room, Old John pondered over the idea of having an apprentice. Ever since cksmithing started in the ancient times, apprentices were always present. There are many reasons why it has been sought after; the mostmon was to acquire knowledge and continue the craft for earning a livelihood.


    That afternoon, a conspicuous advertisement looking for crafting an apprentice was posted on the bus.


    The advertisement gathered a lot of attention, and the news spread like wildfire among the survivors. ck Haven''s chief craftsman is recruiting apprentices!


    That''s right, apprentices!


    Not just one, but a total of five apprentices.


    The interesting part is that the only requirement is that the person must have strong perseverance. They don''t need any previous background or knowledge regarding crafting. Everything will be taught to them from scratch.


    This became the talk of the town since there was nothing else noteworthy to talk about at the moment.


    When Jun came back to the mall''s entrance, he saw Edward smashing someone on the floor. Jamie tried calming the situation, but was blocked by barriers and couldn''t approach him. She just shouted for him to stop, but he didn''t listen.


    "You could have waited," Jun said as he approached the group. "There''s too many eyes and ears around here."


    Edward raised his head after staring down at the man on the floor. He saw Jun ring at him, and he flinched. After taking some air, the hotheadedness inside him slowly disappeared. He took a few steps back causing his shoulders to rx.


    "You''re going to deal with him, right? Let mee with you. I''m ready." Edward said, rage still noticeable in his eyes.


    "You''re not. Stay here and tend to her." Jun replied.


    Edward followed where Jun was indicating and saw Jamie, shedding some tears. When he met her eyes, he felt guilt and wanted to criticize himself more harshly.


    Jamie shook her head and ran up to the second floor, going back into her room.


    "Take care of her. And remember, no one is ever ready. It just happens."


    Jun walked by and signaled for the masked men to carry the bruised man on the floor. As they were about to pick the man up, the man crawled towards Jun.


    "Please! I''m sorry, I won''t do it again. Please let me go, just once!" the man begged knowing that his life might be really on the line.


    The two masked men shook their heads, thinking to themselves, "You don''t plead from a devil."


    ***


    In the za square...


    "Have you seen the notice? Old John is looking for apprentices! What do you think? Should I apply? I can finally use these babies to earn some quick money, hoo-ha!" said a mustached man as he flexed his skinny arms.


    "Stop that! You''re embarrassing me! People will think that our group is weird if you keep on doing that! Hi, hello, we are the Caged Animals. Please look for us if you have any problems that you want to be dealt with. Any kind of problem, we are efficient, we charge cheaply, and we do our work professionally wait! Pleasee back! Darn it. So I was saying, you should stop flexing your arms like that. Aish, I give up on you! Do what you want." the huge fat man sighed, then turned to his side.


    "Bear, how''s client search doing?"


    The bearded man replied as he red at everyone passing by. "Not going well. No one seems to be interested in availing our services."


    His eyebrows were almost touching each other, making him a unibrow. He also held a card that says, 1000 CP for one mission, with small additional words written on the side, "Payment First."


    They never thought that the price was high since they would be using valuable time and putting their life on the line for doing the missions. They also knew that not many people would be willing to spend that high of a price for a single request. They don''t even know what kind of requests they would receive.


    They were new to the service industry since they spontaneously decided to work as mercenaries. They got tired of scavenging abandoned houses and leaving their fates to luck, hoping that they hit the jackpot on one random house. They wanted to challenge themselves and explore something new.


    The idea started when they overheard a woman requesting help from the police to look for her missing boyfriend. Though the police epted and repeatedly assured her that they would do their best and search for him, the woman still left dejected. This ignited some of the fat man''s brain cells, and with the goal of fulfilling personal requests, they started their mercenary lives.


    "H-hello." A voice came from behind them.


    The three turned their heads at the same time. A fragile elegant woman stared at them while having her arms close to her body as if protecting herself from invisible threats.


    "Hi, are you new here? Are you lost? Is there anything we could help you with?" said Monkey.


    "Yes, please. I saw that you guys are mercenaries, is that correct?"


    The Bear red softly while the Monkey grinned widely, before he could even open his mouth, Chanchan already shut him up and pushed him to the side. His huge fatty scared the woman a little, but she managed not to run away.


    "We are the Caged Animals happy to be of service. We can help you with anything at a low price of 1000 CP  Payment First. Let''s hear about your problem. shall we?" Chanchan said politely as he rubbed his hand together.


    The woman seemed reluctant at first but finally said her request after Chanchan egged her to talk by nodding his head as if saying go on.


    "I want you to help me level up."


    A few moments after she said her request, Monkey hurriedly pulled Chanchan''s arm.


    "What is it?" Chanchan irritably said. They finally have their first potential customer, and this monkey is acting weirdly. He hoped that the woman wouldn''t view them badly over this.


    "She said to help her level up! And that''s 1000 CP. We could buy essence crystals, then make her level up. WIth this, we can keep the rest of the money! This is good!" said Monkey.


    Chanchan''s eyes widened in realization, this would be an easy mission, and they would earn a hefty amount while practically doing nothing!


    He turned around to ept the request, just to have the woman shatter their easy-money n.


    She said, "I don''t want to level up by absorbing shards. I heard it has a huge disadvantage regarding generating skills and I don''t want to risk starting with weak skills."


    Chanchan turns around once more, to ask Monkey what to do. The Bear on the side finally spoke, "We could just do it, you know? We know how to fight regr zombies, and with our weapons, we should be able to do it safely. We should just veer off the danger zone, and we should be fine. What do you think?"


    "Okay, let''s do it!"


    "Okay!"


    Chanchan turned around and held out his ck Haven credit points card. The woman did the same and pulled out a ck card from her pockets.


    ["0042" sent you 500 CP.]


    Chanchan frowned. "This is not the agreed amount."


    "And you haven''t done your part. I''ll pay the other half right after I level up." the woman smiled charmingly, causing Chanchan to feel lightheaded.


    He nodded his head and said, "Fair enough."

 Chapter 92: Security Issues

    Chapter 92: Security Issues


    It''s already dark, and the za square became a trading hub for survivors to trade goods and learn the current events. Most of the prices were higher than ck Haven''s stuff, but people still chose to buy here. It must be the human''s social instinct kicking in, following the trend, and showing everyone that you have money to spend.


    A few tables wereid out in the open and has a lot of customers drinking merrily, and gloomily. Three adult men sat around together with an elegant woman. She had a long ponytail, smooth skin, and round face that would be seen as standard in the past but beautiful now. She smiled warmly at the three as she mixed different brands of liquor on a transparent drinking ss.


    "Thanks for helping me level up. It really helped doing business easier." the woman said as she stored the bottles of liquor on her dimensional storage. She presented the concocted drinks to the three.


    "You''re a bartender?" Monkey said as he drunk the liquor, which made him shook his head. "Wow, that was... that hit the spot."


    Chanchan and Bear looked at him in disdain. Chanchan said, "Look at this drunkard. After a few days of being liquor-free, you''re acting like a newbie."


    He took his ss, followed by the Bear. They drunk the liquor in one shot, and just like Monkey, they shook their heads as they felt the drink warm their body.


    "See? Braggarts." Monkey sarcastically said.


    He turned his head to see the woman chuckling at them. "Veronica, shouldn''t you at least give us more than this? I think we deserve better rewards after helping you level up, raiding your father''s shop, which I think is quite deep in the danger zone, and we almost got killed by a Destroyer. Thankfully there were other scavengers nearby, and they helped to kill the Destroyer!"


    Veronica wryly smiled and said, "Come on, you scavenged along the way, you leveled up and got some good loot from the body, right? A Rank 1 infected''s bone sells around 50CP, and you guys got half of the body. Stop acting like I took advantage of you."


    "Haaa. Another one, please," Chanchan pushed his drinking ss towards Veronica.


    "That''s 5CP for that same drink earlier." Veronica grinned, then chuckled. "Well, to celebrate leveling up and having my own business, all drinks for the three of you for tonight. I really thank you from the bottom of my heart."


    Bottles appeared, and she concocted another drink.


    Bear couldn''t help but mutter, "Maybe, we should just be businessmen."


    Chanchan countered, "We''re not smart enough to do that. We''ll probably get bankrupt after a week since we''ll spend all the money we earn drinking. It''s better if we just enjoy our lives."


    As they drunk their second ss, a pitiful cry of help came from behind. At the center of the bustling crowd on the za, a woman looked left and right, shouting for theft. No one cared about her issue except for the police who ran towards the scene.


    Monkey said. "Look at that, another victim. She probably has low stats that there wasn''t even a notification when she was being robbed."


    Chanchan added, "And probably distracted with something."


    Bear was going to contribute talking bad about how the woman doesn''t pay attention to her things, but he noticed Veronica''s sour mood. "Do you know her?"


    Veronica shook her head. "It''s just... I don''t get why people do this with each other. There''s only a few of us who should help each other, but here we are, taking advantage of the weak."


    "That''s the easy way to live, you know? Preying on the weak, just like the olden times way back then." Chanchan said.


    Chanchan turned around and watched as the police try to resolve the matter, which would probably end in failure since the culprit must have already run away. He shoved his drinking ss forward and gloomily said, "The policeck skills to resolve the issue, while those who have the power cares only about their safety."


    "Oh, that courageous thief that barged into the mall. I saw him get dragged somewhere by the Mad Dog''s escorts, but no one dared to follow." Bear said.


    Monkey slurred some words as he said, "That devil only cares about his property. He only protects those under him while leaving others to fend for their own."


    "Stop hitting the table! Are you drunk already?"


    "Nah, I''m not!"


    The three argued as they continued drinking. Veronica refilled their sses as she listened attentively to their drunken talks. After a while, she got some inspiration, and her eyes shone followed by a grin.


    ***


    Inside the mall...


    Evo came down from the utilitydder. He stared at the CCTV directly above him. Nobody was in the vicinity since they were told that he was working with something.


    Evo raised his hand and pressed the wireless earphone on his ear. He said, "How is it Tatang, can you see him now?"


    "Yes, I can see him now! Wow, this is awesome. I just hope I won''t start seeing ghosts because of this."


    In the security room, Tatang Robin stared at the monitor that Evo just finished working on. A few minutes earlier, Evo was alone when they first experimented, but now, Adrian stood beside him.


    After someone managed to enter the storage room earlier, Evo thought hard of how to counter it. He decided to install the CCTV''s with the ability to see through stealth, and thankfully, they have someone who could help them with the experiment.


    "Is it done? Can I go now?" Adrian said impatiently. He''s didn''t get bored standing idly to help with the security matters of thepound, but staying with Evo seemed to not sit well with him. It''s just like, for no particr reason, he just doesn''t like him.


    "Yes, we''re done. Thank you for helping, let me pay you something topensate for your time." Evo smiled as he took out his own ck Haven card. It was custom-made and had three red stripes along the left side of the card.


    Adrian looked at the card, then replied, "It''s okay, I have too many points that I don''t even know where to use them. I''m going."


    Before they could split up, Jun''s voice came from the doorway.


    "Are you guys done? Let''s go; we need to reduce the enemy numbers every time we can." Jun said to Adrian, then turned to Evo. "By the way, are you sure you don''t want toe? You stopped leveling, and essence shards are a bad way to level up."


    "I''m okay, you know I don''t like moving around."


    "Okay, but you still have to level up somehow. Having higher stats helps in a lot of ways, even if you don''t usually go to the front lines. That''s all. See youter."


    ***


    "Let''s do this the smart way, okay? Here''s the n, we kill any infected we encounter, loot the bodies, then repeat. Understood?" Jun shouted as they entered the red zone.


    It was unusually quiet at first since it was already dark, but after his shout, they started hearing shrieks and growls echoing in the area.


    Jun and his contingents came back for a night battle with the infected. And this time, he brought some reliable back up. He probably doesn''t think about it, but he unconsciously approves of theirbat skills: his first team since this started, Adrian, She, and Edward.


    Though he was asked why they need to fight the infected when it''s so dark and they could barely see anything, he managed to give a conclusive reason for them to agree.


    He exined that the infected were weaker and slower at night. Regr infected also tend to be timid at night time as if they were conserving their energy. Unless there were amotionrge enough to attract their attention, most regr infected would choose to stay idle and remain on their spots saving energy.


    He started to be curious when he noticed that every morning, he would see more and more evolved infected when going on scavenging runs. The fights between evolved infected became frequent, and their numbers were increasing. When he told Evo about this, they were both shocked.


    Evo hypothesized that most regr infected hibernate at night. Some lucky ones would evolve, but he can''t figure out how. A possible reason he could think of is that infecteds gather energy in the daytime while they try to evolve when the nightes.


    Jun led the group along the road. And since the police haven''t really explored this far, cars still littered the area. Electricity stopped runningst night, and they have to use shlights as they move forward.


    She has a new custom-made spear made from the Tier 1 by-products of a Rank 1 Hunter. The razor-sharp teeth werebined to make a single spearhead. The shaft was made from a Tier 2 bone of a Destroyer. She requested a new spear from Old John when she got envious of Marianne''s sharp dagger and was in awe when she received the item.


    They were followed by masked men under orders. They would act as rearguard and porters for this trip.

 Chapter 93: Western Residential Area

    Chapter 93: Western Residential Area


    Skirmishes happened, which were efficiently dealt with by the group. Jun told them in advance to get as many kills as possible so they could level up faster.


    Since the goal of this attack was to reduce the chances of regr infected evolving, they started from the outskirts of the red zone.


    The n was simple and easy to follow.


    The survivors that followed Jun''s group were in awe of how coordinated they work with each other. The four of them would charge on any infected they see, and when they get outnumbered, they back off towards each other.


    With the help of one another and having different roles; Jun and Edward tanking and blocking hits as they kill the ones near them while Adrian and She would pick off the wanderers.


    The masked men didn''t even have to fight and could only hold their swords in excitement. One also suggested that they should practice their group''s teamwork.


    The houses here were sticking with each other, almost having no space in between. This probably caused the quicker spread of the infection since the more popted area were prone to more injuries and initial carriers.


    They didn''t travel randomly with Jun leading them. Everywhere they go, they would find trapped survivors on every house they entered.


    At first, Jun didn''t care about saving anyone or was interested in ying the hero. But after some time, he realized that he needs the resources called people.


    He needs construction workers, farmers, scavengers, skilled and experienced individuals that may learn or have some useful skill that he could use.


    He realized that if he wanted to survive and be stronger, he needed other people''s help. Well, he won''t beg for it, though.


    After an hour of fighting and moving around the maze of houses, they raided a small convenience store and stayed there to have some rest. Evo modified the water dispenser and was about to charge it with his energy when Jun suddenly stopped him.


    Instead, Jun ordered one of the masked men to charge the water dispenser. The contingent of masked men was once again in awe after seeing the scene. They ate their fill and looted everything.


    After they got outside, they were instantly surrounded by infected. They became puzzled since they didn''t even make any noise, but still epted the fact that they were outnumbered.


    They tried using the door of the convenience store as a control measure, but the infected broke the ss from the other side. Jun stepped up and advanced forward.


    His hands gathered energy as he walked, then pushed the first infected that he met. The infected that flew away dragged the others back and stopped only when they hit the wall. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he breathed rapidly.


    He then allowed his ves to engage the infected.


    The masked men happilyplied. They tried copying Jun''s group''s teamwork earlier and failed miserably. They would bump with each other as they retreated, and their swords would hit each other when they raise it in the air, causing a dy an attack.


    Though no one was severely injured, it couldn''t be helped that a few would get bitten.


    Edward tried his best to act as a support, but in the end, he only had a limited amount of energy. Adrian even tried using guns to save the situation but was stopped by Jun.


    After the battle, the injured were treated by She ording to how dangerous their states were. The mortally wounded who received more than two bites were prioritize over those who only got sick and infected.


    Being bit once would make you an infected, and once you die, you''ll reanimate as one of them. Twice, would give you sickness that would make you faint and unable to move. A third one would provide a debuff Weaken that would limit the maximum stat of an individual to the bare minimum depending on how healthy their body.


    And thest known effect is the immunodeficiency; it amplifies a lot of the former effects by reducing your bodies immune system, making the person more prone to ailments.


    With this experience, Jun thought that no matter how safe the area seemed to be, there should always be look-outs around the area where they camp.


    The event wasn''t all that bad since most of his ves leveled up. Most of his ves were unemployed when things happened, making them generate skills like Taunting, Eavesdrop, and other daily living skills.


    There''s one unique skill that a hotheaded man generated; it was called Duel. He can challenge someone to a one-on-one fight, and if the other side refused, they would temporarily lose 20% of their overall stats. And if they agree? The caster would receive a 10% boost on the overall stats. How did Jun know this? Well, he simply asked them one by one, and they answered truthfully.


    After an hour of rest, everyone was healed, and She had to stay back at the rear side of the formation. She felt exhausted after helping everyone and has to take some break.


    Since the horde of infected probably came from the nearby houses, the rest of their journey became a breeze. They rescued numerous survivors, and most of them were cowardly in nature.


    The survivors would stick with each other on the rear and would flinch every time the group fought a group infected. When they came back to the main road, Jun told the survivors to head to the city hall, but they were too scared to move on their own.


    He doesn''t want useless people following the group and slowing them down, so he ordered half of the masked men to escort them back.


    They waited for more than ten minutes before the escort group came back. They also didn''t stay idle as they waited. Jun practiced his energy and dimensional storage control. His group was already used to how he trained, but the others weren''t. They tried copying him since they thought it was easy, they would throw their swords at their dimensional storage, then caught it in a different vortex. It would have been a sess if they weren''t holding onto the sword''s de, which caused small cuts on their palms. They felt that it was manageable and was a useful trick to master.


    As they stood up to regroup, a massive explosion came deep from the red zone. zing fire brightened the night sky, illuminating the whole residential area.


    "It''s the gas station," Jun said.


    ***


    As they arrive at the scene, Jun happily readied himself for a fight.


    "Okay,dies and gents! I im that fiery one and mine alone!" Jun shouted as he charges forward.


    In front was the still zing gas station. There was one lone infected standing near the area, and it was burning. The odd thing was that it wasn''t in agony, like how you would expect a regr infected would when inmed. It was hurling balls of fire from its hand and would sometimes breathe out mes in a conical shape in front of it.


    Based on his memory, this should be that mutated infected that the lieutenant was talking about. He was really excited about meeting this one and excited about its loot!


    She and Edward were on standby, making sure that they could support him if ever something dangerous happened. Adrian, on the other hand, surveyed the area and noticed the horde of infecteding from the distance.


    He brought out his M16 and searched for a better angle. As he was just about to fire, he heard She''s voice from the side.


    "You''ll waste bullets. We can''t loot the bodies if they''re too far. It''s one minute pause if you shoot them in the head and a kill if we severe the head. You read Evo''s new discoveries, right?"


    Adrian stood up, he stored his M16 and brought out a thin rapier made from Tier 1 bones of a Hunter. "Of course, why wouldn''t I."


    He charged towards the oing horde, while the others followed. She and Edward stayed behind since She was still tired while Edward is the only one who could cast Barrier if Jun ever got into trouble, which is most likely since he was charging recklessly into trouble.


    For others, it may seem reckless, though it was really careless, but for Jun, it was just how it was supposed to be. He dodged the hurled fireballs and noticed that the spell''s flight was quite slow and can be easily evaded. The cone of fire was a short-range skill that reaches two meters in front of the infected.


    The only problem he didn''t think of was the searing heat of the mes. He repeatedly evaded until he learned of the patterns.


    "Come on, man! Is that all that you''ve got!" Jun yelled as he dodges a fireball. He immediately stepped back avoiding the fire breathe of the infected.


    The pattern was quite simple.


    The mutated infected would hurl three fireballs, then proceeds to breathe out a cone of me just like a methrower.


    When the fire breathe ended, Jun ran forward, holding a long red object in his arms. He side-stepped, dodging the first fireball, evaded the second one, and rolled forward to barely escape thest one.


    As the infected opened its mouth and was about to breathe out fire, Jun fired the fire extinguisher he held into the infected''s mouth.


    Though he did this, he really doesn''t know whether his n would work. When the fire extinguisher ran out, he felt a cold body fell unto him. Though the body was cold, the head wasn''t. He felt the scalding pain from blocking the head with his arm, and he hurriedly pushed it to the side.


    "I lost another jacket. Are there even good leathers nowadays?" Jun stood up and saw She and Edward running towards him.


    "Are you okay? Let me see that." She said.


    "I''m okay. Where is everyone?" Jun looked around and saw Adrian and his ves fighting a group of regr infected. "Those greedy bastards! Those are mine!"


    "Wait! Let me treat you first!" She tried stopping him to no avail.


    Jun joined the fray, happily bashing heads with empowered punches and severing heads with his swords.


    "He''s like a child, so troublesome." She exhaustedly said as she knelt down to loot the infected''s body. When she noticed that the eyes of the infected were glowing red, she instantly got frightened and hugged Edward''s feet.


    "Hey, look at that! Am I hallucinating, or can you see it too?" She tugged at Edward''s pants and pointed towards the infected''s face.


    Edward saw the radiant glow of the eyes and knew that there must be something going on. A short dagger appeared on his hand, which he used to cut open the forehead of the infected.


    There was no blood, and the texture of the skin was like hardened charcoal. Inside the skull, there was no brain, but there was a crimson glowing gem. He can feel how hot the gem was since it was radiating viciously.


    He turned the body and tried shaking the gem off the skull, but it wouldn''t budge. Then he tried severing the head, and the gem effortlessly removed itself inside the skull.


    When he picked it up from the ground, the severe immtion he felt turned into a warm feeling.


    On the battlefield, they heard Jun''s shout yell filled with disappointment.


    "I want to bash them, not slice them!"

 Chapter 94: Secured West - Apprentice Recruitment

    Chapter 94: Secured West - Apprentice Recruitment


    Under the starry sky, a ughter party finally ended. Thanks to their prior experience with dealing withrge groups of infected, the masked men''s clearing speed and teamwork showed great value when dealing hordes of normal infected.


    Their individual prowess isn''t anywhere near Adrian and Jun, but their strength as a group is undeniably strong. They would strike as one and retreat as one. Maybe they developed some sort of camaraderie after being ved together.


    Adrian and Jun killed as many regr infected as they could, taking the opposing side of the horde.


    Adrian would nimbly slip in between infected and let them hit each other, only attacking with a stab in the head after they stopped moving and lost their bnce.


    On the other hand, Jun would charge madly in between infected and would bang their heads with each other. Though this action exhausted him faster, he was still willing to do it like this.


    On the earlier fights, he used the Tier 2 bone short swords, but the weapon gave him the feeling of dissatisfaction. Slicing things weren''t his style! He likes destroying and smashing things. The feeling it gave him made his heart tremble in joy.


    After the battle, Edward notified Jun about the unique item that he found. He exined how he found it which piqued Jun''s curiosity. Jun took the crimson crystal and used his innate identification skill to try and identify the item.


    [Fire Crystal]


    [Description] An essence crystal that absorbed the element of fire. Can subtly increase fire resistance when consumed. Releases fire energy when supplied with raw energy.


    Besides the simple name and description, there was nothing else interesting about the item. Jun stashed it on his dimensional storage, then looked around the surrounding corpses. He knelt down and cut open a regr infected''s brain.


    ording to Edward, he found the crystal inside the head where the brain should be. When he cut open the forehead of the infected using a Tier 2 Bone Dagger, dark blood oozed out from it. He inserted his hand with no hesitation to look for anything useful inside. He felt the squishy brain that was soft to the touch like a gtinous pasta that enveloped his hand. When he found nothing on the sides, he crushed the brain which felt like mashed potatoes, then searched again. He found nothing. He pulled back his hand which was a mix of red and white.


    Jun stood up and said, "As usual, severe the heads to dy the reanimation time," he turned towards his ves. "...search the heads for unique crystals and send it to me. Everyone is dismissed and can do their things after that. You will report in the morning."


    Afterward, he channeled something from within and runes expanded from his core, encircling him. The same thing happened with the members of his group and with a dim sh, they vanished from the spot.


    The masked men gulped as they were left to wonder what just happened. They finished beheading every infected on the ground. They felt sick as their stomach churned while they do the dirty work, but they persevered.


    After collecting all the heads, they noticed that they wouldn''t have enough space in their storage if they wanted to bring all of the bodies back for their resources. To solve the problem, they took advantage of the dimensional storage feature; they cut every limb and carried them per stack.


    Since simr items can be stacked, they assigned whom to carry legs and who will carry the arms. After discussing who will carry what, they managed to collect everything with extra storage space avable.


    When the masked men went back thatte night, they were once again viewed as saviors who risks their lives and worked day and night just to make theirmunity a safer ce.


    The next morning...


    The sun was already half-way before it shone vertically above everyone''s head. Numerous excited people gathered in the za square. Their numbers easily exceeding thirty.


    An old man stood in front of the crowd with masked men behind him. He looked weak and frail if you look at how exhausted his face looked like, but under his clothes were defined muscles that could possibly crush anyone in front of him.


    It was Old John.


    It was time to select a few assistants to help him with some daily crafts. He ns to teach them the basics and whether he finds someone worth passing his skills to, would have to wait in the future.


    "My friends call me Old John and some of you would be able to do that soon. Ie from a cksmithing family that has a long heritage for metalsmithing and crafting, whether they are for filming or does have actual purposes, from kitchen knives to long swords, our family has made them."


    "Today, I would select five individuals who would be my apprentice and learn the craft. There will be only two exams to test whether you have what it takes. The first test is to stand on your spot for an hour. The second test would be harder, so good luck to everyone and I hope that some would actually seed."


    Old John stepped back to hide from the scorching sun. He produced a chair and set up a table under the shade of a tree. He ced refreshments on top of the table and leisurely drank some as he watched his potential apprentices bathe with the sun. The masked men, who the residents refer to as saviors, surrounded the crowd from every corner, watching their every move.


    It wasn''t even a minute and Old John could already hear the whispers from the crowd.


    Dissatisfaction.


    Disappointments.


    Those who were in the middle of the crowd tried sitting down to stay hidden.


    All of those people were sorted out and were forcefully removed from the examination by the masked men. Those who chatted, those who looked around; they were all disqualified.


    They argued that they didn''t do anything wrong and tried to fight back but was overpowered. They tried begging but were unhesitatingly tossed out. Afterward, the masked men returned to their posts and continued watching the trainees like hawks looking for prey.


    The scene was a humorous sight to behold for those who were observing from a distance, but for those taking the exam, it was literal hell. They felt their hearts beat fast as they felt the gaze of those masked men. Sweat formed on their backs and foreheads which increased the humid feeling inside them.


    Thirty minutes in and arge number of examinees were already gone from the crowd.


    Most of them couldn''t take the scorching rays of the sun and backed out. Those who failed dared not to cause trouble after the first angry loser that happened earlier.


    An angry adult thought this was unfair since he was already old and could have a heart attack or stroke at any moment. He charged towards Old John, but before he could reach him, he was already encircled by armed masked men. The man was tossed out after some beating and the examination continued.


    After an hour, there were six remaining examinees standing on the scorching sun. There were two middle-aged men, two adult men, one adult woman, and one teenager.


    Old John stood up and said, "Congrattions on passing the first round. I didn''t think that there would be this many who would actually persevere until the end. You see, people don''t like hardships. They just like to receive something while doing nothing. Like what I''ve said in the advertisement, I will only test your perseverance. But since we have six people here, we still have to go to the second part of the exam. Just kidding, there''s actually no second exam. You can all rx now. I prepared some drinks for you, so feel free to freshen yourselves."


    Just as Old John finished his speech, two out of the six examinees fell down. It was the woman and the teenager.


    Old Johnughed. "Well, look at that. Someones already at their limits eh."


    He told the masked men to bring the two to She, then congratted the remaining four. He told them to pack their things since they would live with him from now on. That came as a shock since it wasn''t written in the advertisement, but they still agreed. All of them survived alone that''s why they were willing to risk it all for this apprenticeship.


    After an hour, they met on one of the abandoned houses near ck Haven. The six stood in front of Old John revering him.


    "What I''m teaching you today are the top secrets of ck Haven. And so you have to sign a contract that will stop you from spreading any of this information. It''s also okay not to sign the contract, but your apprenticeship would be revoked." Old John said as he looked at each one of them. Beside him, a man in formal attire stepped forward and gave a piece of paper to the six in front of them.


    "Are there any questions?"


    "None."

 Chapter 95: Recruitment

    Chapter 95: Recruitment


    On a house by the road, six people diligently sharpened bones using dull bone knives. They trained their energy usage to make the dull knife peel off the outeryer of the bone and reshape it ordingly. They didn''t rush their works and strives to achieve higher energy control as per their teacher requested.


    They were taught that materials that have the same tier would require outside help for it to be worked on. That is the reason why they were using Tier 0 Bone Knives to sculpt items.


    The teenager threw another finished knife towards the pile of finished products on his side of the table. His action gathered the attention of the group.


    "Hey, Jonard. Are you sure you''re doing things correctly? I just started my second one and you''re already on your fourth one." said an old middle-aged man jokingly.


    "Mac, are you getting jealous again? The young would always overtake the old. That''s an old saying that I really hate." said the other old man.


    "I''m still better than you though." Mac harrumphed as he red at Kavin. He threw the finished knife towards his side of the table. There were now two knives on his pile while Kavin was still working on his second one. He chose a random bone and started working on it triumphantly.


    The two adult men chuckled at the old men''s childish bickering. Jonard and the woman just smiled at the scene.


    Although they were talking like this, they were actually close to each other. This is the first day since they started working together, they felt close enough to joke and bicker with each other. Just as they were starting tough, Old John entered the room. He first looked at the table, then circled the room. He taught a few more basic things, like how to sharpen and how to do it. The correct way of holding the knife and how to peel effectively, resulting in smoother surfaces.


    Afterwards, he left the room with a smile.


    The next day, Jonard was promoted to Apprentice II by Old John, he could now work on Tier 1 materials if he was able to sculpt a Tier 1 bone into a knife or a dagger.


    Jonard selected a smooth bone from the pile and worked on it for half an hour. When he submitted it to Old John, he was praised and was officially allowed to work on Tier 1 materials.


    The group congratted him and promised that they would train better at controlling their energies.


    ***


    "Recruiting for volunteers! The National Police asks for your help to make the town a more secure and livable ce. There are benefits for those who volunteer. There would be a roof above your heads, you would have food at your table and the best of them all, you would be helping the country to stand up once again!"


    An officer shouted on top of his voice in the middle of the za square. It was already night time and a lot of scavengers have returned from their trips to rx and have fun on various pubs on the za. Various would mean those open table pubs and those who were doing business on the darker side of the za. The economy is striving sessfully causing people to have things to work for. Those who were able to scavenge would wake up in the morning and would return in the evening. They would trade useless loots for points and would spend the night however they want, mostly drinking and other stuff. Those who weren''t brave enough would then set up some kind of business or services that would sponge off from those who were able.


    This became a daily routine for everyone and it became the norm.


    "Sir, I don''t think this is going to work." a young officer by the side said. "Not everyone thinks like us. Those who have the strength and were willing have already volunteered. The remaining people would rather go on their own and live for themselves while others don''t even have the strength to fight."


    The officers face darkened a bit. "I know... just continue training the volunteers and make sure they have enough skills before sending them into fieldwork."


    "Yes, sir." the officer saluted, then left.


    Lieutenant Cedric sighed again. "I''m sighing too much these days..."


    "Well, that doesn''t sound good." a voice came from the side. "You should smile more often than you sigh. I heard it''s bad for your health."


    Lieutenant Cedric turned his head to see Jun smiling at him. Several secondster, the statue shone continuously and bodies started to appear one after the other.


    Before the lieutenant could ask questions, Jun started the conversation. "We cleared most of the infected on the west. We need to clear that side tomorrow. Are your men ready?"


    Lieutenant Cedric wasn''t able to process the information at first but still nodded his head. He then said, "How did you do that?"


    ***


    Footsteps rushed towards every door. They pushed the door open, then scanned the room.


    "Clear!"


    "Clear!"


    "Contact! There are two hostiles here!"


    Different scenarios happened at every house. The police were armed with short swords as they cleared each house on the western residential area one by one. They left no room unturned as they scrutinized every corner of the house they barged into. The short swords they held have the initials of its smith, JW.


    "This house is already clear lieutenant. We''re moving to the next one." said an officer with a smile on his face. He jogged to the next house rxed knowing that any infected he encounters would die with a single sh of his sword.


    "I think I''m on the losing side of this deal. Don''t you think?" Jun smiled wryly.


    "What do you mean? You became the mayor and the people loved it! Though they hated the idea that ck Haven became a specialized shop and would stop selling daily necessities. Your armed trade would still be the talk of the town. My officers would advertise them as they fought for the town and citizens safety. You''re not losing anything at all! Clearly, you''re the one gaining from this!" Lieutenant Cedric said as he smiled widely from ear to ear.


    They had a private talk that night and discussed how things should move forward to. Lieutenant Cedric knew that he couldn''t do anything if he fell into a slump and so he proposed that they helped each other. Jun doesn''t like the idea of mutually helping each other, so he rmended that the remnants of the police force should work for him. He promised equipment upgrade and continuous supply of ration and food. There would also be wages and they would still be the police. The only request that he gave was that they follow his orders and work for him.


    Since they would still be known as the police by the people, Lieutenant Cedric epted. And he was d that he did.


    "Lieutenant, we cleared this house of two infected and found a survivor hidden on the basement."


    "Good work! Send them back and give them some food."


    Lieutenant Cedric felt blissful as he watched his officers diligently work themselves.


    "There''s a SuperMart just across the bridge, two fast-food restaurants and a motel. Do you want toe with us?" Lieutenant Cedric said.


    "Nah, we''re preparing to clear the east side today. Well, if we can''t clear them, we''re at least hoping to reduce the numbers. How''s your scout''s report?"


    "Their numbers weren''t increasing, but they weren''t decreasing either. The scouts also noticed that more and more evolved infected started appearing every day."


    "That''s why we need to act fast," Jun muttered. "Okay, that''s it for me. I''m going back. Don''t forget to train your officer''s focus. It helps to see those who were on stealth."


    Runic scriptures encircled Jun, and Lieutenant Cedric said, "Aren''t you going to teach me that?"


    "Will you sign the contract? Of course not. Don''t worry, you''ll learn it at the right time."


    As he finished speaking, Jun vanished from everyone''s sight.


    "It''s really cool every time I see that." an officermented by the side, which irked Lieutenant Cedric.


    "Keep moving everyone! People are waiting to be rescued! Don''t waste your time idly, okay!" Lieutenant Cedric pped his hand as he ordered everyone.


    They garrisoned the nearest house to the bridge and made it an outpost. They set up a roadblock using a long wooden table on their side of the bridge.


    After clearing the western residential area, they were able to rescue eighty survivors hidden almost everywhere they could slide themselves into.


    Most of them weren''t fighters, but during the time they were hiding, they developed survival skills like active listening and scavenging. Some select few gained increased sense innately. They thanked the police and felt thankful for being rescued.


    Lieutenant Cedric didn''t let this chance to slip past his hands and immediately recruited everyone to bolster his forces. The people felt that they hit the jackpot and instantly agreed. Though some refused, Lieutenant Cedric still felt happy with the increase in their numbers.


    "The training officer would surely be busy these next few days." Lieutenant Cedric thought to himself.

 Chapter 96: Rules - Numbers

    Chapter 96: Rules - Numbers


    The public security turned better after the police increased their patrols. Well, they were already doing night patrols thesest few days, but something was different with their new recruits.


    Those recruits would run towards the scene of the crime and would lunge at empty air. A few secondster, an individual would appear out of nowhere and would be apprehended by the police. This scene becamemon that morning and became extinct when night came. Mostly because those who were daring enough were already caught, and others learned their lesson not to take their chance. The captives were brought to the police station and never came out.


    People didn''t notice that there would be rows of masked men being brought out of the police station after a few hours.


    ***


    Inside the police station, Jun stood in front of his new batch of ves. Seven squid-faced individuals fearlessly stared back at him.


    "Okay, listen closely because I won''t repeat myself. From now on, all of you are dead. You have been killed by me, and will be resurrected by me. Those who want to live will follow my orders, and those who won''t will die. From now on, your lives are mine."


    Jun red at the eyes of his new ves. He noticed that they were unwilling to ept their fates and were probably thinking of ways to escape from here.


    Jun believed that to have your subordinates do your bidding, you must give them benefits. And so he did. He said, "After one year, I will free anyone who worked up to my standards. And those who don''t? Will have to try their luck the next year."


    He turned his head towards the nearest ve to his right. On the ve''s shoulder was a badge that has number one on it. Since he wasn''t interested in remembering their names, he told them to number themselves ording to their skills. Seeing the number on the ve''s shoulder, he called for him instantly.


    "Teach these guys the skills to survive. We are heading east tonight, don''t let them die on their first day, okay?"


    Jun left after he finished speaking.


    The ve with number one on his shoulder stared at the new batch of ves. They looked around warily, looking for ways to escape. The man knew what they were thinking, and so he said, "Don''t bother escaping. You''ll just return here the next day, and if you''re lucky, you''ll receive some light punishment. But I won''t think about it if I were you. Living like this isn''t bad after trying it out for a few days."


    The new ves gaped at the masked man in front of them. Not because he was intimidating but simply because of his tender voice. They knew that there was a group of battle-hardened civilians that were helping on securing thend. They brought back groups of survivors every time they go back after every trip. This group of people thought that everyone who was involved in that group must be adults and so they were surprised.


    "Ah, hello. My name is Toby, and these are my friends. We tried setting up a gang made of thieves, but we got caught. before we could even establish ourselves."


    The man called Toby wanted a handshake but was ignored by the man.


    "The boss isn''t good with names, so everyone gets called by their rank. The people call us the saviors, but we are officially called the Death Squad. I''m the current leader and the strongest among us. You can decide for yourself what rank you''ll get. To climb the ranks, you can challenge anyone above you with a ten rank difference once a day. After you sort out yourselves, let''s go outside, and I''ll teach you some useful skills."


    Nik led his squad members towards the canteen. They chatted about their food, their new weapons, and experiences yesterday. When they entered the canteen, Toby''s group finally unzipped their mouths.


    "What a load of crap! ves. Hah! Your face! Boss, what are we going to do? Should we teach those arrogant bastards some lesson?"


    Toby looked towards the canteen''s direction as he thought to himself.


    "I''m quite interested in their game, so let''s y with them for now. By the way, I''m rank one, okay? Just decide your number on your own, go y some rock, paper, scissors."


    ***


    After eating lunch, the two groups met outside. Nik stood in front of the grassywn waiting for the seven to align themselves in a row.


    "I know that most of you, or probably all of you, didn''t read the contract. So, the first thing we''ll discuss is the short version of it."


    "Lame." one of Toby''s friendsmented.


    Nik ignored him and continued. "I won''t discuss the parts where you hold no control whatsoever, and I will only say those I think that matters. The contract stated that you couldn''t talk to your families, friends, or acquaintances that you meet outside of work. You can''t sell, lose, or throw away any of your equipment. Lastly, it would be best if you always kept your mask on when going outside. The main reason is that we''re supposed to be dead, so we can''t be seen by people we know. If, by chance or some luck, you managed to do any of those, you will be punished. Do you have any questions?"


    The rude guy who kept on chirping sidements raised his hand.


    "Can I fight you?" he smiled then look towards his friends as if bragging or looking for apuse.


    "We have rules, but how about let''s make an exemption for today?" Nik replied.


    The rude guy turned his head back and hissed at Nik.


    "Didn''t know you were so kind. So how are we going to do this? Square up? Are kicks allowed? Wrestle? What if I identally broke something, your friends won''te at me, right?" the rude guy said.


    "It''s up to you. They won''t, and I hope yours too. You can start." said Nik.


    The man scoffed. "Are you underestimating me? You''ll regret it."


    The man disappeared from where he was standing, and his friendsughed while jeering.


    Nik remained calm as he stared at the spot where the man disappeared. He looked around, then charged at an empty space. Before he could reach the spot, a figure appeared and lunged forward, holding a kitchen knife.


    Nik continued his advance and deflected the knife with his hand. The back of his hand was covered by a thinyer of energy, which helped on blocking the stab. He grabbed the offensive hand as he charged energy on his other hand. The rude man struggled, trying to pull back his hand when suddenly a powerful force struck his stomach. The man flew back and rolled along the grass, which helped cushion the fall.


    "Tom!" his friends shouted as they went after him.


    "Are we done?" Nik said while looking specifically at Toby. "We don''t have the whole day; the others have to train too."


    The rude men''s friend was about to charge at him, but with a simple wave of Toby''s hand, they all stopped. "I''m sorry about that. It seems like my friends were a bit too hot-headed today."


    Nik stared at him. "I don''t really care. I''ll be teaching everyone the basics, so learn on your own. Your uniforms would be giventer by someone, so you should stay here and wait. Let''s begin. Energy control is done by feeling the energy inside our bodies. You can feel it by..."


    Nik exined everything that they needed to know. Ranging from skills to be learned like energy control, sprint, and empowered strike. Battle formations were briefly discussed since it was better to practice it on the go. After exining everything briefly, Nik led his squad to fight infected on the north.


    The north was vastly empty, but once in a while, there would be stragglers roaming the fields. They used this ce as a training ground to enhance their skills since they can spar freely and fight random lone infected. The tree beside the river became one of their resting spots. They started liking the noise the river made after spending some time under the shade of the tree.


    Scavengers who passed by would shout at them to greet them; some even waved their hands frantically. They returned half an hour before sunset and met Toby''s group, surrounded by police officers in the police station.


    Nik sent an inquiring gaze towards the officer, but it seemed like it was perceived as intimidation due to his face being covered by the mask.


    The officer sternly reported. "These thieves went out and stole from people! I thought you would handle things well! What is this!?"


    Nik walked forward and stopped in front of the officer. "We werex. We''ll take care of it."


    Hearing the anger from the man''s voice, the police officer calmed down and said, "You should! The town''s security just rose and we still have to deal with the public! Do your work properly!"


    The officer''s voice became gentle as he spoke since he felt goosebumps after staring at the ck eyes that stared at him. He felt like if he didn''t leave this ce, he would be eaten alive. As he went out, he couldn''t help but angrily stomp his foot, feeling aggrieved.


    Nik turned towards Toby''s group and shook his head. "I didn''t tell you this since I thought you have basicmon sense, but it turns out you guys are idiots. Fortunately, I haven''t handed you your uniforms, or that would have caused more trouble. Remember, the most basic thing about the ve contract is that you shouldn''t cause trouble for your master."

 Chapter 97: That Playful Dog

    Chapter 97: That yful Dog


    Nik led the squad towards the entrance of ck Haven. To not cause a blockade, he brought everyone to stand beside the bus. Onlookers were everywhere as they excitedly gawk at the masked men. Though some wanted to get close to them, none had the courage to approach due to their deathly stillness. The Death Squad heard the citizens murmurs but never replied a word and would continue idly standing in rows.


    Jun arrived exactly on time and split the crowd in two. He stood in front of the Death Squad and scoffed. "There''s a few bad sheep mixed on this herd. You bastards have great luck since we''re heading out tonight and I need everyone on their feet. I''ll deal with youter. Let''s go."


    Jun led the group towards the east. They met border patrols in charge of securing the border. Border patrols were civilian volunteers assigned on the skirts of the cleared zone to make sure that infected would be dealt with before they could cause trouble. They have basic fighting experience and could fight infected on their own. They also serve as an early warning system in case anyrge hordes decide to visit themunity.


    Jun stopped a passing patrolman and asked for updates regarding the hordes movements andposition.


    The patrolman said, "Besides the increase of regr and evolved infected; we noticed a weird infected that appeared two days ago. Every time we see it, it would stand alone surrounded by the infected."


    After thanking the patrolman, Jun led the group further east, finally entering the unexplored zone of the eastern residential area.


    Jun turned towards his Death Squad and said, "Our goal for tonight is to split the dense horde into smaller groups. We''ll divide into three groups, and I''m happy to say that those newbies would being with me."


    "One," Jun said to his most reliable ve. "...gather all odd rankers and sweep through the left side, continue to the diversion road, then nk the horde. Two, you''ll lead the even rankers towards the right side, sweep the alleys of the residential area, make sure you attract some infected from the horde. Don''t bother killing everything, as long as you have a safe way to get out, prioritized splitting the horde. I''ll take the National Road and lure the horde onto the diversion road, so we can split them up." Jun then turned towards Rank 15 and up. "I''ll bring these puppies out for a stroll. Let''s go!"


    Traveling on foot was the only quiet means of transportation. There were bicycles found on the earlier days that is in good condition and can still be used but the survivors weren''t fond of it. Imagine cycling instead of running when being chased by an infected. It would be useful if you were on t ground or downhill, but when you get caught on a slope and the only way is to go up? Too slow. Speed and flexibility is the main reason why almost everyone chooses to travel on foot.


    An infected lunged towards Rank 17 while he was trying to fend off another one that appeared from his side. He dashed forwards, dodging the one from his left and stabbed the one in front of him. He quickly pounced on the outbnced infected and pinned it to the ground.


    At the same time, almost the exact same thing was happening around him. Numerous masked men were fighting two or more infected on their own. They would run around and use cars as a blockade to gain some distance from their attackers, then when they have enough space, they would kill those who were still chasing them.


    Jun''s group is currently fighting arge group of infected numbering around fifteen to twenty. Jun watched on the sidelines disappointed. These guys were doing fine when they first shed with the infected. They were calm and stayed together. They managed to quickly kill two infected at the start which should have been a good start, but everything worsened when they got surrounded.


    Due to pressure and being outnumbered, the masked men felt scared. Though they were shouting calls that if they fight together and wisely, they could win, some still chose to y it safe. Those people would run around and wait until the infected who was chasing him would disengage, thene back for the kill. This resulted in others being in trouble and some even got bit. The only good news is that they already know how to fight with an infected since they already leveled up, but being ganged up on wasn''t in their lists of experiences.


    Jun couldn''t watch the scene anymore and decided to step in. He grabbed the nearest infected''s head and smashed it on a nearby car''s hood. Then, grabbed the other one on the neck and clenched it tightly. The man who was being ganged upon red at him ferociously as if he was ming him for only acting up now. The man was bitten on his left arm after he made a wrong turn. Jun didn''t even look at the man as he searched for his next target.


    After helping everyone, Jun received their resentful stares. He startedughing as he looked at each of them.


    "I thought you could actually do it, but your teamwork sucks. I almost thought that someone would get stabbed in the back, so the others could retreat. You guys are wonderful! Sly, agile, and heartless. The kind of people that I need right now. Though I need you that doesn''t mean that I will treasure you."


    Jun said as he red back at them. "I don''t like the way you guys look at me, so to make sure that you remember what you are, I have a simple lesson for all of you."


    Inside his dimensional storage, two contracts lit up and glowed as if it was supplied by energy. At the same moment, two masked men with glowing eyes stepped forward, Rank 19 and 20 respectively. Rank 19 was swaying left and right as if he was about to fall any moment now. He got bitten twice and was now having the infected and sickness debuff. He raised his arms in the air as if squatting but stuck them together as if he was praying.


    On the other hand, Rank 20 stood straight like a mountain with arge bite wound visible on his left arm. Right-handed individuals mostly use their left arm to block anything closing at them. For example, when someone punched you, it is normal to counter-attack using your dominant hand while you defend with the other hand.


    Rank 20 grasped his short sword and stabbed Rank 19''s hand in the middle. Droplets of blood drip down followed by a shrill scream of agony when Rank 19 regained consciousness.


    Rank 20 woke up and saw the short sword still lodged on his friend''s hand and immediately pulled it back while apologizing. In the end, the man pushed him back and red at him.


    The spectators of the scene were dumbfounded at what they just witnessed. They knew those two and we''re sure that they were as close as real brothers! Seeing them act like that scared the shits out of them.


    Jun said to the sword-wielding masked man. "Go back and bring him to the medical station. Look for She. Don''t cause trouble, I''ll know it."


    The man nodded and turned to his friend apologetically. The wounded man knew that they both knew nothing of what happened but still kept a bit of resentment towards the man. He then fearfully turned his head towards Jun. The two traveled back slowly since they were both injured and in any case that they met groups of infected they would be doomed.


    "Now that I''ve got everyone''s attention, let me remind all of you! That from now on! All of you are my ves. You''ll do what I told you to and fight for me. I don''t need your consent since I could just literally order you but I won''t do that. Well, I tried but you guys can''t do anything besides bing mindless puppets who only know how to hack and sh at the infected. I need you to think while you fight, so you can survive and be strong. Is that good? Great."


    They continued to travel along the road and rescued some trapped scavengers. Jun wouldn''t really help anyone while out on a mission but he acknowledges that some courageous ones need some pat in the back. He remembered those scavengers'' faces since there''s only a few who were brave enough to venture this deep into the red zone.


    He could hear murmurs from the back as he led the group but he ignored it. He''s not the kind to stop people''s chatter when there''s downtime as they travel. Well, he knew from a fact that their topic isn''t good but isn''t entirely bad due to their names being half-green and half-red.


    The masked men looted every sari-sari store they passed and collected every resource they could find. Jun told them that everything that they would have to be submittedter on. It would be exchanged for points and they could use those points however they like. They grabbed tes and everything they could find that looks fancy enough to attract attention.


    As they advance forward uphill, they heard loud barking on the distance. When they reached the top, they saw a mutated dog ying tag with an infected.

 Chapter 98: Small Trouble

    Chapter 98: Small Trouble


    The dog had arge body and hovered around three feet tall. There were dark patches on its skin where there''s no fur growing on. It also had an absurdly long neck for its breed and has razor-sharp paws on all of its feet. There''s a protrusion from its mouth which have two giant tusks that would cause a massive hole on anything that it bit through. The only resemnce it had with a dog was its body shape, the way it wags its tail, and the way it moves.


    The dog moves around an infected, dodging every attack going on its way, then yfully wag its tail. The infected would sometimes ignore it, and it would bark to catch its attention.


    Jun felt that he somewhat remembers this dog but couldn''t pinpoint where and when he saw it. He watched as the dog repeatedly barked towards the infected until it got pissed for being ignored. The dog tackled the infected to the ground, then bit its neck off. It spat the head to the side and chewed on the infected''s arms. When it noticed that people were watching, the dog growled as a warning, then dragged the body away.


    After disappearing from view, Jun approached the spot where everything happened. A puddle of dark blood was in the middle of the road, followed by a trail of blood.


    The trail took a turn after entering the alley, and there''s no way to see what''s on the other side unless you venture inside.


    Jun had a sudden epiphany after staring at the trail of blood. Since there weren''t many dogs that he has met, he was reminded of the askal that he met in the city hall. It probably mutated after eating numerous infected flesh. Though that askal isn''t this big, since it only reached up to his knees, Jun still couldn''t help butpare the two. It even gave him some questions that he has to find answers for.


    Can mutation improve a living organism''s trait or physique? Are animals and humans alike able to adapt to this? Whether Jun would venture to this area of knowledge would depend after seeing more mutated examples.


    They chose not to follow the dog because everyone knows what happens when a dog having its meal was interrupted. Jun poked the head with his sword and searched inside to see whether there''s something in the skull. And of course, it was empty. Mucus and brain matter slid down the sword as Jun pulled it out.


    "Let''s go. They''re probably waiting for us now. Let''s hope that''s enough training for you guys since there''s a high chance that some of you could die."


    "Aren''t you going to protect us?"


    Jun looked towards the man''s shoulders and saw the number fifteen. "Getting scared now, huh? Save it forter after we return."


    The man gulped and kept his mouth shut. Through repeated warnings from the squad leader and the scenes he saw earlier, he knew that this man could do anything that he wanted to them. They won''t have any form of control over their bodies or would have any memories of what happened. He felt scared thinking that there would be a time that he wouldn''t wake up only because he was actually dead. He lowered his head as an apology for everything that he was scheming for, and no matter whether the man would forgive him or not, he would try to behave himself.


    Jun looked up the gigantic apartmentplex where they once saw a hanging infected on the balcony. He looked around, trying to find any mushed meat along the fenced-wall but failed to find anything.


    The group continued following Jun and halts when he stopped. They warily surveyed the area looking for anything suspicious.


    Toby blew off the ash from a car''s window, then peeked inside. He could see numerous items in the car. There were various kinds of small toys, a different variation of soft pillows and a baby seat attached on the back seat. There were other things inside, but most of the items were for infants.


    After scanning the interior of the car, he noticed that the door from the other side of the vehicle was slightly open. He backed up and saw another car nearby.


    He felt curious whether he could find some interesting loot and went to the other vehicle. Right after he closed in towards the car''s window, a rough blood-stained hand grabbed his shoulder.


    His heartbeat rose as he quickly turned around and crossed his hands, ready to defend himself. After turning around, he immediately saw the confused gaze of the man wearing a ck mask with a gray hoodie.


    "The fvck dude! Don''t scare me like that!" Toby said.


    "Boss were leaving." the man said as he pointed towards the group already walking forward.


    Toby gave a final look at the car, then jogged together with the man to follow the group.


    When they caught up, he noticed how the group was unmoving and wasn''t willing to take any more step forward. They hid behind a van and peak onwards.


    Toby looked ahead and saw a small group of infected. He frowned, feeling confused. He knew that his boss could deal with this amount of infected even by himself, so what are they waiting for?


    He then scrutinized each infected and noticed something small as a dog slowly crawling forward on its fours. Its clothes were ragged and dirty around the knees and joints mainly because it has been used for walking.


    Toby realized it was probably the missing baby from the back of the car. He softly said, "Should we help it?"


    He doesn''t know how it survived for so long, but he felt like he has to do something. Nor did he even think if it was alive or not, or if it was alive, why would the infected choose to ignore it.


    Jun turned to him with raised eyebrows as if amused, then gestured with his hand for them to go ahead.


    Toby felt irritated, seeing the smile on that man''s face. Thankfully, he was wearing a mask, so that the annoyance on his face couldn''t be shown. He grasped his short sword tightly as he moved forward.


    He managed to sneak close enough to deal the initial kill on an idling infected, and that started the skirmish. Six infected turned their heads and dashed furiously towards him.


    To be honest, he felt scared. He wanted to run away and save his life, but after catching a glimpse of the baby, he''s faltering courage got some boost. Just as he was about to charge towards the nearest infected, a figure passed by and tackled it to the side. And others followed.


    There were five remaining masked men since two were sent back due to one being bitten twice. Being bit once only causes an infection, which means that when you die, you will be infected. But getting twice already makes you useless in battles. I


    t makes you sick, and depending on how healthy you are, a few minutes is enough to cause you to fall down. This is also the reason why Jun said that bites don''t kill you, but the side-effects do. If you got bitten thrice, you''d be weakened, and if you''re alone, that would be a death sentence since you''re sick and weakened, making any infected you meet a lethal threat.


    Each one of the four fought their own infected. Toby charged towards the two infected on the end to stall them. Regr infected have amon pattern of attack that he finally noticed.


    When it was meters away, it would lunged at you with raised hands. You can step to the side and severe its head or you can stab it in the head. He chose not to dodge and stabbed it straight in the head. The second pattern came when thest infected got to close to him.


    After lunging, an infected would try to cling to you and bite you. It won''t let go even if you stab it unless you could kill it. Though he knew what came after the lunge, he was still pushed a few steps back. He exerted too much force on his straight stab, so he couldn''t react in time to pull back his sword. He thought that if the force exerted was too weak; the stab won''t go in.


    Fortunately, he managed to grab its neck before the infected could close in, stopping its advance. It growled as it tried forcing its way in, staring at him with those lustrous yellow eyes. He pulled his arms back as far as it could and aimed the short sword at the infected''s eyes. With a single thrust, he managed to kill the infected and level up.


    He looked around and saw that everyone has already killed their own infected and is now guarding the area, scanning for any threats that could appear. He exhaled his nervousness off, and as he was about to congratte his friends, he heard pping from the side. All of them turned their heads towards the sound. Jun was pping at them with a smile on his face.


    "Congrattions, of the five of you, one learned how to fight properly while the rest were still uncivilized savages," Jun said as he looked at Toby. "Go on, do what you need to do. We need to hurry up since we''ve already wasted too much time."


    With Jun''s reminder, Toby turned around and searched for the baby. He saw it calmly crawl away unperturbed about what happened behind it.


    Toby jogged forward and picked the baby up. The initial feeling on his hand was the rough and dry clothes that the baby had, and so he felt more pity. He quickly turned the baby around and saw its disfigured appearance. A chunk of its face was missing, and most of its mouth were gone. Its stubby knees and arms were bleeding filled with scratches. Its clothes were filled with dried blood with some mix of mud and ashes. The color of its skin was slightly dark, so he overlooked these small details.


    When the baby stared at him with those lustrous yellow eyes, he knew that he fucked up.


    He was about to drop the baby on the ground when it suddenly cried. The cry turned to bawling, and bawling turned to scream.


    Soon after, infected from every direction were attracted to the area.

 Chapter 99: Mutated Infected - Earth

    Chapter 99: Mutated Infected - Earth


    Toby dumbfoundedly stared at the baby on his hand. He looked left and right, not knowing what to do when someone shouted from behind him.


    "Kill it!"


    Though he can''t see who said it, he remembered that tone of voice.


    It was Jun.


    Toby was about to cover the baby''s mouth with his hand to shut its mouth but remembered that it was infected. It raised its hands as if it wanted a hug while screaming loudly. It shouldn''t be able to scream this loud, and as if on cue, it stopped crying. It made gurgling noises before puking blood. It then lowered its head limply.


    "It''s dead?"


    Toby turned and saw Jun beside him.


    "Y-yes," Toby replied.


    "Okay, everyone, follow me! We''ll be moving forward in a straight line. I''ll deal with everything in front while you guys take the rear and the side."


    Jun held out his hand in the air, and a long handle slowly slid down from a ck vortex above him. He learned that dimensional storage vortex would appear where your hand was pointing when you called for it.


    Jun brandished a gigantic bone hammer. Its shaft was two feet long, having smooth texture all around it. The handle was made from some recycled leather strip to make sure that the user''s hand wouldn''t slip. The head of the weapon was literal skullsbined together by arm bones. Each end of the hammerhead was made from Tier 2 skull collected from both Rank 2 Destroyers. A fiery crystal was embedded in between the arm bones that connected the skulls.


    This is a custom-made weapon he requested from Old John. Both heads were facing towards the sky. He specifically wanted this, so he can use its appearance to intimidate any future enemies. Just imagine being provoked by someone holding a massive hammer that has skulls literally staring at you as if wanting to devour you. It would easily deal with those who are weak-minded while showcasing those who are strong-willed.


    "Try to learn something if you can, okay!"


    Jun charged forward towards the iing infected. He saw three rushing in front while two from each side. He smiled, remembering the first few days that he needed help to handle this many infected on his own.


    "The first lesson! Kill and dodge. Don''t be stupid and use your head. At nights they''re much slower, so you can predict their attacks." Jun said after swinging wildly with his bone hammer. He first dealt with the two from his right, then dodge the infected that lunged from his left. The infected that he just hit flew in the air and collided with the three rushing infected in front.


    "Second lesson, be aware of your surroundings. Use them to your advantage," said Jun as he increased the distance and retreated towards a nearby car. He waited for the two infected before doing a side sweep, hitting the first infected on the side of its stomach, disabling its movements. The second infected who got pushed crashed into the hood of the car. Jun didn''t waste any time and killed both infected with a single smash to their heads.


    "And of course, don''t forget to position yourself so that you can have people guarding your backs. That''s basically it when fighting thosemon infected."


    Jun approached the remaining five infected. Three already stood up while one got stuck under a disabled infected. He kicked the first one that dashed towards him, then turned around to evade the next one. Thest iing infected was dealt with while he was still turning. His turning speed increased the power produced when he struck the infected in the head, causing it to be severed immediately.


    The bone hammer was still a bit too light for Jun''s taste, butpared to the short sword; it was still heavy. The damage he dealt with mainlyes from the speed and force of his swings. Well, thanks to his overly high power stat, everything seemed to be lightweight for him.


    Before the infected that he kicked got up, he already sent an overhead smash towards it. Afterward, he then killed the two entangled infected a few feet away. Suddenly, he felt someone hugging him and noticed the rotten arms grasping the chest area of his leather jacket.


    "Am I being molested right now? Really?" Jun chuckled then forcefully turn around. The infected who was holding unto the leather jacket was carried and tumbled after it was unable to follow the rotation. Jun stared at the female infected on the ground.


    "She won''t get jealous about this, right? Maybe I shouldn''t tell her about this. That''s right. Let''s not tell her this." Jun reasoned with himself, then killed the infected.


    He turned around and saw chaos among the group. Well, unlike their first team fight, they were faring well this time. Jun nodded his head as he watched his ves coordinate with each other. One lured the infected while the others waited hidden. They would let the man herd the infected and kill those who were in the back. The herder would thenp around a car and lure the herd back to that same spot. After anotherp of thinning their numbers, they decided to take on the rest of the infected. Jun apuded them in his head since he could apply this on future battles, whether small orrge scale battles.


    After his ves killed thest infected, Jun congratted them and hastened them to loot the bodies. They were surely thest one who would arrive at their meeting point.


    Without even catching their breaths, the masked men grudgingly followed after Jun. Since they were in a hurry, Jun took the lead and killed everything on his path. After a few more skirmishes with the infected, they finally reached the eastern bridge area.


    The moonlight shone brightly, illuminating everything under the sky.


    On the other side of the bridge should be the diversion road were the odd rankers were told to standby. That same diversion road that they used as an alternate route since they weren''t experienced enough to fight their way on this National Road littered with an endless sea of cars infested with infected.


    On the distance, he could see Paterno''s house towering amongst the sea of houses. On the street in front of it were hundreds of infected roaming about. Some evolved infected could be seen along with the horde. Some were swift Hunters who ran around aimlessly, while Destroyers bulldozed a few regr infected as it paved the way for itself. It was three meters tall and the only Rank 2 Destroyer that could be seen. The number of Rank 2 Hunters is still unknown.


    Jun wore his wireless earphone and applied pressure on the outer surface of the item. He already had someone recharge it earlier before leaving thepound, so he doesn''t need to charge it now.


    "This is Jun; I''m in position. One, Two, are you guys ready?" Jun said as he stared at the roaring Destroyer on the other side of the bridge. The bridge stretched for only about twenty meters or more, so he felt confused that the hulking infected wouldn''t dare charge towards him when there''s literally only one infected blocking their side of the bridge.


    "This is One, already in position. Awaiting orders."


    "This is Two, in positionwaiting for orders."


    "Good. Proceed with the n. We will divide the horde and reduce their numbers as we retreat. Don''t hesitate to use the guns I lent to you. The main goal is to split the horde. The more infected you can attract from the main body, the better. Wait for my signal. I''ll try to lure the Rank 2 infected towards me." Jun said.


    "Yes, sir!" two voices ovepped with each other as One and Two replied at the same time.


    On the other side of the bridge, the Rank 2 Destroyer continued roaring while staring at Jun. It never took a single step forward, and one could feel its frustration from its powerful roars.


    The five nearest regr infected turned their heads and saw Jun''s group. Without hesitation, they dashed forward frenziedly.


    After taking two steps forward on the bridge, a spike rose from the asphalt road and impaled the infected. Since the infected was running, the spike entered from the stomach and went through the upper spine. The impaled infected tried wiggling its way out, causing more blood to flow out from the open wound. The spike was of the same color as the surrounding asphalt, and the area around the spike appeared thinner.


    The second one managed to run forward for five seconds before being impaled by the same asphalt road spike. The unfortunate infected was struck between its legs all the way inside to its stomach. Its raised hands wed at Jun as it stared at him. It started spouting out blood while it growled angrily.


    The remaining three infected managed to get past the infected, and Jun happily weed them. After dealing with the three, he stared at the unique infected on the bridge.


    Jun smirked. "That must be it, right? That unique infected that''s always alone."

 Chapter 100: Slaughtering the Horde

    Chapter 100: ughtering the Horde


    I brought out the M16 rifle from my dimensional storage, then scoped the Rank 2 Destroyer standing on the other side of the bridge. From the lens, the infected roared at me with no thoughts of backing off even after seeing my movements.


    I took a sigh of relief. For a second there, I thought that the infected was developing intelligence since it didn''t dare cross the bridge. Wait. Did it fear for its life? Then does that mean that the infected could gain intelligence?


    I examined the other infected and immediately knew that wasn''t the case. Then maybe, only the evolved infected gained a bit of intelligence in the form of primal instincts? Whatever the case, I''ll have to take advantage of this!


    I aimed at the Rank 2 Destroyer''s eyes and felt the chilling night breeze pass through the side of my head. I used Time Perse to temporarily stop time, then used its zoom-in feature with additional energy cost. Aiming and shooting the eyes of the infected was easy. What came after was the real problem.


    Bang!


    Critical Hit!


    -206 HP!


    Target died. You gained 75 experience.


    The Rank 2 Destroyer fell backward after the shot went through its left eye. Now one of the problems is how to loot the body. With the usual headshot, it would normally take one minute before the body could reanimate.


    I would normally be happy after killing a Rank 2 infected since I would obtain rare loot and resources, but the iing horde of regr infected dampened my mood. I expected this to happen but not up to this degree! Almost every infected in the vanguard of the horde turned towards my direction and charged altogether.


    The only fortunate thing about this was that the mutated infected was killing some of the infected that passed by while dying others that were blocked by spikes. The bad thing about this was that the mutated infected was now following the horde of infected into my direction.


    "Don''t panic! Just do it like how you did it earlier. It''s just bigger this time, so you''ll have to take turns on being the bait. I''ll take care of the evolved infected, so focus on your jobs." I said as I jumped up a sedan''s hood and unto its roof.


    My five ves looked nervous but ran to their formations. Four of them ran back and hid between cars while one was left behind to lure and herd the infected. They were nning to use the same strategy that they used earlier. I looked over his shoulder and saw that it had the number fifteen. I smiled thinking whether it is courage, camaraderie, or the situation that made him take the task of the herder.


    Fifteen shouted profanities on the top of his lungs. He dissed the infected''s shoes, yelled obscenements on their styles, and swore the infected''s family line. He cursed at himself as thest bad word that came out from his mouth before running to a safe spot.


    His shouting was too effective that it even attracted the attention of some Hunters. The only reason I knew and noticed the Hunters'' presences was because of the numerous infected being toppled in the middle of the herd.


    I ignored this for now since I can''t see them. I chose the Rank 1 Destroyers that were crossing the bridge as my target since they were towering giants easy to kill. I activated Time Perse onest time since my energy just went down the halfway mark. I killed two destroyers which further halved my energy level and had to stop the skill usage to avoid passing out from energy exhaustion. The remaining D1 started fighting the mutated infected after being hit by a spike.


    After a quick estimation, the horde numbered around three hundred. Though I only managed to kill a few of them, it was already enough to help turn the tide of the battle since they were one of the strongest bunch on the group.


    There were still two hulking infected inside the horde and both of them turned around as they ran towards the rear of the horde.


    People appeared on the other side and managed to pull arge chunk of the rear horde.


    Well, the reduced numbers were appreciated but I couldn''t help but gulp at the scene in front of me knowing that I identally bit more than I could chew.


    I watched as half of the horde remained to cross the bridge.


    The only reason why the horde hasn''t reached them yet were the earthen spikes and the narrowness of the bridge. The spikes actually served as a blockade causing them to block each other, slowing them down, while the narrow bridge could only allow two cars to pass side by side.


    When I started feeling dejected and hopeless, I heard gunshots from the other side of the bridge followed by provoking shouts that attracted the rear part of the horde.


    The nking group didn''t leave! The n was to pull as many as you can and retreat towards a safe point as you deal with the infected.


    Though they didn''t follow the original n, their actions managed to ease the hearts of the people on this side.


    "Though the n failed, this could still work!" I thought to myself.


    The n was to divide the horde and deal with them as we retreat. Though some unfortunate events happened, everything is actually going alright and there seemed to be no casualties at the moment.


    Just as I gained renewed hope for this operation - operation divide and conquer as I call it, three Hunters finally appeared in front of the charging horde that finally reached our side of the bridge..


    There were three hunters that led the horde. Based on their sizes, there''s one Rank 2 and two Rank 1 Hunters.


    I jumped down from the car''s roof and started firing on the regr infected while rushing towards the bridge.


    Without stopping time, I don''t really have confidence in shooting agile targets, so it''s better to deal with their supports first. I randomly opened fire onto the horde, killing and damaging a few infected in the process. Red numbers continuously appeared on my vision every time I hit something.


    The three Hunters turned towards me, identifying me as their target. They dashed at top speed on all fours side-by-side. I fired at their heads but only hit their shoulders. When there are only a few meters between us, I threw my M16 to the side, caught by a ck vortex which spat out my bone hammer. Behind the Hunters were dozens of regr infected that were attracted by my earlier aggression. I could hear Fifteen yelling, trying his best to attract the rest of the regr infected despite the loud echoing of moans and growls of the infecteds.


    I smiled seeing the three Hunters pounce on me at the same time. I channeled energy onto the bone hammer and it zed up with fiery mes. The skull''s eyes were lit with flickering vermilion mes that gazed at the Hunters. The orb embedded to it can finally be put into use.


    I swung from the right with full force aiming at the shoulders of the right-most Hunter.


    -53 HP.


    -5 HP Burn Damage.


    Target died. You gained 40 experience.


    I heard bones cracking just from the impact. The three Hunters were thrown sideways and piled on top of each other as they rolled on the ground for a few times before finally stopping. The first infected who got hit had mes burning on its shoulder, which was caved in from the impact. The two Hunter already got up and the Rank 2 Hunter furiously charge towards me while the other ran towards my ves.


    I ignored the rest of the regr infected and dashed towards the H2. We met halfway since we''re both running towards each other. After gaining momentum, the Hunter attacked with the same pattern. It pounced forward with both arms stretched forward, while its mouth widely opened. I stepped to the side, evading its ws that tried to rip my face off. When itnded on the ground, I used an overhead smash and smacked its back down to the ground. There''s a massive hole on its back from where the bone hammer struck. The sides of the hole were charred having a pungent burnt smell.


    -53 HP.


    -5 HP Burn Damage.


    Target stunned!


    I retrieved and raised the bone hammer once again when someone grabbed my shoulder from the back. I wriggled my body and managed to shook off the hands that grabbed me. Then, I jumped on the other side of the H2''s body then quickly squashed its head.


    Critical Hit!


    -106 HP.


    Target died. You gained 60 experience.


    I stopped channeling energy on my weapon since my energy level reached itsst five percent. A small green orb rolled out from the squashed head of the H2. I quickly grabbed and stored it in my dimensional storage.


    Everywhere I look at was filled with infected. I''m being surrounded by I wasn''t scared. Unless these regr infected learns how to use weapons and strategize, no matter howrge their number is, I will never get scared of them! I thought to myself as I ran without looking back.


    This wasn''t shameful! I''m just reserving my strength, so I can fight them better. I ran as fast as I could towards my ves. Two people were fighting the H1 infected while the rest made sure that no regr infected could approach the area.


    Fifteen and eighteen fought the H1 by alternately baiting and attacking. After the H1 pounced on the bait, the other side would attack from the back. After struggling for a few more shes, the H1 died before I could arrive.


    "Good job!" I shouted as I slowed down to a jog. "Line up! We''re not done yet! You guys finally learned something. You can''t always fight alone. Every day is a gang fight! HAHA!"


    Just as I finished speaking, I heard rumbling sounds came from behind the massive horde.


    ***


    The night went on filled with bloodshed.


    Looking from above, there were three major battles and one minor battle taking ce around the bridge. One group has five people surrounded by a massive horde of regr infected and the two other groups was fighting their own horde of infected. Half of the main horde clustered around the bridge. Those infected who were in the vanguard would charge madly while the rest who were ced on the middle and the back would sway idly on their spots. The other half of the main horde was further split into two; a quarter fought one group and the final quarter battled the remaining group.


    When Jun grouped up with his five-member group, they lined up in a row. At the same time that they started using guns to thin out their enemies, the D1''s fight with the mutated infected reached its climax. Due to the thinning of the bridge because of repeated spikes that used the asphalt as material, the bridge couldn''t take the force of the D1''s rampage and copsed.


    Jun''s group killed half of the infected before they switched to melee. They charged forward in a concave formation with Jun at the center wildly swinging a huge bone hammer. Though the group wasn''t that coordinated, they still managed to fought their way towards the entrance of the bridge to see the pile of rubble that crushed most of the infected including the D1 and the mutated infected. The rubble blocked the flow of water causing the water level to rise on the other side and lower on the other. Jun retrieved his rifle from his dimensional storage and killed all surviving infected. He called it practice-shooting since he doesn''t have any more energy for ''precision sniping''.


    On the other side of the bridge were two groups fighting arge amount of infected. This side of the battle received a few casualties just to be able to deal with the evolved infected that they encountered. After dealing with the evolved ones, everything that came after felt like a breeze to them. They systematically fought forward and inched closer to the center. The abled ones would take the lead while those who were injured would take care of the looting process. After a few more skirmishes with the infected, the two groups met up and their total fighting prowess gained a massive boost. It wasn''t a basic one plus one since they have already had experience coordinating with each other and that alone could strengthen a group''s fighting capability. They know how to work with each other and that made their fights easier.


    Several minutester Jun received a notification.


    [Quest Complete, ''The Big Boss II'']

 Chapter 101: New Territory

    Chapter 101: New Territory


    [Quest Complete! ''The Big Boss II'']


    [Description] You managed to tell the world that there''s a new boss in town. Now, you just need a base of operations and a territory to lord over.]


    [im or build a base. 1/1]


    [Clear all of the infected in an area to be its lord. 1 km radius 1/1]


    [Reward] Increase follower count.


    [Guild Member count increased from 5 to 10.]


    [New Guild Feature Unlocked! Guild Storage is now in operation. Every member would be notified of the changes.]


    [''Territory'' sub-menu is now essible.]


    [Congrattions! You''ve cleared the quest within one month. Generating additional rewards.]


    [Skill Upgrade Token] x1 received.


    [Lvl.10 Weapon Crate] x1 received.


    Jun felt happy after reading the string of notifications. Even though the n failed, they were still able to win the fight.


    The operation objective should be to decrease the density of the infected before killing them all the next day. If he knew that this would have happened, he would have brought his elite team to deal with this.


    "Here''s everything, sir." a masked man with a badge that says number one on his shoulder handed over a small stic bag filled with various crystals and shards. The most numerous were the basic low-tier essence shards. Then, everything was a mix of the red power crystal, mostly dropped by D-series infected, and the green speed crystal, mostly dropped by H-series infected. There''s a few pieces of energy stone that made him smile since he needed max energy to increase badly. His overall stat increased a lot, but there was no increase in his energy. He hasn''t found a way to increase it except for the energy stones. Thest thing that intrigued him was arge essence shard. He took the stic bag and examined therge shard.


    [Essence Shard - Mid-tier]


    [Description] A shard fragment. Use to increase EXP by 100.]


    "What a load of crap. Why would I use this for EXP when I know that it has a better use. If there''s a God that made this new world, he probably likes tricking people. Humph!" Jun said as he stored everything in his dimensional storage.


    "Gather everyone, we''re recalling back for now," said Jun.


    "Sir, I would like to report something."


    Jun turned his head to see Rank Two stepping forward. He felt curious that someone would willingly report instead of being asked to. "Go on."


    "On the way to our target area, we encountered a unique scene on the nearby south-east marina. As we were passing by, an old man begged us to help save their homes from sea dwellers. I don''t really understand what he was trying to say at the time, so we followed him. We walked a few meters towards a barren pathway, then we saw that most of the houses were submerged halfway. We saw unique men patrolling the area. Their skins look slimy and they have gills. The old man then told us that fishmen abruptly appeared out of nowhere and garrisoned the marina. They enved everyone including the women and young children making them nt various seeds on thend. He escaped and is now looking for help." Rank Two stepped aside and an old man walked forward staring at Jun forlornly.


    "H-hello, sir. My name is Gilbert and I''m the head of the marina. The marina where I live has been taken over by vicious creatures! Please help us!" the old man suddenly dropped on his knees and kowtowed without raising his head.


    "What do you mean by vicious? You said they enved your people. How did you escape? How many are there?" Jun sternly said.


    The old man shook his head vehemently, then tears dropped down from the side of his eyes.


    "Th-they started eating the children." Gilbert started bawling unable to control his emotions.


    The others were immediately affected and were ready to help voluntarily after hearing what he said. Though Jun had a different thing in his mind.


    Jun said, "Why should I help you? People are dying since everything started and you''re here not doing anything. You''re quite lucky, you know. Most old people I know fought their way out of their predicaments. By enduring or doing things slyly. The first thing that you need to do is to fight back!"


    "We did! And we lost! There''s a mermaid that can control the water using a staff. It always stays underwater and onlyes up when the fishmen were losing. They don''t know how to fight onnd, so we lured them ashore. But that mermaid... that woman flooded the marina! She raised the water level and submerged a quarter of the usualnd."


    Jun listened attentively to the story. If he guessed it correctly the staff should be an item that''s pretty powerful if it could control water. He already devised a n on how to kill the said mermaid since he wanted that staff but he had to know more information first.


    "Where does the mermaid usually stay?" said Jun.


    "It took one of the fisherman''s house as itsir and gathered all the men there," said Gilbert.


    "Then, what would I receive if I help you? You can''t just ask for help without giving something in return. Or do you expect us to risk our lives for nothing just to help you?" said Jun.


    Gilbert felt troubled. "I-I don''t have anything on me right now, but I can give you those seeds! That''s right! Those seeds look unique! They must be important right?"


    "Yeah, I think so too. But they''re not yours," said Jun.


    Gilbert thought hard of something important that he owns, then smiled wryly after realizing that there''s only one thing that belongs to himself. "My great grandfather, my grandfather, and my father were all fishermen. I was brought up as a fisherman and that''s the only skill I have. I''ll work under you for the rest of my life if you save my family. ."


    Jun smiled. "Just your family? I thought you wanted your marina saved. Haha!"


    "I want the marina to be saved, but please prioritize my family," Gilbert said.


    "That''s good. You have priorities. I have mine too. By the way, I have onest question. Did you see if the mermaid has legs?"


    Before Gilbert could answer, the border patrol arrived with a bunch of survivors riding a pickup truck. They curiously examined the area as they approached. A police officer came out from the passenger seat of the pickup truck.


    Jun spoke, "Don''t mention anything about the marina to the police, they''re pretty much useless. I''ll be the one to deal with that."


    Gilbert and the masked men nodded their heads.


    "Hello there. I see you guys are having a party tonight, huh?" said the police officer right after he arrived. His face flushed still looking intoxicated. "My name''s Tennis Drillo and I hate people whough at my name. I don''t know what my parents were thinking when they named me but that''s a matter of the past. What I want to know is why the heck are guys out here! Don''t you know that there''s a huge horde just across the bridge!"


    Officer Tennis peaked towards the bridge but didn''t see any infected. Puzzled, he approached the bridge and saw the rubble that piled up. His eyes widen as he yelled in surprise.


    "What happened here?!"


    The officer ran back to them demanding an exnation.


    "Who''s going to fix that? What are we gonna do about that?" said the officer looking everyone in the eye.


    Jun stepped back not wanting to deal with boring things like exnations or reporting. Heck, he doesn''t even want to speak with this drunk officer. His breath literally stinks. He pulled Gilbert to the back of the group and continued his ''interrogation''.


    The officer saw this and became unhappy, feeling that he was disrespected.


    Nik blocked his path with his hand and asked, "Do you know him?"


    Officer Tennis scoffed, then said, "The real question here is, do you know me!? I can send you to prison if I wanted to! I have enough connections for that!"


    Toby bowed slightly then used his silver tongue to appeal to the officer. He narrated the reason and some factual events that happened which resulted in a scolding.


    "What are you guys thinking!? Who are you to do that? If you failed, you could have annihted the camp! If we''re caught unprepared by thatrge horde, everyone would die! I will report this to the higher-ups." Officer Tennis said then haughtily turned around but was pulled back. The next thing he knew, he was already lying with his back on the ground.


    Officer Tennis'' men were rmed and hurried to help him, but was immediately blocked by masked men. They couldn''t see what''s happening on the other side, but they could still hear him having a conversation with someone.


    "Who the fvck are you? That''s not important. How dare you do that to me! I''ll remember you!"


    "You would." said the other voice. "Lookie here~ Porn magazines, liquors, condoms and what the actual... Where did you find this stuffs? So you like ying around I see. You can keep your toys but I''m taking this and that."


    "You can''t do this! This is a robbery!"


    "Yes, it is."

 Chapter 102: Its Okay, Im Just Unique

    Chapter 102: Its Okay, I''m Just Unique


    Jun and his group went back to thepound. He gave every Death Squad member 1000 CP to spend however they like and reminded them that they need toe back within an hour.


    Gilbert was sheltered on one of the houses near thepound. Jun pestered him for more information regarding the mermaid which he received vague answers that made him feel disappointed and worried. It seemed like Gilbert didn''t actually meet the ''mermaid'' and only heard from other fishermen about the story.


    As Jun bade goodbye and walked back to thepound, an advertisement on the bus piqued his interest.


    "Thising Saturday! Drinking Contest at Veronica''s PUB. 100 CP to enter! Winner takes ALL! Come and join the FUN!" On the lower part of the advertisement were small written words, "This advertisement has been approved by ck Haven Marketing Department. Please don''t take this home. Vitors would be punished."


    Jun noted this event to his mind, thinking of possible ways to gain something from this event. He then went back to thepound to check on how things were going. The market area received fewer and fewer customers but it didn''t mean that sales were going down. ck Haven shifted from daily products trader to specialized product trader. ck Haven buys any unique item as long as it''s rare. Did you found some weird branch? A golden leaf? An ultra size thick worm? We''ll buy it! Carcasses were being bought too. In terms of items sold, the most popr were the short swords that could cut any regr infected in two with a single sh. The production sped up after Old John epted some apprentice and the supply finally increased. Though there''s still a deficiency, everyone could still see the improvement.


    Jun walked inside the mall and saw Rank One staring at Paterno who was ying with a young girl. Everyone at the mall is already used to seeing the masked men loitering about and they know that they were Jun''s subordinates, so they feel at ease even though they looked weird or act weird. Most of the time, they just ignored them since they themselves don''t even talk.


    As Jun passed by, he couldn''t help but get curious, he said, "Do you know him? I don''t like that old man. In the early days, he almost caused our group to be killed. And what? For his selfishness. Though it''s sad when we found out that his wife and granddaughter were dead, it doesn''t change the fact that he almost got us all killed."


    "I don''t know him." Nik bluntly said.


    Jun gave him a sideway nce with raised eyebrows. Then he realized from the tone of his voice that this man was the teenager that always requested his little sister''s safety.


    "You''re that brat!" said Jun with widened eyes, thenughed. "So, you do have what it takes. But how can you be my bodyguard when you''re weaker than me?"


    Nik faced him and through the holes from the mask, his eyes stared at him. "How would you even know that? I trained like crazy every day and I mindlessly increased my speed stat. I''m level 3 and I have 11 points in strength, 13 points in speed, and an average of 9 points in every other stat. Everyone in the squad called me a prodigy!"


    Junughed. "I hate to inform you this, but let me show you true power."


    Jun''s throat glowed crimson as he activated Threaten. He red at Nik then grabbed his neck activating his Rob skill. His hands glowed red indicating skill usage.


    [Rob activated! You used 10 energy.]


    [Stat check... 28:8.8... checkplete. Your power stat is three times higher than the target. Activating Daylight Robbery!]


    Nik''s dimensional storage showed itself upon Jun. There were various kinds of stuff in it and most of them were weapons and other various survival items like medical stuff. There''s almost nothing for leisure except for a book about physical training. Heck, could that even be considered for leisure!?


    Jun felt surprised knowing that this brat was truly focused on strengthening himself. It looks like this kid wasn''t all talk and was actually doing what he says.


    On the other hand, Nik stood there frozen. He received notification that he was being robbed since he was face to face with the robber and robbing is actually different from pickpocket or stealing where you do the deed in silence. The most unbelievable thing that he can''t get out of his mind was the notification that stated that Jun had three times his power stat. He usually felt that having 11 points in power should bring him on the top 1% of the survivors. If Jun was like this, then could his teammates possibly have the same stat configuration? Do they know something that the popce doesn''t? Whatever the reason, he was three-fold weaker than the man in front of him.


    "It''s okay, I''m just unique," Jun said as he let go of Nik''s neck. He then ignored the inquiring gazes of his group and went straight back to his room. When he didn''t find Marianne there, he started asking everyone he met for her whereabouts. He found Marianne in the kitchen ying with Takaw. When they met, the two greeted each other with a kiss, then Jun invited her for a dinner. Mike hastily prepared a few dishes that he knew Jun liked and served additional hotdogs for Takaw, filling his te to the brim. At the same time that they were eating, Jun informed Marianne that he still needs to go out. Though troubled, Marianne epted his decision and wished for his safety.


    Jun could have finished this business for tomorrow but something doesn''t just sit well with him regarding Gilbert''s story. Why would sea dwellers eat the children? And why now? They could have started eating them on the first day they were captured and that left many questions unanswered.


    It was almost nine after eating dinner. Jun headed towards the back office to check on how things were going. He first went to Tatang Robin in the security office.


    "How''re things going? Do you have enough booze here?" said Jun as he examined the room.


    "Well, after the modifications with the camera, there''s only one fool who tried to sneak in. After that nothing. No one dares to steal from the market even though there''s no security there. Rumors are spreading around that people who steal from ck Haven are always punished by death." said Tatang Robin.


    "What does that mean?" said Jun.


    "People who were caught were never seen again. What do you expect the people would think? Did you really kill them?" said Tatang Robin.


    "Do you think I killed them?" asked Jun.


    Tatang Robin drunk from his ss before answering, "I don''t think you killed them. Not one in our group thinks you killed them. But the popce doesn''t think like that. I don''t know how you''ll deal with that, but I hope you don''t do something overboard."


    "Of course, I don''t really care about public opinion anyways. That''s probably the reason why some people were acting out of ce recently." Jun nodded his head as he reminisced about that officer he met earlier.


    "Why? Did something happen while you were out there?" Tatang Robin said filled with worry.


    "Nothing much, just some drunk officer looking for trouble. Thank you for always working hard. If you have any requests, don''t get shy on me, okay?" Jun said as he tapped Tatang Robin''s shoulder. "Alright, I''ll have to go. See you next time."


    Jun bade farewell and went to Old John''s room a few steps away.


    Knock, knock.


    "Old fart, are you still alive?" said Jun before opening the door.


    As he opened the door, the putrid stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed him. The table on the center of the room was filled with fresh bones that still have some flesh and blood sticking to it.


    "I''m busy. What do you want?" said Old John.


    "What a wee. Do you hate me or something?" Jun replied acting deeply hurt.


    "Every time youe through that door, you increase my workload. Mike just delivered a new batch of bones and I n on finishing them all before next week," said Old John.


    "You have apprentices right? Where are they?" asked Jun after noticing that Old John seemed to be working alone.


    "Look at you. You don''t even know that my apprentices have their own workce! You only know what you''re interested with! Bah! Just tell me what you need." said Old John slightly smiling.


    Though they were talking like this, they felt rxed and happy. Having some idle chats after a hard day would make someone feel good. Well, having someone you know for a long time to talk with, considering the current circumstances, could be considered as a blessing.


    "I was busy, okay? I have something for you. Look at this."

 Chapter 103: Gains

    Chapter 103: Gains


    [Earth Crystal]


    [Description] A brownish-grey circr crystal that has absorbed some essence of the earth. Increases physical defense and adds earth elemental damage or earth elemental resistance depending on use.


    "Where did you get these?" Old John asked Jun unable to believe what he was holding onto. This is the second most unique crystal that he has seen and both of them happened in the same week.


    "I looted it from a mutated carrier. The carrier can use its surroundings to create earthen spikes that could impale anyone. Though it proved useless on a D1''s skin and they both died together, the crystal should have some skill too, right?" said Jun as a matter of factly.


    "Why do you think so? Have you ever used that bone hammer of yours too breathe fire or shoot fireballs?" Old John rebutted.


    Jun shook his head. "I haven''t tried... maybe, some other time."


    "I thought so... Go on, don''t disturb me. I''m quite busy myself. I don''t know what to do with this, but considering you already have a new weapon, how about I embed this to an armor?" Old John suggested to Jun.


    "You know how to make armors?!" Jun was surprised unable to believe what he heard. He seemed to have forgotten that he was talking to the son of a cksmithing family.


    "Are you dumb? Of course, I know how to! Do you think I have this on my garage as decorations?" Old John angrily said as he spread his arms pointing at every tool and equipment inside the room.


    "Oh, right. But I don''t want to wear bone armors. That would make me look like a savage barbarian and I''m sure it would stink." Jun said.


    "What stink?! Does your hammer stink? Does any of your swords stink?! You don''t know how many processes your weapons undergo before you could even touch them! Humph! And why would I use bones? I can smelt metals and use that for your armor, mix some ground bones and that should increase durability." Old John said, then muttered. "That''s a good idea, I should experiment on that."


    Old John returned to shaping and sharpening the bones and ignored Jun.


    Seeing that he was being ignored after handing over a precious crystal, Jun left displeased. But deep within, he was thankful for the old man providing him help whenever he needed it. He was also reminded that he needs to look for other resources instead of relying on bone arsenals. The mine he saw on the map should do the trick, but that would be for another day.


    He got out of the back office and lounged around the sofa in the kitchen. He opened the system menu since he was finally alone and had some time to went through all his gains for today.


    The first thing he needed to settle was the matter of the guild members. He nned to remove those who were not active on the front lines and invite those who were always fighting to maximize the guild bonuses. Every member would receive a 10% passive increase in experience gain wherever they are. Then, another 10% increase in overall stats when they were fighting alongside Jun. Currently, there are two members who aren''t actively fighting on the front lines, Gina and Bernard. The remaining members would be She, Adrian, and Edward. That leaves seven spots for new guild members. He couldn''t think of anyone he knows of that always fought on the front lines except for his death ves. With no other choice, he nned to invite them to the guild if they were worthy enough. He then started nning on how to test their loyalty and strength.


    The next thing he had to examine was the new feature, Guild Storage. He opened the menu screen and immediately noticed the changes. There were now four categories instead of three. Character, Faction, Dimensional Storage, and Territory. He opened the Territory category and a sub-interface popped up. It showed the 1km radius, which should be the area Jun managed to clear, from a top-down point of view. There are five lines on the left side that described the territory.


    Lord: Jun Reyes


    Poption: 368 Registered: 0


    Territory: Binangonan


    Territory type: Neutral - Bad


    Affiliation: Nature - Receive 10% increase crop growth rate


    On the territory map, there were highlighted ces where buildings could be built. He tapped one of them and it showed a list of possible buildings to work on; Altar, Faction Hall, and Faction Portal.


    The most intriguing part on the territory menu was the note that said, "Carriers that have lower power level than the territory''s lord cannot spawn on the territory." Does this mean that those carriers can respawn? They could already reanimate but now they can respawn?! And how do they even do that!


    Jun felt frustrated as he closed the territory interface. He then opened the Guild Storage to store some of his outdated weapons but noticed that it was already half full. Most of the items were modified stones, rubber balls, and balloons. There''s also equipment, daggers, swords, essence shards, various crystals, and different kinds of foods. Even clothing was ced here! The most impractical thing he saw was the stack of paper taking a single slot. There were only 100 slots for the Guild Storage and it was already half-full.


    Jun wore his wireless earphone and mentioned every guild member''s name. After everyone replied, he asked why the heck was the Guild Storage filled with trash. He almost forgot that he himself was about to stash his useless stuff onto the Guild Storage. The mostmon reason he received was that their dimensional storage was almost full, so they unloaded some to the guild storage. He could ept that since three out five were probably fighting outside during the day, but why are there different kinds of plushies stored here. And what''s with the paper? Evo exined that those were his research and thought that the Guild Storage was a better ce to hide things since he wasn''t sure if he would be robbed one day.


    Jun ended the call frustrated, again.


    He browsed his dimensional storage and found something that brightened his mood. The Skill Upgrade Token and the Lvl.10 Weapon Crate. He grasped the two of them with much care since he knew that items that came from quests are ultra-rare and super important. He lost his first item but he was thankful since it was actually cursed. He just hopes that when the time that he reached the right level, he would be lucky enough to get something good.


    On the other hand, the skill upgrade token is something that he can use now to improve himself. Browsing over his skills, he noticed that most of his skills where mostly auxiliary types that make him stronger. He wonders when he would learn some explosive active skills besides the Empowered Strike he created, a skill that wasn''t even recognized by the system.


    After caressing the token and weapon crate, he finally checked their descriptions.


    [Skill Upgrade Token]


    [Description] A wooden token with mystic runes inscribed on its surface. Randomly upgrade a skill by one-tier. The skill upgraded using the token cannot be ranked up by using another skill upgrade token. The token is consumed after the skill upgrade.


    [Lvl.10 Weapon Crate]


    [Description] Level 10 Gift box that contains mid to high tier weapon.


    Jun sighed after reading everything. He nned on upgrading his Time Perse skill to test whether the MAX level was actually the final rank. If he managed to increase its rank, wouldn''t that give him a god-tier skill or something of the likes?


    Grasping the skill upgrade token on his palm, he then poured energy into it. The runes on the token''s surface lit up filled with energy. Afterward, a notification appeared in front of Jun.


    [Congrattions! Your Blueprint Creation skill has been upgraded to Blueprint.]


    [Blueprint - Lvl. MAX]


    [Description] Scan an object and create a blueprint out of it. Drain 10 energy for every scan.


    [Requirements] Ballpen or pencil, paper.


    "What''s the difference?" Jun thought after reading the description.


    There was literally nothing he could think of besides the shorter description and the additional requirements! Jun felt he was cheated! He has lots of skills to choose from and the one he doesn''t use regrly was the one that got chosen!


    Jun cursed a lot inside his head as he activated the newly upgraded Blueprint skill. He scanned the table in front of him and a piece of paper appeared on his hand. He already has a pen and paper on his dimensional storage which he took from the Guild Storage.


    [Table Blueprint]


    [Description] Amon household table made frommon wood. Durability: 100]


    Activate Blueprint?


    Yes / No


    For the sake of learning and to increase the familiarization with the skill Jun epted the prompt.


    The table blueprint on his hand flew in the air and dropped towards the ground. A 3D model of the table grew from the blueprint and expanded into life-sized furniture. Jun tried touching the blue lines only to see his hands pass through them. Just then, another notification popped out which indicated the number of materials needed for crafting the table.


    Wood: 0/100


    Nails: 0/20

 Chapter 104: Lakeside Marina

    Chapter 104: Lakeside Marina


    Jun frowned looking at the requirements. Why is there too much wood required? Does a table really need that much wood? He opened his dimensional storage to check for the required materials. He had some stashed wood since he never bothered organizing his inventory, but there were no nails. It would be shocking if there were nails in his dimensional storage since that''s not something you normally carry.


    Jun called for anyone who has 20 nails toe to the kitchen.


    A few minutester, Adrian came holding a small transparent stic bag.


    "What''s that?" Adrian asked while staring at the 3D table made from blue lines.


    "I upgraded one of my skills and this happened. Such a useless skill in my opinion." Jun disappointingly gazed at the table.


    "I brought the nails," Adrian said as he handed over a transparent stic bag with numerous nails inside. "So, what''s going on here?"


    "I''m trying out the skill. I scanned the table and now I''m making another table. Now, how do I do this..." said Jun as he pondered what to do.


    "Do you need a hammer? I didn''t bring one, but you could just improvise. I have a rock here. Do you want it?" said Adrian.


    "What? Why do you have a rock? Never mind, don''t answer that." said Jun, then started thinking of how to do it.


    The first generation Blueprint Creation only needed him to activate the skills, and if he had enough materials while also having the required tools, the skill would finish the job on its own. There''s also a bit of waiting time before the item could be produced.


    Though this newly upgraded Blueprint doesn''t seem to need tools, it also doesn''t automatically consume materials.


    He tried re-reading the skill description and tried activating it once again, but it only requested for a target object giving him no clues at all. Finally running out of ideas, Jun tossed the stic bag onto the 3D table hologram. The stic bag that contained nails glowed, then passed through the 3D lines and fell unto the floor.


    "That''s not it, huh. So how! Tell me!" Jun thought to himself.


    Jun approached forward and picked up the stic bag when suddenly, the table blueprint interface showed up.


    Wood: 0/100


    Nails: 20/20


    Jun widened his eyes. He didn''t really paid attention earlier, but it was noticeable that the nails inside the stic bag have been reduced. After realizing that you just need to ce the item on the hologram, Jun hastily brought out some lumber. The wood requirement went up by five and he submitted neen more lumber to meet the required materials.


    At the same time, he finished submitting thest piece of lumber, the 3D table made of blue lines shone dimly. A circr light came appeared from the floor and inched upward giving life to the 3D hologram. Though it was quite slow, it didn''t even take five seconds for the circr light to travel from the bottom to the top of the table.


    After everything that happened, a newly produced table stood in front of him.


    "That''s cool. Very cool. I''m going to Old John to get a new set of short swords and daggers. Myst set broke an hour ago. They''re good weapons and extremely sharp. It''s just that they''re brittle. I have to go and get a new set almost every day. I need to go now, She and Edward together with our scavengers are waiting for me. See youter." said Adrian heading towards the back office.


    With Adrian''s farewell, Jun was reminded of his task for today.


    Jun picked up the table and brought it to the furniture section of the Department Store. It was near since the makeshift kitchen area was also on the Department Store. He passed by his room and didn''t find Marianne, so he proceeded outside to meet with his death ves.


    It was almost ten in the evening and yet the street outside was still bustling. There were various people chatting and drinking merrily as they enjoyed life.


    Jun saw some of his group members shopping around the night market. ck Haven isn''t the sole merchant in town. Individuals started selling all kinds of stuff, like stuffed bears, scavenged clothes, trinkets, and various cute little things.


    Jun won''t stop them and he was happy about this since all of them were using Credit Points as the currency. It will increase ck Haven''s status among the popce while further stabilizing its position as the main power in town.


    Jun didn''t have to walk far to see his death ves already waiting for him down the road. Their chatter halted once they saw that Jun hase out and one ve greeted him at the bus.


    Nik said, "Everyone is here, including the two injured members earlier. Though they''re not on top shape, they insisted that they can continue fighting."


    Jun gazed at his ves, then nodded his head. "Okay. Where is Gilbert?"


    "He''s already joined the group and is currently waiting for you," said Nik.


    "Good. Let''s go."


    Jun brought the group towards the eastern residential area in a fast and organized manner. Gilbert was inside the formation since he wasn''t that good as a fighter. Though he tried helping at the bridge, he caused more problems than actual help. It''s not that he was weak or clumsy. It''s because he doesn''t want to hurt anyone or anything. The most he managed to do was attracting the carriers while the Death Squad members kill them.


    After some twist and turns, they finally arrived at the barren path that leads towards the marina. It was a dirt path that stretched onwards that leads to a muddy terrain. After reaching halfway, they already noticed the unusual water level. The usual sandy beach was gone and one couldn''t even see the wooden pathways of the marina since they were already submerged under the water. Though the pathway was submerged and the moon only gave them enough light to see what''s in front of them, they were still able to walk on the nks thanks to the water being clear enough for them to see where they''re stepping on. If they slipped or stepped at the edge of the nks, they could fall and had to swim back up.


    "We''re here," said Gilbert. "This is the entrance to the marina. The water level here reaches only up to your knees, but as we go forward, it will go higher."


    "As I have said earlier, we''ve counted sixteen fishmen and one mermaid. That should be all of them." Gilbert said.


    "This is the second time I''m hearing this, but I still can''t believe that more than thirty people lost to that number," said Jun.


    "We were winning, but that sole mermaid turned the tides of the battle. Literally. After the water level rose up, their attacks changed drastically. I suggest you look carefully onto where you step." said Gilbert as the group trudged along the wooden walkway.


    Coconut palm leaves weaved together weed them after reaching a turn.


    "That''s my house!" said Gilbert while pointing on a half-submerged house surrounded by other houses made from various kinds of wood.


    "Why is there no fishmen? We''re already this near, so they should have noticed us already," said Jun.


    "They''re probably on the other side of town. I once saw the mermaid leading the fishmen towards that area. Let''s rescue my family!" said Gilbert.


    "Isn''t this too easy?" Jun thought to himself as he followed after the old man.


    Their group moved while half of their bodies were submerged in the water. Every time they moved, they made ripples on the water. Gilbert who was leading them excitedly dashed towards his house when he suddenly slipped and fell into the water.


    Junughed as he approached carefully not wanting to embarrass himself. He noticed that the water rippled too much seeming like that the old man was struggling to stand.


    "Hey old man. The water only reaches up to my chest. You won''t fool anyone, so stand up right now, okay?" said Jun smiling. Then he muttered, "Did he stepped off the nks? He knew how to swim right?"


    The ripples of water increased and Gilbert still hasn''t stood up.


    Jun realized that Gilbert wasn''t ying around. The water turned red as he rushed forward, walking onrge strides. He met some water resistance on each and every step, but thankfully he was close enough to see the old man in front of him.


    Jun saw the reason why the old man fell unto the water. There was a carrier biting on his legs! The old man didn''t slip nor did he stepped off the nks! He was pulled by a carrier underwater and was being attacked!


    "Enemies! Watch your steps!" Jun said as he dove down. He brought out his favorite bone hammer and immediately plummeted to the bottom. Jun quickly switched his weapon into a much lighter one; a bone dagger.


    He looked up and watched as the old man pushed the carrier''s head away from his legs. They were still near the shoreline and so Jun only needed to swim up for a couple of seconds before reaching the carrier.


    Stab!


    The dagger went through the side of its head and the looting process quickly started since Jun was holding onto the dead carrier''s body. Just as he nned to go back to the nk pathway, he heard a shrill scream followed by water vibrations even though he was still underwater.

 Chapter 105: The Mermaid

    Chapter 105: The Mermaid


    The night was clear and the moon shone a light on everything under the sky.


    On the other side of the marina where there''s only a small piece ofnd surrounded by water, a group of regr carriers surrounded the small ind. The drynd wasn''t even enough for a house to be built upon but enough for a small garden.


    Speaking of which, two little boys huddled together with a middle-aged woman. She seemed to be the mother of the two children or they were just too scared at the moment that they cling so hard on the woman''s clothes.


    A unique carrier stood on the center gazing at the woman. The woman seemed to be already used to this and walked forward, leaving the frightened children on their spots.


    The surrounding regr carriers snarled and growled at the children but none chose to lunge at them.


    The woman gulped as she encouraged herself.


    Every day at the same time, this horrible creature would bring her here and a few others. At first, the women were secretly brought here without others knowing. When most of the women were already eaten, she stood alone surrounded by dead bodies. She doesn''t know why they did not eat her. She only knew that after those creatures ate her friends and neighbors, their bodies started to change. Almost all of them became skinnier and became a fast swimmer. She was then left alone together with this odd-looking monster. There was a long bamboo pole impaled on its right hand, but it never bothered removing it.


    "Does it not feel pain? Why isn''t it taking it off?" the woman thought. She then patted the children''s head and strode forward.


    She arrived beside the monster and ced her hand on top of a nt-like she usually would, then continuously channeled energy. Maybe it was the sole reason she wasn''t killed. To be used as a fertilizer, supplying energy to a weird nt that hasn''t borne fruit even once. The nt was two feet tall and has green leaves. It looked like a tomato nt since it only grew straight up and has thin stems.


    After thirty seconds she stopped channeling energy since it was the normal routine, but the monster snarled as if it was angry. She shuddered and the children became more frightened after hearing the horrendous voice of the creature. She then continued channeling energy. When she was about to pass out from energy exhaustion, with her consciousness already on the brink of copse, she heard sshing noises.


    A few secondster, she dropped down to the ground. A green circr fruit grew on the stem in just a blink of an eye.


    ***


    "We''re in trouble! They''reing!" Jun said as he climbed back up onto the walkway.


    His men tensed up as they prepared for the iing enemies. Their gazes dig deep through the water, carefully scrutinizing every possible entry of attack. They held short swords and had their backs on each other.


    "Clear!"


    "Nothing on this side!"


    "They''reing from the east!"


    The death ves continued giving out reports resulting in a swift gathering of information.


    "Let''s go to my house!" said Gilbert as he limped forward. His leg was hurting and when he tried stepping his wounded leg, his feet gave way and he fell down.


    Before he could plunge unto the water, Jun managed to catch him and support him up.


    "Let''s go!" said Jun.


    "Some of you should go inside those houses!" shouted Gilbert as Jun carried most of his weight. "There are harpoons inside, they should be useful if you want to fight them!"


    "Listen to him!" Jun shouted before entering the house.


    It was a simple thatched house made of dry leaves for the roof and some simple woods for the floors and walls. There was basic furniture; a table, some chairs, two beds, and two closets. The water was at the same level as the table.


    Inside the house were the remaining people of the marina. There were ten people staying on the second floor connected to the first floor by a simpledder. It couldn''t really be called a second floor since it was actually the attic where food was stored. Most of the survivors were old fishermen who looked like they have already given up on resisting. It is noticeable that there''s no woman in the room. Also, there''s a little girl clutching her body due to the cold.


    "Where is my wife? My sons?" said Gilbert as he looked at everyone. "Where are they!?"


    Gilbert rushed forward and fell towards thedder. He ignored the pangs of pain on his leg and forcefully brought himself on the attic. He crawled forward then grabbed the person he trusted the most.


    "Paolo, tell me! Where are they?" said Gilbert almost pleading.


    The man named Paolo lowered his gaze. "The mermaid took her this time, together with your sons. I''m sorry Gil, I''m truly sorry! We couldn''t do anything!"


    "I trusted you! I thought you would protect my family! You told me that you''d protect them if I found some help!" said Gilbert, then threw a punch to the man''s face.


    "Please understand my position  our position as well! We want to live too!" said Paolo aggrieved.


    "Fvck this!" said Gilbert as he rolled to the side. He crawled towards the edge and dove towards the first floor. Gilbert didn''t get up immediately but used the table to stand up. The wound on his leg itched and hurt at the same time. He went towards the closet, then searched for something behind the stacks of clothes.


    Gilbert brought out a long spear-like instrument used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catchrge fish or marine mammals such as whales, a harpoon.


    Gilbert armed the harpoon gun with an iron harpoon. He took the rest of the harpoons and strapped them onto his shoulder. He closed the closet, then looked towards the second floor with disappointment.


    "We should treat you''re wound first," said Jun.


    "Are you a doctor?" asked Gilbert.


    "No..."


    "Then let''s go, we need to stop wasting time here!"


    Before the two of them got outside, they could already hear the tides of battle outside. It seemed like using a harpoon was harder than hisckeys thought since based on their shouts, they were missing a lot.


    Gilbert opened the door and immediately scoured the immediate area for any threats. He limply trudges forward while observing the movements of the water.


    On the other side, northeast of them was Jun''s men embroiled unto a melee with the fishmen. Besides their slimy figures, there was nothing that resembled them to a fishmen of legends on Jun''s head. He couldn''t find any gills on any of them, so he decided not to listen to any fishermen''s stories from now on.


    He stood behind Gilbert to protect him from any nk attacks. At the same time, Gilbert fired his first shot which hit a fishman right on its head. The harpoon went through the side and almost hit the death ve fighting the fishman, stopping a few inches in front of the man''s mask.


    Just as Gilbert was reloading a harpoon onto the gun, bubbles appeared on the water surface. He readied his bone dagger as he searched the water for the iing carrier. And like what he expected, a carrier swam towards them at top speed. The carrier''s foot stuck together and waved forward like a fish.


    Like an arrow released from the bow, it swam to them at a straight line. Since Jun already knew the trajectory of the attack, he swapped his dagger for a bone spear. The bone spear was two feet long and mostly used as throwables, but in this situation, Jun used it as a stopper.


    The fishman carrier swam directly towards the spear, piercing itself on the face. Jun felt the forceful impact and his body actually floated for a bit, but still regained bnce. He then retrieved and looted the body as they walked forward. He had no time to cut it up and wasn''t willing to right now.


    "Just loot the bodies. Use your spears as throwables! That''s the reason you were given that." Jun shouted.


    His death ves were fighting on par with the fishmen even though they weren''t used on fighting in water. With his suggestion and the fishermen''s attack pattern; swimming underwater before charging to attack, they easily dealt with them. Some threw the spears before the carriers could dive down while others waited for the carriers to kill themselves by piercing onto the spear.


    A weird scream came from the other side of the marina. The rest of the fishmen all retreated and dove down underwater.


    "Did we win?" a death ve asked.


    "We were winning! But not anymore. Can''t you see that a new problem just cropped up!" said the death ve beside him, on his shoulders was a badge with a number one.


    "Sir, something weird seems to be happening over there," Nik reported to Jun, who was passing by.


    "I know that! What are you guys waiting for! We need to hurry!" yelled Jun.


    "Considering that those fishmen were fake and were just regr carriers that can swim fast, is that mermaid even real? What about my epic loot? My water elemental staff!" Jun felt aggrieved as they got closer onto the other half of the marina.


    On the distance, he could see a woman carrying two children, running on the surface of the water.

 Chapter 106: Water Stride

    Chapter 106: Water Stride


    "Helena!" shouted Gilbert as he watched the woman run towards the shoreline in a straight forward manner.


    The woman called Helene turned her head and saw Gilbert with a bunch of odd-looking people. Despite that, she immediately changed directions quickly heading towards them.


    The water surface behind her had numerous ripples of water chasing after her. A shrill scream came further behind followed by a ssh of water that reached one meter up in the air.


    "Ready your spears!" Jun shouted.


    Helena ran as fast as she could, but the weight of the two children weighed her down.


    Gilbert rushed forward and take a better angle when she was just ten meters away from them.


    A figure lunged out of the water like a flying fish. It flew towards Helena at an angle and yet it was struck by a harpoon filled with howling wind. Gilbert reloaded hisst harpoon onto the gun and kept his gaze below the water, looking for any threats that might follow. Weirdly enough, the trails and ripples of water disappeared until his wife reaches their side.


    She slowly sunk down from the water surface after reaching them. Gilbert immediately hugged her


    and took his children from her grasp to lighten her load.


    "Thank the Lord you''re okay. I''m so worried. I thought for sure that... that..."


    "Say no more, we''re back on your side now." Helena hugged Gilbert for a few seconds before looking worried. "We need to get out of here. That monster must be very angry."


    "What do you mean?" said Gilbert.


    "Monster?" said Jun.


    Helena turned her head towards her husband, then towards Jun. "There''s one unique monster among them. It can control the water and has intelligence. It can give orders and n them. We need to get out of the water first!"


    "Okay. Retreat towards the houses!" Jun ordered.


    The group inched closer to each other as they retreated towards the houses. After several seconds, one death ve sunk down causing amotion for everyone near him. The person next to him quickly dove down to his rescue while others heightened their senses for any more threats that maye. Secondster, two people showed up; one looking annoyed while the other was embarrassed.


    "Sorry, I stepped off the walkway..." said the man as he smiled wryly under his mask.


    After that scene, everyone carefully watched where they were stepping on. It increased their awareness of the surroundings while increasing their focus under the water. They reached the housing area safely and gathered on Gilbert''s house where most of the people were held.


    With the addition of almost twenty new people, the house became cramped and most of them had to stand on the first floor to give further space for the others.


    With finally having time to talk with each other, Gilbert and Helena brought their children on the attic as they catch up on in each other''s stories.


    Jun who was watching the scene couldn''t help but ask, "Can you teach us that water-walking skill you''ve got?"


    Jun''s action would be considered rude even before the apocalypse and right now. In the Philippines, it was considered rude to cut in someone''s conversation, especially if they were older than you. You could get scolded or worse ignored for the whole conversation while marking yourself as someone immature.


    Never the less, Helena smiled and said, "I''m sure you already know this, but my name is Helena and this is my husband, Gilbert. I thank you foring to our rescue. Thanks for your timely help, I didn''t have to die. Not one of us needed to die anymore. Regarding your request, I can teach you since it was quite simple. Just gather energy on the sole of your foot and that should do the trick."


    "Wait. Isn''t that basically Sprint?" Jun blurted out.


    Helena tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what the man in front of him was saying.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t think that it was simply like that. We already learned a skill with the same usage conditions, so it didn''t cross my mind that they might be the same. I''m Jun by the way and this are my subordinates. You can call them by their numbers." said Jun.


    Gilbert and Helena stared at the numbers on the masked men''s shoulders. Though they don''t understand why they were called by numbers instead of their names, the two of them just ignored the matter.


    Jun was the first to try the water-walking skill. He easily gathered energy on the sole of his foot, then tried stepping forward. He felt some resistance from the water and so he tried again. After two more tries, his feet brought him higher and so he stepped up using his other feet.


    [Congrattions! You''ve learned Water Stride!]


    [Water Stride]


    [Description] Allows the user to walk on the surface of the water. Drains 20 energy upon use. Additional 1 energy per 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Passive increase of 20% movement speed when submerged underwater.


    "It''s almost the same," said Jun. "This one just cost more energy to use. You sure got lucky that you were able to reach us before your energy ran out."


    Helena nodded her head. "I sure was. Having two kids on my arms increased the energy consumption. Thankfully I increased my max energy before running for our lives."


    "You increased your max energy?" Jun dumbfoundedly stared at Helena since he couldn''t believe what he just heard. He tried and look for everywhere for a method to increase his energy but still ended up failing. And now, in front of him, someone ims that they increased their max energy at their own will.


    "Well, to speak clearly, I ate some fruit and that increased my max energy. Would you like to see it?" said Helena.


    Jun nodded his head and so Helena took something from his dimensional storage, a green circr fruit that has a smooth surface sized more or less two inches.


    Jun scanned it through his eye but didn''t see anything.


    "Can I see it?" Jun said as heid out his hand in front of him.


    Helena hesitated but still handed over the fruit.


    [Energy Fruit]


    [Description] A fruit from the rare tropical nt found only onnds that have a high concentration of energy. When consumed, increases max energy by 100 points and restores energy to full. The effect would be halved for every consumption of the fruit.


    After reading the description, Jun handed back the fruit. His action surprised Helena and most of his subordinates. They were sure that he would im it as his own since they kind of know how he operates. They didn''t know that Jun doesn''t like stealing. He mostly does things like mugging for fun.


    Jun turned towards Gilbert. "Where''re my seeds?"


    Being reminded of the seeds, Gilbert turned to his wife, then turned back to him. "My wife has it. As per our agreement, we''ll only give it to you after you killed all of those monsters and brought us to safety."


    "Okay. Are you guys done?" said Jun towards his water striding death ves. They have been practicing ever since the start on how to bnce their body on the wavy waters.


    "Yes, sir!" the death ves unanimously answered.


    "Good. Let''s cook some fishes up."


    After Jun and his subordinates left, Helena tugged at her husbands shirt.


    "What seeds? We only have one, remember? The one I nted on that small ind." Helena said flustered.


    Gilbert stared back at her filled with uncertainty. He said, "Let''s hope that they''re good people."


    ***


    Jun and his subordinates reached the ce where they met Helena safely.


    At first, they moved carefully and trudged along the walkway while searching for any signs ofrge movement from the water.


    When they reached closer to the end of the walkway, they saw two carriers on a small ind. The mutated carrier forced the regr carrier to channel its energy towards the nt. The regr carrier became thinner as it poured its energy out. When it finally runs out of energy, its body disintegrated into shimmering stardust.


    The nt which received the energy of the carrier bore two green fruits. The mutated carrier took one fruit and ate it. It raised its heads up towards the sky as if savoring the moment.


    When Jun noticed that it was going to eat the other fruit, he quickly brought out his M16. As much as possible, he refrains from using the rifle since he was already running low on bullets. He only uses it when under extreme situations or when he really needed it.


    Jun used Time Perse to stop the time. He was about to fire when the carrier slightly turned its head. Not a huge movement but he was sure that he saw that the carrier slightly turned its head and even moved its eyes.


    Jun felt confused! He thought that it was absolute that time would stop after activating the skill. He felt worried, troubled, and irritated. What''s happening? Why?

 Chapter 107: Tree of Life

    Chapter 107: Tree of Life


    Jun watched as the mutated carrier fully turned its head as if mocking him. With its face facing him, the mutated carrier actually smiled. It smiled! If a disfigured slimy face being stretched to the side as if goo could be considered a smile, then it probably smiled.


    Jun fired a few shots towards the carrier''s body, then fired towards the nt. He was not expecting them to actually hit but as something to make the carrier give up taking the other fruit. If the mutated carrier chose to pick the fruit, it would be gunned down. Considering that its skin was slimy, it should be a rather tough enemy to deal with on melee. His blunt weapon would surely deal less damage to that while sharp des would have increased damage. Thankfully, the M16 rifles had sharp bullet heads.


    After firing five shots. he deactivated the skill. Five roars came out from the rifle''s muzzle and flew towards the carrier.


    The carrier not knowing what a gun was stretched its hand forward, resulting in multiple bullets hitting it. Jun received damage notification and knew that he dealt good damage on the carrier.


    "Go back and tell those fishermen that its safe now. Lead them towards the shore and wait for me there," said Jun.


    The carrier backed off but remained on the small ind after Jun''s continuous firing.


    "There are still other enemies probably swimming underwater. We''ll provide cover!" Nik said.


    "The other carriers are probably dead. May be used as fertilizers, so that nt could bear fruits. You focus on treating the injured and give them some food. Your squad would deal with any trouble that mighte from thend. Wait there." said Jun, then headed towards the small ind while dishing out random fires.


    The mutated carrier squealed after being hit a few more times. When Jun reached the ind, the carrier jumped into the water and dove deep disappearing on his view.


    Jun searched and ran from side to side to look for the carrier but failed. He then walked towards the nt and reached for the fruit. When suddenly, a figure pounced on him from the water. Tidese and go following the carrier wherever it goes. The tides pped Jun''s body every time he dodged this ''flying fish''.


    On the carrier''s next jump, Jun plotted something. He stopped the time just as the carrier flew out from the water and started firing until the rifle made clicking noises. Both of them received energy drain from moving on the stopped time, yet Jun smiled triumphantly. He aimed higher in advance since he knew that the carrier''s speed was topnotch. When he resumed their perception of time, the mutated carrier''s body shook as numerous bullets hit its body that plunged towards the water.


    Jun then stored his M16 and brought out a white revolver. He waited for the mutated carrier to jump again, but true to some assumptions that it was intelligent, it seemed that it had learned its lesson. Jun took the fruit and ced it on his pockets. He then walked a few steps forwards to look for any signs of the carrier.


    All of a sudden, a huge wave brought the carrier into the ind. It stood five meters in front of him. It was bleeding non-stop but it was visibly healing. The bullet holes on its body were slowly shrinking yet the brilliance on its yellow eyes was slowly dimming.


    The mutated carrier snarled and wave its hands in the air. Jun frowned not knowing what it was doing. He raised his revolver to shoot but was interrupted by a wave from his side. The wave disappeared and he aimed once again. Before he could fire, another wave came and soak him up once more. The same thing happened a few more times and he could feel his body feeling torn apart due to the waves alternating from both sides. He continuously got mmed by the waves, making his body feel weak. He was forced to retreat backward and was already drowning from the non-stop tidal waves when he felt relief. He heard the carriers growls and snarls from the other side. He opened his eyes to see the carrier opening its mouth widely. He could feel the aggression and worry in its every roar.


    Jun then looked around his surrounding, only to realize that he was beside the tomato-like nt that bore those otherworldly fruits. It seems like the mutated carrier treasures this nt and wouldn''t risk destroying it.


    "Should I thank you for saving me?" Jun muttered towards the nt as he chuckled.


    Jun stood back up, feeling up his sore body. He then ate the fruit he stashed earlier in front of the carrier, angering it further. Afterward, the carrier waves its hands yet no tides came to hit Jun.


    Jun raised his eyebrows as he thought, "Is it using a skill or telling me to get out of here?"


    With the increase in energy, he could feel his stomach heating up and expanding. Though it didn''t bloat up, he could feel that he has more space for more food in the future.


    After ignoring the carrier continuously, it decided to charge towards Jun, making him smile. He raised his revolver to shoot but his vision was blocked by tides that continuously alternated from both shorelines. The water never reached his ce but it was enough to obstruct his vision.


    "Good one. You want closebat? Hah! You better make this fun!" said Jun as he swapped his revolver into his bone hammer. He sluggishly walked forward but still brought the hammer up to his shoulders. The wall of tides came closer and he channeled energy into his hammer. The energy output he usually channeled was one per second yet now, he fueled it with five per second. He swung the ming bone hammer towards the water. The whole ind immediately became filled with steam after the two elements shed. The two of them saw each other in the middle of the mist. The scalding feeling was something Jun already experienced after fighting the fiery mutated carrier, so he wasn''t that affected. But for the water mutated carrier, it was literal hell. It was the first time it felt so hot making it squirm on where it was standing. Its skin shriveled from dehydration causing its movements to slow down.


    Jun took advantage of this and hammered down the carrier. His strike was blocked by another wave but the searing heat further slowed the carrier.


    Jun increased the output and channeled ten energy per second. This time, though the carrier blocked the hammer using another tidal wave, the hammer went through and hit the slowed mutated carrier right in its chest. Hissing sounds filled the area as the carrier''s chest got burned.


    Jun sighed in relief. He raised his bone hammer to deal the final blow. But the carrier won''t go down without a fight! It raised both its arms and pulled the water towards them. A huge tidal wave came from the side. From its size, it would surely push the two of them into the water, allowing the mutated carrier to move freely underwater while having Jun at a disadvantage.


    Jun quickly reacted by taking out a bone spear from his dimensional storage and stabbing it on the carrier''s stomach. He made sure that it was deep enough, so both of them wouldn''t be washed off the ind.


    The tidal wave fell and thend wey on visibly lessened. The shock from the continuous wave of flowing water made Jun shudder.


    When the waters calmed down, Jun remained the only one alive on the small ind. The body of the mutated carrier slowly disintegrated to dust, only leaving a small blue book on where its body used to be.


    Jun picked the blue book up, then became a bit surprised as he reads its name, Water Bending Manual.


    [Water Bending Manual]


    [Description] A manual that harnesses the techniques needed to be learned before gaining the power to control the element of water.


    Jun felt surprised and happy getting an unexpected loot. To be honest, when he saw the carrier''s body dissipating, he thought that he couldn''t get any loot since it was an established fact for him that you need to loot manually to obtain resources. It seems like there''s another way to get some loot but it would be too hard for anyone to use since you need to exhaust all of the enemy''s energy. People could die just trying out this method and it isn''t even a surefire to obtain loot.


    Jun stored the book in his dimensional storage. He has no ns of learning it since he already has numerous skills that are using his energy. The skill book would then be useless unless he consumes a lot of energy increasing treasures.


    On that note, Jun turned towards the nt on his back. He knelt down and viewed its description.


    [Tree of Life]


    [Description] The Tree of Life from the legends. It grows infinitely as long as it receives life. The Tree of Life withers after 100 years and returns to bing a seed. The Tree of Life can only grow on the Land of Ophir, located in the Garden of Eden.

 Chapter 108: Couple of Liars

    Chapter 108: Couple of Liars


    "Tree of Life? Land of Ophir? Garden of Eden? What is this? I heard of this fictional Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden, but what does Land of Ophir have anything to do with this?" Jun thought. "Nevermind, I''ll just focus on things that I can do right now."


    The water level returned to its normal height. The nk walkways showed itself after the water subsided.


    Noticing the situation, the Death Squad, led by Nik, ran towards Jun.


    "Is it done?" said Nik.


    "I''m pretty sure I killed it. Though I don''t know if there are others lurking under the water." Jun said nonchntly. He then noticed Gilbert at the back which made him smile widely.


    "Old man! Nice to see you! Hahaha. The staff was a hoax, you should have provided me with some solid intel. Its just a stick, do you want it? Nah, that''s okay, take it. I''ve got myself something better earlier and that makes my heart throb wildly, just thinking that I''ll have a nt of my own right on my own backyard." said Jun.


    Jun rubbed his palms, thenid out his hand. "Gimme my seed. The marina is saved and my job here is done. I want to get some sleep before midnight."


    Gilbert jitteryughed on his spot. He lowered his head and looked from side to side. Helena nced at his husband worriedly. When her husband was about to speak, she stepped forward and caught everyone''s attention.


    "I don''t have it anymore. The creature took it from me earlier. i didn''t know that my husband promised you the seed, but I''m really sorry! I don''t have it anymore." Helena said.


    Jun frowned as he listen on her speech. He turned towards Gilbert with an inquiring gaze and the man nodded his head without looking at him.


    "Hahahaha! What a couple! Both daring to lie in front of me." Jun said while unable to stop chuckling. The moment he stopped smiling, a stoic expression filled his face.


    "Assuming that there''s more than one seed, I don''t think that they would be on the same ce! Do you know that that nt is called the Tree of Life that grows for a century! After reaching its final days, it would return to bing a seed. I don''t know how that carrier found that seed, maybe under the ocean or some unknown ind, but there''s no way that there could be two seeds on the same ce, right?". said Jun towards the couple.


    "I-I didn''t know. I''m sorry... I-I just...." Helena stuttered as she tried to exin but Jun stopped him by raising his hand.


    "Nah, stop it. I don''t really need your exnation. Gilbert! Cite your promised rewards!" bellowed Jun.


    Nik suddenly brought out his short sword and stanced in a threatening manner. The other death ves followed after him and readied their weapons.


    Though Jun didn''t order it, he felt pleased at the sudden show of force of his ves. He didn''t know that Nik was actually protecting the couple since he was familiar with how Jun does things. If the boss is happy, he would feel lenient enough to give a lighter sentence.


    "I promised you that I would work for you my whole life." answered Gilbert nervously.


    "Is that all?" Jun said.


    "I-I... I also promised you seeds given by that creature." replied Gilbert.


    "Hmm, now that I think about it, you made it sound like you a lot of seeds." Jun chuckled then stared at the night sky above his head. Then he muttered, "I should stop trusting people too much.


    Jun closed his eyes and felt the cold breeze of the night. The people surrounding him waited in bated breathes for what he has to say.


    Jun opened his eyes and red at Gilbert.


    "You lied to me! And I hate liars! I save your marina for a promise that would nevere true even at the risk of people''s lives. I dere, and everyone here is a witness, that your family would be my ves for generations toe! I would take ownership of that tree in exchange for the promised seed. You would protect it with your life and take care of it everyday. Every fruit belongs to me and me alone. That is my condition for not killing you right now! Do you ept?!" said Jun.


    Gilbert stared at Jun pitifully, then uttered in a low voice, "Please spare my family...".


    "No." said Jun. He then brought out his bone hammer and channel energy into it, causing fiery radiance to shone through the skull''s eyes.


    The dim area lightened up with crimson shade as the radiance went on.


    After seeing the insidious bone hammer, Gilbert finally epted his families fate. Despite the wound on his leg, he was able to persevere not to fall and yet at this moment, he felt strength leaving his knees and so he knelt down.


    Though not intentional, his actions was viewed as surrenderhis wife also knelt down, followed by numerous thudding noises behind him. Gilbert looked back and saw his fellow fishermen kneeling on the still wet wood nks.


    "You guys don''t need to do this! I was the one at fault! You don''t have to kneel!" Gilbert tearfully said.


    "We''re old enough to decide on our own Chief Gil. Besides you lied to save us too, right? Doesn''t matter. The worlds change to much that we don''t know what to do anymore. We can''t probably continue fishing right? What if there''s more of them on the deeper parts of theke? Heading out to sea is out of the question too. It''s better to stay together old friend."


    Gilbert looked at each and everyone of his fellow fishermen. Most were already old bones but there were still a few in their mid-twenty''s. When the young one''s met his gaze, they shook their heads firmly stating their opinions that they would not be dissuaded.


    Gilbert smiled as he resolutely faced forward.


    "I ept my punishment and is willing to serve."


    ***


    It was almost midnight and yet the city za was still brimming with people. Mostly drunkards and hostesses having their merry time. No one can really me them for living life like this since they don''t know how long can they live.


    Music was ying from a CD yer on a nearby bar. Since the town was already safe, people started ying loud musics and enjoying themselves. Laughter filled the air, different kinds of cursing and various stories were being told on different corners of the za.


    Suddenly, numerous streak of light shone onto the za statue. A group of people led by a popr man in town appeared after the light dissipated.


    "Aren''t those the saviors? It''s alreadyte at night and yet they''re still working so hard! What tough men!" said a woman fan-girling on the group of masked men.


    "Isn''t that ck Haven''s leader? Did they fought somewhere? I never heard of any operations recently."


    "I saw them going east earlier. Maybe they''re just making sure that the eastern side is cleared."


    "Do you think he needs to grow his hair? I mean, he already looks good, just imagine styling him up a bit."


    "Patrick, are you drunk?"


    Jun heard various chatters from different sides of the za after returning to town. He ignored most of it as much as he could. He even wanted to reduce his hearing radius if it was possible.


    They recalled after settling the affairs at the Lakeside Marina. He ns on sending someone to get a contract signed by Gilbert''s family. He doesn''t care what the other fishermen think and let them do what they want.


    Jun dismissed the group and he walked alone back to thepound. To catch up on recent events, he walked towards the bus were most of the news and advertisements were ced upon.


    News


    Western Residential Area Reimed!


    National Police Rescue Operations: Sess!


    Eastern Residential Area Soon to Be Ours!


    After each and every title were short descriptions on how things went and what problems urred. Thest line of the report would always indicate the overwhelming fighting power of the ck Haven''s troops.


    There weren''t many advertisements and most of them were shops that sells food and stuff advertising their products and where the shop was located. The most recent one was ck Haven''s Recruitment notice for scavengers that would be held four days from now.


    As he was reading the advertisements, he felt some eerie presence behind him. He quickly turned while taking a defensive stance.


    "Hello there pretty boy~ Wanna have some fun?"


    A sexy woman wearing a blouse that seemed to be smaller than her actual size since there was a monstrous bulge on her chest area. She wore a ck mini skirt and a skin tone leggings.


    "First time going out thiste at night?" said the woman.


    Jun ignored her question and remained silent.


    "You''re a shy type I see... Then do you like domination y? I can do that too."


    Jun finally realizing her intent, quickly answered: "Not interested."


    He then left and went inside thepound.

 Chapter 109: Lakeside Marinas Rewards

    Chapter 109: Lakeside Marina''s Rewards


    "How''s your day?" Jun asked Marianne lying on the bed.


    "Well, fun I guess? There were more and more people inquiring about our special items, but none actually bought them. Its good that people are getting interested and finally saving up some money to actually buy things. It feels like  like everythings back to normal." said Marianne.


    "Mhmm." Jun nodded his head, then lied down next to her.


    "Are you tired?" said Marianne.


    "A bit." said Jun as he closed his eyes.


    Marianne took theforter on their feet and covered their bodies up to their chest. She then inserted her hand inside while smiling at Jun. A few secondster, Jun opened his eyes.


    Jun faced Marianne and said, "I''m actually not that tired."


    The next morning, Edward greeted the two of them saying, "You should keep the noise down and let others sleep too."


    Jun ignored the matter but Marianne was too embarrassed to look people in the eye as she attended her post.


    The town was thriving because everyone is doing something. Scavengers takes everything that they can find and setups stalls while hiring clerks. People who aren''tfortable scavenging, do odd jobs to earn some money.


    Scavenging in a sense became the core aspect for themunity. Its a trade that needs you to fight your way to find loot. You risk your life to obtain something deemed important. Basically, a type of job not for the faint-hearted.


    Today, Jun nned on joining the scavenging group that the three elite core member of his group leads; She, Adrian, Edward. Though, he brought his ownckeys tomand.


    Jun doesn''t usually join scavenging trips. The sole reason he was joining this time was that they were heading in the same direction, his old house. He want to go back to his old house to retrieve something he forgot. Jun also prefers adventuring and that''s the reason why he let''s Evo and Bernard do most of the stuff regarding ck Haven''s operations. Heck to management. A real boss gets someone to do his job!


    Jun walked out of the gate and met with the group at the streets where his contingency of masked ves were already waiting for him.


    Edward smirked at him, Adrian was indifferent while She was a bit shy. It seems like what happenedst night was a hot topic for some.


    Jun ignored Edward''s childish act and headed towards the three of them.


    "Is everyone here?" Jun asked.


    "Yeah, everyone''s here. So for today, we''re headed towards the local elementary school. Some rescued survivors notified us about the ce. A group of people seemed to have camped at the local elementary school, so we''re gonna go and say hello. It''s best to know your neighbors, right?" said She.


    "Okay, great. Do you have any info about them?" asked Jun


    "We have numbers but were not sure if that was true. They have about fifty people, young and old, led by the Baranggay Chairman." She said.


    "We''re also scavenging and clearing the area along the way. That''s why were here." said Adrian.


    "Have you noticed that a lot of people seem more active recently? Having a safe ce to settle down really helps people to strive forward and forget about the past. Though some people actually never went out to scavenge after everything that they have experienced, the people were still looking forward for the future." said Edward.


    His uncharacteristic speech shocked Jun a bit. He was then reminded that he wanted to give Edward something, an energy fruit.


    Jun took the fruit from Helena before they left yesterday. Helena didn''t mind and showed no ill-feelings after handing over the fruit. For her, the fruit was more of a problem than actual help. And since she already consumed one, she knew how important the fruit was. She hoped that Jun''s anger, even if not quelled, would be reduced. First of all, she knew that the man had the right to be angry since he was the one risking his life and he was promised things that he wouldn''t even receive after everything that he went through.


    Jun took the fruit out from his dimensional storage, then remembered that Edward was making fun of him just now and earlier this morning. He then walked towards She and handed the fruit to her.


    "Here, eat this. I think you''ll need this the most." said Jun.


    "What is this?" She took the fruit and examined its appearance. She then reads the item description that says, "When consumed, increases max energy and restores energy to full."


    She widened her eyes in shock after reading the description.


    "No, no, no... This is too important for me to use." She said trying to hand back the fruit to Jun.


    "It''s okay, you''re the doctor. The higher your max energy, the more people you could cure. Well, I hope that that time won''te, since when that actually happens, that means we''re in great danger." said Jun. "Enough of that. We need to stop wasting time. Let''s move on."


    Jun faced towards Adrian and signaled for him to lead the way. The group marched on foot even though the streets were littered with abandoned cars. Paterno could drive a jeepney but their group have more than thirty people and a jeepney couldn''t aodate all of them, Jun''s group alone have twenty-two people including him.


    Various trash were starting to fill the sidewalks while leaves and ashes were being blown around by the wind.


    They traveled on the western residential area since the bridge hasn''t been repaired. Though the streets were already carrier-free since the territory has already been cleared, it doesn''t mean absolute safety. They encountered that same scary dog they saw yesterday before they reached the bridge area, just right at the apartment building where they met a screaming carrier baby.


    The dog was quite chill andzed on the ground as it watched the group passed by. It started barking after one of the death ves tried approaching it, wanting to tame it. A thorough warning was given to him by the squad leader and the group moved on quietly.


    She evenmended Jun since he was able to find such disciplined subordinate. Jun replied with a smile, then continued walking.


    Before they reached the barren path leading towards the Lakeside Marina, Jun, who was teaching Adrian how to be alpha, noticed two people walking by the side of the road, Gilbert and Helena.


    Jun told the group to move ahead and said that he''ll catch up.


    "Good morning, Master." Gilbert greeted Jun as soon as he got near.


    "Don''t call me like that. Calling me by my name should be alright." said Jun.


    Gilbert nodded. "Yes, Mr. Reyes." replied Gilbert.


    "That''s not what I meant... So what''s going on here?" asked Jun feeling a bit ufortable about having someone way older than him speak to him with much respect. To be clear, he doesn''t hate the old man, he was just not on good terms with him.


    Gilbert came closer towards Jun and muttered, "We were about to go to your ce to deliver the first batch of fruits. We were able to produce five fruits after amassing all our energy for this day."


    "You know that energy slowly recovers right? Most people recovers full energy between thirty minutes and an hour, so you could produce more, right?" rebuked Jun.


    "Y-yes... but after producing its fifth fruit, the nt no longer produced fruit but still epted our energy. We have a few guesses as to why this was happening. First, we have reached the daily production limit of the nt. Second, it requires more time and energy to produceter batches of fruits. You can trust us that we''ll do our best to protect and care for the nt." said Gilbert as he lowered his head for a slight bow.


    Helena didn''t speak the whole time and only watched the scene as it happened.


    "Continue your experiments and let me know about the results as soon as possible. Where are the fruits?" said Jun.


    "It''s here." Gilbert brought out a small fis filled with fruits. There were four circr green fruits and one oval red fruit inside the fis.


    "What is this?" said Jun.


    "It''s a magical fruit that increases life, Mr. Reyes." said Gilbert.


    Though Jun trusted what the old man said since he already signed a contract earlier this morning, a contract which he ordered his most extraordinary ve to get deal with, he still grabbed the red fruit and examined its description.


    [Life Fruit]


    [Description] A fruit from the rare tropical nt found only onnds that has a high concentration of energy. When consumed, increases max health by 100 points. The effect would be halved for every consumption of the fruit.


    Holy! Jun couldn''t hide the surprise in his face and the old man cherished the moment he was anticipating for. To see their hard work pay off really made him happy.


    "How did you make this?" said Jun clearly excited.


    Gilbert smiled warmly and said, "I don''t know."


    "What do you mean?" said Jun.


    "We literally don''t know how we made them. We just poured energy and the nt bore four green fruits. Afterwards, it took eleven people for the nt to bore its next fruit, which is that red fruit. We''re still trying out whether we could produce another one, but there''s still no news as of now. Four fruits didn''t even took us five minutes to produce while only requiring about three to four people each and yet that red one took us eleven people!" said Gilbert with fervor.


    "Okay, I understand." Jun interrupted him before he could continue speaking. He then took out batches of short swords and other tools like daggers, spears and one of thetest weapon: a bow. The bow was made from leg tendon and some kind of wood. He gave two bows and added a few sets of arrows made from regr carriers bones.


    When Jun was finished, the ground was filled with all kinds of arsenal ranging from short, medium and long ranged. He wasn''t like this usually but getting good stuff really makes someone do stupid things. While he was still riding on cloud nine, he congratted the old man and said, "Good job. You should apply for a credit points card at the market. Wait, your people haven''t been there, right? Bring your people there and have a tour. Tell Bernard that you''re my guest for today."


    Gilbert happily replied, "Thank you Mr. Reyes. I will make sure to do that."

 Chapter 110: Travels

    Chapter 110: Travels


    On the main east road that leads to ck Haven, a group of eleven people, made of one woman, three children, one young adult and six middle-aged men, were huddled together as they traveled.


    Each men held one short sword as they warily advanced forward. It was already well-known by the survivors that the surrounding area has already been cleared of carriers, but it wasn''t general knowledge for Gilbert and his friends.


    They were fighting for the marina since the start and have never ventured out. Knowing nothing about the current news or events, they walked cautiously along the way.


    A group of three teenagers were walking towards them and Gilbert could heard them speaking to each other while chuckling.


    "Must be neers."


    "Yeah. Let''s greet them."


    The two men in front raised their hands as they greeted him while thedy at the back followed after them.


    Thedy behind the two stepped forward and greeted first.


    "Hello there! My name is Prisci, these two are my friends Sam and Kevin. Are you guys recently rescued? I knew how hard it was to survive and I''m really d that many of you survived. We too were rescued by ck Haven, so we knew how you feel. But don''t worry, your safe now. The surrounding area has already been cleared of dangers, so the streets are a bit safe. You can go to the City Hall and request some basic assistance package, then towards the ck Haven Advertisement Bus for things like news and jobs. There''s also a hand-drawn map of the cleared area on the statue at the city hall za. There''s also a mercenary band hanging out at Veronica''s PUB if you want something done when you don''t have the power to do so. And"


    "Prisci, I don''t think they''re interested or in actual need of your bber. Can we just move on? What if other scavengers get all the valuable loots" said the man with a pair of sses.


    Prisci rolled her eyes and turned around. "This is the exact reason why you can''t get a girlfriend even though there''s a lot of avable at night."


    Prisci bade goodbye and the three of them moved on.


    After the three teenagers left, the feeling of cautiousness vanished from everyone and they traveled more freely. Some even started chatting while the kids started to fawn about and pointed at every broken car they passed by.


    Helena spoke to Gilbert. "Do we go to the City Hall? Maybe the mayor can help us."


    Gilbert shook his head. "No, we''re told to look for Bernard, so that''s what we''re going to do."


    "We could atleast look around first, then go after, right?" suggested Helena.


    "I already caused enough trouble for everyone. I''m sure that the man would allow us some free time to go about." replied Gilbert.


    "If you say so. Let''s hope that they''re not hiding something."


    Gilbert led his group onwards and he didn''t even have to ask for directions since everything was pretty obvious. ording to the youngdy earlier, there''s a ce called ck Haven Advertisement Bus where you could find jobs and read news.


    "It should be that, right?" Gilbert muttered to himself as he watched the crowd of people in front of a bus parked parallel on the street. He never really went into the said ce and was only amodated on one of the abandoned houses a few blocks away.


    He noticed that peoplee and go to different directions after reading some leaflets pasted on the bus. Curious, he went and read some for himself. The topics he read where news event that happened for the past few days and some job hiring and scavenging groups recruitment. After reading only a small part of the pasted leaflets, he instinctively knew that this should be the said ck Haven Advertisement Bus.


    Gilbert felt sure that this was ck Haven, so he walked forward. He then noticed peopleing and going into the mall, so he followed them.


    "Please stop!" shouted an old man who wore vest and long sleeves even though it was already almost noon. "Are you guys new here?"


    "Uhh, yes... How did you know?" said Gilbert.


    The old man smiled. "Only two people coulde inside if you''re on the same group. And do you have your credit points card? Only people that has a ck Haven credit points card could shop here. If you haven''t registered for a card, I could help you. We have here a list for items exchange rate and there''s a minimum of 100 CP to be able to get a card."


    "Actually... Mr. Reyes sent us here to find Mr. Bernard. Can you help us find him?" said Gilbert.


    The old man raised his eyebrows after hearing Gilbert speak, then scrutinized him seriously.


    "You''re speaking to him. How may I help you?"


    ***


    Arge group of people arrived at a bank''s intersection. It was Jun''s scavenging group. They have long passed the bridge area and has fought a few carriers along the way.


    Jun nced at the bank and the grocery store on the other side of the intersection. It has been less than two weeks since everything started, but nothing seems to have changed. There were some signs that the grocery store became someone else''s hideout due to the various parked cars outside that served as blockade on the parking lot.


    Well to be honest, it was a good ce to set camp if you don''t mind the fact that there''s only one way to go in and out. Having only one door to defend gives more security while having more risk of being cornered since you couldn''t escape if overwhelmed. If they''re strong enough, they could destroy the second floor windows and jump on the nearby roof to escape. Though, that would would create too much noise since most of the roofs were more than twenty-five years old with umted rust.


    The group took the left turn and walked for several seconds before passing by She''s family clinic. Jun was reminded of She''s father and so he asked: "How''s your father by the way?"


    She answered as they walk. "He''s doing fine. He set up shop on the za square. He actually wanted to offer his services for free, so that the people could have some health care. I tried convincing him to work under ck Haven, but he insisted not to. Well, atleast I managed to convince him to ept payments, if food are considered money then he sure is getting paid."


    After their small chat, they reached Jun''s house and he bade goodbye to the group. He sent most of his death ves to follow the scavenging group as support since they would meet up with the othermunity and only ordered the top five of them to stay.


    Nik and the four top ranked death ves waited outside the gate as Jun entered the house. They systematically patrolled around the house to make sure that no surprise ambushes would happen. They already learned their lessons after skirmishing with herds of carriers for a few times. They juste when you least expect it and in great numbers. Nik patrolled alone while the rest grouped up into two''s.


    On Jun''s side, he looked up around the direction of his room before he could even open the front door. He then entered and gazed around the living room. It was still the same empty room like how it was when he left while the kitchen appeared more barren than thest time he saw it. Looters must have scavenge everything that they could use from here since he mostly took food from here.


    He slowly climbed up the stairs while making loud stepping noises. Scrambling footsteps could be heard even before he could reach the front of his room and yet he ignored it. When he opened the door, he could see the curtains by the window being blown off by the wind. The bed was littered with empty junk foods and the room appeared like someone has been living here for quite a few days.


    Jun naturally doesn''t care about what happened here. He''s okay with it since he already abandoned this ce for some time. If this ce became home for someone else, he would be d. He ignored the floating question marks inside the closet and walked towards the table beside his bed. He opened the second drawer and looked for something but something seemed wrong. He then opened the rest of the drawers, but still couldn''t find the thing he was looking for.


    Anxious, he angrily made his way towards the closet and opened it forcefully. The doors swung wide open and a frightened teenage girl huddled on the closet corner weed him. She had a long ck hair and a fair skin that could make any men wanting her.


    "How long have you lived here?" said Jun.


    The girl nced at him but then covered her eyes with her hands, to not see him.


    "Hey! Answer me!"

 Chapter 111: Black Havens Town

    Chapter 111: ck Haven''s Town


    "So you''re saying that you''re working for Jun to produce this kind of fruit and he told you toe find me? I understand what he means and I don''t think you''re lying. You''re giving me this unknown fruit and I know that this can increase max energy from its description alone. To be honest with you, I don''t know what to do. I can give you a credit points card and, for the moment, pay the estimated price for this fruit."


    Bernard ced a ck card with two red stripe patterns on the desk, then pushed it towards the man called Gilbert on the other side of the table. He was a bit skeptical when they first talked since the man was iming that he was sent here by Jun, who was known by everyone to be extremely "friendly".


    His feelings changed from skeptical to worried and anxious after the man handed over a green fruit and told him that Jun said to disy this at the Special items booth. The man then introduced himself as Gilbert and though introductions were a bitte, he also introduced himself. Gilbert then introduced the fruit and made Bernard gasping for air.


    A fruit that could permanently increase max energy by arge amount was being presented to him with no caution! At that time, he finally believed the old man since no one would risk being robbed of something precious nor joke about giving it away for free.


    In the end, he gave Gilbert a two-striped ck Haven card, which offers discounts on various ck Haven products.


    Bernard stood up and said: "I need to go back to my post now. I think you know that this information should be confidential, right? You could shop at the market ce here or on the za square. If you need any help, don''t hesitate to look for me."


    "Okay, thank you." said Gilbert as he bowed slightly.


    His wife that sat beside her took the ck card brimming with curiosity. "Does everyone have car scanners around here? Why shop using cards? Isn''t cash better?"


    The couple stood up and followed after Bernard. They were currently on the second floor of the mall, the makeshift living room, near the furniture area and the kitchen area.


    "Mom! The food here is so tasty! Kuya Mike said he was a real chef! Look, try this one!" hollered a kid as he excitedly shoved another spoonful of spaghetti onto his mouth.


    "Those brats! What are they doing!" Helena groaned internally as she watched her two kids battle it out on the table on who could shove more food into their mouths. Atleast her other son wasn''t talking as he drowned himself with sauce.


    Helena quickly ran towards the table and met Mike who was still serving a new batch of sweet cakes to her sons.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry... They quite a rude bunch, right? I hope that you''ll ignore it and just let it go, please?" said Helena.


    "No, its okay. I heard that you''re working for Boss. Is that rue?" said Mike.


    "Boss? Do you mean Mr. Reyes? Yeah, we''re working for him." said Helena.


    "Hahaha, then its okay. Just let the kids eat for now. I''m sure its hard and you''ll always be busy, but you cane for me if you ever needed help." said Mike.


    "Okay." replied Helena in a low voice. Though it was weird that people treated them like this after just saying that they are working for Jun, she decided to ept it and go with the flow.


    Mike left after serving the cakes. He tried serving her food but she refused saying that they were heading out to buy some after the kids finished their food. Gilbert found his fellowmen loitering around the Department Store. When Bernard saw the scene, he told them that they each of them could take one set of clothing. Though bashful, the old fishermen didn''t reject the offer. They mostly took padded clothes and leather jackets since it was quite cold at night.


    When everyone is finally finished; choosing clothes and eating, they left as a group and shopped around the ck Haven market. There, they finally learned how to use the ck card. They bought various stuffs like heater, extra gloves,forters and other things mostly to fight cold.


    Mike stood beside Bernard. "Is it true? Were they really working for Boss?"


    Bernard gazed at Gilbert''s group on the door of the first floor. "I tried contacting Jun, but he''s not answering. I already sent someone to ask him, so we''ll just have to wait."


    Mike scoffed. "It better be true. I served those two gluttons myst cake. I was reserving it as a congrattory cake when I finally lose some weight, but I had to serve it! I''m a good chef indeed."


    Mike sighed then left.


    "Yeah, they better be." replied Bernard.


    ***


    "Okay Bear. You need to stopining about how hot it is if you want to earn some points! You''re not making things better byining about it!" said Chanchan.


    "But its really hot! Can''t we lessen our clothing a bit? A leather jacket surely gives more protection than some shirt, but... Agh! I''m taking it off!" said Bear.


    "And who told you to wear that!" said Monkey.


    "Ofcourse I''ll wear it! I bought it from ck Haven directly! DIRECTLY! It has more value than the others. Besides its expensive, so I have to use it everyday." replied Bear.


    The three of them were currently climbing a small uphill road that was the supposed route which Jun''s group have taken. The three of them were hired by a female staff of ck Haven to go and ask Jun, who was headed towards the local elementary school, whether he sent someone to Bernard. It was a simple task to confirm something verbally and they were paid full in advance just for epting the request.


    Chanchan immediately epted the request since it was basically fee money and massive advertisement for them. ck Haven looked for them when they wanted something done! They could use that as an introduction for every potential clients they meet! They also gained something to brag about this night to those drunkards at Veronica''s PUB.


    After reaching the top, they dragged the wheezing Chanchan to a nearby car to lean him into.


    "Chanchan, you should go on a diet! We''re already old and having this much fat isn''t healthy!" said Monkey.


    "Hahh... You''re just.. getting... envious again. Urgh!" Chanchan almost puked but nothing came out of his mouth. He then took some water bottle from his dimensional storage and uncapped it. He rinsed his mouth of the sweet sticky feeling before drinking several mouthfuls.


    After a few seconds of rest, the three of them moved on and jogged onward. Monkey who was on the lead since he was the lightest and fastest of them, suddenly stopped. His halt caused the two behind him to pause and readied their weapons. Though they weren''t physically fit, their bodies knew how to react on its own when they feel danger.


    "What''s wrong? Are there enemies?" said Bear.


    "Much more than that." Monkey pointed in front of him.


    The two people who finally caught up to him followed where he was pointing and saw the pile of rubble that used to be the bridge.


    Chanchan stared at the wreckage in front filled with helplessness.


    ***


    "How long have you lived here?! Hey! Answer me! Who are you! Are you deaf? Wait a second...e out first..." said Jun as he backed off, so that the girl would feel less intimidated.


    "So, I''m a bit hot-headed earlier, I apologize for that. But you see, I''m looking for something and it''s not here. I know you''re scared and doesn''t want to talk to me, but I promise you, this Kuya won''t hurt you, okay?"


    The girl nooded her head.


    "Good. Now, to exin things. My family used to live here and we own this house. Okay, calm down. I don''t mind that you lived here and I don''t care. What I want to know is where is the box on this drawer?" said Jun as he patted the table beside his bed.


    The girl fearfully looked at him, but remained quiet.


    Jun could feel his patience running out, so he calmed himself down and asked once again.


    "Listen, I know I look like some bad guy, but to be honest with you, I am really good. I just want to know where that box is? Please? Answer me! Help yourself!" Jun tried to be calm, but he failed at the end.


    The girl started crying and her voice sounded off. The sound she produced was like a hoarse animal stuck somewhere. She lowered her head to hide her tears, then raised her hand and started doing signnguage.


    At first, Jun wasn''t understanding what''s going on, but when he realized that the teenage girl was a mute, he struck his forehead with his palm.

 Chapter 112: The Cemetery

    Chapter 112: The Cemetery


    "Okay, so you can''t speak. You should have told me earlier."


    Jun scratched his head as he felt a bit awkward after yelling at the girl. Could this be considered pity? No matter the case, he acted more mildly and he hopes that it would make the girl view her differently.


    All of a sudden, the girl turned her head towards the door, then returned to face Jun. This should have been a normal situation of evading his gaze, but Jun felt her action weird.


    The door opened like he expected since he knew that one of his death ve wasing up. That''s what''s bugging him! This girl turned her head at the same moment his death ve rushed up the stairs. He knew because he could see names above a person''s head, but what about her? Or was it just a coincidence.


    Nik was now in a difficult spot. He was patrolling on the front gate when he heard loud shouting from the inside. He hurriedly went to look for Jun and heard noises from upstairs. Now, it seems like Jun just finished making a teenager cry and was now making her shut up. Did she saw something embarrassing? Some secrets that weren''t meant to be known?


    Nik brought out a short sword from his dimensional storage and stanced himself aggressively.


    Upon seeing the situation worsen, Jun faced Nik and said, "One, stand down. It''s fine here. Go back to your post."


    Nik nced at Jun and the girl before nodding his head. The girl seemed harmless and besides, he believes that there is no one else in this town stronger than Jun.


    Nik retreated a few steps before finallymitting on going out.


    Jun sighed, then faced the girl. "You have a name? My name''s Jun. Jun Reyes. Yours?"


    The girl slowly raised her head as she wiped her tears. Afterwards, she started using signnguage to say her name. Her hands formed various shapes and Jun''s face squirmed about in irritation.


    "I don''t understand what your trying to say." said Jun as the anxiety he currently feels be mixed with impatience. He then said, in a slow and by word manner, "Do you know where the jewelry box inside that drawer is?"


    The girl nodded her head. She tried saying something through signnguage and Jun felt more irritated as their conversation went on. Jun brought out a piece of paper and his only pen from his dimensional storage for the girl to be able to write.


    "You atleast know how to write, right? You seem highly educated since your quite fast with your signnguage. Listen, I don''t need anything else. I just want to know where that box is and we''ll call everything as quits." said Jun acting like the girl have actually done something bad to him.


    The girl took the pen and paper, then strode towards the table. She wrote something on the piece of paper before handing it back to Jun.


    Jun took the paper and read what it says: "I''m Jennie Victoriano. If you''re talking about that red jewelry box, then its probably on the Batingan Camp. I''m sorry! I traded it for food."


    Jun frowned as he quickly raised his head after reading the letter. He was able to reason with himself that she probably thought that the owner probably died since the house was empty. Well, it was his own fault for not bringing it with him in the first ce.


    Inside that jewelry box was a ne she wanted to gift Marianne with, but couldn''t do so. Simply because her father forbid him from doing so. That''s right. He already met Marianne''s father without her knowledge. Rather, her father actually went and looked for him, telling him to stay away from her daughter. He exined that her daughter only wants to y around because she''s lonely and Jun just happened to be there.


    Marianne''s father wasn''t rude and yet he was intimidating. Every move he made was precise, even when he sat on a chair or drink some water. He trusts people and is very open with his feelings. And what does that mean? He clearly doesn''t like Jun for his daughter, someone who doesn''t work for society and lives a good life.


    Jun wasn''t scared of anyone before he met Marianne''s father, who wore a military uniform that has a lot of various badges and insignia''s; special forces tab, special forces badge, red shoulder sleeve insignia and a striking airforce badge. Jun knew that it was a tant show of power and understood that he was being told off rather nicely.


    At that time. Jun haven''t said that she likes Marianne, either to her or her father, so their talk proceeded smoothly. For the first time, he felt pressured, scared, so he epted defeat and distanced himself from Marianne.


    The already bought ne at that time was rotting inside his drawer for years now and when he actually remembers it, it was already gone.


    "Hmm. You''re saying you traded it for food? Okay, where?" said Jun.


    He handed back the paper and the girl started writing again. On the paper: "BES. Henry."


    "Oh, that local elementary school? They''re probably already there, I should go over to." Jun muttered to himself. "By the way, is Henry the name of the person you traded it to?"


    The girl nodded her head.


    "Okay, that''s all. Thanks... uhm, Jennie. Did I say that right? Never mind, enjoy the house. I''m leaving it in your care." said Jun as he left the room.


    Jun walked out the front door and saw his death ves having a meeting with each other. When he got out of the gate, Nik quickly approached him.


    "Reporting. We found something unusual in the area." said Nik.


    "What is it?" replied Jun.


    "While we were patrolling, we noticed that the local cemetery had carries trapped inside it." said Nik.


    "Trapped? What do you mean trapped?" said Jun.


    "At first, we only saw a few carriers wandering on the main entrance. So we entered through the pathway and before we could reach the entrance, carriers spawned out of nowhere, covered in bright lights. We assessed the situation as dangerous, so we were discussing whether to quickly tell you or not."


    "So, you''re saying they magically appeared from thin air when you got near towards the entrance? How many of them there were? You didn''t try to kill one?" said Jun.


    "Yes, sir." Nik gulped, then exined the following events. "There were about ten carriers when we decided to investigate and when we got nearer, five carriers spawned covered with bright lights. We immediately retreated since we were outnumbered and we don''t know if more would spawn. They stopped around the entrance and never stepped a foot out. We thought it was weird and refrained from aggravating the matter, so we decided to go back."


    Jun wasn''t surprised about the spawning carriers since he had some bit of knowledge regarding it, but it doesn''t mean that he wasn''t curious. He was curious about this spawning carriers and what loot could they give!


    "Okay, let''s investigate. Other matters can wait." said Jun towards his five death ves.


    "Then, what are we gonna do about her?" said Nik.


    "About whom?" Jun furrowed his brows, then noticed that everyone was looking behind him. He quickly turned his head, only to see Jennie standing one meter behind him.


    "Oh, hello there. You could stay in the house, just don''t burn it to the ground and that would make me happy since I have some ce to return to." said Jun. Afterwards, he started walking and led his group towards the local cemetery.


    The group arrived on the main pathway that leads towards the cemetery. Besides it was the local construction supply shop where Jun met Edward. The pathway that leads to the cemetery was like an alleyway that has walls on both sides of it, making the path a one straight line with no ces to hide nor turn.


    Jun saw the carriers gathering at the distance and calmly formted the perfect n. On the distance, he only saw regr carriers and so he said, "Alright, here''s the n. We rush inside, kill anything that moves, then leaves. Understood?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Auu, auu!"


    Jun quickly turned around after hearing a weird sound in between his death ves answers. Nik and his squad members also turned around after hearing the weird sound.


    Jennie was still raising her hand when they turned and saw how she enthusiastically smiled. Noticing the men''s gazes, she slowly lowered her hand while keeping a wry smile.


    "You''re noting." said Jun. "If you follow us, we won''t protect you and you''ll fend for your own."


    Jennie nodded her head which Jun thought as her epting not to follow them which wasn''t.


    Jun led the front and brought his bone hammer out. A few meters before they could reach the entrance, seven lights shone brightly and seven regr carriers appeared.

 Chapter 113: BES

    Chapter 113: BES


    Jun charged forward towards the wall of carriers that were also ferociously dashing towards him. As soon as he passed the entrance, he felt something inside him being sealed. He ignored it for now and focused on the enemies in front of him.


    Jun swung the bone hammer from his right and made sure that he hit every vanguard carrier. Afterwards, he channeled energy into the fire crystal on the hammerhead to create a burning effect. They managed to im the entrance as their small territory after Nik''s aquad dealt with every carrier on the sides.


    Jun assessed the situation again. He was sure that they were greatly outnumbered before even they went and charged in, but he didn''t know that the initial number of enemies was this much! There were no gaps to see the back line at all!


    "Let''s retreat for now!" Jun shouted as he stalled for more time.


    Jennie who was closest towards the exit hurriedly ran, but hit something from nothing. She then started banging the air and every time she did, a transparent barrier would show itself before quicly disappearing once again.


    Nik who saw the events quickly reported to Jun. "We''re trapped! There''s something preventing us from going out!"


    Jun swirled his bone hammer around him, keeping all the carriers that got close enough to fall back.


    "Figures! So, there''s a reason why they can''te out." said Jun as he retreated backwards after swinging his bone hammer. He looked around and saw a set of stairs that leads up to a sermon podium where a priest usually conducts masses. Behind the podium was a small altar with an antique bell at the side.


    "Stay together! Backs onto each other! We''re heading towards that altar!" said Jun.


    He heard affirmations from behind him, so he charged once more. This time, he made sure that he could kill anything that he hits and that''s what happened. The first carrier he hit disintegrated into sparkling dust and dropped a nugget of gold the size of an acorn. He doesn''t have time to investigate what happened nor the time to think or loot, Jun quickly stepped to the side and dodge various grabbing attempts before advancing forward for a kill.


    The same thing happened for the next kills that he got, he would receive experience while a piece of gold nugget would drop from the vanishing body.


    "Did the rules change? Or is it only applicable here? What happened here?" thought Jun.


    After they killed atleast ten carriers, the back line finally became visible. It wasn''t that there were too many carriers that they weren''t able to see. They couldn''t see the back line simply because the carriers were gathered at one point. Now that the group is moving while thinning the enemies, they finally noticed that there wasn''t that many enemies in the first ce.


    "Okay, we''re doing it! Just keep on killing them! Use your guns if you have to!" said Jun.


    Since the bodies disappear when they were killed, Jun doesn''t have to worry about them reanimating and could focus on what''s ahead of them. They would sometimes retreat to not get surrounded and would sometimes charge forward to pierce through when outnumbered.


    The unexpected thing about here is that Jennie actually knows how to fight. She uses some martial arts technique to stall for time and get out ofbat scot-free.


    There were less than fifteen carriers left before they could reach the elevated podium and so, Jun abandoned the idea of heading there. Each death ve could take on two regr carrier on their own which leaves five carriers for himself.


    Jun smashed the head of an old man like hitting a baseball, then crushed a woman''s head with an overhead bash. The bone hammer was lightweight in Jun''s hand and itsrge size didn''t affect how Jun fought his battles. He swung and pulled the bone hammer like he was just holding a massive stick. He charge towards the three remaining infected in front of him and used a powerful swing that traveled from behind him to his right, to cleave the three carriers on their mid-sections.


    Just as he was recovering his posture, he noticed his death ves looking somewhere else. He turned his head and saw three people walking towards them. It was the sole mercenary group in town, the Caged Animals.


    Instead of weing the neers, Jun spitefully said, "Were you watching the whole time?"


    The three who were used immediately refuted his im as they iled their hands wildly.


    The fattest among them stepped up and slightly lowered his head, unable to gaze at Jun''s fiery eyes.


    "We are the Caged Animals. I''m Chanchan, the leader of the group. We were hired by Ms. Marianne to confirm whether you sent someone to meet up with Mr. Bernard. Because there''s an old man iming that you sent him to meet with Mr. Bernard." said Chanchan.


    "Yes, I did. Why did something happen?" said Jun.


    "No, sir. We''re just sent here to confirm. Thank you, sir. We''ll take our leave now." said Chanchan.


    It was easy to know that the man was too nervous with the way he speaks. He probably wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, but Jun wasn''t exactly thinking like him.


    "Stop! You didn''t answer my question." said Jun, then asked one more time. "Were you watching the whole time?"


    This time, the three mercenaries gulped. Chanchan hurriedly replied, "Y-yes, we were indeed watching but only half way. We noticed the scramble when we were passing by. We heard shouts in the cemetery and we rushed as soon as we heard it."


    "You saw us and yet you didn''t help?" asked Jun.


    "We couldn''t! Something was preventing us from entering. The weird thing is after you killed thest carrier, we were able toe in. Promise! Cross my heart, hope to die." said Chanchan.


    "What are you, a kid?" rebuked Jun.


    "I believe him." said Nik.


    "Okay, I know your still a kid, but alliances aren''t formed like this!" said Jun.


    "No... I''m not doing any of that. I saw them earlier when they arrived. They really tried but couldn''te in." said Nik.


    "Oh, okay." said Jun. He then turned to Chanchan and said, "Now that you''ve got what you''re here for, what are you gonna do next?"


    Chanchan hurriedly replied. "We really want to stay and join you here, but since this information seems to be urgent, we''re going to head back. We hope that you understand and invite us next time too."


    When Jun nodded, Chanchan went back to his group and immediately ran away.


    "Is confirming that even important?" Jun thought as he watched them ran at light speed.


    The three people running at top speed chatted as they run.


    "Did you see that? I thought he would kill me! Its not our fault we couldn''t enter, right!?" said Chanchan.


    "Right!" answered Bear and Monkey ahead of him.


    "Let''s finish this request, then forget about this."


    "Okay!"


    ***


    In the cemetery...


    Jun was looking at the Area B of the cemetery. The local cemetery has three ind-like areas separated by narrow creeks. The Area A is the ce where they''re currently at, this is where the priest holds sermons every morning and afternoon. Tombstones were lines up in rows and columns everywhere. There''s also apartment-type tombs that served as walls for the cemetery.


    On the bridge where Area A and Area B meets where carriers standing idly. They could only stare at Jun''s group as if something was stopping them from advancing forward.


    "It seems like the same thing is happening over there." said Nik. "Are we going to continue?"


    "Nah, let''s go back. They''re probably waiting for us. We''lle backter with everyone." said Jun.


    "Wouldn''t having more people be bad?"


    "Why? Because more carriers will spawn?"


    Nik nodded his head.


    "Its fine, our group isn''t made up of normal people."


    Jun started walking towards the exit, followed by the rest. Nik gavest one look on the carriers at the bridge before following behind Jun.


    After they got out of the cemetery, they turned right and quickly headed towards the local school. They passed by the local bakery shop and an electronic shop. A few meterster, they passed by a motor shop. The group ignored most of the possible loots since they don''t even know if they would ever need them.


    After crossing a small bridge, they finally arrived at the local elementary school.


    There were numerous mango trees along side the wall while guards could be seen on makeshift watch towers. Jun led the group and walked towards the gate.


    The man on guard duty already saw them before they could even cross the bridge. The man was already in his early thirties, a bit overweight, skinhead and has a beard. He waited on his chair and only stood up when they were a few meters in front of the gate.


    "''Ey~ It''s a good day." said the man after standing. "More people, more people. That''s good. You have arrived at BES. My name is Jordan. Now, can anyone kindly tell me who am I supposed to talk to?"

 Chapter 114: Brother

    Chapter 114: Brother


    Jun stared at he man calling himself as Jordan. The way he spoke was a bit arrogant and its getting on his nerves. Jun spent his teenage years on the streets and the strongest man on the streets is always the one who screams louder.


    "Hey Jordan, what happened to you? You got shorter thest time I saw you." remarked Jun.


    Jordan didn''t appreciate his reply and his face visibly soured. He hates it when people mocks him andpares him to that person. He red at Jun and his face remained stern the whole time.


    "Aren''t you gonna open the gate?" said Jun.


    "Let me think for a second. Hmm, is there any reason for me to open our gates to people we don''t actually know? Five of them looks suspicious while one is overly rude and... Uhm? Jennie? Is that really you? Where have you been? Our friends are worried since they haven''t seen you for a while." said Jordan with eyes sticking to Jennie like glue.


    Sensing his gaze, Jennie felt ufortable and hid behind Jun.


    Jun noticed that Jennie wasn''t in a good rtionship with Jordan, so he allowed her to stay behind him to block Jordan''s view. His action put him further on Jordan''s negative side.


    "I''m Jun, our friends came earlier and we''re just a bitte."


    "Yeah? What of it?" said Jordan with a mocking smile on his face.


    Hearing his reply, Jun was about to burst off when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the other side.


    "Stop it Jordan! You''re almost thirty years old and you''re still acting like a child!"


    An old woman appeared and her female assistant opened the gate.


    "Hello Jun, long time no see." said the woman.


    Her ck hair was short and barely reached her shoulders while its ends curled inside into her neck. She wore casual clothes; a white cored t-shirt and regr blue jeans.


    Jun smiled after seeing the woman.


    "Hi Aunt Sarah. Its indeed been a long time. Its probably, hmm, when dad brought me to visit your house. How''s Allen?"


    Sarah isn''t Jun''s rtive. His father works for the municipal government under the engineering department. Under many projects, his father gained connections and friends along the way and that resulted with Jun being exposed to some government officials.


    Sarah is the barangay chairman for Barangay Batingan, a few blocks away from here. Jun''s home is located at the border of two baranggays.


    A barangay is sometimes referred to as barrio, the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a vige, district or ward. In metropolitan areas, the term often refers to an inner city neighborhood, a suburb or a suburban neighborhood.


    And like any other government posts, a barangay chairman has their own subordinates. A barangay secretary who does most of the office rted works and numerous barangay tanod also knowned as barangay police officer.


    Behind Barangay Chairman Sarah was her contingency of Tanod''s in uniformed blue vests. The blue vest has several pockets in front and on its sides. It also serves as an identification to know whether someone works for the baranggay or not.


    "Allen died before this happen. He yed with the neighboring dogs and got hit by a tricycle." said Chairman Sarah.


    "That''s... too bad. I''m sorry for asking, I knew you loved him. I did too. He was a very yful dog and I''ll miss him." replied Jun.


    Though he only met Allen once, the time they spent together would never be forgotten. The reason he liked ying with Allen was due to his love for dogs. Takaw was his childhood friend when his family was still living with his grandparents. Thus, resulting in his longing for dogs after moving out.


    "I know, he really liked the toy you gave him. He always bites it and thrash it around. He always lose it though and I would usually find it behind the sofa." Chairman Sarah narrated then her expression suddenly turned sad. "Well, things already happened and we''re here now. Why don''t youe in first? Though we cleared the immediate surroundings, some would still loiter around here."


    "Thank you." replied Jun, then nced at Jordan up in the watch tower. He smirked then strode forwards never looking at him again.


    Chairman Sarah saw him and chose to pretend that she saw nothing. That didn''t stop her from shaking her head though. In her mind, boys will be boys.


    She turned around and started walking. When Jun caught up to her, she said, "He''s my nephew, so try to treat each other better."


    "I didn''t know he was your nephew. Not one bit of resemnce there." said Jun.


    "A lot of people say that." she replied. "Let''s go to my office, so we can talk. Some of your friends are already touring the ce. Well, a few of them volunteered to do a scavenging run when we told them that we''re low on food."


    Jun thought that it must be Adrian or Edward''s group since they weren''t the kind to stay idle. They chatted as they walked the school pathways under the mango trees. Mango trees are verymon in the rural areas of the Philippines. You could find them everywhere; on public ces, on every household and some even by the roadside.


    The two chatted while passing by a small orchard where various vegetables were nted. Then, they passed by a working poso, an old water-pumping station where you manually pump water that came from underground.


    After walking for a few minutes, they finally arrived at the school''s annex building. Chairman Sarah led Jun and his group towards the princiapal''s office. The Tanod''s have already dispersed and the only remaining official was the secretary.


    Before they entered the office, Chairman Sarah told Jun that his friends could look around the ce as long as they don''t cause trouble. Jun received the hint that she wanted to talk alone and told his men to stay outside. Whether they look around or not isn''t his problem anymore. He was sure that they could defend themselves wherever they go.


    Five masked men left while Jennie stayed. Chairman Sarah furrowed his brows. "You seem familiar..."


    "She''s mute and she probably stayed here for some time." said Jun.


    Chairman Sarah snapped her fingers and said, "That''s right! You''re that girl. I''m sorry about your brother. Well, Jun seems to be a look-alike, so you must be having a hard time moving on."


    Jun raised his eyebrows after hearing that Jennie actually has a brother. He thought that she was following him since she was being smart about sticking to a capable group, but that doesn''t seem to be the case.


    "Where are my manners. Let''s take a seat first."


    Sarah took the lead and sat down on a swivel chair. Jun took the seat in front him while Jennie took the one right in front of him. The scene looked like a student''s parent''s being called to the principal''s office after she caused some trouble at school.


    The secretary came into the office with a tray of refreshments. On her hand was a stic bag that has several snacks on it. Jun noted in his mind that not everyone here has leveled up.


    "I''m really happy to see you here. Seeing people you know in the past really gives me a good feeling about our future. We barely surviveding here, I was doing morning checks with my tanod''s in the neighborhood since thievery has worsened, but that actually saved us. Since it was early in the morning, there''s only several people walking on the streets and we were able to take refuge here in the school. I heard from some survivors that came from downtown that it was anarchy over there." Chairman Sarah narrated a few more events that she heard from other survivors, but Jun''s mind was on some other matter.


    When she stopped speaking to take some breathe, Jun took this chance to ask, "You said she had a brother? What happened to him?"


    Jennie jolted after hearing the mention of her brother, but Jun failed to notice it.


    Chairman Sarah also didn''t saw it and proceeded to tell Jun about the story. She nced at Jennie before actually doing it, wanting to know her thought on the matter, but she had her head lowered down and wasn''t looking at her.


    "When we woke up, a car sped and crashed near us. We hurriedly looked for survivors and found her unconscious on the passenger seat. Her brother hit his head and died while we were trying to call for an ambnce. We identified them as siblings thanks to their school ID''s. When she woke up, we told her the truth, but she won''t ept it. She keeps on going out even though we told her that it''s dangerous outside, specially when your alone. After some time, we just let her be. Well, maybe she''s thinking that you''re her brother." said Chairman Sarah.


    After listening to Chairman Sarah, Jun stared at Jennie who was looking down to the floor.[ol][li data-annotation-id="fcd4e7c1-b9da-7a52-ab66-236da3e29de0"]Also known as trike. A three wheeled vehicle used for public transportation.[/ol]

 Chapter 115: A Truth

    Chapter 115: A Truth


    Jun was staring at Jennie and realized that the girl was trembling. He has no clue on what she''s thinking right now.


    He tried cing himself on her situation. On the way to school, the car she was on crashed and she fell unconscious. When she woke up, people told her that her brother died and now the world has change. She probably hasn''t epted the reality and most probably still denying the possibility, but was losing hope everyday.


    Then, she met someone who looked exactly like her brother. She probably thought that these people were lying to her and now being reminded and proven that that person is different from his brother, she finally epted the truth.


    Jun ignored her and faced Chairman Sarah instead.


    "How did you defend this ce?" said Jun, "This ce is huge and from what I saw, your tanod''s weren''t properly armed."


    Chairman Sarah drank some water before answering his question.


    "I think you already know the answer since you were able to survive for this long. All of my tanod''s have already leveled up, gaining ess to a mystical storage. Every weapon they have is ced inside their dimensional storage." replied Chairman Sarah.


    "Well, its good that you''re safe. Its always nice to chat with acquaintances." said Jun.


    "I can rte a bit, but since I have my secretary and tanods to apany me with, I''m doing fine. By the way, I haven''t seen you''re father. Is he around somewhere? You left him at home again?" said Chairman Sarah.


    "Nah, the old man died. I guess its too painful for him to live, so he gave up." said Jun.


    He was reminded of every old person he met after the world changed. All kinds of old people, on all paths of life were seen around hismunity; carpenters, masons, smiths, farmers and more variations the longer they searched. But his father died while perfectly fine, enclosed at his room.


    "I''m sorry to hear that, I really do. It''s too bad that your family got struck by too many misfortunes. I heard of what happened to your father. He''s a good man, a good friend and a good father. Ooooh! I''m really scared of politics. Too many things could happen in one wrong move."


    Chairman Sarah opened a wrapper and took a bite from the chocte cupcake inside it.


    "Mhhmmm!! This is good. You should try it." she said while pointing exaggeratedly at the small cupcakes on the table. When she noticed that Jun wasn''t responding, she smiled wryly, then decided to put the cupcakes down on the table.


    "People always said that being talkative is good when you''re running for government positions, so I tried and I seeded. But even after doing everything that I could to impress the masses, I never won when I ran for mayor. My oppositions never told me where my fault lies while my allies never taught me for whatever Icked. They would always tell me that the opposition was just luckier. Heh, I never believed what they said." she grabbed the ss of water and drank it all. Afterwards, she ced the ss down and said, "Do you know why I''m friends with your father? Because he doesn''t talk shit and always gets to the point! No bullshits! We''re both talkative and can''t stand injustices. Do you know what that means?"


    "People in position don''t like you and powerful people won''t like you." answered Jun.


    "Correct! That''s the exact same reason why I''m still a lowly Barangay Chairman while you''re father reported the mayor for corruption! I''m talkative and he''s a righteous man." said Chairman Sarah.


    Jun frowned upon hearing her narrative. Chairman Sarah noticed his expression and instantly covered her mouth. Afterwards, she removed her hand and chuckled, "I guess he didn''t tell you. After all this years. He''s a really tough guy. He bore all the problems and never involved his family. He''s idealistic and quite futuristic. You should see his designs, they''re fascinating."


    Jun triedparing his father''s image in his head towards the person being described by his Aunt Sarah. No matter how he chose to rte the two, it never clicked! But maybe, she was right. At some point in his life, he felt that his father was the best. Someone who could achieve his dreams while helping those in his surroundings to achieve theirs.


    A sh of memory rekindled in his head. That day, that early morning. His father''sst smile.


    "I-Is this true?"


    Chairman Sarah noticed Jun''s cheeks that already had tears dripping down. She raised her hand wanting to hug him and support him, but retracted her hand in the end.


    "Uhh... well... as far as I know, yes. I just heard it from a friend in the municipal office, but never confirmed it. I never had the power to confirm it. But the source was reliable. Wait!! You aren''t thinking of confronting the mayor, right?! Everyone knows that he''s not good. Its like an open-secret. But people still like him because there''s no one else suitable as mayor, right? You just need to calm down and rx. Besides, people like us can''t do anything to him. He has a lot of people on his side."


    Jun could still here his Aunt Sarah speaking, but everything was bing a blur. Tears didn''t stop flowing down from his eyes and a surprised image of a girl, looking straight at him from the opposite chair, was getting clearer every time he wiped it. He then raised his head and looked up the ceiling to prevent further tears toe down


    Just then, several knocks came from the door and a tanod came in followed by Adrian. The tanod strode towards them and ignored Jun and Jennie who were sitting on his sides.


    "Chairman! We''ve cleared J.P. Rizal Avenue and its immediate vicinity. I''m reporting here since everyone''s dimensional storages were already full." reported the capped man.


    "There''s eleven of you and you''re saying that its full already? Wait a minute... it''s not even half an hour when you left, but you''re saying that everyone''s storage is full!? Did you loot the convenience store?!" said Chairman Sarah.


    "Yes, Chairman. We bulldozed the highway and not one could stop us. Those masked men were great warriors! I saw some of them outside the door too! And they have this sword, a very sharp one. It can slice any zombies in one strike!" the tanod breathed out, then tried catching his breath after his long speech.


    Chairman Sarah turned to Jun and looked at him in wonder. She saw a crying man and was reminded of a smiling teenager whom she had more memories of. She tried guessing what this man was capable of, but her eyes wouldn''t be able to help her.


    Adrian who stayed back finally noticed that Jun was in the room. He walked forward and smiled, "Were you crying?"


    Jun''s breathing calmed down after hearing a familiar voice. He closed his eyes and slowly breathe in. When he opened his eyes, he saw Adrian smirking at him.


    "Fuck off."


    ***


    When Jun calmed down, Chairman Sarah finally took her chance to speak with him. Privately this time. Jennie and Linda were brought out by Adrian and the tanod, leaving the two of them alone.


    "I know that what I said earlier was some big news for you, but to be honest, I have no way to prove if it was true. The only thing that I know for sure, is that bad things started to happen when your dad reported the mayor for corruption."


    After a few more exnations, Chairman Sarah finally came to her real motives. "Earlier this morning, our watchmen reported that new people wereing. As the Chairman, I weed them. They introduced themselves as people of ck Haven. I thought of them as weirdo''s, but they offered to help us in clearing the surrounding. With the risk of increasing zombies everyday, I had to risk it and ept their help. But now, it turns out that they''er good people... So, my question is, do you know their higher ups? It seems like you''re quite close with their Captain, so you know." she chuckles, "...maybe you could introduce me, so we could get some help."


    Jun smiled. "Okay, I''ll say some good words. Youck weapons?"


    Chairman Sarah said. "Not reallyck... but actually, yeah... we do. You see, we have two groups of power that live here. One is the barangay officials consisting of me, my secretary and tanods while the other is the mayor''s son, Henry. He took refuge here with a couple of bodyguards and they''re the people who holds most of the gun. They have five guns and never gave us one. Most of my tanods only have baton and bolo for self-defense since they are not required to be armed with guns. We survived mostly by scavenging at night since its much safer, but its not enough. We''re running low on food and the orchard can''t sustain all of us."


    "Henry is the name of the mayor''s son?"

 Chapter 116: Beneficiary

    Chapter 116: Beneficiary


    Inside the principal''s office...


    Chairman Sarah smirked. "Now, that''s some news for me. You don''t know him? That brat spends most of his time bar-hopping almost every day. Well, its his luck that you haven''t crossed paths. The man wasn''t known for being good, just like you."


    Jun smiled wryly. He knew that his Aunt Sarah meant well, but the way she delivered her words didn''t sound pleasing.


    "You should leave this ce. Its not safe here." Jun said.


    "Is there even a ce where its safe? Most of the people here were civilians and a quarter of that is our total fighting power, further divided into two factions." said Chairman Sarah.


    "We cleared the surrounding area of the town municipal building. There''s over two hundred people currently staying at the surrounding area. Its much safer there and I really hope that youe with us."


    Aunt Sarah though about it as she lowered her head. "I can''t make the decisions alone, specially if it would risk everyone''s life. I''ll talk with everyone first, then give you an answer at noon."


    Jun nodded his head and stood up. He knew that she really cares about the people, and so he would let theme up with their own decision. Whether they decided toe or not, he already sent the invitation. The matter with theirck of weapons could easily be dealt with if he gave them some extra short swords he have, but that would be bad in the long term. He doesn''t want to make the items value be cheap. To preserve its value, he needed to make it appear scarce.


    "Is my father okay?"


    Jun turned around and saw a gentleman in white long sleeves and sleek jeans. The man had wavy smooth hair and fair skin. Behind him were a few big bodied men, standing side-by-side Nik''s squad.


    "Hello Chairman Sarah." he greeted as he looked over Jun''s shoulder to look towards the barangay chairman, who was about to stand on her seat. "I heard there''s someone new came, so I brought myself here. Just my luck that he seems to havee from the municipal town hall."


    "My name''s Henry. Henry Caesares. I don''t really like showing off my family background, but you probably knew some things that makes me really interested. But before that..." he turned his head once again and his eyes went straight for Jennie, who was standing behind Jun. "Hi sweetie," he said while waving his hand. "Long time no see. I haven''t seen you in days. What happened? You got me worried."


    While the man called Henry was acting like he owned the ce, Jun examined him and lost interest. There were a few matters that stopped him from walking out and ignore this flowery man. Right after the man finished speaking, Jun immediately butted in.


    "I heard that she traded you some jewelry box a few days ago. Is that true?" said Jun.


    Henry finally stopped trying to converse with Jennie and faced Jun. His fake smile remained stuck on his face as he said, "I think so, why?"


    "Where is it?"


    "Is it important?"


    "A bit. It would really help everyone of us if you kindly hand it over. Ofcourse, I''ll trade something for it."


    Henry stared at Jun, then suddenly shook his head.


    "Sure, sure..." he paused, eyeing Jun up and down. He grew up with branded clothes on his body before he could even say his own name. In short, Henry saw nothing on Jun''s body that seemed worth something and shook his head once again.


    Henry''s action disappointed Jun. Does the man not know of dimensional storages? Did he spend all these days locking himself inside this "safe haven" and neglected leveling up? On second thought, it was much normal to stay safe here than go out. There''s even no reason for a wealthy person to go out when you can order people to do that for you.


    Evo was right. Information was really power. Maybe, he should stop him from publicizing that brochure he was making.


    Jun acted cautiously earlier since he thought that the man was hiding weapons in his dimensional storage. The only reason he hasn''t acted now was because he still wasn''t sure if the man called Henry was acting to make him lower his guard.


    Jun said. "Okay. Where is it? Can I exchange it for food?"


    "Ohh. I don''t think you have food on you, so I have no reason to tell you..."


    Before he could finish his sentence, Jun quickly grabbed his neck. His sentence alone proved that he knew nothing about dimensional storage. He turned towards Chairman Sarah and said, "He doesn''t know of dimensional storage?"


    Chairman Sarah shook his head. "No, webeled it ssified information and only my subordinates knew of it. Its too risky if people go out with no weapons."


    "Then what about her?" Jun turned towards Jennie, beside him.


    "We didn''t tell her, but since she always go out on her own, she probably leveled up while defending herself."


    Ofcourse Jun already knew that. He just wanted to know if she was told about it or discovered it on her own.


    As they were conversing, Henry who was being choked kept on hitting Jun''s arms. He tried shouting for help, but only muffled groans came out of his mouth.


    Jun faced him and said, "Where''s the jewelry box?"


    Henry couldn''t reply properly and Jun released him from his grasp.


    As soon as he was let go, Henry hurriedly caught his breath. He red at Jun filled with anger. He angrily turned around and said, "Didn''t you guys see that I was being choked to death!? Why weren''t you doing anything!?"


    After turning, he saw his bodyguards being suppressed with swords by their throats. Through the window, Chairman Sarah and Jennie saw the scene outside and was immediately shocked at how things turned from a conversation to a possible one-sided ughter.


    Before Henry could think of anything, Jun quickly reminded him of his ne.


    "Where is it?"


    Henry faced Jun with fear on his eyes. He replied, "I gave it to Ishia."


    Jun stared at him for a few seconds and Henry couldn''t take his stare, so he lowered his head. Jun walked past him and went out of the door. Adrian came out of stealth on the corner and followed behind Jun. Chairman Sarah and Jennie were bewildered at the scene. The masked men stored their swords into their dimensional storage then followed Jun.


    Before noon, news spread that powerful people came and rescued them from this ce, that there was a much safer ce than here.


    Jun apologized to his Aunt Sarah about the incident and the fake news that was circting around. He guaranteed that it wasn''t his side that spread it. Jun wanted for his aunt to willinglye, but the events were forcing her to agree. Jun definitely agrees that there was a much safer ce than here, but the term "rescued" doesn''t seem fit. The term used also indicates that the people who spread the news weren''t on good terms with Jun or Chairman Sarah.


    People verified this information with Jun''s group and they repeatedly told them that they coulde if they wanted to. As long as they follow the rules of themunity, they should be fine. Well, there''s really no rules, but as a survivor, they should know what not to do or what to do. Besides, there''s still a working police force at the municipality, sow and order could still be enforced.


    Jun found Ishia and bought back the ne for ten canned foods. She received the ne as a gift and being able to trade it for food made her feel so lucky.


    As the group waited for everyone to get ready, Jun chatted with his Aunt Sarah. They talked about random things and about recent things. When they were talking about leisure and activities, Aunt Sarah mentioned that some teachers were able to survive. They rescued some teachers who lived far away and had to travel early, so that they could arrive on time for their morning sses.


    The children doesn''t have to worry about having nothing to do since ss still continued, though there''s only few sses to go to. Afterwards, they could help with the orchard by either expanding or maintaining it. Jun felt that having a teacher should be good, but the things that have to be taught were things about survival.


    Right before the sun rose on top of everyone, they were able to move out. The school was a good ce to defend considering that it was enclosed by a wall, but theycked armed forces and weaponry to defend arge area. The ces that have watchmen were mostly the front wall where the main gates were located. The back and side walls doesn''t have guards which further made the civilians feel endangered. With the reason to leave for a safer ce, they all marched and followed the man who seemed to benefited from all of this.


    Henry said, "Let''s go."

 Chapter 117: Everyones Hidden Quests

    Chapter 117: Everyone''s Hidden Quests


    [The One True Boss]


    [Description] Thest part of the quest. Can be repeated. You have now proven yourself as someone who can be an overlord. Now rise to the top and be the true overlord!


    [Requirements]


    [Kill or subordinate another lord. 0/1]


    [Reward(s)]


    [Random Loot Crate x1]


    [Increase follower count.]


    [Title Upgrade]


    Jun examined his quest as they walked towards the cemetery entrance. He received the quest as continuation for his chain quest right after he finished thest one. He just didn''t paid attention since he doesn''t know where to find another lord.


    [Pickpocket attempt failed!]


    "Can you stop doing that?"


    Jun said towards Adrian beside him.


    "We both know that I have higher stats and I''m too aware of what you''re doing, so can you stop trying to pickpocket me? I know its your quest to pickpocket a lord, but even if I stand here all day, you won''t seed. Maybe, I should close my eyes.


    [Pickpocket attempt failed!]


    Jun realized a few things about the difference between rob and pickpocket.


    Rob could be used any time while pickpocket should be used only when the target is unaware.


    Earlier, Adrian was caught trying to pickpocket Jun and was almost punished for it. Thankfully, he was quick enough to exin that it was his quest. His quest requires him to pickpocket one lord. He received the quest a long time ago, but doesn''t know what a lord means. He never asked what it meant nor share his quest since Jun didn''t asked for it. He just got some hints after some time that Jun might be a lord, resulting in their current predicament.


    Jun allowed him to steal from him, so he couldplete his quest.


    But things didn''t go ording to n.


    Since he was aware that Adrian was going to pickpocket him, this information unconsciously raised his attention and waited for it. At the same moment that Adrian used the skill, it was immediately blocked by the stat check. Afterwards, Adrian used the skill every other second when Jun wasn''t paying attention.


    "Just try it when I''m asleep." said Jun.


    "So I can enter your room at night?" replied Adrian.


    "Nah, you either do it when I''m unaware or just forget it. I personally think that you should absorb some bodies, so you can quickly raise your stats. And I know you don''t like it, but you have to. At some point, you will."


    "Hey, She." Jun called. "You have your quest too, right? Is itplicated? Do you need to heal me too?"


    Jun was all smiles feeling like the only star under the heavens. Having Adrian''s quest somehow rted to him raised his mood. He felt ted and generous enough toply if she ever requested.


    Though that didn''tst for long as She shook her head.


    "Nope," She said. "...my quest needs me to nurse up a thousand patients. A thousand "unique" patients. That means someone who I nursed him up won''t raise the count the second time I nursed them up."


    "Uh-huh." Jun replied disinterested. "So you won''t heal them anymore after you healed them once?"


    She quickly turns her head and denies Jun''s ims. "Ofcourse not! Why would I do that? I would heal anyone whoes to me. As long they pay, right?"


    Jun didn''t really set any rules about anything, but everyone assumes that whenever he doesn''t say anything, it means he agreed. He doesn''t answer because he sometimes doesn''t care or just find answering troublesome.


    "Do you think they''ll be okay?" said She.


    "They have some of Jun''s elite guards, so they should be fine." Adrian replied


    as he walked behind Jun. Adrian was there when Jun first told those prisoners that they belong to him and when they signed the contracts. He couldn''t tell her that they were actually prisoners, so he used elite guards as an alternate call sign.


    The BES group was led by Toby, who volunteered as escort leader for the escort mission. Jun wasn''t suspicious of anything since he knew that the contract prevents him from doing anything that would cause him trouble. Besides, he could just ask themter if they were nning anything.


    There were ten people in the cemetery clearing group. Jun, Adrian, She, Edward and Jennie, who insisted oning, together with Nik and his squad from earlier. His three elite team members were a must while Jennie was just additional baggage. He really doesn''t want to bring her, but being reminded that he looks like her brother, Jun allowed her to join them. They can use her as additional loot bag.


    Jun was supposed to bring everyone here, so they have a faster clear than the respawn rate, but things have to change. He didn''t know that themunity that they were about to visit was governed by someone he knew nor did he know that people would willingly rush to go there. Though he thought that the events weren''t natural and something felt really wrong, he had no idea what the unease in his heart actually means.


    With the crew about to enter the mouth of the cemetery, bright lights appeared a distance from them and ten more carriers respawned. Unlike the earlier hassle, the carriers were spread out evenly among the Area A of the cemetery. There''s about sixty of them scattered along, standing on tombstones all over the vicinity.


    "So they really respawn." Jun thought.


    "They came back!" Nik burst out in shock. The masked men beside him appeared awed but not as surprised.


    "Yeah, they respawned." said Jun.


    "You fought them already?" Adrian asked curiously.


    "They found this earlier, so I decided to explore it. All of them were regr carriers, so we don''t have to worry about anything. Walk straight to them, kill them and watch your backs. Let''s go!"


    The group lined up and fought the carriers that they encountered. The only thing that Jun felt different about the carriers here was that they were stronger than the ones outside. More resilient to knockback and has more power on their every strike. Their skins were tougher and requires precise cuts for the de to cleave them.


    Jun''s death ves fought strategically and use the tombstones to their advantage. They would kite carriers and make them bump onto each other before going in for the kill. It appears tiresome but it was effective. The kill rate was faster than the spawn rate. Sixty carriers were slowly thinned down to fifty, forty, twenty-five...


    The more carriers died, the faster their numbers dwindled. Jun also started using his Burst Mode. Its just him channeling higher energy output onto his bone hammer causing the carriers to burn and die faster.


    After several minutes, they killed thest one and no carriers respawned. They warily looked around and waited for more. When they were sure that it was safe, they regrouped around Jun as the center.


    She casted Cure on everyone to increase their energy regeneration. No one got heavily injured, but some of Nik''s friends got pummeled since they served as meat tanks. They really didn''t have to do it since Jun never ordered them to do so, but they instinctively stayed as vanguard. She used heal on those who got hit while trying to recover some energy for herself.


    Jun noticed her quick energy depletion since she was only able to do one skill rotation on everybody and asked her: "Did you not eat the fruit?"


    She shook her head and Jun urged her to use it. She nodded her head and consumed it in front of him. Her cheeks glowed and appeared more glossy as the process of her max energy increasing coursed her body. Afterwards, she casted cure and heal onto those who haven''t received support.


    They rested for ten minutes for everyone''s energy to recover. Then they continued to head onto the Area B of the cemetery.


    Jun led the group and stood on the bridge that connected the two areas. There were clustered carriers standing idly on the other side of the bridge. If they want to own the ce and use this as a leveling grounds, they have to do something about the clustered carriers, something permanent.


    Jun looked around and found a simple mausoleum, four walls and a roof, then walked towards it. He scanned and created a blueprint out of it. Afterwards, he trudge forward on the bridge, slowly inching closer towards the clustered infected, before throwing the blueprint to the ground.


    As the blueprint materialized into a 3D version, the carriers were quickly pushed to the side. As if angered, the carriers mauled the 3D mausoleum, destroying it, then resumed standing idly on their spots.


    "Well, I knew that wouldn''t work, but I learned something new, so..." said Jun as he backed off and pulled out a stress ball from his dimensional storage.


    "Back to this I guess."


    Jun squeezed the stress ball, then threw it after a few seconds. The ball glowed in mid-air, then suddenly erged itself as it fell onto the crowd of carriers.

 Chapter 118: Undead Priest

    Chapter 118: Undead Priest


    The stress ball hit the clustered carriers and split the crowd. Some carriers were pushed back, some got squashed down to the ground while the rest were pushed to the sides.


    Jun followed right after he threw the ball and smashed the wriggly skinned carrier. A burst of warm energy flowed from within and a notification appeared in front of him.


    You leveled up!


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 5]


    [Health - 560][Energy - 210]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 30][Endurance - 26][Speed - 15][Wits - 14][Cunning - 14][Charm - 16]


    [Stat Points - 0]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    -[Iron Guts]


    -[Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lv.4]


    -[Rob - Lv.2]


    -[Execute - Lv.4]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.3]


    -[Blueprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Howling Rage Lv.3]


    -[Sprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Time Perse - Max]


    -[Water Stride - Lv.Max]


    Thanks to eating the energy fruit, his max energy finally received some increase. He still have the remaining fruit while the life fruit remains unused mainly for its immediate health regen purposes. He could use those two fruits as emergency health tonics and could save his life in a pinch.


    He cleared the area on the surrounding before moving forward. Area B has the samendmass like Area A, the only difference was that Area B was surrounded by a creek and acted as a small ind, The edges of Area B was made of apartment tombs while the center area wasprised ofmon tombstones and numerous mausoleums. Maybe this part of the cemetery is for middle-ss.


    With prior experience of battling with the carriers, Jun''s group advanced at an unhindered pace. Having mausoleums as covers, they could kite the carriers more effectively. Though the experience they received was little, each and every bit of it would start to pile up to help them level up.


    After killing thest carrier, the group huddled at the center of the ind where the tallest mausoleum could be found. Everyone brought back gold nuggets dropped by the carriers that they killed.


    Jun could be seen looking for something on the nearby bridge. He looked inside the nearby grassy tombs, then found what he was looking for. He came back to the group with a glowing stress ball in his hands.


    "You gonna give that back to him?" said She asking whether Jun was nning to give back the stress ball to Evo.


    "There''s no need to," Jun replied as he showed his palm with the stress ball on top. "Its rechargable." The red stress ball was emitting crimson glow as it received Jun''s energy.


    "Ohh, that''s cool. So that''s what he''s been up totely." said She in awe.


    Adrian just felt intrigued about the item and moved on to scout the next area.


    "His items are useful if you use it properly." replied Jun as the incident where Evo threw a pebble and was expecting it to mow down the chasing carriers behind him shed back in his mind. That pebble that was supposed to kill those chasing infected grew in size and dropped down in front of him, almost killing him in the process. Evo med gravity while Jun cursed him for not doing further tests before actually using it on real situations.


    "Let''s go."


    ***


    On the bridge stood Jun''s group with Adrian as the lead.


    "There''s two huge mausoleums here with smaller ones on the sides. At the center, there''s a sermon podium, surround by apartment-type tombs. There''s less spacepared here, but we should have no problem clearing it. What should we do?"


    Adrian exined his observations as he turned to Jun.


    "How did you see that far?" She asked as she tiptoed just to barely see over the heads of numerous carriers blocking the other side of the bridge.


    "I have enhanced sight, right? Have you forgotten already? Wait... I already taught this to you! Haven''t you learned it?" Adrian replied to She a bit irritated.


    She on the other hand, scratched the back of her head and stuck out her tongue. "Sorry... I can''t focus enough to learn it."


    "What do you mean you can''t focus? Focus on something distant and squint your eyes. Channel some energy into your eyes and you should be able to learn it. Anyone can do it!" rebuked Adrian.


    She felt embarrassed being yelled at in public, but she smiled and continued scratching her head. She chuckled while lowering her head. The onlookers avoided Adrian''s gaze as he looked around.


    On the outside, it appeared that Adrian was calm and collected, but deep down he knew he fucked up. He have some serious problems to deal with tonight.


    Two people didn''t care about the unstable emotional spikes happening on their surrounding as Jun and Nik focused on learning Adrian''s self-created skill. Jun didn''t feel bad about Adrian not teaching him the skill, having no time tomunicate and scavenge together seemed to be the reason, so he just epts it.


    The first one who learned the skill was Nik and it took him less than thirty seconds to learn the skill. Maybe he really is a prodigy or is it that young ones has better control over this new found energy. Jun learned the skill barely five seconds after Nik. He didn''t get any notification about having earned additional points. It seems like only the creator of the skill gets bonus stat points.


    As he observed everyone, his eyes met with Nik''s and both of them agreed not to say anything.


    "Let''s try something new." Jun gathered everyone''s attention by withdrawing a bonespear from his dimensional storage. "We''ll stay in the bridge while we kill them. Let''s see how it goes."


    With Jun''s n, ten people formed two rows on the narrow bridge. There was no spacing and they could barely makerge movements.


    "Uhh, shall we take turns?" said She.


    Jun ground his teeth and felt a bit embarrassed. His grasp on the bonespear tightened and he dashed forward as he yelled: "Charge!"


    His loud voice caught every carriers attention and they all focused on him. He skid into a slowing motion, then threw the bonespear into the leading carrier. The bonespear hit the chest of the carrier causing a knockback effect, but has not enough damage to kill it. After stabilizing its body, it quickly followed the others.


    Seeing the dense number of carriers dashing towards him, Jun didn''t felt threatened and brandished his bonehammer. He also prepared two pebbles and threw it in the air. With proper practice, he finally learned simple trajectories and timing. The pebbles grew in size while in mid-air and dropped straight down ignoring its recent onward motion. The boulders squashed some of the leading carriers and dyed the others behind it.


    With the sudden blockade and loss of target vision, the carriers halted on their spots. When the boulders glowed once again and returned to their original size, a burning hammer crashed onto their faces.


    Jun timed it perfectly after several practices. Not the surprise attack, but the return feature of Evo''s items. Most of debugged items require energy to be used. And to input energy function into the item, Evo had to spent a higher amount of energy just to apply the said energy function.


    The old types of debugged itemssts longer but were consumable items that were only one-time use. Compared to these rechargable ones, the old ones were more taxing to produce. Though, it could also be debated what is better depending on the situation: for a long term dy where you didn''t have to collect the item or a short dy where you have to retrieve the said item.


    The ming bonehammer decapitated several heads as Jun swung it after the boulders reduced sizes. At the same time, the carriers behind the decapitated ones immediately reacted and lunged at him.


    Instead of retreating, Jun dashed inside the horde and swirled the bonehammer around before he could get swarmed. The first rotation was slow since there was a lot of resistance from the numerous bodies that the bonehammer have to drag. But when Jun increased the energy output to twenty energy per second which drained almost ten percent of his energy per second, the resisting force disappeared and the bonehammer mowed everything on its path. Jun swirled around like a tornado three times before stopping. His surrounding was filled with blistering stardust that floated upwards in the air.


    Jun shook his head out of slight dizziness and hurriedly looked around. With his reliable team as backups, no carriers managed toe close to him when he stopped spinning. Any carrier that tried to do so were killed by flying bonespears from the distance.


    Before Jun could take any action, a hand tapped his shoulders and said, "Leave the rest to us."


    Adrian passed by together with Nik and his squad. She stayed back and casts some baby sitting spells on him. When Jun identally looked into her eyes, he saw her smirking.


    She smiled, then said, "You should stop proving yourself to us. Adrian and I, know how hard you work for everyone. I personally know that you''re someone good."


    Jun ignored her and muttered in a low voice, "What do you guys know about me? Humph."


    Just as the situation was proceeding under normal circumstances, where every regr carrier was killed easily, something appeared from the sermon podium in the distance.


    An old man stood at center stage wearing a white linen liturgical vestment with tapered sleeves. There was no visible damage on his face, besides that of dark web-like cracks that spread around the skin of his yellow eyes.

 Chapter 119: Killing the Undead Priest

    Chapter 119: Killing the Undead Priest


    The battle was stale since everyone was already used to the regr carriers attack pattern. Lunge, grab and bite. It could be simply repelled or easily dodge depending on what you prefer to.


    Some liked to fight closebat at ultra close quarters and kill them with stabs in the head. Nik was one of those people. Since birth, he had a small stature that made him nimble and quick-footed. Though his strides were shorter than others, it resulted in him being able to make quick adjustments to his movements.


    Nik dove towards three dashing carriers and lunged inbetween two of them. Thest one who got ignored hurriedly tackled the one blocking it while Nik shed at the other carriers neck. The sharp de separated the neck from its body and it slowly slid down. Before the head could hit the ground, it quickly disintegrated into stardust. At the same time that the head was falling, he nimbly side-stepped the iing ws and stabbed the carrier through its eyes. Sure the short sword was sharp, but the skull was of the same material with the sword and considering that the skull is the hardest bone in the body, a sure kill wouldn''t hurt.


    Nik was thankful that dead bodies disappear here. With his fighting style of recklessly charging in while relying on his agile body, a dy in pulling out his weapon could be detrimental. Though everything felt like a game, he know for sure that he only has one life based on experience. He have saved a lot and traveled most part of the town while meeting various people.


    Thest carrier was about to pounce on him when a bonespear suddenly struck the sides of its head. Nik turned around and saw his old partner looking at him. It was the old man who always stayed by his side like a guardian angel. The only reason why he''s still alive even with his battle style is because of this person. The ranked two amongst the prisoners, Bartolome Fernan.


    Nik nodded his head and Bartolome slightly shook his head. Nik knew that he would be scoldedter, but he would still refrain from changing his battle style. This somehow made him feel alive, like he was always excited and everything felt like it was normal.


    If Nik was ced in a normal society, he was the type of person inclined to do something bad for something good.


    "Clear!"


    "Clear!..."


    Numerous loud shouts resounded on the area. The ghostly mausoleums turned rowdy when numerous weird hunchback bone-dried carriers came running towards the group.


    The weird carriers have tattered clothes all over them and their skins were sticking closely to their bones. They would sometimes run normally, then suddenly slow down and murmur things. Those five weird carriers scattered at certain distances with each other while slowly inching closer to the group.


    Nik regrouped with the others and waited for orders, but something weird happened. The sun vanished and darkness filled the earth. A red moon appeared in the sky and showered everyone with bloody rays.


    Whenever it hit a gravestone, a hand would climb out followed by its body. The skin would be the same dried up ones that sticked closely to the bones. The only difference with the normal carriers would be that these carriers have red eyes while not having dark web-like cracks surrounding their eyes.


    Despite all the sudden changes, Nik stood at the frontlines while waiting for orders. When the carriers were a few meters away and no one has givenmand, he turned and looked to his sides. There were numerous hooded ghostly figures standing behind him slowly distancing themselves from each other. They appeared like spectresmonly found in fantansy books. He looked around and searched for everyone, but couldn''t find them.


    Just then, a sudden forceful push came from behind him and pinned him to the ground. Before he could feel the agonizing pain that should havee, he felt his back lightened. One of the ghostly robed figures grasped the carriers neck and broke it. Afterwards, it casually tossed the body to the side.


    Nik recovered from the sudden fall and quickly stood up. He looked around and noticed some of the robed ghostly figures helping other ghostly figures. When one of the robed figures was about to be tackled by a red-eyed carrier, a yellow barrier appeared on its path and blocked it. The robed figure with a raised hand was emitting rhythmical crunching noises as ifughing. As if not contented, it continued opening its divilish mouth and spouted more words. If he knew that it was Edward, he would probably rejoice not to hear him spouting nonsense.


    ***


    Everything happened fast and no one was prepared for it. Even now, Jun was still not sure on what was happening. After their initial clear with the initial carriers, a group of weird reinforcements were summoned by the old priest. Five Hunter-like carriers appeared from thin air and hurriedly dashed towards them when the priest pointed forward. They ran weirdly like apes since they were also using their hands as they ran. Mid-way, they slowed down and started chanting weird phrases.


    Jun waited but nothing happened.


    After waiting for what could actually happen, the carriers respawned like they have always been doing. He knew that everyone was already capable of defending themselves, so he focused on those weird carriers in the distance. He felt that something was wrong when no one was moving even though the carriers were already in front of them. Especially Nik, who he favored a bit due to his will to improve, who was dazedly looking on all of them. When the regr carrier lunged at Nik and pinned him to the ground, he hurriedly grabbed its neck and broke it. At the same time, he observed everyone and noticed that most of them were dazed except for Edward.


    Edward looked around, then shouted: "Hail endurance!"


    Afterwards, he started maniacallyughing while dishing out nonsense after nonsense. Though he knew that it was to "magically" increase the purity of his energy, hearing it was still unbearable. Even if he was tempted to try if spouting nonsense could really make your skills powerful, Jun managed to stop himself. Just thinking about the reactions of other people when they learned about it would make him die from embarrassment.


    Jun observed the overall situation and managed to confirm that everything was connected to those weird summons. He quickly swapped weapons and brought out his white revolver.


    "Take care of them, can you do that?" Jun said without looking back and immediately aimed at the distant carriers. The nearest one was ten meters away and he quickly shot it. Since he was recovering energy, he refrained from using Time Perse to aim, but used Enhanced Sight to get a closer view. Well, he learned today that a closer view doesn''t mean correct aim.


    The shot hit the weird carriers body and it wailed loudly while crazily rolling on the ground. He noticed that two of the masked men recovered from their daze. At the same time, the others finally fought back against the carriers which lightened Edward''s energy consumption.


    "What happened?" said Jun towards the two, who were busy assessing the situation. The one who answered was the second most strongest ve he had.


    "I think we got trapped inside an illusion." the voice sounded old and withered but still dutifully replied. The man looked around and hurriedly ran towards Nik.


    Nik on the other hand was surprised and jumped back to avoid the man. The man stopped and distanced himself from Nik, but stayed near enough to be able to protect him.


    Jun pondered about the new information and finally confirmed that it was really those creatures doing. After thinking about it, everyone''s stat build centered around strength, speed and wits. It might be true that having high endurance gives resistance to illusions and maybe also gives resistances to various debuffs.


    Since there were more people to defend the others, Jun decided to go on the offensive. He doesn''t know what the others were experiencing but he won''t wait for things to get worse before taking action.


    Jun hurriedly ran towards the weird chanting carriers. When Jun approached them, they ran away from him and so he decided to aim from afar. They never left a certain distance from their targets, which made it easy for Jun to aim urately this time. He shot two in the head while the rest were in their chests. He then finished them off by bashing their heads while cursing them under the heavens.


    He looked back to his group and ensured that everyone was awakened. When he verified that they already did, he noticed that the priest on the sermon podium started chanting once again.


    Jun tilted his head and cursed under his breath.


    "Not again."


    He ran as fast as he could and when he was about fifty meters away, he activated Time Perse and stopped the time. The priest''s mouth was still open while Jun was already on his aiming position. He still had thirty percent energy, so he wasn''t scared of energy exhaustion.


    He zoomed in and steadied his aim, on top of Enhanced Sight, everything appeared like it was meters away from him. He could even see the priest thick eyebrows and its yellow eyes that stared at him lifelessly. A golden tooth reflected the sun''s ray causing a slight sparkle, but it didn''t hinder Jun''s aim.


    The shot was fired and Jun quickly cancelled Time Perse. With his energy right now, he couldn''t afford the energy drain of a bullet moving on a stopped time.


    The bullet flew straight towards the nose and came out behind the head.


    Jun said with disappointment, "I was aiming at the mouth."

 Chapter 120: The Cross

    Chapter 120: The Cross


    The priest''s body vaporized before it could fall to the ground. Numerous gold nuggets dropped on to the stage and caused clinking noises. Afterwards, an invisible shockwave came from the priests vanishing body and passed through everyone. It traveled the whole cemetery and reached its furthest end.


    Jun quickly turned around to check on everyone. Besides the confusion it brought, the shockwave did no damage to anyone. He surveyed the surroundings for any change before grouping up with the team.


    "Is everyone alright?" said Jun.


    "Y-yeah. I think so..." replied She as she looked around warily.


    "If we base what just happened to movie logic, we should be cursed right?" Edwardmented as he examined his body. He checked inside his shirt for any changes and even inside his trousers.


    She didn''t appreciate his action and said, "Gross."


    "Can you check on everyone?" Jun said to She, "Just to make sure that nothing weird happens to us."


    She nodded her head as she asked for everyone to line up. As a nurse, when checking upon someones health, she receives more information than the others. She already exined this to the group and that''s why Jun asked her to do it.


    A goodparison would be a civilian checking up someone while a nurse checks the same person. When checking wounds, a civilian could check basic damage dealt to the wound, cause of the wound and how long would it take for the wound to heal. On the other hand, a nurse would be more effective since she can see more information like what to do and what type of medicine is needed for the wound. They haven''t tried experimenting on the difference between a nurse and a doctor since She''s father was always busy tending to numerous civilians.


    While the check-up was underway, Jun ran to the sermon podium and looted the gold nuggets. The loot was disappointing since he expected something like a book or a staff. He then told himself to stop dreaming about such fantastical things. Or should he have made the priest use all of its energy? Maybe it would drop another book or something.


    As Jun was contemting about the matter, he heard someoneughing. He looked around, but there was no one near him. As he searched his surroundings, his sight fell on the cross in the distance. He wasn''t sure if it was really glowing or its just the sunlight reflecting over the material. He kept this event on his mind and decided to investigate at ater time.


    "What do you think?" said Jun towards She. "We''re not cursed right?"


    She, who was doing a check-up on Edward, shook her head and said, "I think not... but this one sure is cursed."


    Edward smiled wryly as he let the matter go. He then faced Jun and said, "Are we going to fortify the bridge entrances?"


    Jun pondered for a second, not whether to fortify but how to fortify. He looked around to see if there''s anything he could use to fortify the bridge entrances. There''s mausoleums scattered in the area, but stone and other requirement would be tough to procure.


    "Maybe next time."


    The group traveled back to the bridge area after making sure that everything was fine. When they were about to take the Lakeside Marina route, Adrian noticed something wrong from the broken bridge. There were numerous vehicles with differing sizes that filled the creek.


    Though the group didn''t know who thought of the idea, they thanked them as they used the makeshift bridge to shorten their travel time. They hopped onto the cars roof and carefully jumped off from a diagonally ced sedan. They could have just teleported back but that would mean that Jennie would be left behind. Though Jun doesn''t feel anything towards her, leaving someone he got to know, even if its for a short time, felt wrong. or maybe its just pity.


    The groups detour to the cemetery didn''t take more than an hour and yet the municipality appeared different as they walked the streets.


    Jun could feel the patrol''s passionate gaze directly on him.


    Jun sighed. <em>The rumors must have gotten worse or something</em>.


    When they arrived nearby the advertisement bus, Jun noticed the crowd in front of the municipal building. There were police officers surrounding the area while others made sure that there''s enough space around the elevated area near the statue.


    <em>What''s going on?</em>


    Jun looked around and found Bernard standing near the toll gate. Bernard''s expression was unsightly as he looked into the distant crowd.


    Jun walked towards him and greeted him.


    "Hey, what''s up?" said Jun casually. "Do you know what''s happening over there?"


    Jun pointed to the crowd of people standing idly on the za square.


    Bernard nodded his head.


    "The mayor''s son just came and he brought good news with him."


    "Ah, that man." Jun acknowledged his reply disinterestedly. "He was staying in the local elementary school together with other survivors. I really don''t know for how long, but the Barangay Chairman took him in and protected him. Speaking of that, did you see Aunt Sarah? Where is she?"


    "She''s inside, chatting with Marianne." replied Bernard with an infatuated smile.


    "Is there something wrong?"


    Bernard quickly shook his head. "N-nothing, nothing. There''s no problem. They''re probably waiting for you, so I think its better to head in. The tanods volunteered to help with area security and is currently in-cooperation with the police force. You''re private guards also went out to train."


    Just as Bernard finished speaking, Nik took the chance to interrupt and asked Jun, "Are you still going out? If not, I''ll go out and train."


    Jun was already done going out for today since he has matters to talk about withhis Aunt Sarah.


    "There''s nothing else, so you''re free to go. Bring everyone here tommorow morning, we''re going somewhere."


    "Okay."


    Nik walked away and never looked back. The four death ves waited for a few seconds to make sure that they could really leave. When Nik got futher away, they quickly followed after him.


    This is also one of the reasons why Nik was the leader of the group. He thinks for himself and makes his own decision. Unlike the others who wait for orders like a programmed machine.


    "Okay, I''ll head in first. Let''s chatter."


    "Uh-huh."


    Bernard watched as Jun walked passed him and noticed a fair maiden following him. He then shook his head while smiling.


    "It;s really good to be young."


    He turned around and was about to head back to his post, but the crowd suddenly rejoiced out of nowhere. He could see some crying while others were jumping in joy.


    Bernard frowned. <em>What''s going on?</em>


    <em>***</em>


    <em>"</em>Hahaha, does he? Let''s stop, he''sing."


    When Jun asked around where Marianne was, he was led to the second floor living room. There, he found Marianne and Aunt Sarah chatting on the sofa. The two were happilyughing together as if they were old acquiantances.


    Jun approached the two and sat beside Marianne.


    "You two getting along with each other?"


    "Totally." replied Marianne cheerfully.


    Jun then turned to Aunt Sarah and jokingly threatened her. He said, "You''re not saying anything bad about me, right?"


    Aunt Sarah shrugged while looking at the sides. "What do I know? I only saw you when you''re father brought you for a visit. Well, i know for sure that you''re a daddy''s boy and scared of bugs. You know, those squirmy little ones. Wait, are they bugs or worms? Never mind that, what tokk you guys so long?"


    Aunt Sarah ignored Jun''s realistic angry stares as she changed the topic.


    Jun continued ring for a while, but sighed exhaustedly in the end. He let the matter go and answered: "I just investigated something."


    "What is it?" said Marianne curiously.


    Jun faced Marianne and slid his arm around her stomach. Marianne blushed but didn''t remove his hand.


    "The local cemetery was infested with carriers, so we cleared it."


    "Is that all?" said Marianne with disappointment.


    "You cleared the cemetery?" Aunt Sarah gasped unable to believe Jun.


    "Yes."


    "But there''s hundred''s of them!"


    "And how did you know that?" replied Jun. He took his arms off Marianne and sat up straight.


    Noticing Jun''s interest in the matter, Aunt Sarah tried her best to recall about the matter. With a snap of her fingers, she sat up and inched closer to Jun. "The first night that things happened, we saw a cross glowing in the distance. The next day, I told my men to investigate the matter. Since we only knew about the direction, they ended up at the cemetery. The only ce that has a cross in the area. There they encountered those zombies. At first, my tanods thought that they would die since they were outnumbered. But! Those zombies were weird and never left the cemetery! Every night, we could see the glow of the cross. After several observation, we realized that it doesn''te from the cemetery, but at Cavalry."


    "That small hill with a lot of stairs?" interruped Marianne.


    "Yes!"


    Jun pulled back Marianne, who was getting to excited for no reason. "So, did you go there?"


    Aunt Sarah looked at Jun like he was an idiot. "Why would I order my men to go there? The town za was a literal no-man''s zone! Even this far, we could see zombies running about. We couldn''t even venture out three streets away and you want us to travel that far."


    "Well, forget it then. Is there anything else that you could remember?"


    Aunt Sarah pondered for a few seconds while slowly scratching his forehead. "Nothing really. After the first days, we never assigned guards near the walls since weird kinds of zombies appeared."


    Marianne excitedly requested for more stories while Aunt Sarah happilyplied. Jun let the two chat while pondering over the matter.

 Chapter 121: The Church

    Chapter 121: The Church


    The day passed by in a blur.


    There was a noticeable change on the atmosphere among the popce. Almost all of them were extremely excited about something.


    Jun spend the afternoon chatting with his Aunt Sarah regarding his father. In her story, the caring and loving father he remembered was brought back to life. There''s a lot of unconfirmed stories but never the less, he was once again reminded about his father.


    When night came, Marianne happily snuggled with Jun as they lie down on the bed.


    "Aunt Sarah is too talkative, but it''s fun listening to her."


    "Not for me"


    As Jun tried finding a good spot to sleep, Marianne brought her face to his chest and kissed it.


    "But it''s cute, don''t you think so? This is the first time I heard about your childhood."


    "Is it?" said Jun as he gently ced his hand on her back. "Then, will you tell me about yours?"


    Marianne looked up and her eyes meet with Jun''s.


    "Are you willing to listen?"


    Jun stared at her charming eyes that gazed into his soul. Her brown irises twinkled and appeared burning with desire. Her hands traveled on his solid chest and rose up to his shoulders.


    As if mesmerized, Jun softly replied: "Yes, I am."


    Afterwards, Marianne quickly lunged at him and pecked his lips. She then distanced themselves for a second and said, "Let''s chat more tomorrow. Don''t go out tomorrow, okay?"


    Jun was about to reply but Marianne sealed his lips with hers. This time, she sat on top of him while she devoured his lips.


    As they were on a fiery battle, the ss door was pushed open and caused creaking noises. The two passionate couple hurriedly turned and saw Adrain at the door.


    Adrian turned back and went out but Jun called him to stop.


    "Hey, quite rude aren''t you?"


    Jun sat up while Marianne shyly went under the nket.


    "Aren''t you going to say something? Why did youe here?"


    Anyone could notice the irritation in Jun''s voice. If it wasn''t Adrian he would have already shouted.


    Adrian turned around and blushingly said, "It''s fine, I didn''t saw anything."


    "I didn''t ask if you did. What I want to know is what are you doing here?"


    Adrain scratched the back of his head. "I nned to wait in advance and wait for you to sleep, so I could... you know, my quest."


    Adrian chuckled as he slowly backed off. His small thin body cowered as Jun''s terrifying aura slowly creeped towards him. On his eyes, Jun red at him with glowing crimson eyes while possibly nning on how to butcher him.


    A void whirlpool appear beside Jun and he inserted his hand. He took a panda plushie from the Guild Storage and threw it at Adrian. "I told you not to do that! You can try some other time! Or any other ce! But not here!"


    As Jun run out of plushies to throw, he slowly calmed down.


    Not because of the increasing paining from his sides. Marianne, who was hugging him under the nket, was pinching him.


    "Leave." said Jun sternly. He then added, "...and once again, stealth doesn''t work on me. So don''t try to wait in advance. That''s just useless."


    Adrian didn''t reply and chose to leave while Jun was still calm.


    Seeing that Adrian left, Jun slowly slid his hand inside the nket. He caressed Marianne''s soft and smooth shoulder. As his hand was about to travel down, it was smacked forcefully and brought away.


    Jun looked towards the door and inwardly cursed Adrian.


    He knew that there was no chance for a passionate battlefield for tonight, so he let the matter go and went inside the nket.


    The two of them stared at each other.


    Marianne gently hit Jun''s chest with her forehead.


    "Was heughing?"


    "No, he didn''t even see a thing. Besides we weren''t doing anything! You were just giving me a massage since my back was aching. That''s why you were on top of me, right?"


    Jun slightly nodded his head while Marianne unknowingly copied him. She gently nodded followed by soft muffled affirmation.


    When Jun felt that she finally rxed, he brought out a red jewelry box from his dimensional storage. "I always wanted to give this to you."


    Jun opened the lid and it showed a silver in ne that had a small heart as the design. At first nce, anyone would know that it was a cheap ne, but Marianne happily stared at the jewelry.


    It was the second gift she received from Jun since the first one was actually him.


    ***


    There were numerous people inside a dimly lit room.


    "So they''re basically tyrants?" said someone sitting on a swivel chair facing towards the group of people on the other side of the table.


    "Just the leader. The others were good people. Though some of his subordinates aren''t right in the head, they still helped people." replied Liutenant Cedric.


    "That doesn''t except them and make them good. Besides, we have a crucial evidence we can use against him."


    The man turned towards the floor, where someone was busy doing push-ups.


    "Will you stop that?"


    "I''m sorry, but I''m currently training right now. I don''t take orders from you since I have a "master" who would be mad and might kill me if any of this information gets out. I''m training! So. Please. Stop. Disturbing me!" the man said with a ck mask still attached to his face.


    "We also need to find thatwyer. How''s the search going?" said the man on the swivel chair.


    "He went back to his house. Reason unknown. He hired three people as escorts back and forth." an officer reported at the sides.


    The man on the swivel chair didn''t doubt the information and pondered over things.


    ***


    The next day, Marianne greeted everyone she met and as if a blooming flower, she caught everyone''s attention.


    As Marianne walked by Alex, she took her hand and shook it. She then said, "Don''t give up! You''ll find someone that you''ll truly love!"


    Marianne then left Alex stupefied.


    "What''s wrong with her?! I already found it! Humph!"


    ***


    Jun passed by the local bank and took the right turn. He passed by the grocery store and the canteen where a car crashed into its walls.


    It was alreadyte in the morning since he wasn''t able to get out of bed for some unknown reason. It took some convincing and a lot of energy before he was able to leave his own room. When he walked by the streets, he was greeted by construction workers who were working for ck Haven on the new Market ce.


    The farming father and son, stopped their works and greeted him. He greeted them back with a smile.


    Everyone was already waiting on standby when he reached the next block, where scavenging groups usually gathered.


    Nik fixedly staring at him as if making sure that he knew that he waste.


    Jun ignored him and brought everyone for a walk.


    Back to their travels...


    The group fought their way and reached another intersection where a fast-food restaurant could be found. There were barricades in some ces and it was noticeable that people lived here for some time.


    The parking lot besides it have numerous cars toppled down as if a giant kid with nothing else to decided to y around here for a while.


    The town za had numerous wandering carriers but were easily dealt by his death ves. They passed by numerous shops and some of them appeared unlooted.


    Jun didn''t care about the measly loot he could find in these shops and decided to go straight for his goal for today. He had limited daylight and scavenging should be left to those who truly needed it. He was long past the stage where he needed every piece of canned food he could find.


    Although he didn''t loot the shops, that doesn''t mean that his ves wouldn''t.


    Some strategically fought carriers and brought them near the shops. Afterwards, they would quickly search inside to clear any threats that might be hiding there.


    Jun didn''t stop them and let them do as they want.


    After several minutes, the group moved on and passed by the local parish church.


    Jun noticed the gathered groups of carriers on the parking lot of the church. There were at least a hundred of them loitering the parking lot. He peeked through the walled-metal fence and saw that the doors of the church were closed. The gate that led to the christian school dormitory was also closed.


    There was a shortcut here that directly led towards the Calvary Hill where the glowing cross was located, but upon seeing the number of carriers made him think otherwise. He finally chose to take the long and risky path. They would follow the main road and traverse several streets before reaching the stairs that lead to the Calvary.


    The group made their steps as light as possible. Though some carriers were loitering the streets, most of them were gathered at the church parking lot.


    As they were passing by, a loud ringing of a bell resounded on the area.


    Everyone looked around in panic and found the source to be the church bell attached to the bell tower. Its ringing continued for several seconds until the group could hear shrieks on various corners of the streets. The ground even trembled as if the earth was quaking.


    "Quick! Hide in the stores!" shouted Jun.


    Everyone quickly ran for their lives and hid on different stores depending on what was nearer to them. Even though panicked, everyone still managed to close the doors without creating noise.


    Several secondster, the streets became flooded with regr carriers.


    As a side dish, there were a bunch of D1''s and H1''s loitering around, pushing and eating some regr carriers when they wanted.

 Chapter 122: Detour

    Chapter 122: Detour


    The streets were quickly filled with the undead. A few evolved carriers were mixed with the horde. Like tides, they traversed abandoned vehicles and dashed furiously towards the church.


    At this time, the bell stopped ringing but the carriers that were already near have already arrived at the parking lot.


    Jun peaked over the window and watched the scene outside.


    Thete ones who were not able to pinpoint the direction where the sound wasing from, now loiter the once already cleared streets.


    A Hunter jumped atop a vehicle and sniffed the air. Afterwards, it jumped down and ran towards the town za. It continously jumped over the cars roof to quickly get out of the horde.


    The regr carriers ignored themotion but the other Hunters didn''t. They hopped over a car''s roof after another and followed the leading Hunter.


    The leading Hunter arrived near the fast-food restaurant and continously sniffed the road. It stopped at the intersection and shrieked disturbingly. It ran around the street looking for targets. When it couldn''t find anyone, it thrashed around several trash bins nearby. At this time, its fellow Hunters visibly stayed away from it as if afraid of having their presence known.


    "We can''t stay here." blurted out Jun.


    He then turned towards everyone who was stuck with him.


    They were inside a local diner and there''s seven of them stuck here. Jun looked at everyone''s ranks by their shoulders and felt relieved. All of them were single digits which means that they can handle themselves fairly well.


    "Have I ever asked for your names?" Jun jokingly asked all smiles.


    "No, you never cared." Nik replied curtly.


    The others felt nervous with the way he answered since the man in front of them could basically order them to go outside and die for no reason at all. Jun, on the other hand, doesn''t really care with the kid''s attitude. Though he barely knew the kid, he atleast know that he works hard and is trustworthy. His answers are always on point and never cared for how the other person felt.


    Jun doesn''t know that Nik''s treatment was unique only to him.


    "We need to get out of here. Where are the others?"


    "I saw them enter the next store."


    "The doughnut shop? Okay, let''s go."


    Jun strode towards the kitchen cautiously. He readied a bonedagger since their was limited space and wielding ahuge hammer isn''t appropriate right now. Although the shop hasn''t opened for business when things happened, just the front door being open means a lot.


    There could be looters here or the owner clocked in early for work that day.


    Jun slowly pushed the door open and peaked inside the kitchen. Various utensils neatly arranged on top of the table weed him. The kitchen looked in prestine condition and there were no signs that someone lived here. He opened the door fully but didn''t let his guard down. If anything jumps into him, he was ready to stab it in the face.


    The door made creaking noises as it slid open followed by a thud when it hit the wall.


    The noise echoed in the kitchen and everyone felt like it was a massive bomb that exploded in their hearts. Everyone inwardly cursed Jun for not carefully opening the door.


    Jun didn''t see their gaze but on his own reasoning, he didn''t even know that the door would cause that much noise.


    He looked around and saw the door that leads to the back alley. He strode towards it and the group followed him. When he pushed open the door, he felt some resistance from the other side. He got surprised but immediately rxed. If it was a carrier on the other side, it would be rampaging already.


    He forcefully pushed the door and it swung open. He heard something rolling on the ground as the door opened fully. He slowly peaked outside and saw some carriers on both ends of the alley. As he was observing the situation outside, he noticed a mangled body nearby. Its a woman who had its bare back exposed. A lot of missing flesh could be found on her back.


    Jun stared at the body filled with curiosity.


    <em>Why is it not turning?</em>


    <em></em>He kept the matter on the back of his head and focused on what''s important now.


    Getting out of here.


    "Stay low. Don''t make any noise."


    The men behind him nodded their heads.


    Jun waited until both ends have no carriers before going out. The group sneaked towards the nearby door which supposed to be the doughnut shop''s back entrance.


    Jun twisted the knob and it didn''t open.


    "It''s locked. Anyone knows how to pick locks?"


    Jun grunted after seeing everyone shook their heads. He then brought out his bonehammer and hoped that his action wouldn''t cause too much noise.


    He raised the hammer slightly above the knob and brought the thing down. The knob entered the space where the mouth is and caused a muffled hit. There''s a short clink when the bone hit the metal but it wasn''t loud enough to reach the end of the alley.


    Jun cursed inwardly.


    "Let''s just bash this!" uttered Jun as he gathered energy with his free hand. He stored his bonehammer into his dimensional storage and raised his energized hand on shoulder level.


    He bashed the doorknob causing a short-loud clink. Everyone then hurriedly went inside to make sure that the room was safe. Piles of boxes stacked all the way up near to the ceiling appeared before them.


    At the same time that they entered, the group didn''t know that a carrier just happened to pass by on the entrance of the alley. It looked inside the alley and when it saw the empty space, it continued walking towards the cluster of growling carriers nearby.


    The other door opened and a masked man appeared. It was Toby.


    "Call everyone, we''re getting out of here." said Jun.


    "Yes, sir!" replied Toby hastily. He then ran back and called for everyone.


    Jun once again made sure that there were no witnesses on either ends of the alley before choosing to head out. The group chose the nearest exit and timed it perfectly when no carriers were looking.


    "Why are we taking this route?"


    "Because its safer!" replied Jun without looking back. Though he only heard the voice, it was enough to know that it was that brat, since he was the only one with the courage to say words like that to him.


    Nik furrowed his brows under the mask. He felt like his understanding of what safety means differed against Jun.


    The group was currently running towards the exit that leads to the street next to the church. Though everyone felt that the earlier situation was dangerous, atleast they were inside a building. If they don''t make any noise, they could have just waited until the undead dispersed on their own.


    "The Hunters can smell us. If we stay in one ce, they''ll find us."


    Jun didn''t share everything that he saw, but exined enough for everyone to know their situation.


    "We can outrun those normies but Hunters are good runners. Now that we know that they can track, we bettter avoid them or kill them on sight."


    Jun stopped talking when he reached the end of alley. He was immediately spotted by regr carriers. Thankfully enough, it was only the tail-end that got attracted to them. Most of the evolved carriers seemed to be inside the church''s parking lot or already wandering on their own.


    "Run!" whispered Jun as he ran on the open street.


    As they continued running, they passed by numerous regr carriers that were idly standing on their spots. When the carriers noticed the living beings behind them, they quickly ran after them.


    "This is a bad idea!" Toby shouted as he ran with all his strength.


    "Where do we go!?" yelled Nik as he ran besides Jun.


    Jun was contemting whether hiding inside a building would be better than outrunning the regr carriers. Every turn could be dangerous since he doesn''t know what''s waiting on every corner. He decided to trust what he can see and chose to run straight were he could see what''s in front of him.


    Jun knew the area like the back of his hand since he ruled here for several years already. That''s also the same reason that he knew that this ce is the most popted ce in the whole town. They''re in the public market!


    Peoplee here early in the morning to buy and sell things that they needed. Whether a kilo of rice or shopping for clothes, this ce is alive day or night!


    Jun can''t afford to take a wrong turn only to be cornerd by those carriers. When ites to it, people would surely die if they try fighting this many at such an open space!


    <em>Is this it?</em>


    <em></em>As Jun felt out of hope, he saw someone waving at the docks entrance. He zoomed hsi vision and saw that it was a middle-aged woman. Beside her was a middle-aged man trying to pull her and leave. The woman who was powerless got forcefully pulled. The two rode a small motorized-wooden boat and left the area.


    As he watched the scene with rity, hope came back to Jun.


    "Run to the docks!" he shouted.


    With their feets already twinkling from sprint, Jun exerted additional effort and outrunned everyone. He was atleast five meters ahead of everyone.


    When everyone thought that he was trying his best for his safety, Jun stopped at the edge of the docks. He untied the boat from the post, then removed the nks that civilians use to board the boat. He went down a few steps and submerged his feet into the water as he pushed the bow with his bare hands.


    Nik who arrived after him quickly helped pushing the boat. Both of their faces showed how much effort it took just to push the boat. The others that arrived after, helped them in pushing the boat and thankfully, the boat slowly started to drift away.


    "Go! Everyone hop in!" yelled Jun as he stood up. He noticed that there was a battle going on at the dock''s entrance. He brought out his main weapon, his bonehammer, and joined the fray. He mostly secured everyone as they backed off. There were a few times that he was almost grabbed and barely dodged it.


    Jun ran away after swinging two times, then jumped towards the boat. His feet dangled in the air as he stretched his feet to reach the boat. His front feetnded perfectly but his other couldn''t. he then slowly fell backwards.


    Just then, a hand caught his arm and pulled him towards the boat.


    When he looked ahead, he saw Nik pulling his arm with all his strength. Behind him were several people grabbing his waist, for him not to fall towards the water.


    With a single pull, he was brought back into the boat.


    He stood atop the bow of themerical boat as he caught his breath. He turned around and watched those regr carriers fall into the water.

 Chapter 123: Underwater

    Chapter 123: Underwater


    Jun stared at the continously swarm of carriers falling into the water as they tried to catch the boat. Big sshes of water rhythmically rose up every other second.


    Though they were safe for now, they actually don''t know for how long.


    Jun turned around and observed the boat they were on. It was americal wooden boat designed for public transport. Jun knew that there were several ind in the Laguna Lake but haven''t rode one. This would be his first time riding one.


    "Anybody know how to operate this?"


    Jun looked around and found someone shyly raising their hand.


    "I-I don''t know how to, but I saw the operators use a bamboo pole to navigate out of the docks."


    Jun pondered why would the boat operators use a bamboo pole to navigate when they could just turn the engine on. Then, reality struck him.


    Boats cango inreversebut not the way a cardoes. Driving aboatinreverserequire practice. Also, the boat must be a modern one with a good propulsion system.


    But this is a wooden motorized-boat made for passenger transport. For the operators, it was enough as long as it can move.


    Jun looked around and found a long soggy bamboo on the left side of the boat.


    Jun picked up the bamboo pole and the surface felt rough on his skin. He plunged the end of the pole into the water and felt the end hit the bottom.


    "Turn on the engine." said Jun towards the man who raised his hand earlier.


    The man ran towards the operators seat and felt baffled as he stared at the apparatus in front of him. There were only three things on the apparatus, a small switch, a ck round button and a lever.


    Jun forcefully pushed and caused the boat''s slight turn.


    With the momentum of the earlier push and this push, the boat was now turning adrift with its bow slowly facing towards the wide open waters.


    At the same time, he heard the boat''s engine came to life.


    "Now if I do this, it should get us going." said the man as he operated the lever.


    The boat jolted and slowly moved forward. The man on the steering wheel shouted in glee as he sessfully operated the boat.


    "Is this you''re first time driving a boat?" said Jun.


    "Yes, sir! I live on Kalinawan, so I usually ride this, but this is the first time I''m driving one."


    "That''s good then. You''ll take this boat back to the Lakeside Marina after we got offter, okay?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    Jun strode towards the man and took over the steering wheel. Yes, a steering wheel. It was amon ck steering wheel that could be found on almost every car. With the past experience of driving onnd, he skillyfully got them out of the docking area.


    On the distance, Jun could still see the boat where the woman who waved at them rode. He had no ns on following them, but it was nice to know that there are people alive on the inds.


    The boat anchored down ten meters away from the docks. They have to move a bit further from the docks in case any Hunter got any funny ideas of jumping on board. Atleast with this distance, they have enough reaction time to react.


    Jun stood in front of everyone and said, "Here''s the n."


    He felt like a school teacher seeing that everyone looked up to him while they were seated. Also, having several masked men staring at him felt a bit weird.


    "We''ll wait until everyst one of them to fall into the water. Afterwards, we rush to dock and sneak out of here. You can take you''re masks off for now."


    All of the masked men nodded their heads andplied. Though this isn''t the first time they took off their masks, this is the first time they were able to see each others real faces since there were two different batches of death ves.


    Jun turned towards the inder who had fairly white skin. "Right after everyone gets off, you hurry and take this ship towards Lakeside Marina. Then, go back to the camp and tell Bernard about what happened here. Also, tell him to remind Marianne that I''ll be a bitte for our dinner date."


    Jun was only allowed to venture out today since he plowed the paddies this morning and promised a dinner date on the evening.


    The man slowly nodded his head even though he didn''t understand what he really meant. In his head, he just have to follow his orders and everything should be fine.


    With everything in ce, all they have to do is sit down and wait. Everyone sat down on the passenger seats and closed their eyes to rest.


    Jun sat down on the bow of the boat and watched numerous carriers fall into the water. By his side was Nik, also watching the scene.


    "You''re sister. I don''t know if she''s in good hands or not."


    Nik turned his head and frowned.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "That old man who adopted her? He sometimes doesn''t think straight and seems to like deciding things abruptly. Like an autistic person."


    Nik faced forward and continued watching the stream of humanfalls.


    "Why are you even telling me this? Never thought that you cared about other people''s life."


    Jun chuckled. "That''s true."


    Jun pondered over the reason. Is it because he pities the two of them or was actually envious of them?


    All kinds of people presented itself to Jun as they tried lunging towards him. Students, porters, vendors. Most of the carriers were civilians in casual clothing and there was barely any uniformed officer to be seen.


    "Wanna hear something funny?" said Jun as he watched people continously fall into the wter.


    As if bored watching the scene, Nik entertained Jun and replied. "What is it?"


    Jun opened his hand and on his palmyed a small round pebble. "I have five of these. If I used this earlier, we could have outrun those chasers and hid somewhere else."


    Nik stared at the pebbles and shook his head. "I don''t think so. Those stones barelysts three second. Even if you used it to stall for time, we would still encounter other groups in the area. That means the ones behind us would catch up and we''ll be cornered."


    Jun pondered and gently nodded. "I guess so."


    "You should stop acting like this. Its not your fault that we''re in this situation. It''s bad luck leading to another one which brought us here. Though I didn''t see those Hunters when they traced our steps back to the za, I saw them work as a group in searching the ce. If anything, you''re decision might have saved us."


    Jun chuckled and shook his head. he then muttered to himself, "Am I being consoled by a kid?"


    Right then, the splurging noise of water stopped and Jun stood up. The cluster of carriers on the docks were now gone. Though he could still see some wandering carriers in the distance, it shouldn''t pose a problem.


    "Everyone get ready, we''re moving out."


    ***


    Jun was the first to jumped off the boat since he was already there.Nik followed after him with the rest on his tail. He took onest nce on the inder and saw the man nodding his head as if saying he got his message.


    Since there were lesser carriers now, the group breezed through everything and reached the dock''s entrance in a short time. They then managed to sneak towards the huge parking lot of the public market without attracting any attention from the distant main road.


    The docks and the church could be seen from both ce since they could be found at their exact oppoite directions. The only thing that helped them avoid detection was the distance between the two.


    The public market parking lot was littered with parked cars and has barely any carriers around. Some cars were ready to leave but failed to do so. Some cars had broken wind shields while other cars failed to close their doors, probably resulting to the owner''s death.


    There were only few carriers on the parking lot, but there were some remaining on the entrance of the public market. The carriers noticed them and dashed towards them as if it were the first time they saw live people. This time, even though they are in an open space, they weren''t outnumbered. Without being totally outnumbered, the carriers were easily dealt with by the group.


    The boat didn''t leave incase something went wrong. Having a ce to retreat would surely make everyone feel safer. The inder made sure that everyone would be able to safely get out of the docks before driving away.


    On the bottom of theke were numerous carriers struggling to float up. Most of them were slowly walking underwater trying to follow the hull of the boat. The boats wake created noise and bubbles underwater which attracted the fallen carriers.


    Though the boat was getting further and further, the carriers didn''t give up since it was the only thing that created noise underwater. Amongst the numerous carriers, some started to float up after several minutes of waving their hands around.


    Normal people would have drowned for staying that long underwater. When they drowned after having their lungs filled water, bacterias from the gut and chest cavity would then produce gasmethane, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxideand would slowly make the body float.


    Most of the carriers that floated were those people who wore light clothing. Those who wore heavy jackets and the like stayed on the bottom of theke, idly preserving their energies.

 Chapter 124: Calvary Hill

    Chapter 124: Calvary Hill


    Jun led the group as they traversed the parking lot.


    Though he hated it, he swapped his bonehammer for a short sword since he needed to kill quickly and quietly. With the roaming threats of Hunters, they needed to get out of here as quick as possible.


    Jun leaned on the wall and peeked around the corner. Nik stood behind him and watched his back while the others were looting the bodies.


    At the moment, the group decided that a ten second dypared to chopping noises was of a better choice.


    Jun surveyed the area.


    There were atleast twenty carriers spread over the street but it should pose no threat to them. What he was thinking was if there were other carriers around the street corners.


    Since they''re downtown, where most of the popce lived, you could expect that there are numerous carriers on every turn. He was contemting whether this guys were the remnants or the slow runners of the horde that got attracted by the church''s bell.


    He also doesn''t know for how long would the horde stay at the church. If they dispersed early and caught them, he could nothing else but pray for a miracle.


    Since things would be bad if they were found by Hunters, Jun decided to risk it all.


    He led the group and sneaked towards the next street staying by the public market''s side. In addition to his short sword, he readied a bone spear in case anything decided to make some noise when they wanted a peaceful zen time.


    They passed by numerous shops and everytime they passed a fruit stall, some would take bites just to spit it out. Afterwards, they passed a barber shop, a motorcycle parts shop and an eatery.


    Just as everything was moving smoothly, a figure ran past two blocks ahead. It was a young woman being chased by several carriers.


    Jun stopped moving at the same second the woman passed by. Thankfully they werren''t noticed by her or by the carriers.


    She attracted all of the carriers on the street ahead which helped Jun''s group save some time and reduce possible detection.


    They arrived at the intersection where the woman got chased by carriers. Jun looked towards the direction she run and couldn''t see any carriers. The street ahead was clear but when he turned to his left, he immediately saw the towering montrosity with its back towards them.


    Jun quickly pulled back before he got noticed.


    "What''s the problem?" asked Nik.


    "There''s a D1 at the main road." replied Jun.


    Someone from behind worriedly asked. "Did we got noticed?"


    "No, its just probably wandering around."


    "What do we do?"


    Jun observed the surroundings and thought of a n.


    "We''ll cross the intersection by using the cars as cover. We do it quickly and quietly."


    Jun exined swiftly as time was of the essence. He peeked again and signaled for them move when he saw that the D1 was still facing the other way. The ones who were crossing the street regted their breathing while those who haven''t crossed watched in bated breaths.


    "Stop!"


    Jun softly whispered when he saw the D1 slightly turn its head.


    The D1 continued walking forward and got further from the group. With the opportunity presented to themselves, Jun ordered for everyone to hastily move on.


    At the time when the D1 decided to turn around, everyone has already crossed the street.


    "Let''s hope we get something good for this."


    Jun muttered as he led everyone towards the next street ahead.


    The immediate area was clear unlike the other ces around downtown.


    There, he saw the set of stairs that leads them up the hill.


    When they arrived next to the stairs, Jun saw a wooden board filled with photos of the Cavalry Hill. There were descriptions written next to the photos.


    It said thatthere wer approximately 288 steps from the foot to the holy cross. Also, the Calvary will lead you to sanctify your soul by reflecting on your life while you slowly thread your way to the top.


    Jun scoffed after reading the whole text. He then stepped forward and climbed the stairs.


    At first, everything was going smoothly but after the nieth step some of the lower ranked death ves started panting. Every time they took a step forward looked as if they carried the world at their backs.


    Nik who was the squad leader turned to them.


    "Are you guys okay?"


    "Yeah, we''re fine. It''s just my feet''s getting heavier..."


    "Me too... hah-uh..."


    Nik watched as some of the squad members felt troubled going up to the resting area, which is the hundredth step of the stairs.


    After barely reaching the top, thete climbers sprawled to the ground. They felt the tension on their muscles disappear together with the resisting force that made climbing up such a task.


    "Are you guys sure you''re okay?"


    "I think so... but that felt really weird."


    It was one of Toby''sckey who specializes in scouting and stealth. Though it could be argued whether theyck training, having an enhanced strength should have allowed them to climb with ease. In actuality. even kids should be able to climb a hundred set of stairs. For an adult, this should have been a piece of cake!


    The others were looking weirdly at the men sprawled on the ground.


    As they were about to tease them, a bright light shed and everyone turned towards its source.


    A small shrub with numerous red berries.


    Jun stepped forward and plucked one of the berries.


    [EXP Berry - Low Tier]


    [Description] A berry that can give a small amount of experience over time.sts for one hour. The berry will spoil after one minute after collecting.


    Jun hurriedly ate the berry since it could spoil and doesn''t want to waste it. He turned back to the shrub and counted the berries. It had the same number with his group, meaning that everyone could take one each.


    "Eat it. It''s good for everyone."


    Since Jun already gave his orders, the rest happily took their portions. Even though they don''t know what the fruit could do, they can still guess that it should be something good based on what their boss said.


    Some directly ate the berry while others read its <em>bare</em> description first before eating it.


    After Jun ate his berry, he turned around and focused on the next path.


    There were three resting areas on the Cavalry Hill and they''re currently on the first resting area. The second one was at the two hundredth step while the final one was at the top were a statue of the Holy Calvary can be worshipped.


    "Rest here, I''m going ahead." said Jun.


    He stepped forward and started his advance.


    Nik who just shoved his berry into his mouth hurriedly followed after him. He''s not a puppy that always want to follow its owner, he''s someone who learned that there''s not enough opportunity for everyone and fortunate encounters only happen unexpectedly.


    Though he felt Jun was sometimes unreliable and autistic, Nik knew that Jun always luck out with things. With this in mind, he quickly ate the berry and ran after him. On the lower left of his vision where notifications usually appeared, he saw a notification about his experience increasing by ten. The same notification appeared after exactly one minute.


    As he climb after Jun, he eagerly waited for the notifications to appear on his vision. He felt excited at gaining free experience without having to do anything. Then something weird happen.


    His footsteps felt heavy and his breathing felt stiff as if he was running out of air. He looked ahead to see Jun easily climbing his way up towards the second resting area.


    Nik looked back and behind him were several of his squad members also having difficulty climbing.


    <em>What is this?</em>


    <em></em>Based on calctions, he should be around one hundred thirty or forty steps. For the second time, he felt inferior to Jun. Though he knew that Jun was leagues stronger than him, having to be smacked in the face again hurt him more.


    As he forced himself to step once more, he could feel his legs shake indefinitely. Nik sighed and stared at the figure climbing futher ahead. He knew that he finally reached his limit and could only ept the reality.


    On the way back to the resting area, he counted the steps he managed to climb.


    Thirty-seven.


    He only managed to climb up onto the thirty-seventh step.


    In total one-hundred thirty-seven steps.


    Instead of falling further into depression, he sat down on the ground and practiced energy control.


    The others that were climbing with him also gave up and returned. Though dejected, they copied Nik and sat down on the ground.


    They all trained with energy control.


    Their feets shone with energy, their eyes glowed and their hands produced small orbs of light.


    Jun watched the group below as he sat on a bench at the second resting area. From here, he could see everything on this direction. The traffic jams, the carriers that wander around, even the survivors that were taking this opportunity to loot the public market.


    <em>It seems like the church''s bell actually saves people.</em>[ol][li data-annotation-id="e65b74b2-4e14-a069-ee4b-947eb06f5798"]Jun can see additional information than the others, so what they can see is basic information.For example.[Description] A berry that can give a small amount of experience over time.[/ol]

 Chapter 125: Calvarys Peak

    Chapter 125: Calvary''s Peak


    Jun watched everyone from the second resting area. He doesn''t know why they couldn''t keep up with him but he could take a few guesses. It may be about the purity of the soul or something. Or they''re just so weak that they can''t climb anymore.


    He looked around the second resting area and found a small flower garden. The garden have various flowers with different colors.


    Though he wasn''t knowledgable, he knew for sure that this flowers couldn''t be found in Earth. Some have mixed colors while others had solid colors. The garden was arranged that those single-colored flowers were on the outer-parts of the garden while as it get closer to the center, the more varied the colors get.


    The flowers were so small that they barely rose up to his knees. In the middle, he could see a unique flower that hasn''t bloomed. It changes color from time to time but usually stays at several mix of colors, just like a rainbow.


    Jun walked towards the garden and the unique flower slowly blossomed. It randomly changed colors as its petals opened outwards. A small rainbow seed dropped and flew towards Jun.


    He gasped at the scene but managed to keep himself from running.


    <em>This should be the reward. Calm down! Calm down...</em>


    <em></em>Jun was already used to monsters but mystical events were still iprehensible to him. Sudden events like this still surprises him.


    He caught the seed and quickly examined it.


    [Rainbow Seed]


    [Description] A seed from the Rainbow flower. Can increase all of your stats by 0.1.


    Instead of being happy, Jun thought of something else.


    <em>Can I nt this?</em>


    And unlike the first reward on the first resting area, the seed doesn''t have an expiration date.


    After the short break, he decided to climb further.


    Every step he made felt lightweight like he was on a regr hike, he didn''t feel troubled or burdened as he advanced unhindered.


    Until he climbed halfway at the 44th step out of the remaining 88 steps.


    He finally felt what the others were feeling.


    The heavy feeling on his feet as if someone was pulling him down.


    He exerted more effort and grind his teeth before finally reaching the 50th step.


    From that point, he truly experienced what the others who barely climbed upto the first resting area felt.


    His breathing slowed down as if being suffocated. He looked up and gazed at the top. He could see the upper portion of a huge gray stone.


    He got befuddled at the scene. <em>Wasn''t it the statue of the Calvary up here? Why did it changed?</em>


    Then he remembered that the world has changed, so it wasn''t really that unusual that part of the world also changed. <em>Does this only apply here or everywhere?</em>


    <em></em>He finally started panting when he climbed upto the 60th step. He gnashed his teeth as he forced himself to climb forward. There wasn''t anything important for him at the top, but he was curious about what he can find there.


    With all this changes on the world, a ce like this should have something good, right? He already got his answer from the first resting area. Those berries weren''t that good for him, but for the people who doesn''t like fighting, it was a precious item. Also, everything he received so far on the way up were extraordinary items that couldn''t be found anywhere. Well, not that he know of.


    As he climbed, he thought whether other ces like this existed nearby. <em>Are cultural sites changed too? What aboutndmarks?</em>


    Jun then remembered the statue at the municipal za. It changed to a portal and could be used by everyone. Well, to those who knew of how to use it.


    When he climbed at the 80th step, his legs started shaking. His ardious climb drained most of his stamina.


    At this moment, he wished that he learned something that could help him enhance his strength or prolong his stamina. Jun kept in his mind that he should excercise more to actually be able to use every strength in his body.


    As he kept on pondering what he could have done to strengthen his body, something shed in his mind. He actually know of a skill that temporarily raises his stregth!


    Empowered Strike!


    Well, in this case, he should call it <em>Reinforce</em>.


    Jun hastily gathered energy onto his lower body. The energy flowed into his leg and circted to his feets.


    As the energy circted on his lower body, he could feel the strain on his legs, lighten up. The feeling of being pulled down gradually decreased as he gathered more energy on the sole of his feet.


    Jun smiled as he stared at the remaining steps.


    With renewed vigor, he ran up the remaing steps even though that increased the rate at how he expended his energy.


    When he stepped on the t ground, he saw the path that led to the Calvary statue. Jun stared wide eyed at the center of the resting area. Instead of a statue, there''s a huge gray monolith, with strange scriptures, standing tall at the center. Further behind it was a 15 feet tall metal cross that glinted slightly with holy aura.


    Towards the left and right were benches were people could take a seat and observe the surrounding.


    The grass were trimmed ordingly and various dirt paths led to different parts of the resting area. As he walked closer to examine the monolith, a voice came from the side.


    "Whew~ what a great view! Hahaha. Look Jun, we could see our house from here!"


    On a nearby bench, there sat an old man. He was staring at the distance, past the local cemetery, just right after the construction supplies shop.


    Before Jun could even see the figure, tears were already on the sides of his eyes.


    The voice alone was enough for him to recognize the person sitting on the bench.


    He slowly turned his head and finally saw the silhouette of the person he cherished and missed the most, his father.


    "Dad..."


    Tears finally dropped and travelled to his cheeks.


    He walked towards the bench as he ingrained this scene into his memory.


    "Brother..."


    Jun turned around and saw his sister. A little girl stood five meters away from him.


    "Brother... am I alive?"


    The twelve year old version of his sister clutched her hand in front of her chest and stared at him filled with worry.


    The scene caused futher memories to resurface from his mind. At the time when his little sister always relied on him with everything, when he always stood by her side and protected her from everything.


    But now they were separated.


    And he has no clue where to start searching for her.


    "It''s my fault. I shouldn''t have left you. I should have taken both of you."


    Jun felt his body be paralyzed when he heard the person speaking. It was still the same caring voice like just he always remembered.


    "Mom..."


    Different emotions shed inside him as he stared at his mother. He wanted to ask her why but he couldn''t. He wanted to know the real reasoning directly from her but he was too afraid if he could ever ept it.


    He thenughed as if crazed.


    Tears continued escaping from his eyes.


    At the same time, his surroundings started to crack like how a brittle ss breaks when something hit it. When it fully cracked, the surrounding grass,nd and even the sky shattered.


    ss shards slowly fell and turned to stardust before reaching the ground.


    Jun turned towards the center of the resting area ang stared at the gray monolith.


    "Hey... can you send me back there one more time? I promise I won''t realize that it''s an illusion, so... send me back one more time."


    ***


    Nik''s group at the first resting area noticed something wrong at the top of the hill but couldn''t do anything about it.


    Nothing visibly changed but instinctively, they knew that something was wrong.


    Nik gazed at the top while he practice energy control. His enhanced sight couldn''t see anything on the top of the hill.


    ***


    "Yes, yes. That''s what happened."


    "Okay, thank you for rying his messages as soon as possible. Here take this, its nothing much but you should rx some times."


    The inder just finished reporting to Bernard on what happened to the group. He then received a 1000 CP gift card from Bernard and the two went on their own ways.


    Bernard ryed Jun''s message to Marianne which made her further worried after learning of the reason why he would be dyed.


    ***


    "Did you find thewyer?"


    "Yes, we got him."


    "Okay, let''s go."


    ***


    Back atthe top of the Calvary Hill...


    The sun was already setting down on the west.


    Jun hasn''t searched the area for treasures but chose to sit down at the bench where his father sat.He watched the setting sun as he caught a glimpsed of their house in the distance.


    Jun wiped his eyes, then smiled.


    "Yeah... it''s truly a great view."

 Chapter 126: Altars Blessing

    Chapter 126: Altar''s Blessing


    Jun scoured the top of the hill after the sun set.


    Since there was barely any light, he decided that their search is finally over.


    Besides the monolith, there was nothing else of interest at the resting area.


    There are moments when he hears someoneughing but he was sure that he was alone in the area. He examined the monolith and couldn''t understand what is written on it. He did the most logical thing to do, after experiencing all this mystical events, and channeled energy into the monolith.


    When the gray monolith started absorbing his energy, he finally felt relieved. Since the monolith was absorbing his energy, that means something should be happening soon. And that means that he didn''t waste the whole day for nothing.


    Just as before his energy hit a dangerously low level, the monolith shone and bursts out white energy that slowly surrounded him.


    The white energy seeped into his pores and was absorbed into his body.


    He could feel the warmth that once surrounded him, instantly circting inside his body.


    [Altar''s Blessing]


    [Description] You have received a blessing from the altar. Increase experience gain two-fold for three days. You can''t receive another blessing for seven days.]


    Jun felt satisfied since his reward was finally given to him. He felt more excited after learning of what he received. With this blessing he received, he quickly set his ns for the next few days.


    Since the blessingsted for three days and he wouldn''t be able to receive it for the next four days, he nned to utilize the blessing to his maximum capability. The next few days would be a ughter!


    With his goal finally achieved, he happily made his way towards the first resting area.


    In contrast with the hardships of climbing up, going down was as smooth as sliding down a slide. He breezed through it and quickly arrived near the resting area.


    The group appeared sleeping but was actually training their senses using energy. Nik was the first to apply energy in sensing his surroundings. He just advced everyone to practice it if they liked.


    Jun thought that they were sleeping since everyone''s eyes were close, but felt weird since people have a hard time sleeping while sitting down. Besides, the ground is rough and its already getting dark, the mostquitoes and the cold should be getting into them.


    Right as he stepped into the resting area, Nik opened his eyes and everyone else followed. Jun was still five meters away when that happened.


    "I thought you guys were sleeping." said Jun a he approached the group.


    Nik stood up and stoicly exined what they were doing.


    Jun listened attentively since the skill seemed useful. It was one of those hidden skills that doesn''t register as a skill just like his Empowered Strike and he''s newly learnt one, Reinforce.


    Nik guided him on what to do and followed his every instruction.


    He covered his whole body with a thinyer of energy and stabilized it. Then, he slowly made it expand outwards. He closed his eyes to ensure that he could really feel and learn how the skill works.


    The skill consumed 1 energy per second as he stabilized the energy that covered his body. When he expanded the skill outwards, he saw a hazy vision of everyone staring at him in surprise. At the same time, he could feel his energy being drained twice than the usual rate.


    He quickly stopped the skill and opened his eyes. He breathed deeply and shook his head. Since he was still on low energy, the skill learning process almost caused him to pass out. If he was to use this skill at its full potential, he could barely activate it for a minute.


    He can''t use all of his energy to this skill since he needs to use other skills while leaving some for reserves. Jun shook his head to express his current view of the skill.


    "This isn''t that good. It drains energy too fast. We''ll pass out if we use this in battle."


    As he finished talking, he noticed that everyone was looking at him as if he was a monster.


    "What? Did I say something wrong?"


    Jun blinked his eyes as he looked at everyone confused at the situation.


    "Y-you did it, right?" asked Nik.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Y-you learned the skill right?"


    "Yeah, I did. Why? Is there something wrong?"


    "How did you do it? I mean, you learned it on your first try... how?"


    Nik appeared dejected since he took half an hour just to grasp the basics of the skill. Then another half of an hour to apply it and master it. He was actually the fastest one among the group and the second fastest took almost two hours to barely activate the skill.


    He then narrated how long it took them to learn the skill and it made Jun frown.


    After hearing his narration, Jun spected that the problem might being from their ineffecient energy since all of them have the same problem with learning and training the skill.


    In the end, Jun guessed that it might be because he have a higher energy pool than everybody else which led to a faster and easier energy control.


    Jun doesn''t know that this is the result of him eating an Energy Fruit from the Tree of Life. The fruit cleansed his energy and made it purer which resulted in a denser and stronger energy.


    Aftering to the conclusion that they just don''t have enough energy, the group finally went back to ck Haven. Everyone channeled energy into their teleportation rune inside their bodies. The runes expanded out from their stomach and circled around their bodies. Then, with a blink of an eye, everyone disappeared together with bright lights.


    The resting ce dimmed and finally sumb to darkness.


    In a distant two-storied building''s window, a man was watching everything through a binocr.


    The room he was in was empty. He stepped back from the window and turned around. The door was barricaded with numerous furniture; sofa''s, tables and chairs.


    The man looked sideways iritably.


    "Why did you bring them here?" he said. On the other side of the door were several carriers pounding heavily on the door. "There''s too many houses here and you decided to run back to our meet up ce. How are we going to return now? The group will be worried. They need our supplies!"


    "Shut up Emman!" yelled the woman who was being scolded. "If you''re not going to say something worth listening to, then shut up. I''m thinking here."


    The woman went inside one of the rooms and brought out a long white sheet.


    "Erin, Fuck you! You actually have the nerve to shout at me?! You''re the one that brought them here, so it''s you''re fault."


    The woman, Erin, didn''t appreciate his tone and red at him. She slowly stood up and pulled a kitchen knife from her back. She then showed it to Emman, who nervously stared at the knife.


    "I only ran back here because you have a crossbow while I only have a knife. So, if you''re going to ask me why we''re in this situation, it''s because you''re a fucking pussy!"


    His face darkened as he watched Erin cut the sheet into two and tied the end on the window.


    "Are we jumping out? You know my leg hasn''t healed up!" said Emman panickly.


    "Its just an option! Just an option." replied Erin. "Now, we don''t have to jump out if you start using that crossbow. What''s your decision?"


    Emman gulped as he lowered his head. He then looked sideways and avoided her gaze. Afterwards, he mumbled something and Erin wasn''t able to clearly hear what he said.


    "What did you say?"


    "I-I said I don''t know how to. I mean I''m not good at it."


    "What do you mean? Didn''t you just shot one down earlier?"


    Emman scratched his forehead. "It was a lucky shot. I had my eyes closed when I fired."


    Erin who was listening to what Emman was saying tilted her head as she slowly stood up. She then stared at his eyes and determined from his fearful eyes that he was telling the truth.


    "What a fucking liar. You told the group that you''re a good shot and even volunteered for watch duty! Everyone really got lucky sleeping under your watch!"


    Emman gulped at her words. He couldn''t argue with her since she was speaking the truth. He also felt bad for lying but he had to do it, so he could be treated fairly well in the group.


    It was true that he have a crossbow, but it wasn''t his! He doesn''t know how to use it and only has bare knowledge of how to reload and aim. He''s an office worker who has a younger brother who likes hunting.


    He was supposed to be on the way to his work but he woke upte when this shit happened. And since his brother was nowhere to be seen, he took his younger brother''s gear and holed up inside their house. Days after days passed by with no signs of his younger brother returning.


    He watched everything that happens on the road from the window of his room. He never left the house to look for his brother.


    Days passed with him idly staying at home and when food started to run out, that''s the only time when he realized that he needed to learn how to use the crossbow. But it was toote and he basically had no talent. He then found the neighborhood group afterpiling every information he got for watching everything from his window.


    This is his first supply run together with the group''s veteran, who have been doing this from the start.


    What happened earlier was that Erin came back and brought a bunch of angry friends. As he watched Erin climb up the stairs, yelling at him to shoot those zombies chasing her, he panicked.


    He froze and barely fired when Erin passed by him. The shot hit the carriers body and dragged the others back down the stairs.


    There were only four carriers and if they fought them at the staircase, everything would have been finished already. But Emman decided to back off and hole up at one of the rooms. He''s reasoning said that if they just hide, those angry friends would just leave.


    Yeah, they could have.


    If he wasn''t panicking inside the room and sometimes yelling, asking Erin what to do.

 Chapter 127: Anna

    Chapter 127: Anna


    Inside the living room two people were busily moving about.


    A man stood at the center of the room with a table in front of him. The man held a crossbow and nervously watched the door.


    A woman tapped his shoulder from behind and made him shocked.


    "You can do it! Just do it ording to n."


    She then went and stood next to the door while her back was against the wall. She took onest nce towards the man and nodded her head.


    The man replied back with a nod and grasped his crossbow tighter.


    It was Emman and Erin.


    The two finally agreed to take on the carriers since there''s only a few of them.


    Since Emman already came clean that he wasn''t an expert at using the crossbow, Erin had to improvise a n where they don''t have tofront all of the carriers at the same time.


    And this is what she came up with.


    Emman stood ten meters away from the door since this was his effective range. Any further and his hit rate would plummet down.


    Erin slowly held the doorknob and listened on the pounding door. She wa waiting for the moment when the carriers hit the door and after that would have to stop for a second due to the rebound.


    When she heard the carriers finished mauling the door, she opened the door hastily.


    When the door opened wide, Emman saw two carriers standing on the front door staring at him. Since he was already aiming before the door even opened, it only took him a second to adjust his aim and quickly pulled the trigger.


    The bolt zoomed past Erin and struck the carriers shoulder. She didn''t wait another second and quickly closed the door.


    "Did you kill it?"


    "No...I-Im sorry."


    "That''s okay! That''s okay. Just reload, and we''ll try again."


    Emman set the crossbow on the ground and pulled back the string. He took one bolt from the remaining four on the table and reloaded it.


    At the same time that he was reloading, the pounding on the door was getting harder and harsher as if the ones outside couldn''t wait any longer to meet them.


    "I''m ready!" said Emman as he raised the crossbow.


    Erin took a deep breathe, then yelled, "On three! One, two, three!"


    Erin quickly opened the door and sticked closely to the wall.


    This time, Emman managed to hit the carrier in the head.


    "I did it!" eximed Emman as he watched the body slowly fell forward after getting pushed by the ones behind it. "No, close it!"


    Erin hurriedly closed the door but it was toote. half of the carriers body already entered through the door. She pushed back as powerful as she could and only managed to close the door by a tiny bit. Afterwards, she slowly kneeled down while exerting force on the door.


    She held the carriers head to loot the body, wanting to make it disappear. With its body gone, she should be able to lock the door.


    She seeded.


    The body turned to bright stardust and she was able to close the door. Her back ache from the continous pounding of the door.


    Afterwards, she felt weird when the hard wood she was leaning on disappeared. Also, she felt her body slowly tilting backwards with her vision changing at an unusal way.


    She was now lying down on the floor of the hallway while staring at the carriers faces. Fear and desperation showed upon her face. She quickly ced her arms above her as she rolled to the side of the hallway.


    A bolt was fired and knocked back one of the carriers.


    Two carriers hurriedly pounced down and missed Erin by a hair''s breadth. Thest one managed to grab her arms and bite it.


    Tears fell by the corners of her eyes while fury rose inside her. Erin cried as she stood up while stabbing the carrier by the side of its head.


    All of a sudden, something swooshed past her and struck one of the carrier at the center of its head. When she turned around, she saw a woman holding onto a recurve bow and just released another shot.


    The same sound passed by and once again hit its target.


    Emman became excited when he saw the carriers falling down one by one. With renewed hope, he aimed one more time and killed the already unstable carrier. He got excited as he packed his things and went outside.


    "Thank you for helping us! We really"


    "Drop your weapon and hand over the bag."


    A bow and arrow was aiming at Emman as soon as he stepped out of the room, He grudgingly followed what he was ordered to and threw his bag over. He gently ced the crossbow on the floor.


    "Purify the bodies. You know what to do, right?"


    Emman nodded his head as he knelt down and started looting the bodies.


    The girl then turned to Erin and motioned for her to face the wall.


    When the woman noticed that Erin wasn''t willing as if wanting to fight back, she focused on her and drawed the string further back.


    "Please don''t try and do something stupid. We both want to live for another day. I saw you enter the pharmacy earlier and I really need medicine."


    "You''re quite fine... unlike me who''s bitten and got beat by those"


    "It''s not for me... Just face the wall please? I don''t want to this too. Believe me."


    As the two stared at each other, a voice came from downstairs and called for someone.


    "Sister Anna! Sister Anna! Grandma''s burning up again!"


    A young girl, around nine or ten, peeked from downstairs and saw the scene on the hallway. Several dead bodies while a fight might happen at any moment.


    "Ate Anna! What are you doing!?"


    "Go back downstairs Chloe. Just stay by grandma''s side. I''ll be right there soon."


    Chloe observed the situation and figured out what was happening. Though she wasn''t that old, it doesn''t mean that she was ignorant of the world.


    "Are you robbing them?" said Chloe wide-eyed. "I''ll tell grandma about this!"


    The little girl then ran down the stairs and went out of the front door.


    When Chloe left, Anna stared at Erin and Erin stared back at her.


    "I need antibiotics. Open the bag and hand them over. I don''t need many, just hurry up."


    Erin red at her but slowly went for Emman''s bag.


    "Its on the first zipper." said Emman who was busy looting the bodies.


    Erin turned to him while ring. She didn''t appreciate his "help" at all.


    Erin found the antibiotics and handed over the whole pack.


    "Sorry about this."


    Anna apologized as she slowly retreated before running down the stairs.


    Erin who finally felt relieve after releasing the tension all over her body, slouched down and leaned on the wall.


    Erin snorted as she breathe in and exhaled. "What a bitch! I''ll return this favor one day."


    Emman shook his head. "Come on, let it go. I think her grandmother needed it. Don''t you have a grandmother?"


    Erin red at his back and shook her head. "You''re this easy to rob? I''m never going on a run with you again. And I''ll tell the group that you''re a fake!"


    Emman turned around and faced her. "Hey, hey, calm down. You cab tell that to the group but that doesn''t that I''m a fake. I can still shoot you know? I''m just not an expert at it. Besides, the group needed the extra body for night duties, right?"


    Erin stared at him and sighed.


    "Fuck this..."


    ***


    "Chloe slow down!" Anna softly said as she try to catch up with her niece.


    Chloe stopped at the intersection and crossed the road before turning east. She nimbly avoided detection as she jogged on the sidewalk. Before reaching another corner, she slowed down and entered one of the stores.


    Anna finally caught up to her and followed her inside.


    The store was a furniture store and has a wide variety on disy. On one corner, there''s a living room set while on the other was a kitchen furniture set. There''s also miscenous things and finally, she passed by the bedroom sets.


    On one of the bedsy an old woman. She appeared unwell and would sometimes mumble unintelligible things. Sweat also covered her forehead and some actually slid to the sides.


    Below the side of the bed were numerous empty cups of instant noodles.


    Anna hastily sat down beside her grandmother.


    A towel appeared on her hand and she used it to wipe her grandmother''s forehead.


    Afterwards, she turned to Chloe and red at her.


    "I told you not to leave her side!" said Anna.


    "But grandma was calling for you!" rebuked Chloe.


    "You! You''re talking back now? Who taught you that!"


    Chloe lowered her head as she epted the scolding.


    Anna was enrage since she was being disrespected by her niece. It was normal for an older rtive to guide the young ones and it is considered rude to answer back when you are being scolded. You are expected to listen while being scolded and has to reflect right after. That''s whathas been taught to them and everyone on the family.


    "Sorry Sister Anna." replied Chloe dejectedly. "I just got scared since grandma was calling for you."


    After seeing her niece''s sorry look, Anna felt apologetic. She took a chocte bar from her dimensional storage and gave it to Chloe.


    "Here take it. We''ll eatter."


    "Is it cup noodles again?"


    Anna patted her niece''s head and said, "Yes... for now. The next time the bell rings, I''ll get us something good."


    Anna turned on the electricmp on the bed and the two chatted as they prepared their meal. Anna brought out a kettle and went into a corner where a gas stove was set upped.


    They have already lived here for some time and have the nessities in order. Though there''s numerous living people in the area, they never got disturbed or ransacked.


    Simply because they''re in a furniture store.


    Besides furnitures, there''s nothing useful that could be found here.

 Chapter 128: Portal Repair

    Chapter 128: Portal Repair


    The municipal za was filled with numerous stalls made from. It served as the public market to buy and sell things. There''s also a trading section for bartering goods.


    People shopped around at this time of the day since there was nothing else to do. For themon survivors, night time was extremely dangerous even though the carriers were weakened.


    It''s bing amon knowledge to everyone that carriers use energy as a way to move and revive. Some hypothesized that they were gathering energy from the sun while evolving at night. Also, since there''s no source of energy when the sun sets, the carriers were forced to fight passively and conserve energy.


    The Frontier was the one who released this information to the public.


    They are a group of individuals who doesn''t want to work for the government or join the small local powers. Although they''re weak in terms of strength, their numbers were increasing by the day since both the goverment and people who have powers seemed to not care about themoners well-being.


    Barrels of drums were ced at certain distances around the municipal za to light up the surrounding.


    Under the dimly lit sky. numerous shes of light appeared at the Portal Statue.


    It was Jun and his group.


    Every use of the Portal decreases its durability by 1. It''s also the same reason why the information on how to use it hasn''t been avable to the public.


    If they were to publicize the method to use the Portal, with the current poption, it would easily destory it.


    Jun has been thinking for ways to repair the Portal and this time, he had something to try.


    With his earlier experience at the top of the Calvary Hill, he ced his hand on the Portal Statue and gathered energy on his palm.


    Nothing happened on the first few seconds, so he naturally increased the energy channeling output. When it reached 10 energy per second, he felt the Portal sucking the energy on his palm into it.


    He quickly stopped channeling since he fell dangerously low on energy once again. Experimenting should be good, but he was reminded that he must do it on full energy.


    Jun examined the Portal and didn''t find anything remarkable. He thought,<em>I should have checked the previous durability before doing</em> <em>it.</em>


    Jun sighed and turned to his side. He found Nik staring at him filled with curiosity.


    "Try it. Transfer energy to the Portal." said Jun as he stepped back and looked around the za. He watched everyone merrily spending the night like they were just on a vacation.


    Also, this time he kept the present durability on the back of his mind.


    Nik dly followed his order and channeled energy into the Portal Statue. He thought that he was doing something wrong since there was no reaction from the statue and so he continued channeling his energy.


    "I forgot to tell you that you need a higher output and"


    As Jun turned back, he was right on time to witness Nik tremble before falling sideways. He quickly reacted and caught him into his arms.


    Jun checked his pulse and felt relieved when he realized that he was okay. Though Jun knew that Nik probably fell unconscious due to energy exhaustion, he doesn''t fully know what its side-effects could be since there''s not enough information about it.


    "He''s okay, he just passed out." said Jun towards the others, who worriedly looked at them. "Its funny how you guys are good at energy control but would sometimes forget about your limits."


    Someone from the squad hurriedly stepped forward and Jun handed Nik to the man.


    He turned back towards the Portal and examined its durability which increased by 3 points. There''s a lot of possibilities here, for the calction of reparation, but why take guesses when you can achieve facts.


    He ordered one of his men to channel energy into the statue with the right amount of energy output. He told the man to only use 20 of his energy and the transfer was quickly finished within two seconds.


    Jun checked again and the Portal was repaired by 2 points.


    [Teleport Portal]


    [Durability - 351/1000]


    <em>So, it''s 10 energy for 1 point of durability. That''s fine I guess.</em>


    <em></em>A survivormonly has 100 energy and could regenerate fully within an hour. Even if a person only contributes half of their energy, they could still repair 5 durability points. With the number of people here and at the rate people recovers energy, keeping the Portal at max durability would never be a problem. Unless someone intentionally destroys it or a horde of carriers actually managed to siege the Portal, there was no way that it could be destroyed.


    Jun turned to one of his death ve and said, "Tell the people that we''ll publicize how to use the Portal tomorrow morning. Good work everyone, dismiss."


    After dismissing everyone, he went straight towards thepound. He didn''t care whatever they do on their free time.


    Jun didn''t lower his voice earlier and it resulted for numerous interested people to flock over the masked men. They were repeatedly asked for more information but everyst one of them sealed their lips tight since their boss already said that it would be announced tomorrow.


    The crowd dispersed and the masked men went on theor seperate ways. As Nik was brought towards the Divine Hand, a nickname given to She''s father since he can cure and heal anyone back up as long as they''re alive when they reached him.


    Bartolome, Nik''s guardian angel, knew that Nik was safe and is just unconscious due to energy exhaustion, but he still brought him to the doctor just to make sure.


    The others got out of the za and roamed around since they couldn''t really talk to anyone and might get punished in doing so.


    Jun arrived at the mall and hurriedly ran towards the second floor. Bernard tipped him that someone was likely to burst out if he came back a bitter.


    Jun looked at the time from the wall clock and it was past six.


    As he ran up the esctor, he happened to see Marianne waiting for him at the top. Her arms were in a cross in front of her while ring at him.


    Jun slowed down and his run transitioned into walking. He scratched the back of his hand as he walked.


    "Hello My, I''m back."


    ***


    After eating dinner, Jun and Marianne strolled around the municipal za.


    Well, in reality, Jun was dragged around by Marianne as they went window shopping at the night market. Jun didn''t really feel bad at being dragged around and was actually happy for taking some leisure time. It somehow made him feel rx every time he was with her.


    When Marianne finds something cute, Jun woulde in and quickly buys the item. Marianne told him that she could pay for it since she have CP''s saved up but Jun insisted that he should the one paying for it. This could be called their actual first date and he should atleast flex a bit.


    They enjoyed their time together and when the night got deeper, they finally decided to head back.


    Marianne jumped to the bed filled with energy while Jun exhaustedly fell backwards to the bed.


    Marianne crawled towards him and kissed his cheeks.


    "I really enjoyed the date. Thank you!" said Marianne.


    "I''m d you did." replied Jun, then kissed Marianne''s forehead.


    "I want to spend everyday like this." she said as she slowly wrapped her thin arms around Jun''s chest. "Just being with you makes me happy."


    "Me too. You''re the best thing that ever happened to me."


    Jun then ced his hand around her shoulders and pulled her into him which made Marianne bashful.


    She then softly whispered, "You know that my hips are still aching right?"


    Jun smiled sheepishly while staring at her beautiful eyes. "It won''t when you get used to it."


    Marianne then jokingly pped Jun''s chest.


    ***


    When Nik woke up, he found himself lying on an unknown bed. He looked around and heard someone speak beside him.


    "Ohh, this is interesting. You woke up faster than I thought."


    Nik then felt something touch his neck and he quickly rolled out of the bed. A sword appeared on his hand and he warily looked around.


    He was inside a room with numerous medical tools and supplies. He then focused on the old man in front of him. He had clean-shaven face and has a smile all the time. His hands were calmly raised in the air as he stared at him.


    "Please calm down. I''m a doctor, so I was just checking up on you."


    "Why am I here?"


    "You were brought here by your friend after you fell unconscious due to energy exhaustion. Your friend went outside to take care of some business and will probably back after a few minutes. In the mean time, why don''t you sit down, so I can take some look on you."


    Nik red at the old man and slowly inched towards the door. When the old man appeared not to take any weird action, Nik stored his sword in his dimensional storage and head outside.


    The old man shook his head and sighed. "Why are all powerful people weird?"


    As Nik got outside, he immediately recognized the area.


    The flickering mes on the barrels at the za reminded him of where he was.


    "This is the best spot I could get where I could live and protect my tools from looters."


    Nik turned and said, "Looters?" before the old man could answer, Nik shrugged and started walking, he murmurred, "Nevermind, I''m going."


    The old man disappointedly shook his head once again.


    Nik went into the municipal za to go back to the police station. Just as he went inside the municipal building, he saw a squad member walking upstairs towards the second floor. He shrugged and let the matter go.


    ***


    At the public market''s dock, under the water...


    Numerous carriers gazed towards the moonlight.[ol][li data-annotation-id="b96303c1-006d-722d-5525-c3793f03d560"]Read as Mi = endearment.call signs? couple things...[/ol]

 Chapter 129: Mega Centre

    Chapter 129: Mega Centre


    The hot rays of the sun shone unto everyone below the heavens.


    On the open road, numerous carriers were fighting with arge group of skilled individuals. They killed their enemies every time they swung their swords. The carriers blood would then drip from the tip of the sword as the masked men looked for their next target.


    At that moment, a loud roar resounded followed by the earth quaking.


    Behind the masked men was an individual wielding arge hammer that has two skulls with burning eyes. It glowed red and would emit sizzling sounds every time it hit its target.


    "Good job everyone! Just keep them away and I''ll be able to deal with this one." Jun shouted as he stepped to the side, safely dodging a humungous muscr hand that wanted to punch him.


    Jun was currently fighting a D2 all by himself.


    The D2''s hand only hit thin air and overextended since it uses overwhelming strength on its every strike. This is also one of the reasons why Jun can fight it solo. Since the D2 had an oddly long arm, Jun took advantage of its recoil period when it was pulling back.


    He struck the D2''s kneecaps once again and after keeping at it for several times, the joint on the knee finally gave up and dislocated itself.


    The D2 staggered before falling sideways. It used its hands to stabilize itself, then ferociously roared at Jun. A secondter, using its long hands, it limped towards a nearby dead carrier on the ground. It hurriedly devoured the carrier starting from the leg. Eerie bone crunching noise came out of the D2''s mouth as dark blood flowed out from it.


    The onlookers were already used to the sight of ughter but still felt terrified at the cannibalism that''s happening in front of them.


    Jun noticed that the D2''s wounds were slowly regenerating, so he quickly ran towards it. Since the D2 had its back on him, Jun channeled as much energy to do an Empowered Strike.


    The bonehammer glowed crimson and Jun smashed the D2''s head with an over-head strike , finally dealing the final blow.


    The D2''s head sttered in the area and the headless corpse fell forward. The body it was holding got squashed when the D2''s bulky body fell on it.


    He looked around to make sure that everyone is safe, before looting the evolved carriers body.


    He made some simple rules earlier and the group was now implementing it. When a carriers body is damaged and unlootable, it would be harvested for its resources. Currently, the bone is used to make weapons for fighting the undead while the meat still had no purpose aside from bait and as an escape tool. You could also make traps were you ce meat out in the open and wait for an unsuspecting carrier to take it.


    The carriers can eat their fellow friends as lng as they were stronger than them and Jun has witnessed alot of it. The evolved ones would always grab a nearby carrier, dead or alive, and use them as health potions.


    For regr carriers, meat gives them additional energy which could help them survive for the day or if they''re lucky enough, evolve to something new at night. This is why the meat trap was effective for catching lone or small groups of carriers.


    Ever since the bone weaponries were sold to the public, the survivors finally got stronger. And since the survivors were getting stronger, the carriers were being killed with ease, resulting in abundance of crafting resources; the bones.


    The price of the regr carriers bones were halved and yet it was still on the decline while the evolved carriers bone stayed on its regr price. Why did it not rise since it was rare? Its because some civilian groups were finally able to deal with lone Ranked 1 Evolved carriers.


    The survivors were now slowly getting ustomed to the new world and has started its advance in exploring it.


    The skirmish by the street finally finished. The rice paddies on both sides of the road were a nice change of scenery for everyone.


    Jun was currently on an EXP Buff and wants to use its effect as best as he could. They went out before the sun could even rise. He already nned for this but he forgot to remind everyone about it. So, when he arrived outside of the ck Havenpound, there was noone waiting for him on the street. The problem was easily solved when Jun used the contract to wake everyone up and ordered for them toe. Several minutester, dozens of masked men jogged towards him.


    The group followed Jun as he journeyed to the east. They used a jeepney to transport everyone since it could aodate 25 people in it, including the driver. They left the jeepney at the local gas station, since there''s no reason for bringing it further when the goal was to fight the undead. Also, going back was not a problem since they can just portal back to the statue.


    Past the gasoline station, after the intersection came to sight. Stranded abandoned cars were in the middle of the road. There were some cars that crashed into different buildings. Numerous carriers loitered around the area. There are men and women wandering aimelessly while some children could be seen along the sides.


    Jun happily ughtered them and the carriers didn''t back out. The regr carriers would growl, shriek and snarl causing a disturbance in the area. If it were one or two carriers making noise it would have been finem but since there''s dozens of them, the local bully finally decided to show itself and charged right into the crowd.


    Jun noticed the early signs of the earth quaking and was able to prepare himself in advance. He did nothing extraordinary. He just repositioned himself and shed with the D2 repeatedly. He ordered for everyone to stay back since he wanted the solo experience.


    And he won the fight.


    "We continue east?"


    A shade covered Jun''s head and so he looked up. Nik was standing beside him and was waiting for his orders.


    The intersection leads to three ces. A barangay, a diversion road towards the town za, where the public market and the dock could be found, and the national road that continues eastward.


    "Yeah, stick to the highway."


    Jun chose the national road for a single reason. The road is the ce where you could regrly encounter people. He could choose to go to the barangay and get lots of experience, but after clearing the barangay, he would have to double back and that would waste too much time. Besides, it was the police force who took charge of clearing the nearby areas.


    As the group advanced, it becamemon knowledge that carriers were now always in groups. Since they started their leveling journey, the group always encounter atleast ten carriers per group while the highest was around thirty, which was still doable unless they met some evolved ones. When that happens, Jun had to work extra hard, so no one dies for no reason.


    He already killed several evolved carriers along the way, and the solo kills were giving him huge amounts of experience. With the previous umted experience and these days experience, Jun managed to level up two time, which brought him to level 7. He then invested all of his points in strength which raised it to 34.


    The group passed 2 barangay''s and chose not to enter it, staying only by the roadside and clearing any horde that came rushing to them.


    Fighting the carriers everyday was bing easy for everyone. The repeated duels with the carriers made everyone''s body automatically remember how to fight them. Their hands and feet automatically move when a carrier dash towards them. They would easily dodge the lunge by side stepping, then stabbing the back of the head. The group''s muscle memory was being trained every minute and every second. It also helped train their awareness since they have to keep an eye on everything that''s happening around them while looking out for threats.


    Noon came and the group finally decided to take a break.


    Jun looked around.


    There''s an event center futher ahead the road, but he wasn''t sure if it was empty. On the other hand, there''s a construction supply store nearby to their left. Both were probably infested but after thinking logically, he decided to head first to the construction supply store.


    He led the group and entered the parking lot. A big sign was on the side by the decorative nts, it has the store''s name, Mega Centre.


    He then strode towards the door and knocked loudly. He then leaned by the door and waited for a few seconds to make sure that there was nothing inside.


    Several secondster, he entered and searched the lobby first before looking for a ce to sit down. Normally, he wouldn''t really allow breaks since walking could be considered resting, but this time it was different.


    He cleared the counter top of everything, then brought out a chair. Jun then shook his head as he stared at the chair which barely reached halfway the counter top. He then took it back and chose to stand. He then swiped his hand over the counter top and numerous items appeared.


    He agreed to have a break since Marianne prepared something for him.


    On the table were apink lunchbox, a water bottle and a red apple.

 Chapter 130: Life Debt

    Chapter 130: Life Debt


    Nik stood guard outside while everyone looked around the building. The road ahead was a bit inclined and he couldn''t see the other side but he was getting a bad feeling from it.


    On the right side of the road ahead was the Recreation Facility Center owned by the local government for public use. It was built on higher ground and has nted cement support that helps retain soil, so that thend wouldn''t erode. There''s also a wire fence to prevent anyone from identally falling down the nted wall. He already visited the recreation center once when he was younger together with his family. The buildings hasn''t changed one bit from what he could remember.


    He felt emotional all of a sudden after he was reminded of his parents. When he slowly got teary-eyed, he heard footsteps from behind him and he hastily blinked a few times to prevent any tears from going down, before slowly turning his head.


    He saw a masked man walking towards him. From the man''s manner of walking, he already figured out who it was. It was his guardian angel, Bartolome Fernan.


    "You should be resting. What are you doing here?" said Bartolome.


    "I''m fine Uncle Bart. I''m just keeping watch since I''m not tired yet. You''re the one who should be resting. You were exhausted earlier, right?" replied Nik teasingly.


    Bartolome smirked as he shook his head. "You brat, once you get older, you''ll be like this too!"


    Nik looked at him with a frown, then smiled.


    Seeing his teasing eyes, the old man sighed before chuckling. He then stood beside Nik as he looked around the area, watching the road''s end, making sure that they could see enemies before they could get closer.


    "I know that you mean it when you said that fighting is the only way to live from now on. And I agree with that, but fighting recklessly isn''t the way to do it. You don;t have to risk your life to fight when you have us. We''re a group, remember that." said Bartolome.


    Instead of responding to Bartolome, Nik suddenly asked him a question.


    "Who is the strongest among us? The prisoners."


    Bartolome didn''t understand why Nik would ask him this question, but he still answered his question.


    "Ofcourse it''s you. This brat!? Are you bragging right now? Don''t forget that we can still beat you if there''s three of us."


    "That''s true, then do you think we can beat the boss if we ganged him up. Also, try to calcte it that we sessfully ambushed him."


    Bartolome''s curiosity was ignited and he imagined the situation where they ambushed the boss with all their numbers. A man who can solo evolved carriers while taking his time. Would some times block numerous evolved carriers by himself and could stall for time until back up arrives. Has an advanced weapon weapon that kills ranked one evolves as if they were nothing. And has a skin too thick that regr carriers could only leave a mark on it.


    Bartolome gulped before turning to Nik. He said, "No. I don''t think so. There is no way that we could."


    "That''s right. Do you know why?" Nik asked him but didn''t actually wait for the old man to answer. He quickly said, "It''s because his always fighting. He''s way ahead than everyone else, simply because he was probably fighting since the start.I don''t know if he was lucky but he got a good starting phase than everybody else. And he kept on increasing the lead while everyone was ying house."


    Bartolome stared at the teenager beside him. He then remembered the story Nik shared to him, when they were practicing at night, on how he survived the initialphase together with his sister.


    It was an unforgettable story for him.


    Because from that story, he finally have a purpose to stay alive.


    ***


    "It''s alright, it''s alright. Just hold onto me, okay?"


    An old wrinkled face of a woman spoke tender words as she dusted off the dress of her daughter. Nik saw his mother turned to him, then smiled.


    "Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" she asked.


    Nik shook his head almost immediately when he saw his mother''s worried gaze. Though he can feel his elbow bleeding a bit, he chose to remain silent and hid the fact that he received a cut after waking up in a weird position.


    "Are we still going to the mall mommy?"


    Just when his mother was about to answer, his father finally came back after helping other people who fell unconscious.


    "Are you okay, hon? You look worried?"


    "I''m okay." he replied, then he noticed that his daughter was now awake. He hurriedly kneeled beside her and pinched her cheeks. "Hello sweety, you''re awake now."


    "Can we go to the mall now daddy? Its getting hot here..."


    "About that..."


    He patted his daughter''s head before talking to his wife in hushed voices. Though Nik was a bit far, he was able to hear them since they didn''t even try to lower their voice.


    His father said, "Something weird is going on here. There''s idents on the highway and people who tried helping were getting bit. I think we should go back home first. Let''s go back to the car."


    His mother carried his little sister and he followed her. As they walked, they noticed that people were now running. Terrified and soul quenching screams filled the streets, which caused them to increase their speed. His little sister started crying which started to attract attention to them.


    "Come on sweety, please stop crying. The car''s over there, we''ll be home soon."


    As they slid between cars, his father saw an old man got tackled right in front of them. He quickly pulled the attacker off the old man on the ground, before the old man could get injured.


    "Are you crazy!? Why would you do that?" said the father.


    The old man stood up and quickly ran away. When he noticed that something wrong was on the other end of the parking lot, he looked around and quickly hopped inside a white van. There he watched as the man who saved him got bit, together with his wife who tried to help him.


    From the windows, he watched as the teenage son carried his crying little sister away from the scene.He felt over joyed when the police fetched him up and was brought into their group. Then, he felt sorrow as he watched them slowly get surrounded.


    The old man felt grateful for being saved and heart broken at the same time.


    He slid down the car''s seat as tears fell from the corners of his eyes.


    ***


    "Do you know why I''m stronger than the rest?"


    Bartolome woke up from his daze when he heard Nik talking.


    Bartolome frowned, not understanding what he meant.


    "it''s because I have more experience. Not those lousy points, but actual fighting experience." said Nik.


    "Okay, okay. I came out here worried for you, but here you are, telling me that this old man is so weak while bragging about how strong you are." Bartolome shook his head while chuckling.


    At that time, Nik who was keenly observing the surrounding, saw a woman appear on the other side of the fence.


    She looked to her right side of the road, then threw her bag over the fence. Afterwards, she gently climbed over to the other side while keeping checks somewhere else.


    When she was climbing down the wire fence, three carriers appeared and waited for her toe down. This only happened because she focused too much somewhere else than checking below her.


    Nik who saw that the woman is in danger of getting grabbed, quickly ran to help her. Bartolome quickly followed him and already has his gears out since he was used to Nik''s temperament of hastily charging in.


    They climbed the short inclining road, then when they got nearer, threw a bone spear towards the carriers.


    Two died and leaned on the nted wall. Their bodies slowly slid down, creating a dark trail of blood.When the remaining carrier turned its head, a short sword stabbed it in the head.


    The woman finally noticed the danger she could have fallen into as she skidded down the nted wall.


    "Thank you, my name is Katrina." said the red-haired woman as she held her hand forward for a handshake.


    Nik ignored her hand and gazed forward.


    "He would be happy to see this." said Nik.


    "I think so too."


    On the middle of the highway was the remains of a helicopter. Its front side was a total wreck while its tail was already severed since a car crashed through it. There are numerous car''s that crashed into others and the line continued.


    Further down the road were some overturned car''s by the sidewalk.


    The person they were thinking about was Jun, who should be happy at the sea of undead roaming about on the streets.


    On the other hand, the said person just finished his meal and was busy exploring the store''s warehouse.

 Chapter 131: Monsters

    Chapter 131: Monsters


    "Wow. You really impress the shit out of me, you know that?" said a young man sitting on a chair as he stared at the bloodied person in front of him. "You could have saved yourself," he said, then shrugged, "...and save us a lot of time."


    The man stood up and grabbed the person''s hair to raise it, so he could look at him.


    "How does it feel? Being under your own skill?" the man said then chuckled.


    The bloodied person tied up on the chair was thewyer who have a specialized skill on contracts. He received a unique skill because of his nature of ripping and cornering people off with his contracts for years.


    And the reason why he was tied up like this was because he rejected the man''s invitation to be his subordinate. The man once said, if you can''t be mine, then no one else will have you.


    The power that a binding contract proved to be too powerful that even if it was against his will, the owner, the creator of the contract couldn''t help but fall victim to it.


    He was treated fairly at first since the man wanted him as a subordinate, but after a day passed, it seemed like he already changed his mind. He entered with four bodyguards, together with a uniformed police.


    They started to converse without lowering their voices and the police asked updates about the man''s uncle. From their conversation, he figured out that this young man was the mayor''s son.


    He was then tortured by the bodyguards alternately, for the whole afternoon and night, which resulted in his current appearance.


    The police tried stopping the torture but was threatened by the young man using his uncle''s influence. Barely five minutes have passed and the young man left the room followed by the reluctant police.


    The next morning after he was captured, they used his own hands to write a contract that obliges him to obey their every words. Then they stamped his own bloodied thumb onto the contract and used his own skill against him.


    He only have fragmented memory of the whole day since most of the time, he was being questioned. He doesn''t know what the question nor what he have said, but it seems like they''ve already gotten what they''re looking for.


    Looking at the smirking face of the young man made him want to spit on him.


    "Hey, what are you guys doing? Why aren''t you untying our little friend here." said the young man to his bodyguards.


    The bodyguards looked at each other first before one stepped up to untie the man.


    "You know, I really like your perseverance. I apologize for what this brutes did and I hope that you could look past the tree and observe the forest."


    When the man''s hand got untied, he twisted his wrists then suddenly lunged towards the young man. The bodyguard who hasn''t left, quickly grabbed him and sat him back down to his chair.


    The young man shook his head at the scene.


    "I know you''re quite angry right now, but over time, you would realize that working for me is to your greater good. I don''t want to turn you into a mindless puppet, but I will if I have to."


    The bloodied man stared at his feet, thinking whether this was his retribution for everything and everyone that he did wrong.


    The thought of working for someone never came to his mind, simply because he knew how the world works. The top would always benefit while the workers do the hard work.


    But now, even if he agreed to work for this man, it was not beneficial. He would live a life under the skills effect and could be used like a dog.


    He smirked at the young man and spat at him.


    Red saliva flew in the air andnded on the young man''s cheeks.


    The young man''s face turned stoic as he wiped the saliva from his cheek. Then, he red at him with his sharp eyes, then signaled something to his bodyguard.


    The bodyguard grabbed the neck and started hitting the man''s head. After a few sceonds, the bodyguard felt that something was not right and let go of the body.


    Blood was spilling from the corners of the man''s mouth.


    ***


    "What happened? Is he dead?"


    Henry quickly rose from his seat once again. His heart started beating like a drum since this is his first seeing something like this, this close, besides the initial outbreak.


    The bodyguard leaned the body on the chair and investigated. Afterwards, he said,"He bit his tongue, sir."


    "Wha Bastard!"


    Henry stood up in shock and made his way to the dead man since he didn''t believe that someone would have the courage to suicide.


    Though scared, he stared at the man''s face and found the blood dripping on his mouth amusing. Since he confirmed with his own eyes that the man was really dead, he slowly backed off and lost interest.


    "What a waste of talents. I just wanted him to work for me. He didn''t have to kill himself." Henry sighed and walked back to his chair to get his things.


    Just then, he heard his bodyguard call for him.


    "Sir, I think you would like to see this..."


    Henry raised an eyebrow and felt like the bodyguard was acting mysterious for some reason. He walked back to them and the bodyguard signaled for him to hold the dead body.


    He wanted to smack his bodyguard after he was ordered to touch the dead body, but restrained himself since something felt weird. If there was nothing special, he would have to punish this one even if he was his favorite.


    The moment he reached for the body, a notification appeared infront of him.


    ***


    At the same time that Nik and Bartolome saved the girl from being caught of guard, Jun was busy loitering around the store''s warehouse.


    "He should be able to use this, right? Let''s hope so."


    He took things that he think were useful; metal sheets, steel beems and several metals. The metal sheets were cut into two since it was too big to go in the spiraling dimensional wormhole while the beems and metals directly went inside since they were only longer and not wide.


    After making sure that he didn''t miss anything useful, he went out and met with the group at the store front.


    As he walked towards them, he noticed an additional person in the group. It was impossible not to notice since she was the only woman and the only person not wearing a mask on the group.


    "What''s going on?" said Jun.


    Nik stepped forward and said, "There''s a horde of carriers on the slope ahead of us. A helicopter crashnded and further caused idents on the highway. I didn''t see any D-series carrier but saw signs that there might be H-series on the crowd."


    Bartolome who was next to him frowned, even though no one could see it. He was there when they first saw the horde and he was sure that there was nothing strange on the crowd.


    "How many?"


    "Around one hundred regrs with unknown number of evolvers."


    Jun furrowed his brows after Nik reported the numbers. He then muttered, "Why is there so few..."


    The woman who was listening to their conversation stared at Jun in shock. She felt that the man was bragging, even iming that a hundred was such a small figure.


    Without any further words, Jun led the group to the top of the slope. He examined the surroundings to get a feel of how the battle could turn out.


    After gauging that the sea of carriers weren''t a threat to them, he readied himself for battle. He wielded his bonehammer and charged to the horde.


    The woman beside Nik gasp in shock and couldn''t help but exim. "Is he crazy?"


    Just as she finished speaking, Nik ran after Jun and joined the fray. Then, the flock started following the two while letting out severalments.


    "Here we go again!"


    "Can''t we rest for a bit more? I''m totally full right now!"


    She felt weirded out seeing the swarm of people rushing towards those zombies.


    All of a sudden, someone spoke next to her.


    "Do you know how to fight? No... Uhh, please stay on the sides and don''t cause trouble." said Bartolome.


    With his mask on, Katrina couldn''t determine who he was but she still nodded her head.


    Since he already gave her some advise, Bartolome ran after the group to help them.


    Jun led the group as the vanguard.


    All kinds of noises came from the carriers. Roars, screams, shrieks and some even wailed.


    As he ran forward, he gathered energy into his bonehammer. Before the carriers could reach the lunging distance, Jun threw the bonehammer in front of him. It flew in a straight line and went through numerous carriers body.


    With his strength and additional energy channeled to the bonehammer, it caused devastating damage to everything it hit. The carriers body had holes that still have the wound''s edges burning.


    The bonehammer finally stopped when it struck a car after losing momentum.


    Jun quickly pulled out two short swords from his dimensional storage and continued his charge. He easily cleaved the heads of any regr carrier that came in front of him. The only problem was that their bodies were quickly piling on top of each other and he had to move around. he didn''t have to worry on his back or sides since someone was fiercely fighting beside him. Considering the increasingly noisy shouts of everyone charging into battle, he calmly fought everything that rushed in front of him.


    Not even ten minutes have passed and the battle ended. Though some carriers managed to reanimate themselves, they were only able to since their heads weren''t cleanly cut off their necks.


    Katrina stared in awe at the scene.


    <em>M-monsters.</em>

 Chapter 132: Come Back

    Chapter 132: Come Back


    Hup! Tadadak!


    Swish! Swoosh!


    Jun received a few hits when he advanced forward abruptly causing the others to unable to support him. He made his way straight onto his bonehammer and killed everything that blocked him.


    After retrieving the hammer, he used his newly learned technique, whirling around with the bonehammer.


    When he smashed the head of thest carrier in front of him, Jun looked around only to see the sparse number of enemies. He wanted to kill all of them but something caught his interest.


    On the elevated slope to his right, people of all ages were watching the scene. There''s a mix of old people and young kids along the wired fence.


    Jun examined each and every one of them trying to figure out whether they were a threat or not. When suddenly. the red haired woman he saw earlier, ran past him and entered through the main entrance of the facility blocked by a toll booth. She was met by a security guard who seemed to be the leader of the group, seeing that the woman was being scolded. The security guard was around his forties and probably has his fair share of how the world works. As if noticing that someone was checking him out, he looked around and found Jun looking at him.


    Normally, a toll booth was ced at the gates for security purposes and no one would bypass it, but with the current times, it wouldn''t even serve as a dying tool if the area was to be breached.


    Jun stared at therge logo at the side,<em>Binangonan Recreation and Conference Center.</em>


    Under the logo were its numerous features and facilities like bowling, basketball, swimming pool and events center.<em></em>


    Jun wasn''t interested on staying here or having a friendly chat, but he wanted to verify something. He started walking towards the toll gate where the two was talking.


    For some reason, the security guard felt agitated and raised his guard. He put his hand on the holster on his hips and stared at Jun in fright.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t do anything to you." said Jun.


    Though he imed that he wouldn''t do any harm to them, the security still didn''t let his guard down, but removed his hand from the holster.


    "I''m sorry. I hope you''re not offended by that. Its just that people easily get on edge this days. Specially when there''s a huge number of... them, right at your door step." said the security guard.


    "I know right." replied Jun.


    The security guard slightly nodded his head. "I''m Emilio, Head Security Officer of BRCC."


    "I''m Jun. Jun Reyes. By the way, how many people do you have here?"


    Emilio felt conflicted whether to answer the question, but decided to trust Jun a little bit. He said, "Probably around thirty? Since some people went missing and hasn''te back. Most of the people here survived only because we hid here..."


    Jun wasn''t interested on their story but the old man didn''t stop sharing their story. The short story is, when everyone woke up, the security personnel of the recreation facility helped most of the injured people. Peoplee and go looking for help. And when things finally started, everyone just hid inside the buildings. No one tried to be a hero after watching the ughter on the road.


    "Can I see everyone?" said Jun.


    The security guard, Emilio, didn''t really know what he wanted but figured that Jun wouldn''t really cause them harm, so he let the slightly suspicious man enter. It was a gamble and probably longing formunication with the outside world.


    They walked towards the parking lot, where Jun saw a bunch of people staring at him.


    These people were the same people who was watching the scene at wired fence earlier. At first, Emilio was the only one who went out to check what themotion was outside, then he saw Jun''s group ughter those creatures. Afterwards, more people came out and when it looked safe, the old and the young followed. It was natural to be curious since they were stuck inside the building for days without being able to go out. The ones who could go out were only the people who scavenge for food and supplies.


    Jun stared at everyone''s faces and dejectedly sighed.


    "Is this all?" said Jun.


    "We have two people currently scavenging outside," said the red haired woman.


    "You are?"


    "Katrina. Nice to meet you!" she excitedly extended her hand forward to only be left hanging by Jun. She chuckled shyly as she pulled her hand back and said, "My sister came out with the new guy, they''re scavenging for food and hasn''te back. It''s already been a day and I''m worried for them."


    "That''s not a reason for you to sneak out!" said Emilio as he red at her.


    Knowing that it was a guy and her sister, Jun lost further interest on the matter. He felt like leaving already, so he bade his goodbyes.


    Just as when he turned around, Emilio suddenly called for him.


    "Do you have a safe ce for people? I know that you''re strong... I saw it. Could you"


    "Go to the town centre. The whole area there was already reimed."


    Emilio and the othersplexion brightened up when they heard what Jun said. That meant that there are other people who survived! And there''s a better and safer ce to live on!


    Emilio excitedly asked, "Did the local government made their moves? Can we get rescued from here?"


    Jun replied, "Well, the government is crippled and has the police force as the only remaining body. They''re doing their best to rescue everyone and at the rate that they;re doing it, you should be rescued after three to four days."


    "That long?"


    "They have less than fifty people and they prioritize the nearby barangay''s before expanding their search radius. I can tip them about your location, so they coulde here tommorow or the next day. You could also go there now if you want. Our group already cleared the highway. Though you have to fight stragglers along the way."


    Emilio slowly shook his head. "We can''t do that. This group''s too big to protect... if we have more people, then we could probably do it."


    Jun knew at what he was hinting at, but ignored it.


    "Then I suggest staying still until rescuees. Besides, you still have people on a supply run, right?"


    Jun turned and left after he rejected Emilio''s call for help. When he arrived outside, everyone already looted what they had to loot and was ready to move.


    Jun didn''t dally and quickly ordered for everyone to move on.


    Emilio and the civilians watched as the group walked further in the distance.


    Several minutester, a small group of people entered the recreation facility.


    "Finally we''re back! I really want a good rest after spending the night out. Uhh, my body''s really sore..."


    "Can you be quiet? Something happened here and we should be careful. Don''t make too much noise and watch the surroundings."


    "Maybe they just left already... why are you like this? Can''t we rx for a second. We''re already lucky that we didn''t encounter anything on our way back."


    Enri and Emman bickered as they cautiously enter the parking lot. They searched every corner first before proceeding towards the building. Behind them were three people; a grandma, a young woman and a little girl. The young woman supported her grandmother as they walked while the little girl following behind her was holding onto a recuved bow.


    Enri and Emman stood in front of the ss door and peeked inside. They finally lowered their guards when they saw Emilio and Katrina running out towards them.


    Katrina immediately hugged Enri and curiously looked at the new faces.


    "What happened? Why were you back only now?" said Katrina filled with worry.


    "We met those crawlers, you know the fast ones that I told you about. We got stranded, and had to wait it out."


    "Someone saved us though. That''s also the reason why we''re still alive." Emman added, then pointed towards the young woman who was supporting her grandmother.


    Katrina let go of Enri and stood in front of her sister''s savior. "Thank you for saving my sister, my name is Katrina. If you ever have anything that you need help with, you cane to me."


    Katrina then pulled her hand and shook it.


    "O-okay.", the woman said.


    She noticed the inquiring gaze of Katrina, and so she introduced herself, "I''m Anna, this is my cousin, Chloe and this is my grandmother, Teresa."


    "Nice to meet you guys, let''s go inside first and continue the talks there." said Katrina.


    While Katrina excitedly weed the neers, Enri and Emilio were having a serious talk about what the recent events.


    Enri narrated about how Anna saved them and Emilio narrated how an unknown group easily cleared the mess right outside their gates.


    Afterwards, Emilio informed Enri about the news regarding the town centre, where most of the survivors are gathering. He exined the situation and the options for moving out and both agreed that waiting would be their best bet since they severelyck people who could actually fight.


    On the other hand, Jun''s group was calmly walking by the side of the road, taking in the unusual peaceful scenery that one could only find on the provinces.


    As Jun appreciated the scenic view, his wristwatch made some beeping noises. Its one of those modern smartwatches that has wifi, inte and ofcourse its touch screen.


    The smartwatch was already modified by Evo to connect to his database and serves as a tool ofmunication. Currently, two people only has the smartwatch, Jun and Evo, since it was energy consuming to create one and Evo''s other projects would be halted it he focused on making it.


    Evo used a smartwatch instead of a phone since it was lighter and easier to move about. The issue of the screen being to small was easily solved by adding a futuristic feature.


    Jun tapped his smartwatch which said the current time, 11:54.


    A hologram flew out from the watch and showed a blinking mail icon.


    Jun tapped the icon and another subyer of hologram opened, showing the message contents.


    It said, "Where are you? Come back! Hurry!"

 Chapter 133: Reasons to Live

    Chapter 133: Reasons to Live


    Jun typed on the hologram and sent a reply to Evo.


    [Jun: Why? What is it? I''m doing something.]


    [Evo: Do you remember that the police force managed to find an old CV Radio a few days ago?]


    [Jun: Yeah, what of it?]


    [Evo: They found someone! I mean, they were able to talk to someone. There''s another group out there, and they''re asking for help!]


    [Jun: Uh-huh. So, why call me? Can''t they do it?]


    [Evo: This group couldn''t go out and scavenged since a horde was idling around their base. And the Lieutenat guy was asking for what to do since you''re the MAYOR in town.]


    <em>Oh right... I''m the mayor.</em>


    <em></em>[Jun: There''s really no reason for us to help, right?]


    [Evo: Have you forgotten why you founded our group?]


    [Jun: No... get all the information about them, and send it to meter...]


    Jun closed the holograms and looked around. In the distance, a convenience store appeared pleasing to his eyes, including the numerous carriers around it.


    "Listen everyone. That''s ourst stop for today. After we clear that, we''re porting back."


    "Yes."


    ***


    The surrounding of the statue brightened up and numerous bright lights simultaneously spat out bodies.


    At the same time that Jun''s vision cleared up, he noticed the crowd of people in front of the municipal building.


    The flowery guy, Henry, was assuring everyone about something. Several secondster, the crowd dispersed unwillingly. Henry noticed Jun''s group passing by and initiated a conversation.


    "Hello there. I know that you probably don''t remember me, or you probably would after I did something foolish like thest time we met, but let me apologize for my manner back then. You know, I got so used to acting like that to everyone, even to my parents and my friends. So, I hope that you don''t take it to heart."


    "I don''t really care." said Jun, not interested for a chat.


    He continued walking and heard Henry say, "Do you know who killed my father? I think I can trust you''re words much more than some rumors, since you knew the mayor died before everyone else did."


    Jun turned back and stared at him.


    "Well, you know, it''s my dead father we''re talking about. So, I atleast wanted to know."


    "How would I know."


    Jun left without looking back.


    A hint of disappointment glinted on Henry''s gaze as he watched Jun''s back. He murmurred, "Okay, so that''s how you want to do it."


    He then went back inside the building, escorted by his bodyguards.


    ***


    The group hunt was called off and Jun advised everyone to be around the area after an hour.


    Jun entered thepound and greeted everyone he passed by. He went straight to Old John''s smithing room and found him grinding some bones manually, using pestle and mortar.


    "You''re still alive old man." Jun greeted as he casually piled up several steel beams on the floor.


    "More work for me I guess?" said Old John before even turning around. He shook his head after seeing the pile of steel beams on the floor, then focused on Jun.


    "What is this?" said Old John.


    "Metal." replied Jun.


    Old John angrily stared at Jun, then spitefully said, "I''m fully aware of that. Haaa... just tell me what you want."


    "Can you make shields with these? I don''t know if they''re good enough to be smelted but these are the ones that I could find. Once we get more people, I''m nning on checking out the old district mines for iron and other stuff. What do you think of these?"


    "What? Did the one I gave you already got destroyed?!"


    "Oh right." Jun brought the alloy shield from his dimensional storage out, and ced it on top of the pile. "This one needs repairs too. There''s a lot of scratch marks and I''m afraid of it getting split into two, so I barely used it. And the shields are for the people, just make them durable enough, so that they won''t break while fighting."


    "What are you implying?" said Old John while ring at Jun. "I won''t make a subpar product! That would be a disgrace to my family!"


    "Okay, calm down calm down. Please take this and take care of your health. If you''re reading at Evo''s database, you should know that energy can be used for almost everything. Eat this, okay?"


    On the table was a green fruit that could only be harvested from the legendary tree of life, an energy fruit.


    Jun didn''t exin further and left. He next went to spend some time with Marianne, praising her cooking skills, chatting with her, making her feel good, then finally went to Evo''s office and sat on the side.


    "What do you got?" said Jun.


    Evo took a piece of folded paper and read it to Jun.


    "There''s twelve survivors and they''re hiding in a camp site. Do you know the marble mine? On the mountains? No? That''s okay. There''s a mine up north and it was closed due to government policies and some nature thingy rules. You know what I mean, the path going down was blocked by standed carriers and they couldn''t go down to scavenge for food. ording to them, their stocks could stillst a day or two, but they''re not sure if nothing bad would happen, that''s why they''re asking for immediate help."


    Jun stared at the ceiling as he thought things up.


    The world changed and now he would go save people in dire need of rescue. But why? Because he got so bored of his life that he created a gang to help people in need.


    Just for fun.


    "Have you ever thought of stopping?" said Jun.


    Evo turned to him confused.


    "Stopping what?"


    "You know, this and that."


    "You mean helping people?" Evo scoffed and threw down the paperonto his table. "You had your fun now? Is that it?"


    "It''s not that... I''m just scared. You know that Marianne and I just got on a rtionship, right?"


    "Then what about me? I didn''t join for fun. You know what? Forget it. Get out."


    "I''m sorry. I''ll do this as thest one."


    Jun stared at Evo onest time before standing up and leaving.


    Evo snorted as he watched Jun walked out of the door. He shook his head, then smiled. He remembered that night when Jun was trying to recruit him. A stupid boy who only knows how to brawl trying to impress a geeky nerd to be one of the core members of his group. A group that would help all kinds of people in need while protecting everyone as they lurk from the shadows of the night.


    Evo joined Jun''s group simply because he was tired of getting bullied and taken advantage of.


    Since he was skilled in his area of expertise, anything bad that happens would be attributed to him, giving him a lot of enemies everywhere.


    And since he doesn''t want to join bad people, he finally picked Jun over the local powers since he was the only <em>good</em> one among them.


    He hated evil people and wants to protect the weak simply because he was once weak and couldn''t protect someone he loved. He wanted to feel how it felt to be able to protect people and he was able to do it with Jun''s help.


    With a bitter smile, Evo looked outside the window as he thought to himself, "I''m happy that my friend found someone special."


    Afterwards, he sighed and murmurred, "I''m alone again huh."


    He tapped the table with his fingers rhythmically as tears fell from the corner of his eyes.


    "I miss you Mia... Yes, yes, I''ll find them. Even if I have to do it alone, i''ll find them for you."


    ***


    Jun contacted his main attack team through the wireless earphone. Thankfully, they were in the area and was able to respond. Adrian and She arrived together with Edward behind them.


    "What''s the rush? We''re eating..." grumpily said She before they could even stop in front of Jun.


    She was having a luncheon date with Adrian when they were called over by Jun. Edward on the other hand was shopping around even though there''s barely any stalls set up. They''re just spending time together since they don''t know what could happen the next day.


    "We''re going somewhere. What levels are you?"


    "We''re all level eight." replied Adrian.


    Jun turned to him startled. "How did you level up, so fast?"


    Adrian didn''t know how to answer him and exined it simply.


    "We have to baby sit the others as we scavenged, meaning we killed almost everything, and we didn''t have dozens of skilled bodyguards who kill steals from us."


    Edward added. "We also kill steal when there''s a huge scramble. We just help with everyone''s medical bills to keep everyone happy. Oh by the way, you''reing tonight, right?"


    "Where? What''s going on?" said Jun.


    "What? You don''t know about Veronica''s event?" replied Edward.


    "Ohh the drinking contest? Let the peoplepete. I''ll have to ask Marianne if she wants to."


    After Jun answered Edwards inquiry, She nudged Adrian''s side. He turned to her but just frowned at her.


    "What is it?" said Adrian.


    "Nothing! Humph."


    At that time, Jun saw some masked men walking towards them. Jun recognized the masked man from his rank, and said to Nik, "Where is everyone?"


    "They''re having a meal at the newly opened eatery by the road side." said Nik.


    "Didn''t they just have their lunch earlier? It''s not even an hour ago and they''re eating again?"


    "It''s not like they have their lunch made for them. Almost everyone just ate some snacks."


    "I think you''re getting a bit too cozy with me, huh? Should I teach you some lesson? Is it time for your beating?"


    "I''m just afraid you won''t have people to talk with, so I''m talking to you."


    "Ohh, he''s good. I like him. I''m Edward, I''m the teams tank, also the vanguard."


    "Oh, hello nice to meet you, I''m"


    Nik suddenly stopped talking. It felt weird that he was able to introduce himself. Like he wasn''t meant to be able to. He backed off and bowed his head, "Hello, I''m the ranked one elite guard."


    Edward felt awkward and backed off too. He chuckled as he nodded his head.


    "As expected, he''s weird like you."mented She.


    "Shut up. I''m not weird." replied Edward.

 Chapter 134: Back to Calvary Hill

    Chapter 134: Back to Calvary Hill


    Several minutester, Jun''s ves slowly gathered by the side.


    Jun felt something was off since he ordered them to rush here after eating, but he could see a few peoplezily walk towards him. He sneakily opened his dimensional storage and acted normally as he examined his inventory.


    After a few seconds, he finally found what was making him feel ufortable.


    The blood contracts stashed in his dimensional storages were now gone. With the contract missing, he has no control over his ves and they could they do what they want.


    Jun casually looked around as he observed everyone.


    <em>Did someone stole it from me? Impossible! Adrian can''t even steal from me, even when I''m unaware! Calm down... Let''s think this through.</em>


    <em></em>As various things kept on popping on his head, Nik reported that everyone has arrived.


    Jun turned to thete arrivals and remembered that some of his ves were good at stealth. Before he could even think whether they''re the one who did it, he already rejected the idea. It was impossible for them to have higher stats than Adrian, since the man started fighting at the very start.


    He then turned to Adrian, who was chatting with She. When he felt someone looking at him, he looked around and found Jun staring at him. He raised his eyebrows as if asking what he wants.


    Seeing Adrian''s innocent expression, Jun doubted that it was him. But with him elimated on the list, there was no one else that could possibly steal it.


    Jun felt that something weird was happening and looked around the surrounding.


    Wherever he looked, he could only see unknown faces doing their own things. Kids ying around, teens hanging out at the za and several groups standing at the advertisement bus.


    Adrian thought that Jun was acting weird, so he asked him,"Is there something wrong?"


    Jun tried to calm down and replied, "Nothing. Everyone''s here, right? Listen up. The police got in contact with a new survivor group earlier this morning. The group got trapped on a camp site at the northern mountains and is in need of help. We''re going to help them. Is there anyone who knows the area? None? Then we''re going in blind, so we''ll do it slowly and quietly. Is there anyone who needs to restock on items? Swords, spears? None? We''re moving out."


    When Jun started walking towards the east, She suddenly called to him to remind him of where is north. "I thought we''re going to the Northern Mountains?"


    Jun replied, "We''re going somewhere first."


    Jun looked at the time on his wrist watch.


    <em>It''s already past noon. it shouldn''t ring, right?</em>


    <em>***</em>


    At the intersection of the fast food restaurant and town za, Jun stood alone as he scouted the area. He looked at the distant church street and could only see sparse carriers roaming about.


    At the next turn, he found what he was looking for and tightly grasped the bonespear as he aimed using Enhanced Sight.


    He threw the bonespear and struck the head of an H1. The bonespear broke in half; one-half lodged in the H1''s head while the other circled in the air. The dead body fell to the ground and caused the remaining H-series to be alerted. He readied another bonespear and took aim, but before he could throw it, the six H-series carriers were already dashing madly towards him. They didn''t run in a straight line and would move from side to side as they shortened the distance.


    Jun was forced to slow the time for a bit, and aimed in advance on where the H1 would be. He then resumed the flow of time and the wind whistled as he threw another one. He didn''t have time to see the result as he quickly turned around, but the death wail from behind was enough for him to knew that it was a hit.


    Jun used Sprint and quickly ran towards the intersection flooded with abandoned cars. As he ran past several cars, he passed by numerous people. Everyone was waiting for the right time to attack.


    Jun stopped and turned around after reaching the center of the intersection. The leading carrier was an H2, ferociously charging at him. Its sharp ws created sparks as it scratched the road while it ran.


    As if doing a athletic long jump, before it could even reached the pedestrian line, it was already up in the air. The distance between the H2 and Jun was still 10meters and if it weren''t for Jun, being calm, he wouldn''t be able to react.


    The remaining H-series were all ranked 1, and would be dealt with by Adrian and the others.


    Jun focused on the monster in front of him. He waited until it was close enough before dodging to the side.


    The moment the H2''s feet step on the ground, a bonehammer hit its back. The H2y sprawled on the asphalt road like a squashed frog. It tried getting up, but it was struck again on the same spot.


    When the spinal cord broke, it finally lost control of its body andy listlessly on the ground. It made awkward snarls as it tried to turn around.


    Jun finished it off by severing its head. Speed type agility carriers are a bit hard to find in the area, so he wanted to harvest its body for resources. He cut its limbs and stored them in his dimensional storage.


    The battle ended with andslide victory for Jun''s group. All of the H-series carriers were killed and there''s only few regr carriers that got attracted to them as the result of the battle.


    They easily dealt with the remaining carriers, then Jun led everyone forward. They carefully scouted the area before deciding to continue. Most of the masked men who had stealth in their kits were the scouts.


    They arrived at the parking lot of the church and cleared the surroundings.


    Adrian and She were chatting as they battled side by side while Edward stuck to Jun like glue.


    Edward jokingly said. "Hey, want to go inside? Maybe we can cleanse ourselves of our sins if we go."


    Jun replied. "We''re in a hurry, but you can go alone if you want. With all the strange things happening, it won''t be strange if you suddenly burn after entering the church."


    Edward gave him a disbelieving look, as he said, "I''m not that great of a sinner you know."


    "Be my guest. I''m noting though."


    Edward stoped and pondered whether that could be true or not, then turned to the church''s door. The others passed by him as he dazedly stared at the huge wooden doors.


    "Hey, we''re leaving you if you want to stay." She said as she passed by.


    Edward was startled a bit, then slowly jogged forward. He took onest nce at the church''s door before running to the back of the group.<em>Surely, I wouldn''t burn, right?</em>


    <em></em>***


    Inside the church, a priest was kneeling infront of the altar...


    "O Lord forgive your servants and appease your anger. Guide this servant on what to do. I, your Servant, epts your punishment, but please help us too. Bless this water with your holyness, O Lord, I plead you!"


    The priest stood up and sprinkled water onto a bound nun on the middle of the isle. Her hands and feet were both tied on the chair she was sitting on.


    "Please stop. We both know that this won''t work!" said the nun.


    "Believe in the Almighty! You can do it! Just believe!"


    Tears started to fall from the nun''s eyes and the priest couldn''t help but show his dismay.


    On the nun''s left arm was a dark web-like cracks, slowly spreading upwards.


    Being secluded from other people and not having Jun''s ability to see extra information about things, they didn''t know that people doesn''t die from bites. Both of them believe that the "holy water" was stopping the spread. The only reason why the cracks continued spreading was because the injury wasn''t treated.


    ***


    Jun led everyone into the back alleys and arrived at the foot of the Calvary Hill. He brought everyone up, but before they climbed, he told everyone to channel energy on the soles of their foot when things get hard.


    This time, everyone easily climbed to the first resting area.


    And just like the first time they came here, the berry bush at the side gave enough berries for each one of them.


    The second part of the climb divided the group once again, with only one other person besides Jun being able to climb up. Adrian and She tried their best even with <em>Reinforce</em>but still got stuck at the 170th step, together with Nik and some single digit rankers.


    Edward bragged to his two friends as he looked down from the second resting area. After taking their rewards, Jun hurriedly ran up the stairs while Edward couldn''t even take a single step forward.


    After reaching the top, Jun quickly looked around. To his disappointment, there was no one else in the area. He walked towards the back of gray monolith to see if someone was hiding there, but there was none.


    Jun snorted and looked up at the sky.


    <em>That''s right. You wouldn''t be that good to me, right?</em>


    After recollecting himself, he looked around for any treasure, but couldn''t find any. He searched everywhere and even channeled energy into the grass.


    With nowhere else to look for, he channeled energy into the monolith.


    [You''ve activated the ''Holy Land'' effect.]


    [The surrounding area temporarily bes a Holy Land. Everyone nearby will receive experience by staying in the area. 100m Radius. Lasts for an hour.]

 Chapter 135: Unity

    Chapter 135: Unity


    "Hey boss, you did something, right?"


    Jun came back to his senses when he heard Edward calling for him. He turned around and went to the nearby fence and looked down at Edward on the second resting area.


    "Yeah, you got something good, right?"


    "Yeah, I did!"


    She felt that those two''s voices would attract unnecessary trouble and called for them to tone it down. Afterwards, she happily sat beside Adrian as they appreciate the scenery above the hill.


    Edward was lurking around the flower garden, looking for anything that he could take. He tried pulling a yellow colored flower, but got electrecuted instead.


    Nik and his squad tested themselves on the stairs that leads to the second resting area. Most of the masked men didn''t try going up earlier since they knew that they didn''t improve much.The first batch and second batch weren''t known for being friendly with each other. They both have disatisfactions and things to nitpick with each other.


    Thest batch argued that strength shouldn''t be the reason why someone would rank higher. Then, they proposed that since there''s a fair opportunity to test themselves, the one who reaches further up should have the higher ranks. Both sides agreed on the subject matter.


    The second batch of masked men were the first to go and the highest only reached at 139th step. The group felt triumphant since they knew that Nik, who was ranked the strongest among them, only reached up to 137th step when he tried climbingst time. Toby stood at the 137th step with admiring gazes from his subordinates below.


    At the same time, Nik''s batch finally made their move.


    The single digit rankers, easily breezed through the first thirty steps while behind them, some were already using energy reinforcement to force themselves to take one more step forward.


    Most of the people gathered between the 110th and 130th step. Besides the top rankers who were agressive at the frontlines and those who trained with their utmost efforts, anyone who skimped with their training could be found there.


    "Hello." said Nik as he casually passed by Toby.


    As if mocking him, everyone else that followed after Nik, also greeted Toby.


    If one could die from shame and anger, Toby would have already copsed on his spot. As he watched everyone below him gaze at him, he felt like they were mocking him, spceially those first batch ''tards.


    Upon seeing that everyone was enjoying their time at the Calvary Hill, Jun decided that an hour wouldn''t hurt that much. Besides, nobody''s idling and everyone''s trying to do something.


    He then went back to the monolith and tried reading the weird scriptures written on it.


    ***


    "Hey, do you think they''lle here?"


    "Of course they would!"


    "Haven''t you heard what they were once called? <em>The busy-buddies.</em>"


    "But... do we really need to do this?"


    "Aish. To be honest? I have no idea. The man looks cool to me, but sometimes he just doesn''t care. And besides, people like us don''t decide things like these. People in power always like to be on power. Let''s stay out of their way, okay?"


    ***


    A white van parked just before it crossed the northern bridge. Behind it was a jeepney with fiery me paints and some various artistic designs. Edward came out of the jeepney''d driver''s seat and caressed its door after he closed it.


    "This is mine, alright?" he said while looking around. "Go find your own hot rides."


    "You''re really weird." said She, "...you''re probably the only one who finds that jeepney cool."


    "Come on, let''s go." Adrianmented as he passed by.


    "Those two!"


    The group crossed the bridge on foot since they haven''t scouted the northern part of the town. They haven''t really paid attention to this area since there''s only one district here, with three barangays and mostly forested area. There were some sparse illegal settlers here who imed wildnds for their own and live the hermit''s life away from the societal world.


    They were caught in a few skirmish with the carriers as they traveled the streets. Compared to the popted areas of the town, it was much easier and rxing to move around here since there''s only a few carriers in one group. Thergest they have met with was a seven-man group and was easily dealt by Jun and his main attack group.


    And unlike the modernized part of the town, the northern area still had some dirt roads. There''s only a few cars and the mostmonly seen transport vehicle was the tricycleor sometimes called as "trike". It is a three-wheeled public utility vehicle consisting of a motorcycle and an attached passenger''s side car that could carry five to six passengers at a time.


    As they cleared up most of the carriers in the surrounding area, survivors started showing up one by one. Some were crying joyously while others were mourning their beloved ones who died.


    Jun split the group into two, so they could quickly clear the rest of the barangay. Since the goal this trip was to rescue trapped people at the mountains, he decided that helping people along the way wouldn''t be bad. Well, to be honest, he just wants to get more experience as he massacred all those regr carriers that charges on him. With theirrge group moving as one, it was unavoidable to attract the overlords of the area. The evolved ones finally came rushing to the fray.


    Although the battlefield was bing harsher and harder as the went by, it eased the pressure on the other ces and barangays.


    Even though the two barangay''s survivors didn''t know that there''s a rescue squad on the barangay ahead of them, they were able to notice the weird reactions of the evolved carriers.


    People who survived for more than fifteen days with no outside help would be smart and proactive at this times. They have to. Since every second and every decision they make has to count or they will die.


    With the evolved ones attracted to Jun''s group, the hiding survivors finally decided to came out of their holes. They could hear the roars and the earth shaking from far away and their instincts told them that this was it. Their only chance for survival. If those weird giantse back again, they would run out of food and starve.


    With all kinds of tools; farming, plumbing, woodworking. etc. The survivors united as they marched on the road. They helped each other and kept a tight formation.


    Timid survivors who only hid on thefort of their homes, watched the blood-boiling scene as they were tempted toe out themselves. Some finally chose to risk their lives with arger group since they were running low on supplies while others remained undecided. Those risk takers filled several bags with all the food they have and ran after the group.


    At the intersection between the barangays, two survivor groups met and joined together, easily raising their numbers around fifty. People who knew each otherughed loudly as they hugged each other. The group couldn''t help but notice therge horde of carriers adjacent to them. They also saw numerous people fighting at the front while others stood support behind them.


    Jun fought at the vanguard while the injured threw bonespears as support behind him. They''re killing any regr carriers that tried getting near him.


    He was currently duking it out with a three meter tall hulk of a titan, a D2 as he dodged a couple of sneaky attempts of an H2 to pounce on him. Nik and Adrian was trying their best to catch up to it, but its agility and nimbleness proved to hard to follow for the two.


    The H2 would twist on unexpected ways and would sometimes make sudden movements which further hindered the two from hitting it. Jun could follow its movements with his eyes and could barely dodged it while defending from the D2.


    The remaining death ves who could still fight were busy defending against ranked one evolved carriers. The number of regr carriers here was few, but that somehow made the evolved ones number higher.


    At that moment, he heard shing of iron and some carriers made despairing wails. he noticed new facesing from behind the enemy lines.


    Jun swapped roles with Nik and Adrian. He became the one chased the H2 while Nik and Adrian dodged the D2 and kept it busy.


    With his sole focus on it, Jun was able to use Time Perse and predict where the H2 would be and adjusted his aim. He resumed the flow of time and the bonehammer swung towards the H2. The H2 rolled on the ground and barely dodged his swing. It then lowered its body on the ground and quickly pounced on him.


    He grabbed its neck to keep its sharp tooth away while using the bonehammer to protect his upper body. His attempt to defend was futile as several strikes still went through and scratched him. It created w marks on his right chest and shoulder since he could only defend his left side with the bonehammer.


    Just then, the H2''s face came closer to him and a sharp object came protruding out from its nose.Jun quickly reacted and pulled back his head.


    A bonespear struck the back of the H2''s nape and went through the nose in front. It stopped a few inches from Jun''s throat. If he hadn''t moved his head, it would have struck his forehead.


    Dark blood was dripping out from the bonespear and the H2''s mouth spat out blood like a fountain.


    Jun tossed the body to the side and looked around.


    A masked man came to him and picked him up.


    "You almost died!" Toby said, then left to help others.


    Adrian and Nik who were about to help Jun hastily dodged the D2''s strike.


    "Yeah, I think so too." Jun muttered as he looked to the side, at the bonespear that almost reached him.

 Chapter 136: Ambush (1)

    Chapter 136: Ambush (1)


    He stood up and assessed the situation.


    The enemy''s back line was being decimated with the reinforcement of the survivors. Adrian and Nik were already on dire straits since they were barely dodging the D2''s onught. The wind pressure from its attack together with stone fragments when it ms the ground caused injuries to slowly umte.


    Jun quickly ran and helped the two to deal with the D2.


    The two were able to do some damage on the D2 while Jun was away. Its chest and legs had several long cut wounds after several shes. The problem was it didn''t really do anything besides angering the D2 further.


    Jun joined the fray and shouted, "Go for the joints! It''s always the joints!"


    Jun had first hand experience with fighting with a D-series carrier. They have tough skins and resilient muscles. If your weapon was not sharp enough, it probably won''t do any damage. Thankfully it was Adrian and Nik, who was dealing with the D2, since they both have thetest armaments in town.


    The D2''s hands were about to grab Nik but was pushed to the sky. Jun''s bonehammer struck its elbow from below.


    The D2 roared in pain and focused on Jun. It raised its hands over head and mmed it downwards causing the asphalt road to send small stone fragments around.


    At the same time, Adrian sneakily went behind it and made several cuts on the back of its knees. Unlike Jun''s attack, it wasn''t that effective, but still dealt damage.


    The difference between their attacks was that Jun applied energy on his attack while Adrian only used his physical strength.


    Though the wound wasn''t that deep, the D2 started bleeding from the back of its knees since it was exerting effort to move around. However, it shows no signs of exhaustion or weakening as it continued its rampage.


    The three of them were having a hard time since they couldn''tnd a killing blow and had to fight a battle of attrition until the D2''s knee cut wound opened and erged itself from the movements pressure. The muscles tore and the legs weren''t able to continue supporting the upper body''s weight which caused it to plummet down to the ground. It bnced its body and managed to kneel down in a praying position.


    The three didn''t let this chance passed by and lunged at the same time to deal the final blow. It tried defending, but Jun kept it busy on the front while the two attack its head and back simultaneously.


    The battle ended right after, when Nik lodged his short sword through the nape on the back of its head. The body finally fell on the ground with numerous injuries all over its body.


    "I really miss guns... Can''t we raid another police station?" said Adrian as he turn to assess the over all situation Most of the enemies were already dealt with and everyone''s just cleaning the remnants. His body finally gave in as he was forced to sit right where he was standing.


    For Adrian, it was the first time fighting a Ranked 2 Evolved carrier and it was exhilirating and frightening experience. He was on edge the whole time and he couldn''t afford to lose focus.


    Jun could have easily fought the D2 but the H2 prevented him from doing so. When he returned to help, he wanted to solo the D2, but saw the eager expressions of the two and decided to let them have some taste of how it felt like. The rush. The adrenaline.


    "Me too... I don''t know if I''m still good with the rifle." said Jun.


    "Were you good at the rifle? I thought most of your shots were lucky ones." replied Adrian jokingly.


    Jun ignored him as he stood straight and examined the surrounding area.


    Everything is proceeding unexpectedly well.


    Almost no one died, despite numerous survivors getting injured.


    Just then, he noticed a woman crying beside someone. The man was bitten on his arm and was clutching his head in despair. Dark webbing cracks surrounded the wound.


    The man was cooly saying his farewell to the woman when She came in and healed him. The man felt dumbfounded when she exined that bites don''t kill, but the side effects do. The woman joyously thanked her and watched her go around healing injured people.


    With the people already being educated as they were healed, the atmosphere felt better as everyone became reassured. A few offered some prayers to those who died in the first few days


    After everything was set and done, the survivor groups gathered in front of Jun. No one ordered them to do so, but it was instinctual. Because they saw Jun from afar, fighting numerous evolved creatures on his own and was now surrounded by numerous masked men. It wasn''t that difficult to see that he was the one in-charge of the group.


    One man step forward and stared at Jun, after a brief examination, he introduced himself.


    "Hello, my name is Jervis. The group behind me are some of the surviving residents of this district."


    Seeing that the man already took the initiative to introduce himself, Jun replied positively and greeted them. "I''m Jun. Is there anything that I could help you with? Because I need to ask some questions and I really hope that you can answer them."


    Jervis somehow felt threatened by the way Jun spoke and couldn''t help but tense up. He calmed himself and managed to not stutter as he replied back.


    "How can I help you?" Jervis said. He pushed his questions back for ater time when he confirms that this man was someone good. He watched Jun''s mouth slowly open, and inside his head, an orchestra was ying a suspenseful and thrilling piece that raises the notes higher and higher. Just at the time that the notes reached the ceiling, Jervis felt shocked at Jun''s question.


    "Do you know how to go to the old mines? Or is there a camping station near here?"


    ***


    Jun''s group was separated into two.


    He sent back his men that were slightly and moderately injured to escort back the survivor group back to the town center. The rest of the crew knew that he was just beingpassionate about the injured but some felt like he was over reacting. The survivors thought differently and felt that Jun was a kind and warm-hearted person even if he looked cold on the outside.His action ced him at a higher ce in the survivor''s hearts.


    Well, the true reason was kind of selfish and practical.


    Since most of the threat in the district was probably dealt with, it was much better to have lesspetitors with experience. There''s not enough enemies for everyone and more kills would make him level up faster than everyone else.


    What Jun didn''t expect was that after getting some heals from She, those moderately injured people went back and followed the group to join back.


    Jun was also pondering over a lot of issues recently. The ways to be stronger faster and the mysterious disappearance of the blood contracts.


    Leveling up takes too much time and barely gives enough stat points. While killing someone gives more than enough stat points for three to four levels. It was as if this world was encouraging people to kill each other. He felt frightened when he thought of massacres that could ur when this be public knowledge. People would doubt each other and would have trust issues since you''re ally or friend can turn against you at any time.


    As he was thinking of this, something dawned upon him. When a person kills another person for their stats, it could mean that humanity was losing against the undead. Because a person''s full strengthpared to a quarter of that person''s strength isn''t the same and having one stronger person isn''t better than having two strong person. Killing doesn''t help everyone in the long run and would only benefit the undead since they have fewer strong people to deal with.


    If people continued killing each other, there would be less people while the enemies increase in numbers. They would grow stronger while humanity would be left behind,when there''s not enough people to kill.


    Why was he thinking of these all of a sudden?


    Its because in the building ahead, there''s a dozen of people with red question marks above their heads. Normally, he wouldn''t associate killing intent with red names, but this one felt weird to him. He just helped the whole district and there''s no reason for the remaining survivor to feel anger or hate towards him. Thus, he could only think that they were waiting for him to pass by the building and kill him.


    From Jervis directions earlier, there was two ways to go to the local camping station. Through the dirt roads, ahead of them, or through the woods, which was further and more tedious to travel with since there were wild animals and such.


    With no hesitation, Jun picked the forest path and skipped unnecessary troubles.


    The group was confused with his decision but still followed after him.


    ***


    "The target change its route to Point B. Over..." reported a man as he speak on hismunications radio.


    "Copy that."

 Chapter 137: Ambush (2)

    Chapter 137: Ambush (2)


    They traveled into the forest and followed the dirt path used by the locals to gather things in the forest. Jun noticed the insects asrge as one foot, the further they go ventrued in. The path would sometimes split but thankfully, there were signs which would lead them to the old mines and the camp site.


    They cautiously took passage on overly grown grass that easily reached up to their knees. A few assions also happened where someone unintentionally disturbed an ant''s nest. The ants didn''t have drastic changes but they grew several timesrger than what they usually are. Thergest ant they encountered was a two inch an ripping Edward''s jeans to shreds after he crushed numerous ants with his shield.


    As they go up higher and higher, Jun noticed some weird flora as they traveled. Glowing wild nts that radiated mystery and some overlyrge trees that covered the sky. Most of the trees were erge and the group felt like they shrunk in size as they gaze up on the prolonged branches that reached everywhere.


    Jun ignored most of the interesting things since he can''t risk doing experiments for now. He coulde backter and bring someone who has enough knowledge with nts. Everyday something new was changing and this changes were slowly bing the norm. Jun epted it early on that''s why he was able to receive some titles befitting of his clear-mindedness.


    When they reached the end of thend and stood in front of a cliff, the group realized that they finally reached the half-way mark ording to Jervis'' instruction. To be honest, they could have easily reached the camp site if they went through the normal route but since there were hindrances and Jun didn''t really know the reason why they were acting like that, he chose to take the long way.


    The group climbed a fenced steep passage by the side of the cliff to reach the top of the mountain. A small clearing with unlit campfires and wooden benches were in the area. Though the grass weren''t trimmed, it was noticeable that it was somewhat maintained.


    Jun turned around and went to the edge of the cliff, holding onto the fence as he stared at the blue sea on the horizon. It was a scenic view for everyone to appreciate and this area was taken care of by some locals. This could be called a secret ce to those people who likes adventure and nature.


    Below the cliff was a small body of water that flows to a river. On both of its sides were forested areas There''s no path that leads down nor man-made attempts to build stairs ordders since the river was flowing back towards the town. Herbalists who identally fall here would never be found since the river goes directly back to the ocean.


    As they appreciated the onlooking scenery, simultaneous gun shots rang on the area. Before anyone could react, bodies were already dropping dead.


    Jun got hit on his left stomach but it would have hit his body center, if he didn''t turn around when he felt someone staring at him. Four people fell down and he had no time to check whether they''re alive or not. He paused the time after facing the woods, then searched the direction from where the shots were fired from.


    At first nce, he could only see the lush bushes, but thanks to his Time Perse ability, he was able to scrutinized every spot ordingly. On some bushes, there were protruding muzzles of a rifle while further behind it was someone kneeling with his eyes on the sights.


    The good thing about this was that they''re all on the same area and Jun easily thought of how to counter-attack.


    He resumed time and quickly threw several things to the ground infront of them.


    When the next burst of fire came, the pebbles Jun threw grew in size and blocked everything.


    The shooters felt confused by the sudden appearance of the boulders. At the same time that they took their eyes off their scopes, something was thrown from the other side and flew randomly towards them.


    On a closer look, the flying objects were batteries. Glowing batteries.


    When the batteriesnded and struck something hard, it suddenly brightened and blinked several times as if it was a ticking time bomb. The gunners knew that it was something bad and immediately rolled away. The explosive batteries created a small but powerfull explosion that destroyed everything on its 5m radius.


    Most of the gunners were fast enough to react but one was unfortunately caught in the explosion. A gunner who''s feet got caught in the 5m radius had his foot cleanly incinerated. When he noticed that his foot was missing and only has his legs. blood haven''t evene out from the wound. Blood only flowed when the gunner tried moving his legs. He started wailing in despair, but was able to muffle his cries as he ground his teeth.


    "We''re getting ambushed!" some masked men shouted.


    "Oh, you just noticed?" Jun said sarcastically.


    Everyone hid behind the boulders but they have to move soon since this onlyst for three seconds. The wounded were quickly brought to cover and quickly went under She''s aid. Edward stood guard and keep his senses up as he actively gathered energy on his hands.


    Jun threw hisst batch of pebbles before the first batch''s duration runs out.


    "They''re right ahead of us, around twenty to thirty meters." said Jun to Adrian.


    Adrian nodded his head and armed himself with a dagger and a pistol. His body distorted for a bit, then disappeared to the other people''s eyes.


    "Stick to the left side." Jun reminded him. Henoticed the masked man''s trembling eyes beside him. "Are you that scared of dying? After what the world turned into?"


    Jun shook his head and stood up, then channeled energy into the batteries he was holding. Its a one-time use explosive he got from Evo, in case of emergencies. He ran out and started throwing the energized batteries randomly on the center and right side of the treelines. He hoped that Adrian followed his advice and wasn''t there.


    At the same moment that Jun went out, a hovering box appeared directly above a wounded person''s body. Meanwhile, She just finished tending to her second patient when thest remaining wounded suddenly started trembling.


    When its body stopped shaking, it slowly stood up and idly stared at the ground as if dazed. Then, all of a sudden, it lunged to the person next to it. It grabbed the person''s shoulders and caressed the man''s stomach with his masked face. The people nearby were rmed and quickly pulled him back, only to see blood seep out from the lower part of the mask.


    She ran up and stabbed a dagger under its chin.


    "Fucking bastard!" she yelled while crying, "...you could have waited a few more seconds!"


    She hugged the body and the rmed people who were holding the body back suddenly released their their hold on it. With the unexpected increase in weight, She wasn''t able to adjust her strength and got pulled down by the body into the ground.


    She sat on the ground while crying and hugging the body. Several secondster, the body she was hugging disappeared and dropped a few crystals. She stared at the fragments on the ground and couldn''t help but me herself to what happened. Though she did her best, someone still died.


    She picked up the essence crystals and fragments as she vowed to herself, never again.


    When she looked around, she noticed that Jun''s guards were fighting each other and the number of injured people on the ground was increasing. Severed limbsy on the ground while its owner sprawl dead beside it.


    Then she finally realized that there are two groups fighting despite wearing the same uniform. Burning fury rose in her heart.


    <em>These fucking bastards.</em>


    <em></em>***


    Nik''s squad, the first batch of Jun''s prisoners, was being ughtered by Toby''s group. Though Nik had some suspicion that Toby was up to something, he didn''t pay enough attention which lead to this betrayal.


    "Why?" said Nik as he stood with his remaining squad members.


    "We''re all people, and people strive for the greater good." replied Toby.


    "Greater good..." muttered Nik, then scoffed.


    At the start, Nik''s squad had fourteen people while Toby''s group had seven. Four people were killed from Nik''s squad which brought it down to ten.


    When Jun left and Nik was about to follow him, he felt something weird. At the moment he turned around, the next person to him lunged at him and tried to stab him on his chest. He deflected the strike and retaliated.


    After he sessfully defended himself, he immediately looked around and finally saw the massacre on the area. Five people died from the des of their "allies" which reduced the first batch to five people. The perpetrator of this event, Toby, tried to assasinate the only healer on the team.


    Thankfully, Edward was there to protect She while she was grieving on her own.


    Nik''s heart beat harsher when several gun shots echoed in the woods. After several seconds, no one got hit and they started to guard themselves from each other. Toby gathered his minions on one side while they watch as the remaining masked men doubt whether they could trust each other.


    From that point on, Nik knew that he needs to do something, so he removed his mask. His action relieved some of the tension from the remnants of the first squad since they recognized his youthful face.


    Thus, the two sides of the coin were formed.


    It was inevitable.


    The two sides shed and Nik''s group was having the attacking advantage.


    When all of a sudden, a spear whirled and struck the ground, causing soil and grass to fly in the air. Everyone stepped back and looked to their sides.


    To She who was fiercely gazing at them.

 Chapter 138: Ambush (3)

    Chapter 138: Ambush (3)


    She lunged forward between the two group and retrieve her spear. Though inexperienced with the way of the spear, she was once a little girl who was always delegated as the muse of the sports team.


    After picking up the spear, She gracefully and skillfully maneuvered the spear around her body. Her baton skills during her high school days were now proving to be useful.


    "What''s going on here? Exin it to me." She said while alternatingly looking at both sides. "You''re colleagues! Why are you killing each other?"


    She then turned to Edward, who was ring on the other side.


    "Do you know what''s going on?" said She.


    Edward nodded his head and looked around the area. He couldn''t find Jun and Adrian nor their shooters.


    The fight was a short one but it would determine who lives and dies today, depending on the oue of the forest battle.


    "I think they betrayed us. That one tried to kill you and everyone just fought each other and almost killed everyone."


    When She heard about the situation, she turned towards Toby''s group, then suddenly dashed towards them.


    From Edward''s exnation, that man who acts like the one in charge of that group tried to kill her.


    The spear danced in her hands like an amateur but it was suffecient enough to deal with people a level below her. Besides, her weapon was system generated and has superior materials than bone armaments.


    Her spear would sh a few times before destroying the other party''s weapon. Even if the other party brought out another weapon to fight, it would still break after a few shes. She never got surrounded since Nik and his squad came to her rescue.


    Unlike her wild fighting style, they were a bit conservative since their short swords didn''t have a long reach like a spear. This time, they finally realized that fighting against an undead was totally different than fighting with people. People can think and group up making any attempts to iste a target, almost impossible.


    Just as they were about to copsed their enemies formation, Toby''s group retreated simultaneously. Before they could react and catch up, a bonespear appeared on all of the enemies hands.


    Those bonespears were usually used to thin out a horde and used by the injured squad members to support those in the vanguard.


    With the sudden appearance of the bonespear and the target being them, Nik''s squad felt the pressure of being aimed at by projectiles.


    "Gather behind me!" Edward suddenly shouted.


    A two meter yellow light barrier appeared in front of Edward. It covered everything from his knees all the way above his head. It was tall and wide. Anyone who saw it could see that it was also sturdy due to its thickness. The only downside was Edward''s continous consumption of energy.


    Edward was currently over-estimating the damage output of the other side. He made the thickness based on experience from blocking evolved carriers attacks. Being with the scavenging team, he had to save a lot ofmon people from the hands of the D-series and H-series carriers. Underestimating was never an option but overestimating would lead future troubles for him if he doesn''t learn to manage his energy consumption.


    "Guys, you need to do something. I can''t keep this up for long!" Edward whispered to the people behind him.


    Nik felt the urgency from his voice and quickly brought out his own bonespear.


    "We''ve got one chance after they throw theirs." whispered Nik.


    "Does that happen before or right after I ran out of energy?"mented Edward.


    "I think it''s better to release the barrier and use it again after we throw. In that case, we get our timings right, while their bonespears would be blocked." said a man who really didn''t stand out from the group.


    Everyone felt that it was a good idea except for Edward, who was shaking his head.


    "I hate to break it to you but my energy''s to low to do that. Just think of me as Kassawin. Every time I use my ultimate, the cost to use it again hikes up. I''ve used my barrier consecutively already..."


    "You y that game too?"


    "What do you expect? I''m in college and there''s nothing to do."


    "I think we''ll be friends. My in-game ID''s FakerPH. Let''s y one game if we managed to live after all this."


    "Your name sounds a bit... Let''s just hope you live up to the name."


    Suddenly, someone startedughing from the other side. When the two regained focus on where they are, they saw the supposed leader of the masked men on the other side mocking them.


    "What? Are you saying your farewells to each other? I can''t believe this." said Toby as he startedughing at the two''s action.


    One member on his side seemed to chicken out as he took a few steps back making him the furthest target in case the fight came into a death match.


    "I''ll remove the barrier in three seconds. That way, we can get to throw first and dodge early." said Edward.


    Everyone, though unwilling, epted the fact that Edward''s energy was really running on fumes and had to take the risk.


    "One. Tw!"


    Just as before Edward finished counting to two. The cowardly squad member on Toby''s side pulled his hand back and aimed the bonespear he was holding.


    Edward felt that his mind was being read since that person was reacting in advance. But something weird happened. The cowardly person misfired big time.


    It threw the bonespear but instead of flying towards them, it struck the nearest person next to him. The masked man then wielded a short sword and stabbed another one in the back before getting ganged by the remaining two.


    Toby unleashed fury upon hisckey and shed wildly. Theckey dodged perfectly and was doing good when he suddenly tripped on a stone and lost his bnce.


    Toby took this chance tond a sure hit and aimed at the head. Theckey raised its sword to block but was stillte to defend. The tip of Toby''s de sliced the mask diagonally from the forehead until it reached below the nose. Theckeys sword started its defense from there. Blood was flowing down the mask and dripping from Toby''s sword tip.


    "What are you waiting for! Finish him!"


    Toby felt weird since earlier. Even though it was five people against seven, it shouldn''t have been that fast for them to get pushed back. Now, he finally realized that someone wasn''t fighting at his best and was actually a rat.


    The help he was expecting never came. Theckey he was talking to, didn''t even answer back. He took a slight peek beside him and to his horror, found the man he was asking for help sprawled on the ground with a bonespear on his chest.


    He hastily tried jumping back but felt hot sticky fluid escape his sides. He tumbled back and spat some blood as he tried getting up, but his hastiness further slowed him down as the ground he was repeatedly stepping on, got eroded causing him to have unstable footing.


    Nik stood a few meters away from him. He remembers that cheeky gaze. That young face that only knows how remain expressionless all the time. But instead of finishing him off, Nik went to the wounded man while the remaining first squad surrounded him.


    Nik took the mask off and stared at the face behind the mask. It was a face he knew and felt family towards to.


    "Hey old man. Are you dead yet?" said Nik as he stared at Bartolome.


    Bartolome''s face had a long cut from his eyebrow and went down diagonal towards his left cheek. Nik grabbed his sides and shook his body.


    "Hey, old man... Answer me!"


    Nik suddeny felt something sticky on his hands and when he looked at it, he saw his hand bloodied. He gently tilted the body and found small bone fragments underneath. It seems like some sword fragment from the weapons that broke earlier scattered on this side causing Bartolome to unfortunately fall on some.


    He panicked and immediately turned to She, but before he could even shout for help, she was already beside him.


    "You know him?" she asked.


    "Please save him! He''s been... uhm, the back! Look at his back! His face had a long cut too. Please save him! I beg you!"


    Unlike Nik''s frantic call for help, She calmy diagnosed Bartolome. She cast the basic heal and cure while checking the wounds status. She ced her hand over the face, then after several seconds, ced it on Bartolome''s back wounds.


    "He''s going to be fine. The cut on his face might get infected if we don''t treat it properly, the same goes with the wounds on his back. But overall, he should be fine. Well, he''s losing blood, so I have no choice but to do it here. Is that okay with you?"


    Nik wiped his tears and nodded his head. "Yes, please."


    Right after wiping his tears, he picked up the sword hey on the side and stood up. He turned to Toby and red at the man.


    "Don''t kill him... yet."


    Nik turned around and looked at She confused.


    She said. "We need to know some things. After that, he''s all yours."

 Chapter 139: Enemies Within (1)

    Chapter 139: Enemies Within (1)


    Just as the group finalized what to do with Toby, the bushes on the tree line rattled.


    Everyone raised their guards and held bonespears as they waited in bated breathes. Edward, though low in energy, was ready to cast a barrier in case it was an enemy.


    A hand followed by a foot came out of the bush and presented a ragged Adrian to everyone.


    "What happened here?" Adrian said as he stared at the numerous bodies on the grassy ground. He looked around and saw that Jun hasn''te back. "Where''s Jun?"


    "You didn''t see him? He followed after you and hasn''te back." replied Edward.


    Adrian frowned and turned back to the woods. "I''ll be right back."


    She acted normally when she heard Adrian''s voice and only took a peak when he went back to the forest. Afterwards, she continued applying first aid onto Bartolome.


    "Sometimes, he''s a bit..." Edward was trying to say that Adrian was insensitive or doesn''t care enough but was cut-off by She.


    "Leave him be. Everyone''s in danger. We need to regroup as soon as possible."


    Edward sighed and could only ept that everyone has their own ways to express themselves.


    <em>He could''ve have atleast ask if we''re okay...</em>


    <em></em>Edward asked Nik''s squad to scout and patrol the area. He took charge of guarding Toby and tied his arms into his legs. He had no choice since everyone can use dimensional storages freely. If he ever ck or got careless, the man could escape which could potentially bring everyone further trouble.


    "Why did you this?" said Edward. He stared at the man''s eyes through the mask. He took the mask off since he felt it was more appropriate to talk if he could see the other''s face.


    Seeing that the man unresponsive, Edward fell in a dilemma. He has no experience with interogating people and his social circle only consists of his college buddies.


    Just as Edward was feeling doubtful whether he could get the man talking, Toby spoke words that shocked all of them.


    "The government ising." he said. As if not contented with the shock he gave everyone, Toby added more spice to the pot. "The army ising."


    Toby felt joy seeing everyone''s shocked expressions.


    "That hoodlum would be arrested soon enough and all of his aplices would be imprisonned. I suggest that all of you switch sides now, so you can get a lighter sentence."


    Edward frowned and said, "Why would he be imprisonned? Why would we? We helped people! We provided a safe haven for everyone in this dying times and your saying that we''re going to be imprisonned?"


    "Why are you even listening to him?" said She. "You''re not gullible enough to believe his words, right?"


    "Yeah, right. Don''t believe me. Do you remember that Henry? That pompous brat. The mayor''s son. He got in contact with his uncle which is the reason why the army ising here with a few government officials. I don''t know their ranks but I''m sure they''reing. You better choose sides now. You''re boss is a murderer! He killed the mayor, so he could rise in power! He enves prisoners, so he could have a private army for himself! Thew will punish him and the governm"


    Toby fell forward unconscious before he finished speaking. Behind him was Nik, who stood stoicly while staring at Toby''s falling back.


    Everyone was a witness as to what happened.


    Nik struck Toby on his neck causing the man to fall unconscious.


    "Are you a secret agent? How did you do that?" said Edward slightly impressed.


    "No... I''m not. I just saw it from movies." Nik replied.


    She said curiously."By the way, what does he mean by that? Did Jun really kill the mayor? And what about that ve-thingy?"


    Nik didn''t know how to answer the bombardment of questions. He knew about the envement since he was one of the people enve, but he had no knowledge about the mayor being killed by Jun.


    Just as he was about to answer her question, the bush rustled once again and spat out Adrian. On his back, he was carrying a heavily wounded Jun.


    Right after closing in to the group, Adrian casually said, "I killed the mayor."


    ***


    The hardest thing to do after everything that happened was the aftermath that the actual fighting left behind. Those dead people who were infected or bitten once, started to reanimate. Making everyone clench their teeth as they killed their friends once again. Killing all the reanimated people was a physical burden and a mental torture since they were close buddies after days and weeks of risking their lives together.


    Jun honestly answered any question that She and Edward hurled at him. While Adrian on the other hand was subjected to an scrutinized interrogation by She. She wants Adrian to spill every secret he has on his body while keeping an angelic smile on her face. Anyone could see that she was pissed since her partner was hiding things from her.


    Edward remains neutral and had noments about the mayor''s death.


    Nik''s squad members were a bit disturb about the fact of Adrian''s cold-hearted killing, but tried to ept that the world is slowly changing and killing important figures might be a norm.


    Edward asked what happened to Jun, so he narrated the following events of how he fought those marksmen on the woods. People call his strategy as gueri warfare but Jun doesn''t even know of the word. Maybe he knew, but the term he used when he recounted the story was ''hide and seek''.


    The forest was an advantageous terrain to Jun since he could see where his enemies are. Those floating question marks was a nice hack since he could kill the enemy without being seen. This is also the reason why there were almost no gunfires ensuing on the forest.


    Also, since Jun was able to reach close quarterbat, most of his injuries came from dodging and rolling around the forest grounds. With the addition of melee squabbles regarding life and death. Since their lives were on the line, the enemies fought harder but still got over powered by Jun.


    "Well, thanks to that, we got some military weapons on our hands now. We looted some ammunition boxes too. If we use them sparingly and only when needed, it shouldst us a long time." Jun said while circting energy all over his body.


    Jun looked around and pondered what to do with the remaining pure bodies. Pure bodies that didn''t turn to carriers or has hovering dimensional boxes above their bodies.


    "Each of you should absorb one body. Just loot it normally. You can ask questions if you want, but ask those questionster. We need to go back to the town first."


    "So it was true? The government''sing? What about the army?" said Edward.


    The rest of the group started looting the bodies but kept their ears peeled for Jun''s answer.


    Jun waited until everyone finished absorbing their allies legacy. "I don''t know about the government but our shooters were uniformed military personnel. They were armed with military grade equipment and were obviously trained. I don''t have any idea why they''re doing this, but we''ll have to be prepared."


    "Is this how you stronger? By killing people?" said Nik.


    Jun didn''t feel any malicious intent with his question, and decided to exin himself. "Marianne once got abducted by my old pals. I had to kill them. I absorbed their bodies and that made me stronger than everyone else. I didn''t like it but I had to do it."


    Everyone became solemn afterwards. Various thoughts lingered on everyone''s mind on how this could affect their daily lives.


    "We''re going to do a quick check with the camp site, then portal back to town."


    Jun watched everyone recover their energies while chatting. His mind then wandered to the different types of deaths in this world. Currently, he knew three kinds of deaths. The first one that turns you to a carrier after dying, a carrier that has most of your strength when you were alive. The first type of death requires the body to atleast be bitten once to have the ''infected'' debuff. The second one is when a person dies on battle, which is directly rted to the third one out-ofbot death.


    People who died while fighting or in a state of battle would have an intact corpse. The body would stay there on the spot as long as nobody moves it. Thenes in the third one, which is almost the same, except that the person''s dimensional storage is hovering outside its body and could be looted of everything inside.


    There are simrities between the second and third death; the body remains after death and could be absorbed to increase stats. While the only difference between the two is that the third death releases the person''s dimensional storage, allowing everyone ess to the dimensional storage.


    After a quarter of an hour, every body recover. Bartolome was able to stand but still needs support to walk. He was supported by Nik and the group moved towards the camp site.


    Inside his office, Evo read the contents of an email he received from Jun. The contents simply told him to be careful and create backup escape ns.

 Chapter 140: Enemies Within (2)

    Chapter 140: Enemies Within (2)


    Jun''s group arrived at the camp site. On the distance, they could see the mine entrance that leads inside the mountain.


    "Rest over there." said Jun, pointing at the nearby tent. It was a wide outdoor tent with a high ceiling. A long table was on the middle with long chairs on both sides. This tent could be a dining ce or a meeting ce when the mines were still being used.


    "We''ll scout the area first," he said while signalling for Adrian to follow him. As if reminded of something important, he turned around and looked at Edward and She. "Wear your earphones and call us if anything weird happens."


    The two nodded their heads and quickly equipped their wireless earphones. Though it only works for 100m, Jun and Adrian shouldn''t go that far if they just want to scout the area.


    With that, Jun and Adrian proceed to check the few buildings on the camp site. Adrian followed Jun and felt weird since they only walked by the dirt path and never entered any of the buildings they passed by. He knew that they should be careful but the way that they''re doing it is too careful. He wondered if they would even be able to find the people they were looking for.


    On the other hand, Jun was extremely calm as they walked by buildings after buildings. The only threat that could surprise him now was the carriers. Right now, it was impossible for humans to ambush him since he was vignt. After the encounter earlier, he realized that people are much dangerous than those carriers and has to give an extra effort about safety when outside.


    They continued walking as Jun kept scanning the buildings for any living people. His eyes brought him trouble most of the time, but once he gotfortable using its skills, it certainly made his life easier.


    Adrian without knowing that Jun already finished scanning the buildings they passed by, felt bored and started whistling.


    Jun heard him but ignored him since this could help attract any hidden carriers or threat in the area. With his strength and Adrian''s agility, he doesn''t feel scared or troubled of anything that mighte out. He actually wants something toe out, to not waste their trip here.


    To his dismay, they reached thest building and couldn''t find anyone. This findings made Jun disappointed.


    Jun felt disappointed for two reasons. The first reason was that there''s a high chance that Evo''s plotting something against him. The other reason was that their trip here cost them a lot of lives while only receiving a few guns and ammunition in return.


    The death ves were almost decimated and currently, only six people remain. His hunting speed would be severely affected since he can''t recklessly fight hordes with this number. Without people regting the number of carrier that he needs to fight, every fight would now be troublesome. Though he could monopolize more experience when hunting hordes, the difficulty and everyone''s safety would now be a problem.


    Adrian felt that Jun was thinking about something, but didn''t bother asking him. He was more interested at observing the surrounding area since it was the first time he saw a mining site. He grew up in poverty and it teached him the way of the world. To do everything to survive.


    Most of the buildings were made of storage containers. Therge metal containers were refurbished and made liveable, bing the workers living quarters. The only exception was the building at the center, probably the main office since it was the only one made from wood.


    There were atleast dozens of abandoned container pads in the area, but there was no one to be seen. ording to Evo, there should be a small group of survivors here.


    While hesitating whether Evo really betrayed him or not, Jun saw a woman came running out of the mine''s entrance. She had dishevelled hair and ragged clothing. After getting out, she slipped and stumbled a few times. She tried running but could only crawl making her advance as slow as a turtle.


    Jun rushed forward and was able to see dozens of red eyes inside the shadows of the mine entrance. The sun was only able to lighten up a few meters into the mine''s entrance, making any attempts to see inside an impossible task.


    Jun felt his hairs rose as he stared at their eyes. Even though he doesn''t know what they are, their frenzied gaze gave him chills.


    The dozen pair of eyes slowly disappeared, apanied by thunderous echoes on the mines.


    "Are you okay miss?" said Jun after he confirmed that those creatures really left. He wondered what those creatures were and she could probably answer most of his questions. He waited for the woman to catch her breath when she suddenly lunged at him and grabbed his legs.


    "Please save my father! He''s trapped inside! Please! Please help him!" the woman begged. When she rose her head, she saw a horrific sight that made her gasp and swallow some saliva that slowly filled her mouth.


    When she was running out. she saw two young men standing idly outside. She was only able to run that fast because she saw people that might be able to help her. But how did things end up like this? The people who she thought could help her was now pointing daggers at her.


    "I- I''m sorry. I don''t know what I did wrong but... could you please help me?" said the woman pleadingly. Her ck irises stared to the men ring at her but she didn''t look away.


    "Let go of his leg." said Adrian.


    The woman finally realized why the two were acting like this. She bitterlyughed and slowly let go. "I''m sorry," she said a bit blushing, "I didn''t know that you were a couple. Please don''t worry about it. I have no intention of taking him from you. Actually, I support this type of love too."


    "What in the world are you saying?" replied Adrian feeling a bit ufortable.


    "We''re not like that..." Jun said. He even felt mad having to exin that. He tried his best to remain on the side of reason and chose to bombard her with question instead. "Who are you? What happened here? Where''s the rest of the people?"


    The woman seemed to not believe the two denying their ties and felt that there''s still some chance based on their reactions. How she came to that conclussion? Only she, herself, knows.


    After being asked about things was she able to remember to panic. "M-my father! Help him!"


    She tried clutching Jun''s leg in desperation, but he dodged it. Then, she turned to Adrian and jumped to his leg. She hugged his leg while describing the situation.


    The father and daughter duo went sightseeing on the old mines. Her father was one of the oldest miners and has special ess to the mines. Normally, it isn''t allowed for civilians to enter the mines but since he have connections with the owner of the mine, he was granted ess. In the middle of her story telling, she was able to introduce herself and her father, Angelica Sison and Dominic Sison, respectively.


    At this time, Jun cut off the story and asked a question. "There''s only two of you? Are there other people in the area?"


    Angelica felt confused but still answered his question. "There''s the army guarding the ce and some site managers. They had to exin about my father''s sightseeing to the army, so they came with us. Besides that, I don''t remember seeing other people. Why are you asking?"


    Before Jun could answer, Angelica started crying and repeatedly med herself. "I kept saying that I don''t want to go here, but he insisted!". Then, cries again as if a child asking for help.


    The two men knew and realized long ago that she was a pain the ass. Jun was thinking of ways to get more information out of her while Adrian was blissfully enjoying the soft sensation hugging his legs.


    Jun coughed and uttered a certain person''s name, making Adrian shiver and look around. When he didn''t see her, he slowly wiggled his legs out from the woman''s hands. He bitterly smiled as he softly said like he was talking to a child, "I''m sorry miss, please let me go."


    Jun continued his interrogation and found that the total number of people here didn''t even reached ten when the world changed. She continued begging for the two to help his father, but to no avail.


    Considering that it was weeks ago when they arrived here, how and why would his father even be inside the mines? How could he trust her words when they suddenly meet a suspiciousdy after everything that happened?There''s a lot of risks involved while the information that they havepared to hers doesn''t really match.


    "By the way, what are those creatures that were chasing you?" said Jun. He was really curious to what those were since their eyes appear atleast one feet above the ground. He knew nothing of animals that big that could live inside the mines.


    As if reminded of terrifying monsters, Angelica fearfully clutched her chest. She did her best to utter the names of the creatures she hated before and even now, "Rats. Veryrge rats."


    ***


    She was busy checking everyone''s condition while Edward was patrolling the area. Nik sat beside Bartolome, who was lying on top of the table. He was already recovered but was trying to get some rest.


    <em>Why are they taking so long?</em>thought Edward. He could see that their were not that many buildings to check, so he felt worried as to why the two hasn''te back.


    Just as he walked near the edge of the uphill dirt road, he noticed a group of uniformed soldiers cautiously climbing up the slope. This slope was the only other way to reach the camp site where they are currently at.


    Edward hurriedly run back to the tent while contacting Jun.

 Chapter 141: Enemies Within (3)

    Chapter 141: Enemies Within (3)


    "This is Squad Leader Alpha, Squad Leader Beta please respond. Over," said a soldier to hismunications radio. Ahead of him were four uniformed army in fatigues and three people in civilian clothings. They''re walking up the dirt road in 3:2:2:1 formation.


    Receiving no response from the other side, the team leader decided to investigate the matter. He didn''t believe that five trained soldiers would lose to civilians. Every information about Jun''s group was already gathered and based on that, there were only few people they should look out for.


    Jun Reyes, a self-made warlord trying to oppose the government. His right hand man, a trained killer who specializes in stealth, Adrian Santos. It was also reported that he was training an energy user who will guard him with his life and recruited a nurse for his personal health. These four are their targets for this operation including his private army.


    After trying a few more times, he finally epted that something wrong went on. Even though they nned this for days, the operation still encountered some mishaps. The n and information was supplied to them by their VIP, who they were supposed to extract from this town.


    The only reason the army came here, despite problems at the Capital, was to extract some rtives of the higher echelon. The order also include to bring back any useful individuals like doctors while eliminating future threats.


    "Something bad happened on the other team." said Alpha. "We''ll set up an ambush near the camp site, then get out of here. Our main mission is to elimate future threats, so we can reim the country in peace. We can''t let individuals like this to rise in power. Understood?"


    "Yes, Captain!" simultaneously answered the soldiers. The three police officers in the front answered back, though a bit dyed.


    Lieutenant Cedric led everyone up the mountain road. He had mixed feelings with this operation since he knew personally that Jun doesn''t really care about power nor an evil person. It''s true that he''s not a good person and would sometimes do inappropriate things, but he never did anything that should warrant his death. The only bad thing that happened was the mayor''s death and he doesn''t understand why the army was cing a huge importance about the matter.


    Although he stand witness to the mayor''s death, together with a few other policemen, there was no proof that it was Jun''s right hand who did it. The only thing that matched based on their reports was a silhouette killed the mayor. And besides, Jun''s group managed to save a lot of people more than the police force could rescue! Was that not even considered to lighten their sentence?


    "I saw someone!" someone said from behind him.


    "Where?" the squad leader asked and hurriedly scanned the area ahead of them but couldn''t see anyone. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, sir." the man said with confidence and pointed straight ahead. "A civilian appeared over there, then quickly disappeared. ording to town map, that should be the old camp site."


    "Good job," said the team leader. "Everyone, peel your eyes out and make sure that we kill each and everyone of them. If they''re already up there, that only means that Team Beta''s alreadypromised. That means they now have ess to guns and could fire back, but that doesn''t mean they''re good at it. Let''s show them what the army can do, okay?"


    The squad members enthusiastically answered and made preparations on their own. Each of them checked their weapons before moving forward.


    To prevent pre-emptive strike from the other side, the squad leader used one of his active ability, Automatic Aim, to watch and look for any movements above. The skill allows him to adjust his aim automatically once an enemy appears on his sights. Together with his passive, Veteran''s Instinct, his vision moves in random directions but he knew that there''s a high chance of an enemy being there.


    At the moment, he could only see soil since he was aiming directly at it. That means that some people were really hiding up there.


    They moved in a straight line with the three policemen in the lead. When they reached the top, the sun was already setting on the horizon. The final rays of the sun shone brilliantly before sumbing the world to darkness. The only source of light was the dim sky and several houses on the town. As he scanned the treelines, his senses told him that there are people at the camp site but he couldn''t confirm their numbers.


    Squad Leader Alpha took the lead and divided the group into two. He took the three police officers and scoured the buildings starting from the middle. The other group also strated from the middle and made their way towards an outdoor kitchen.


    As they cleared buildings after buildings, some of the members started to rx after finding no one. Well, the same couldn''t be said for the squad leader. The more buildings they cleared, the more it felt weird to him.


    The detachment group just finished checking the outdoor kitchen and found nothing. They started walking back to the group when all of a sudden, they saw lighting from the back of the building. They stared at each other with a look of understanding! So those people were hiding behind the buildings! That''s probably the reason why they can''t find anyone at all!


    They formed a line formation and cautiously moved forward, sticking to the buildings wall. The one infront kept his gaze forward while the others behind him covered the sides. After nearing the corner, the man in front swiftly came over the corner with his fingers on the trigger. Without asking any questions, he shot twice, one on the legs and one on the side of the stomach. The man in front of him smiled bitterly while shaking of the bullets that couldn''t dig past the barrier over his body..


    At the same time. several people rose from the nearby bushes and threw long objects at them. These people used the shadows and blindspots of the area since there''s barely any lighting on the back of the building. They hid behind bushes and waited since it was impossible to see through them in the darkness.


    The bonespears struck the soldiers chest and those who weren''t hit were able to fire back. Two lucky people who didn''t die frenziedly returned fire. They knew that they were being ambushed and seeing the people next to them falling down, they were angered and risked it all.


    The bonespears being used as throwables was a new battle technique Jun''s group just invented, so it wasn''t known to the public and in no way would be provided in the information given to these people. Even if some people used the bonespears as throwables, it would be those who have bit of earnings or already powerful since they have to collect them again to reduce cost.


    The man in front of Edward didn''t hold back anymore and pulled the trigger. Numerous metallic sounds were created as the bullets created sparks after hitting the barrier over his body. The bright light the soldiers saw was Edward activating his energy barrier around his body. Thanks to him focusing the energy in front of him, he didn''t feel any pain.


    The shots roared like thunder in the serene camp site. His fellow soldier behind him started shooting the people who appeared on the bush. When suddenly, a yellowish ss appeared infront of them, blocking the hail of bullets. Before the two soldiers magazines could run out, a figure dropped down from the roof andnded on the rear soldier''s shoulder.


    The soldier heard his shoulder bones cracked followed by unbearable pain that coursed through his body. He spat out blood and his vision darkened while slowly falling forward. The front soldier, who had no knowledge of what was happening behind him, continued firing at Edward until his rifle made clicking sounds.


    Just as he was about to take a clip and reload, something sharp poked his back and went through it. He slowly looked down as blood gathered on his mouth. He stared at a white sharp object sticking out from his stomach and couldn''t help but spat out the blood on his mouth. He watched unwillingly as blood started dripping from the objects tip.


    Edward looked pale after simultaneously using barrier and felt nervous since he almost run out of energy. He forcefully sat down from where he was standing, before checking the others.


    "Are you guys okay?" Edward said worriedly.


    She looked around and recounted everyone before she answered, "Yeah, we''re fine... thanks to you."


    Just as they were talking, something produced sound from one of the bodies.


    "This is Squad Leader Alpha. Report your status. Over."


    On the other team, the squad leader nervously called on the radio as he scanned his surroundings. Together with the three police officers, they managed to search half of the living quarters and was proceeding nicely when they heard the gunshots.


    When no response came from the other side, he suddenly felt that the ce be colder even though there''s no wind blowing.

 Chapter 142: Reason Why Youre Alive

    Chapter 142: Reason Why You''re Alive


    "Your mission is to extract the mayor and his constituents their families and anyone that they want to bring. Do you understand?" said an old balding man facing a small team of soldiers.


    The old man has a fit physique and looked like a sheep, but don''t be fooled by his appearance. Behind his calm demeanor, a sense of tyranny and dictatorship flow through his veins. He ruled his people with an iron fist that would never give mercy to those who failed.


    Bathing on his gaze, some of the young soldiers couldn''t help but gulp. They were standing in front of a retired general that could still give an aura of calm despite being in the storm.


    "Rodriguez, you''re the squad leader for this operation. You have a week toplete your mission. Move out!" said the old man.


    "Yes, sir!"


    With that, Rodriguez traveled with his group towards a small town in the province. He knew that something was wrong with the order because the briefing specifically mentioned to not help any civilians along the way. The briefing even contradicted the mission that they were supposed to do. They were deployed to rescue high-priority targets, but their group went straight to thiskeside town. They ignored most of the municipalities they passed by. The driver wasn''t responding to him nor treating him with respect. He couldn''t confront the driver since he knew that it was one of the retired general''s aide.


    It didn''t take a lot of time for them to arrive at the town''s border. The biggest problem they encountered was weird creatures, but with high caliber rifles, they were able to fight them off.


    At this time, the driver finally introduced himself as the true leader of the group. He reported over his Sa radio that they have arrived.


    And that''s where their mission started.


    ***


    "This is Squad Leader Alpha. I repeat, this is Squad Leader Alpha! Anyone who can me, report your situations! Over."


    Captain Rodriguez anxiously waited for a response as he scanned his surroundings.


    "Maybe we shouldn''t have split up?" said Lieutenant Cedric which gained approval from his co-officers. They trudged along with the corners of every storage container and cautiously moved forward.


    Captain Rodriguez said, "Focus here,ds. I know my men better than you. They can do well on their own and by the time we finish here, they should be waiting for us."


    "That''s what he said." replied one of the officers standing on the rear. All of a sudden, a hand quietly pulled him to the side and covered his mouth.


    His fellow officer didn''t notice anything and said confidently, "You know your men, and we know these peoplethey''re good people." After saying his piece, he noticed a graffiti at the side of the container and started appreciating it. The graffiti was a nude woman in a seductive pose.


    "What an art!" he eximed softly as he gazed from bottom to top. When he reached the upper area, he saw a hooded figure squatting at the roof of the container. He stepped back in rm and got hit by something on the back of his head, followed by rough hands that suddenly covered his mouth.


    "I heard you way too many times already," Captain Rodriguez curtly replied as he led the group. Lieutenant Cedric strictly followed behind him and didn''t utter any word. "Listen here. I''m not here because I volunteered, nor I''m killing people because I want too. This is a request from a VIP to eliminate future trouble for the government. Since proofs and facts were given, I can''t ignore this and I will take action. Either you help us or you''ll have to face charges once I report this to the higher-ups. You would be investigated and I would stand witness as a witness. Do you understand?"


    "Yes," replied Lieutenant Cedric dispiritedly.


    Captain Rodriguez felt his answer unsatisfying and turned around. "I said do you understand? We''re in a martialw right now, so as the  where are your guys?"


    "The country''s actually in martialw? Does that mean the president is safe?" Lieutenant Cedric felt that if the president was safe, the country could rise up once again! But then he felt puzzled as to why this man would ask about his officers. With a bemused expression on his face, he slowly turned around, "Of course, they''re right beside me..."


    Lieutenant Cedric became bewildered at the situation. He was now staring at thin air instead of his officers. It suddenly dawned upon him that they''re being picked one by one. He pulled his pistol from its holster and scanned the area.


    "Why are we going around this area?" said Lieutenant Cedric perturbed about their current situation. On the next storage container was ''16+'' spray-painted onto its walls.


    "What do you mean? I''m strategically searching for those people."


    "What are you talking about? Just exin it to me."


    Captain Rodriguez felt that this officer was acting mysterious but still exined himself.


    "Well, I''ve been following my instinct and walking around. But no matter how fast I walked, I couldn''t find anyone!" Captain Rodriguez poured his dissatisfaction out towards him. When he exhaled and rxed, he felt something sharp swiped on his throat.


    He scratched it and felt sticky liquid cover his hand. He tried speaking but blood spurts out from the wound. He slowly lost vision but managed to see the frightened expression of the Lieutenant in front of him. The Captain''s body fell forward with blood flowing out of his neck.


    Adrian stared at Lieutenant Cedric and calmly shuffled the dagger between his fingers. The two stared at each other before Lieutenant Cedric finally gained the courage to speak. He doesn''t know if Adrian was alone, but there''s one thing he knew if he fought back death. There''s also a chance that could die simply because the kid decided to, but he clung to the hope that he wouldn''t. Based on his interactions and observations, Adrian a loyal and logical person. He would think ahead of everyone while strictly following already set rules.


    "Please understand that I''m forced to do this." Lieutenant Cedric exined pleadingly as he took a step back. He noticed that Adrian was staring at his pistol, so he quickly holstered it. Right after, he raised both of his hands and plead innocence.


    Adrian stared at him, then knelt down when a blue box appeared over the Captain''s body.


    Adrian murmured, "Rations, ammunition, guns," he stood up, and said, "It''s a jackpot. I guess ranks really are important."


    Lieutenant Cedric quickly nodded but felt that the teenager wasn''t talking to him.


    At the same time, he heard dragging noises behind him. When he turned around to look, he saw two bodies being dragged by someone. As the figure came nearer, he finally saw a familiar face staring at him. Jun Reyes, the head of the strongest armed forces in the town.


    "I told you," Jun replied nonchntly as he effortlessly threw the bodies at Lieutenant Cedric''s feet. "The leader always has good stuff."


    Adrian''s eyes showed a slight glint as he softly chuckled, "Hoo~ is that true?"


    "Wanna find out? I can open my storage for you." Jun replied teasingly. He doesn''t know if he could do that, but he just wanted to tease Adrian since its been days since he tried stealing from him.


    Adrian snorted and shook his head. "Forget it. I''ll just raise my skill levels and do it on my own! Just you wait."


    "Okay, if that''s what you want."


    All this time, Lieutenant Cedric only listened to them and didn''t move. After seeing that the two seemed cool, he knelt down and checked whether his officers were dead or alive.


    Just before his hands reached their nose, something sharp poked his back. An electrifying feeling traveled on his body and raised his body hair.


    He closed his eyes and waited for death toe.


    But it didn''t.


    "Who do you work for?" said Jun from behind as he pointed a short sword on Lieutenant Cedric''s back.


    "I work under you..."


    "But you''re on their side now?"


    "No! I was forced to lead them! Do you know the mayor''s son? That brat, Henry? His uncle''s someone from the top..."


    "Does that mean you know things?"


    "I don''t understand... What do you mean?"


    Jun got closer and whispered to his ears. "Did they tell you things? Their n, the mastermind, and where I can find them, do you know?"


    Lieutenant Cedric gulped hard as sweat formed on his back. "I know."


    After answering Jun''s question, he felt the object poking his back disappear. He then heard Jun saying: "That''s probably the only reason why you''re still alive."


    Jun and Adrian heard everything that they were talking about. They were already following the group the moment that they entered the storage containers area. Jun utilized his ability to see names to predict where they were going and evade detection.


    At the same time, Lieutenant Cedric noticed his two officers squirming. When he stared at them carefully, he noticed that their chests were heaving up and down.


    The reason for Captain Rodriguez circling around the area was because Jun and Adrian were both waiting and tailing them at the same time. Adrian would sometimes climb the roof and use his light footedness and stealth while Jun stayed on the ground. The twomunicated through the wireless earphones and only talked when other people were talking.


    Jun suddenly said, "They''re good people, and that''s why they''re still alive."

 Chapter 143: Inside the Mine

    Chapter 143: Inside the Mine


    As the sky darkened further, the campsite was filled with a chilly feeling of destion. There was nobody to bury since Adrian absorbed the soldier''s body.


    Adrian sat down to recover energy while Jun watched the entrance of the mines, waiting for someone.


    Earlier, ady asked for help right after running out of the mines. He didn''t know whether to believe her and then suddenly, Edward informed them that a group of soldiers wasing up from the hill. He became alert and more suspicious of thedy. To make sure that she isn''t an enemy, he told her that they would only help if she finds aplete map of the mines. Jun doesn''t care whether what she ims was real; her father being trapped and needs help, or whether she was an enemy in disguise.


    If she gives him a map of the mines, he would absolutely help her once he verified its value. Gaining ess to the mines was one of the reasons he agreed toe here. He used the excuse to help people but he still had other priorities. People always have a side trip inside their main tripwhether nned or not. That''s just how humans are.


    After his demands, he was expecting her to sneak towards the main office since files regarding the map should be stored there. However, she defied logic and ran back into the mines, which actually saved her life. If she chose to go towards the main office, she would then encounter the army and might be mistaken as one of the enemies. She could be taken in as hostage or get killed right of the bat.


    Edward showed up on the distance holding an electricmplight. She could be seen following behind him. Further behind was Nik, who supported Bartolome, and the four remaining death ves.


    Edward arrived in a few seconds, delight apparent on his face. He decided to lead everyone here despite not knowing the situation here. The only thing that he knew wasthat if their group could handle those people, it was guaranteed that Jun and Adrian could do so as well.


    "I''m really happy that everyone''s safe,"Edward rejoiced as he stood beside Jun. He noticed the people on the ground and shone some light on them. Everybody from his group felt shocked since they recognize those people!


    Nik felt anger rising inside him as he stared at Lieutenant Cedric and his officers. He was somewhat close with the Lieutenant since Jun always used him as his messenger whenever he has an order for the police force. And the Lieutenant would oftene to him whenever he wants to say something important to Jun.


    "You''re a part of this?" Nik ground his teeth as he red at Lieutenant Cedric. It was a question that wasn''t really a question. Nik knew full well as to why would the man be here, but his mind was trying to deny it.


    Lieutenant Cedric looked at him, then said while lowering his head: "I was forced too..."


    At the same time, Jun ran when he saw the suspiciousdy running on the entrance of the mine. She was being chased by a dozen pairs of red eyes. On her hand was a piece of long metal rod that she probably picked up for self-defense. Jun quickly rescued her and dealt with the closest rats that continued following her. As he was fighting off thoserge rats, a sh of light came from behind the group and ten new rats appeared.


    Jun was surprised with the increase but calmly sent them away with one strike on their bodies. Every time he hits one, it would fly away and die. Its body would then disintegrate into glittering stardust.


    If it was the first time he saw a body disappear without being looted, he would be shocked, but it wasn''t.He calmly led the woman outside. After they got out of the main entrance, he noticed that no rats followed just like from the cemetery.


    "Are you okay?" said Jun.


    "I don''t know..." she replied while taking huge breaths. Afterward, she stood straight and finally noticed the bunch of people closing on them.


    "The mine is the same as the cemetery. Monsters don''te out and they respawn," said Jun to his people, then he faced Angelica. "If we want to go in, we need to be quick. Your "father" would be overrun if we keep on dallying."


    Hearing his advise, Angelica raised her hand and a ck vortex, which signifies whether a person has ess to the system, appeared.


    "You already leveled up?" said Jun, a bit surprised.


    "Is it that obvious?" Angelica replied. She pulled something out from the vortex and spread it on the ground. It was the mine''s map.


    "My father and I were power-leveling here for thest few weeks. There are three floors and we just cleared the second floor yesterday. On the first and seconds floors, there were only groups of them. They might be weak but once you kill one of them, they would be enraged and every nearby rat would run after you. The third floor needs us to use the lift, which would bring us down here. My father is at the Leisure Room, it''s a small crevice expanded into a room."


    "Mines have resting areas?" Jun dumbfoundedly said.


    Angelica stared at Jun as if he was an idiot. "The third floor was a naturally formed cavern. Why do you think we need a lift to go down?"


    Jun smiled wryly. <em>How would I know that?</em>


    Angelica ignored him and continued her exnation, "The problem was, my father was in the room when hundreds of them found us. I was looking around the area and couldn''t help him. H-he told me to go up as he blocked the opening with furnitures. He''s trapped there and I couldn''t help him!"


    Angelica suddenly started crying while staring at the map. Some of her tears were dropping on the piece of paper, making the wet areas soggy.


    Jun doesn''t care about her story, but he appreciated the extra information about the area.


    As promised, he led everyone down to the mines to help her. Its still not proven whether she was lying or not, but at this moment, there was no reason for her to do so. Atleast Jun couldn''t think of one.


    They traveled in two rows to keep the line short and utilize the wide space of the mines. The ceilings were high and were well supported by columns. The mine was like a maze as the routes increased the further they went inside. It was only thanks to the map that they weren''t lost.


    Along the way, they fought withrge rats and gained some experience points. The further they went in, they noticed some unique patch of stones and gemstones on the walls and ceilings of the mineshaft. The patches of stones have ck color while the gemstones had a purple color.


    "What are these?" said Edward as he admired the weird patch of stones. She on the other hand stared at the purple gemstones.


    "The purple gem is called Papaingite. Father said it can rx one''s mind if you grind it into dust. He also tried mining those patch of ck stones but couldn''t even nick it. It''s too tough."


    The group reached the end of the first floor ording to the map. It couldn''t really be called a floor but more likelyyers of the mine. A slope appeared on the end of the route and they had no choice but to go down.


    The slope wasn''t that inclined, but for safety reasons, handrails were ced on the walls. They traveled downwards and arrived at the secondyer of the mine. Compared to the firstyer, the secondyer of the mine was slightly


    The area glowed vividly thanks to blue gems etched at the walls. The gems were at least a few meters from each other, clearly illuminating the area. Each one etched on the wall with no particr pattern.


    "Father said that these gems weren''t here when they mined this area. This is called Titalerite, it has light properties and is phosphorous. Please don''t try to extract it."


    Following the map, Angelica led everyone forward. Jun was bing skeptical since he hadn''t seen things that he was expecting to see. The main reason as to why he agreed to help. He wanted to scout the area while having an experienced guide. Just as he was feeling anxious, Angelica hurried her footsteps. She practically ran and quickly took the next turn.


    Everyone followed after her and finally saw the lift she was talking about. The lift was an old modelmonly seen on movies. She opened the gate and entered hurriedly causing the lift to rattle.


    "Aren''t you guysing in?" Angelica asked slightly confused as to why no one was getting on.


    "Is it safe?" Edward couldn''t help but ask.


    "It''s safe! It may be old but that''s one of the reasons you should trust it." replied Angelica.


    "I don''t think that''s how things work..."


    Edward was still mulling it over when Jun rode the lift. She pushed him from the back while calling him a scaredy-cat. When Adrian and She rode the lift, she closed the gate and pressed some buttons.


    "Only five people at a time," Angelica said with a smile. The people left behind felt troubled since they knew nothing about operating old mechanical tools. As if she can read minds, Angelica looked up and shouted as the lift slowly go down. "The buttons are simple, one goes up and one goes down! Easy right?!"

 Chapter 144: Giant Rat

    Chapter 144: Giant Rat


    Unlike its first impression of a rusty old lift, the way down didn''t shake that much and didn''t even produce much noise.


    Suddenly, a strange smell lingered on the lift. Edward slightly raised his arms and sniffed his shirt. Afterwards, he sighed in relief and looked around.


    Unbeknownst to anyone, Angelica''s cheeks blushed beet red. She felt ufortable all of a sudden as she squirmed about on her ce. No one talked as the lift brought them.


    No one really payed attention earlier but the ceiling of the cavern was filled with luminous crystals. The crystals grew like a flower and shone with a lighter shade of blue. The lights they gave off enough radiance to light up the whole cavern.


    "So beautiful," She admired the crystals while holding the lift''s gate. She was thest to board the lift which ced her on the front. Her eyes roamed about and she felt so tiny after realizing the size of the cavern.


    The lift rattled a bit, which caused her to move her face forward. She got a glimpsed of the ground and to her surprise, saw a flowing river. She then heard strange sounds below.


    After looking around, she finally found where the sound wasing from. Dozens of frenziedrge rats were running around.


    Every thing about those rats could be considered normal, except for some physical changes and their size. Their height is about 1-2 feet tall, has ws and a long tail. Two sharp buckteeths protrude from their mouths.


    "Guys, I think we''re in trouble." She said


    With no questions asked, Jun step forward and pushed She to the side.


    They were still atleast 20m in the air and considering the speed of the lift, they would reach the floor within a few seconds. Jun observed the creatures below and noticed that therge rats were only moving randomly as if confused or agitated.


    The reason for therge acting like this was because they weren''t used to the mechanical sound the lift was making. Furthermore, they could feel the vibration the lift was making while it was going down.


    Jun opened the gate even though they haven''t reached the ground. Angelica, who was lectured sternly by her father about safety, grabbed his hand.


    "Are you crazy? That''s dangerous! What if we identally fall down?!"


    Jun looked at her in confusion.


    Then smiled.


    Angelica thought Jun was acting weird when all of a sudden he jumped off the lift.


    There was only a 15m distance between the lift and the ground. With his strengthened body, Jun didn''t even feel the force rebound. He arrogantly strode forward without wielding a weapon assuming that these rats that barely reached his knees were the same ones as the above.


    When Junnded squarely on the floor, it caused a loud sound that echoed further in to the cavern. He looked ahead and couldn''t even see the ends of it. He followed the path and finally met with the erge rats.


    The first rat that jumped on him was pped away and hit the walls of the cavern. It bounced back and fell to the ground before dissipating.


    When the rodents saw one of their kins died in front of them, their eyes turned red as if frenzied. They quickly pounced on Jun in pairs while screeching loudly. Jun deflected most of the rodents that attacked in front, which sent them flying. Unlike the first rat, the seding rats didn''t die with his backhand p and managed to get back up in a much berserk state.


    When things turned awry, Jun quickly pulled out his bonehammer from his dimensional storage and swung it around. He prioritized a low-swing since most of the rodents near him were the ones who lived after his backhand p and were nibbling on his legs.


    After swinging a couple of times, his backup arrived and they cleared the surrounding area.


    "You panicked right?" said Edward with a smirk.


    "I didn''t. Why would I?" replied Jun as he led the way.


    They walked along side the river and was only separated by preventive railings that reached up to their waists. The water was clear and one could see everything underneath it. No fishes though, just small stones with varying colors.


    Angelica came forward and stood beside Jun with her hands behind her back. She nced at him for a few times before finally gaining the courage to say something.


    "Thank you foring down with me," she said blushingly. "I knew you promised that you''ll help me but still, thank you."


    Jun felt that something was weird but decided to ignore it. He also felt bashful and only looked ahead. Having someone thank him genuinely was something he would never get used to.


    Jun kept silent but nodded his head as a sign that he epted her gratitude.


    Everyone chatted as they fought forward. Everyone was rx since the lower leveled individuals were given priority on killing the rats. Although Jun wanted to prioritize himself and take all the experience, everything that happened today made him realize that he can''t do everything alone. Unless he bes so strong that no one would even n against him, he needed everyone''s help and the only way for other''s to be useful was for them to level faster.


    As they were walking, Edward suddenlyughed. "This feels like were inside a dungeon. The only thing missing is a treasure box, traps and a boss monster."


    Someughed at him while others became more serious after considering the possible threats further ahead. Nik peeled his eyes open and looked at every crevice on the walls.


    Nothing really changed to the way Jun walked, but he thought of a few things as he killed arge rodent that dodged the attack of the people ahead.


    <em>Dungeons.</em>.. <em>hmm.</em> he thought. He was thinking of how easy it was to kill these rodents and besides a few scratches on his pants, he didn''t receive any damage at all. He was then reminded of the difference between the cemetery and the mines.


    If their were levels of difficulty to categorize ces, this mine would be considered a beginner or even tutorial area while the cemetery was a mediocre one.


    While it was true that the rats had fewer attack patterns, their size and numbers were proving to be an adversary for other people. It was only Jun who was having a hard time since he was using a blunt weapon. Everyone else including Nik and Adrian had to fight seriously since they used sharp des that lodge deeply into the rats body.


    It was fine if the de gets stuck. The problem was that other rodents were given an opportunity to attack.


    Unlike the cemetery that spawns enemies at 1:1 ratio, the mines respawnrge rats at 1:5 ratio. That means every minute, 55 or lessrge rats spawn in their surrounding. They don''t know what happened to those missing ones but they''re probably respawned at a different ce.


    It wasn''t hard to kill therge rats, but keeping an eye with the respawn timer was proving difficult for some who doesn''t like to do so.


    The flower-like crystals overhead changed into long stctites. Jun couldn''t help but imagine that if an explosion or an earthquake ured those stctites would break and fall on them.


    "We''re near." Angelica uttered anxiously. Her voice was soft and filled with concern.


    Jun focused and looked ahead. The cavern split into two, one on the right and one on the left. They could see lightbulbs on the walls at exact same distance with each other.


    After killing all of the respawned rats, Angelica ran forward and took the left wing. The left wing leads to the Leisure Room where her father was supposed to be trapped.


    Everyone followed after her and saw her standing still on the idle, staring at a 1 meter tall rat.


    "What is that?!" eximed Angelica.


    Jun turned and looked at her in confusion. Angelica noticed Jun''s questioning gaze and exined herself. "I didn''t saw that when I ran away! There were only those slightlyrger ones! Not this one! But it seems that there''s less of them now... does that mean..."


    "Did they ate each other? That''s gross..." She said with disgust on her face.


    "Let''s just deal with it."


    Jun rushed forward with his bonehammer. He channeled energy before unleashing a burst of me as he threw the bonehammer forward.


    The group ofrge rats already noticed them when Angelica decided to ran forward and wasted their element of surprise.


    However, with or without surprising the enemy, Jun would always charge first when he knew that he could deal with enemy. Besides itsrge body, there was nothing else that differed against therge rats. It still had one tail, two ws and two protruding buckteeth.


    The mes on the hammer''s head zed and burned the hairs of nearby rats that it passed through. Before it could hit its targetthe one meter tall ratthe bonehammer was swiped by its ws and bounced of the wall.


    An ear piercing sound echoed as the giant rat screamed in anger. The ferocity in its eyes apparent as it madly charged forward, shoving and smashing the smaller rodents to the side.

 Chapter 145: Killing the Giant Rat (1)

    Chapter 145: Killing the Giant Rat (1)


    Jun didn''t expect that the Giant Rat would block his hammer. He quickly equipped himself with a short sword and channeled energy into it. He wasn''t being careless when he threw the bonehammer, it was him underestimating the enemy since almost nothing change except its size. Does it bing bigger also make it smarter? Then, does it brain increase in size or was it luck or instinct that made it choose to deflect the bonehammer?


    The Giant Rat pounced five meters away and instantly reached in front of Jun. It looked like a frog in mid-air as it spread all of its limbs disregarding defense and openly showing its stomach. Its two arms then shed towards him since he was the closest target.


    Jun tumbled to his right. After recovering, he quickly swung the sword without looking. A weird sound rang out when the sword struck its target. When Jun turned and saw where he hit, he became dumbstruck.


    The hairs on the back of the Giant Rat were protruding like spikes as if they were a hedgehog. The sword was stuck in between the hairs and halted its advance.


    The Giant Rat didn''t appreciate his attack and quickly swipe its ws towards him.


    Jun hurriedly blocked the swipe with his sword, but to his shockthe bone sword shattered and divided itself into three fragments. The upper and middle parts flew away and dropped to the ground while the handle remained on his hands.


    Jun quickly distanced himself and pulled a new sword from his dimensional storage.


    Jun wanted to remind everyone about how strong its ws were when he heard a shout from the side. She shouted, "Watch out!"


    When Jun looked to his right, he saw the Giant Rat''s tail swinging towards him like a whip. He knew he didn''t have the time to react but still tried and raised his sword to attempt to block it.


    All of a sudden, a luster yellow barrier appeared before the tail whipped him. The barrier broke from the strength of tail whip but thanks to it being slowed and dyed Jun was able to dodge it.


    When the barrier broke, Edward felt a slight backsh and his energy was drained an additional amount for its breaking. It wasn''t that Edward was weak or that he doesn''t have enough energy. The tail was only able to prate the shield because he miscalcted the force applied by the tail whip and didn''t allocate enough energy. His conserving of energy caused the barrier to break and drained more energy in return.


    However, even though it was unfortunate, this still helped Jun to dodge and get into safety. Just as Jun was about to rx and look for an opportunity to attack the Giant Rat, he heard screeching noises closing towards him. When he looked from where the noise wasing, he saw his bonehammer lying on the ground being ran over by dozens of rats with frenzied eyes rushing towards him.


    If de weapons doesn''t work, then blunt ones should be able to do so, right? With that thought in mind, Jun charge on the oing rats then shouted, "Stall for a bit! I''ll deal with its little brothers!"


    "We''re already doing that! Just hurry!" yelled Nik as he threw a bonespear into the Giant Rat''s defenseless stomach. The bonespear flew at terrifying speed and struck the Giant Rat''s stomach.


    As if to prove that it has great defense, the bonespear that struck the Giant Rat''s stomach bounced off and it ignored the poking feeling it felt. The Giant Rat focused on Jun and turned around.


    After the bonespear hit the ground, a dagger appeared from thin air followed by hand and a person''s body slowly appeared. "y with me, little rat. He''s not alone here, you know?"


    Adrian stabbed the side of the Giant Rat and felt great resistance as its skin almost bounced off his attack. The failure didn''t stop him from attacking as he quickly channeled energy into the dagger. The tip finally sunk into its skin and caused green blood to seep out from the small wound. When he felt that the dagger sunk deeper, he grasped the dagger in reverse and held it with both hands. He exerted force as he pulled the dagger down and made a huge horizontal cut wound.


    The Giant Rat howled in pain and its eyes ferociously turned to Adrian.


    When he finally got the Giant Rat''s attention, Adrian pushed the dagger deeper and quickly retreated, leaving the dagger stuck on the Giant Rat''s side.


    "Let''s pull it back to somewhere spacious." Adrian said as he regrouped with everyone.


    The Giant Rat ignored Jun and chased after its attacker since it felt threatened for receiving a wound.


    Jun took this time to ughter the<em>slightly smaller</em>rats. A sh with the sword can easily kill therge rats while an empowered punch was able to do so, but with a bit of damage to his health. He trampled over them rather straightforwardly while soaking their damage. Even with all that, his health didn''t even went down by a quarter. This can be attributed to his stats and that he was only being attacked on non-vital areas like hand and legs.


    He picked up the bonehammer and stashed his short sword. On the distance, he could see the entrance to the room where Angelica''s father was supposed to be trapped. It was blockaded by tables, sofa''s and chairs. There''s huge holes on its lower portions enough forrge rats to enter. It seems like some rats were able to squirm they way through.


    All of a sudden, scraping noises could be heard. The blockades were being removed and when only the table remains, a pair of legs appeared on the hole on the table''s lower portion.


    Dominic Sison. One of the pioneer miners of this mine. With his special ess to the mine, he brought his daughter for an out-of-town vacation. His daughter was a botanist and he thought that she would like visiting the mines since it could be considered a part of nature, but things turned out that it wasn''t. She easily got bored of the mines and requested for them to go home.


    The vacation was a failure and not only did he gain his daughter''s displeasure, but terrible things also happened one after another. Something change with the world and they were stuck at the campsite. Thankfully, the army stationed here to guard the mines were able to defend the ce from the initial outbreak. There were at least ten soldiers at that time and a few clerks, but people have families to worry and most of them left. They requested the military to escort them and half of the army were sent out. Though his daughter suggested that they join the group, he decided to stay and wait for things to calm down. Days and weeks passed, no one came back.


    With the army defending the area, there was nothing for them to do nor anywhere to go to. Besides wandering around the forest, which is the only thing his daughter liked, there was nothing else to do. That''s the time when he suggested for the two of them to explore the mines. With nothing else to do, his daughter agreed.


    The first time they encountered therge rats was when they were at least a few meters from the entrance, due to him exining hazards and safety regtions to his daughter.


    Therge rats respawned and immediately surrounded them. He picked up the nearest thing near to defend his daughter. A worn rusty metal pipe.


    With numerousrge rats surrounding them, he was already thinking of sacrifing his own life so his daughter could live but to his surprise, after fighting with no regards to his life, he stood alone with his daughter supporting his back. There was nothing around them as if everything was a dream. They went out and told the army about what happened. The army investigated but didn''t see any rats around the entrance. When they entered and searched around, therge rats respawned in great numbers. Though the army easily killed therge rats, it caused them a bit of ammunition to do so. Although they receive experience for killing therge rats, they stayed away from the mines.


    When Dominic recovered, to his surprise that only took a few days, he went back to the mine and foughtrge rats alone until he becamefortable to protect his daughter. He learned the good things about leveling up and so he brought his daughter to level up.


    They spent days in front of the mines leveling while the army was busy looting for supplies at the base of the town. It could be seen that they were not contributing but the army still chose to ration foods to them, but never called for them to join scavenging since the army thought that an old man and a woman would do no help to them.


    After a week of fighting, they became confident and ventured further in to the mines. They discovered the changes from their first timeing in and immediately became enchanted with the ce. Though a botanist doesn''t deal with ores and stones, his daughter became interested with the unique things she was seeing.


    When they easily reached the third floor, they started to rx since everything was killed by them in one hit. They walked along beside the river and appreciated the glittering crystals above. When they reached the end, he went to the Leisure Room and reminisced about his times here.


    All of a sudden, he heard his daughter shouting for him to be careful. Before he could react and get out, he already saw the swarm ofrge rats filling the corridor. He told his daughter to get out and not to worry about him.


    This led to his current situation trapped inside the Leisure Room. He quickly barricaded the room and waited for his doom.

 Chapter 146: Killing the Giant Rat (2)

    Chapter 146: Killing the Giant Rat (2)


    "Watch the tail!" She shouted as he watched the Giant Rat tilt to the side. They have already exchange a few shes with the Giant Rat and its attack patterns were bing known to everyone.


    After an overarching swipe of its ws, its body would tilt to the side. Using its turning momentum , it would then sweep the floor with its tail.


    Adrian together with Edward, Nik, Huwan and Gani, surrounded the Giant Rat. Huwan and Gani, together with Datu and Jejomar were the four remaining death ves besides Nik and Bartolome.


    The five people that surrounded the Giant Rat would alternate on hitting depending on who it was facing against. The ones who directly faces the Giant Rat would focus on defense while the people at the sides would strike. Since they formed a pentagon formation, they could attack all sides with enough space for everyone to move around.


    The people at the back would sh at its tails while the people at the side would strike near the armpit.


    She and Angelica stood far behind too not cause trouble for the others. She was the leader in charge of clearing therge rats that respawn. Datu and Jejomar are reserve substitutes incase someone got injured and is helping with clearing the respawned rats.


    Bartolome could only watch the fighting as he sat cross leg and tried to hasten his recovery by focusing his energy on his back wounds. Though he doesn''t know if it wasreally working, the itching on his back is somehow giving him hope.


    Huwan was a delivery guy. He had short hair and a round face. He had a thin physique which contrasted with his round face. Nothing really stands out from him except that he looks like a good man. When he leveled up, he got skills rted to his line of work, Dash and Focus. Both skills were utility abilities that only empowers his raw strength. He uses Dash to easily evade the attack of the Giant Rat while Focus helps him get a sure-hit strike on the Giant Rat. All he had to do was to stare at a certain area then blink. He would then see a mark on the area and every time he swings his hand, it would be guided directly to that mark. There''s a major w with the skill though, if he can''t see the mark, his action would be interrupted and had to manually do it.


    Afterwards, he jumped to dodge the tail sweep of the Giant Rat. It switched targets and faced Gani, a former construction worker. Gani pped the ws of the Giant Rat away. He wasn''t hurt thanks to energy covering the back of his hand and the skill applied to it, Safety First. This skill allows him to provide protection for a certain body part for a long time. The skill drains small amount of energy continously and when the protected area was hit.


    Having its ws pped away, the Giant Rat brought its other arm towards Gani. He reacted quickly and used his other skill, Toughen. His whole body emitted a green aura before the ws struck him.


    The Giant Rat''s ws struck his side sessfully but caused no damage. He didn''t even budge from his spot while the ws hit him. Toughen makes him more resilient and improves his defense by 100% for the next attack. It''s pros could be seen from the way he counter-attacked and its cons was its energy consumption and the number of attacks it could block. Nevertheless, being able to block only one attack doesn''t bring down its value.


    After attacking Gani, the Giant Rat felt something heavy from its back. It quickly turned around with its tail sweeping the floor while swiping its arms randomly in the air.


    "Did you miss me? I hope not ''cause I don''t!"


    Jun dashed forward while channeling energy to his bonehammer. After pounding the bonehammer on its back, he knew that the only way to kill this is from the front or sides. The hairs at the back were like hardened te irons with spikes.


    After pounding its back, he retreated to dodge its iling arms and went it once again. The already burning hammer created ck marks every time it pounded the Giant Rat''s stomach. The stench of burning flesh surprised everyone but they bare with it. Jun noticed a lodge dagger on its sides and with a full swing, he nailed it in.


    The Giant Rat wailed in anguish before spouting out blood. It swiped its ws a few times in defense but everyone easily dodge its attacks. Clearly, the Giant Rat was weakend because it became slower and is already on its final breathe.


    With the battle stabilized, the Giant Rat made its final howl before crashing down.


    Jun leveled up, together with Adrian, Edward, Gani and Huwan. He became happy since he became level 9, one level away before he could open the Level 10 Weapon Crate. Then, after realizing what happened, he became shocked.<em>So it was true... </em>


    Experience sharing. He wondered why others could level up despite not getting thest hit but this idea solves that issue.<em>Does that mean the experience gets divided? Equal division or by contribution... What the heck? Even my thinking bes like someone on a game...</em>


    <em></em>Jun shook his head and chuckled. He was then confused as to why the Giant Rat''s body wasn''t disappearing. He came forward and touched it. After reading its description, he immediately realized the reason why the body didn''t dissipate.


    It was a mine rat! A real mine rat that mutated after the mines be theas Edward called ita dungeon.


    <em>A mutated rat. Wait! Since its not disappearing, that means I can harvest it!</em>


    Jun used a dagger to cut its w as an experiment. After several daggers broke, he finally got one finger off and used it to easily cut the rest of the ws. The arms, the footall the limbs were decapitated. He then stored its whole body and already has ns for it.


    Jun turned around and searched for She. He found her fighting the newly respawned rats together with some people. He looked at his former ves and had various mixed feelings inside him.


    After their unsessful raid on the mall, Jun enved them and didn''t care whether they lived or not. Now that their contracts were gone, he felt awkward even talking to them. The main reason he kept them alive was to have cannon fodder since he found a means to getckeys: thewyer. But now that the contracts were missing, he felt that they would confront him and act problematic.


    However, Jun has been thinking too much. At first, some might have grudges to him after being suddenly being enved but after realizing that they were bing stronger and stronger, the way they viewed Jun became positive and in a much better light.


    The Giant Rat extermination squad joined with sweeping the area ofrge rats. Jun took his chance and made his way to She.


    Jun tapped her shoulders and pointed somewhere, "There''s an old man there. He needs treatment. He got rat bites. I also think he has a fever because he''s burning hot."


    Angelica who was clearing therge rats next to She heard Jun, her eyes widened and quickly ran past them. She followed right after.


    "Dad?" said Angelica as she knelt beside his father. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him awake.


    Dominic Sison slightly opened his eyes and saw his daughter in front of him. A smile appeared on his face before he lost consciousness again.


    "Dad!" Angelica shouted in panic.


    She arrived and knelt down next to her. Her hands automatically reached for the forehead.


    "Is my father okay? C-can I do anything? Is there anything you need help with?" Angelica worriedly asked.


    She handed her a pack of antibiotics and a few pieces of amoxicillin. Afterwards, she used cure and heal seedingly before standing up.


    "Give him the antibiotics after he wakes up. You can apply theamoxicillin to his wounds right now but its best if you clean it first. I can do it for you but I have no soap with me."


    A water appeared on She''s hand. Angelica stared at it for a second before taking it. Though it was best if she cleaned the wounds first, a wash would have to do for now.


    As Angelica started first aid on her father, the group rxed and loitered around. Some went to the Leisure to see how it looked like. A spacious room that has tables, chairs and beds. The interested people felt cheated and walked out disappointedly.


    The rest watched the flowing water and appreciated the cavern. The flowing water went under the wall, so they couldn''t really follow it but withmon sense, it should be heading towards the other path.


    Jun was leaning on the wall and was about to email Evo to demand for answers about this "rescue operation" but noticed that there''s already an unread email on his smart watch.


    After reading the email, his heart beat faster and his expression suddenly soured. His eyebrows were like hawks as he gazed at the hologram infront of him.

 Chapter 147: Sudden Goodbye

    Chapter 147: Sudden Goodbye


    Jun stood straight showing a calm demeanor even though he was perplexed deep inside. He chose to ignore the email and focus on the current events. But his subconscious failed him as he suggested for everyone to settle their things so they could leave.


    Adrian looked at him and noticed his expression. "Is there something wrong? Did something happen?"


    Jun didn''t know how to answer his question. Though the email came from Evo, the information wasn''t verified but still poses intriguing contents for him. Everyone appeared uninterested with their conversation as they kept themselves busy but literally everyone was eavesdropping. Any news from outside is kind of interesting during this times.


    Jun took a deep breath before finally deciding to speak. "Marianne''s missing."


    "How? It''s impossible for her to get lost in town..." said Adrian.


    "Did she got abducted?"She chimed in filled with worry. Then, pushed for more information, "What happened?"


    "I don''t really know the details nor the truth, Evo just said that Marianne was missing and thest time someone saw her, she was talking with a stranger." said Jun.


    "So she really got abducted!" eximed She. Her eyes widened in shock, then her eyebrows furrows as she thought of possible things that could happen.


    Jun shook his head in denial of She''s im. "Personally, I don''t think that''s the case. Marianne has a lot of things that could protect her. I can''t think of a reason whyshe would get abducted. I''m more worried that she''s trapped somewhere or in danger. Can you guys take over here? I think were done here, right? I''ll go ahead and look for her."


    As Jun activated the recall process and runes erged itself from his body, Adrian called for him to stop. He canceled the portal recall and looked at Adrian inquiringly. "What is it?"


    Adrian stared at him stoicly and said, "What about them? Are we going to leave them here? Unlike us who can teleport back to town, they haven''t set their home portal and have to travel back by walking or transport."


    "Why are you so sure that they''re going with us? They might have other ns in mind, you know? Don''t forget that they don''t live here and is just on a vacation. They have a ce to go back to. Besides, we never helped people. We just gave them options. Its entirely up to them to decide and we shouldn''t interfere with that."


    Jun chuckled before staring straight at Adrian''s eyes. He seemed like an irritated beast that would jump on anyone who provokes him. He said, "So you''re deciding things on your own now?


    Adrian felt goosebumps as he saw Jun''s slightly frenzied eyes. He retreated a step and lowered his gaze. "It''s not that... I just felt bad for them..."


    Angelica already finished giving first-aid to her father. She was listening on their conversation and knew herself that her father wanted to back home as soon as they can. Though they spent a brief time together, it could only be called taking advantage of each other. Her father was unconscious but she knew that there''s no chance that they would stay here for long.


    "The best that we could do is escort them above," said Jun.


    Angelica stood up at that moment and bowed towards him. "Thank you! That would be enough."


    With that, the men took initiative on carrying Angelica''s father and started walking the way they came from.


    Jun scanned the unexplored corridor and has mixed feelings about not venturing into it. Angelica saw his gaze and exined the next area. Her father said that it leads to another cavern. Before the miners could mine deeper they were forced to shut down the mines. They never got the chance to explore there, but the area was a bit submerge by water and has a stone ind on the middle.


    Jun lost interest and followed the group.


    Once they got outside, She bade her farewell with Angelica. Though the two didn''t spend that much time together, fighting side-by-side can really boost someone''s intimacy with people. It helps people nurture their trust andmunication skills with other people.


    A good thing happened just as they were about to leave. Angelica''s father gained consciousness and thanked everyone for saving them.


    Seeing the father and daughter being genuinely thankful, Jun decided to leave some tips for them. "Look for a vehicle. Choose one that has strong bumpers and could take some damage. Mobility and flexible too. You''ll need that. You can also visit the town if you''re in trouble."


    Everything that Jun came from experience after ramming a lot of things recently. Dominic appreciated his advise and nodded his head. "We will, thank you for the reminder. If things ever returned to normal, I hope we could meet each other again so I could properly thank you."


    Jun nodded his head and started the teleportation process, followed by everyone from his group. Several secondster, their bodies became enveloped with runes and with a bright sh, they disappeared.


    "That''s cool." said Dominic not surprised at the massive disappearance that happened in front of him. "Okay, now, if I remember correctly, there should be another military truck on the parking lot, right? That totally fits his advise, so let''s go get that."


    "I kinda like our old car though."


    Angelica pouted as her father ignored her and started walking.


    The sun just set and the sky is slowly turning dark. A man could be seen walking calmly towards a ck sedan.It was a man in his early twenties and wore luxurious clothing all over his body.


    "What took you so long?" said the driver in casual wear. He had a tanned skin and wore a ck cap that hid his eyes. He started the car after the person he was talking to have taken a seat.


    "Sorry about that. I just can''t help myself but leave some gifts to a friend." said the man as he looked outside. Some barrels were being lit up and refueled by wood and he watched the flickering distant lights.


    "What is this? Now I look like I''m a butler." the man said then clicked his tongue.


    On the passenger seat of the ck sedan, a man and a woman were sitting on both ends without looking at each other. Both people were looking outside their respective windows without care.


    It was Henry and Marianne.


    Henry took a nce at Marianne, then continued looking outside. After a while, he suddenly said, "Nice to see you again. It''s been a long time, right?"


    Marianne ignored him and continued looking outside. Though there were no carriers on the vicinity, some dogs and cats could be seen loitering around. Most of them have abnormal sizes while others retained their normal sizes.


    When Marianne ignored him, Henry didn''t took it to heart and kept to his side of the car. He didn''t try to get close and maintained the distance between them. In between them was enough space for another person to take a seat.


    The sedan finally drove out followed by another car driven by Henry''s bodyguard.


    The za quickly brigthened up with Jun''s groups arrival. Everyone was already taught on how to use the portal, they just have to repair it every time they use it. There were even some volunteers since they don''t really go out and could recover their energy in peace.


    Every time theye back after a trip, the people would always warmly wee them back. But this time something was different.


    When the people saw that it was Jun''s group, they looked at him as if he was a criminal. The people gathered and a few people who seemed to be public figures stepped forward.


    A woman gazed straight at him and said, "Did you order for the assasination of the mayor?" Her tone was amiable but her question already hinted that she''s not here to have some friendly chats.


    Jun stared back and didn''t look away until she couldn''t take the invisible pressure Jun was giving up, and looked away. Then, Jun took this chance to look around and analyze the situation. Based solely on everyone''s expression something has really gone wrong while he was missing.


    Jun stared at the woman and waited for her to look at him before he answered. He said, "I didn''t." Having already answered her question, Jun walked forward but was blocked by the woman''s guards.


    "I think I haven''t introduced myself." said the woman slightly arrogant. "My name''sMarichu Hill, Frontier''s secretary. We''re here today because we want to rify some things. Things that are a bit... difficult to ept."


    "I can''t do this now, I have to do something." replied Jun as he pushed his way through.


    Just as he stepped forward, several of Marichu''s guard readied their weapons. Most of them held short swords while the ones on the back held bonespears.


    Jun red at them frenziedly and these people couldn''t help but gasped at the pressure they were receiving. They managed to stay still but if Jun showed any signs of resistance, they would be forced to take action.

 Chapter 148: The Frontier

    Chapter 148: The Frontier


    Jun turned around and walked towards Marichu Hill.


    Even though he could brute force his way through their blockade, he knew that it would only cause further trouble and misunderstanding. Don''t be mistaken, Jun was never afraid of trouble. If anyone wanted to fight he would dly hand it to them.


    Marichu Hill red at Jun when he brushed her off but now that he''sing back, she became a bit distracted.


    Jun stopped a few meters in front of her.


    "What do you want? Be quick." Jun said


    Marichuposed herself and pushed her chest forward. "We received reliable information about you. Although you didn''t assassinate the mayor, it was done by people under you. Also, you enved innocent people and used them for your personal interests."


    "This is a waste of time," Jun said, "Do you have proof?"


    Marichu remained silent for a few seconds before she replied back. "Yes we have. Its a reliable information."


    "Then show it." Jun replied.


    Marichu hesitated but decided that it''s a must. She turned around and looked around. Her eyes looked for someone, then locked on a particr person. The man was hiding behind some people she doesn''t recognize.


    Marichu waved her hand and called for the person to step forward. "Lieutenant Cedric, pleasee here. Once and for all, let''s prove that this man isn''t what he seems to be." She looked around the people and passionately expressed herself. "This man isn''t a hero!"


    Jun looked towards Lieutenant Cedric who was hiding behind Adrian''s group. When Adrian heard that the woman imed to have evidence of the mayor''s killing and very, a somewhat strange feeling arose from him. When he killed the mayor, the only people in the room were police officers. Afterwards, the police helped guarding the station jail and even brought criminals in to be enved.


    Adrian turned towards Lieutenant Cedric. A sour look appeard on his face as he whispered, "He''ll kill you."


    Adrian was trying to be sarcastic but Lieutenant Cedric took his words as a threat. With determination, he stepped forward and stood behind Marichu. He pointed towards Jun and shouted for everyone to here: "He truly enved people! Do you know why you''re not allowed to visit your love ones on the jail? Its because there''s no one in jail!"


    Lieutenant Cedric turned around and strode towards the masked men on the group.


    Nik, who was the spiritual leader of the masked men, wanted to confront Lieutenant Cedric but he saw Jun shook his head. Though a bit confused, he backed off and let the lieutenante closer.


    "This people are the proof." said Lieutenant Cedric. Afterwards, he slowly raised his hand to remove the mask. He wasn''t sure whether these people would let him take it off, so he was doing it slowly and carefully. He thought they would surely stop him but to his joy, they didn''t.


    It was all thanks to the fact that everyone saw Jun shook his head. Though they don''t know what he was thinking, everyone unanimously epted his decision.


    Lieutenant Cedric removed their mask one at a time, revealing their faces. "This people were prisoners turned ves! Everyone, look at them! Is there any rtives here? Anyone who recognizes these people?" He looked around as he waited but no one spoke up.


    Why were Nik''s group imprisoned and enved? Because they have no other choice but to do the mayor''s dirty work! Those people who joined the raid were the lone desperate people, who doesn''t socialize well with others. Even if they were able to warmp up with some people, they would be forgotten and thought dead after disappearing for a long time.


    Seeing that no one was stepping forward, Lieutenant Cedric was about to speak again but Jun interruped him before he could rile up the crowd. He stared at Nik and said, "Are you a prisoner?"


    Nik stared at Jun''s eyes trying to figure out what he wanted. Several secondster, a smile sprouted from his lips, then he said, "No. As a matter of fact, I''m sponging off you. My father and mother died during the initial outbreak. I survived together with my sister but was unfortunate to not have the strength to fend for ourselves. I thought the mayor would be my salvation but he wasn''t. The food were rationed inappropriately and we were left to starve. That''s the time when I took a gamble and applied at ck Haven to be a scavenger. After a few days of scavenging, I was promoted as a guard and I''m currently the leader of the elite squad."


    Nik turned to Lieutenant Cedric, "I''m just an older brother to my little sister.Please don''t call me a prisoner when I''m obviously not."


    With Nik''s confession as the start, his squad member''s passionately recounted their stories while expressing their good will to Jun for epting them.


    "You, you guys!" Lieutenant Cedric''s eyes widened.


    "I don''t know why you''re trying to use me, but I can''t just keep standing still when I''m being bullied right?" Jun raised his hand while pointing his finger towards the sky. A ck vortex appeared and his bonehammer slowly descended from above. The ck vortex only disappeared after he held the bonehammer''s handle.


    Jun brought it down to the ground, causing sparks to fly in the air as the hammer''s head zed with crimson fire. He said, "What do you think?"


    Just as he started teasing Mirachu, several bright lights shed from the statue. Dozens of people appeared after the lights dimmed. A few people quickly ran out and separated the crowd, followed by individuals carrying injured people behind their back.


    A man who seemed to be the leader was rying orders to someone when he noticed therge crowd over the za. He observed the area and saw two familiar faces. He waved his hand as a greeting then walked forward.


    "What are you doing here Chuchu?: the man said as he stoof beside Marichu.


    "Please stop calling me that. I''m not a dog." Marichu replied.


    "Come here, Chuchu~"


    Marichu rolled her eyes and ignored him. Finally having enough fun for himself, the man stopped and turned to Jun. "Seeing the way you look at me, you have probably already forgot about me. I''m Alday Ruan, one of the people you rescued on a secluded farm. Is your dog still okay? After scavenging around, I wasn''t able to encounter a pure dog. Most of the dog''s I met were already mutated, so it was interesting how your dog was able to remain pure."


    Jun entertained him a bit and said, "Takaw is a picky eater, a spoiled dog."


    Alday thought hard what Jun was implying and when he realized what he meant, he nodded his head. "I see. Being a picky eater actually became a blessing for your dog. Never mind that," Alday turned to Marichu and said, "What''s going on here?"


    Marichu became troubled as to whether she should answer or not. But when Alday called her real name she knew that he was serious and would not stop.


    "I''m just doing something... You know... that discussion yesterday. I received a tip today from someone that that old man knows things and he would help! But he''s totally useless."


    Alday thought back to what was the topic for yesterday''s meeting. When he remembered the topic, he couldn''t help but frown. He turned to Jun and made a sincere bow. "I apologize for whatever my subordinate did. As the founder and leader of the Frontier, I should have watched my words when speaking since it could affect how the people around me think."


    "Leader!" the Frontier guards that were blockading Jun were shocked.


    Mirachu quickly whispered to Alday, "What are you doing!?"


    "Apologizing." replied Alday casually. Mirachu was fuming as she stared not able to believe what he just said.


    As to everyone''s surprise, the ck vortex reappeared and Jun stashed his bonehammer. "That''s alright. I think it''s just a misunderstanding. And you''re wrong  I recognize you. You remember my dog Takaw?He''s a snobbish one. Seeing that he opened up to you made me remember you. How''s your wife? There''s also a woman with two daughter''s right? How is she?"


    "See, he''s a reasonable person." Alday said to Mirachu. "My wife''s doing okay, she''s been staying home after we almost got ughtered by a D2. She''s spending her time with Germina, learning how to cook. If I remember correctly, they wanted to setup a restaurant." Alday chuckled. "A restaurant."


    Everyone calmed down and felt that things were going well when Jun suddenly cut him off. He said, "So, what''s the thing that you''re talking about yesterday? In your meeting."


    Alday''s face slowly turned from a smiling one to a stoic one. He scratched the back of his head and said, "I don''t know how to say it, so I''ll just be blunt about it. I don''t want you as mayor."


    Adrian, Nik and the rest of the group frowned after hearing what the man said. True to what he said, it was straightforward and blunt.


    Adrian slowly hid his hand behind his back while Nik put pressure on his toes, ready to dash forward at anytime.[ol][li data-annotation-id="ce42785a-0d91-17cf-4dd1-1af3c3af2e80"]chuchu is the sound when you calls a dog toe to you[/ol]

 Chapter 149: A Night of Sorrow

    Chapter 149: A Night of Sorrow


    Alday stared directly at Jun''s eyes not blinking even once. Mirachu stood frozen beside him not knowing what to do. She was nning to slowly influence the people to think that Jun was an evil person. At that time, she could easily sway the popce to help her impeach Jun from his position.


    But now that Alday decided to confront Jun directly, she has no control to whatever the oue would be. She anxiously looked around and even saw some of the people frowning at the situation.


    Though Jun wasn''t actively helping the people be stronger, his actions of clearing medium torge groups of carriers was actually benefitting weaker individuals to safely level up. Though he wasn''t active with themunity, his overall actions helped the people and they were appreciative of it.


    Seeing that their benefactor was being asked toe down from his position, this group of people were unhappy and voiced theirints. Unfortunately, no one besides them rose up to live the moment. And it was for a simple reason.


    Most of the people here in the za were members of the Frontier. Since Marichu nned to expose Jun after receiving the tip from Henry, she organized most of the avable members toe and help her execute her n. The guards that were blocking the path was only a fraction of the Frontier''smember gathered here. It could even be said that besides the weak group of supporter, Jun only had his group while being surrounded by a potential enemy. If things really went awry, a lot of casualties would ur.


    Upon hearing Alday''s request, Jun smiled and said. "Okay. Is that all? I''m in a hurry, so if there''s nothing else I''m leaving."


    "That''s all, thank you." Alday replied and slightly bowed.


    Jun looked at him, then nodded his head. He turned around and started walking. Those Frontier guards hesitated whether to let him go, but Jun just brushed past them. He only exerted enough force to push them aside, then ignored them.


    Seeing Jun''s attitude about the matter, Adrian and Nik calmed down. They both started walking followed by their group members.


    "Are we letting them go?" Marichu whispered to Alday, which made the man re at her.


    Alday furiously said, "Let them go? You! Do you even know who you''re dealing with! We''re the one let off easily. Do you believe he could have killed all of you?" Alday calmed himself since they were still in public. He red once more and said softly, "This is not the end of this. We''ll talk about this at the meetingter."


    Marichu lowered her head and knew that she messed up. The next time she would do it wlessly and would try her best not to be caught. She stared at Jun''s back on the distance and cursed him a few times in her head. To be honest, she doesn''t even understand what Alday meant when he said that they were let off easily. She doesn''t believe that Jun could have killed them all since there''s so many of them.


    There''s many reasons why Alday was respectful and fearful of Jun. Alday and his group were rescued and brought to safety. He felt eternally gratitude towards Jun for having a second chance for him and his wife. On the course of bringing them back were they encountered evolved carriers, that''s the only time when he saw how strong Jun was and where he learned how to fight evolved carriers. He wasn''t scared because Jun was strong. He was troubled because Jun was fearless in the face of danger. As if... as if he was born for this world.


    "Marianne, can you hear me? Are you lost? That''s impossible, right? You''ve already lived here for a few years, so that''s impossible to happen. Can you say something? At least a clue? Are you angry? I promise I''ll spend more time with you... so, can you speak to me please?"


    Jun stopped running as he catches his breath. He had already run four times around the western and eastern residential area. If she was held hostage, they would have to be somewhere around, since they would be out of the cleared zones if they went out further.


    Jun''s chest heaved up and down while he held his knees. This is the only time he took a break after running around causing the umted fatigue to force him down. He exhaled and inhaled a few more times before talking on the wireless earphone.


    "Can you hear me now? I think the reception''s good here." Jun stepped a few times to the side, thinking that a few steps might make him lucky, but to his disappointment, no reply came.


    "Come back, it''s already dark, and it''s dangerous to be outside."


    When Jun heard a female voicee from the wireless earphone, he became excited only to be dismayed. It was She who asked him to go back.


    "That''s why I need to find her."


    Jun crumpled the piece of paper he was holding and threw it to the side. It fell somewhere on the roadside and rolled a few times.


    The mall''s living room gathered all of the members of the group. Nik and his squad stayed on the first floor to stand guard while Evo was drinking liquor alone in his office.


    Everyone could hear Jun''s yell through their wireless earphones and couldn''t help but feel pity for him. She was about to reply but Adrian shook his head.


    When Jun came back, he immediately called Tatang Robin to ask whether he saw Marianne on the security camera. After a while, Tatang Robin said that thest time she saw Marianne was when she went to their room and left the mall. When Jun ran to his room, he found a note ced on top of the bed.


    <em>Don''t look for</em> me, it said. Marianne wasn''t missing like what Evo said. She left.


    Jun didn''t believe it even though he knew and recognized that it was Marianne''s handwriting. He felt sullen and empty all of a sudden. When he lost his family and became alone, he thought that it would be thest time that his heart would ache. But apparently, it wasn''t.


    Though he doesn''t know why she suddenly left, he knew for a fact that there was a reason behind it. But still, he grieved. His heart ached and couldn''t ept it. He gained something and lost it once again. And like the other times, he wasn''t able to do anything.


    The people in the living room didn''t know what to do. Jun shared the letter with them and, just like him, couldn''t believe it. They helped him for a few hours until it became really dark that the stars aren''t enough as a source of light. Though Marianne only joined them for a short time, everyone already became family with her. And for whatever reason she left, she would still be their family.


    She was troubled for not being able to do anything when someone suddenly spoke.


    It was from Adrian.


    He stood up and looked at everyone. "Should we look for a few more hours? We probably can''t sleep anyway. Let''s bring some shlights and snacks."


    Everyone voiced their agreements and headed out together.


    Jun arrived back near the za. It was already his 6th time running around, and he himself knew that she''s not here. It''s just that he''s scared of stopping, even though it was the thing she wanted.


    At this moment, he felt his legs go soft and he stumbled down. He was running at full speed and went almost everywhere, on every corner of the residential areas. Although the western and eastern residential areas were small and are only 1km from end to end, that was measured when measuring a straight line.


    But the residential areas weren''t straight lines!


    Jun took turns, climbed slopes, and even ran full speed downhill. He circled the whole town six times at full speed while talking incessantly on the wireless earphone! It''s no wonder he flopped down.


    As hey on the road, he saw the clouds drifting in the sky, slowly blocking the starry sky. Jun chuckled softly. He felt like even the heavens were denying him a vision of something beautiful.


    The cold feeling of the asphalt road seeped to his back. He could also feel his sweat mixing itself with the dust umted by the road. He wanted to stand up and continue running but his legs weren''t cooperating.


    With no other choice, he forced himself to take a seat. "One, two, three! Huupp. Ah~"


    "Are you okay?"


    Jun became startled and quickly looked around. A scantilly dressed woman was worriedly looking at him from the sidewalk.


    "I''m fine." Jun curtly replied.


    Since Jun was lying down earlier, the woman didn''t see his face when she approached him. Now that she saw his face clearly, thanks to the numerous sources of light over at the za, she immediately backed off not wanting to have anything to do with Jun.


    Although Jun only briefly saw her face, he was immediately reminded of that weirddy who sneaked behind himst time. Jun felt worried for himself.


    <em>Is she a stalker?</em>

 Chapter 150: Drink The Night Away

    Chapter 150: Drink The Night Away


    Rows of tables and chairs were ced at the za square for people to sit down. For most of the people here, tonight is the night to have fun!


    The clouds on the sky continued drifting finally giving moonlight to those below.


    The people at the za appreciated the light and started their drinkingpetition.


    A beautiful woman wearing a ''virgin killer sweater'' approached the tables. Her curves attracted every man''s gaze and her fair skin became the envy of the women present.


    It was Veronica, the host and sponsor of the event. She cheerfuly greeted everyone and settled them down. She exined the rules and the prize tiers before proceeding with the event.


    "Can I go train now?" said Nik impatiently.


    "Stop doing that. You need to rx too." said Bartolome.


    The two of them came out to watch the event, but when Nik saw that it was just adults intoxicating themselves with alcohol, he became disinterested.


    Bartolome smiled and said, "Did you see that girl in the red shirt? Ofcourse you did. She''s been staring at you for so long but you didn''t even nced at her! Your acting like a kid! Man up and have some fun!"


    "I''m not interested," said Nik as he turned around. "If were not going to train, we should be helping them look around."


    Before Bartolome could even say anything, Nik started walking, leaving him behind.Bartolome sighed and rolled his eyes. With no other choice, he ran after Nik and walked beside him.


    "It''s a waste though. Trust me when I say this, that girl, that fresh, beautiful lovely woman, she''s into you. If you just talked to her, or even smiled at her, she would have probably came running to you.


    That''s right. Nik and Bartolome weren''t wearing their ck masks anymore. Jun made it clear to them earlier, that they can do whatever they want and leave whenever. But them being used to be around him, stayed and asked if they could work for Jun. He agreed.


    Nothing really changed with how they worked with each other, but now, there''s no way to force them into doing things. While it was true that they have be free, it also meant that they have to provide for themselves. Just like everyone else, they were given sries and benefitsfood, shelter, clothing, everything that the other employees have.


    Though Nik knew Uncle Bartolome meant no harm and most likely was just trying to help him, he''s currently feeling stranged with all the things that are happening. He wasn''t a popr guy nor a handsome one, he even has no talent and was quite an introvert. His fashion sense was garbage and most importantly, he had no confidence. Tha''s how Nik viewed himself in the past and even now. The only time that he changes was when fighting and he doesn''t even know it.


    Bartolome continued pestering him as they walked and when he finally got tired of it, he turned and faced him.


    It just happened that a scantily dressed woman was walking towards them in a hurry. She was looking behind her as if she was running away from something. Due to her not paying attention and the two men infront were having a staring contest of who was right or wron, Nik and the woman collided with each other.


    The woman lost her footing since she was wearing high heels and had to grab Nik''s shoulders to bnce herself. On the other hand, when Nik saw someone unfamiliar grabbed him, he automatically responded by removing the hand and pushing it away. It was an instinctive reaction after fighting carriers everyday on close proximity.


    When Nik pushed the hand that barely caught his shoulder, the woman plunged down to the ground. Her eyes widen in shock as this was the first time, specially a male, shoved her away.


    The woman''s butt bounced softly from the rough road which caused her to curse profanities her heavenly face shouldn''t have. The look on her face was a mix of surprise, pain and anger.


    She woke up from her daze and stared at Nik. "Are you crazy? Do you have no manners at all?"


    Nik frowned and felt that her attitude was inappropriate since she was the one who actually bumped into him. But since he was taught to respect women and the elderly, he just remained silent and stared back.


    "What? Are you mute?" said the woman in displeasure.


    She stared at the two men in front of her and instantly knew that they were losers. Unlike other men, the two wore simply and quite poorly. There''s even a pungent smell on them as if they slept with the dead.


    The woman snapped at the two people dazedly staring at her, "Aren''t you going to help me up?"


    As if he received a new mission, Nik quickly helped her up. He felt the woman pulled him down when she started to get up, so he pulled harder for the woman to get up. But he was too forceful and caused the woman to fly into his embrace.


    Nik smelled a fragrant scenting from her neck and it somehow energized him. Something soft hit his chest and the blissful feeling made his face blush. He became embarrassed and quickly pushed her away. Bartolome who was watching from the side had a teasing smile on his face.


    When they separated, the woman had an astonished expression on her face. She nced at Nik, then slowly walked away. Earlier, she tried pulling Nik down to embarrass him but she was lifted instead. Nik basically pulled her up with a single pull. She was weighing herself and even pulled him but she still lost in the end. She walked away confused and would sometimes look back to Nik.


    "Oh-hoh~ Looks like someone isn''t being honest with himself." Bartolome teased.


    "I don''t understand what you mean."


    Bartolome smirked then shouted towards the woman. "Little Lass, what''s your name?"


    The woman just yelled back without even turning her head. "I''m only interested in those who have money. I don''t see you being rich, so goodbye old man!"


    Upon hearing her response, Bartolome frowned then shook his head.


    He turned to Nik with a bit of disappointment, "So that''s your type? You better stay away from women like that. They''ll suck you dry before you know it. Listen from me, I''ve got the experience."


    Nik replied, "Is that something to brag? And she''s not my type."


    Bartolome didn''t reply and just smiled.


    Just then, a familiar voice came from behind. "What are you guys talking about?"


    Nik and Bartolome were startled and quickly turned around. When they saw that it was Jun, they sighed in relief and rxed. Nik said, "Nothing, a weird woman just passed by..."


    Bartolome interrupted Nik''s awkward attempt to what should be his exnation and said, "There''s a hot chick at the drinking contest but our guy likes the high-end ones."


    Nik nced at him and stopped caring.


    Jun tried to recall what drinking contest Bartolome meant, then he was reminded of Edward''s earlier question of whether he would being to this event. At that time, he said that he had to ask Marianne whether she wanted to but now, he can''t do that anymore.


    He just managed to ease up but barely a few momentster, he was once again reminded that Marianne left. With a stale answer, he asked for Nik to get his card out then transferred 10,000 CP to him.


    "Give it to the host, tell them to add that to prize list."


    Jun was already nning to sponsor or atleast add a prize of his own to flex with Marianne but that doesn''t seem possible anymore. After transferring the amount, he left and headed back to the mall.


    Nik and Bartolome looked at each other and had different thoughts in their mind. Nik was thinking that love was a scary thing when Bartolome suddenly said with shimmering eyes, "You could buy her after all."


    Nik turned around in disgust and left the old man to himself. He went towards the host and gave the full amount as additional prize money. He didn''t told the host that it came from ck Haven since Jun didn''t specifically told him to do so. He just said that it was for everyone to have a good time.


    Bartolome shook his head as he watched over Nik. "Sometimes smart, most of the time a fool. That''s better i guess." He saw the woman in in shirt strike a conversation with Nik, so he decided to have fun on his own. He joined the little party behind the rows of table and mixed with the crowd. He moved his old body and followed the rhythm.


    Sometimes, he would nce over Nik like a parent watching over their princess. Heughs every time that he saw Nik acting awkward but finally felt proud when Nik finally calmed down and managed to control the situation.


    Jun smiled at everyone he met and went directly to his room. He slumped down his bed not due to physical exhaustion but mental fatigue. He was out the whole day, fighting for his life and when he safely got home, he learned that his other heart left. He grasped the sheets and rolled around. The sweet fragrance stayed on the bed and he couldn''t help but envoloped himself with it.


    "I love you..." Jun muttered as he sniffed the sheets.


    "That''s creepy," the door made squeaking sounds as someone entered, "...and weird."


    Jun didn''t feel embarrassed since the voice was familiar. He got out of the sheet and sat down. Jun stared at Evo who was standing at the door, holding a bottle of alcohol.


    Evo shook the liquor bottle in the air then said, "I heard you finally came back, so I stopped by."


    Jun felt that Evo was acting weird. Evo wasn''t a good drinker and him being the one who broughtan alcohol bottle meant a lot of things. Basically, he only drinks were there''s a problem that he can''t do anything against.


    "You know something right?" Jun said, then quickly stood up and got out bed. He stood infront of Evo while staring at him. "Tell me."


    Evo stared back and said, "Its Carl."[ol][li data-annotation-id="34bade94-175d-cd6e-4af7-9b8da582f235"]that backless one, or google it[/ol]

 Chapter 151: The Frontiers Officials

    Chapter 151: The Frontier''s Official''s


    Jun and Evo started their drinking session on the spot. They sat on the floor and didn''t care about the outside world. They didn''t talk initially but when Jun got drunk, he started talking trash about people, about society in general. A bunch of idiots he said. Evo was never a good drinker nor a good social person. He just passively nodded his head and gave short replies.


    Bottle after bottles piled up beside Jun making him wasted while Evo stayed clear headed. There''s only one reason he could oust Jun when he wasn''t even a heavy drinker. He cheated.


    After the first bottle, every time that he drinks from his ssa small ck vortex the size of his palm would appear before his mouth. The liquor would fall into it and disappear in thin air. Jun could have easily caught him cheating if he was paying attention to him but he wasn''t. Jun was busy drinking himself to death.


    When Jun woke up the next morning, he felt a splitting headache. He fumbled besides him as he massaged his forehead. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes.


    Jun sat down and looked around, followed by a despondent wry smile. The nkets slowly fell down revealing his muscr body. The well defined arm muscles bode well with his perfectly dense abs. Finally epting the truth that it wasn''t a dream, Jun plunged backwards back into his bed. His eyes appeared nonchnt but his hollow expression gave it all.


    He spent the morning lying on his bed. By noon, he was able to force himself to get up and walked around. On the way out, Takaw saw him and excitedly followed him around. When he passed by the living room, he saw everyone chatting with each other.


    A new batch of survivors just got rescued by the police and is currently the talk of the town. People talked to him when he passed by and he just acknowledge them with a nod of his head. He couldn''t get the hang of this new feeling as everyone stared at you filled with pity. He hated it. Jun left and went back to his room followed by Takaw.


    With nothing else to do, he trained his energy control and further raised his familiarity with his skills. He also experimented with different energy applications that he could do over his body. With past experiences, he easily found some useful ones like applying energy on his eyes for night vision, channel energy to his ears for increased hearing and enegizing his nostrils to amplify his sense of smell.


    Though he got great results from his experiment. he easily felt bored after an hour. Thanks to Old John passing by and suggesting that he should go outside, he thought of an evil n. He ckmailed Old John that he wouldn''t go out if he doesn''te out with him. For once, he finally understood how Old John was feeling. The feeling of losing someone and you couldn''t do anything about it, except ept it. The way he looked at the old man became much respectful and he felt an invisible bond between them.


    With Jun''s ckmailing or for some reason, Old John epted to spend some time outside. There''s nowhere interesting to go to since Old John has a low-level. They couldn''t go out and ughter some carriers to pass some time since Old John wasn''t fond of fighting the undead. His reason? He was to old to be swinging things around.


    Old John doesn''t like public ces since he always get mobbed by people asking for internship. It was very rare for him toe out and whenever he did, it would always be for a short time in the morning. Jun could onlyugh at his problem. Old John''s words of being too old to swing swords sparked some ideas on Jun''s head and so he brought him to a ce where they could find an old person busily swinging a tool by himself.


    They arrived at the vegetable garden and chatted with the father and son duo as they helped them tend the small plot ofnd. On the distance, interested individuals, man or woman, could only look from afar. No matter what their ns were they couldn''t approach closer due to the masked men standing around the vegetable garden. During normal times, the vegetable garden was quite empty and only people who liked eating vegetablese here.


    Anna had a frown on her face as she watched themotion from the side. She felt that the man was somewhat familiar but she couldn''t urately pinpoint what she was currently feeling. She ignored the weird feeling and went towards the ck Haven bus to look for a job.


    A few people in blue shirts came towards her, surrounding her. A bearded man with a round face and haircut, stepped forward and said, "I''mMelchor Galvez, Guard Captain and the Frontier''s recruitment officer. ording to our interviews from other people from your group, you know how to use a bow?"


    Anna felt unpleasant after realizing that these people have looked into her but still tried to be polite. She nodded her head but kept silent, waiting for more information whether tobel them as bad or good people. They arrived here this morning thanks to the rescue operation by the police but then realized that the money they stocked on themselves couldn''t be used since there''s a new currency circting around. This forced a lot of people to adapt and look for odd jobs so they could supplement and lead a stable life.


    Seeing her confirmation, the bearded man''s expression visibly lightened followed by a smile. "Just like what I''ve said, we are from the Frontier. The Frontier is an organization made bymon people for the people. We help everyone that is willing to be helped and aims for a future were everyone is equal. We give full supports to our members so they could easily strengthen themselves. From weapons, armors and medicine. We also give financial support to their families if they ever got injured on battle and shoulders their bills. You can learn more about us after joining or you can attend a seminar. You can find our ce at the East Road Apartelle and just say my name Melchor as the recruiter." The bearded man handed a simple namecard made from thick paper and handwritten name.


    Anna was awestrucked as she held the namecard on his fingertips.


    <em>Is this how people do recruitments nowadays?</em>


    <em></em>


    In the afternoon, Jun went to Calvary Hill with Old John. He also brought anyone who wanted toe and to his surprise, most of the ck Haven employees came with him. Only leaving Tatang Robin alone in the mall. To be fair, he didn''t want to go out and would rather stay back to guard the ce.


    For the first time since they opened, ck Haven closed its doors to its customers. This action was solely to give everyone some rest and to widen their world view. Jun already had several encounter with otherworldy phenomenonfrom weird events, monsters and strange powersso his wprldview already changed a long time ago and he wanted his family to experience them too.


    But some people didn''t see it like that. On a rectangr dining table sat four men and two women. Alday Ruan, the founder and leader of the Frontier sat on one side of the table while his wife, Monica Ruan sat on his left. Marichu, the Frontier''s secretary, had a frown on her face as she angrily tapped her fingers on the table. Monica nced at her and slightly shook her head.


    "Why are you so restless? Calm down." Monica suggested.


    "You do realize that they are trying to control us, right?" Marichu said impatiently, even eagerly for that matter. Though she didn''t name anyone, everyone knew as to whom her words were meant for.


    Monica turned to face her and replied, "Wait for everyone to arrive. That''s why we are here instead of outside. Honey, don''t you think that calling for a meeting should atleast have substance and a level of importance? If anyone can call a meeting just because they can''t handle things, then we''ll be here everyday."


    Alday Ruan felt awkward with how the two women in the room were act. At that time, the door opened widely and a blood stained bulky man entered the room. Unlike his fiery and robust aura, the man slightly lowered his head and bowed.


    "Hello everyone. There''s a bit of a dy since ourmunicationswork are still a bit... too primitive." The man lowered his head once again and bowed when his eyes met with Alday.


    Alday nodded towards him and motioned for him to sit down. The bulky robust man sat beside a scrawny man and their contrast was a refreshing sight for everyone in the room.


    The scrawny man said towards the robust man, "As usual yourte. You should trim yourself a bit. Maybe I should reduce your supplies so you can slim it down."


    The man was calledCrisanto Simon, the quartermaster of the Frontier. He is the one who managesand distributes supplies and provisions among the Frontier''s soldiers. He''s also the person who supervises what things to buy and sell.


    The robust man squinted his eyes and without waiting for the man to continue spouting nonsense, he red and said, "Want to square it out? No? I thought so. Just keep your hands to your goods. That''s were you excel."


    "You!"


    "Stop it you two. Aren''t you ashamed?" Melchor Galvez said as he satposed on the side of the table. When Melchor intervened with their little quarrel, the two quickly stopped their banter and apologised to Alday Ruan.


    Alday Ruan nodded and said, "Gener, I sincerely thank you for your efforts on guiding our new people. Don''t ever worry about beingte, it''s never going to be a problem if you have proper reason. In the future, we won''t have to rely on smoke signals. My discussion with the ck Haven''s Finance Director Bernard is getting better. I don''t know why but things were just bing better. He might agree to sell us some wireless earphones."


    Everyone''s eyes twinkled at the news. ck Haven''s technology were considered<em>advanced</em>for today''s people. It was something rare and anyone who owns them are automatically regarded as ck Haven''s staff.


    "Okay, I know that it became too early, but let''s start today''s meeting."

 Chapter 152: Black Haven Scavengers

    Chapter 152: ck Haven Scavengers


    The next day.


    The sun has barely risen up but the town''s folk were already busy with their own agenda the day. On the western residential''s outskirts. a group of people were gathered. Everyone stood on the same side of the bridge doing exercises to warm their bodies up.


    At that moment. a six person group stood infront of the bridge and gathered everyone''s attention. Their iconic ck masks and uniformed ck jackets made it known to everyone that they were from ck Haven.


    Nik pped his hands to gather everyone''s attention. There were atleast twenty people gathered infront of him. Surprisingly, the ratio of men and women was 1:3 making the group appear imbnce.


    "Thank you for waiting everyone. Just to make it clear, so that we won''t have any problemsterYou came here because you are not affiliated with the current powers in town and knew beforehand that your life might be at risk with today''s event. Is that clear?"


    "Yes." Most of the people answered back immediately but some hesitated and that didn''t escape the masked men''s eyes. Nik received some signal from them and he said gave another warning.


    "If we find out that you were lying, we would not show mercy."


    With his final warning, a few men and women left reducing the number down to sixteen. Even though the number decreased Nik didn''t felt troubled at all. He scrutinized everyone and waited making sure that noone else would leave. When he confirmed that no one was taking their leave, he opened his arms wide and weed everyone.


    "I''m Nik and I congratte you for bing ck Haven''s scavengers. As a ck Haven''s scavenger, we expect you to be the best in your jobs. We will train you for three days and teach you basic techniques that you need to survive. We will also give everyone a set of gears for free. We will also take care of your family, so you don''t have to worry about anything else, and focus in improving yourselves."


    Some were confused on what they were hearing while others were in shock. They never thought even for a second that things would go this easy to join ck Haven.


    Everyone here have seen the the ck Havenrecruitment ad for scavengers. The only requirement was that they aren''t affiliated with the other local powers like the police or the Frontier, etc.


    Anna who was amongst the crowd was also confused with the sudden fortune infront of her. Nothing should be free in this world right? So she gathered up some courage and asked, "What''s in it for you guys?"


    "Good question!" Nik searched for her voice as he replied. When he locked his gaze on her, he nodded his head in appreciation. "In return for safeguarding your family, providing food and shelter. ck Haven will take half of your loot at the end of the day. The other half, we don''t care what you do with them. Horde them, sell them, its up to you. But also understand that we''ll only be giving you basic things that you need to survive. If you want to live an extravagant life or upgrade your gears, save some money and do it. Are there anymore questions? If none, please go and fill up a simple attendance sheet we made and we''ll proceed after."


    Anna felt that his exnation was a bit arguable but resisted the urge toment. She behaved herself and waited for her turn. After writing her name, age and gender on the sheet of paper, she was given a set of closebat armamentsa T1 Bone Dagger, a T1 Short Sword and a stout shield. The shield was a simple round hardwood with metal casing on its edges. A simple strap was attached on the back together with a simple handle.


    Everyone finished writing their names and taking their gears. They went back to their spots and waited in bated breaths for further instructions. Most of the women couldn''t help but get tearful after receiving the items. They mostly tried their luck when they came here but they didn''t know that they would encounter this fortunate event.


    When Nik saw that everyone is ready, he exined what they have to do for today. "At the end of the day, you would be divided into two groups. The Scavenging Group and the Elite Scavenger Squad. The Scavenging Group are people who are tasked with looting everything that they could find. Everything from food to clothing, as long as you deemed it useful would be brought back. The Elite Scavenger Squad would be tasked with killing and hunting carriers. Their main job is to fight the undead, collect rare loots and resources while strengthening themselves."


    "You must be thinking that its much safer being in the Scavenging Group right? I agree with that, and we won''t force anyone to do join the Elite Scavengers. Actually, you can only join the group if you have enough skills to do so. And if anyone of you manage to join the elite squad, you would receive a reward. Now, let me teach you the basic survival techniques that you could apply every time you go out and scavenge."


    Nik with Bartolome, Huwan, Gani, Datu and Jejomar demonstrated the attack patterns of every carrier known to them, their behaviors and how to fight them. Everyone watched them with jubtion. These people were just regr people who don''t know anything besides being rescued. They were the new batch of people that got sheltered on the Recreation Facility and didn''t know how to fight. Every bit of knowledge being taught to them was something new and they find it fascinating.


    It was already early in the morning and the sun was slightly up when they finished with everything. Nik then gathered everyone''s attention and said, "As a small test for everyone, we want you to scavenge for supplies ande back before sunset. Everyone''s loot would be evaluated and people who have over 10,000 CP of loot would be advanced to the Elite Scavenger Squad. Just to be clear. Even if you went over 10,000 CP, wewon''t force you to join the Elite Scavenger Squad if you don''t want to. Okay?"


    Everyone nodded their heads. With everything all set, Nik let them loose and watched them cautiously move out.


    "We cleared every evolved carriersst night, right?" said Nik towards his subordinates. Right, subordinates. Though they aren''t death ves anymore, they finally epted that there''s nowhere else they could go to and stayed with Jun. They were already used to him and they knew that the man would never mistreat them as long as they don''t do anything stupid.


    They are currently Jun''s elite guards and has free-will on to whatever they want to do. Besides acting as guards, they also like to do little chores for him since they knew that unless he was charging into a horde of evolved carriers, no one in town could actually hurt him.


    Bartolome chuckled and slightly shook his head. "Why are you treating them like a baby? Do you like that woman? I saw your eyes. It stayed on her for a few more seconds."


    "I''ll take that as a yes." replied Nik, then chose to ignore him.


    Though Nik didn''t answer why he acted like a goody two shoes, everyone knew the answer. Because this batch of people were new and would have a neutral take on ck Haven.


    ck Haven is in need of people after suddenly losing a lot in a single day. Though they aren''t low in supplies, stocking up wouldn''t really hurt. Besides, the Elite Scavenger Squad would be the equal and new death squads. This time, they have the freedom to do what they want to do.


    "Let''s go back and report to Jun." said Bartolome.


    "You guys go on. I''ll stay here incase something went wrong." replied Nik.


    Bartolome felt that Nik was acting to worried but couldn''t leave him alone. He asked Huwan to report to Jun instead. Since they already cleared all of the evolved carriersst night and even reduced the numbers of regr carrier along the way, if someone were unfortunate enough to lose their life and die, then scavenging was probably not for them.


    Huwan led everyone and teleported back. After the streaks of light disappeared, Nik turned around and followed after the new recruits. Bartolome felt like he was a butler following his young master around on a stroll.


    On the Lakeside Marina.


    Jun just finished his conversation with Gilbert and they both smiled at each other. Jun felt a weird sensation inside him as the old fisherman pledged loyalty to him once again. This time, he realized that there are people who abide by their words once you gain their gratitude.


    He promised supplies and sries for them which made them thankful and appreciative of him. These people were fisherman, the kind of people that would be happy if they don''t have to worry for their food tomorrow.


    Jun bade farewell and decided to walk back instead of teleporting. He admired theke side scenery until something popped up infront of him.


    [First Wave will arrive: 5:00]


    Jun stared in surprise at the countdown notification infront of him.

 Chapter 153: Column of Light

    Chapter 153: Column of Light


    After receiving the notification, Jun quickly emailed Evo to gather everyone back at thepound. He doesn''t know what it meant but he had a feeling that it isn''t good. He started channeling energy on the teleport rune inside his body, which made the runes expand and circle around him.


    The next thing he saw was the bustling za filled with people. These were the people who haven''t joined a faction and would like to be on their own. These people were ambitious ones that liked being the head of the snake than the tail of a dragon.


    After his vision returned to normal, he quickly ran out of the za and went to ck Haven. He could see Bernard anxiously pacing around the toll gate''s entrance. When Bernard saw Jun running, he quickly raised the toll gate and weed him.


    Bernard asked with concern, "Is there something going on? This is the first time you called for a meeting after a long time, so everyone''s a bit worried."


    "Let''s meet with everyone first."


    Jun continued walking while he spoke. Bernard felt that something was wrong and quickly closed the toll gate.


    Jun was a public figure in town and almost everyone knows him. Even some of the neers already heard about him and managed to take a few sneak peeks yesterday. With his fame, his action managed to get some individuals confused and interested. A few shady people ran back and reported Jun''s weird action to their superiors.


    Lieutenant Cedric has been missing sincest night. Though everyone could infer what happened, they couldn''t do anything without proof. A new head of the police force was elected. A fiery individual who uses action to prove his words, Executive Master Sergeant Paolo Cas. He was loved and venerated by the people since he was the lead officer on every rescue operation. He was a rank below Lieutenant Cedric and was never a favorite because of his fierce attitude. He had a good constitution showing how a model officer should look like coupled with his short hair. His eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the report. It was true that Jun wasn''t acting like his usual self but this doesn''t mean or prove anything. To calm everyone, EMS Paolo Cas ordered everyone to remain on standby as he payed a visit on ck Haven. Though this would dy their rescue operation for today, a few minutes wouldn''t hurt for everyone''s peace of mind.


    On the Frontier''s side, Alday Ruan received the same information on the way out of their headquarters. He didn''t do anything special and just ordered his men to pay more attention on the matter. Afterwards, he started leading everyone towards the east. Every time they ventured out, they would bring some unaffiliated groups of people to train with them. Usually, they always head north-east by following the national road but this time they chose to go east, towards the center of the town. There''s still a bunch of carriers on the area that can be used to train people. Besides, he received information that ck Haven tend to go downtown almost every afternoon for a few days now. He wanted to investigate whether there was something interesting to be found down there.


    After Jun exined his interpretation of the countdown, everyone''s face darkened. He simply exined his pure thoughts about the matter. What does a countdown mean? It means that something wille when the allotted time ends. But that wasn''t the end. ording to the notification, it was only the first wavemeaning that there''s several waves after that!


    Jun looked around and noticed that a few people were missing. As he tried to recall whom were missing, four people came in whileughing. He turned around and saw Huwan leading the group, followed by his friends. That''s right! His personal guards weren''t here. He then remembered that they said something about recruiting peoplest night.


    "Were you out?" Jun inquired.


    Huwan nodded his head and handed him a sheet of paper. "Nik and Bartolome stayed behind to babysit the new recruits." After handing over the paper, he noticed that everyone''s face was pale in color. Though confused, he didn''t ask anything and said, "This is the attendance sheet for the new recruits. Most of them were neers and doesn''t even know how to fight. We taught them a few things and sent them for a simple dry run. There''s also a few interesting individuals there. These people probably waited for this chance to join ck Haven instead of the other factions."


    Jun subconsciously scanned the names after it was given to him. His brows knit together forming a frown before his eyes widened in shock. At the same time, the countdown timer ended causing him to stiffen up. He gulped and looked around the area but couldn''t find any anomaly on sight.


    On the northern mountains, arge rat ran furiously with reddened eyes. Behind therge rat were dozens ofrge rats forming a huge swarm that ran after it. There numbers easily reaching the hundreds, but the flowing rat tide wasn''t stopping.


    The same was happening on the cemetery. The barrier that stopped the regr carriers out vanished, freeing them. Just like therge rats, these regr carriers have frenzied red eyes as if they were mad. They ran out of the cemetery as if they have a destination in mind. They ran over cars and were headed towards the broken bridge.


    On the Lakeside Marina, Gilbert was admiring themercial boat tied in their docks. He was given ownership of the boat for some reason, Jun only said that the owner doesn''t need it anymore. He was nning on how to effeciently setup fishing farms when he suddenly felt unease. He then noticed a bright column of light that reached into the skies from the west .


    Nik who was at the frontline saw everything with his own eyes. A tower of light strike down from above and crashed on the ground. He immediately knew that something was wrong and he shouted as loud as possible for everyone to go back.


    The scavengers, who were a bit slow to scatter to loot, saw the whole event. When the light dimmed, arge group of carriers were left behind for everyone to admire. Most of them have no skins, showcasing their twitching musles which only served as a further catalysm to increase people''s fear.


    The quick scavengers who were ahead of everyone to disperse and find loot, the ones who clearly aims to join ck Haven''s Elite Scavenger Squad, could only see the column of light from the alleys. When they heard the amplified voice of their instructor shouting for them fall back, these quick witted people instantly realized that something bad was happening.


    Nik wore his wireless earphone and quickly tried to call for backup. However, no one responded to his calls and was forced to stall for time. The new recruits noticed the horde of regr carriers on the distance. They were immediately frightened and ran back to safety.


    Nik and Bartolome stood their ground as they watched the new recruits passed them by. Their only goal right now was to stall for time, so everyone could get out of here alive. They already gauge the enemy''s strength and they knew that they won''t die unless they unfortunately get surrounded.


    Nik held a reinforced stout shield on his left hand and a steel golok on his right. The stout shield has additional steel ting on the center while the steel golok was a simple broadsword that has a thin, sharp de with dull, thicker behind.


    Bartolome stood beside him and geared himself up with the same items.


    This are the new products made by Old John. Since there was no rush to mass produce Tier 1 and Tier 2 bone weapons, he gave that task to his apprentice and focused on Jun''s requests. At first, he practiced making shields with onlymon wood as materials. When he got the hang up of it, he started using the slightly rare hardwoods, then further modified them by reinforcing them with steel. That''s the reason why there were two type of shields distributed to ck Haven right now.


    After fighting hundreds of skirmishes with the carriers, and having experience with the cemetery and the mines, Nik held his sword on his left hand and threw a Bone Spear at the dashing carriers. With their numbers it was impossible to miss, but the question whether the spear could kill them remains.


    The bonespear traveled in an arc and hit a random carrier in the chest. It slowly dropped down to the ground and got trampled by the others behind it.


    Nik watched the scene and immediately tensed up. "We''re in trouble. The bodies don''t disappear, which means they could resurrect and we need to finish things quickly." But Nik knew they wouldn''t be able to do that. The horde of carriers easily numbered around the hundreds. And that''s even their minimum number.

 Chapter 154: Little Sister, Need Some Help?

    Chapter 154: Little Sister, Need Some Help?


    Nik nced behind him. The new recruits safely reached the western residential side of the bridge and were now acting as bystander''s, watching the scene. He shouted, "Get out of here! Have you received your portal runes yet? If not just run back to the mall and ask for help."


    The new recruits, mostly women, retreated after much hesitation. Two people remained and walked back on Nik''s side of the bridge.


    "Get moving!" Nik yelled once more.


    "We want to help!" said the only man.


    "Our friend''s still missing." replied the woman.


    Nik saw their resolve hidden in their anxious expressions. Since they have a reason to stay and they seem to know their stuff, he agreed but told them to stick closely and to not do anything stupid.


    At the same that he started giving pointers on how to defend and attack as a group, Bartolome shouted with all his might from his side. He said, "Get on the van!"


    Nik became startled and quickly turned around. He saw a woman ran out of an alley just to meet with the horde of carriers. She quickly run and got a headstart but the carriers behind were gaining momentum as if they were an engine revving up and were only reaching their top speed.


    Since she was unable to think clearly and after hearing the restless snarls and groans behind her,she quickly epted the suggestion and jumped as high as she could to reach the van''s hood in front of her. Her legs spread as wide as it possibly could but she felt her jeans resisting and caused her other leg to not produce the movement she wanted to, resulting in her knees hitting the front bumper. She endured the pain and quickly got up, then limped towards the van''s roof.


    The man and the woman behind Nik widened their eyes in horror after seeing the person being chased. They both shouted their friend''s name, "Anna!


    Emman and Erin rushed out and started nging their shields. They bravely strode forward but when some of the carriers turned to them, they froze on the spot. They were afraid and couldn''t move their bodies as if paralyzed. Its because "some" was already a huge amount since there were hundreds of carriers.


    Nik didn''t know what to do. If he had atleast ten experienced people with him, he was sure that he could take this horde and stall for time. But reality wasn''t that good to him. Besides Bartolome, the two people that remained appeared courageous but were still green. He''s a bit regretful that he wouldn''t be able to help the woman but he can''t sacrifice more people for her sake. Just as he was about to give the order, the man stashed his sword and shield, then brought out a crossbow.


    "Erin! Let''s go! We have to save her!" said the man as he loaded the crossbow while walking forward.


    The woman appeared daze and unmoving. She watched as her friend defended herself from carriers that tried to climb up the hood of the van. She used the sword to destabalized those who managed to climb the hood and the shield to sometimes push them off, while staying at the center of the roof.


    The van was now surrounded and due to overcrowding, some became uninterested and walked past the van, choosing to go after the people in the distance.


    Emman fired of a lucky shot that struck one carrier on the head. The carrier fell down and caused the ones behind it to tumble down and sprain their legs. Some fell first on the ground causing their noses to break, making dark blood drip down ceaselessly.


    "Erin!" Emman shouted to wake her friend, which seeded, as Erin finally turned to him. "We need to saver her. She could have ignored as back when we got pinned down, but she saved us." Emman stared at his one-time partner after loading a bolt on his crossbow. "We owe her."


    Emman fired another bolt and since the carrier were now 20meters in front of them, he hit a head shot after taking aim properly, then switched to sword and shield and waited in bated breathes for the carriers toe closer.


    "Damn it!" Erin yelled abruptly. It wasn''t known why, maybe to convince herself or just she truly hates the situation. When they were going back after their scavenging trip, they met a group of carriers. With her as the vanguard and Emman as support, they were able to barely win. The moment they felt relieve was the same moment that a new group came after them since they didn''t really fought quietly. With Emman having not retrieved his bolts, they quickly lost their advantage of being to thin out the group and could only try a meleebot. That''s the time when Anna came and save them. That''s also the reason why she was in a bad mood whenever she sees Anna. Deep inside her, she felt that she could do better than her and was just caught in a bad position.


    Erin positioned herself beside Emman, armed with the steel sword and stout shield, she said, "So, what''s the n? This isn''t even in the same scale as to what happened with us. We can''t kill them all, and you know that. You can''t expect a miracle either. Look at her movements. It seems that her leg has some problems. She''s stuck there until we killed all of them."


    "I know the odds aren''t good... but, we should atleast try."


    The carrier finally arrived and lunged at him. Emman gripped the handle of the shield tighter and braced for impact. Just then he heard a voice from behind him, telling him to dodge. He listened and stepped to the side. The carrier missed him and continued moving forward due to its momentum.


    Shrwaak.


    A sword lodged itself on its head after being swung from the top.


    Nik shook his head and run forward, "Watch closely!" He charged at the regr carriers and tackled them with the shield. "First, you want to be the one doing the tackle. Don''t stay for too long and quickly take a step back. Severe the head if you can, to stop them from reanimating but never get surrounded. Dodge their lunges, then counter-attack. The patterns are easy to familiarize with if your courageous enough. Do you understand?"


    Nik exined as he demonstrated with his actions. When he was done, piles of dead bodies and severed heads were piled around him.


    "And always have support that watches your back." Bartolome said while trying to catch his breath. He red at Nik, and the teenager only smiled and nodded to him.


    Nik nced at the oing detachment and felt the number they just killed wasn''t even a drop of what their numbers as a whole.


    "There''s atleast a hundred and that''s already a conservative guess."


    "Old man, can your bones still do it? We can go and extract her if were quick enough. The problem was getting out alive."


    As the two were talking about ns and sess rates, they suddenly felt a breeze passed them. When they turned their heads, they saw Jun already shing with the iing detachments, mauling them with his bonehammer. Afterwards, a few more people ran behind, trying to catch up to him.


    Nik and Bartolome''s eyes shone with delight as they saw their colleagues. Nik hurriedly ran after them, leaving Bartolome, Emman and Erin behind.


    Bartolome shook his head at the sight. "What an excited bunch."


    As he was about to run after them, he heard Erin eximed, "Are they crazy!? There''s... there''s only six of them."


    Bartolome looked back and showed a meaningful smile, he proudly said, "That''s ck Haven''s leader, Jun Reyes." he started to jog but then turned back to them. "By the way, wee to ck Haven."


    A zing whirl wind created enough space for Jun after he spun with much power and speed. His spinning action created the illusion of a whirl wind as the fiery bonehammer left behind zing trails of fire. An undead man, who got hit on the sides, had a missing chunk of its stomach but continued walking towards him. Jun swing once more and its head disappeared causing its body to fall down.


    All of the carriers that were summoned by the pir of light were naked. Some had skin while others were skinned, showing their twitching muscles. When Jun swung his bonehammer a female carrier got its breast section cleaned off. Both lump of meat disappeared and has scorch marks remaining on them.


    His personal guards were doing a good job of staying out of his range while dealing with the enemies on his sides. With their stable advance, they''re only twenty meters away from the van that Anna was trapped on.


    After clearing the detachment, Jun was able to get some time to breathe. He stared at the woman on the van and shouted with a smile on his face.


    "Jun Reyes... Reyes. I feel that I''ve heard that before. I just can''t remember where." said Emman as he tried his best to recall. From the way those people battled, it seems like their help weren''t needed and to not be deadweight, they chose to stay back.


    Erin who watched Anna in trepidation, fight for her life above the van''s room, was suddenly reminded of something. She turned to Emman and said, "Anna Reyes? Isn''t that it? That''s herst name right?"


    "Oh yeah, right! That''s probably what I''m trying to recall." said Emman leisurely. Then, his eye sockets popped as he quickly faced Erin. "Does that mean..."


    "Let''s not jump to conclussions here. Its amon surname"


    Just as Erin was replying back to Emman. a loud voice reverberated on the street. They easily found were it came from but couldn''t help but be shocked from what they heard.


    Jun Reyes, ck Haven''s leader shouted, "Hey, little sister! Need some help?"

 Chapter 155: Special Carriers

    Chapter 155: Special Carriers


    "Hey, little sister! Need some help?"


    Anna was too busy defending and pushing the carriers that got up of the hood. She took a few steps back to catch her breath and when the meaning of the sentence registered on her brain, she quickly searched for the person. She found Jun staring at her and just like yesterday, found his face familiarextremely familiar at that.


    Jun kept his smiling face until he realized that his younger sister appeared not to recognize him. His joyous smile turned wryly as he said, "I''m a bit disappointed that you don''t recognize me, but that''s okay. You can just give Big Brother a hug and everything will be okay."


    The people around him haven''t recovered after being surprised by the sudden revtion, but his words further surprised them. Was he a siscon? Most of them frowned at him but gave him the benefit of the doubt.


    "Brother?Is that really you? What happened to your hair?" Anna said probingly. "You look like trash now."


    Jun could still ept her doubting him, but her snidement made him flinch. He stared in shock at the woman on top of the van. There were a lot of simrities from his little sister, and could also see the resemnce of her mother''s face, but there''s a stark contrast with their bearings made him feel astonished. The way he remembered his little sister was a cute, elegant girl that would always rely on him.


    As he was about to reply, he saw several carriers climb the hood of the van. A bonespear appeared on his right hand, then after aiming for a bit, it flew in the air and struck the carriers chest. He cleared the nearby carriers and said, "Let''s stop talking for now. Focus first, I''ll be there in a second."


    Anna nodded and chose to focus on defending the little space she had for herself. She tried to stab the head of a carrier on the hood of the van when it suddenly roared. The way it roared was unique as if it was a dragon breathing fire, moving its head from side to side. The sword went inside the mouth and went out through the cheeks. When the carrier''s head wriggled from roaring, the sword''s de cut through the cheeks flesh, making its chin and neck draped with dark blood.


    Anna almost lost her bnce since she was forced to sway by the sword''s momentum. The carrier took this chance to lunged upward, which she took advantage off. She grabbed the carriers head and pushed it of the side, allowing her to stabilized her footing. Afterwards, she stashed the shield and sword, swapping them with her much familiarized recurved bow. A quiver followed and she quickly wore it on her shoulders.


    She started shooting every carrier that got up on the hood with excellent proficiency. Her prowess with the bow made people that were observing her feel that she was a professional. Every time she releases the string, the arrow would hit its mark. One shot, one kill.


    Though she could still use the sword and shield, using an unfamiliar weapon didn''t allow her abilities to shine. It was like giving a kid a shovel and telling him to mix the concrete mixture without even teaching him how to do so.


    Jun with his personal guards were able to arrive beside the van, easing the pressure on her little sister. Anna easily defended herself but she was almost out of arrows. When she reached for the quiver, her hand searched around and found thest arrow.


    At this time, two carriers climb at the same time but one of them slipped from the blood on the hood while the other used it as a stepping stone. Before it could even raise itself, the string was released unleashing the arrow. The carrier was hit on the head and slipped down.


    The carrier that was kicked away came back and stepped on the dead body, using it as a stepping stone to climb up. Anna didn''t have any more arrows and was considering swapping back to her sword when someone rushed to the van''s side and pulled the carrier''s leg.


    "Stay there." Jun said, then collected a few arrows from the dead bodies.


    "Don''t take them all." said Anna. When Jun looked at her in puzzlement, she borated herself, "If the arrows stay in their head, they don''te back up."


    Jun was a bit surprise and kept this on the back of his mind. He handed the arrows to her, then focused on clearing the carriers. He noticed that there were more people gathered here than earlier.


    Although they were a bitte to react, the towns people rushed here after seeing the column of light. Initially, they ignored the strange event but when several new faces came running back and reported the horde of carriers, they realized that something illogical was happening and came to help. With the addition of hundreds of experienced people, they easily killed of the horde of carriers.


    After confirming that everyst carrier was killed, Jun finally sighed in relief then looked around, searching for his little sister. As the people killed the dismembered leftover carriers on the ground, Jun received a notification.


    [Second Wave will arrive: 5:00]


    The timer started its countdown just as thest carrier was truly killed. Jun looked up to the skies to see if there were hints but he found nothing. The sky was still the mixture of white and blue.


    "Start looting! We need to hurry. They''reing again." said Jun as he knelt down and looted the nearby bodies. He used both hands to be time effecient, which actually worked.


    At that time, someone came and talked to him. It was the newly appointed branch head, Executive Master Sergeant Paolo Cas. He said with a frown on his face, "What do you mean by that?"


    Jun looked at him, then replied, "There''s another wave. I don''t know where but itsing. I''m sure you know the basics, right? Loot the bodies first unless you want them to reanimate. We have five minutes."


    Though he still have questions in mind, he saw the seriousness in Jun''s voice and action. He followed after him and looted the bodies nearby. As they were close to each other, EMS Paolo Cas made some small chats. "I don''t care about your previous deals with Cedric but I don''t want any part of it."


    EMS Paolo Cas expected a fierce reaction but it never came. When he turned to the side, he saw Jun in a daze, staring in thin air.


    It was true that Jun was dazed, but it was not on thin air. He was staring at the notification that popped infront of him after sessfully looting the dead body.


    [Power increased by 0.1]


    [Speed increased by 0.1]


    Jun looked around the area. He noticed that people who finished looting the dead bodies were having the same expression as him. Astonishment!


    Everyone here already has experience on fighting and killing a carrier. When a carrier was killed, it can be looted or be salvaged for its resources. It was the norm and themon understanding after surviving for a month on this new earth.


    He felt astonished since he received a stat increase after looting a regr carrier. He then examined the dead bodies on the ground, trying to find any difference with the regr carriers they fought daily, but couldn''t find any except for the deskinned ones, revealing their tissues and muscles for everyone to admire.


    He knew for sure that with skin or no skin, these regr carriers would give increased stats because he looted one skinned carrier and one deskinned carrier. Which further shocked him! Because there''s hundreds of dead bodies on the street. If he looted everything by himself, the total increase he could have received would be higher, but the ticking clock on his peripheral vision forced him to share. Unless he could have dozens of arms to loot, monopolizing the dead bodies would be impossible.


    Jun felt the pinch of losing people on theirst trip and regretted not recruiting more experienced people to fight for him. With this catalyst event, he reminded himself that establishing a private army is a must.


    Looting hundreds of bodies was too quick when there were hundreds of people dividing it for themselves. The number of people in town has almost reached 400, thanks to police force''s keen rescue operations.


    Almost everyone was looking around for dead bodies to loot but there was nothing to be found. People gathered in small groups, revealing which factions they were in. There were small and medium groups formed in the crowd. The smallest were five and the highest was the police force and its volunteers, easily numbering around sixty. EMS Paolo Cas already went back to his subordinates, but still nced in Jun''s directions a few times.


    Jun became the center of his group; his personal guards, the new recruits and his little sister''s circle of friends. He exined what''s happening, the column of light and the horde of carriers. He then shared some of his spection and called the summoned carriers body as "special carriers".

 Chapter 156: Large Rats Loot

    Chapter 156: Large Rat''s Loot


    To rify the situation with his group, Jun exined that he received a sudden notification of an iing wave. When the countdown finished, the column of light appeared. Nik added that after the column of light came down, it brought carriers with it.


    The special carriers can increase their stats by a small amount but when you consider their number and scale, it was not to be trifled with. This should a fortunate event for everyone to capitalize on. Even those who weren''t active in leveling could get a slight increase in stats if they joined the town defense.


    As their discussions started to get heated up, the countdown almost finished and everyone readied themselves. The ck Haven''s group was the generally epted head in town. Though they weren''t numerous in number, their members were unique and helped them strenghten their ce among the people. For example, they have monopoly on the arms trade. Although people could still use cold weapons like kitchen knives, etcetera, they couldn''t ignore the fact that swords crafted for the purpose of killing was better than sharp des produced for cutting food.


    Everyone on site watched and tried to eavesdrop on the ck Haven''s meeting. Jun''s voice was neither loud or soft, not even caring whether other people could hear him or not. When people noticed that ck Haven was preparing for battle, they tensed up and readied themselves too.


    Jun nced at his little sister. He noticed her condition and told her that she should teleport back and go to ck Haven, then look for She. Both him and his little sister were still awkward with each other, so their conversation was a bit stiff. Jun asked her two friends to go back with her.


    This is the biggest horde they fought and standing infront of that horde gave them mental fatigue. Emman and Erin weren''t experienced survivors, at most, they only knew how to defend themselves. With everything that they experienced for today, they called it a day and agreed to help her back. Jun thanked them, thenfaced forward waiting for the countdown to finish. When it reached itsst second, his heartbeat raced faster as if adrenaline were pumping on his veins.


    A second passed, acouple of seconds passed. Nothing. There was no column of light that appeared. Then, from his left were the police could be found, he suddenly heard someone exim, "North! Its on the north!"


    Upon hearing the frantic shouts, almost everyone turned their heads and looked north. Jun became surprised when he saw the column of light appearring on the north. Based on its general direction, the column of light appeared outside the town''s territory, most probably near the fields near the bridge that connects the districts.


    Jun shouted, "Teleport back, teleport to the za!"


    Everyone who saw the column of light in the north, realized that the special carriers would be found there. Driven with greed, almost everyone simultaneously activated their teleport runes and the area was littered with people that has runes circling around them.


    Some group of people rode their vehicles that they used to quicklye here and drove on the high way to quickly reach the north. When the people that used teleport to get back to the za square ran on their foot, the vehicles drove past them. Someonemented that the special carriers seemed to be going towards them and they could just wait near the za to not waste their energy. His idea was logical but the people weren''t. If people waited here like he suggested, then some greedy people could monopolize the bodies. As if woken up from the harsh truth, everyone looked for vehicles while others continued running.


    Although Jun regretted not having a car that could transport arge number of people, he moved on and added that to his shopping list. There''s a lot of jeepneys around and there''s numerous cars for everyone to share.


    Adrian, Bernard and She joined with the group. Bernard who came with them went back to thepound after Jun''s brief exnation of how things were going. Everyone left behind on ck Haven promised and staked their life to defend the ce. Jun asked about his little sister''s situation and She exined that she just needed to rest and she''ll be fine.


    After managing to find a working jeepney, everyone got on board and they went top speed with Bartolome as the driver. The jeepney was packed like a sardines with people already sitting down on the jeepney''s aisle. Since the new recruits were mostly female, they boarded first and managed to sit down. Nik together with the other personal guards could only squat on the aisle and hang themselves at the entrance of the jeepney. Someone evenmented that they felt like they''remuting to work. Before they could even arrive at the Northern Bridge, they were already seeing people getting chased byrge rats. Bartolome quickly stepped on the breaks causing a loud screeching sound.


    Jun got off from the driver''s passenger seat and stared at the chaos in front of him. There was a swarm ofrge rats chasing people. Since therge rats only reached up to ones knees, Jun noticed the contingency of carriers being led by a towering titan on the bridge ahead. Based on its height, it was only a D1. On its side were two H1''s running like dogs on a jog with their owner. The carriers behind them appear menacious as their snarls and gnarls echoed in the area like a sea.


    Jun helped those people being chased byrge rats and couldn''t help but mock them in his head. He kicked a Large Rat that pounced towards someone and even used Empower to enhance the force. The Large Rat was stopped in mid-air and fell to the side.Why are they even having a hard time with this? Large rats could be killed in one hit.


    Before he could even finish mocking them, a couple of Large Rats jumped on him. Before he could deal with those Large Rats that jumped on him, he already felt something gnawing on his legs.


    Jun cursed under his breath and quickly retreated. He hit the Large Rat biting his leg then circted energy on his body. He knew that rat bites could cause rabies and hoped that inner energy cirction could prevent or stall it. He searched for the Large Rat that he kicked but he couldn''t find it after the swarm stepped over it.


    The reinforcement arrived at this time. Adrian started throwing bonespears and each of them hit their marks. Considering the swarm of Large Rats, it should be near impossible to miss even if you randomly threw the bonespear on their direction. Jun noticed that these Large Rats appeared to be the same with the Special Carriers. Their bodies didn''t vanish unlike when they could only be fought in the mines.


    Edward found a useful trick with his barrier and decided to experiment with it. He strenghtened his barrier by channeling more energy and made it one meter tall and three feet wide. He then charged into the swarm. He felt a sense of satisfaction as he watched the swarm being split into two. He also enjoyed staring at the Large Rats sliding down from the barrier after pouncing on it.


    Behind Edward were ck Haven and so he didn''t have to feel worried. The new recruits who were willing to fight followed after Nik''s group and were being tutored live. The ones who were still gathering their courage were tasked to gather the bodies on one side and guard it.


    Jun stayed behind and watched the overall status of the battlefield. He would go in once things appeared to be getting out of hand. There''s also another reason why he stayed back. It was to see whether this Large Rats would reanimate or not.


    A minute was only sixty seconds but it felt like eternity when Jun waited for it to passby. The only good thing that happened was that the rear swarm of Large Rats started fighting with the Special Carriers easing the pressure on their side since the Large Rats reinforcements became slower than usual.


    ck Haven continued gathering the dead rats on one side and Jun guarded it. When he was sure that they won''t reanimate, he grabbed one and started looting it as an experiment. The surrounding people watched him filled with envy. Some stared at the pile of dead rats with vicious glints on their eyes. If they didn''t know who was guarding the pile of dead rats or there was no more rats to kill, some people would probably try and risk it to get some. But since there''s still dozens of Large Rats around, thete people decided to earn themselves some loots.


    As Jun finished looting the dead rat, something shocking happened. The Large Rats body vanished like how a carriers body disappear after being looted. Just like a carrier producing essence shards and, other loots in random, the dead rats body was reced by rat meat and rat''s hide.

 Chapter 157: Cemetery Minions

    Chapter 157: Cemetery Minions


    Usually, the Large Rats in the mine only gives experience. He wasn''t expecting anything extravagant but had his hopes up after the recent stat increase for looting Special Carriers. He consoled himself that receiving the rat''s meat and hide should be a lot better than receiving nothing.


    Jun then ced great importance on the carriers body on the other side of the bridge. He even stared affectionately at the towering D1 on the frontlines with the Large Rat swarm and Special Carriers sh. When thete neers came, Jun called for everyone toe back. Since the Large Rat only gives meat and hide with no stat increase, he decided to get his people some rest and leave the rest to everyone.


    Food was slowly bing an issue for everyone. Most of the people have already looted the surrounding hot ces. The grocery stores, the public market and even the houses were already looted. After a month of surviving and looting, the town is running dry of food stocks and if they want to scavenge for food they would have to venture out further into the unknown.


    Jun have stopped selling food a long time ago. Although the vegetable garden sold some vegetable a few times, it would never meet the demand of the whole town. Its main purpose was to make sure that ck Haven''s member had food on their table.


    "How did it go? How many of them leveled up?" said Jun.


    Nik smiled and said, "A few of them did. I guess they learn quickly?"


    "Good. Exin the system basics then have them collect those." Jun pointed over the pile of dead rats and focused back on the battle.


    When the Large Rat swarm slowly became thinner after receiving attack from both ends, they started fighting each other. The people became happy since it became easier to fight since they have less Large Rats to worry about,ting them easy kills and loot. They were happy because they thought that these dead rats would give them stat increase.


    Then something strange happened at the center of the Large Rat swarm. One exceptional looking Large Rat started chomping on its kin and ate them vigorously. It mercilessly ate everyone nearby, then afterwards, its body ballooned out and became swollen. The Large Rat became enveloped in dark light followed by a rhythmic heartbeat that pulsed on everyone''s mind.


    Jun stared at therge ck ball of light at the center of the swarm. He found it interesting since it was the first time seeing something like this, and leisurely waited for it. When the pulse repeated itself and continuously became faster, he frowned and noticed the D1 together with itsp dogs H1, rushing towards the ck ball of light.


    The D1 practically ran withrge strides as if excited with its discovery. It trampled over those Large Rats and brushed them aside. When it finally got close with the ck ball of light, it mmed down its bulging hands.


    At the same time that the D1''s hands swung down, the ck ball of light disappeared top-down, revealing a one meter tall Giant Rat. Butpared to the two meter D1, the Giant Rat was quite small.


    The D1''s hands struck the back of the Giant Rat which caused the two of them two wail and whimper at the same time. The D1''s hands bled after striking the spiky behind of the Giant Rat. The metallic like hairs behind the Giant Rat injured its hands. The Giant Rat that received its full forced m felt its bones cracked and its muscles squashed. Both of them received injuries but neither backed off. The two faced each other and started brawling. The Giant Rat swiped its sharp ws on the D1''s legs while the D1 struck its head repeatedly.


    When Jun noticed that the Giant Rat was getting dizzy after the repeated pounding while the D1 got slower with every attack, he decided that it was now time to rush in. He charged with his bonehammer and dashed towards the two enormous entities on the area,


    The people who were trying their lucks by fighting the remnants of the Large Rats felt something brushed past them. The next thing they knew, a group of people were running towards the shing titans.


    Jun easily maneuvered himself over the Large Rats and killed some of them as he passed by. Now that their numbers were reduced, the threat of being surrounded by Large Rats weren''t as scarypared to earlier. The Special Carriers finally finished dealing with the Large Rats that stalled them. Instead of rushing towards the Giant Rat, the Special Carriers started eating the dead rats on the ground.


    By the time Jun arrived at the center of the swarm together with his personal guards, the Giant Rat already had cuts on its side after being ganged by the D1 and two H1. The Giant Rat didn''t let itself got beaten up for free as it retaliated with its little brothers.


    After repeated strikes on its legs, the D1''s torn leg muscles gave up causing it to plummet down. It tried to stabilize its fall by leaning on the H1''s at its side but it only caused them to be squashed by the sudden weight. The H1''s tried wriggling their way out of the D1''s grasp but the Giant Rat took this chance to kill the two of them. Its two razor sharp ws struck each head of the H1''s.


    The D1 furiously red at the Giant Rat, only to see it falling forward after its strike. The Giant Rat''s head was twitching even when it died. Upon seeing their big brother''s death, the remaining Large Rats became frenzied and started attacking the D1. Some attacked infront while others climbed behind it.


    Jun hammered the D1''s head and started killing the Large Rats that tried eating the evolved carriers. When he looked at the other side of the bridge, he heard the scream of a carrier as if in pain. The special carriers started their advance ignoring the screaming carrier on the ground.


    Jun chopped the D1 and H1''s head off and stored them in his dimensional storage. Their bodies have to wait forter since he doesn''t have the time to salvage them now. He wanted to experiment whether their bodies would have special effects or bonus when used as materials for crafting. ck Haven personnels appeared behind them and started collecting dead rats bodies.


    He looked around and nced at his subordinates. His elite group for clearing hordes and dungeons; Adrian, She and Edward. His personal guards led by Nik, and the new recruits. Most of them were civilized people before the change but if you look at their bloodied bodies, the only thing to described them was savages. Their eyes weren''t fearful even at the face of danger. At best, they were nervous since some of them doesn''t have experience but they were fast learners. That''s also one good trait of humans, they adapt.


    "You own what you kill. If anyone has any problem with that, they cane forward. If you want some, then work for it. "


    Jun''s voice echoed in the area. He wasn''t saying this to his subordinates but to the people ying safe by the side. Their were two types ofteers, the ones who fought the swarm of rats and the ones who watched them fight. They acted scared and preserved their energy. Whether they have good or bad ns weren''t known.


    When confronted by Jun''s authority, some of these people started negotiating with those who were able to get some dead rats. They wanted to buy the whole body and haggled with CP. Jun lost interest on them and faced forward.


    The new recruits were energized with what Jun dered and vigorously fought in the front lines together with the ck Haven veterans. When people saw that things were much stablepared to the earlier chaos, groups of five and ten naturally formed. This numbers became themon group size so party''s could evenly distribute loot while having the capacity to remain safe.


    Several secondster, the carrier that was rolling in the ground earlier finally stoped moving. It slowly stood up while its muscles further improved and becamerger. Its arms and legs gained explosive growth spurt that should have been impossible but was happening. Its abs became more well defined and even bing taller by the second. By the time it managed to stood straight, it was already towering at two meters.


    It became a Ranked 1 Destroyer.


    Jun smirked and said, "That''s mine. I''ll loot that one and let''s see how much increase I can get."


    With Jun spearheading the battle, the wave was cleared in less than ten minutes. Most the time was even used for looting the dead bodies. Jun was ted after he received a +0.5 increase in strength after looting the D1. They collected their spoils and teleported back to town. People chose to rest after Jun announced that they still have a few minutes before the next wave arrives.


    The Frontier was nning to go and explore the public market when they met a horde of carriers near the broken bridge. They fought well since they were already experienced and fighting regr carriers were already easy for them. But things turned awkward when weird ghoul-like carriers appeared and started chanting incorrigible mantras. Their people started screaming and attacked each other causing them to lose their prior advantage. Not only was that weird ghouls appeared, the carriers woulde at them periodically in a timely manner as if they were respawning endlessly.


    They could only disarm those crazed members and fall back. Falling back was easier said than done when being chased by weird creatures. They wanted to kill those ghouls but they would run away after a certain range and they can''t keep chasing since the carriers could surround them.

 Chapter 158: Helping Hands

    Chapter 158: Helping Hands


    Bernard became attentive when he learned that the injured woman in front of him was Jun''s younger sibling. He tried his best to aodate her including her friends even when she repeatedly declined and told him off.


    Besides the rough attitude that she shared with Jun, there was nothing else of resemnce. The shape of her face would be rated in high regard due to its symmetric appearance. Unlike Jun who had a snub-nosed, there was a clear discrimination with her pointed nose.


    Anna ignored Bernard and continued ying with Takaw. Dogs were loving and smart animals. Once you showed them care and they ingrained you in their memories, they would act familiar to you until they die. Takaw became very excited after having a ymate. Usually, his days would end by guarding the mall''s entrance and lounging around the kitchen. Besides ying with Jun,sometimes, there was nothing else for him to do.


    Anna continued ying with Takaw and started scratching his chin. As if he felt like he was in heaven, Takaw closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out. Anna smiled then chuckled, "I''m bigger than you now. I can''t ride your back anymore. When I was a kid you were the same height as me, but now your just waist level."


    Emman and Erin looked at her as if she was an idiot. Anna just ignored the two and patted Takaw''s head. She said, "I missed you. You look so old now. Look, your chin are sagging."


    "You realize that its because of their breed, right?" Erin said.


    Emman tugged on her shirt, which forced her to face him. Erin red at him with her eyes as if asking what it is that he wanted. Emman hesitated but said, "I think that she''s just ying with the dog."


    "You realize that it''s sarcasm, right?" Erin rolled her eyes then ignored him. Emman felt awkward so he let her go to get some distance between them.


    A group of women led by Dyna came out with trays of cooling refreshment when someone suddenly started yelling from the outside. A bloodied figure appeared on the toll gate and immediately asked for the nurse, She. The man''s appearance surprised Dyna''s group and some of them almost dropped their trays.


    Bernard frowned upon seeing the bloodied man, then he noticed that it was only his clothes that were soaked with blood and there were no injuries on his body. Though confused, he managed to give a reply and said, "She''s currently not here. She went with our people to defend the north. Why? What happened? Did you not see her there?" Bernard assumed that those blood were from carriers and someone got critically injured and needed immeadiate treatment.


    People who were critically injured were first brought here to receive first aid then transferred to the volunteer doctor. She''s healing would immediately stop bloodloss, regenerate health and heal open-wounds. Even though they have to pay more, emergencies were emergencies and they couldn''t help but pay up. The doctor would then operate on the patient and would heal broken bones, wounded muscles and other types of internal injuries.


    Uponhearing that no medical personnel could help, the exhaustion on his face increased and the man seemed to have aged a bit more.He was about to leave but suddenly turned back.


    "T-there''s a hordeing from the east. They have weird carriers among them. We''re just trying to stall for time. You should leave, they''ll probably arrive here in a few minutes."


    As soon as the man finished rying the situation, he quickly left and ran back to the frontlines. His faction members were still fighting and he was only here to ask for medical support. Before he even went to ck Haven, he already contacted the stationed officers at the municipal hall and exined the situation. After he asked for reinforcement, he immediately went to ck Haven in hopes of getting some medical help.


    Thedies at ck Haven became perplexed as they absorbed what the man just told them. If what the man imed was true, then there''s a possibility that they could get locked up here if they stayed here. Being locked inside a mall with adequate supply could be considered good, but the man also said something about weird carriers. Almost everybody already knew about the evolved carriers and it wasn''t unprecendented to hear about weird carriers. Though they haven''t ventured out for a long time, they have heard stories from Adrian, Bernard, She. There''s three weird carriers on their list, the fire element carrier, water element carrier and the earth element carrier. Only a select number of elites from the police and ck Haven knew about them. If any of those three elemental carriers happened to passby, the malls shutters would easily be destroyed by any of the fire and earth element while the water element was still debatable.


    "We should defend the ce." said Jamie. Edward was always fighting out there and now that their home was in trouble, she stepped out and wanted to contribute. The women at ck Haven couldn''t be called timid just because they chose the normal life, the easy life. They just thought that they were using their heads and ignored the harsh truth that life has trully changed. There''s a risk of death every second, every day.


    They looked at each other as if feeling out what their opinions were, when Gina suddenly stepped forward anduged. "We''re just like when we first started. Scared. Confused. But we sticked to each other, and we lived. I think we should do that this time too. With enough numbers we can do anything!"


    "We''re not cowards!" Dyna chimed in.


    "We''re weak but we''re strong!" Alex excitedly said.Everyone turned to her and stared at her in confusion. "I mean we''re weak individually but strong when together... you know... those stuff."


    Old John suddenly joined in the conversation. "United we stand, divided we fall." The women turned to him in surprise since they weren''t expecting someone to speak from behind. "Isn''t that it? Am I wrong?"


    Bernard chuckled and said, "I think its strength in numbers."


    "Where is everybody? Have you people seen Jun? He hasn''t visited me after dropping a bunch of stuff." said Old John.


    Bernard stared wide-eyed at Old John. In the midst of all the happenings, he was isted in his workshop and just went out now. Thinking about it, he haven''t seen Evo since earlier. Even in the meeting before the first column of light appeared. With a little bit of awe, he exined the situation to Old John.


    When he realized that thedies were going out to help defend the ce, his dimensional storage appeared and things started dropping out continously.


    "Aim. Fire!" shouted Anna as she released the bow string. Beside her were a row of women that held crossbows standing with equal distances from each other. Shield-bearing individuals dashed from between their alloted space and shed at the iing carriers. Afternding a few strikes, the shield-bearers jumped back and retreated in an organized manner.


    At this time, another wave of bolts rained down on the advancing carriers. The battle continued repeatedly as the robed figure on the distance steadily summoned regr carriers. This could have gone on forever but unlike the carriers, people were getting exhausted.


    But thanks to ck Haven sending help for the Frontier, they were able to execute some ns. A detachment group took the scenic route over the Lakeside Marina and nked the robed carrier. Their operation was sure to fail if it weren''t for the ranged weapons that aided them. The ghouls taht chanted weird mantras were struck from afar. Even if they weren''t killed, causing a dy on their attacks would be a huge matter for the assault group.


    Without the help of itsckeys, the robed carrier was easily dealt by the assault group. Clearing the remnant carriers was such a breeze for these veterans. Takaw who followed Anna towards the battlefield, joined the clean up crew and killed stragglers. After several kills, his body was enveloped with light and he excitedly jumped around.


    The Frontier''s members mutted every carrier they met and vented out their anger for themselves and for their friends who got injured. The carriers dropped mid-tier essence crystals and a few gems. The most exotic loot they received was a ck orb that was looted from the robed carrier.


    The Frontier took two waves before they could clear the carriers from the cemetery. The main reason that they took this long was because of insuffecient information, unpreparedness and not fighting with their best at the very beginning which caused the robed carrier to summon carriers endlessly, exhausting them.


    Before the people could leave, Bernard approached the Frontier''s higher up and demanded the shields and weapons be returned. To guarantee victory, Old John gave out numerous swords and shields to Bernard, to lend to the people. There was no use of having a stockpile of these things when everyone is dead. The newly produced crossbows made from hardwood and steel were exclusive to ck Haven. The bolts were created with melted iron for its heavy weight mixed with ground carrier bones for extra durability.


    After the battle, everyone sat down on the spot to get some rest. Anna shook her leg, trying to determine whether her joints were damaged. Her knee injury was treated earlier by Noel Arada, the doctor. He hovered his hand above her knees and by the time he removed it, she felt bliss and became rxed. She felt some warm energy linger on her knees, as if enveloping her joines.


    The doctor introduced himself as the father of She, ck Haven''s nurse. She didn''t paid attention at the time, but now that she had free time to think, wasn''t She the name of the woman who treated her earlier. The warm energy was nowhere to be felt and she could feel her knees in a good condition. After a few more times of shaking her legs, she stopped and decided to sit down.


    She just arrived next to Emman and Erin, when a bright column of light appeared on the east.

 Chapter 159: Fiery Dragon

    Chapter 159: Fiery Dragon


    The recent tranquility of the street disappeared after several public utility vehicles passed by. Most of them were on top speed as they swayed left and right, evading the abandoned cars on the road. The cars took the long route by the Lakeside Marina while people who were chasing after the vehicles on foot went straight towards the broken bridge. They didn''t even slow down as they hastily crossed several vehicles roof.


    "What''s happening?" said the Alday Ruan to himself. He was trying to raise the morale of those who got injured to make sure that they won''t be desheartened or traumatized.


    Emman heard him and exined what the column of light do. After his brief exnation, he followed everyone as they went back to ck Haven.


    Alday Ruan stared towards the east. If the column of light summons carriers, then why were the people joyously running towards them. Even if those things gives experience, shouldn''t their safety be prioritized first? He couldn''t help but think that something else was going on.


    The Frontier had no idea about the stat increase that special carriers give. They didn''t even saw the first and second column of light since they were headed east, disabling them from seeing the first column of light on the west, and became extremely busy when they met the cemetery carriers.


    This is the first time that they saw the column of light and Alday Ruan realized that for people to be crazy for it, it must be something good. He gathered the members that could still fight and brought them east.


    A zing red jeepney stopped after it arrived at the corner. People that were on foot could be seen on the distance but their exhaustion were noticeable. This people were those small group of parties made up of friends that were unwilling to join local powers and decided to establish their small circles.


    The jeepney''s driver''s seat door opened and Edward got off. On the other side, Jun got off from the driver''s passenger seat.


    "See, my Fiery Dragon already did something useful!" Edward boasted to everyone as they gathered on the middle of the road. It was the same red jeepney that he imed from the Mine Rescue Operation. After reaching the northern bridge that time, they had to go on foot and left the jeepney there. Now that they chanced upon it since they went north to get some loot, Edward became extremely happy to be reunited with his hot ride.


    "You named it?" She said surprised.


    "Why not? Its a cool name and its a cool ride." Edward chuckled, "Are you envious of my ride now?"


    "No... nevermind, let''s focus now."


    People started arriving and set their own group formations. There were visible division of people as people gathered with their factions and friends. Right now, most of them were resting and were waiting for the horde to arrive.


    It was the same for everybody ekse. Almost everyone stood in formation in the middle of the road and waited for the horde of carriers to sh into them. Not because they were extremely tired, but because there were atleast dozens of evolved carriers as the vanguard of the horde.


    Numerous Destroyers and Hunters led the charge. In the midst of their ranks, a few evolved Rank 2''s could be seen. The lone D2 was three meters tall and towered among the D1''s. People also couldn''t ignored the lone H2 since it was so fast that it almost left everyone if it weren''t for its H1 kins following behind. There''s also atleast a hundred additional regr carriers acting as reinforcements behind them.


    Jun realized that the towns people doesn''t have enough strength to resist the charging horde. He said a few words to Edward and both of them led everyone to take the initiative.


    With Edward making a triangr barrier to spearhead the charge and Jun acting as his support, a thin line made of two rows of people thrusted straight towards the horde like a spear.


    When the H2 reached the 10m distance, it lunged forward and hit Edward''s barrier. One of its arms got caught from the front edge of the triangle which resulted in its arm muscles getting scraped off.


    Edward didn''t stop and continued charging at top speed. He didn''t even care on what''s going on behind him and only looked in front.


    When Jun saw that the H2 miserably failed its lunge on Edward, he waited for a chance to kill it. At the same time that the H2''s arm got caught by the front edge of the barrier, Jun already had his bonehammer out in his grasp. By the time the H2''s body stumbled to the side, Jun was already there ready to strike it down.


    When the H2''s body rebounded of from its fall, Jun''s energized bonehammer pulverized its head. The line received a gap since Jun left but the person next in line advanced forward and followed Edward.


    The H1''s as if it learned that lunging at the bright barrier wouldn''t result in their favor, evaded to the side. This time, the people behind Edward removed themselves from the formation and shed with the H1''s.


    Edward''s charge was only stopped after the H1''s scattered. it was because a D1 pped his barrier to the side. It was the first time he was pulled by his barrier and it was a new discovery for him.


    He quickly stabilized his footing and shouted to Jun, who he thought was behind him. "I don''t really know whether I have enough strength to damage them but I''ll try." He gathered energy on his hand and smiled as he shouted, "Shoryujen!"


    Edward spun once as he sent an uppercut on the D1. It was 2m tall so he jumped as high as he could just to make sure that he could hit it. But Edward felt dismay after uppercutting the D1. It wasn''t because he did not dealt damage, the D1 was shaking its head showing how effective his attack was.. He was dismayed because there was no one behind him!


    Adrian, She and Nik''s group, even the new recruits, were forming small groups to kill the H1''s. When Edwardnded, three D1''sand the lone D2 towered over him.


    "Y-You guys! You''re idiots!" yelled Edward as he produced a 180 degree barrier in front of him. The energy consumption was severe and ate seventy percent of his remaining energy but he felt it was worth it. If he didn''t raise the barrier in time to block those massive hands, he knew that he could have instantly died.


    "Why were you even charging that far!" She yelled back.


    "Y-you''re even ming me! Ah, I''m such an idiot for believing you guys."


    "Just admit it. You felt it too, right? The adrenaline." Jun said as he rushed forward, ignoring most of the H1''s and regr carriers along the way. His bonehammer shone with a glint of red before jumping high up and smashing the nearest D1''s head. He quickly rolled away after dropping down and evaded several lumps of muscled arms.


    He stood beside Edward and said, "You can fall back if you want. But I don''t believe that these guys can kill you as long as you can move. Heck, they probably can''t hurt you as long as you have enough energy. Oh by the way, this is a reward okay. Eat that." Jun handed over a small green fruit to Edward.


    Edward''s widened when saw the fruit and immediately ate it. It was the energy fruit that can increase your maximum energy and restore it fully. The only downside in consuming the energy fruit was that every time you ate one, its effects would be halved. But since this was Edward;s first time eating the energy fruit, he received its full effect.


    With his energy cap increased and restored to full, he was able to cast another set of barrier to block the barrage of attacks to them.


    Everything that ured just now, happened within a very short time period. By the time the police volunteers and small parties were able to react, half of the evolved carriers were already dead.


    "They''re taking it all! Let''s go, let''s go!"


    "Those ck Haven bastards! Move! Charge!"


    With their revolting appearances, anyone unknowledable with the sitution would think that they''re going to kill the ck Haven''s group.


    Also, the Frontier that just came saw the frenzied people charging forward. Alday Ruan had no clue about what''s happening and just led his members to charge. When they were on the frontlines, he just grabbed someone who almost hacked him and asked what was the craze about. The person was displeased due to his disturbance quickly gave a brief summary and went on his merry way.


    After some rational thinking he realized why everyone was so crazy about fighting the carriers/ They could increase stats! But when he reached that realization, it was already toote. The horde was so thin that people were having small fights to whom thest stragglers would belong.


    The beneficiary of this wave was clearly ck Haven. By the time the people arrive at the frontlines, the D1''s were already on theirst breaths. ck Haven took everyst evolved carrier and gave way for the people.


    Well, the elites backed off but the neers didn''t.


    These women braved the crowd with their strenght in numbers and maanged to get a good chunk of the horde. When everyst carrier was killed, most of the new recruits reached level 1.


    Everyone rested for five minutes and waited for the column of light to appear. Some people already started teleporting back to the minicipal square and waited there, so they could move as quickly as they could.


    Jun had told everyone to recover as much energy as they could. He had this hunch that he wished that wouldn''te true. When Jun opened his eyes from meditating to recover energy, he saw the column of light on the south.


    Just like he predicted.


    And he hates it.


    Because the only thing that you could find at the southern part of the town was theke.


    Jun stared at the column of light and sighed deeply.

 Chapter 160: The True Abilities of Underwater Carrier

    Chapter 160: The True Abilities of Underwater Carrier


    "I generated a new skill. I named it Unstoppable Charge! Get it? Just like earlier, I am unstoppable!"


    "What are you talking about? Weren''t you humbled earlier by a D1?"


    "No, that''s because the barrier had some weakpoints. If I had used a t one, I wouldn''t be pped to the side!"


    "That''s right. You''d either be crushed or sent tumbling back. Hahaha!"


    "Adrian bro, look at her. She''s made it a habit to bully me."


    "Hahaha, are you conceding to her since you''re already asking for help?"


    "What, no!"


    The chattering in the area suddenly vanished as people disappeared from their spots. On the municipal square, dozens of streaks of light appeared one after the other. A huge number of people scrambled towards the south after they regained vision.


    Jun finally interrupted them as he ran ahead of the group. "Let''s go. We are probably the only group who could defend this wave. Let''s hope that this is thest wave."


    The people who were running beside them had fatigued expressions on their faces. Though there was five minutes interval between the waves, the people couldn''t really rest properly within that time. Within that five minutes, they have to loot bodies and recover as much energy that they could. Afterwards, they have to run towards the column of light. Most of the vehicles were already drained of their gas for fueling generators, resulting on theck of readily avable mode of transportation. The gasoline station still have working pumps and would probably be a hotmodity after this day.


    Jun was just lucky when they found a working jeepney earlier, not because it had gasoline but because he had gasoline on him. A long time ago, he randomly looted a gasoline station and filled a few jerry cans with gasoline. He felt d that he kept some random things to himself. He even have some motor oils with him, just in case he needed it.


    As he passed by ck Haven, he searched for Bernard and told him to coordinate with the police in repairing the Teleport Portal. After repeated mass teleports, the Teleport Portal received a huge cut on its durability.Thankfully, it was repaired towards its max durability by volunteers yesterday.


    When Jun caught up with the crowd, the people were only standing on muddy waters. They stood approximately 100m away from ck Havenpund. Behind the mall were some corns in neat rows. The farmer father and son curiously watched the crowd of people in the distance.


    The cornfield was a secret only known by ck Haven''s people. People would normally visit the vegetable garden at the front and wouldn''t even think that there was a small ntation here at the back. Now that the people knew of the cornfield''s existence, the father and son have to consider setting up some security measures.


    "Where are they?" some people shouted when they couldn''t find the enemies. At the same time, the water level was slowly rising and reached their knees at unprecedentingly fast pace.


    The shoreline was slowly decreasing as the water level rose. Jun gathered everyone''s attention and exined the situation.


    "The enemies are probably underwater. Unless you''re a skilled swimmer, I rmend staying onnd."


    With that said, he called his members and formed a circle.


    "Nik, your group will support me," Jun said then nced at Adrian, She, Edward and the new recruits that followed here. "If any of you can swim, you cane. Don''t go if you''re not confident with your skills, you''ll just be a burden. I''ll teach everyone a technique and if you can learn it, you could alsoe."


    Jun gave a brief exnation how to use Water Stride. This skill allows someone to walk over water at the expense of energy. The skill couldn''t be used continously as it drains 20 energy on first cast and subsequest 1energy per 10seconds. The benefits of learning the skill was its passive increase in underwater movement speed. This greatly benefits swimmers and divers to move around underwater.


    Learning skills either takes skill or luck. If you couldprehend the skill and learn it quickly then its your luck. But if you don''t you can just continue trying to do so. After the first round of trials, Edward triumphantlyughed as he jumped above the water. Every time his feetnded on top of the water, it made soft sshy sounds. He then circled around Adrian and She as if gloating.


    Adrian and She could only re at him as nerves popped on their head.


    "Adrian, take charge here."


    "Okay." Adrian dejectedly replied.


    By the time they were ready to move, a slimy head came out of the water. As if to say that it wasn''t alone, a continuous stream of heads came out and they started walking towards the shore. Their gaping mouths released water and their screams sounded like they were gurgling. Seaweeds were glued to their faces and barnacles could be seen on their shoulders. The special carriers strode forward slowly and red at the crowd.


    Jun quickly used Water Stride. When he felt that energy automatically gathered on the soles of his feet, he raised his foot and stepped over water. He felt the friction between his feet and the water, and just like stepping on solidnd, he rose up and stood steadily. Nik''s group followed after him and rose up.


    "Let''s go."


    Like most of the people watching the scene, Paolo Cas and Alday Ruan were bbergasted when they saw Jun''s group running on the surface of the water. Everyone had the same questions in mind. Ninjas?!


    Though envious of their ability, the skill seemed to need some level of skill for one to use properly. The leftover crowd from ck Haven proved it. In their minds, ck Haven has really be a power house worthy of respect. Currently, they were already nning on establishing some ties with them, at any cost.


    Alday Ruan''s decision wasn''t unexpected since the main purpose of The Frontier was to helpmon people. Everything that could increase the survivability of someone would be in the groups best interest.


    On the other hand, Paolo Cas'' decision was a bit surprising but understandable. Although he condemns Jun''s way of livingbeing strong but not caring for the peoplehe couldn''t help but admire the strengths that he have. If he could convince ck Haven to partner with the government then everything would be a breeze. They don''t need or expect everything but a few useful skills would help people be stronger.


    Honestly, The Frontier and PNPhad the same goal since the very start. To help and save as many people that they could. The only difference was The Frontier teaches you how to survive, how to fight, etcetera while the PNP maintains peace and order on themunity, and at the same time, tries their best to rescue as many people as they could.


    As the slimy carriers approached closer, the people''s anxiousness level rose. Simply because the water level has already reached their waist. If they retreated, the distance between the carrier and them would increase. By the time they got close to each other, the water level would have already risen once again.


    "Hold your line! Let''s try to fight here! They''re probably the same as the one onnd. Just severe the head, so they won''t stand up again."


    Though it was unknown who shouted the order, it eased the heart of the people since there was someone willing to act as the leader. The shoreline had a long stretched line of people. ck Haven''s group were at the east, the PNP at the center and The Frontier at the west. The small unaffiliated parties gathered on the far east next to ck Haven. These people learned that as long as they stick to ck Haven, there safety would be guaranteed. Some of them also learned not to kill-steal the hard way.


    Jun''s group circled around and kept his gaze underwater. His eyes were already shining as he scanned for the target that he was looking for, further draining his energy.


    "There it is!"


    Upon seeing the unique carrier among the end of the underwater carriers, Jun quickly inhaled and dove down underwater. This time, it was a battle concerning time. He knew from previous experience that this unique carrier was a cowardly one, so he had to kill it as quickly as possible.


    When the underwater carriers noticed the group of divers, they quickly changed directions and targeted Jun''s group. The unique carrier casually pped its arms towards them.


    Jun felt that its actions should be treated with caution, so he slowed down, causing him to float vertically on the spot. All of a sudden, three spots from his stomach was hit by something. He felt like he was shot again by three rubber bullets.


    Arge amount of bubbles formed after Jun uncontrobly coughed, forcing him climb up and get some air. The group became surprised when they saw Jun burst out a lot of air. Though they don''t know what happened, everyone saw the eye catching carrier that waved its hand towards Jun.


    Edward quickly casted a barrier in front of Jun to block any follow-up. But that didn''t stop the underwater carriers from swimming forward.


    They swam like fishes as they moved their legs with both hands at the sides. Their movements were fluid as if they were gliding on water, not even once did they hit each other. The unique carrier glided upwards as it controlled the water around it.


    Before the group could reach the water surface, the underwater carriers were already close. Jun had an anguished expression on his face when his head popped out of the water. He remain floating and chose not to climb out of water to preserve energy.


    "I underestimated it too much!"


    Since he won over the first time he fought the water elemental carrier, he thought that the second time would have been much easier! But he made a huge miscalction. When he fought the water-element carrier, it was onnd! Now that they were fighting on its territory, it was fighting on its full prowess. He finally tasted the skills that the water-element carrier was unable to usest time. As he was catching his breath and contemting about his failure, something caught his interest from the distant.


    Though they didn''t know what happened, the group stayed underwater and was already prepared to fight it out. They only realized how skillful these underwater carriers in swimming were when they got surrounded easily. They tried swimming up but the unique carrier would then order for an attack, which the group had to defend. If this continued on, they would run out of air.


    Just as they were wondering when Jun would help them, a huge shadow appeared on the water surface followed by smaller ones.[ol][li data-annotation-id="e7d50-57ca-2702-e035-6fd73ee9da0a"]Philippine National Police[/ol]

 Chapter 161: The Veteran Fishermens

    Chapter 161: The Veteran Fishermens


    One passenger boat and several small fishing boats arrived near Jun. Gilbert stood at the bow of the boat and smiled at Jun.


    "Need some help?"


    Jun smiled wryly and shook his head. "I need to go down. We''re still underattack."


    "Wait, what do you mean?"


    "You saw the bright lights earlier? They summon carriers. We''re dealing with aquatic ones right now, the same ones that invaded your ce, and its a bit troublesome." Jun exined then dove down.


    When Gilbert understood what Jun meant, his passion for vengeance erupted. He looked around and noticed everyones fervented gaze. That''s right! Everyone from the Lakeside Marina suffered under those creatures rules. Their friends, acquaintances and loved ones were massacred. He saw one of his old friends'' eye burn with fury while waiting for Gilbert''s decision.


    At this time, Gilbert smiled. He felt like he became younger by a few years as he became hot-blooded. He said, "We live on these waters, we survive thanks to thiske. Now that others are trying to im what''s ours, we should protect what''s rightfully ours! I willy my life down for these waters!"


    "That''s right!"


    "Yes!"


    Edward was having a hard time defending from the unique carriers attack. He can''t give everyone a barrier, so he swam to the groups front and made everyone line up behind him. With this, he just needed to make arger barrier to effeciently defend everyone.


    Their group slowly swam up even when under attack. Everyone felt like they were fighting sharks as they evaded the carriers that swam past them.


    Huwan managed to grab one and it almost slipped out from his grasp. Its body was cold and slippery to the touch. As he was having trouble holding the carriers neck, a bonedagger stabbed its head. Huwan stared at Jun and they nodded at the same time.


    Jun whispered something to Edward, then opened his dimensional storage. He started throwing hollow blocks towards the unique carrier. Its a rectangr concrete block with hollow insides used for building internal and external walls.


    The hollow blocks served as a distraction to block the unique carriers vision and to absorbed some of the unique carriers long ranged attacks. Jun also used the hollow blocks as dead weight, so he could close the gap faster.


    People started diving underwater causingrge sshes of water to erupt. The first thing the fishermen saw was Nik''s group being held captive underwater.


    Ever since the invasion of the Lakeside Marina, they learned to adapt and create strategies. The younger fishermans can swim faster than the older fishermans, so they were tasked with trapping the ''fishmen'' bys then kill them, while the old fishermen would hunt their own targets using their harpoons.


    After Gilbert signaled for everyone''s task, he led the charge and swam towards Nik''s group. When he felt that his swimming speed was slowpared to the aquatic carriers, he used Water Stride and started propelling himself faster. He was swimming horizontally but with his feet stepping on solid water. It appeared like he was running down a flight of stairs. It was extremely quick and he arrived almost instantly beside the group.


    The other fishermen saw his actions and copied him but not everyone followed him. Some followed after the two people sinking deeper into theke. With the Water Stride boost, everyone swam and ran underwater at the same time.


    Nik and the group became flustered. We could do that? Ofcourse we can! With that realization, they easily moved around underwater, but were still outswam by the carriers.


    Using Water Stride underwater was never a concept to Jun or Nik''s group, since the main purpose of the skill was to step on the surface of the water.


    The fishermen were such innovative people indeed. Or were they just logical people? Whatever the case, the skill was greatly utilized by them.


    Jun also allowed Lakeside Marina to take one energy fruit per harvest. He told them that it was a gift but he, himself, knew that it was partlypensation; a bribe.


    The Lakeside Marina epted since there was nothing for them to lose and eating the fruit could increase their max energy.


    With nothing to do, and with the hugeke as the yground. The people learned the ability to run underwater. The skill clearly says that it allows the user to walk on the surface of the water. But what is the surface of the water? Does water even have sides? What is up and down? With this knowledge, they managed to rise to the assion and help ck Haven.


    The water-element carrier kept throwing ''rubber bullets'' towards Jun, only to hit the sinking hollow blocks. When Jun was only 10m away from the unique carrier, it turned around and bailed, wanting to retain its distance with them.


    As it turned and swam, a bright light appeared infront, causing its face hit something. A circr barrier trapped it inside.


    This was Jun''s n from the start. He knew that with his swimming speed, he would never be able to catch it. But if it was trapped, then its the end.


    Jun swam as quickly as he could towards the trapped unique carrier. The water-element carrier was busy wing at the barrier, but unless it had the pure strength of a Destroyer, there was no chance that it could break the barrier.


    As he got closer, the carrier gathered something on the tips of his fingers. Then he finally saw what the ''rubber bullets'' actually were. On the carriers fingertips were small water bubbles the size of a marble. As if enraged seeing Jun''s smug face, it waved its hands throwing the bubbles away, only to hit the barrier.


    Jun wondered why the water-element carrier he foughtst time didn''t use this skill. Was it weaker and could use it or is the skill exclusive underwater? In some sense, it was probably thetter.


    At the same time that he arrived next to it, the barrier disappeared. Jun quickly hugged its body, still having the smug look on his face. He thought, "You''re weak in melee, right? Hehe, I specialize in that."


    He tangled his legs on the carriers waist and used his right hand to grabbed its neck. He felt the slippery texture of its skin, so he dugged his fingers deep inside its neck causing dark blood to flow out. A dagger from his off-hand stabbed the side of its head repeatedly, killing it.


    When he confirmed that it was dead, he grabbed its neck and turned around to swim up, only to see an unconscious Edward being dragged towards the surface by several fishermen. They stood diagonally on water as they ran like going up the stairs.


    Unlike Jun who didn''t use any other skill besides Water Stride. Edward spent all of his on casting barriers to protect everyone. The full 360 circr barrier to trap the water-element carrier took most of his final energy and he held it for as long as he could. When he saw that Jun arrived next to it, he tried to stop the energy drain but it was toote.


    Everyone safely got up on their boats and bathed under the warm sunlight. Jun climbed up the biggest boat and found Edward lied down on the aisle. On Jun''s hand was a blue orb that he received after looting the dead body. It was the thing that he wanted the most but he didn''t feel d getting it.


    As he watched Gilbert perform CPR on Edward, he couldn''t help but feel down. He doubted himself whether he was qualified to lead people or whether his decisions even correct? Besides being strong, there was nothing else significant of him.


    "What are you thinking, Mr. Reyes? Are you worried for this guy? Don''t worry, I''m quite good at resuscitation. Our young ones always tend to drown when little. Hahaha!"


    Gilbert saw Jun''s troubled expression and tried to exin that he doesn''t have to worry because he had enough expertise. He noticed that it wasn''t because of that, and pondered.


    "Is there something else that troubles you Mr. Reyes?" Gilbert said as he pumped Edward''s chest. Afterwards he resuscitated him causing Edward to spat out water.


    "Hmm, something''s strange... he''s still unconscious."


    "That''s normal, its energy backsh since he ran out of energy."


    Gilbert shrugged and epted his exnation.


    A book appeared on Jun''s hand and gave it to Gilbert. It was the Water Bending Manual. "Take this. I think you can use this better." When he saw Gilbert hesitating, he added, "Just take it as my gratitude for saving him. Thank you." Jun bowed to Gilbert.


    The boats docked 20m away from the shoreline and dropped Jun''s group off. The shore sessfully defended the tides of carriers but not without casualties.


    There were two main problems they encountered.


    Their feet sink down on the mud and slows their reaction time and the other was that these types of carriers were slippery to the touch. Since they had to fight at close range, there were moments that the enemies get too close. If it were the regrnd carriers, everything would have gone smoothly but they weren''t. When they grabbed the shoulders or neck, their hands would slip causing fatal injuries since they would be hugging each other.


    No deaths urred thanks to medical personnel of different factions on standby but injuries were on the rise. Things only calmed down when ck Haven''s archers came and helped ease the situation.


    As everyone became relieved after seeing ck Haven''s leader arrive, they were pulled back to the pits of despair.


    "We''ve got one final wave to go through."


    Jun already asked Gilbert to stay around in case the wave repeated in the south. Everyone rested near the za and waited for the time toe.


    The five minutes were up and everyone looked up in the sky. A column of light appeared on the west. Before the people could rush there, another column of light, followed by two others appeared in the sky. The west, north, east, and south have a column of light.

 Chapter 162: Cloaked Woman

    Chapter 162: Cloaked Woman


    When the columns of light appeared simultaneously, everyone became horrified at what the event could entail. Just imagining being attacked from all sides made people stricken with fear. The people who thought that there wasn''t enough enemies for everyone were already thinking of ways to survive.


    At this time of turmoil, Jun remained clear headed and started barking orders. There were threerge powers residing in town. ck Haven, The Frontier and the National Police. ck Haven will head west, while The Frontier and PNP will go north and east respectively. Before the two factions left, Jun gave them signal res each, only to be used when in immediate need of help.


    Though a bit disgusted about how Jun seemed to be publicly downsizing their abilities, they took the res ignoring the powery. Both Alday Ruan and Paolo Cas have the same thought in mind. To save more people. Even though they took it, they would only use it as ast resort.


    Jun searched for his sister and assigned her as the leader of the ck Haven''s crossbow unit. No one really questioned him since everyone saw how skillful Anna was with the bow.


    When he was about to leave with Adrian, Nik and the others. He noticed the leftover people staring at him. Then he realized that they were waiting for him to assign them their spots. He felt awkward since unlike The Frontier and the PNP, whom he was acquainted with, these were small groups unwilling to be affiliated with local powers.


    He had no qualms about there decision to stay free but having tomand them somehow felt weird for him.


    Jun doesn''t like power. It just happens that it follows him. And he uses it to have fun.


    With his quick thinking, he thought of a ce where they could be safe and wouldn''t affect his zone distribution.


    "Join the south defense team. You should be safe there. Unless you want to risk fighting evolved carriers, you can go wherever you want."


    With that said Jun led the group towards the west.


    The battlefield from the south and west has the least number of casualties. The south had the same number of underwater carriers while only having one water-element carrier. With the Lakeside Marina''s help, the south was defended with ease.


    On Jun''s side, a fire-element carrier spat out fire when it first saw Jun''s group. It was still a distance away and everyone dodged the fire ball easily. The fire-element carrier had dozens of regr carriers as bodyguards. But uy when the fight started, the fire-element carrier burned most of them with its conical meing out from its mouth.


    If you thought that they got lucky, they weren''t. Although the regr carriers became wild and randomly attacked, it still took some time and effort to dodge them. Being hugged by a burning person wouldn''t feel good, especially when they are trying to bite you. The battle ended rathercklusterly when Jun threw a fire extinguisher at the right timing when the fire-element carrier spat out another fireball. The fire extinguisher exploded right in front of its face. Its body became filled with materials that preventbustion. Jun easily managed ughter it when he got close. He felt like he was bullying a baby since the fight felt like he was fighting a regr carrier. Well, they have to think of another way to fight it next time since it was thest fire extinguisher from ck Haven.


    When the south and west finished, they remained on standby at the municipal square. Working jeepneys, trikes and vans were on standby as they waited whether people would need help.


    To their dismay, The Frontier and the PNP came back with a few minutes of difference.


    The Frontier had the most number of injured personnel with one death. They fought the earth-element carrier together with one hundred regr carriers. The disturbing fact about the battle was that the regr carriers skin were as tough as stones. It seems like that the unique carriers empowers nearby regr carriers ording to its element. If it was only that, they would have easily won. But to kill the earth-element carrier, they had to get close with it. That didn''t end well for everyone.


    Unlike ck Haven who had ranged weapons and the PNP who buys ranged weapons from ck Haven, The Frontier was a new rising power made by the people, for the people.


    Although having numerous members, they literallyck funds to bolster their members strength at the moment. They''re just like a start-uppany still needing adequate funds to buy essential things. Most of the equipment the members own were bought using their own money. The only thing that The Frontier gave them was knowledge and moral support. Some of the members that had bonespears regretted throwing it out. Now they either lose the expensive item or risk their lives retrieving it.


    The only good news that happened was when they cleared most of its bodyguards. Using a kiting strategy of throwing bonespears, kiting it towards one side, picking up the dropped bonespears, then rinse and repeat.


    They were able to kill the earth-element carrier after its chest''s muscles were thinned out due to repeated attacks. The Frontier learned a harsh lesson from this fight. Do not skimp on supplies.


    The PNP fought four H1, one H2, two D1, one D2 and hundreds of regr carriers. With less than twenty armed officers; Tier 2 Short Swords, Tier 2 BoneSpears, Tier 2 Daggers. Together with under equipped civilian volunteers, who only had basic Tier 0 and Tier 1 gears, brimming with justice and righteousness. What do you think could have happened? Ofcourse they were forced back to the other side of the broken bridge.


    Even though Paolo Cas felt aggrieved asking for help, he had to save his people. Just as he was about to fire the signal re, a two meter mutated dog ran out from the alleyway of the apartment building and started mutting the evolved carriers. Everything happened unexpectedly fast and no one had the chance to react.


    The mutated dog went wild as it chewed of the H2''s upper body then trampled on the H1''s. The H-series carriers were wiped out in an instant.


    Afterward, the mutated dog lunged on the nearest D1. It pinned it to the ground and started ripping its flesh off from its body. The mutated dog felt a jolt from its back. The remaining D1 pped him.


    It growled for a second before swatting the D1''s head with its paw. The D1''s head shrunk like a turtle hiding its head in its shell. Blood spurted out from the neck wounds as the body fell down.


    If you were wondering where was the D2, it was busy being mesmerized by a cloaked woman on top of the wall.


    The woman wore a sexy ck half-mask revealing her luscious lips and fair skin. Her arms stretched outwards as if inviting the D2 toe closer. The arm hidden behind her held a short sword with glinting sharpness on its tip.


    Just as the D2 were two meters away, the mutated dog suddenly bit the D2''s upper body. The cloaked woman became shocked as her mouth formed the shape of an O.


    A melodious charming voice came out when she angrily stomped her feet atop the wall. "That was mine!" She sighed seeing the dog lower its head. "Its fine, its fine. But don''t eat them. Bring that, and that one." she said pointing to the D2 and H2.


    The mutated dog used its tail and grabbed the H2, then followed the woman back to the alley.


    Was it surprising? Yes. Was the problem solved? Partly. They still have regr carriers to deal with.


    With the evolved carrier out of the picture, the clearing operation easily ended. The only casualty they had was someone who received trauma after getting chased by the Hunters.


    When the cloaked woman and her mutated dog passed several alleys, they arrived at a garage of an abandoned motel. She stabbed the D2''s eyesockets with a bonedagger and ordered it to spat the body out.


    "Come on, Junjun! Spit it out! I can''t give you everything. You already ate most of our kills. Give me some benefits too."


    As if the mutated dog understood her, it spat the D2''s body to the ground, then stuck its tongue out yfully.


    "Good boy. No, don''t lick my hand!"


    As the people gathered back at the municipal square, tension rose when ck Haven''s group got surrounded by The Frontier and the PNP.


    Jun didn''t feel threatened as he got stared by groups of people. He smiled at them and said, "I was waiting for the res but none actually came. That''s disappointing."


    "Someone died." said Alday Ruan.


    "People always die." replied Jun.


    "You knew something, but you kept it to yourself. You killed people."


    "What, how did that even came to that?"


    Paolo Cas mediated between them before things could get out of hand. He looked at Jun and said, "Let''s talk."

 Chapter 163: Black Haven Guild

    Chapter 163: ck Haven Guild


    Inside the municipal mayor''s office, the top echelons of the three powers were gathered on a long table. There were only eight people sitting around the table but dozens of people were standing by the side.


    Jun sat on the most prominent seat and nced at everyone who were waiting for his words.


    On his left side were The Frontier faction while on his right were the PNP faction. They each have three seats while thest seat was taken by a nervous looking man. The man probably felt pressured being around powerfnd influential people, as he couldn''t help but act fidgety while looking around. The man jolted when someone patted him from the back. He sighed in relief when he saw a familiar face, which made him calm down.


    It was Emman, the representative of the small parties, elected to join this meeting. Standing behind him were Erin and Anna, watching over his shoulders. A few leaders from the small parties also volunteered to act as his bodyguard. Not because they care about him, but because they want to experience what the meeting would feel like.


    Jun coughed to catch everyones attention and said, "I''m not interested in politics nor do I like ying games. I think everyone here in this room already realized that personal strength is the only thing that could keep you alive. Even if you have an army of people around you, when something unknown appears everyone would just die."


    "Even myself. I never thought that I would able to deal with everything. But I knew for a fact that I''m the strongest person here, currently. I may have ignored this issue recently, but I think we need to helo each other."


    "We''ve been hoping for that since the very start. But before we move on, please give us an exnation on how you get to know that there are enemiesing." said Alday.


    Upon consideration, Jun chose to speak of the truth. "I''m a Lord. I don''t really understand the position fully, but I have some spections. I won''t go in further details but I can give you a brief overview. A lord has a territory and citizens. A lord''s territory prevents enemies from entering and respawning the area. My territory is this town and I currently don''t have citizens, so I have no idea on how that works. I can also build territory architecture inside my territory."


    "Is it a rare title?" someone muttered as if probing, but Jun ignored the utterance and nced on his left and right.


    "Let''s stop pointing fingers. Everyone should be leveling instead of being here. What do you want?"


    Jun stared at Paolo Cas since he was the one who insisted on this meeting.


    "I want information. Information about the enemies and how to learn useful skills, especially that water walking skill you have."


    After listening to Paolo Cas, Jun turned to Alday Ruan and said, "And you? What do you want?"


    Paolo Cas and Alday Ruan felt that there was something wrong as they took a quick nce at each other. The two had some small chat on the way up and were both shocked when they realized they have the same intentions in mind. To force Jun to help the people, either by equipment or with information.


    With Alday Ruan''s earlier defeat, he realized that being stocked with multitudes of weapons could increase everyones prowess and survivability. If they had crossbows when they fought the earth-element carrier, he was willing to use everyst arrow they had if it meant that they could easily deal with the enemy.


    He stared at Jun and said, "I want to partner with ck Haven in crafting tools and weaponry. The Frontier would supply the materials and ck Haven would produce it. The people currently don''t have the luxury to buy high tier equipment and being able to turn their loot to something they could use would be best for them."


    Jun nodded his head in agreement. He said to Paolo Cas, "Regarding the request for information, I can agree with that but with certain conditions," he then turned to Alday Ruan. "Do you also want information?"


    Alday Ruan frowned but still replied amicably. "Yes."


    "Then listen, I will give you the result of our research in exchange of everyone''s information. Knowledge for information, isn''t that a good trade? I want names, traits and skill sets of everyone of your members, including yourself. I want to see every title anyone of you might have and your previous upation. That''s the price of our research. If you think that I''m asking for too much, then reject it. You said your piece, I stated mine. Do we have a deal?"


    "Its good for me." said Alday Ruan. He doesn''t have anything to hide nor his faction. He knew that agreeing with this would mean exposing everyones ability to ck Haven, but unless they be enemies, they would have no use for those information.


    Unlike the casual Alday Ruan, Paolo Cas had a difficult time agreeing with Jun''s offer. He was a police officer. It was ingrained to his mind how knowing certain informations could turn a losing battle to victory. Even if they were acting chummy right now, things could change in the future and those information would be valuable.


    "You don''t want it?" said Jun to Paolo Cas.


    As the two leaders were having their battles, their subordinates were fighting their own staring contests. But in the end, Paolo Cas agreed. He weighed his options right now, and increasing everyone''s strength is his current priority.


    "Uhm... I... also want to join the exchange."


    The three faction leaders turned towards the voice. Emman had his hand raised up as if asking whether he could talk or not.


    Jun said, "What do you mean? The information exchange? Sure, we''ll discuss the detailster. Is there anything else you''d like?"


    Emman shook his head as he lowered his hand. "Nothing else."


    "Okay, since the three of you wants our research, you could talk to Evoter," Jun faced Alday Ruan and said, "Partnership? No. How did you even think that I''ll agree to that. We can procure our own materials. But that doesn''t mean we can''t have cooperations. ck Haven''s market is closing effective right now."


    A few gasps could be heard on the crowd as the announcement was truly abrupt. Even his guards were surprised about his promation.


    "On the other hand, I''m d to inform everyone of ck Haven Guild''s grand opening. Taa-daa." Jun pped alone inside the room.


    When Marianne left, Evo and Jun had some time to be alone. Evo recounted numerous ws with their current system and suggested to dismantle it at its roots. After Jun got drunk, he narrated how the people even tried to impeach him from the mayorship that they forced on him. It was then the ck Haven Guild was proposed. A Guild system where everyone would rely on ck Haven, financially, socially and even on material needs.


    The fiat currency was already set. The credit points system was generally epted by everyone. With a simple and easy to use ck Haven card, anyone could transact anytime safely. The only problem was the marketce. Since the ck Haven''s marketce only caters to the rich, due to mostly having high quality items, the regr people who only earns enough credit for their daily spending would never step back to ck Haven''s marketce and would prefer the cheaper alternative, the night market.


    Evo insisted that for the people to be obedient to them, ck Haven must make itself the only one ce that the people could rely on.


    Currently, the people outside were already in mour as the news of ck Haven Guild spread around. The news didn''t came from the meeting room but from the advertisement bus. Along with it was the Guild''s recruitment flyer.


    All skilled individuals are invited to join the recruitment. The main attraction was the high base sry with work guaranteed. A note also said that they would still be paid for the day even if they have no works scheduled. For further information, look for ck Haven''s recruitment officer, Evo.


    "That''s everything, right?" said Jun.


    "No, we still have one more thing to talk about," rebutted Paolo Cas. "We need to decide on whom will defend where. If we assume that those waves of attack were caused by you being a lord, wouldn''t that mean that anytime soon, an attack woulde again?"


    "You have a point. We don''t really know when it woulde, so assigning ces is a bit... Nah, let''s just do it. I im west."


    Paolo Cas furrowed his brows as he nced at Jun. He uttered, "You won''t take south?"


    "What, why would I do that? Have you ever tried fighting underwater? It was troublesome. Let''s leave that to the experts."


    "The Frontier will defend the north."


    "Haa... the National Police will defend the east."


    "We''ll roam!" Emman shouted. "We''ll primarily defend the south and roam when we get the chance."

 Chapter 164: Adventure Begins!

    Chapter 164: Adventure Begins!


    Everyone went on their own ways after the meeting ended. Jun chatted with his sister but immediately felt a wall between them. Though both of them tried acting familiar with each other, unlike dogs who had loyalty ingrained to them, humans tend to change and adopt in its surroundings.


    Anna cared for her brother as a family. But now that they were in front of each other, she couldn''t think of anything to say.


    Jun epted the truth that his rtionship with his sister was now an awkward one. He further realized this when she chose to side with her friends instead of him. They may be family but they weren''t depending on each other.


    The warmth that he thought a family member could give him didn''te. He only felt cheated for expecting a warm reunion.


    Adrian and the others gave them some time. The group went out and left the building.


    Jun and Anna sat on a bench near the stairs that lead down to the first floor.


    With an unknown heavy feeling in his chest, Jun asked Anna the question he was most curious about. "Are you alone?"


    Anna realized what he meant and shook her head, "I''m together with Chloe and Grandma Teresa."


    "Ohh."


    Silence again.


    Jun scratched the back of his neck and softly mumbled, "Mum... where is she? Did she..."


    "If you''re asking where she is now, then I can ony apologize because I don''t know. She went with uncle to deliver the finished products in Taytay. Mom established a small tailor shop and it was enough to support us for our daily needs."


    "Do you know why she left? Why you guys left me?"


    Since they were both not looking at each other, Anna didn''t notice Jun''s current state and replied, "I don''t know. But I know that mom misses you. You and dad. Sometimes, when I wake ups at the middle of the night, I would hear her sniffing beside me. I can think of a fee reasons but I can''t guarantee that it is true. If you want to find out, you need to ask mom about that. For the record, I hated dad for a time when we left the house. I hated him for bullying and making mom cry. That''s why I didn''t talk to him after a long time. I just recently got close to him when I learned to be practical. How is he, I didn''t see him back at your ce."


    "Dad got injured from his work and he was one of them when things started."


    "Ohh."


    Jun stiod up and stretched a bit before facing Anna. He then said, "If you need anything, you cane find me at the mall. If I''m not there, look for Bernard. He''s the easy-looking old man."


    Anna stretched her arm towards him and said, "Can''t you just give it now? I need money."


    Jun scoffed, then took a nk ck card. "Where did you learn to be thick-skinned? You weren''t like these when you were younger."


    Anna smirked, "I learned to be practical. Didn''t I just told you about it?"


    Jun shook his head as he went down the stairs, but halted when his sister called for him. Anna wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to him.


    Later that day, stacks of paper were ced on Evo''s desk. The PNP''s sheet of papers even had confidential stomped on its top right corners.


    Evo''s expression says that he wasn''t willing to waste his time dealing with this mess and so he called for reinforcement. Most of the girls had experience with data entry, so they epted the call for help.


    Each page had detailed descriptions of the individual. Some had titles, while others don''t. During filing, they also found out that people with the same jobs mostly have the same skills. The only difference were the individual traits and some additional skills.


    As they finished tabting the information, it became evident that your genersted skills depend on what your job was. Even though everyone roughly guessed it, having a confirmation was still better than hoping.


    Also, ording to the data, most people had support and utility skills. Assault skills were extremely rare. The only assault skill they found was from Gener Guevarra, a former boxer. He had a skill called Heart Stopper. It was a punching technique that requires you to hit the heart area of the opponent. It would cause a paralysis effect which stops the enemy from moving for a few seconds depending on resistances. Although this seemed like an assauly skill, it was still partly utility.


    Evo finished writing the guild outlines, operations and implementation. He nced at Jun and said, "Do you really need to leave now? Things could get drastic without you here."


    "I have to try. This is probably myst chance."


    "The odds aren''t good, my friend."


    "I''ll take the risk. Wouldn''t you do the same if you ever got a clue about who hit-and-run your girl?"


    "How did you know about that?"


    "My friend, people aren''t drunk just because they act drunk." Jun gave Evo a meaningful smile and the two of themughed it off.


    "You''re bringing people?" said Evo.


    "I won''t. This is something personal, so I won''t involve others."


    Jun was already prepared to decline any sort of suggestion that Evo might say, when he noticed his smart friend bing unusually quiet.


    Evo ced a few things that he took from his dimensional storage on top of the table. A smart watch, a cheap maic earring and a ck stylish cloak.


    "These are all prototypes and I would really appreciate it if you return them in good conditions."


    Upon hearing Evo''s short speech, Jun immediately became excited.


    "This is a new modified smart watch that has a holographic map for you to navigate. It could detect movements and would show small red triangles to show the general direction from where the movement came from. I''m nning to make an urate one that could pinpoint the exact location but thay would need more time. Currently, it could only detect the 20m radius around you. Its practically useless at this point, but this should help you when navigating inside buildings. The smart watch is also connected to ourwork, so we could still chat if anything happened."


    "This earring is a tracker. It would be shown as a green dot on the smart watch. We could find you if you ever get lost," Evo suddenly chuckled. "Get lost, hahaha." He cleared his throat and continued exining the item. "It also acts as a radio. If you long press on it, a holographic tuning apparatus would appear. You can select channels and stuff. I don''t think you can use it since you won''t be bringing anyone along but I''m just telling you, so you could know. "


    "Thest but not the least, the camouge cloak. I modified it so that carriers would think that you''re already dead. It also removes your scent. I made this, so the Hunters can''t track us. I have to warn you though, these aren''t fully tested and I can''t guarantee their effectiveness. Don''t rely on them too much. Just like my previous works, you need to charge these items with energy."


    "I understand. Thank you," Jun took the items and tinkered for a bit. Evo then taught him how to use the items.


    The smartwatch was almost of the same version of hisst one, the only thing that change was how to operate it. Instead of tapping, he needs to twist his wrist as if he was looking at the time while clenching his thumb with his other fingers. A t hologram map the size of a palm appeared.


    Evo tried his best to program the watch as simple as possible, and it went like this. (if; thumb touched by other fingers=true, show map hologram)


    He then tried out the earring and the cloak but didn''t find anything exceptional. The two then continued discussing how the Guild should operate. The Guild was established to control the people. Jun didn''t even want it in the first ce but Evo insisted on it. He ns to use the Guild for his own personal reason.


    Jun exined to everyone about his decision. He already treats everyone as family, so informing them was the least that he could do. Adrian and Nik volunteered to go with him but Jun rejected them.


    Adrian had She while Nik was already reunited with his younger sister. If he took anyone with him, they would be in danger. He was strong but he isn''t sure of what''s out there. If something happened to them, he wouldn''t be able to take it.


    The next morning Jun bade farewell with his little sister. For him, even if they have already grown-up, she was still his little sister. Then he sent invitations to Nik''s group to join his Faction.


    Jun was already gone by the time the sun rose up in the sky. He drove along the highway riding a white scooter. He slowly drove forward driving in between abandoned cars. Inside his leather jacket was a piece of paper that contains the address of his mother''s customer.

 Chapter 165: Black Havens Research

    Chapter 165: ck Haven''s Research


    After their long wait, the three faction leaders received their respective copies of ck Haven''s research personally handed over by Evo.


    They chatted for a bit before going on their own ways. Each faction gathered in their own meeting rooms and dissected everything that they could from the research papers. The Frontier and PNP recognized some of the basic information but became overwhelmed with the advanced and shocking informations. On the other hand, the Alliance of Small Parties, ASP, were shocked even with the basic informations. These small parties only cared about surviving and had no time to do simple research. The only good trait they had was ambition which motivates them to go forward.


    Findings


    General


    People who died at the initial outbreak turned into zombies, codename Hosts. They infect people with unknown disease making those bitten carriers of the disease. Recently, a new type of of carriers appeared with elemental abilities. I assume they are Hosts that somehow evolved. Reason unknown. NotConfirmed,cks further information.


    Being bitten doesn''t result in death. You receive negative statuses once you get bitten.


    First bite causes infection debuff. When you die after being infected, you would reanimate as one of them, a disease carrier.


    Second bite would cause sickness debuff. After several seconds of getting bit, depending on stats, the individual would be dizzy. Perspiration would ur and has a chance of cking out. Adjust patients body temperature as soon as possible or the person might be at risk of dying.


    Third bite causes weakened debuff. This will reduce an individuals over-all stat greatly reducing fighting ability. Coupled with the previous debuffs, a weakened person has a high chance of dying if fighting alone.


    Fourth bite causes immuno-defeciency. Further decreased resistances to disease and [SPECULATION] elements. No futher research. Lacks test subjects.


    Debuffs can be removed. Infected debuff currently has no known cure but spected to be cured when MEDICAL SKILLS are high enough(or maxed). Sickness debuff can be cured by drinking medicine. Weakened debuff can be cured by getting adequate rest. Immuno-defeciency can be cured by taking vitamins or wait for it to naturally disappear after getting some rest. It is also advised to circte energy within your body. Significant health boost could be attained when doing so. For further details on how to control energy, refer to study of energy control. Can be found onter parts.


    Types of Carriers


    Carriers can be animals or humans turned into disease-carrying bodies. Whether they have memories is debatable but it is proven that they have intelligence. They evolve. [TRUE] By what? By absorbing energies. [SPECULATION]


    Carriers are active at daytime since they have sunlight to rely on. At night time, they were docile and choosss to preserve their energies. In full moons, they can be active. On other times, they just continue absorbing energy from the moonlight. BEWARE. Even if its night time, they attack once they see you. Killing humans seem to be of priority for them. Or humans just have high density energy in their bodies that carriers were willing to risk it.


    Once killed, carriers can reanimate by using the stored energy in their bodies. Confirmed through visual confirmation. A carrier bes thinner as it uses its stored energy. It is advised to severe the head. They can regenerate injuries after devouring flesh. [TRUE] They can''t regenerate severed body parts or they might but only slowly.[SPECULATION] A carrier that has gathered enough energy, through hunting or passively absorbing energies, could evolved into a new type of carrier.


    NOTE: Carrier types were named by Edward, so please understand.


    Destroyer - A muscr giant carrier. Two meters tall after evolving from a carrier. Edward named it Rank 1 Destroyer when he saw it. Ask Edward for his reasoning. Based on further investigation, every increase in evolution makes them another meter taller, increased strength and tougher defense. The bigger they get, the more heavier and slower they be. They have metal-like muscles. Their weakpoints are their strengths. Since they are slow, you could easily get behind them and injure the back of their knees. When it received enough damage, the Destroyer wouldn''t be able to keep standing and fall down. Ranged weapons are best used to deal with it. Shoot through the eyes for instant kills. BEWARE: Don''t get too close at this point. You''ll die when you get grabbed.


    Hunter - An athletic carrier. After the carrier evolved into a Hunter, it remains average in size. Edward named it Rank 1 Hunter when he saw it. Ask Edward for his reasoning. Based on further investigation, every increase in evolution makes the limbs longer, ws sharper and harder. The longer their limbs get. the more faster their movements be. They have soft muscles to aodate their quick reaction speed. Their weakpoints is their stomach and the spinal cord protruding on their backs. If you managed to break their spinal cord, they would lose their ability to move around, bing easy to deal with. Ranged weapons are best used to deal with it. Shoot through the eyes for instant kills. BEWARE: Don''t get too close to their arms, they can still swing it around.


    Elemental Carriers - [SPECULATION] Mutation of carriers that evolved after gathering enough energy. Currently known elemental carriers: fire, earth and water. They have great strengths but also have extreme weaknesses.


    The fire-element carrier can throw fire balls and breathe out fire in the shape of a cone. Its body also emits hot air making the surrounding area feel dry. Weakness: Once you get its body to cooldown, it won''t be able to produce fire and can be fought like a regr carrier. Time of recovery: Unknown.


    The earth-element carrier can use its surrounding to produce earthen spikes. It has slow movement speed in exchange for an almost invulnerable body. de weapons would just bounce of its body. Blunt weapons is advised. Weakness: Its blind, so you can kite it around. It uses vibration to locate people. It can''t distinguished between enemies and allies. Don''t get to close even if its blind. It can still feel your presence.


    The water-element carrier can control water. They are weakened onnd but powerful underwater. Its advised to hunt this carrier in a group. When underwater, it can glide with ease and throw bubbles around. Above ground, they can manipte the surrounding water and use it to attack you. Best not to fight underwater, but if forced to, make sure that you catch it as quickly as possible. Water Stride skill is rmended.


    Dungeon (Named by Edward)


    Dungeons are ces that has respawning carriers. When killed, these carriers give out experience but their bodies disappear leaving nuggets of gold in their ce. This are good spots for leveling up.


    Cemetery Dungeon - Respawns humanoid carriers. The dungeon has three stages divided by bridges. It is rmended to have experienced parties if you ever want to venture there. There''s an undead priest on thest stage that could repeatedly summon carriers. It also had weird ghouls that can use illusion magic asckeys.


    Northern Mine - Respawnsrge rats as mobs. There are threeyers. The first and second were already explored while the third was unexplored. When their poption is not regted or if they started eating each other, a situation where a mutation could ur. The Giant Rat is an evolve version of the Large Rat. After a sessful evolution, a one meter tall Giant Rat would be born. The hairs on its back are extremely tough. Whether you fight a Large Rat or a Giant Rat, it is advised to target its stomachs or sides.


    Types of Death


    When an infected person dies when fighting, either by a carrier or another person, the body would be able to reanimate.


    When a person suddenly dies, either by carelessness or sneak attack, the person''s dimensional storage would appear above its body. Anyone can ess the dimensional storage.


    When a person who isn''t infected gets killed in battle, the body would be left behind for carriers to feast on or for people to retrieve. The persons dimensional storage will not appear.


    System


    Not much is known aside from the basic information. Anyone who has discoveries would be weed by ck Haven.


    Skills


    Skills are system generated and entirely based on your upation. You can raise your expertise by repeatedly using the skills. Higher level skills had better effectpared to its lower leveled ones. Skills can be generated even after the procedural generation. You cane visit ck Haven Guild for more information.


    Energy


    Its an age old source of power for everyone but we recently were abled to use it. We advise to practice energy control for gaining denser energies. First, you have to feel the energy in your stomach. Use a skill and repeat until you can control a thin dot of energy.


    Stats


    Nothing has been proven. ck Haven wees any discoveries you might have found. Here''s our thoughts, power increases power. Internal power, muscle power and even energy power. Endurance increases the individuals resistance to everything. One of our elite member who had high endurance even imed that a carrier couldn''t bite his skin. But the nibling feeling isn''t a good sensation, so he said. Based on observations, the speed stat would increase overall speed. Movement speed, reaction speed, swapping speed and even the time required to take out items from dimensional storage. Wits seemed to make someone think clearer. Cunning makes people sense whether people were lying. Charm increases others favorability towards you. ck Haven also thinks that to learn skills, there was a minimum stat requirement for certain stats.


    We hope that you learned a lot.


    ck Haven Research Department.


    As most of the people finished analyzing the sheets of paper, a question lingered in their minds.


    "Who is Edward?"

 Chapter 166: Behind the Scenes

    Chapter 166: Behind the Scenes


    Just as everyone, who received a copy of ck Haven''s findings, finished reading theresearch, themon people received a simpler version of the research. The version mostly have the general information while the advance andtter parts of the research were not included.


    It was ck Haven Guild who distributed the simple version via Evo''s orders. Only the higher echelons of each faction knew of the deal, so the people didn''t know that their leaders actually paid for it.


    With ck Haven''s initiative to distribute the information, they would be viewed as generous and kind by the people.


    People who were still undecided whether to try the ck Haven''s Guild services gained courage and tried to be the first batch of interested individuals.


    As the group of people entered the mall''s parking lot, they were greeted by ck Haven''s Angels. They''re young and experienced woman who always remain presentable no matter what time of the day. They always had a charming smile on their faces, that could soothe anyones anger.


    People who were curious about the changes in ck Haven went towards the Customer Service booth, while others who already read the advertisement of the bus, split up and went to their own destinations.


    All of the booths have signage on what the booth offers.


    There were atleast ten people standing around the Customer Service section as Dyna exined the recent changes with ck Haven.


    In general, the Guild mainly revolves around contribution points.


    A new advertisement system is introduced. A contribution system would be implemented together with an individual ranking system and Evo made sure that the system could be understood even by the children.


    Advertisements for job requests would be submitted for evaluation. A corresponding difficulty would be given to the job request and only an individual who had the same or higher rank can ept the said job. ck Haven would shoulder half of the expense for the reward money, encouraging people to use their service.


    This could be considered as being a mercenary but ck Haven calls it a business modelmonly known as Agency. The people whopletes requests would be called agents.


    Everyone can register as an agent by simply filling up a form that, aside from basic information like name and age, requires them to divelge their current level and stats. On ck Haven''s defense, it is a required information to determine and evaluate the individuals current rank.


    Upon registration, everyone would start at the bottom rank, Rank 0. There are currently 11 ranks avable, Rank 0 to 10, with Rank 0 as the lowest and Rank 10 as the highest. People who reach an average of 10 stat points would be promoted to Rank 1. It was okay if an individual has imbnced stat allocation as long as the average stat reaches 10 points. Same for other ranks, Rank 2 needs an average of 20 stat points while Rank 3 needs an average of 30 stat points, and so on.


    The information regarding absorbing points from other people wasn''t publicized on purpose. It would cause a huge amount of trouble for everyone. Currently, even in ck Haven, only a select few knew of this information.


    Contribution points is currently on beta status and is subject to change. The main purpose of the contribution points was to regte who could buy what and who could know what. Tiered items would only be sold to those who have enough contribution in limited quantities. Contribution could also be used to browse ck Haven''s Guild Library. It was an e-tform database managed and protected by Evo. It contains a wide range of information hidden from the publicskills, techniques, title effects, individual information, etcetera. This informations were ssified in tiers depending on their evaluated importance.


    To be honest, Evo hadn''t finished the system, but he isn''t troubled. He knew that people have to adopt to the front desk before even trying out the back office. He believes that he have enough time to set everything up.


    The Frontier and Alliance of Small Parties had no violent reactions towards ck Haven''s action of distributing the information, but PNP Paolo Cas didn''t appreciate it. He could have used the information to increase the public''s trust towards the government if he was the one who released it. He was angry but he couldn''t do anything about it. Besides, the version the public received was too general and vague, only givingmon knowledge and exnations about the carrier.


    Three days passed in a blink of an eye. The people moved on and adopted to the changes. There were still night markets going on but mostly have food stalls and drinking parties.


    Most of the goods were being sold and bought at ck Haven Guild to earn some contribution points. The advertisement bus was given a renovation. A long board was ced that reached from end to end. Job requests like escort missions and visiting home missions were the mostmon for thest few days. People wanted to check their homes for onest look and hoped that they bumped into people they know. Requests that were malicious or were trying to find a loophole were instantly rejected with additional punishment.


    Individuals who colluded with each other to earn the ''half payment'' from ck Haven were tracked and punished by resetting their contribution points and retrieving the money. ck Haven has everyone''s information. Their rtives, their friends, and whomever they hang out.


    Evo had secretly installed security cameras on the streets. These security cameras were directly connected to his personal database. Catching this kind of people was easy. He just need to search for the rey when the two parties divided the money. As for proof? It was their card''s transaction history.


    Sooner orter, people could find a way to exploit this system, but for the mean time. Everyone is abiding it.


    As people be stronger and richer, the transportation industry boomed. It was simply because they have to travel further if they wanted to hunt carriers. Mechanics were the ones who gained a lot after the recent events. Scooters and motors are parked and stumbled on the roadsides. Cars where everywhere.


    In short, vehicles littered the streets. A man collected all of the vehicles he could find and started selling them at a fixed price. As he sold them, he also reminded his buyers that he was a mechanic and can repair cars for a small fee. He would always add a ''warning'' that a not properly maintained car could break down at the middle of a horde.


    Most of the people weren''t knowledgeable with cars. Only car owners, enthusiasts or people in this line of work could possibly know about them. With the man''s advise, every time a car was bought, its owner woulde once every two days to ask for repairs,ting additional ie.


    As the overall strength of the people were still average, people still chose to hunt in groups. With the help of some elite, they were able to level safely.


    Dungeons were the hotmodity since it respawns unlimited mobs. The only downside of the dungeon was that it only has low tier mobs. The people already got used to it and were wanting for more excitement. The rush; the fear they felt when the unknown almost killed them. They want to get revenge now that they were strong and want to release themselves from being scared. They are strong now. They became true survivors.


    The dungeons were being shared by the four factions. A rotation was made to ease the dungeon distribtuion. For example, ck Haven will have the rights to use the Cemetery Dungeon today, tomorrow they remain on standby. The next day, they have the right to enter the Northern Mine dungeon, and the following day would be their rest day. This round robin served as a great bnce for everyone since each faction can take breaks in between expeditions.


    As the number of areas be cleared, the number of people rescued increase. The poption bubbled up causing arge number of fresh recruits to take in.


    On the lowestyer of the Northern Mines, ck Haven discovered a 5m tall Giant Rat being guarded by two 2m Giant Rats. Edward named the 5m Giant Rat as King Giant Rat.


    Jun leaned behind an overturned van as he scouted his surroundings. In front of him was a long strip mall with various shops. On the other side of the street was a three-story building with a sniper on top.


    He was walking on the middle street when he felt something ominous. The next thing he knew, he was being gunned down by someone.


    "Leave every food you took from that convenience store and I''ll let you go."


    The voice sounded hoarse and Jun was sure that it was an adult man.


    "Is it your store?" replied Jun. He didn''t let his guard down as he looked around, searching the alleyways for an escape route.


    By using his Time Perse''s soul state, he was able to see where the man was shooting from. He was on the third window of the buildings second floor. It was an apartment building with almost the same floor ns bottom up. A fire escape stairs could be seen on the side.


    Two teenagers were closing on him from the other side, wielding iron pipes. Not wanting unnessary trouble, Jun wore the cloak''s hood and waited for the right timing before dashing towards the nearest shop.

 Chapter 167: Side Quest

    Chapter 167: Side Quest


    Jun was headed to Taytay in search for his mother. He had the address given by his sister safely tucked inside his leather jacket. There were a few barangay that he would passby but he only had to enter one town to reach Taytay, it was the municipality of Angono.


    He traveled using the scooter he picked up on the side of the road. Scooters were more silent than motorcycles or cars which allowed him to attract less attention to himself. Most of the carriers that notice him were those who were by the side of the road.


    He switched vehicles a few times in a single day since there were lots of abandoned cars on the streets, blocking the way, especially in the bridge areas. Cars even drove over the sidewalks just so they could leave the traffic, only to be trapped by electric poles and other sidewalk vending machines.


    On his travels, he met other survivors who scavenged for food, and some groups of people who tried to kill him. He told the survivors about the town and its up to them whether to go there. Those people who tried killing him? Ofcourse he killed them all.


    His short travel for the day already introduced him to the new world. He immediately noticed the vast difference between their strengths and equipment.


    The survivors he met mostly have regr tools and sharp objects as weaponsranging from wrench, pliers, kitchen knives, hammers and so on. The most dangerous group he encountered were people armed with improvised guns. Some had iron pipes as barrels while others used PVC pipes.


    Every time he met this kind of group, he talks to them, trying to distinguish whether they have good intentions or not. If they n on robbing him, he would then use them as experience points for his [Rob] skill. He doesn''t kill them even they were armed. The only ones he killed were those who fired on him and he felt that they weren''t even worth killing.


    Some of the people he killed were not infected, allowing him to absorb some free stats. The rest? They became experience and essence shards.


    When night came, he stopped traveling and cleared a two-storied building for himself. Jun felt that everything was so easy. He even doubted whether everyone was just weak.


    The next day, he drove with his new scooter along the high-way when the scooter suddenly made screeching sounds and lost bnce. Jun''s vision tilted to one side, so he jumped off the scooter and rolled to the side while covering his head.


    The scooter tumbled a few times after Jun kicked off its body. It created skidding sounds before bursting up with mes. The gas tank started leaking and started spreading on the road.


    On the middle of the road, Jun saw sharpened barbwires ced on the middle of the road. It stretched from both ends of the road meaning that it was ced here by someone.


    Jun sat up and looked around. People stepped out of hiding and he immediately became surrounded. There were seven of them. Each of them walked casually towards him.


    "He''s alive?"


    "We have a tough one here!"


    "Yiihihi~ this would be fun."


    The leader, the first one to talk, looked down on him. "Nothing personal man, its your fault for not paying attention on the road." he clicked his tongue twice and with a benevolent tone added, "Leave everything on your storage here and we''ll let you go. Don''t try to be smart and leave some, we have someone who can inspect whether you hid things from us."


    A scrawny man started ying with his crowbar and impatiently said, "Oy, hurry it up!"


    Jun dusted himself off as he stood up and ignored the man. He stood as if in a daze while staring in from, examining them.


    Based on their appearances, they clearly got enough food for themselves. They''re probably bandits that prey on the anyone that passes by which is probably the reason why the leader told Jun not to take it personal.


    Jun sighed and slightly shook his head. "I''m tired of killing people. I have to fight the dead and even the living. Can''t we just spend a day peacefully?"


    "What are you even saying?" said one man then grabbed Jun''s shoulders. "You wanna fight, huh?!"


    With a quick uppercut, Jun managed to dislocate the man''s jaw rending him unconscious.


    The people around him was shocked but instantly reacted.


    "Bastard! Take this!"


    The attacks all came at the same time. Jun moved forward and grabbed someone in front of him to be his shield. He lifted the adult man like he was handling weightless objects.


    The unfortunate man received thebined attacks of his friends. Rods and pipes of all sizes gave him different levels of pain. The most excruiciating pain he received was from the crowbar that bruised his shoulder. He even felt some stings for his back but he couldn''t see what it was.


    Jun let go of the man and pped the man next to him backhandedly. The man took a few steps back as he felt dizzy, feeling like he was struck by a heavy object.


    The four remaining people felt that something was wrong but had to continue their attacks. They charged at Jun at the same time, but was dealt one by one easily. Jun took advantage or their spacing and dealt with them from nearest to furthest. He didn''t even use weapons since the difference in stats was like the abyss.


    By the time they realized that they couldn''t win, everyone was already sprawled on the floor with several bruises all over their body.


    Jun looked up towards the condomium by the side and red at the dumbfounded man on the terrace. "Are you going to jump or do you want me to go there?"


    It was a three-story condominium and the terrace the man was currently on was the third floor. If the man jumped like he was told, it was guaranteed that he would break his legs.


    "I''ll spare you if you jump but I''ll kill you if I go up there. I''ve given you options, just like your guys gave me. By the way, if you don''t jump, I''ll kill them too. A few of them were already dead, do you want all of them to die?"


    Jun suddenly became flustered as the man ran back inside without giving an answer. "I''ll take that as a no." he turned to the ones still wriggling in pain and said, "I thought your were friends. My bad."


    Jun ended their misery and killed everyone of them by stabbing their heads. He felt nothing as he killed them. It was like he was just killing carriers and hoping that some good loot woulde out.


    He climbs up using his strengthened physique and jumped up terraces after terraces. His arm muscles became firm every time he pulled himself up. He easily found the man hiding on his room by using his IDSearch feature that can bypass walls. The red-ck question marks were inrge contrast with the room''s white walls.


    The man tried stabbing him with a kitchen knife but he easily overpowered the man and disarmed him. Jun dragged him back to the terrace and threw him off the building like a piece of paper.


    The man shrieked loudly as he free-fall towards the ground. A loud crashed was heard and Jun remained stoic.


    [Side Quest - Complete!]


    [Stranger Trouble(Repeat)]


    [Description] Kill 10 strangers.


    [Rewards] Random.


    [Failure] None.


    [You received 2 stat points.]


    ''Hehehe, do you know why it was only 2 points? Because you killed them too quickly! You should have made them suffer first. Bahahaha!''


    "I finished the quest, so shut up. You''re not supposed to be talking when quests ended."


    ''Don''t like to chat, I see. Atleast do a better job on entertaining me. I''m still new to this quest thingy, so I''ll take any of your suggestions. I''m on your side, okay? I''m even helping you be stronger faster.''


    "You either stop talking or get out of my head."


    ''Tsk, tsk. What a grumpy man.''


    Jun sat down on the nted chair. He stared into the distance then scratched and massage his forehead. The day after the town defense, a voice from his head started talking to him. The voice didn''t even bother introducing itself and would just pester Jun to be stronger faster. The voice even gave him the repeatable quest to kill people.


    Jun weighed everything before epting the quest. Since there were some groups of people that were inclined to doing bad, he would use them to finish the quests. Though the rewards were random, until now he only received stat points. And he was d for it.


    If he wants to search for his mother, he need to have the strength to do so.


    After a few minutes of rest, he heard feasting snarls from below. He stood up and looked down. The bandits from before have now turned to carriers. He expected them to be already infected since they didn''t even wore protective clothing.


    The carriers were feasting upon the guy that he threw off the building.

 Chapter 168: Threats Everywhere

    Chapter 168: Threats Everywhere


    Jun was walking in the middle of the road with no care to his surroundings. Ever since the condominium incident, he chose to stop giving chances when others clearly did not care about him. Anyone who showed slight signs of malice would be his quest target.


    The repeatable side quest that he got was overpowered, and at the same time cruel. He still chatted with the voice in his head and even named it with a dog''s name. In the end the voice told him his first name, Yetu.


    Yetu always wanted to chat as if he was bored whenever there was a dull moment. However, he never divulges any kind of information to Jun.


    The only useful information that Jun managed to force out from Yetu was that there were other people who received his blessings. Jun also made a deal with Yetu to exchange informations once in a while.


    Jun arrived at the municipality of Angono after several days of travel. Most of his time were used by searching for working vehicles. The worst thing about clogged highways were abandoned butchered cars. There were always missing parts like tires, sparks plug and even the vehicles engines were missing.


    He heard several cries of help right after he entered the town. On the distance, he saw a convenience store being sieged by dozens of carriers.


    He ignored the call for help but approached the carriers with his bonehammer in hand. He swung the hammer left and right which maimed most of the carriers to the ground. He then used short swords to stab their heads.


    Jun only wanted the experience and not the loot. If he wants to loot the bodies, it would take too much time. Salvaging them for resources isn''t even worth the time alotted to the work needed. By stabbing their brains, it would take longer for them to reanimate.


    By the time Jun got inside the convenience store, most of the carriers were already dead. The remaining few that were standing were the ones that came from the back office and employee only area.


    Jun ignored them for now and started shopping some goods. Most of the shelves were empty, except for the school supplies section. The store was basically robbed of everything except the pamphlets that were scattered on the floor, showing discounts and weekly featured items of the store. He then went and searched the cashier''s area and found unused condoms scattered on the ground. He opened the POS machine which caused a loud sound that attracted the carriers attention to him.


    He was dying killing those carriers because there was someone on the other side of the door. The question marks were ck in color which after numerous trial and error, Jun generally epted as anywhere from disappointment, disgust, or fear.


    Based on the situation, the man on the other side might be fearing for his life since someone powerful enough to actively kill carriers came.


    The metal push door''s durability bar shown above it, just entered the red area. Meaning that it could break any time soon.


    The carriers on the backline looked around and found Jun. They dashed around the shelves and made their way to him. He walked forward and grabbed the first carriers neck and broke it. He then threw its body towards the following carriers. The dead carrier flew sideways and were caught by its fellow zombies, causing them all to fall down.


    Jun jumped andnded on their heads causing cracking sounds to echo in the area. The carriers that were hitting the door suddenly fell forward as the door pushed open, inwards. The ck name moved somewhere and hovered in that area.


    He had no intentions to meet the person but he was here to restock on supplies. He killed the carriers by the door and search for the stock room. Unknowingly, as he searched further, the question marks were getting nearer. It looked like the two of them had the same goals foring here.


    He stood in front of the door with the ck question marks on the other side. Before he could open the door, an apologetic feminine voice came from the other side.


    "I''m sorry for trespassing on your area, but please let me go just this once. I''ll never do it again."


    Jun didn''t answer and just analyzed the situation. From the little information, he learned that there were already multiple powers that divided the town. It seems that the other person thought that he was one of those people and was now trembling with fear on the other side of the door. He was about to correct the misunderstanding, so they couldmunicate further when the door suddenly opened.


    A woman wearing a blue cap that hid her face, came out from the door and tackled him. Jun didn''t budge even when he got surprise tackled. When he was about to grab the woman, he suddenly felt energy enter his sides as he became tired and sleepy.


    When the other person felt that Jun didn''t even budged, she abandoned any thought of trying anymore and quickly ran away. Jun regained his senses a few secondster, but the woman was already gone.


    He shrugged it off as a weird encounter and entered the stock room. Junughed as he stood at the door, the room was already cleaned up to thest piece of goods. That''s right. Scavenging is supposed to be like this. Firste, first serve.


    With a bit of salt, Jun walked out of the front door and continued his journey. He always walked on the middle of the road to attract every carriers towards him.


    But this time, other humans spotted him as their targets. He becamecent after traveling several barangays scot free. Unlike barangays who mostly had single storied buildings with the rare multi-storied ones, this town, Angono, is a 1st ss municipality with mostly two-storied buildings by the road side.


    Jun hid behind a toppled van as he got shot at, then used Time Perse to get a third person POV of the area. Safely hiding behind the van, he found his shooter on the third window of the second floor of a three storied building. Two teenagers hastily ran down the emergency fire stairs and inched towards his position.


    On one of the shops in front of him, he saw a familiar head, wearing a blue cap, staring at him from the window.


    When the woman saw that Jun noticed her, she quickly ran towards the back entrance of the shop.


    Jun hurriedly ran after her and entered the shop through the window. Just as he barrel rolled on the floor, a shot was fired and the window''s ss shattered.


    He was shot three times, and all of them missed. Jun thanked the heavens that he wasn''t the only one gifted with bad aim.


    He stood back up and quickly followed the ck question mark.


    As he entered the kitchen, he heard a loud shrieke from the outside. At this time, the question mark changed color and became white. Jun became hesitant whether to continue following her, but he felt curious as to what was happening.


    He carefully opened the back door and saw the blue-capped woman struggling to fight with a carrier. She got overpowered, resulting to her neck getting bitten. Blood spilled from the wound as her body lost strength. The carrier started feasting on her with gusto.


    Jun blinked twice and noticed an eye symbol on the ground. He stepped outside to inspect the symbol, only to witness it be shattered as soon as he stepped out.


    The carrier and the woman blurred, then disappeared to thin air.


    Jun became flustered. He was immune to illusions, so it was impossible that what he saw was an illusion. Just as he was about to kneel and inspect the ground, he saw the blue-capped woman staring at him on the corner of the alley.


    The woman was in shock seeing her skill easily neutralized. With fear in her eyes, she ran without looking back.


    [Side Quest received! Absorb the Brain.]


    [Absorb the Brain]


    [Description] Absorb the Brain.


    [Rewards: Unknown]


    [Failure: None]


    Jun quickly stood up in surprise. The Brain? Jun pondered a bit on the matter and realized that the woman was also like him, a special individual.


    But why is this happening?


    Jun had nothing against her except for that one time that she tackled him, and that weird scene earlier. He ran towards the next corner to follow her and ask some questions, but the woman has already opened the fenced gate and walked out of the alley. When Jun arrived at the gates, he saw the woman running back with haste.


    Jun raised his hand and told her, "I mean no harm. Can we please talk?"


    The woman ran back to the alley and shouted back, "Lock the gate and run!"


    Jun felt confused but he quickly realized what she meant when he saw a horde of carriers running towards his direction. A few Destroyers and Hunters could be seen mixed on the crowd as they killed carriers that were blocking them.


    The empty street was immediately filled with all types of carriers known to him. He quickly locked the gate and worn his cloak''s hood. He started running and followed after the blue-capped woman.

 Chapter 169: Whimsical Dog

    Chapter 169: Whimsical Dog


    Jun locked the gate and trailed after the woman towards the other end of the alley. He could hear the rattling of the gate as it got pounded by several carriers at once.


    With his speed Jun caught up and was about to start some idle chat since they were about to exit the alley. However, a horde of regr carriers appeared running wildly on the street.


    The two immediately halted their movements and slowly retreated when suddenly, a roaming H1 appeared. It was sniffing the ground, looking for traces of scent, but all of a sudden, decided to raise its head.


    The H1 stared in confusion at the frozen duo before realizing that the two were releasing an extremely pleasant smell.


    Jun opened the Faction Storage, and took a dozen of Minute Stone, Evo''s consumable growing stones thatsts for one minute. He pulled back his hand that was navigating the inventory from the vortex and dropped one 2cm gravel to his other hand. His left hand caught the stone and charged it with energy.


    "Get back!" he ordered.


    Jun flicked the glowing stone towards the lunging H1. The piece of gravel expanded, clogging the alleyway. The H1''s attack was blocked before it could even reach them. He could fight any of those carriers with ease but he couldn''t risk being surrounded and pinned on the spot causing the big guys show up. That would only cause more noise and trouble.


    When Jun turned around, he saw the woman already entering the backdoor of one of the shops. Though unimpressed, he followed after her since he still had some questions he would like to be answered. This is the first person that Jun couldpare experiences with, someone who also received Yetu''s blessing. He doesn''t know many of them are out there but since he already had a chance tomunicate with one, he wouldn''t let it go.


    Before Jun could reach the same door, carriers came flocking from the corner where they came from. The gate was already destroyed due to H-series having sharp ws that could easily deal with metal.


    Jun pocketed most of the Minute Stones and only charged one to use for blockage. Instead of throwing on the ground, Jun flicked the gravel forward into the air like he was just flicking a coin.


    He entered the backdoor and ran after the woman. The 10m radius of IDSearch proves its usefulness in closed spaces like these as he chased after the ck question marks. Everywhere he passed by, he could see piles of dirty clothes. On top of the piles were soap bars andundry detergents. It seems like the shop they entered was aundry shop.


    He heard a loud crashing from the outside together with the earth quaking. A notification sounded and appeared in front of him.


    [Congrattions for umting enough essence. You have reached the bottleneck and could attempt to breakthrough to the next level anytime you want.]


    The notification minimized itself to his left peripheral vision and became an exmation mark.


    He caught up with the woman who was busy unlocking another door and tapped her shoulder. He wanted to greet her but she acted cold to him. Jun helped her by destroying the knob then gentlemanly opened the door. Most likely a coincidence, but their hands touched at this time. Jun was about to frown when he suddenly felt a tender sensation together with drowsiness. When he regained focus, the woman was already gone.


    He was running on the aisle of the shop when he was re-reading the notification, he didn''t notice theundry machines and bumped on one of them, toppling them over.


    Though he was excited about the notification, he was also confused on what it could have possibly meant. He jumped over the toppled machines and hastily ran outside.


    When he got out of the front entrance, he saw the blue capped-woman confronting two teenagers on the sidewalk. The woman used the ''symbol'' skill on the ground then ignored the two as she chose to ran away.


    All of a sudden, an exact replica of the woman shed out from the symbol. The two teenagers stared at the replica of the woman and ignored the real one that passed by their side.


    The replica wielded a kitchen knife and pointed the item on her throat. Both teenager felt surprised but still didn''t give up. They were trying to convince her to put the weapon down as they split off in different directions. They slowly inched closer to the ''symbol'' and when the woman finally had a blindspot, the other person dashed forward with extreme speed and disarmed her.


    At the same time, the dream-like y shattered and they regained their senses. The next thing they knew, there was something sharp lodged on their sides.


    Jun pulled the short swords back and held their shoulders. When it started the looting process instead of the legacy absorption process, he quickly released them and ran away.


    From behind the shops, the loud shrieks of carriers echoed on the empty streets. He looked around but couldn''t see the woman. He became pissed and stared at the building on the other side of the street.


    On one of the rooms of the building, four people were hurriedly packing their stuffs to their dimensional storage. One of them was receiving harsh insults from the other three due to his reckless shooting that caused the horde toe to them.


    Right after collecting all the necessary stuffs, they immediately headed towards the door to escape. Depending on where the carriers wereing from, they could use the fire stairs or jump down from the windows to evade them.


    The man in the lead barely touched the doorknob, when a pale-colored sword stabbed through the door and entered his chest. His mouth spat out blood as he tried to say something.


    The people behind became terrified as they stepped back and wielded their weapons. Only one of them had a gun while two of the three had melee weapons. They remained quiet and didn''t evenmunicate as they focused themselves on the door.


    The three waited in trepidation whether the monster would dare toe in but it seemed like it chose not to.they didn''t dare to fire a shot. The sword was made from a bone, so these people never thought that the sharp object was man-made. Their minds were already thinking of all the fantasises that they coulde up with; like a spiked tentancle, a long horn, or a unique w. Though they have seen many things over the past month, they would never im to have seen everything.


    The thing never came in but they couldn''t leave. Their window leads to the streets which meant that zombies could see them. Left with no choice, they sticked on the walls and carefully opened the door.


    There was nothing out on the hallway. Terrifying sounds came from the streets as the horde finally arrived.


    As the three decided toe out of the hallway, the door of the opposite room in front of them opened.


    The man holding the gun was impaled to the wall by a bonespear. The two melee users holding a baseball bat and a golf club wasn''t able to react and could only stare at their friend.


    Jun ran out of the room and cleaved the two by swinging his bonehammer. At the same time, the impaled mister''s dimensional storage showed up.


    Jun didn''t became surprised when he realized that the man was never bitten. Based from his dress and level of importance alone proved that he was someone in power. He must be quite influential to be the only one armed with a gun.


    He searched for anything useful on the storage and found sachets of drugs. He took everything and stored it in his dimensional storage.


    Just as he was about to absorb the free stats, a carrier came out of the room where these people stayed on. The fat man that had was stabbed in the chest has reanimated.


    Jun pulled the bonespear and grabbed the neck of the impaled man. The carrier noticed him and with an angry shriek that echoed on the hallways, lunged towards him. He pointed the bonespear onto it and waited as it killed itself.


    This time, the man was pierced by the bonespear through the head.


    When Jun got a closer look on the man''s face, he noticed that it was the same guy that fired on him. With past hostilities between them, Jun released his hand and dropped both the bonespear and the fat man. Unless someone loots him or removes the bonespear, he would never be able to reanimate.


    After absorbing the essence from the body, Jun heard the sound of ss breaking. He quickly activated his cloak and ran towards the emergency stairs from where he came from.


    Instead of going down, he climbed up to the rooftop and waited for the horde to calm down.


    He already experimented with the cloak that Evo modified. He tested it on several assions and found out that there was a few seconds of dy before his smell actually disappear.


    His rushed footsteps rattled the metal stairs and caused for carriers to be attracted by its sound. By the time the carriers reached the emergency stairs, Jun''s smell would be gone.


    At the rooftop, Jun was staring at the holographic map on his smart watch. Movements were all over the ce and he could see triangles filling the map.

 Chapter 170: Level 10 Tribulation

    Chapter 170: Level 10 Tribtion


    Jun perspired since he was directly under the sun. He couldn''t take off the camouge cloak since he wasn''t sure if Hunters could still smell him this high up. He wasn''t willing to know nor wants to risk it.


    The building next to this one only had two-stories. He could see the airventsthat looked like it hasn''t been cleaned for a long time.


    As he get intrigued with the movements from the map, he remembered the notification from earlier. On his peripheral vision, he focused on the exmation mark and the notification showed itself.


    <em>What does it mean my essence reached a bottleneck? Is it experience?</em>


    It took Jun several days, just to be able to reach his current ce. He killed and ughtered man or evil along the way, and he was finally about to level up.


    So the gap from level 9 to level 10 was so huge that it took him more than four days to level up. Now that he finally reached the limit, he became excited and eagerly epted the ''tribtion'' prompt.


    Jun''s current stats was leagues above everyone else. The only people who could probably match up with him were people like him, the blessed ones.


    The azure sky suddenly turned ominous. The clouds above him became as ck as coal, followed by loud rumblings that echoed reaching far away distances.


    Jun stared at the dark clouds above him and became aware of the weird situation. The inner parts of the dark clouds were lit up by several crackling thunders.


    And all of a sudden, a lightning came down and struck him.


    -10


    Jun''s body trembled as he received the full brunt of the attack. A few burned patches of skins produced hissing noises. He also felt slightly paralyzed and wasn''t able to move for a second.


    When he recovered, he stared at the clouds and noticed the inner clouds with crackling webs of lightning. The only thought lingering on his mind was that he was still alive!


    Secondster, another lightning was unleashed. He rolled to the side with the intention of dodging the lightning, but instead of striking his original position, the lightning shifted slightly and struck Jun.


    -20


    Jun felt a sudden epiphany after the second lightning struck him. "Is this what it mean for the tribtion? Should I hide inside the building?"


    Before Jun could decide on what to do, the dark clouds rumbled once again, charging up on lightning. Not a secondter, another lightning hit him.


    -30


    The lightnings only dealt damage on its very first contact with him. Afterwards, the lightning energy would travel around inside his body, paralyzing him.


    Since he couldn''t move his body, he circted his energy and followed the paths the lightning took. He felt the paralysis being lifted on the body parts that his body was able to circte into and felt at ease. With this discovery, he fueled his whole body with energy, chasing and eliminating all the lightning element still left on his body.


    Just then, the fourth lightning arrived as he was driving out the remnant lightning on his body.


    -3


    Jun became dumbfounded when he saw the damage done to him. Although he still felt the sting from being burnt, the paralysis was almost negligentpared to the previous attacks.


    He stared at the charging dark clouds, feeling bewildered. He begun thinking of what possible reasons could have resulted to the damage reduction, and could only infer that it was because of his endurance stat.


    ording to logic, every lightning strike bes stronger after the other. His current endurance was 37, and the fourth strike that should have dealt 40 damage, only dealt 3.


    To solidify his theory, he stopped circting the energy on his body and waited for the fifth lightning tribtion.


    He could afford this experiment since he had 41 strength that trantes to 820 Health.


    If he was a regr person, to reach the boundary of level 10 would mean that you earned 18 stat points. The lightning tribtion damage pattern meant thatsomeone who had 450 Health, which trantes to 23 power could survive the tribtion and sessfully reach level 10. Even if a weak woman who only had 6 or 7 initial power could easily reach the 23 power stat mark. Now that endurance even helps out negate some damage, the difficulty of surpassing a tribtion would be much easier.


    The heavens above rumbled once more and brought forth another lightning.


    As expected of the fifth lightning, it dealt 50 damage to Jun bringing his health down to 707. Even if he didn''t circte his energy, he could easily survive his tribtion.


    Jun chose to y it safe and circted his energy all over his body.


    The sixth lightning came and dealt 23 damage. Jun felt the energy circting in his body, fought back the lightning energy that wanted to enter his body and caused both energies to disappear with each other. Jun suddenly became shocked with his new discovery.


    His energy was reduced by 37!


    It seems like that even though endurance helps negate energy, it doesn''te free of costs. Jun didn''t realize this earlier since the damage was negligible, but now he felt the pinch! He could continue using energy to negate some damage, but he could pass out if he suddenly ran out of energy.


    The seventh lightning wasing and Jun decided to continue using energy. Even though he have used and casted a few skills earlier, he still have enough energy to negate some damage for three attacks.


    The seventh lightning came. Then the eighth. His health keeps on getting reduced together with his energy.


    The regr carriers were in chaos on the first floor while the Hunters only stuck to the floor but continued roaming the hallways, looking for their unfortunate targets. The nearby carriers around the area were also behaving strangely as if they were scared of those lightnings.


    This time, the dark cloud took much longer to charge. Jun had the time to take a breather and was able to clear his mind.


    The first thing that he thought off was why he was not getting shredded physically.


    "Yetu, let''s be honest with each other. We both know that you''re somehow rted to all of this. Can you tell me why does the lightning doesn''t kill me?"


    Jun waited for the odd voice to answer him but it didn''t came. But when he was about to dismiss it, he heard Yetu clicking his tongue.


    "You only know to chat when you need something. People like you are the worst. However, since you gave me a nice show to watch earlier, I''ll answer your question."


    "These lightnings only target an individuals soul. The burns you received from them were only used as passage ways to attack your soul."


    "Does that mean my health is my soul?"


    "It is a representation of the power of your soul. It is your essence as a whole that creates and defines you. All the memories you have are stored there."


    "So people that were already old loses the power of their souls? What about people with brain disorders? Does that mean that they lost a part of their souls?"


    "You can say so. It could also mean that the soul is decaying and itsmonly seen on old people."


    Jun nodded his head in understanding. "So, you were really rted with all of this. Let''s chat some more in the future. I''m beginning to like talking with you."


    Jun didn''t receive a reply, but he understood that Yetu was probably pissed at him. At the same time, he heard the loud rumbling from the sky and embraced himself for the lightning.


    -53


    He received the ninth lightning, then quickly circted his energy to get rid of the paralysis inside his body. By the time he finished, he only had 20 energy left from his 210 max energy.


    Jun happily smiled when he saw the dark clouds disperse together with his level up notification. The warm feeling from getting a level up helped him recover fully. He removed his burnt cloak and stashed it on his storage.


    The azure sky has returned together with the warm sunlight. He sighed in relief and quickly sat down to rx his body.


    His heart was still beating fast due to excitement and nervousness from the recent event, when he suddenly felt the floor below him tremble. The closer the vibration went, the clearer the sound became.


    A Hunter was shrieking like a mad dog in pursuit of something. Jun was wondering who was the unlucky one when the rooftop''s door suddenly got wed by sharp razor ws.


    The door''s durability quickly reached zero and the Hunter that came out, sniffed the air. It found Jun after looking around with a simple turn of its head.


    Jun then realized that he probably smelled like a delicious meal after his flesh got burnt by the lightnings! With the Hunters roaming on the buildings, they easily found Jun after he removed his camouge cloak!


    He hastily stood up from meditation and was about to ready himself for a battle, when another Hunter came running out of the rooftop''s door.

 Chapter 171: Surviving the Hunter Siege

    Chapter 171: Surviving the Hunter Siege


    Jun quickly turned around after seeing the second Hunter came out of the door.


    He made a mad dash towards the fire stairs while the two H1''s chased after him.


    Before he reached the stairs, a set of ws climbed up on the edge of the building. Another H1 was climbing the walls using their ws to pierce the walls to lift itself up.


    He skidded when he tried stopping, giving opportunity for the two H1''s behind him to pounce at him.


    When he heard the Hunter''s shriek from behind, Jun quickly rolled to the side.


    The H1''s missed him but they still wed at him while in mid-air. Their extra two inches of sharpened nails only missing a hairs breadth away of Jun''s back.


    The rooftop is pretty much empty and mostly have airvents to see around. There''s also a clothes line made of wires but there were no bed sheets or nkets to be found.


    The H1''s shook their head as they got up after tumbling forward for missing Jun.


    When Jun stood up, he saw four H1''s dashing towards him. He was backed towards the edge of the building and the street could be seen behind him.


    At this time, the ground vibrated at timely intervals apanied by a shrill voice that started echoing in the area.


    A D2 was bringing a little screaming carrier as it ran around the streets. It continued looking left and right as if losing an important target.


    The H1''s surrounded Jun as he ''summoned'' his bonehammer and positioned himself behind an airvent.


    The H1''s prowled towards him like a beast hunting its prey.


    Jun slowly retreated to one side, so he would only be exposed to two H1''s instead of four at the same time.


    "Grawrh!"


    Snarled the H1 as it lunged towards Jun.


    Jun ducked and shoved the H1 to the side. Its partner, who was following behind it, rated and chose to ran instead of lunging forward.


    Jun decisively chose to attack head on and receive some damage, to kill one of the H1''s.


    He used Reinforce to strengthen his body then readied himself for the impact as he swung the bonehammer with one hand backwards, his other hand positioned in frontused to block the H1''s attack.


    He became surprised as the notification that he generated the ''Reinforce'' skill came up. He had known and used the skill for a long time, but why is it that only now that it chose to register itself?


    The H1''s w swiped down at Jun''s arm but instead of his flesh getting cut, the ws bounced back and only tore through his clothesleaving red marks on his skin.


    Although Jun felt that the ws only scratched him, he still focused on the task at hand. He took a step forward as he swung the bonehammer.


    Due to the additional force from his step forward with the addition of Empowered attack, the H1''s head instantly shrunk and was bashed in, causing lots of blood to scatter. Brain matters together with flesh and blood sprinkled on the area.


    Jun''s skin, flesh and bones have received a transformation after sessfully passing the tribtion.


    The lightning tribtions didn''t cause him paralysis because it just wanted to. It was tempering his whole body while the energy that he used to remove it, healed his insides. Due to repeated process of breaking and healing, his whole body has be strengthened after the tribtion.


    Like how carriers are essential and beneficial to humans, the carriers also benefit from killing and devouring humans.


    The energy contained from a single living human could bepare to ten carriers if they chose to devour their kin.


    And that was of the same rank and type. It was better for them to chose to evolved by killing and absorbing energies from humans, since if they fought their same ranked and type kins, there''s a huge chance that they would both die.


    As Jun pulled back his hand, the three carriers decided to gang up on him. One of the carriers that climbed the wall, jumped on the airvent then bounced towards Jun.


    Jun took a gravel piece from his dimensional storage, then used Time Perse to stop time. The stopped time helped him aim as he slowly raised his hand in front of him.


    He charged the consumable one-time use stone, then resumed time. When the time resumed, he flicked the gravel forward towards the H1''s mouth.


    Jun quickly stepped to the side and used the bonehammer to block the two H1''s attack from the side.


    Beecause he lost momentum, he couldn''t escape anymore and was being outpaced by the H1''s at close range.


    Their long arms and legs could reach further and helped them outpositioned him.


    A loud explosive sound came from the side. The H1 who ate the gravel lost its head when the stone expanded to 1m in size.


    After several trades of attacks, Jun was once again backed against the edge of the building. He kept retreating as he blocked until he bumped over the edge.


    The D2 was still around still holding onto the little screamer, when it heard the noisesing from the rooftop. It saw Jun on the edge of the building and quickly ran towards him.


    The D2 directly jumped into the building, destroying its walls. It grabbed the walks but unlike the Hunters, it was too heavy and slid down creating a long trail of destruction.


    After continuously failing to attack Jun, the H1''s decided to split to both sides and prowled towards him.


    The H1''s were prowling towards his sides when the building suddenly shook.


    As if having an earthquake, the building continued shaking until the H1''s became impatient and decided to ignore the swaying and lunged at Jun.


    Jun swatted the H1 from his left since it was closer to him, then slid down from the wall behind him and kicked the lunging H1 on the stomach to throw it off the building.


    The H1 plummeted towards the ground, head first and died.


    Jun managed to defend the attack on his right side. However, the shoved H1 from earlier jumped on him.


    He wasn''t able to roll in time and was only able to raise his hands.


    Instead of wing at his arm, it chose to bite it with its sharpened enhanced teeths.


    Even with Reinforce activated, the teeths chewed through his defense and his arm started bleeding. The H1 looked like a starved dog as it hugged Jun''s arms never wanting to let go.


    Jun let go of his bonehammer and took out a dagger from his dimensional storage. He chuckled as he felt the saw-like teeth nibbling past his skin.


    "Are you liking what your chewing?" he said as he swiftly stabbed the dagger through its eyes. "Yeah, that''s right. I''m tasty!"


    He pushed its body away and pain coursed through him as he felt the teeth scrape some of his flesh.


    He currently has three debuffs on him-infected, sickness and weakened.


    He quickly drunk flu medicine to remedy the burning feeling inside him. The infected and weakened state couldn''t be helped right now since there was nothing that he could do.


    He started looting the body and was fortunate to find two energy stones and three Essence of Speed which he immediately used.


    The building quaked continously even when he was looting the bodies.


    The D2 have found the stairs to the second floor but kept on falling back down to the first floor because the floor couldn''t take its weight on.


    When there was no more floors near the stairs, it jumped towards the edge of the second floor only to bring it down with him.


    It started rampaging on the stairs side of the building after failing to climb up.


    It hammered the nearby walls and crashed through the nearest columns.


    The little screamer on its hand has been quiet a long time ago after being gripped too tightly.


    The D2 was already used to the little screamer being tired of shouting after some time. It usuallyes back to being energized after staying outside and getting some sunshine.


    After looting the bodies, the building suddenly tilted to one side. The foundation below has been wrecked by the D2.


    Jun quickly ran towards the flother side and reached the emergency fire stairs.


    He saw several regr carriers running to his direction in groups. Those carriers were probably attracted to themotion here.


    Jun surveyed the area and found out that he was surrounded. He couldn''t go down to ground-level but he couldn''t stay here!


    With no other choice, Jun eyed the next building probably 5 meters away from here. He stepped back a couple of steps to get some speed, before going for the jump.


    It was the two-storied building he saw from earlier. His feet walked in the air but it didn''t do him any help.


    Fortunately enough, the building he was on was elevated allowing him tond and reached the other side without any mishaps.


    The building he was from finally tilted to the side and he heard several wails from regr carriers.


    The ones pitifully shrieking were those trapped by concrete rubbles nearby while the carriers underneath were instantly killed by the fall.


    Jun quickly wore back his camouge cloak and sent Evo a message on his smartwatch.


    He chatted, "How do I apply first aid on Hunter bites?"


    As he was waiting for the reply, he invested his two newly gained stat points into his endurance. Afterwards, he then reviewed his character panel.

 Chapter 172: A Survivor Group of Teenagers

    Chapter 172: A Survivor Group of Teenagers


    Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 10]


    [Health - 820][Energy - 230]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 41][Endurance - 39][Speed - 30][Wits - 25][Cunning - 25][Charm - 27]


    [Stat Points - 0]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave]


    -[Iron Guts]


    -[Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lv.5]


    -[Rob - Lv.3]


    -[Execute - Lv.4]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.4]


    -[Blueprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Howling Rage Lv.4]


    -[Sprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Time Perse - Lv.Max]


    -[Water Stride - Lv.Max]


    -[Enhanced Sight - Lv.Max]


    -[Reinforce Lv. Max]


    [Description] Receive reinforced defense after circting the energy inside your body. The amount of damage taken would be deducted to the users energy pool. Cooldown: None.


    -[Empower Lv. Max]


    [Description] After activation, the next attack would receive an additional boost depending on how long the energy was charged. Cooldown: None.


    After reviewing his character panel, Jun had a hunch that there was limited skill capacity per level. Excluding the initial generation of his skills, the rest were learned one at a time.


    A newbie level 1 would generate one or two skills depending on the way they leveled up.


    It was weird that he had four at the start but it could be contributed to being the first in his profession to level up.


    If that was the case, things make more sense!


    Every level can add an additional slot to learn a new skill! That means even though you have two skills at level one, you could only learn a new skill at level 3.


    Jun took a deep breathe. It looks like he needs to report his findings to Evo tonight. He heard some of the changes happening back at his home town, but couldn''t really put his head to think about it.


    He decided to look for his mother and wouldn''t worry about other things for now.


    Jun looked around, searching for a gap, so he could leave the area.


    As the carriers on the street gathered at the crumbling building, Jun jumped towards amp post on the sidewalk, then jumped down to the street.


    Before he even jumped, he already activated the camouge cloak since it has a 5-second dy. He even directly suppied his energy to make sure that there would be enough energy for the cloak to use.


    The cloak was filled with small burn holes after getting hit by the lightnings.


    Jun felt like an idiot for not taking it off when the tribtion started but he couldn''t really me himself. Things happened abruptly and he couldn''t change anything now even if he wanted too.


    Though he had doubts whether the cloak was working, he could only know it after he crossed the street.


    There were carriers stilling towards the area from all over the ce.


    The ealier horde that Jun met together with the capped woman were attracted to the area due to the loud gunshots.


    Seeing that he could easily be surrounded, he started walking with a lowered head. His steps weren''t fast nor were they slow, it was like he was just casually walking on the streets in the middle of the day.


    Normally, the cloak would work its wonders five seconds after activation, allowing him to walk side-by-side together with the carriers.


    As long as there was no Hunter and his face wasn''t seen, there should be no problems.


    With his head lowered and could only see ahead of him, he saw numerous carriers ran past him.


    After reaching the middle of the road, Jun heard a loud crash from the damaged building.


    The D2 that got buried underneat the pile of rubbles was wing its way out and throwingrge fragments of cement around the area. Fortunately, he was far enough to not get hit.


    When he turned to look at the crashing sound, Jun forgot that he needed to hide his face.


    A few carriers saw him, and when Jun noticed that the carriers were acting weirdly, by taking nces at him, he hastened his pace.


    The carriers were confused since Jun felt like he was one of them, yet at the same time, he smelled like a delicious meal that should be eaten.


    If the carriers weren''t scared of fighting someone of the same rank and type, there would probably cannibalism happening right now.


    Jun safely reached the convenience store and continued heading in the opposite direction.


    After making sure that he wasn''t followed, Jun stopped by a nearby gasoline station.


    The convenience store beside it was already looted and had all of its ss panels destroyed. ss pieces could be found all over the ground. Inside the store, there were several dried up pools of blood.


    Jun checked the pump and found that it was still working. He refilled four of his jerrycans before deciding to continue forward.


    He wanted to take the highway so he could save time, but with regr and evolved carriers all around, he could only choose to go deeper into the town.


    He passed by a private hospital with people hiding inside. There was only one entrance with a ramp instead of stairs and a small parking lot on the front.


    Jun ignored the people hiding even though they were taking glimpses at him.


    As time went on, Jun noticed something strange in the area.


    There were no carriers roaming around!


    Was it because most of the carriers got attracted towards that rampaging D2?


    He also noticed that most of the houses near the road were destroyed. There was a high chance that the D2 caused this


    Jun opened his hologram map and saw several red triangles moving from the destroyed houses. He moved closer and examined the remains of the walls.


    Three sets of question marks appeared. The color was a mix of ck and red, which means these people were really angry with him. Jun rtes to red as anger instead of killing intent. He experimented with people he met on the road and came to this conclusion.


    As he was staring at their unknown ID''s, one of them stood up and showed a slightly rugged faced teenager. There were dark eyebags below his eyes that was a symbol of not getting enough sleep.


    When their gazes met, the teenager became surprised and pointed an improvised pipe gun on Jun.


    Jun quickly evaded to the side before the brat could press the trigger. When the sound echoed in the area, Jun was already vaulting over the damaged wall.


    Two more dirty-looking teenagers stared at him in shock as hended after the jump. With a single punch on their faces, Jun easily apprehended the teenager and his friends.


    "What are you doing? Wanna die?"


    "I hope you die a painful death!" said the teenager who fired on him. His two friends who only had an icepick and a kitchen knife, charged towards Jun.


    Jun casually pped them to the side.


    "What are your problems? Are you really that tired of living?"


    "You killed our friends!"


    Jun pondered what the kid was saying, then realized that he killed two teenagers earlier.


    "They attacked me, why shouldn''t I kill them? You''re making it sound like it was my fault."


    The two teenagers that was pped earlier didn''t even try getting up, as they spread their limbs around. "Kill us."


    "Uno, what are you saying!"


    "Dos, I''m tired. Everyone''s tired. Let''s just die, so we can end our sufferings."


    Jun chuckled at their actings. He moved to the side then grabbed the arm that appeared on his side. The hands tried to hit his hands with the broken bottle it held.


    Jun then kicked another person that dashed towards him wielding a sharpened stick.


    He tossed the person he caught trying to stab him and watched another one started retching on the floor.


    The one sprawled on the ground and wanting to die since earlier suddenlyughed. "You''re so strong. You must be from the Brotherhood right? Please kill us quickly. We tried our best to survive, but this is probably the end of it."


    Instead of giving an answer, Jun asked the man a simple question. "Do you live here in this town?"


    The teenagerughed. "It doesn''t matter whether I live here or not. People whoe in, aren''t allowed to go out."


    Jun furrowed his brows. He became slightly intrigued as he stepped closer to the teen and said, "Let''s talk for a bit. I need some questions answered"


    All five of the teenagers felt that Jun was acting weird, when snarls and growls came from the other side of the wall.


    "They''re here!" said one teenager in a muffled voice as he panicked.


    Jun opened his map and saw movements from the outside. There were atleast a dozen carriers wandering outside. The carriers probably heard the gunshot from earlier and ran to investigate.


    "Wait here." Jun said.


    He vaulted over the wall with no hesitation and came back in less than a minute. The teenagers became shocked when it became quiet outside.


    Once he learned that he had strenthened skin, Jun became carefree around regr carriers. He severed their heads with ease not minding the negligible damage he takes from their bashing. They tried biting him only to fail.


    "Okay, let''s start by what you said earlier..."

 Chapter 173: Brotherhood of Verdicts

    Chapter 173: Brotherhood of Verdicts


    Jun learned about the current state of the town.


    The first few days of survival cycled around searching for food and avoiding hordes. Then afterwards became hunting for carriers to level up. Deaths becamemon and people died everyday when facing evolved carriers


    It was easier to fight with more people around, so survivors gathered and formed groups.


    With numerous groups scavenging for food andpeting for resources, small skirmishes couldn''t be avoided.


    Unlike the Municipality of Binangonan, Angono had greedy people who wanted more power to themselves. Binangonan also had this kinds of people, but with ck Haven around, they couldn''t try doing anything. The closest thing that those people could do was to boss around inside their little groups.


    After learning that there was no government to maintain order, those greedy people started doing whatever they wanted to do. The mostmon was robbing weak people and a few rare ones of forcing woman to y with them.


    On the second week, the news about the safezone in front of the municipal building spread all over the town. It was only discovered because someone got cornered by the horde around the za square.


    As ast ditch effort to survive, he climbed up the National Hero''s statue and discovered the statues wonders.


    The enemies can''t enter the surrounding area of the statue!


    With everyone learning about that information, several groups shed with each other to obtain ownership of the ce. Thest winner was those who waited until the end and cleaned up the ughter field. They also learned that if your lucky, you can gain stat points when looting dead people. The most cunning leader won by watching from the sidelines and became the sole power in town.


    A few dayster, they learned of the teleport feature of the statue and further tightened the security of the area. They used its safezone and teleport features to hoodwink the people into serving them.


    The teleport portal was marketed as a lifesaver. Anyone who got trapped or cornered while scavenging could teleport back to save themselves.


    For a small price of some loot and small errands, people could register for the portal''s usage. People who were able to sneak and receive the Portal Rune would be either taught a lesson or killed if they ever chose to use the Portal.


    The people who became the strongest weren''t morally good. They called their group the Brotherhood of Verdicts. The group of people who create thew and the only group of people who are above thew.


    Its leader, Marcus the Swindler, has be drunk of the powers that he received. His goons however they wanted since there was no one that could stop them.


    Any individuals or small groups would be forced to join them. Those who resist would be taught a lesson by killing one of their member. People who don''t follow the rules would be kicked out of the group but still needs to offer things every time they meet up.


    The government officials and the police were killed on the first few days of the apocalypse. It''s because the municipal building was located at the heart of the town, surrounded by houses and recreational facilities. They were overrun for having too many dead people in the area.


    The people thought that things would became better after bing stronger, it wasn''t.


    Everything became worse after the unification.


    The strong took everything that they like and imposed theirws on anyone they encountered.


    The carriers dropped on the survivor''s threat rankings, overtaken by the vicious animals called humans.


    Even though almost everyone is within one group, there''s always a strict level of hierchy attached to people. The higher economic ss and lower economic ss. The higher ss were made of the original members together with their close aids. They were people who were sessful in life and has expertise on giving orders while sipping their cups of teas. The lower ss were the additional people they conquered, mostlymon people that survived day after day on whatever they find.


    The lower ss'' belongings could be taken, but the people above won''t share what they have. Even someone else''s wife could be their property when they wanted.


    This created dissension and hatred from the people, which divided the group once more. Two factions were created inside the group, which caused internal conflicts to arise.


    The higher ss members took office on the Municipal Building while the Lower ss worked their asses to clear the SN Angono Mall with more than two hundred people.


    The SN Mall has three floors with one underground floor connected to its underground parking lot. It was chosen as the lower ss'' safe house since it could aodate everyone.


    "Have you never thought of killing them?" said Jun towards Uno, the sprawledteenager on the ground, who finally decided to get up and leaned on the wall.


    His friends moved together with him and warily stood beside his wall.


    "They have guns and crossbows while the best weapon that we have were machete''s. They have strict control over what type of weapon you can use. They also have security guards who have <em>Inspect</em> and a private detective that has <em>Investigate</em>."


    "Then just assasinate them."


    "Some people tried to only get caught before they could even do it. Weter found out that they have a fortune teller that can take a glimpse of the immediate future. Besides, Marcus was a lord. He can prevent rotters from respawning in the town."


    "Rotters? Wait, what did you say?"


    "Rotters, those people that died then turned to them. Why, do you have other terms for them?"


    "No, the other one. You said that he was a lord? How did you know? Are you sure about that?" said Jun.


    "Ofcourse I''m sure! Marcus always brags about it when he ''enforces; hisw to us. <em>I am the chosen Lord, obey me. Follow thews that I create and you will be saved.</em> Everyone knows that he has a glib tongue but his power sometimes gets over his head."


    When Jun heard the teenager''s confirmation, excitement rose inside him. From the kids description, Marcus heavily relies on his position to scare people. Besides his guns andckeys, he hadn''t heard of anything worth worrying.


    Jun excitedly said, "So I can find them in the municipal building, right?"


    "Uhh, they''re not there anymore. They''re staying with us in the mall after creatures that were summoned from the sky, destroyed the Teleport Portal. After the statue got destroyed, it became a two meter red vortex. The summoned creatures entered and disappeared. We thought that it became a new kind of portal, so some people entered but they never returned.".


    "Ohh? Interesting... By the way, are there other groups of people here? Have you ever seen a woman this tall? I don''t think she always wore a cap, but she had one this time."


    "There are groups that didn''t join the fight for power. They remain in hiding ever since the Brotherhood subjugated other groups. I haven''t seen a woman like that. You''ll never find someone with your vague descriptions."


    Jun then thought of a distinct characteristic of the woman and the only thing he can really point out was her skills. He said, "I think she can use Illussions?"


    "Oh, then it''s the Dream Fairy."


    "You know her?"


    "Everyone knows her but no one has even seen her face. She''s known for saving people who were in danger. There''s also a rumor that she has a small elite group preparing to liberate the people."


    "Was the hospital near the gasoline station already looted?" Jun asked.


    "Yeah, why?"


    "Nothing," stoicly replied Jun as he opened his dimensional storage. He tossed five Tier 1 Short Swords on the ground but the teenagers only stared at him weirdly. "Take it. They''re yours."


    Jun turned around and vaulted over the wall.


    Uno stared in confusion towards Jun''s disappearing back. When he no longer sees him, he curiously picked up one of the pale-white swords and tapped it on the sharpened wood he was holding.


    The Short Sword easily pierced the wood and stopped only after it reached the center.


    Jun stood on the parking lot of the hospital he passed by earlier. He was surrounded by dead carriers with severed heads. And just like earlier, question marks could be found near one of the windows. Someone was looking at him on the other side of the blinds.


    From his gathered information, the division of power in this town is currently divided by tworge powers on a single group and several small powers that were in hiding.


    The people he killed from the apartment building earlier were probably one of those hidden powers. It was also guaranteed that the people inside here were one of those hidden powers.


    Jun opened his hologram map and examined the screen. There were movements inside the building and on one of the red triangles, there was an additional green circle.


    The green circle was the tracker earring that he attached to the woman''s shoulder. He was able to secretly attach it earlier when he greeted the woman by tapping her shoulder. His goal was to track her if ever he lost her, since she was moving around the nimbly at the time.


    Without waiting for anyone to invite him in, Jun started walking forward.

 Chapter 174: The Dream Fairy

    Chapter 174: The Dream Fairy


    Jun entered the hpspital and was weed by the messy hall. Various things were littered in the area giving anyone who enters the impression of destion.


    The lobby has dried up blood everywhere. Chairs in the waiting area are toppled down. The elevator''s door was ajar blockaded by a nted wheelchair.


    Before Jun could continue forward, two adult women came down from the staircase. One was the blue capped woman he''d been searching for and the other was someone who seemed to be a hospital employee.


    The blue capped woman stared daggers at Jun, and said, "What do you want?"


    Jun stared at the fair skinned woman in front of him, matching up to expectations of its name, Dream Fairy. Jun could feel that the woman''s face was covered with ayer of fog but at the same time, he could clearly see her glistening face.


    The Dream Fairy was probably the local star when the apocalypse haven''t happened.


    When she felt Jun staring at her face, she doubted whether the illussion she casted to cloud her face was even working. It was the reason why no one has ever seen her face.


    Jun replied to her question, "To be honest, I just wanted to ask you what skill you used on me. I was just curious whether I could also learn it or not. Then, I saw you create weird illussions that were quite intriguing. You can just think that I''m here because I''m a curious man."


    After the woman wearing the hospital gown realized that the two were acquainted, she interrupted their conversation and asked Jun worriedly, "Were you followed? Did you kill them all?"


    Without waiting for an answer, the woman decided to ran towards the front door. ran past Jun and looked outside the street. She then saw the dead bodies all over the parking lot. The woman quickly turned around and rebuked Jun. "You didn''t loot them?"


    "It''s fine. I severed their heads." Jun replied nonchntly.


    A bit irritated with Jun''s casual attitude, the woman went outside and stretched her right arm in front of her. A few secondster, a breeze flew out from her hand together with white dust that sprayed around the area. She sprayed the dead bodies first, then the air, before going back inside.


    "Is he your friend? You should teach him how to clean his own mess."


    The woman started climbing the stairs after saying her piece.


    The capped woman frowned at her friend. "He''s not my friend! He''s the perverted maniac that I told you about!"


    "When did I be such kind of man?"


    Jun tried defending himself, only to gain the other parties unfriendly re.


    "To clear things up, my name is Jun, and I came from Binangonan, This is my first day here, and I don''t know anybody. If you''re thinking that I''m someone sent by Marcus, then you''re wrong. I just want to learn some skills and if possible exchange informations."


    With much reluctance, the woman finally decided to introduce herself.


    "I''m Lolita Alvaro. You keep on saying about learning skills but I don''t even know if that''s possible."


    "Then, the skill that made me drowsy, was that your generated skill when you first leveled up?" said Jun.


    "That''s right."


    "Then, I guess it couldn''t be helped. Let''s just exchanged information. By the way, are we really going to talk here? Anyone or anything that passes the street could see us."


    "That''s true... you should leave. We''re not interested with exchanging informations." she replied forcefully.


    Jun saw her firm stance on the subject and couldn''t help but reveal his only n. He said, "I''m nning on killing Marcus, <em>that</em> Marcus. I heard that you''re group was nning on doing the same thing, so I thought you might be interested with additional help. What do you think?"


    "How did you know about that? Be careful about thinking too much.They will sense it. i don''t know how it works but one of Marcus'' subordinate can sense intense thoughts towards him."


    Jun was surprised but still nodded his head. He cleansed his mind and started thinking of puppies, very blessed puppies with soft and tender...


    "You''re really a pervert!"


    "What, no!


    As they were about to quarrel, the two-way radio on Lolita''s side came to life.


    "There''s a horde passing by! Get up here now!"


    Lolita took the radio and replied, "I''ll be there in a second."


    Jun stared at her innocently. "Are you going to send me out now? I''m here to exchange information. I won''t stay after that. We could also team up to kill Marcus if you want."


    Lolita stared at Jun withplex feelings.


    "Keep those arms raised. I don''t want to see them fall below shoulder level!" said a boyish woman as she stood behind Jun. She seemed to be around twenty-two years old.


    Jun was currently seated in a swivel chair with his arms raised above his head. They were inside the meeting room at the top floor of the hospital.


    Excluding Jun, there were four other people in the room, and all of them were women. The hospital staff that he saw earlier was called Mellissa Mariquina. She sat on a nearby chair reading a book about techniques on how to fight bacteria.


    A mature woman was sitting near the window with a binocr and a radio in hand. She would peak from the blinds from time to time to check the situation outside. She was Lourdes. Jun learned of her name when Lolita thanked her earlier after they arrived.


    Lolita Alvaro was seated in front of Jun with a wry smile on her face. She couldn''t stop her friend from acting like a hooligan since she already told everyone about how Jun harassed and molested her when they met.


    Ofcourse it was an exaggerated lie, but she couldn''t take it back now. She never thought that they would meet again, even so, like this.


    "Reena... I think its fine, we''ll just talk for a bit, then he''ll leave." Lolita said bashfully.


    The boyish woman, Reena, red at her friend before leaving Jun alone. She took another chair from the meeting table and sat next to Lolita.


    "You''re so gullible! We should hit him a few times to get back from molesting you!"


    Lolita tried to act calm and ignored her friend. "I- uhmm... so, to start... You should start."


    Jun saw her unable to think of what to say and guided the conversation.


    "I want to know everything about Marcus. His facial features, his skills, who he hangs out witheverything."


    Upon hearing what Jun said, Reena couldn''t help butment by the side.


    "So you want to kill Marcus, why? I''ll give you a heads up, it would be too troublesome."


    Jun frowned and turned to Reena. "You''ve fought him before?"


    Reena scoffed. "We''re lucky if we can even find him. He has a skill that can change the way he looks. He can copy someones face, so its impossible to search for him. Even if you managed to sneak near him, the Fortune Teller could easily find you."


    "Thank you for your concern, let''s continue." Jun said sternly.


    For the first time, Lolita saw Jun acting mature. She didn''t see that Jun killed the two teenagers nor ughtered the group at the apartment building. All this while, she was thinking that Jun was a happy-go-lucky type of survivor.


    When you treat other people with seriousness, they would subconsciously act like you, to emphasize that they''re mature people too.


    The way Jun expressed his words was also one of the reason for him to change everyone''s view of him inside the room.


    Reena coughed twice to release the awkwardness she was feeling. Mellissa and Lourdes nced at Jun before going back to their own businesses.


    Lolita turned serious and said, "Marcus is a business owner. He owns a miningpany. He also dabbles in textile trading. Most people know him as a good samaritan while a few knowledgeable ones see his real persona, the swindler. Like what Reena said earlier, one of Marcus'' skill allows him to change his face. The other was something like a quick weapon switch, maybe a sleight of hand."


    "He can instantly swap whatever he was holding into something else. If you think you have an advantage because he was holding a knife, think again. The next thing you know, there''s a bleeding in your chest and you''ve already been shot."


    "Marcus is a middle aged man and he''s fat. A short stature that could easily blend in the crowd and a gentle eyes that could fool innocent people. He has short hair and a crooked nose, and just like everyone else, his skin color is brown."


    "Stop for a bit Lolita. This is an exchange, so it should be fair that he share some ''knowledge'' to us." Reena sarcastically said.


    Instead of getting provoked, Jun countered back and said to Lolita, "How do you prove that what you said are the truth?"


    Jun couldn''t help but chide Reena in his mind. This girl acted like a hooligan but acts like a petty child! So take this!


    "We were watching from afar when the struggle for authority was happening. Even now I don''t understand why they fought over something so useless. We could have just shared it with each other. We could have all be strong and be able to defend the Teleport Portal."


    "Things don''t work like that when you have ambitious people around. Your voice can only be heard when you''re strong. Listen carefully, I''ll ''pay'' now..."


    To satisfy, or rather, to fact-p Reena, Jun exined the basic version of the ck Haven''s research. Although the information was truly basic, both parties agreed that having confirmation would make things clearer.


    "Wait, you mean that there''s already an effecient organization from where you came from?" Lolita asked surprised.


    "Is that your question?" Jun said.


    Lolita clicked her tongue in annoyance and avoided eye contact.


    "About his entourage, any details about them?" said Jun.


    Lolita faced him with reluctance and replied, "He''s basically surrounded by his security personnel. Then, his trusted aides. Besides that, there''s nothing else. If he doesn''t have monopoly on guns or doesn''t have that Fortune Teller, he would probably died too many times now. The people hates him."


    "This is what I find weird about this. Why are you guys not leaving? Why suffer like this. You could just leave the town, right?" said Jun.


    "And where would the people go? People have already tried that. And they came back in the end. First, there''s nowhere else safe to go to. The other reason? Marcus set upped a blockade on the national highways. People would be extorted of everything they have if they go out," replied Lolita.


    "Oh, those people." Jun said in realization when he remembered the people he killed at the condominiumplex.


    "They robbed you, right? It''s the same for everyone. No one is exempted."


    Lolita tried to give aforting tone to ease Jun''s feelings.


    "Nah, I killed them."

 Chapter 175: Joining Forces

    Chapter 175: Joining Forces


    "Hahaha, look at this guy. If you think you''re going to fool anyone with that kind of lie, atleast make it sound realistic. You traveled alone and you''re saying that you killed one well equipped group from the Brotherhood? Then let me tell you this. I can kill hordes of rotters by myself and would only get in trouble if there''s mutated rotters around."


    Reena mockingly said to Jun.


    Jun ignored him and only looked at Lolita. "Do you have any pictures of Marcus? Or do you know where I can find one?"


    Reena wanted to burst forth in anger upon getting ignored by Jun. It was only because she knew that it was her that has a problem with Jun while the man was professionally trading for information.


    Lolita replied in a hurry, so her friend wouldn''t have a chance to talk.


    "Well, Marcus has been a barangay official for more than 10 years. He was able to renovate his old house to his dream house after his years of service. You can easily find it after you reach Uno Supermarket. Just turn right, then you will find a red painted house if you walk for a bit on Col. Guido Street."


    "Thank you. That''s all I need, do you have any information that you want? If not, I''ll pay with what I think is the right amount of information." Jun said.


    Jun waited for Reena and Lolita''s answer. He was anticipating whether they have some brilliant question in mind when a serene voice came from the side.


    Lourdes joined the conversation and asked Jun, she said, "Are you really nning on killing Marcus?"


    Albeit being surprised, Jun easilyposed himself and answered, "Yes."


    Lourdes said, "How confident are you?"


    "As long as I get close enough to reach him, his death is guaranteed."


    "Then let me help you."


    The two stared at each other, and neither of them looked away until both of them confirmed that they were true to what they were speaking.


    "If Lourdes is helping you, then also count me in." Mellissa said without raising her head from the book she was reading.


    Lolita turned to Reena and finally found her giving a sigh of ''eptance''. Reena red at Jun and said, "I''m only doing this for Sis Lourdes. If I find out that you''re only talk with no actions, then I''ll be the first to smack you!"


    Junter found out that Lourdes'' husband was caught trying to gain the Teleport Portal''s Rune and was killed by Marcus to warn the others.


    The information exchange became an impromptu meeting due to the weight of the target operation.


    Jun''s n to finish his quest became easier as he gained some helpers along the way.


    The meeting tackled about how the operation would go, and how to achieve it.


    The first thing that they had to do was to introduce each other to themselves. Everyone gave basic introductions of themselves including their skills that they werefortable of sharing.


    Jun learned that all four women only had 2 skills until now. There''s a possibility that they haven''t tried controlling the energy manually, so they couldn''t learn skills.


    It was understandable since Jun was only able to think about the matter when he met Edward, who could control energy to protect any part of his body.


    As Jun''s mind wandered about Edward''s wondrous ability to control energy, he suddenly thought of a good idea for Edward to improve.


    Lolita Alvaro, 24 years old, a psychologist. She shared two of her skills, the first was called Stimuli Control. The skill can make the target feel random things after physical contact. The effect could be decided by Lolita. Her second skill was a utility type called Rxation, it could cancel any effect from any stimuli.


    Jun didn''t point out that she probably has more skills like the illusion that she summonedst time and remained cool. Since things were like this, he also won''t reveal all of his skills. Not that he was nning to do so in the first ce.


    Reena Zaragoza, 31 years old, a surgeon. She had two skills, Precision Cut and Intuition. She demonstrated Precision Cut by shing a surgical knife on the edge of the table. The ce where the knife passed had an empty gap that has smooth sides. The skill adds hit uracy and attack strength when activated.


    Intuition basically gives her sense some boost. She can somehow feel whether what she was doing could result in something good or something bad. It was also because of this skill that she was irritated ever since the first time she saw Jun.


    Every time she used the skill, it would tell her that going against Jun would not result in something favorable. She repeatedly tried the skill but still couldn''t change the feeling of danger that she feels. She felt like if Jun saw her as annoying, he would just kill her without batting an eyelid.


    Mellissa Mariquina, 22 years old, a registered nurse. Her skills were Disinfect and CleanUp! Disinfect uses energy to remove bacteria from wounds with additional increase in resistance and faster skin, muscle regeneration. CleanUp! removes any tangible obstacle in the area then turns it into a cool breeze of refreshed air.


    Jun became surprised when he heard about the Disinfect skill, but instantly became disappointed when he was told that they already tried using the skill to remove the infected debuff and failed.


    Jun suggested that she tries once again when the skill levels up in the future and Mellissa agreed.


    Lourdes Damian , 32 years old, a pharmacist. Her skills were Search and Examine.Search allows her eyes to see the item she was looking for. She needs to think of the item and the item would be surrounded by a bright outline. With the outline, she could easily pinpoint important items when scavenging for food. Examine allows her to gain deeper understanding about an object. Both were utility skills that served their group to stay alive even when food was bing scarce.


    Jun introduced himself and exined Rob, Threaten and Sprint. After his exnation, they moved on to the next important topic that they have to discuss.


    Now that they have a basic understanding of each other, they can formte a n on how to kill the Big Bad Pig, a code name to Marcus to prevent the Fortune Teller from feeling their intense hatred about the man.


    After an hour of sitting around, they were able to make a simple n. Everything would be executed tomorrow night since it was Marcus'' birthday tomorrow.


    A party for the elite group was being prepared on the Angono Municipal Gymnasium.


    Dusk came and magically invited for darkness toe. The once empty street started seeing signs of people.


    It becamemon knowledge that carriers were less active at night, which caused a lot of scavenging trips to ur at night. If once was careful and know where to look, they could easily and safely reach their destination.


    The danger zone has always been the highways, since evolved carriers could move with ease around open areas. People used alleyways and small streets to traverse the surrounding houses.


    Jun stopped by at the intersection of the Uno Supermarket and the Flea Market. Through his enhanced sight, he could see people watching him from the second floor of the Uno Supermarket.


    He turned right and followed the Col. Guido Street. On his left was the once bustling Flea Market, now devoid of life. On his right was a two-storied strip mall, which is an extension of the Flea Market. The whole first floor were stores for rent while the second floor were apartments.


    The metal shutters of the stores were already destroyed and everything that could be looted was already taken. The things that remained were the useless things like patch of woods and rusting tools.


    After several convenience stores, he passed by a looted bakery shop, a small private school and a pizza parlor. The authorized sweepstakes office was forcibly broken in. Some people probably thought that having money was a good idea.


    After following the instruction to keep on walking until you see a red house; he passed by several retail stores before actually arriving in front of the said house. The travel was quite peaceful even when a few carriers tried assaulting him. Jun just killed everything that jumped on him, then moved on.


    Jun stared at Marcus'' house. It was truly a dream house even for someone like Jun. The house he lived on before this was way smaller than this one.


    The house was coated in deep red almost close to the color of blood. A small yard with a patio could be seen behind the iron fence that reached upto an average person''s waist. The ck garage gate could easily measure for five meters.


    Jun entered Marcus'' house and searched for things that could help identify him. The house looked like someone lived here for some time.

 Chapter 176: Dont Make Me Angry

    Chapter 176: Don''t Make Me Angry


    The living room was in disarray littered with all kinds of garbage. Some of the chairs were toppled as if people left in a hurry. Overall, the ce seems like someone hosted a house party and forgot to clean up afterward.


    Jun didn''t search the kitchen or other parts of the house since he assumed that anything of importance would have been probably looted by now. The only thing he was interested was finding a photo of Marcus, so he would know his target''s facial features.


    He swept the living room for any kinds of photos. When he found nothing, he climbed upstairs and searched the rooms earnestly one by one, making sure that he won''t unluckily miss it.


    In the end, he found nothing after searching four rooms. It was noticeable that everything from drawers to closets were looted orderly, as if the person who took every piece of cloth wasn''t in a hurry.


    Jun attributed not finding a single photo of the man to his family safely surviving the initial phase. If that was really the case, he has no choice but to follow his backup n.


    To go to the Barangay Hall.


    Marcus was a well-known Barangay Official. With this as the lead, Jun easily came up with the idea that it was almost guaranteed to have Marcus'' photograph at the Barangay Hall.


    Though Jun doesn''t know the area well, he could easily get information from strangers.


    The only source of light on the streets were the still functioning sr-powered streetmps. Though they were dim and orangy in color, it was enough to traverse the streets safely.


    The first time he met someone and asked for directions, he got ignored by the other person. He thought that the man was just in a hurry., so he tried asking the next person he met. Surprisingly, he got ignored again.


    By the third time Jun met a stranger, he offered to give a can of food if the person was willing to answer a question. The man was about to ignore him but turned back and agreed. Before even hearing the question, the man demanded for the canned food to be handed over first; incase that Jun decided to renege on his promise after he answered his question.


    Apparently, people have be so self-centered that they weren''t willing to help other people unless they would stand to gain from it. Or probably, it was because there''s only limited amount of time to scavenge with too manypetitions.


    After the exchange, the two gratefully thanked each other. Before the man could leave, Jun grabbed the man''s neck from behind and used Rob.


    After the stat check, Daylight Robbery was activated.


    Instead of taking the maximum items that he could take, Jun only took the canned food that he paid the man. He even casuallymented that he took his canned food back and left.


    The man checked his dimensional storage after Jun left, and felt that his items were intact. He felt dismayed after getting scammed but felt relief when he realized that he just dodge a bullet there. He wasn''t even a third of that man''s strength! It was already lucky that he wasn''t robbed clean.


    The two went on their own ways and the man considered the event a strange encounter.


    After several twists and turns, Jun finally arrived at the Barangay Hall. It was a simple two-storied building withnd parcel measuring around 20 square meters. Aside from the front door and the second floor''s balcony, there was literally nothing else to look at.


    The walls were coated in blood-red just like Marcus'' house. The front gate that serves as a safety measure to prevent crooked minded people from stealing things was destroyed by its gate lock.


    Normally, people could fileints or ask for aide whenever necessary but with people acting like before, it was impossible for things to go back the same way.


    Jun entered and stood at the center of the lobby. There is a Health Office, a canteen, and a Senior Citizen Office on the first floor. He won''t be going upstairs to investigate what''s up there since he already found what he was looking for.


    Behind the reception desk, the wall was filled with portraits of the current Barangay Officials. He easily found Marcus'' portrait since the girls gave him a description of the man.


    Jun stared hard at the innocent-looking man on the photo.


    The man had short hair with a round face. He chuckled a bit when he saw the crooked nose since he thought that the girls were exaggerating when they were describing him. It was either Marcus'' liked brawling or something unfortunate happened for him to look like this.


    Besides the beer-belly; amon trait of most barangay officials, Jun noticed that Marcus'' left eyebrow was shed at the center. There was a gap that made it look like the man received some injury before.


    Jun memorized Marcus'' face as best as he could.


    When he was about to leave, the other person that he was ignoring since earlier came out of the canteen and pointed a kitchen knife on him.


    The man was trembling and appeared desperate as if he was already on wit''s end. The man said pleadingly, "Trust me. I don''t want to do this, nor do I want to hurt you. Please leave some food behind and just go. We both don''t want unnecessary trouble, right?"


    Jun stared in awe above the man''s head. The question marks were green, which means that the man has positive thoughts on him.


    He''s threatening me with a knife but still has green color? So things like this could happen? What a caring robber! Just like me!


    Jun ignored the man''s threats and dashed forward. He didn''t use any weapon since it was too overkill for someone who looked like that he just found the knife recently at the canteen.


    "No, please listen to me! Things get bad when I get angry! You won''t like it when I''m angry!" the man pleaded once more. He sliced and diced but Jun easily dodged every one of his strikes.


    Jun scoffed and said, "Then show me."


    When the man realized that Jun wasn''t the crowd type of mana type of person who only bes strong when there''s a lot of people behind him, the man sighed and let Jun''s punch hit him. His eyes were staring at Jun in contempt as if saying that he asked for what''s toe.


    Upon seeing that the man willingly opened himself for an attack, Jun felt weirded out and reduced the force that he used on the attack.


    Even if that was the case, the man still widened his eyes when he felt the excessive force that came from Jun''s attack.


    Jun''s punchnded on the man''s stomach causing him to arch his body backward as he spat out empty air. At the same time, the irises of his eyes reddened.


    The man slightly flew in the air before regaining bnce by taking a few steps backward. His body trembled and both of his hand clutched his head as if he was in severe pain. His body started emitting weird noises while his skin glowed in red.


    All of a sudden, the man''s biceps gained explosive growth which destroyed his sleeve. The jeans he was wearing exploded with the increase of size in the leg''s muscle. Even the shirt was not an exception as the whole torso expanded along with every other muscle.


    Jun had to look up now since the man was around two-meters tall.


    If it weren''t for the ring red eyes, Jun would have suspected that the person in front of him was a Destroyer! It was cool but Jun wasn''t affected. Unless the man was bald and wears a suit, he would never back down.


    The two exchanged punches for a few times before the man passed out, shrinking to his original self.


    Even with the explosive changes on the man''s physique, Jun easily overpowered him. His body has undergone an upgrade with his flesh and bones refined a tier above everyone else.


    Even he was littlepared to the man''s transformation, the stats alone was already a great counter.


    A few walls from the Barangay Hall were destroyed.


    Jun carried the man on his shoulders, then started walking back to the hospital. Normally, he wouldn''t care about other people''s safety, but the man''s skill was too unique. He needs to learn what it is and whether he could learn it.


    Even if he can''t learn it, he could counter the skill if he knew how it works. Its literally impossible for a skill to be unique. Someway or another, it would have a resemnce from the skill with a little adjustment. If he ever met someone with this kind of skill,ter on, he wouldn''t be surprised anymore.


    The girls were surprised when Jun came back with an unconscious man.


    Jun exined the events and takes the responsibility for watching over the unconscious man. Once he learned of what he wants, he would send the man away.


    As he waited for the man to wake up, he checked his mail and saw Evo''s reply.


    The two started chatting about their discoveries for the day and the town''s progress.

 Chapter 177: A Human Destroyer

    Chapter 177: A Human Destroyer


    Jun shared his discovery about the Level 10 Tribtion. As much as possible, anyone who wants to try to reach a higher rank must have minimum 20 points in strength and 5 points in endurance.


    With those stats, anyone could safely pass the tribtion.


    He also gave some feedback about the camouge cloak. The cloak works on Rank 0 Carriers while Rank 1 Evolved Carriers can easily find him when they see him.


    As long as he wasn''t seen, there would be no problems.


    Jun narrated his experience when he took off the damaged cloak.


    Evo pondered on what happened and gave Jun a reasonable answer. The function Evo added to the cloak was to stop releasing scent when the cloak was supplied with energy. The camouge cloak adhered to the rules he set, which resulted on Jun''s set piling up inside the cloak. Once he took off the cloak, the scent gathered for a long time was released causing an exlosive scent to surround the area.


    In the end, Jun kept the cloak even though it have some ws. The function to hide from R0 Carriers was too good to pass up. With Jun''s feedback, Evo could make an improved version of the camouge cloak.


    They discussed the two other items and both received positive feedback from Jun. He even gave some suggestions to improve their functions.


    The 3D Hologram Map was useless on open areas, but extremely useful when inside a building. The 20m detection radius was enough warning for Jun, to know whether someone was in the area. By the time he gets to the 10m mark, he could urately pinpoint wherever the person is by using his IDSearch passive skill.


    The only problem Jun encountered when using the device was that he doesn''t know which floor the movement wasing from! It was a helpful feature that if added to the 3D Hologram Map, could help anyone severely.


    The tracking earring also worked well. The only problem was that he had to be always looking on the 3D Hologram Map for him to locate the tracker.


    Everything would be easier if an rm or warning system could be added when the tracked target has entered the smart watch''s detection radius.


    After the two finished discussing the important things, they chatted for some time before saying their farewells.


    Evo then reminded Jun to practice his ranged weapon skills.


    A short bow and a quiver with dozens of arrows were already ced at the Guild Storage, waiting for Jun to collect.


    ''Well... it sucks, but I should practice.''


    Unless they found someone who knows how to make bullets, it was guaranteed that bows would be the universal ranged weapon for everyone.


    Jun withdrew the short bow and the quiver from the Guild Storage and transferred them into his Dimensional Storage.


    The short bow was made from Narra wood. It has a pleasant scent with a body that was rosy-red in color. The Narra tree was a sturdy and extremely durable tree.


    The arrow''s shaft was also made from the Narra wood. The arrowhead, which is the most part of the arrow, was made from Hunter''s teeth. The teeth have taken several processes under Old John''s exquisite hands. He polished the already sharp teeth into something more deadly while retaining its durability.


    By having almost unlimited ammunition, he could finally raise his range proficiency.


    The girls gave him one of the VIP rooms to stay for the night, together with the unconscious man. Jun epted it with no grudges since it was normal to be in separate rooms because they haven''t really known each other for that long.


    Time is necessary to build trust. Gender issues isn''t really a problem when you could lose your life by trusting the wrong people.


    The VIP room was partly lit by a rechargeablemp that Jun ced on the table.


    Jun wasn''t sleepy and so he tried chatting with Yetu, only to get ignored. He could feel that Yetu could hear him like they were of one mind and soul, but the other wasn''t interested chatting with him.


    A few minutester, the unconscious man started groaning and woke up.


    The first thing that the man did after he woke up was to roll on the couch and clutch his stomach.


    WIth a loud thud, he fell from the couch. The man saw Jun rxing on theforable bed, staring at him as if he was an idiot. He looked around warily, trying to find out where he is.


    Jun saw his cautiousness and exined the situation. "You''re inside one of the VIP rooms at Pag-asa Private Hospital. I brought you here after you passed out. By the way, if you still remember, I''m the one who you tried robbing."


    The man scoffed and muttered, "That can''t even be called robbing... at most, it''s begging for food."


    Jun ignored the sidements and said, "You''ve got a name?"


    The man looked at Jun quizzically before answering. "Marvin. Marvin Medina."


    "Okay Marvin, here''s the deal. The only reason I brought you here is because I''m curious of your skills. I want to know how many skills you have and what they can do. If you do that, I''ll let you go, but if you don''t, I''ll have to kill you."


    Marvin weighed Jun''s words whether they''re the truth or not. He felt conflicted to be in this situation since he wasn''t really proud of his skills. But with no other choice, he forced himself toply.


    "I have to skills, Addiction and Fury. I know, not the greatest sounding skills but I''m stuck with them. Addiction doubles the effect of anything that I eat. For example, when I eat a piece of bread, instead of feeling like I''ve eaten one piece, I would feel like I''ve eaten two pieces of bread. It also has a chain effect. If I continue eating the same food continously, the primary doubles once again. This skill helped me survive all this time. I could survive for one week by relying on a whole loave of bread."


    "That''s broken..." Jun muttered unconsciously.


    Marvin heard him and chuckled dreary, he said, "Not really. It has a bad side despite the overpowered effects." As he finished speaking, Marvin clutched his stomach once more.


    Jun noticed his action and frowned, "Are you okay?"


    Marvin bashfully lowered his head as he said, "I-I''m hungry..."


    "Ohh," Jun raised his eyebrows after hearing Marvin''s reply. "I thought you can survive with that skill. I already checked and you still have lots of food in your storage. Are you lying to me?"


    All this time, the name color was still neutral-white, so Jun was still speaking amicably.


    Marvin rebutted,"Once I changed my diet to something new, I would feel disgusted by what I''m eating. I would vomit anything that I eat today and could only eat normally the next day."


    Jun nodded his head. "And your other skill?"


    "My other skill is Fury. When I reach max fury after receiving attaks or mental stimtion, I can transform and convert all my energy to be a giant brute. Like those Brutes rampaging on the highways. Currently, I''m still two meter tall but I expect to grow taller and stronger the more proficient I became with the skill."


    ''So he passed out because of energy bacsh when he ran out of energy?''


    "Also, after I wake up, I be extremely hungry... uhmm... Do you have any canned seafood? Tuna would be best since it was thest one I ate..."


    Jun gave the man some canned tuna before digesting what the man revealed to him. If what the man was saying was true, then this person would be a strong power in the future.


    Keyword, in the future.


    What should he do? Should he try to recruit the guy? From experience alone, a D1 could easily mow down any unexperienced survivor. It was also the top dog on the Rank 1 Carriers and below. It has strong defense and strong attack.


    If he could nurture this man, then he could have his own Destroyer. The problem was energy... but wait.


    "BANG! BANG!"


    Shriek!!!


    As Jun was in deep thought, several gunfires resounded in the serene night. The two men in the room looked at each other then stood up at the same time.


    Jun ran towards the window and searched where the sound wasing from. Marvin didn''t forget to carefully held his canned tuna. He ate as he walked towards the window.


    With a single nce, Marvin instantenously knew what was happening. He muttered, "They''re attacking again."


    Jun turned to Marvin puzzled.


    Marvin realized that he spoke vaguely and exined to Jun.


    In front of the municipal building, the 2m red vortex that stands tall at the center of the za square, continously glowed in red light. Carriers of all levels were streaming out of the red vortex and dashing towards the survivors.


    The people who were setting up the event for Marcus'' birthday were caught unaware. Though they were surprised, they quickly calmed down as this wasn''t the first time this happened.


    The red vortex that was once the Teleport Portal would randomly spat out carriers on a random time of the day. There were also times like yesterday that it didn''t even spat out carriers.


    All kinds of carriers woulde out and their types were also random. It could be a horde of R0 Carriers or a mixed of R0 Carriers and R1 Evolved Carriers.


    Whatever thebination was, the people weren''t frightened and orderly fought the enemy. The battle ended ten minutester when the enemies stopped streaming from the vortex.


    Just to be safe, a part of the people fixing the gymnasium were left to guard the vortex.

 Chapter 178: Uninvited Guests(1)

    Chapter 178: Uninvited Guests(1)


    Jun and Marvin chatted for a bit since they couldn''t sleep.


    Marvin was a former drug addict. He was undergoing rehab and was under drug withdrawal when he leveled up. Quitting wasn''t the hardest thing to do, the hardest part was to get through the withdrawal syndromes


    Early on during withdrawal, the body would undergo several changes. Muscles pains, cramps. insomnia and anxiety were the fewmon effects that someone has to go through when under drug withdrawal.


    He thought that Jun would surely look down on him.


    To his surprise, the conversation continued normally with Jun acting like he doesn''t care much about it.


    It wasmon for people to judge someone based on their past. A mistake like consuming illegal drugs were still frowned upon in society.


    Marvin then learned that Jun was someone like him. A person who mostly works at night.


    With this discovery, the conversation between them flowed much better with less awkwardness.


    Marvin likes to talk a lot and is full of energy. He would joke around as if testing how deep Jun''s patience was but had to stop when Jun frowned after he asked Jun some personal details.


    Based on their conversation, Junbeled the man as an immature adult with the same level of intelligence as Edward. He''ll wait until tomorrow morning and decide whether the man was trustworthy enough to recruit.


    "You can leave the room, but I don''t suggest it. We don''t want to disturb the others that were already sleeping."


    Jun sat on the bed and meditated as he circted the energy inside his body.


    The next morning...


    Jun opened his eyes feeling invigorated. He finally proved that energy meditation can substitute for sleeping. The sensation felt like he was sleeping with one eye closed and the other open.


    He practiced the energy control that he learned from Nik the whole night.


    As he practiced the skill, he could clearly see the surrounding two-meter area around him. There was no blind spot at all since he could even see what''s happening behind him!


    The only problem was that it takes tremendous focus to gather enough energy and expand them in the surrounding area. It looks like he needs to officially learn the skill for it to be useful.


    With that in mind, the skill slot for Level 11 became reserved.


    Jun looked around and couldn''t find Marvin in the room. The couch that he was inst night had missing cushions.


    "Did he leave?" he thought.


    Jun became disappointed since he had great ns for the man. He wanted to nurture him since his abilities were unique and extremely overpowered.


    He looked at his watch then jumped off from the bed. He started doing exercises to warm up his body since it was still early in the morning and the sun hasn''t risen up.


    After the short exercise, Jun got up and changed to a new set of clothes before walking out of the room. He smiled after he got out of the room.


    Marvin, the man he thought to have escaped, was slumbering on the bench at the end of the hallway. He used the couch cushions as a pillow and took some bedsheets to use as nkets.


    The girls woke up after hearing someughter outside. A unique appetizing scent then lingered on their noses. They sniffed the air and searched for the smell only to find Jun and Marvin at the end of the hallway. Jun was eating some cooked meat on his own, while Marvin was scraping off a canned tuna.


    Jun invited them and ced another te filled with meat on the bench. The meat on the te emitted the appetizing smell that they were looking for and they bashfully epted the free meal.


    Women in general tend to wake up early. Now that security isn''t always guaranteed, people can''t sleep deeply anymore. Any kind of stimtion could wake anyone from their slumber.


    Lolita led the group while Reena apprehensively walked forwards. She first examined the meat before deciding to try it. The meat looked like it was some luxurious steak and was cooked by a professional chef.


    Lolita took a bite and praised the taste and texture of the meat. She was still acting politely even though her speed of stuffing food in her mouth was bing faster.


    Seeing their friend enjoying the food, the others followed. Mellissa ate quietly while Lourdes couldn''t help but nod her head in approval.


    It meant that it really tasted good!


    Reena forced herself to ept Jun''s graces and took a bite. She closed her eyes in delight and even licked her lips as she savored the vor inside her mouth.


    Reena couldn''t help but ask Jun, "What is this? This is so good!"


    Jun smiled wickedly and replied, "It''s rat meat. Mike actually improved his skills. The first time I ate this it still has that pungent smell."


    Jun took another piece and started chewing loudly.


    Reena dropped the meat she was holding into her mouth, then widened her eyes when she understood what Jun said. She quickly spat out the meat and even inserted a finger on her mouth.


    Mellissa and Lourdes were in disbelief and returned the rat meat they were holding. Unlike Reena, they didn''t spat out the meat that was already on their mouths. They continued eating the meat they were chewing and savored the unique taste that lingered on their taste buds.


    Lolita who looked like a squirrel after stuffing her mouth repeatedly frowned and nced at Reena. She said something but the words she produced were unintelligible.


    After gulping some of the food, she repeated what she was trying to say earlier: "Sis Reena, haven''t you tried eating frogs? They almost have the same taste!"


    Reena''s vomiting continued.


    Marvin was officially recruited to ck Haven Guild. Jun sent him an invitation before they ate and exined all the responsibilities and benefits that he would receive. First of all, he would be nurtured as a secret weapon. He would only be used as a trump card when everything else fails. In return, he would be provided with everything that he needed. Food, shelteranything.


    Marvin was extremely happy because, for the first time, he felt like someone cared for him. He was once drowned in illegal drugs, which prompted his family to lose hope for him. By the time he woke up, everyone he loved already distanced themselves from him.


    Having given a new chance at life and toe back to interact with same minded people, Marvin greatly appreciated Jun.


    Jun didn''t invite Lolita''s group to work for ck Haven since they seemed to be attached to this ce. Unless the whole town gets overrun, there''s no chance that people would willingly leave their home towns when other ces might be under the same situation.


    Time passed by and noon arrived...


    Jun brought Marvin to scout the event area to familiarize himself with the surroundings. Marvin served as a guide since he knew the danger zones of the town, which made the travel easier.


    The two stealthily entered the adjacent building of the municipal za.


    "Why are there so many people?" Marvin uttered.


    "Isn''t it normal to increase the security after what happenedst night?" replied Jun.


    Marvin nodded his head in understanding.


    Jun surveyed the za and became surprised when he saw mutated dogs with varying sizes patrolling the area.


    Marvin saw his shock and exined it.


    Apparently, there''s a survivor who canmunicate with animals.


    Although there''s no concretemunication between humans and animals, the feelings could be sent and received by that survivor. It was an old man who works at a Veterinary Clinic.


    The mutated dogs were still dogs even with the massive changes to their appearances, they still want to be loved and cared for. With effectivemunication, the mutated dogs got adopted by Marcus'' faction.


    With the wave of new information, the two went back and called for a meeting to revised their ns. They revised the n several times to make sure that there was no problem.


    He also lent everyone a wireless earphone for smoothmunication during operation; then exined its functions and limitations.


    The meeting ended and Jun and Marvin went back to their VIP room.


    Jun asked Marvin, "How long does your transformationst?"


    "It depends on how much energy I have. if I''m at full energy, around one minute and a half?" replied Marvin.


    Jun nodded, then presented a green fruit to Marvin. It was an Energy Fruit.


    Marvin knew at first nce that the fruit wasn''t normal. It also emitted a powerful scent that made him want to immediately eat it.


    Jun gave Marvin the fruit and said, "No matter what happens, don''t vomit it out."


    Feeling extremely excited and at the same time pressured, Marvin threw the green fruit into his mouth. Before his body could even react to the new food intake, he quickly gulped it down into his stomach.


    Marvin widened his eyes and shouted, "I gained 200 additional max energy points!"


    Jun said, "Great! Now listen. I have some good news and bad news for you. This fruit can increase your maximum energy by 100 and it seems like your Addiction skill worked its wonders and doubled the effect. That''s the good news."


    "The bad news is, the fruit has a side effect. The next time you eat this fruit, its effects would be halved. Meaning you would only receive 50 additional points in max energy. With your Addiction skill and its chain effect, you can continue eating this fruit and still receive a good amount of energy."


    "I''ll give five Energy Fruits to you. Use er when you''re about to run out of energy. Just follow the n and serve as a distraction, okay?"

 Chapter 179: Uninvited Guests(2)

    Chapter 179: Uninvited Guests(2)


    The sun started to set and shone itsst rays on everything below the skies.


    A R0 Carrier willfully chased the receding traces of the sun only to be stopped by a wall. Its yellow eyes that shone with unique brilliance as if it overflowed with energy, appeared disappointed.


    As if frustrated, it growled loudly then started hitting the wall. After being hit, a green-colored durability bar appeared above the wall.


    Even after numerous strikes, the wall didn''t receive any damage while the R0 Carrier''s hand became disfigured.


    Several bones appeared on the carrier''s knuckles, but it continued hitting the wall. All of a sudden, yellow dots of energy appeared on the carrier''s disfigured hand.


    The wounds and scraped skin regenerated and grew back at an unbelievable pace. When the regeneration happened, the brilliance of the carrier''s eyes lessened by a bit. Afterward, it stopped hitting the wall and only snarled at it.


    Jun watched the whole event unfold. He was standing at the nearby corner when he became intrigued by the carrier''s behavior.


    As far as he knows, only evolved carriers have the capacity to think. Most of the R0 Carriers that he met were always brain dead or could only follow their basic instincts.


    Jun felt that this carrier was unique since it was able to make decisions and even have self-control.


    Marvin and Lourdes were behind Jun, waiting for him to move. To them, Jun was someone mysterious. He was always calm as if he had everything under control. With the addition of strange technology, the dark veil of mystery around Jun increased further.


    Marvin who was behind Jun couldn''t wait anymore and nudged him. "Is everything okay?"


    Jun woke up from his thinking and replied quickly, "Yeah, let''s go."


    JUn walked out of hiding and confronted the carrier face-to-face.


    When the carrier saw him, it became excited and dashed madly towards him. It treated Jun as a meal that it could convert as energy.


    The carrier lunged at him and Jun easily stopped its advance by punching it in the face. He used Empower to make sure that the punch had enough power, so the carrier dies in one hit.


    Filled with an unknown peculiar feeling, Jun decided to loot the carrier instead of beheading it.


    To his surprise, he managed to loot one energy stone and two low-tier shards.


    Marvin became curious about the item since it was the first time he saw something like this. He asked Jun, "What is that?"


    "It''s a special stone," Jun said as he stood up with no intention of exining. "Let''s go! We need to be in position before nightfall.


    Though curious, Marvin and Lourdes didn''t press for an answer and quietly followed after Jun.


    The night became darker as more time passed. It was a cloudy night with almost no stars to be seen in the sky.


    Everyone became alive and went on their own trips. People who wanted to pass through the Municipal Street were stopped and told to go find another route.


    The za had several barrels of drum stoked with fire. It helps light the area and at the same time, keeps the cold away.


    In contrast to the darkness outside, the gymnasium had all of its lighting turned on. With a portable generator, they were able to start the ce back up once again.


    It was almost 7 pm and guests were already streaking in.


    The only people who could afford to slow down and attend parties were the top dogs of the economy. While other people have to scavenge useful things to trade for food stamps, the social elite was here wasting resources.


    The ce was beautifully decorated with all colors of fabric. The tables and chairs reflected the light as if showing off how much polished they were. Also, a simple soothing music was being yed on the background.


    The once useless caterers gathered and rise up to the asion!


    They became extremely grateful for the opportunity to get close to these groups of elites. As long as they managed to get a good impression on any one of these people, their lives could be considered saved and worry-free.


    The event hall became livelier as more and more people arrived. They started chatting in their own circles and it was noticeable that there are a few odd ones out drinking wine on their own.


    These people were the few special ones that were invited to the party. They were the ''talented and skilled'' individuals from the lower economic ss.


    Although some of them didn''t want toe, they couldn''t embarrass their backers since it was their backers that helps them to live with ease.


    An old man was especially surrounded by all kinds of people, apanied by jovialughter.


    "Aries, when can I get some guard dogs? I know you already tamed a few. If you continue doing this, I''ll start thinking that you''re giving special treatments to Marcus. He already got priority on thest 2 batches, right? Isn''t it time for the goods to be distributed equally?"


    A fair-skinned middle-aged man said. He had no distinctive features except for his gray-dyed hair and mustache. Even though Aries seemed to be much older than the middle-aged man, he chose to talk with no hint of respect.


    With the man''s remarks, the atmosphere turned cold. The crowd dispersed and started acting busy as they chatted with one another.


    The old man named Aries, replied, "Of course Mister Quinto. I''m still in the process of calming them down, and once I get them to act normally, I''ll immediately contact you."


    Aries had an innocent and loving expression as he spoke. He looked like a gentlemanly butler with his coat and tie.


    Quinto nodded his head in satisfaction. Before he could even reply, he overheard two guards discussing that Marcus has just arrived.


    He bade his farewell to Aries before heading out in a hurry.


    The smile stered on Aries'' face disappeared as he red at the receding back of Quinto.


    Outside...


    Quinto saw one of his friends chatting with Marcus. They were standing in the za square next to the red vortex while discussing something serious.


    Quinto was Marcus'' business partner on one of his sessful projects.


    If the business wasn''t sessful, he probably won''t even be able to find Marcus.


    Ever since Marcus gained more authority, the faction that he controls became more powerful. Due to jealousy and not receiving enough benefits even though he was one of the main supporters, Quinto started acting on his own.


    This resulted in their close bond to whittle down.


    When Quinto approached the two, his friend backed off which allowed him to chat with Marcus.


    Quinto was sneering inside his head. ''<em>At leastyou know your ce</em>.''


    He raised his hand and said, "Happy Birthday Marcus!"


    Marcus smiled and ced his arm around Quinto''s shoulder. His other hand took this chance to show the way forward.


    The two started walking towards the Municipal Hall.


    Marcus cleared his throat and said, "I heard you want some dogs?"


    Quinto felt that something was wrong but still answered the question. "N-not really. Why?"


    Marcus, not believing what he was saying, nodded his head. When they walked next to the red vortex, he suddenly grabbed Quinto''s arm and shoved him forward.


    Quinto didn''t even have time to shout as he quickly disappeared after passing through the red vortex.


    Marcus dusted his hands then walked towards the gymnasium as if nothing happened.


    With Marcus'' arrival, the security personnels went back to their positions while others started patrolling the area.


    Three people watched everything that happened from one of the building''s window.


    Marvin and Lourdes focused on the fact that Marcus threw someone into the red vortex.


    No one that entered the vortex has evere back alive!


    On the other hand, Jun focused on the fact that Marcus easily forced the other person into the vortex.


    It simply implies that Marcus has enough power to overpower other stat enhanced survivors.


    "It''s him. Are we starting now?" asked Lourdes. She was only here to Search for Marcus'' whereabouts.


    They tested earlier whether her skills could work on people or not. To their surprise, it can! As long as she thought of people as objects and focused on the name and shape of the person, she would be able to lock-on the target.


    "We''re starting."


    Lourdes nodded, then started running. She equipped the wireless earphone while jogging down the stairs.


    Jun tapped Marvin''s shoulder and said, "Focus on distraction. Don''t engage them. We''re here to kill Marcus, so don''t die."


    Marvin watched Jun go down the stairs. He felt good and even appreciated that Jun cared about him. Unbeknownst to him, Jun only wanted his investment to grow to fruition and not turn into waste.


    Jun circled around three streets before arriving behind the gymnasium. He had to take the long route around since there was security in the immediate vicinity of the Municipal Street.


    Jun tapped his wireless earphone and said, "I''m in position."


    Marvin who was 100m away from Jun heard his confirmation. He operated his wireless earphone and said, "We''re in position."


    Lourdes who was warily standing at an alleyway heard him, then informed Lolita that they are in position.


    Lolita passed the same message to Reena, then Reena passed the message to Mellissa.


    Mellissa stretched her arms as she stood up after squatting for so long. She was sneakily peaking on the gathered carriers on the highway.[ol][li data-annotation-id="deee5492-b30f-2499-e589-1c375f890f6c"]Regr Carrier = Rank 0 Carrier[/ol]

 Chapter 180: Uninvited Guests(3)

    Chapter 180: Uninvited Guests(3)


    Mellissa had been following a horde of carriers since dusk.


    There were times that she would get ambushed by stragglers when not paying attention, but with the help of the short sword Jun gave her, she could kill any carrier that targeted her with rtive ease.


    After squatting for so long while leaning on the wall, she peeked around the corner to check if the horde was still chilling at the highway.


    The serene atmosphere at the alleyway disappeared when Mellissa heard Reena''s voice from the wireless earphone on her left ear.


    "We''re in position. You can start now," Reena said, then added, "Be careful."


    Mellissa smiled after hearing Reena''s worried voice. Then murmured a simple ''thank you'' before casually walking out of the alley.


    "Hey!" Mellisa shouted as loudly as she could to catch every carrier''s attention in the vicinity. "Dipshits! I''m here!"


    The carriers nearby heard her shouts and noticed the jumping human shouting in different directions.


    When some of the walkers started running, Mellissa slowly retreated to the alley.


    She wanted to make sure that these rotters will follow her.


    After she became sure that she would get chased by a horde and not a group of carriers, she finally started running.


    The alleyway was narrow, and it could only amodate at least four peoplefortably walking side-by-side. That estimation was already included in the n which allowed for Mellissa to lure the carriers calmly.


    The n Jun made was simple.


    When Jun learned that the red vortex asionally releases carriers, he thought of a n to use them as a distraction.


    Only as a distraction.


    No matter how outnumbered humans are, they could easily make a n to salvage any situation.


    Even if hundreds of R0 Carriers charged at them wave after wave, as long as someone had enough stamina and energy to fight, they could still survive.


    Unless a group of Hunters with a few Destroyers joins the fray, R0 Carriers would just be free experience for everyone.


    After taking the next turn, Mellissa made a dead sprint to reach the next corner, where Reena was waiting for her.


    The two nodded their heads when they met up.


    "I''m tired," Mellissa stated before running towards a nearby house. She went inside with ragged breaths and locked the door.


    At this time, Reena trash-talked the carriers by calling them ''Little Muffins''.


    Since she wasn''t that athletic, she chose to run ahead after attracting the horde.


    She ran while swinging her arms back and forth as if it was her first time running around.


    Like a dog chasing its tail, the horde of carriers behind mindlessly followed the leading chasers because they could hear loud soundsing in front.


    To distract the carriers from catching up to her while at the same time, to attract them to follow her, Reena lit a long string of firecrackers and threw them when she''s turning a corner.


    The growls of the carriers echoed loudly in the area. Nearby survivors who were scavenging ran away without looking back.


    On the Municipal za...


    The sounds of firecrackers rang endlessly in the distance.


    The guest at the party thought that Marcus prepared a fireworks disy and started praising him.


    Though confused, Marcus epted their praise with a thick-face. The more he got praised, the richer his mood bes.


    With all the praise he received, he couldn''t help but nced at the caterer feeling pleased.


    The caterer acted normally even though he doesn''t know what''s happening.


    As everyone walked out of the event hall, the security personnel guarding the perimeter stopped them and asked them to stay inside.


    Marcus pped the man, grabbed his shirt''s cor then pulled him closer.


    "That''s for blocking the way. I think you''re someone new so I''ll let it pass. Just be careful from now on, I don''t give second chances."


    Marcus patted the man''s shoulder, then proceeded to walk outside. He looked up the skies and waited for the blooming fireworks, but it never came.


    Instead, he could only hear the distracting explosions in the distance.


    A burly man came forward wearing long-sleeves, together with worn jeans. The ck police vest he wore made his casual clothes appear semi-formal.


    He was Marcus'' Chief Security Officer, Cain.


    Cain said, "What are you doing outside?"


    Marcus nced at him, then returned to gazing at the sky.


    Cain became troubled as he said pleadingly, "Please go back inside. I don''t know what you''re trying to do, but"


    "We''re waiting for the fireworks. Is it already finished?" said Marcus.


    Cain frowned. "What fireworks? Those are firecrackers! A horde is wandering the area and I already sent a group to redirect the horde away."


    Marcus furrowed his brows unable to believe what Cain was saying. Then he realized that he was probably wrong when he saw Cain''s confusion.


    Feeling embarrassed for bragging about the fireworks disy earlier, he ground his teeth as he went back to the event hall.


    He could feel the mocking stares from several people behind him.


    How could he not know the difference between fireworks and firecrackers! It was only because he was feeling blissful that he overlooked the matter. How was he to know that there weren''t fireworks when the caterer smiled at him like everything was under control!


    He looked around and found the man that caused all of the misunderstandings, jovially chatting with his employees near the serving table.


    Marvin stood idly while waiting for the horde to appear on the other end of the alley. He was stretching his arms when he felt something cold poked his back.


    With hands stretched above his head, he slowly turned around and saw three uniformed individuals staring at him. The man in the center who poked his back was holding a metal pipe with sharp scrap iron welded on its head. Overall, the weapon appears to be a mace.


    "Don''t lower your hands. Who are you? What are you doing here?" said the mace wielder. The two people behind him nced around the area as if not interested in what''s happening in front of them. One was yfully swinging a pipe-ax while the other hung his hand that held a pipe-hammer.


    The three weapons were all made of pipes and scrap iron welded together. The only difference was the material used on the hammer.


    Marvin replied naturally. "I live here," he pointed to the building next to them. "I just woke up after an afternoon nap. I''m just about to start scavenging, do you have any tips for me? Anywhere bountiful?"


    The three uniformed men were just proceeding cautiously and didn''t mean any harm to Marvin. They were tasked to redirect the horde away from the Municipal Street, so their boss could continue their celebration.


    With the usible reason Marvin gave, the man lost interest.


    On the other hand, the one wielding the pipe-ax stopped yfully swinging the weapon and red at Marvin. The man slowly walked forward and stopped behind Marvin.


    "I checked this building earlier, but I didn''t notice you. Any reason for that?"


    Marvin scratched the back of his hand, then chuckled.


    Fury was a wonderful thing. Besides physical stress, you just need to be angry and it could rise on its own.


    Marvin started pping his face to wake up the sleeping beast inside him.


    Jun climbed over the outer wall of the gymnasium, then jumped down and rolled towards the nearby bush. Though he tried to be as quiet as possible, the drop still produced a loud thudding sound.


    The security personnel assigned on the back of the building saw nothing of the event, but the 1m mutated dog who has sensitive hearing became suspicious.


    It started moving in circles before deciding to walk around and investigate. When it got closer to the wall, it started sniffing the air. It followed the scent towards a nearby bush.


    The 1m mutated dog trembled while peeing uncontrobly. The man holding the leash felt a cold aura surround him. As if unable to take the cold, the mutated dog fell unconscious.


    The man softly kicked the mutated dog with his feet but it didn''t wake up. He gulped then stepped closer to investigate the bush.


    It was the back of the building causing the area to be dark. The man could only rely on the dim lighting from the party to vaguely see what''s in front of him.


    As he examined the bush closer, a hand suddenly grabbed his neck and pulled him inside.


    Jun was using his ''sense'' technique by expanding his energy around him. The cold feeling that the man felt was Jun''s energy. This was also the reason why Marvin slept outside instead of inside the room. Jun was practicing this ability all night which caused the room to be colder.


    Jun crawled out of the bush, only to see the mutated dog peeking at him. The dog was truly scared and immediately yed dead after sensing Jun''s aura. When it discovered that its trick was seen through, it quickly got up and ran away with its tail between its legs.


    Jun ignored the fleeing dog, then used two Tier 2 Bone Daggers to scale the walls of the gymnasium. He sneakily entered the unguarded balcony and watched the party below.

 Chapter 181: Marcus the Swindler

    Chapter 181: Marcus the Swindler


    The soothing music continued to y in the background. People who listen to its rhythm would feel like they were floating in cloud nine.


    Jun opened the ss door and entered the viewing tform of the gymnasium. There was no one guarding the area, which allowed Jun to move around quickly. He moved corner to corner until his smartwatch received signs of movements.


    He went towards the stairs and cautiously peeked at the party below.


    The event hall below was filled with all kinds of uniquely dressed people. Some wore formal attires while others dressed in their casual wear. Servers were walking back and forth to serve dishes at different tables when a particr group of people came in from the front door.


    Marcus led the group with a weird face. He looked around the area then started walking towards the buffet table.


    Marcus pped someone on their face before grabbing the individual''s hair. He dragged the man towards a set of double doors that leads to the floor below him.


    Jun followed Marcus'' name that dragged a set of question marks. There were times that the question marks would stop and run away, but Marcus quickly caught him back.


    When the two stopped moving and only made small movements, Jun decided that it was time to go down. Since it was faster if he jumps down from the second floor towards the ground, Jun climbed the railings and adjusted himself for the jump.


    Just as he was about to jump down, he saw two sets of question marks enter his IDSearch radius.


    ''<em>They are probably guards assigned to protect Marcus.''</em>


    Jun hesitated whether to jump or not. Before he could even decide, a roar came from the direction of the za.


    Marvin has already transformed into a 2-meter Destroyer and came running out of an alley. His every step as he ran caused slight tremors on the ground.


    Behind the red-skinned Destroyer were hordes of rotters ferociously streaming out of the alley. On its hand were three people bundled together.


    Cain responded immediately and hastily organized the group. They weren''t startled about the sudden appearance of the horde since they were expecting it. The only thing that could be deemed shocking was the Brute that was in the horde.


    It was the first time they saw a red-skinned Brute and weren''t sure if it has other abilities. Even its nature seemed weird as it chose to y with human lives instead of directly eating them.


    "Spear-Cleaver position!" shouted Cain as he stood in front of everyone. He took a 1-meter rod from his dimensional storage, then made a spear stance with the rod. The metal rod has a chainring welded on its end, which appeared to have its spiky edges sharpened.


    The twenty or so nearby personnel heeded his call and formed two rows with ten survivors per row.


    The ones standing in the front were holding a small shield made from solid wood and motorcycle tires. The shield covers the chest and the waist area of the wielder.


    On their other hand, a short pipe appeared. The pipe had a sharpened scrap iron welded from the center to the tip. If the scrapped iron attached weren''t rusty, they could have used it for chopping edible meat.


    The second row of people wielded long metal rods with an iron spearhead attached at the head.


    It was also noticeable that the front row only had small people, while the back row had tall people.


    Cain chose to charge forward to divert some of the attention of the horde to him. He also wanted to rescue the three unconscious survivors on the Brute''s hand.


    Currently, he was the only Level 9 survivor amongst the security circle. He roughly knows everyone''s prowess, and with the current defensive line, as long as they don''t meet any mutated rotters, everything would be fine.


    When he was only five meters away from the red-skinned Brute, it suddenly slowed down and pulled the hand, holding the three people backward.


    Cain couldn''t help but widen his eyes as he trembled in shock while watching the Brute throw the survivors forward. Instead of eating them, it chose to use people as throwables?


    The three survivors flew past him. When he felt the breeze pass him, his mind woke up and became focused on the problem ahead.


    Instead of charging forward, the Brute ran towards the adjacent street and grabbed a motorcycle that was already stripped of useful parts. Several rotters chased after it and started attacking its back.


    The Brute squashed those rotters with the back of its hand, then gazed towards the za. It grabbed the back end of the bare motorcycle and started spinning in ce.


    Cain, ''F*ck...''


    Marvin, ''Hehehe, I''m in charge of destruction!''


    The gymnasium trembled when something hit its walls. The people were already frightened of the loud shrieks outside and couldn''t continue the party. Their personal aids brought them out and went towards the Municipal building.


    At least, the Municipal Hall has four floors with narrow hallways. They could easily defend the ce with the right fortifications.


    Jun was walking against the crowd as he made his way towards the double doors that lead to Marcus.


    Even with themotion outside the street, the two people didn''t move away from their positions. Their duty was probably to stay by Marcus'' side.


    Jun took off his leather jacket, which only left him with a in gray shirt that says ''I[3NY'' and his blue jeans.


    He pushed the double doors slightly and took a peek of the situation. The area outside leads to the hallway that brings you to the pavilion. On the other end of the hall, which would lead to the back of the building, two rough-looking men were guarding a door.


    Jun carefully closed the door and began thinking of a n. Several secondster, he smiled and started doing some warm-ups.


    ''Three, two, one.''


    "Hey, you still have some stick? Lend me some; I''ll pay you back when I find one." The man said to his buddy.


    The other person shook his head in disbelief. He knew that his friend would never pay him back, but he still gave him one stick of his expensive cigarette.


    "Do you think we''ll be sent out to help them? I''m kinda bored being stuck here when everyone''s gaining more experience outside." said the man as he took the stick from his friend.


    "We can''t do anything about that since we have a rotation duty. Let''s just think that it''s our badck..."


    As the two were having an idle chat, the double doors opened widely, and a frightened young man came out. From the man''s expression alone, the two realized that the horde managed to enter the building.


    As if confirming their thoughts, the young man shouted: "Help! Please help me!" then dashed and hid behind them.


    The two waited in anticipation since they were finally about to relieve their boredom.


    However, their excitement disappeared when their bodies felt powerless after something hit the back of their heads. Like a fragile tower of cards, they quickly fell towards the floor.


    Jun shook his head. It was only a single strike on their napes, and they quickly fell. He only wanted to make them unconscious, but in reality, Jun was unaware that his blows were a bit strong, which caused the neck and spinal column to receive some damage. His secondary quest was increased by three since earlier.


    A voice came behind the door. The sign above reads, ''Storage Room.''


    "What''s going on? Is the hordeing?"


    The door opened, and a fat old man stared at a young man standing behind two unconscious men.


    Marcus hastily tried shutting the door, but Jun was a step ahead to dash forward.


    Jun tackled Marcus to the floor, and they started punching each other. They rolled on the floor until they hit the nearby shelves.


    The contents near the edge of the shelves dropped continuously on top of the two; folders, tools, and boxes.


    Jun quickly overpowered Marcus and remained on top. He sat on top of Marcus, then sent an Empowered punch which struck Marcus'' face cleanly.


    Marcus coughed blood. "Fuck*ng bastard!"


    His already crooked nose became further disfigured. He red at Jun, then used one of his skills.


    Marcus'' body glowed for a second before he started sweating profusely. Instead of being sticky, the sweat became slippery to the touch.


    The oily sweat made Jun''s grip on Marcus'' neck to loosen and slip.


    Marcus shoved Jun''s body to the side.


    Getting off-bnced, Jun grabbed Marcus'' arm, only for his hand to slip once more. He fell to the floor sideways with his vision going up to the ceiling.


    The door mmed shut with Marcus fleeing like a sweating pig.


    Jun quickly got up and was about to chase after Marcus when he heard a muffled groan from the side.


    A badly beaten up man was staring at Jun with pleading eyes. He''s probably around mid-thirties from the way he looked.


    Jun nced at the man once, then headed for the door.


    The man stared at Jun''s receding figure with disappointment. He could feel life seeping away from his body after getting thrashed by Marcus. He coughed heavily while spatting blood, then closed his eyes, epting his fate.


    In the looming darkness, he heard a click of the tongue, followed by several footsteps. The next thing he knew, a warm feeling was entering his body and being absorbed willingly.

 Chapter 182: A Survivors Beast-friend

    Chapter 182: A Survivor''s Beast-friend


    "Where are my guards!?"


    Marcus shouted as he ran the empty hallway. He spat the blood that formed in his mouth before entering the event hall.


    The once popted area has be rtively empty.


    He could see a few people being escorted away by their stewards.


    At this time, a slender man with distinctive features entered the front door. Behind him was a 1-meter tall mutated dog.


    Marcus yelled, "Jovy,e here!"


    When the door opened, the intense fighting outside, together with sounds of battle cries and roars, resounded the area.


    "Are you okay, sir?" Jovy said worriedly. He was an elite member of the Brotherhood of Verdicts. Numerous resources were poured on him to make him strong. He''s the next most reliable person after Cain.


    There were two types of memberships for the Brotherhood of Verdicts. One was the standard membership, and the other is the elite, who were fortunate enough to be invited to Marcus'' Faction.


    With different ranks and hierarchy, there would also be differences in benefits and their sense of belonging.


    After experiencing the physical pleasures and system benefits for getting invited to the elite group, Jovy has be more loyal and willing to follow Marcus.


    "Why is there no oneing to help me? I''m getting attacked by someone!"


    "I apologize, sir. We got caught up with the horde outside. There''s a smart Brute leading the horde, and Cain is doing his best to deal with it as soon as possible."


    Marcus clicked his tongue. "There''s a young man in the stock room. Go kill him, bring his body to me."


    "Yes, sir!"


    Jovy whistled as he jogged forward. The mutated dog behind him wagged its tail and followed him.


    After giving his order, Marcus took a Caliber .45 ACP from his dimensional storage and followed behind Jovy.


    Jun sent a sliver of his energy to circte around the beat-up man''s body.


    Thankfully, the body didn''t reject his energy and willingly absorbed it.


    He continued for three cycles until he realized that the man was starting to learn how to circte the energy on his own. He became slightly surprised, seeing that the man learned energy control in this short time.


    "Calm down. As long as you continue circting energy internally, you should be able to survive."


    Jun left after giving his advice. He didn''t see the trembling eyelids that were trying its best to open itself. It tried endlessly, only to fail.


    The man unable to see his savior could only thank Jun in his heart. He heard the opening and closing of the door, which caused a streak of tears to fell from his eyes.


    Rapid footsteps echoed in the hall when Jun got out of the stock room.


    A 1-meter tall mutated dog charged at him followed by a man wielding a halberd. The halberd''s shaft was a long metal tube while the spike on its tips and the ax de, together with the thorn on its back, was made from solid metals.


    The mutated dog lunged at Jun and received a backhanded p on its mouth.


    Its owner, Jovy, charged at Jun filled with wrath. He barely got to tame the dog after feeding it with all types of rotters, but this man actually dared hurt it! If his dog got traumatized and turned into a coward, who could he vent his anger to?


    Just thinking about the food stamps, it costed him to buy meat of a Rank 2 Brute made him want to cry now.


    He shed downwards between Jun and his dog to separate them. Then twisted his wrist to make the halberd chase after Jun''s retreating body.


    Jun took his Bonehammer from his dimensional storage, then enveloped it with energy. The top of the Bonehammer shed with the ax de producing sparks and metallic sounds.


    Suddenly, Jun felt all the hairs in his body standup. He nced behind Jovy''s shoulder and saw Marcus pointing a gun in their direction.


    He hastily activated Sprint and Time Perse to dodge the gunshots.


    Marcus became dumbfounded after hearing the clicking sounds from the gun. He fired eight times, and not a single one hit its target! It was like the other person knew the trajectory of the shots and dodged in advance!


    Jun didn''t appreciate Marcus'' intervention and switched his targets. He dashed towards Marcus, and the man couldn''t do anything besides tripping on his own feet as he ran back inside the building, frightened.


    Halfway on his run, the mutated dog was able to catch up to him and tackled him from behind. The two rolled on the tiled floor, and the mutated dog came on top.


    It was a deliberate move from Jun since the dog''s owner was chasing after them. If he was the one on top, the dog owner could attack him freely.


    Jun gripped the mutated dog''s throat to prevent it from biting him, but its front paws still scraped his torso.


    The mutated dog''s nails weren''t as sharppared to Hunter''s ws, but it was sharp enough to created red scratch marks on Jun''s skin.


    Jun couldn''t use ''aura sense'' since he doesn''t have enough time to focus on gathering energy and expanding it outwards at the same time. This event showed the apparent difference between system recognized skills and skills that you just personally know.


    On the other hand, Jun gathered energy on his palm and grabbed the mutated dog''s head. He transferred the umted energy and used Threaten at the same time.


    He felt some resistance from the mutated dog, but being overpowered on every stat, the mutated dog trembled as Jun''s energy entered its brain.


    Its body became limp, and Jun pushed the massive frame to the side.


    "Patchy!" wailed Jovy as he watched his dog fell unconscious. He named the mutated dog Patchy because it has numerous ck and white skin disease.


    He lunged forward and shed at Jun to avenge Patchy.


    Jun rolled backward and barely dodged the tip of the halberd. He hastily got up and charged his Bonehammer with enough energy to activate the embedded Fire Crystal''s effects.


    The Bonehammer zed up with menacing mes that flickered in the dim hallway.


    Jovy ignored the special effects and charged forward. He shed and stabbed numerous times, but Jun easily dodged the attacks.


    After waiting patiently, Jun found the right time to counter-attack and parried the next thrust. With a nging noise, Jun used an underhand swing to knock the halberd up. He didn''t let the opportunity to sh by as he let go of the Bonehammer to be unaffected by its recoil, and pounced forward.


    Halberd is a mid-range type of weapon. Unless the wielder is an expert, it was impossible to win a battle when the opponent has the same strength as you, especially if they weren''t in the same league in the first ce.


    Jun quickly closed the distance and proceeded with hand-to-handbat. Jovy got caught unprepared since he wasn''t knowledgable with polearms. He just learned from experience after battling rotters and became a punching bag for Jun.


    Jovy coughed blood and leaned against the wall. He could barely stand and used the halberd as support. He stared at the man in front of him and waited for the killing blow.


    Much to his surprise, the shadow that towered in front of him receded. Jun left him alone after determining that he wasn''t able to move anymore.


    Jovy slowly slid down as his legs lost the power to keep him from standing. He would never forget the horrifying experience that almost caused his death. He further ingrained in his mind that the world is vast, and there are stronger people out there.


    He mncholy stared at Patchy in the distance. Even though his food maintenance was expensive, he was like a new family in this new world. Seeing the unmoving body in the distance, he couldn''t help but feel agony and shed some tears.


    The mutated dog, Patchy, opened its eyes. It raised its head and examined the surrounding. When it became sure that it was safe to move, it cautiously moved towards Jovy with its tail between its legs.


    Jovy smiled, seeing his pet dog alive. The tears trickled faster than it was earlier. Patchy noticed his tears and licked them off his face.


    Jovy didn''tin that Patchy''s breath smelled like rotten corpses. Instead, he gently rubbed Patchy''s chin.


    Jun entered the event hall of the gymnasium. He nced around and couldn''t find Marcus. Only the event nners were left behind, trying to collect all the pieces of equipment they used for the party.


    Since everything happened in a sh, he didn''t have enough time to attach a tracker to Marcus. He didn''t even expect him to slide his way out from his grasp!


    In the future, he can''t treat everything as streetfights anymore. He needs to ount for the target''s possible skill sets and expertise.


    Marcus was a Lord, so he probably has more than two skills. He ingrained one of them in his mind since it caused him to miss his target.


    Jun nced outside and saw the survivor defensive line shing with the horde of R0 Carriers. He saw Marcus running in the middle of the za square, headed towards the Municipal building.


    Jun wore his camouge cloak and blended with the shadows as he chased after Marcus.


    Marvin achieved splendid results with his distraction task as he asionally sent objects flying towards the survivors'' defensive line.


    Marvin''s projectiles caused the defensive line to move around and slowed down their clearing speed.


    Cain kept on chasing the cunning Brute, who only know how to throw-and-run. They shed a few times, and he managed to injure the Brute, which only made it more frightened and evaded him more.


    Marvin ate hisst Energy Fruit and yed tag with Cain one more time, before luring Cain away from the group. When they were a considerable distance from the defensive line, Marvin stopped provoking Cain before running away.


    Cain became frightened when he realized that the Brute was luring him away. He hesitated a few times while chasing after it, then gave up after chasing for four streets in vain. He couldn''t carelessly get close to it, and at the same time, he couldn''t kill it if he doesn''t get close to it.


    With that, he returned and helped clear the horde of rotters.

 Chapter 183: Poor Choice of Identity

    Chapter 183: Poor Choice of Identity


    Marcus rxed after getting inside the Municipal Hall. He felt safe now that he moved to a different building. Today was really a bad day for him.


    His birthday celebration became a mess after a horde of rotters got attracted to the sound of firecrackers. He cursed those idiots in his head as he catches his breath.


    He already vented some of his anger after beating the host nner earlier. He made sure that the man wouldn''t be able to stand up for a while to appease his wrath.


    After catching his breath, Marcus started walking towards the stairway. His body glowed once, followed by the muscles squirming and adjusting itself.


    By the time he arrived at the stairs, he was no longer the old fat man that he is. His body changed shape, and he became a fierce-looking young man.


    Marcus climbed to the second floor and encountered a blockade. Tables were used as buffers, while several bodyguards wielding spears formed an attacked force behind.


    He raised his hands, then said, "I''m Lord Marcus'' butler. Is the Lord here?"


    The bodyguards became confused since this was the first time they heard Marcus having a butler. They knew he had a secretary, but the secretary was a girl!


    Sensing their doubts, Marcus said, "You can ask him personally if you want. Is the Lord here? Can Ie inside? It''s not safe being down there, you know?"


    They couldn''t provoke the butler since they didn''t know whether he was really working for Lord Marcus. On the other hand, they couldn''t risk their boss''s lives.


    Realizing that they could just confirm the matter,ter on, they let the young mane in. One of the elite families'' bodyguards got assigned to tail the man.


    Marcus heard them but chose to ignore them. He just ingrained their faces in his mind, for reasons unknown.


    Most of the influential guests chose to tide the horde in the mayor''s office. Marcus entered the room and went straight towards the window.


    The guests only nced at him in curiosity, then lost interest after some time. No one paid him any attention, and he went directly towards the window. These people were all thinking that if he was able to go past the blockade at the stairs, then it meant he was someone one high in the food chain.


    The sh on the street continued. The horde was beginning to thin down, and the defensive line finally gained some breathing room when Cain joined the fray.


    Cain proactively attacked the back of the horde and managed to attract the rear part. Seeing that their Chief Officer has returned, the survivors gained a confidence boost and stopped defending. They switched from defense to offense. Their structure as a whole copsed as they change to assault, but they still maintained a two-person spear-cleaver formation as they charged the horde.


    As the people felt reassured that the battle outside would finally reach its end, banging noises came from the hallway. Bodies being thrown into the wall and cries of surprise sounded.


    Then everything went quiet with the battle outside as the only sound. The casual chatters of the people were stopped as they waited in terror of what''s toe.


    The door to the room opened, and a young hoodlum appeared. The man''s hand had some blood on it, which made everyone in the ce apprehensive of him.


    The young hoodlum surveyed the room. As his gaze fell on the neer, a frown appeared on his face.


    Marcus became frightened when the young man slowly walked towards him. Even though his gait was slow, he felt that the man was in total focus and could react to any situation.


    He doubted whether he was actually disguised since the other person red at him firmly. He even wanted to use hisst resort if the man was able to see through his disguise.


    The young man stopped in front of him and examined him.


    "Carl?" he questioned, then added, "What are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be with Marianne?"


    ''Oh? He''s acquainted with this person?'' thought Marcus. ''But who''s Marianne?''


    He acted embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.


    "I got separated from Marianne... sorry. I don''t know where to search for her," replied Marcus.


    The young man chuckled as if crazed, then scratched his forehead as if thinking of something. Then he said, with a voice raising a notch every other word, "You kidnapped my woman, then ims you don''t know where she is. Tell me, should I believe you? I want to kill you right here, right now. Do you think that''s fair?"


    ''What the heck!? What is this? I just randomly copied someone''s face, and this happens! What terrible luck!''


    The young man summoned his dimensional storage then took out a pistol. The young man then aimed at his head in point-nk range.


    Marcus was perplexed. If he returns to his original body, this man still ns to kill him. If he doesn''t, then he would be executed as a kidnapper!


    No matter what he chooses, he would still get killed!


    ''Does he know that it''s me? That''s impossible! I never told anyone about this skill! Brother, what have I done to you? We''ve never met before! This is our first meeting, right!? Can''t we just forget what happened earlier and live our own lives?''


    Marcus was someone who''s strong against the weak, and weak against the strong. His everyday actions and decisions always prioritize life preservation.


    He knows that the other person has more experience and is much stronger than him.


    The one thing he could do now was to use his life-saving skill!


    The one ability that he has been using even before the apocalypse!


    A skill that has a 20% chance of sess!


    He knelt on the floor and begged for mercy.


    "I''m sorry, please forgive me."


    The people who were anticipating the result were bbergasted. They thought that the man would fight back, but in the end, he flipped and asked for mercy! So much for acting mysterious earlier. What a spineless coward!


    Drama aside, now that the situation appeared to be dangerous, the people chose to wash their hands, not wanting trouble toe for them.


    The corner that the two were in became spacious as the people move away in droves.


    "Please let me exin," Marcus said as he stood up. He stared at the young man, then used hisst resort to problems he couldn''t deal with.


    Thest active skill that he reserves for dangerous times like this.


    His body glowed for a millisecond, and the skill activated. Many things happened in that millisecond.


    His body created a clone of itself, then pushed its real body backward.


    The real body turned invisible to everyone, the moment it created a clone.


    The clone stood straight, gazing pleadingly forward.


    Marcus chose to step to the side, in case the young man decided to shoot the clone.


    He could only me himself if he got shot after everything that happened. He ced his hand behind his back and opened his dimensional storage.


    As his hand entered the ck vortex, he became dumbfounded.


    The young man who was facing the clone looked at him. Not a nce, but straight up looked at him. He even pondered whether the skill was working correctly.


    Marcus turned to everyone, but they couldn''t see him.


    ''Why aren''t you attacking him?!''


    There''s no reason to.


    The young man gave a reasonable exnation as to why he was doing this. He was even nning on killing someone they don''t know. Unless he were the Lord''s family member, no one would try to ce their neck on the chopping board to save an unknown person. It was already ingrained on their bodies to ignore people in need.


    The young man pressed the trigger, and the gunshot echoed in the room. It traveled outside and reached the streets, causing the defending survivors to be worried about the situation on the Municipal building.


    Cain and other faction members received the notification that their Lord died. The Faction tab on their menu screen disappeared, together with the benefits of joining a faction.


    Cain performed a full sweep on his surrounding, causing numerous heads to fly. He gazed at the Municipal Hall with a distressed look.


    Even though he strictly works for Marcus because of the benefits, he also knew of some insider information that helps the town stay safe.


    A Lord can prevent enemies from spawning inside the town.


    He doesn''t understand what it means since the town still hasn''t been fully cleared. Nor does he want to know.


    But now, the Lord died, and a lot of things would change.


    On the town cemetery, the barrier at the entrance that prevented carriers from going out vanished.


    The barriers that also stopped them from wandering out of their zones disappeared.


    The carriers felt the restrictions on their body disappear. They felt their energy limits increase, and they received ess to some basic instincts.


    To kill and evolve.


    The first thing the carriers did after the restrictions disappeared was to conserve energy while absorbing the moonlight.


    In a mountain, the barrier on the entrance of a cave dimmed before vanishing. The cave is near one of the famousndmarks of the town, the Angono Petroglyphs.


    The Angono Petroglyphs are petroglyphs carved into a rock wall, located in a shallow rock shelter. It measures 63 meters wide, 8 meters deep, and a maximum height of 5 meters. Numerous human and animal figures were engraved in the wall.


    In the Municipal Street, thest rotter got killed, and before the survivors could celebrate, Cain noticed that the red vortex at the center of the za glimmered.

 Chapter 184: Cursed Crates

    Chapter 184: ''Cursed'' Crates


    [Congrattions! Hidden Quest Completed, ''The One True Boss!'']


    [You received x1 Random Crate. The maximum Faction follower limit increased to 20.]


    [Quest has been reinstated! Good luck!]


    Jun received the rewards, then reread the quest description for the repeatable Hidden Quest. Nothing has changed, and it still had the same requirements and rewards.


    Kill or subordinate a lord to receive a random crate, increased follower count, and if he subdued another Lord, ess to subordinate''s territory control.


    Since he killed Marcus instead of subduing him, he didn''t get to experiment with the third reward, but it was okay. There''s a lot of opportunities in the future.


    Jun didn''t feel guilty for killing Marcus. It just happened that Jun has a quest rted to Lords, and Marcus happened to be there. He didn''t care about Marcus'' bad reputation and just went for the kill.


    The people in the room left quietly one at a time, in fear of being targeted.


    Jun became surprised when a dimensional storage hovered above Marcus'' body. This is a new event encounter for Jun since he has some knowledge of death circumstances.


    Marcus didn''t get bitten after one month in the apocalypse. Jun readily epted that fact, considering the variety of escape tools that Marcus had on his arsenal.


    But weren''t they in battle earlier? The dimensional storage shouldn''t appear ording to his understanding.


    He pondered for a moment, and could only conclude that there''s an out-of-battle system in ce.


    After the two of them stopped fighting and Marcus got away, the system deemed Marcus as in peaceful mode, which triggered one of the three types of death.


    Jun nodded his head in realization. His dimensional storage appeared beside Marcus'', and then he started transferring everything that he could use.


    Marcus had a vast arsenal of firearms stashed in his dimensional storage. He must''ve confiscated these guns from a lot of people to amass this amount. The most numerous firearms were the pistols, followed by shotguns, then assault rifles and sniper rifles. Though there''s a lot of weapons, the bullets were almost running out.


    Most of the bullets he found were for pistols and sniper rifles. They must have used the shotguns and assault rifles in the early days.


    After nearly emptying Marcus'' dimensional storageleaving mostly clothes and ornamentsJun saw his inventory screen and found out that he hasn''t opened the Lvl.10 Weapon Crate that he received a long time ago!


    He forgot about the weapon crate after reaching level 10 since numerous things happened yesterday. He brought out his Lvl.10 Weapon Crate and the Random Crate he received earlier.


    He scanned his dimensional storage for more things that he might have forgotten, and vothere is one item that got buried on the corner of his dimensional storage. A ck USB stick that Evo gave him when they first met since the apocalypse.


    The USB contains the list of individuals involved with his father''s downfall, and Evo took one month to gather this information. There were lots of things that kept him upied at the time, and surviving was on top that list.


    ''I need aptop.''


    Jun chatted Evo to ce a workingptop on the Faction Storage, then opened his crates.


    The Lvl.10 Weapon Crate shuffled around melee weapons and ranged weapons. The prize pool has cold weapons and hot weapons mixed together.


    [You received ''Bumuth''s Warhammer!'']


    [Bumuth''s Warhammer]


    [Description] Bumuth''s final work. Bumuth gave his all when crafting hisst masterpiece. Additional skill attachedDestruction Bash.


    ''This weapon is good! That''s why it''s a trap!''


    Instead of being happy, Jun immediately doubted the weapon. He already got duped by the Ogre''s club, and he won''t be fooled this time.


    Jun used his energy to examine the Warhammer.


    The 1-meter long Warhammer became enveloped with light. It started from the handle where Jun was holding it, then crawled upward into the tip. The tip had two hammerheads on both sides that measure squarely at one foot each.


    [Item description updated!]


    [Enchanted Bumuth''s Warhammer]


    [Description] Bumuth''s final work. Bumuth Greyshoulder is a hardworking dwarf who had no talent in forging. To negate hisck of talent, he used every precious iron that he has to create his only masterpiece. He hammered day and night until his hands couldn''t feel numb anymore. His heart and soul were imbued into the weapon creating the additional effect Destruction Bash.


    He tried auctioning his masterpiece on a nearby Human Stronghold and met a wandering Elven Enchantress who willingly enchanted the weapon.


    Enchantment: The wielder''s weight would be added to the weapon when held. To wield the weapon, the user must be at least 1-meter tall.


    ''Wait, it''s not cursed? Well, that''s fine, I guess.''


    Jun opened the Random Crate and received a simple jade ring.


    [Ring of Vigor]


    [Description] A ring carved from quality jade by a master craftsman. Increase Health and Energy regeneration by 10%


    Jun didn''t trust what he just read and examined the ring further. His energy quickly enveloped the jade ring, and the description remained the same.


    ''So, not everything''s a troll crate.'' Jun thought to himself.


    In the middle of doubting the fairness of the system, Jun heard Yetu''s snicker.


    Jun said, "Can we talk now? Not grumpy anymore?"


    ''Who said I was grumpy!? I''m busy with something else!''


    "Okay, okay. Let''s chatter."


    Jun wanted to have some idle chat with Yetu, but a 3-meter tall Destroyer came out of the 2-meter tall red vortex. The D2 came out crawling from the red vortex so it could fit its enormous body with ease.


    The za immediately turned into disarray as the survivors that just finished an exhausting battle against the horde gazed at the D2.


    Jun wore the jade ring and immediately felt the ring''s effect as his energy regeneration increased. He swung the Warhammer left and right feeling out its weight.


    Usually, Jun would feel unsatisfied with any weapon that he used due to their lightness. It''s because he has too much power for his current level after absorbing legacies and essence of powers.


    But with the Warhammer in his hand, he could finally feel the sensation of weight that he forgot a long time ago, thanks to the enchantment effect.


    Jun absorbed Marcus'' legacy and received +3 on Cunning. Then, he quickly jumped out of the window and safelynded on the ground. The bones and muscles on his feet were already strengthened by oveing the tribtion, and a casual jump from the second floor was nothing to him.


    Although the Brotherhood of Verdicts has numerous people, not everyone has the courage to stand in front and fight the D2. They were able to loot some power and speed essence in the early days, but there''s not enough to go around. The stat essence mostly gets absorbed by the elite members.


    Cain shed with the D2 to allow everyone some time to run away. Every time their group fights a D2, there would always be a considerable number of casualties. This is why they chose to run away in these kinds of situations.


    Cain barely reached the head by extending his arms to thrust the spear. The spearhead almost pierced the D2''s eyes when it chose to pull its head back and grab the spear''s shaft.


    Cain tried tugging the spear back, but it barely moved. He was about to let go when a silhouette jumped high in the air from the side.


    Jun swung the Warhammer in full force and managed to hit the D2''s shoulder, leaving a square indent on the shoulder. A soft cracking noise echoed when the Warhammer hit, and the D2''s left arm became limp.


    The D2 staggered and distanced itself from Jun, then it grabbed a nearby dead body and started feasting on it. The D2''s skin glowed yellow, and it was able to use its left arm.


    When the D2 turned its head back, something appeared on its vision and inched closer to its face.


    Jun sessfully killed the D2 in two strikes. The D2''s head received a massive hole after the Warhammer cleaved its right face off.


    There were a few factors that helped him achieve the feat. First, because he managed to perform a surprise attack, and the second, his new weapon suits him best. The extra weight from the Warhammer also helped in cleaving the head off, which made everything a lot easier.


    Jun used the Warhammer''s attached skill earlierDestruction Bashwhich caused the D2 to stagger. He felt satisfied with the result, and before the D2 could finish recovering, he quickly dashed and cleaved its head off. His aim was actually off, which resulted in only cleaving half of the face.


    Jun stepped on the D2''s body as if announcing his property. The escaping survivors noticed that the tremors on the ground stopped and looked back, only to see someone looting the dead D2.


    Jun looted a Mid-Tier Energy stone and a Mid-Tier Essence of Power. He immediately used the energy stone, which increased his max energy by 30, while he stashed the essence of power into his dimensional storage.


    He ced the red crystal beside the USB stick. Being reminded to check the USB''s contents, he opened the Faction Storage, but there was noptop to be found.


    ''Was he busy? Nevermind then, I can wait. Or should I just go to the nearby mall?''


    Jun was pondering on what to do when the wind behind him ''swooshed.'' He turned his head and saw a man pointing a spear on his face.


    Cain stared at Jun and said, "Did you kill Marcus?"

 Chapter 185: The Dictator

    Chapter 185: The Dictator


    Jun grabbed the tip of the spear and broke the spearhead. He tossed it to the side casually, then walked forward, causing Cain to gulp.


    "Yeah, so what? Aren''t you happy? Your town has one less assh*le now?" said Jun.


    Cain stared at Jun before saying, "Let me work for you. You killed my employer, so I don''t have any work. I''ve angered a lot of people, and they''ll kill me. Besides, I don''t think you understand what you just did."


    "It was true that Marcus isn''t good, I know that ever since I started working for him, but him being a dictator prevented people from fighting with each other. It made us work together to survive. What are you going to do now that you killed the person the people feared?"


    Jun smiled and said, "That''s easy then, I''ll be the new dictator."


    Cain''s other group members joined under Jun''s leadership after he exined the situation. These people didn''t care who they worked for, what they were worried about was that they wouldn''t have a job. With the number of peoplethey stepped on after working for Marcus, no one would work with them, and there''s a chance that they would get killed.


    Jun ordered Cain to gather the elite families hiding in the Municipal Hall into the za square. Afterward, he asked every one of the elite families what they specialized in, and if they were willing to work under him.


    The elite families had different views on the matter. Those who were in the bottom agreed immediately while those in the top rejected the notion.


    Jun found out that the top families were useless garbages that was only put on the position because they were Marcus'' rtives, while the bottom families were the useful ones.


    Jun stripped the top families'' rights then announced the new top families.


    He took the two families from the bottom, the Castro family that owns a poultry farm and the Montano family who owns a metalworking shop. The Castro family was the meat provider for the top family, while the Montano family was in charge of creating weapons.


    The two families upon receiving Jun''s care felt good and worried at the same time. Both families just convinced themselves that they''re just working for a new leader.


    Jun led everyone on foot to the SN Angono Mall. The former elite families suggested to use the vehicles they rode here, but Jun rejected them. He strictly ordered Cain to make sure that everyone travels on foot.


    The journey was both thrilling and worrisome for everyone since they were able to see Jun''s capability.


    Jun took care of everything that appeared in front of them. The only time he needed help was when evolved carriers appeared while dealing with other carriers. Even though unexpected things happened, he was able to keep everyone safe as they walked in the middle of the highway.


    People who sided with him felt blissful because unlike Marcus, who cowers at the back and only orders for his soldiers to fight, Jun was capable of fighting on his own. The people who weren''t given a chance to work for him became worried that their lives would be harder from now on.


    Jun didn''t know what the people behind him were thinking. He walked in front because he was used to be on the front lines.


    He wanted to take as much experience as everyone else so he could continue being on the lead. Also, it''s faster if he''s the one battling since he doesn''t care about minor bites, and could fight more recklessly.


    If they ride those cars, they will miss a ton of experience, and others would be able to take it!


    The former top families who only knew the extravagance of life suffered once again!


    The first time they suffered was the start of the apocalypse, and they feel like the apocalypse has started all over again.


    The survivors who were out scavenging noticed the parade of people. They ignored them at first, but when they saw the influential families walking in tow, they be intrigued.


    As the group traveled closer to their destination, more and more survivors noticed them. A few survivors were enjoying the night camping outside, surrounding a bonfire at a nearby gas station.


    Meanwhile, the entrance to the underground parking had peopleing to and fro. The small onlookers from before have be arge crowd.


    Jun stopped at the entrance and shouted, "I killed Marcus. If anyone wants to challenge me, I''ll be waiting at that empty lot. If no onees out to challenge, I''ll take my position as the leader of this town." He looked around, then left.


    The crowd became bustling after learning about Marcus'' death. The news immediately spread to the whole mall. A few courageous pro-Marcus went out and challenged him, only to get beaten up. Some ambitious fellows tried their luck but got taught their lessons harshly.


    Most of the people at the mall stood outside, watching the event. Though they were already used to getting mistreated, some keen-eyed individuals noticed that Jun didn''t deal severe injuries to people who gave up while those ambitious and persistent ones who tried their best to kill him got crippled.


    Jun surveyed the surrounding and eyed the windows of the nearby buildings. The strict confiscation of firearms backfired against Marcus. If someone has some hidden guns, they could quickly assassinate Jun from a distance.


    When no more challengers came, Jun stood up and looked at everyone''s eyes. Some stared back while others couldn''t take the pressure and looked away. In the crowd, he saw Marvin together with Lolita.


    Reena, Lourdes, and Mellissa were missing.


    He looked at Cain and his group members, which surrounded the influential families, preventing them from running away.


    "Is there no one else? No one? Then, I, Jun Reyes, Lord of Binangonan, im ownership of this town! I would keep the town safe and would kill anyone, or group, that endangers it. I expect everyone to follow my orders from now on."


    "As my first project, I would call it On Warmth. I would clear all carriers on the town, and anyone who wants to join the expedition is weed.We meet here at this empty lot and would start the operation tomorrow at dawn. Dismissed!"


    Jun didn''t wait for the crowd to react and immediately walked away.

 Chapter 186: Plans Should Be Followed

    Chapter 186: ns Should Be Followed


    A particr group of people followed after Jun. It was Cain''s group, Marvin, and Lolita.


    Cain''s subordinates blocked some people who were interested and wanted to talk with Jun.


    Lolita and Marvin approached Jun with solemn expressions.


    "Did something happen?" Jun worriedly asked Lolita as they walked away from the crowd.


    Lolita replied, "Reena got bit."


    "How did she get bit? Lighting firecrackers doesn''t involve fighting the carriers," said Jun.


    Lolita lowered her head and muttered, "We made some small changes to the n..."


    Jun stared at Lolita while frowning, "What changes?"


    "To make sure that we can lead the rotters to the za, we used ourselves as baits. Reena wasn''t athletic in the first ce and got caught when passing the baton to me." Lolita exined then stuck out her tongue.


    She noticed that Jun wasn''t looking good, so she added, "Reena''s at the hospital. She''s safe and got already treated by Mellissa. The only problem we have is medicine. Most of the hospitals and clinics were already looted, and we have to go to another town if we want to find them."


    Jun felt guilty when he learned that Reena got bitten. Even though they never really see eye to eye, they still know each other.


    "This is why you need to follow ns strictly. I made it like that in consideration of your physiques," said Jun.


    "But a safe n can fail... we can''t let Sis Lourdes'' hardships be in vain. She waited for a long time to get revenge, and it can''t fail."


    Jun clicked his tongue and asked Lolita what medicine they need. When he received the list, he opened his dimensional storage and gave the listed medicine to Lolita.


    The medicine wasn''t from his private stash but looted from Marcus.


    Marcus had a monopoly on everything that could be deemed valuable. Medicine and firearms were his aces upon the sleeve in controlling the popce.


    Even if a few individuals manage to find medicine, it wouldn''tst for a long time and would shift the power back to him, strengthening his position further. If people assassinated him, they would lose all the items in his dimensional storage.


    Cain, who followed Jun because he had something to say, became bbergasted when he overheard their conversation. He became frightened when he realized that not only Jun killed Marcus, he also nned for the horde to attack them. He shivered at the meticulousness of his new boss.


    Jun felt someoneing towards them and saw Cain standing dazed. Cain wanted to say something, but Jun spoke ahead of him, "Don''t worry about my safety and focus on observing the people tonight. Don''t do anything and just watch them. Also, you have a fortune teller and a detective, right? Bring them to me. I''ll be at Pagasa Private Hospital."


    Cain nodded his head as he watched the group of people walk away. He then noticed the glistening profile of a woman beside Jun.


    He scratched the corner of his eyes and eximed, "Was that the Dream Fairy?! Am I dreaming? Wait a minute, who''s that bastard who sticks to her like glue! Is it her boyfriend? That dogface?! No, no, no, no, no. No!"


    Jun entered the room, followed by Lolita and Marvin.


    Reena was lying on the hospital bed with Mellissa and Lourdes at the side.


    Mellissa was reading the same book about bacteria while Lourdes gazed affectionately at Reena. Her eyes were still red, a sign that she just finished crying.


    When Jun entered the room, he gathered everyone''s attention.


    Reena was the first to react, she said, "Lolita! Ask Lourdes to stop crying! I already said I''m fine, but she won''t stop." She then turned to face Lourdes only to see her spilling tears quietly. "See?!"


    "d to see you''re still lively," Junmented.


    "What is this? You''re creeping me out." Reena said, then hid under the nket.


    Jun shrugged then left after seeing that everything was okay. He left an apple for the patient to it, then went out of the room with Marvin in tow.


    Just as they got out of the room, someone called for them to stop. Jun turned his head.


    "Thank you for the apple." Reena shyly said, then added, "...but don''t you think that dinner is better?"


    Lourdes, who was quietly weeping, somehow got choked and nced at Jun in anticipation.


    Seeing their expressions, Jun couldn''t help but smile wryly. He brought out another cooked Giant Rat, and the group feasted on them. The initial disgust on the rat meat disappeared after the second serving. You just have to close your eyes and imagine that you''re eating steaks.


    After satiating their hunger, the group chatted idly until the topic changed to what happens in the future. Jun became honest with them and told them his n.


    Jun doesn''t intend to stay here, and he didn''t give any specific reason why he needs to go. He ns to make this ce as an outpost since the red portal regrly spits out carriers. Even though he considered migrating some of the survivors to Binangonan, he can''t leave the town empty because there are still threats of evolved carriersing out of the portal.


    For the people going to be assigned to the outpost, he needs to clear the town of enemies for them to live in a safer environment.


    If the town bes safer, people would be willing to get assigned here even if they migrated to Binangonan.


    The girls didn''t ask anymore nor inquired about Jun''s reasons for leaving. They knew since the beginning that Jun was just passing by and just happened to have the same interest as them.


    On the other hand, Marvin was feeling uneasy after learning that the person he looked up to was leaving. There wasn''t even mention whether he would be taken along or left behind.


    As if he was able to read Marvin''s mind, Jun assigned him the role of Outpost Commander, and Cain''s group would be his subordinates. He could also recruit more volunteers to guard the red portal.


    Though a bit underwhelmed, Marvin epted the position and promised Jun that he would work his hardest.


    Jun went to the hospital''s rooftop so that he could chat with Yetu.


    Marvin was busy studying ck Haven''s Research that he found in the Faction storage in their room.


    In the distance, he could see a swarm of bats flying around the town.

 Chapter 187: The Gardener

    Chapter 187: The Gardener


    Jun took out a foldable table and chair from his dimensional storage, then stretched for a bit, before cing theptop that Evo sent him on top of the table.


    The swarm of bats disappeared after passing behind a building.


    ''They''re probably sleeping now? No, wait. Bats should be active at night, right? Nevermind''


    After pressing the power button, Jun inserted the USB stick into theptop.


    A popup showed up, and he clicked the open folder option. It brought him to the window, and he opened the only file inside named [ONLY FOR LITTLE JUN''S EYES].


    Jun didn''t forget to curse Evo a few times in his head before proceeding to read the file. The file contains a list of pictures with information beside them.


    In the first part of the file was Mayor Yobet''s innocently smiling face, which immediately irked Jun. He read the corresponding information and learned that the mayor was a Drug Protector.


    The following pictures, names, and information were supplementary ones that lead to his father''s misfortune.


    A screenshot of a conversation goes:


    His father reported the town mayor for corruption and illegal activities, which were intercepted by a subordinate of a Drug Protector on the higher part of the government system.


    When Mayor Yobet learned about the news, he wanted to kill the man as soon as possible but got stopped by the higher Protector.


    The man suggested that since excellent and honest people are scarce, so they should break him slowly. They threatened the man to kill his family if he ever does things unexpectedly. Since he believes in fairness, they would leave his family alone of he ys a game with them. If he ever wins ten million from gambling, they would leave his family alone.


    With no other choice, Jun''s father epted.


    On another screenshot, the other Protector was scolding Mayor Yobet for doing a poor job at handling the people in his town. The other person then suggested making sure to take pictures so that they could ckmail the person further. If the photos get released to the public, the man will lose credibility, and the mayor could easily dismiss anything he says.


    Jun bit his lips until blood appeared. He scrolled down slowly as he etched everyone''s face and name into his mind.


    The stare he had while browsing the file was already dering these people''s deaths. These people better pray that he never sees them!


    On the cemetery, a R0 Carrier that was eagerly absorbing the moonlight got bitten by a 1-foot ck bat. The fangs that sank deep into the neck started absorbing the energy from the carrier.


    At first, the carrier only felt something sticking to the back of its head, so it ignored it.


    When the carrier noticed that something was stealing its energy, it became angry and used its hand to p it away as if it was killing a mosquito.


    The carrier''s hand was a bit slow, and the bat was able to react. It stopped eating the energy of the carrier and flew backward.


    As the bat continued to p its wings and retreated backward, a rotting hand caught it and shoved the bat into a metallic watering can.


    The insides of the watering-can emitted screeching noises followed by the thrashing cries of the bat inside. Several secondster, the bat stopped thrashing around.


    The carrier holding the watering can wearing a blue coverall gardener''s outfit, walked towards the bitten carrier. It raised the watering can as if pouring water to the carrier''s body.


    Trickles of yellow droplets of energy came out from the watering cans mouth. The carrier''s expression became blissful as it tilted its head unintentionally while opening its mouth widely.


    When the watering can run out of energy, the carrier appeared dazed as if losing its purpose to live.


    The gardener carrier was an old man that has been in service of the cemetery as a grave gardener for more than ten years. He died from a heart attack after experiencing the excruciating pain when the apocalypse started.


    The gardener examined the R0 Carrier''s eyes, then nodded his head.


    "Around two more? Let me catch some source; I''ll be back. These bats don''t know how to respect their benefactor. They receive some of my blessings, and they''re sucking up your energy. You both came from me! You should be allies!" the gardener carrier said in disdain.


    After catching another bat, it went back to sprinkle some ''water'' into the same carrier earlier.


    "Okay, I need one more," the gardener said cheerfully, then turned around to look for more bats. His expression turned sour suddenly, and he said, "Why are these people so chatty? This one is especially annoying. Does he have nothing to do? You keep teasing me then wants to talk to me? Even if you beg me, I''ll never talk to you again!"


    The gardener caught another bat after several attempts. It was sneakily flying away after stealing energy from a carrier. He shoved the bat to the watering-can and came back to the same odd-looking carrier.


    He watered the carrier, and when the watering can stopped sprinkling energy, the R0 Carrier started squirming and fell to the ground.


    The R0 Carrier rolled in the ground in agony for several seconds, before heaving a sigh. It slowly stood up, and in the process of standing up, its shirt got destroyed as its chests expanded with chiseled muscles while its pants became shorts after the leg muscles exploded in size.


    The D1 stared at the gardener like a duckling fawning over its mother.


    The gardener nodded in satisfaction, then said, "Catch some bats and bring them back to me."


    The D1 happily jogged away, creating tremors every step it took. The bats that were sneakily stealing energies from the carriers became startled and flew away.


    The gardener carrier anxiously shouted, "S-stop, stop! You''re scaring them away. Come back here and sit down on the ground!"


    The D1 came back dejectedly and sat down on the ground.


    "Stay there!" the gardener shouted as he went into the prowl.


    He jumped around all night, trying to catch escaping bats.

 Chapter 188: Spreading the Seeds

    Chapter 188: Spreading the Seeds


    Jun finally gave up contacting Yetu after the nth attempt.


    He thought that they would be able to talk, but it felt like he was expecting too much from the unreliable system.


    He already finished reading the file and was now contemting on what to do. He knew who the enemies were and even became shocked when he found the bald man who chatted with his mother as one of them, Julian Celestine, a retired General of the Philippine Army.


    The bottle of water on his hand became crumpled when Jun remembered the time his mother talked with this man. This man must have done something for his mother to leave! Even though he doesn''t have proof, his instinct was leaning towards that theory!


    Jun chuckled lifelessly. ''What am I saying? I even imagine things now.''


    While in the middle of belittling himself, the rooftop''s door opened.


    Lolita came out and became d after seeing him. Following behind her was Cain appearing idiotic and blissful.


    "You''re here! We''ve been looking for you! You should learn to tell someone your whereabouts, so this doesn''t happen too often." she grumbled.


    "Oh, you have an attitude now? I''m thinking of never giving you another set of rat meat," Jun said.


    Lolita immediately sped her hand and begged for mercy. "I''m sorry, I''m in the wrong. Please don''t take away the only tasty food I had for weeks."


    Jun chuckled softly and shook his head. Lolita saw his reaction and yfully stuck out her tongue.


    Cain, who watched the scene from the sidelines, became dumbfounded. He couldn''tprehend why two grown-ups were bickering like they were children.


    Cain found his chance to interrupt the two after they stopped talking. He reported, "Madam Auring disappeared together with Mister Angelo. Some witnesses say that they eloped while others say they escaped, fearing that you''ll kill anyone associated with Marcus."


    "Do I look like someone who would kill for no appropriate reason?" Jun said solemnly.


    Cain almost nodded his head subconsciously but was able to stop at thest moment. With his back bing sweaty, he refuted Jun''s im. "No, boss. You would never do something like that! Those two must be out of their minds to believe that you act like Marcus, not knowing that you''re a benevolent Lord."


    Jun nodded his head in satisfaction. He realized that having someone singing praises to him doesn''t feel bad.


    Lolita left them alone so that they could have a proper discussion.


    Jun summoned his dimensional storage then beckoned for Cain to step closer. He ced five appetizing Giant Rats on the table. The glistening reddish-brown skin reflected the moonlight from above.


    "Share this with everyone. Don''t give anyone aside from your original members understand?"


    "I understand." Cain nodded his head.


    "Also, distribute this to as many people as you can," Jun handed a stack of ck Haven Research [Basic Edition] leaflets to Cain. "Okay, you may go."


    Jun waved his hand to bade farewell, but Cain didn''t move back after taking the Giant Rat''s meat and the leaflets.


    "Can I join your faction? I know that we barely know each other, but having skilled subordinates is a must, don''t you think?"


    "I agree with that. Let''s put your application on the pending status, and I''ll decide whether you''re a ''skilled subordinate'' after the operation tomorrow."


    "Thank you," Cain bowed then started walking. Before he reached the door, he halted and turned back, "There''s also this man, Ralph. He''s an excellent subordinate. I think he''s stronger than me, but he focuses too much on his pet dog. You should focus on him too."


    Cain bowed again and quickly left before Jun could reply.


    "Ralph with a pet dog? Let''s see tomorrow if you''re really something."


    With everything in ce, Jun went back to his room to meditate but got embroiled with a tutorial session with Marvin after he entered the room.


    Marvin is having a hard time feeling the energy in his body, so he wanted some advice from Jun. The two sat down on the floor face-to-face, and Marvin would p himself so he could get max fury and transform. The problem that they encountered was during Marvin''s transformation.


    Marvin would feel nk during the transformation due to explosive growth in his body. He couldn''t control himself during that phase, which resulted in him not feeling the flow of energy inside him.


    To feel the energy inside the body, you must activate a skill and slowly grasp the warm feeling and familiarize yourself with it. There were times that they were about to give up when Jun thought of something.


    He knocked on the girl''s room and waited for someone to open the door for them. Lolita opened the door wearing a pajama. With drowsiness in her eyes, she asked timidly, "What do you want? Can''t youe tomorrow?"


    "I need your help."


    Lolita''s eyes widen upon hearing Jun. "You need my help? Whoa. Okay, let''s hear it."


    Jun exined Marvin''s situation, then said, "We need your skills. Can you help us with an experiment?"


    Marvin, who was standing beside Jun, quickly turned his head in shock. "Experiment? Wait a minute, boss. This is safe, right?"


    "Of course, it''s safe! Why would I even risk your life? You''re a wonderful person who has unique skills. It would be a waste to lose someone like you!"


    Marvin slowly shook his head. "I don''t think I''m interested in learning energy control anymore. No, wait, please let me go! Don''t pull me!"


    "Sssh, people are sleeping already!" Lolita said as she hurriedly covered Marvin''s mouth with her hands.


    Marvin was trying to say something, but his mouth could only produce muffled sounds. Jun carried Marvin back to the room with Lolita in tow behind.


    Marvin sat in the middle of the room, discouraged. He felt like he was a guinea pig sent for an unsafe experiment. Jun and Lolita were discussing something on their own and were looking at him with excitement.


    Lolita sat beside Marvin and held his wrist. Warm energy entered his body, and he suddenly felt anger rising inside him.


    Although surprised, Jun''s voice that ordered him to transform gave rity to his mind. He used his skill and turned into a red-skinned Destroyer. His body expanded in size, and half of his clothes got destroyed.


    On the process of transformation, he felt another set of warm energy that entered his body. It even helped him rx! He became shocked and couldn''t focus at the task at hand.


    Lolita''s hand that held Marvin''s wrist couldn''t even grab half of the transformed arm.


    "Were you able to sense it? Can you feel it now?" Jun said.


    Marvin became rxed after the sessful experiment. He even felt embarrassed for acting like a frightened child.


    "I''m sorry, I couldn''t focus on my energy because I got surprised. But don''t worry, I was able to feel Miss Alvaro''s energy. I think I can seed in the next one. Can we continue?" Marvin asked the two''s opinion.


    Marvin canceled the transformation and his body slowly became smaller.


    "Ah!" Lolita shouted while covering her eyes with her hand. She would sometimes peak through the gaps on her fingers and stared at Marvin''s naked body.


    Marvin''s body has transformed to chiseled muscles due to the extreme diet that he had to endure during the past month. All the scavenging and fighting helped to tone his body in the right ces.


    Jun nced at Lolita and saw her nodding her head. He then said, "Please continue."


    Lolita used Stimuli Control once again and caused Marvin''s fury to fill up once more. Marvin focused hard and finally felt the jolt of energy when he transformed.

 Chapter 189: Suspicions

    Chapter 189: Suspicions


    Marvin finally learned how to circte energy after the first failure. He clenched his fist and couldn''t help but giggle like an idiot. He canceled his transformation then felt excited while his ears blushed because of Lolita''s soft touch.


    "Thank you, Boss Jun. Thank you, Miss Alvaro!"


    "You can stop calling me that, Lolita would do. Our age gap isn''t that far after all." Lolita smiled, then stood up. "I''m done here, right? Okay, I''m going back to sleep. Bye~"


    Marvin smirked foolishly as he watched her walked away.


    Jun ignored the lovestruck gaze Marvin had and said, "Then I''ll give you a list of skills that you can learn and choose what you think suits your style best. There''s not many to choose around, so you don''t have to force yourself to learn them all. Oh, by the way, what level are you now?"


    "I''m level 6. Why?"


    "I think there''s a limit to the number of skills that we could learn. Except for pre-generated skills, every level, you can increase skill limit by 1. My friend is already researching the matter, and I''m just waiting for results."


    "Can we learn too?"


    Jun and Marvin turned their head and followed the voice''s direction. Lolita hasn''t gone out of the door and is watching the two of them with curiosity.


    She added, "We''ve already exchanged information with you, so trading more should be fine, right?"


    Jun frowned at her assertiveness but smiled in the end. He has a few questions he wants to be answered, and this is the best chance that he could take.


    Jun nodded his head while pointing to her previous seat, "Sure, please sit down."


    "Thanks, wait a minute."


    Lolita ran out of the room and barged in loudly in the next room. Several secondster, three sleepy heads wearing pajama''s followed an excited Lolita.


    "She''s 24? Wow, she looks way younger than that."


    That was the first thing Lolita heard after entering the room. Marvin had this surprised expression all over his face while Jun was bobbing his head that says, ''I''m telling the truth.''


    "Are you two gossiping about me?" Lolita questioned with both arms on her waist.


    Marvin quickly distanced himself from Jun and waved both hands in front of him. "No, we''re not." afterward, he bowed then added, "I''m sorry."


    Lolita narrowed her eyes and nced at the two alternately.


    "Just kidding." she stuck her tongue out, then sat on the floor beside Marvin. Her followers dazedly followed her and sat next to her.


    Reena, who was thest to enter the room, sat furthest to Lolita and ended up next to Jun. She squirmed in her ce and avoided turning her head to Jun''s direction.


    "Let''s not waste time, and I''ll start," Jun said. "There''s a lot of skills you could learn and your imaginations the limit. The only thing that''s stopping you is the skill limit and your energy control..." Jun exined everything they need to know before going to his question.


    "Now, I want to know your skill. I know that your the ''brain,'' and I want to know what you can do and how you use the skill. I''ve already paid in advance, so I expect to receive what I paid for."


    Marvin suddenly felt that the atmosphere in the room took a 180-degree turn. The jolly and friendly air vanished, reced by displeasure.


    Reena, who was avoiding Jun''s gaze since earlier, was now ring at him. Lolita couldn''t do anything and only chuckled listlessly.


    "So, this ends like this, hah." Lolitabed the back of her head and yed with her hair. "Sure, I''ll answer it. I guess it couldn''t be helped at all. You already said it the first time; you''re a curious man."


    Jun made a slight nod and smiled as he anticipated her answer.


    "Do you also want to know how I earned it?"


    "If you don''t mind."


    "Okay then, I''ll just add it as a freebie." Lolita took a deep sigh before staring at Jun, then continued. "I was sleeping at my office desk when the apocalypse started. In my dream, people were killing and eating each other. A few of those people noticed me and jumped on me. Of course, I defended myself, so when I blocked them, they started biting my arms. I couldn''t fight back as if my arms and legs were tied by something invisible. It was like I''m supposed to die there."


    "I didn''t give up, though. The only thing I can move was my head, and I used it. I started biting their necks until they stopped moving. After those two stopped moving, I woke up in my office. I cried when I realized that it was just a nightmare until I heard shrieks and shouts in the hallway. I survived by not going out of my office. The notification about the skill also solidified my will not to go out."


    Lolita smiled wryly after finishing her story. Her friends gazed at her with concern. Although they have heard the story, having listened to it the second time still makes them worried. The psychological trauma must be severe, especially when she got locked alone in her office for a long time.


    Marvin quietly gulped as he stared at Lolita.


    Jun asked. "You received the skill immediately?"


    "Yeah, why? You also received an enhancement, right? What part are you?"


    Jun ignored her question and pondered what could be the difference between them. He received his Time Perse skill after he fought the D1 at the za square. But unlike her, he didn''t do anything special and was at the brink of death at the time.


    There are multiple ways to receive a blessing? Jun stopped thinking and pushed it aside. He''ll let Evo handle things like these.


    Jun continued asking what he was curious about.


    "Your skill name, function, and activation?"


    "The skill I got is called Dream Come True. It will trap the target inside a dream and show them what they are currently thinking. As for its activation, I just have to point a ce and activate the skill. An eye symbol would appear on the ground, and anyone nearby would be affected."


    "How close do you have to be to activate the skill? For example, if you want to ce a symbol on the parking lot, can you do it from here? How many can you ce at a time, and howrge is the radius effect?"


    "You have so many questions, are you a detective?" Reena asked Jun sarcastically while rolling her eyes.


    "Hahaha, I''ll take that as apliment. People die when I don''t do serious background checks." Jun stated with a smile.


    Reena frowned at him, then turned away. Mellissa and Lourdes treated his words as jokes and only smiled wryly.


    Marvin, who knew Jun''s background, nodded in understanding. A leader who doesn''t know the people around him could die without even knowing the reason.


    Lolita felt that Jun''s words had some substance to them and answered truthfully.


    "I can''t do that. I can only cast the skill around me, about 2-meters? Its cooldown is 10-seconds, and the effect radius is 5-meters. I mostly use the skill to escape and help people escape from rotters."


    "Then, did you receive a side quest rted to me?" Jun curiously asked since he received the side quest, Absorb the Brain.


    Lolita narrowed her eyes and replied, "I did not?"


    Jun became confused since he thought she was running away from him because of that quest.


    In the end, he smiled and was satisfied with her answers, so he gave them the list of the skills he could teach them.


    Most of the women chose to learn Sprint, and Reinforce then reserved the other skill slots forter on. Even if they learned other survival skills, it couldn''t help them much since they weren''t battle oriented.


    Meanwhile, Marvin was an assault-type survivor and chose to learn everything that he could use. He picked Sprint, Reinforce, Empower, and Enhanced Sight to further solidify his skill build.


    In the middle of the night, Jun tried contacting Yetu again and again to no avail. He had questions in his mind that he wants answers for.


    Why did he receive the sidequest while she didn''t?


    Was this special treatment? If it is, then why?


    Who is Yetu? Why is he helping him be stronger faster?


    Why does he want me to absorb her?


    If he absorbs the brain, then he received double blessings? (Eye and Brain)


    A system that isn''t fair to everyone, gives random and nonsensical quests and likes killing people.


    With so many questions in mind and Yetu nowhere to be found, he started to be suspicious of the system.


    Jun sat on the bed and started meditating.


    Marvin, who was sleeping on the couch, shivered. He got up and saw Jun sitting on the bed.


    He clicked his tongue and took the couch''s cushion, and headed out of the room.

 Chapter 190: Oplan Warmth (1)

    Chapter 190: On Warmth (1)


    Jun opened his eyes after the whole night of meditation. He felt refreshed even without sleep and has glossier skin. Apparently, energy cirction is also beneficial with blood cirction, which is rted to skin health.


    He got up from the bed and couldn''t see Marvin. When he noticed that the couch''s cushion was missing, he had an idea of where Marvin could be.


    Jun went outside and saw Marvin sleeping on the bench. He pondered whether Marvin is a masochist who likes sleeping in the cold.


    He didn''t realize that it was because of his aura while meditating that caused Marvin to sleep outside.


    Jun set up a small dining room on the floor''s lobby. tes were arranged on the table while a cooked Giant Rat was being heated on a wok. As the meat started to juice up, the inviting smell spread all over the corridor.


    Marvin''s nose itched from the scent, and he slowly opened his eyes. He greeted Jun while still lying down, then groggily sat up.


    The two started to chat when a creaking sound echoed the hallway. A head popped out from the girl''s room while sniffing the air. Lolita still had both eyes closed, but she suddenly turned to Jun''s direction with widened eyes.


    In the empty lot...


    "Is this everyone?" Jun asked Cain as he watched the dozen of people packed in the empty lot. It''s safe to assume that there are about seventy people who joined the operation.


    The sun hasn''t risen, and the darkness still covers the sky. Marvin stood next to Lolita and the rest of the crew while they stand behind him.


    Cain hastily replied, "Actually, there are more people earlier, but they aren''t feeling well after eating bat soup. Some groups got attacked by batsst night, but they were able to repel the creatures and catch a few of them. The people have long forgotten what meat tastes like, and they even bragged about their feat to everyone. They were selling the broths for food stamps while eating the meat on their own. Thankfully, I didn''t eat those dishes. But I''m still envious that they gained max energy points."


    Jun wasn''t paying attention but became interested when he heard hisst words. A broth that could increase max energy is something that he wants! He needs to dig deeper into this.


    But before everything else, he needs to start this operation so that he could move on.


    Usually, he could fight up to twenty R0 Carriers on his own. Even if some additional evolved carriers joined the fray, he wouldn''t have a problem of dealing with them.


    The problemes in when the horde he was fighting takes too much time to clear, and another horde would pass by. He had enough power and endurance to kill them one by one, but his energy isn''t high enough for a battle of attrition.


    At most, he could deal with five to eight evolved carriers before having to run away. In that scenario, he needs to focus on killing the Hunters since they were the trackers. Unless he could kill them, the horde would alwaystch on his back.


    At the same time, he can''t use all of his energy since he would pass out. Dying due to energy bacsh would be tragic after surviving this long.


    With these dozens of people, they could sweep the town with ease. He only needs to focus on evolved carriers, which also gives higher experience, while he let them clear the weak ones. The town bes safer, and everyone gets what they wanted.


    ''Around seventy people, so seven Giant Rats should suffice, right? I''m sorry Mike, I know you like them but...''


    Jun shouted, "Group yourselves into tens, that will be your temporary group for this trip. Nominate a leader and have theme forward."


    After a smallmotion of groupings and nominations, seven people stood in front of Jun filled with expectations.


    A reddish-brown Giant Rat appeared on Jun''s hand.


    "Take this to your group and have some breakfast."


    With Jun''s voice not being too quiet, the people at the back hollered in satisfaction. The leaders smiled widely as they received the Giant Rat and moved back to their groups.


    The groups sat down on the ground and started eating without reserve. This isn''t the time to act reserved. They have been waiting for this moment sincest night.


    News about Cain''s group having a meaty meal spread around the mall. A few courageous ones tried asking for a bite and were rejected. They then learned that only people in Cain''s group could eat the meat.


    People started applying to join Cain''s group to get a taste of the meat. Then, they regretted only asking for a bite because it was so delicious that some tried causing trouble to steal the Giant Rat''s meat.


    In the end, they were told that there might be a chance if theye for tomorrow''s operation. And so they did.


    Jun watched everyone as they ate, not because he enjoyed watching them eat, but because he was looking for potential threats hidden among them. His worries were for nothing as everyone had green question marks above their heads.


    Reena muttered while gazing at Jun''s back. "Sometimes I hate you, sometimes I"


    Reena stopped talking because she noticed someone smirking on her side.


    Lolita was yfully winking at her and even gave her a thumbs up.


    At first, she was confused, and then she realized that her friend got the wrong idea in mind!


    "I meant I don''t understand him! Your brain is filled with mud!" Reena pinched Lolita''s cheeks and stretched it side-to-side.


    When everyone finished their breakfast, the group finally started the operation.


    Jun briefed everyone on the n and his rules.


    The n was simple; they would clear the whole town by moving in a spiral pattern. Their current position would be the center, and they would travel in a spiral around the town. This would help with faster navigation since they could attract the carriers to them instead of clearing subdivisions one by one.

 Chapter 191: Oplan Warmth (2)

    Chapter 191: On Warmth (2)


    The SN Angono Mall was at the center of the western part of the town. If you study the Angono Town Map, you could notice that most of the housings were divided into two. In the south-western part and the north-eastern part.


    In the middle of the map, a massive open-pit mining site could be found, surrounded by various factories that make and process stones.


    The clearing group would start from the center of the popted town and spiral outwards in a counter-clockwise manner.


    ''You own anything that you kill. Group effort? Then divide it.''


    The people became d about the loot distribution.


    Even if the people were already used to getting mistreated, they still wished for fair distribution, receiving something in return after working hard made them motivated enough to work harder.


    Jun led the group and entered the Rainbow Vige through the Rainbow Avenue. It was the subdivision across the mall, and there were no carriers to be seen.


    Everyone traveled with their groups and swept the streets of the subdivision. Cain''s was especially active since they were tasked as helpers for those groups who will encounter trouble.


    The group met a few scavengers along the way and managed to acquire some useful information. Besides the wild animals, the subdivision only has hidden carriers around the corner. It was expected since the neighborhood was the closest one to the mall. The people must have cleared the ce a long time ago.


    Jun moved on and brought everyone to the Carebi Vige. The vige was next to Municipal Street and mostly had wandering groups of carriers. The civilian group was able to deal with enemies calmly, and Cain''s group hasn''t acted even once.


    During the clearing operation, Jun found an Art Museum.


    The ce had tons of artworks on the walls blockaded by crowd-control stanchions so people can''t get too close with the paintings. On the process of appreciating the pieces of art, Jun suddenly felt dizzy while his energy bes unstable. He looked at the end of the corridor but didn''t find anyone.


    He quickly left the ce and checked whether he got cursed or something. Nothing happened to him except for the reduced energy. He didn''t activate any skill, so he became confused. He shrugged and considered the event a strange encounter.


    As the group moved further south, evolved carriers finally appeared. The southern part of the town was the docking area for fishermen. The H1''s and D1 here were already used to traversing the alleyways. They even used the alley as hiding spots and waited for an unsuspecting scavenger. The housing was still cramped, sticking next to each other, preventing any vision of any kind.


    The civilian groups were able to handle a Hunter by using their numbers, but they failed miserably with fighting a D1. H1''s could be dealt with by striking its protruding back, but a D1 needs to be killed by stabbing through the eyes since their weapons could barely scratch its skin and muscles.


    Skilled individuals shine at times like this.


    Cain used excellent spearmanship to cripple the D1, forcing it to the ground. The serrated chainring at both sides of the spear effectively scraped the skins of the D1''s joints.


    The dog-owners also showed how useful their pets were. The dogs could fight the H1''s on their own while only needing to double team a D1. The two-meter D1 plopped on the ground after getting tackled repeatedly on the back. The mangled leg muscles also contributed to its downfall.


    Jun never intervened and only watched from the back. Despite the girls'' desperate effort to convince him, he remained as an observer.


    He wanted to see how skilled everyone was and was choosing people he could invite to his Faction.


    Currently, he was eyeing three people who seem useful. They were; Cain, who had excellent spearmanship, Ralph, the only dog owner who takes the lead instead of his dog, and a civilian who has a unique support skill.


    Heter learned that the man was called Benjie, a street performer. Not much is known to him, aside from his skill to captivate a target.


    When under his spell, the target could only stare at him in a daze and will only move when attacked or after some time passed. If it weren''t for that man, a lot of the civilian members could have been injured.


    The evolved carriers had a 100% chance to drop rted essences and is a hard currency among the popce. You could trade a lot of food for a single stat essence. The groups that managed to kill evolved carriers on their own started auctioning whether to loot the body or take the body back. Some wealthy mutated pet owners liked feeding their pets advanced meats, so the meat of higher-ranked carriers sells for a lot of food stamps.


    Cain bought his kill and distributed the payment to those who battled the D1. He got a discount since he ''rescued'' them.


    The members who owned a dog cried inside as their pets started eating their kills. They convinced themselves that they were investing for themselves, so it''s okay to get some losses this time. If their pets be stronger, hunting would be morefortable.


    They arrived at Lakeside Park after the loot distribution. As the sun was starting to rise from the mountains in the east, Jun gave everyone some time to rx and cool down.


    Jun watched Laguna Lake and searched the bay if there were any signs of water-carriers. The water was brownish, and it is impossible to see whaty beneath it. The change in the water''s color was mostly because of human activity in the area. Aside from throwing waste at theke, they also use the ce as a public beach.


    The others were hanging out near the coastline while some people yed around the park.


    As the sun rose higher, the area it illuminated increased. Everyone''s visibility and movements would receive a boost.


    The break was now over, and the group was gathering at the Lakeside Park before moving on.


    A sudden high pitch scream startled the crowd.


    A man came running out of a store, shaking his left arm. A spider, the size of a hand, fell down and hit the ground with its back.


    Before the spider could even recover and stand up, the man''s foot already stepped on it.


    "Are you okay?" a friend of the man asked.


    "Yeah, it''s just itchy and a bit painful." the man replied.


    Mellissa volunteered to disinfect the bite wound with her skill, and then she noticed that the area that got bit was swollen while the affected skin has be red.


    She examined the swelling further and concluded that it was just a side effect of the bite.


    She turned to look at the dead spider in the ground and discerned that it was just amon house spider.


    With themotion over, the group headed east and arrived at a street filled with murals.

 Chapter 192: Oplan Warmth (3)

    Chapter 192: On Warmth (3)


    The town clearing proceeded with ease as the survivors became used to fighting with their new bone weapons.


    ck Haven has new short swords made from metal and ground bone powder.


    After trailing off from experiments due to urgent demands, Old John finally sessfully finished his research of mixing materials to create an improved weapon. Well, it could barely be called research since he just experimented whether adding bone powder would strengthen an item.


    His discovery made them realize that a forged item''s stat is directly rted to the type of bone essence added in the forging process.


    Simply put, a D-series carrier would enhance the weight and attack damage while H-series carriers would increase stats that were based on speed. The R0 Carriers who haven''t evolved only increased the durability of the item.


    Currently, the bestbination was by adding pure bone powder either for durability, damage, or speed. If two or morebinations were added while forging, the effects would be dted, and the item would receive multiple stat increase with subpar results.


    Jun supplied the clearing team with the overstocked phased-out bone swords. He sold them at a cheap price that people could afford. At first, they were doubtful, but after a few battles, they found out that it was extremely useful for killing rotters in one strike.


    Binangonan is entering its transition phase from bone weapons to metal forged weapons. Everyone became happy with the new weapon and is the current craze of the town.


    A modified 55" Touchscreen TV inside the ck Havenpound became the new job board. The survivors called it the Notice Board.


    Evo added a function on the ck Haven card to ept quests and receive rewards with a single tap of the card. This way, people don''t need to bother ck Haven staff with unnecessary questions or line up for a long time to retrieve their rewards.


    The missions found at the Notice Board were simple ones like submitting 10kg of metals, help with the construction, and exploring the wilds then submit a report on how things went.


    Missions would be paid with credit points, which would then be used to buy various things from the ck Haven Marketce.


    People who only had anonymous cards quickly applied for a card edit, while some applied for a new Named card.


    With the new bone swords and bone spears, the survivors swept highways and subdivisions with rtive ease. They were still adjusting their pace since there were times when fighting that their weapon would suddenly break, causing a dangerous situation for the group.


    The survivors were extremely interested in the new weapons since it was slightly better than their crafted ones.


    Jun suddenly pondered whether an already finished product could still receive an upgrade? Is it possible to mixed bone powder when repairing an item?


    He needs to dig deeper into this!


    A group of teenagers weakly walked out of the mall. They were the teenagers that Jun encounteredst time.


    The group followed the national road and headed northwest. They held uniquely designed spears made from metal tubes.


    After using the bone swords Jun gave them to its fullest(until they break), they managed to get a rare energy stone. They sold it for a heft price, which they used for arming themselves.


    They gleefully tossed their rag-tag weapons now that they have proper ones. They all have the cheapest spear sold by the only weapon crafter in town. Aside from the grip and spearhead, there were no other decorations.


    When their group saw Jun announcing Marcus'' death, they became utterly shocked. They knew that he was strong but didn''t expect to be able to kill the Lord of the town.


    They even felt happy when Jun issued the challenge for supremacy since they knew that Jun was a reasonable person and could improve the situation of the town more than anyone else.


    They became excited and decided to join the clearing group for tomorrow. Later that night, they found a person selling broth. The taste was good, and it increased max energy by one while increasing base energy regeneration for some time.


    Filled with happiness with their unexpected discovery, fueled by the good news, they treated themselves to several servings. Everything was fine until the next morning when their stomachs churned and made them feel sick.


    They couldn''t stand properly and could only rest.


    The sun was already up when they recovered, and most of the people were minding their own business.


    Dejected for not being able to support Jun with the town clearing, Uno led his friends and decided to help in their own ways.


    They learned that the clearing group went south, so they went north. With their weapons, they could fight safely as long as they don''t encounter evolved creatures. After a few shes, they became confident and kept going north.


    While fighting a small group of R0 Carriers, another group happened to pass by chasing something and reinforced the small group.


    They were about to retreat since they were heavily outnumbered, but several people jumped out of hiding and ambushed the reinforcement.


    With the help of the people, they killed every carrier with ease.


    Uno was about to thank them when he noticed the leader of the group that helped them.


    Lan Ibo, Marcus'' supporter.


    Madam Auring and Detective Angelo stood behind him.


    Lan Ibo walked forward and greeted him. "You lived at the mall, right? How''s the situation there? Is that man still there?"


    Lan''s subordinates encircled their group.


    Uno quickly realized that he was being interrogated. He knew that he shouldn''t help Lan if he wants changes to happen in the town, so he kept his mouth shut and only stared back innocently.


    "Are you deaf?" Lan curiously asked.


    He noticed that the people behind were looking at him warily, which made him realize that they were ignoring his question.


    "So you''ve already picked your sides? That''s great then. This makes things easier for me."


    Lan sneaked attacked, a swift sh of his pipe-machete, but the teenager dodged his attack. Everyone readied their weapons, but the people on his left shouted: "Be careful!"


    Of course, they need to be careful. It would be unfortunate if they got killed by a lucky strike.


    "Ahh!" someone shouted in panic.


    Lan turned his head, only to see one of his subordinates fall down with a rottertched behind him.


    Another rotter jumped on his subordinate''s back. The man was able to bnce himself, but the rotter locked its legs on his waist while its arms were intertwined on his neck. The rotter started biting the man''s neck, causing him to jump around the area wildly.


    The people were finally able to react and kill the rotters, only to see more of theming out of the cemetery.


    "Why are theying out? Aren''t they trapped in there?!" Madam Auring panicked.


    "Let''s calm down, they''re just appetizers," Lan said as he focused at the onrushing horde. He didn''t pay attention to Uno''s group that was slowly retreating from their encirclement.


    Even if he catches them now, there was no time to interrogate them while being sieged by enemies. Right now, he needs every manpower on his side.


    Madam Auring already used her divinity skills earlier, which guided them to maneuver the ces with fewer enemies. With her energy nearly exhausted, they can''t expect her to lead them away this time. In the worst-case scenario, they could lure the enemies into the mall to make everyone suffer.


    He learned of Marcus'' deathst night when Madam Auring and Detective Angelo came looking for him at the northern outpost.


    He was tasked to guard that area, so they can filter whoes in and goes out. He was happy with the current state of things since he could do whatever he wants. The feeling of having people''s lives in his hands exhrates him.


    As ten people formed a line facing the iing horde, the ground started to tremor.


    The groups clearing speed became much faster.


    Along the way, they encountered small survivor groups that didn''t belong to any faction. These people were the hidden powers that Marcus was trying his hardest to capture.


    When they learned about Marcus'' death, they became happy and joined the clearing team.


    With the addition of powerful individuals, the speed that they cleared subdivisions hastened.


    At this time, Jun chose to move since D2''s and H2''s started to appear. Even though the hidden powers could deal with one Rank 2 Evolved Carrier, Jun wanted their loots and paid no heed to their nk stares.


    He killed what he wants and looted what he wants.


    Was your group fighting a Ranked 2 Evolved Carrier while I was dealing with two other Rank 2''s? Then its still mine if I kill it.


    The people be bbergasted at the scene.


    Apparently, the new boss in town has a hobby of kill stealing.


    To keep everyone happy, Jun paid for the Evolved Carriers he stole above the market price. He paid with the food stamps that the people paid him when buying their bone swords.


    Finally, halfway on their clearing operation, they arrived at the intersection that leads back to the mall. There were three subdivisions left; Vi Gloria, Baytown, and Aurora.


    Everyone chatted while walking with smiles on their faces.

 Chapter 193: Hidden Groups Power

    Chapter 193: Hidden Groups Power


    As the clearing team traveled north, they encountered a terrifying scene.


    A small group of teenagers was being chased by dozens of carriers. Further down the road, another group got surrounded by a crowd of carriers and were being picked off one by one.


    They tried their best to fight their way out but with D1''s and H1''s in the crowd, they couldn''t go far and were ughtered.


    "Form a line! Bone spears, ready!" Jun ordered, then beckoned for the familiar teenagers to run diagonally.


    The teenagers grew confident when they saw Jun. With this strong person deciding to help them, their lives have finally been saved.


    "Fire at will!"


    A volley of bone spears flew in the air causing the air to create noises. Though they have practiced since morning, some still had difficulties in adjusting their aims. However, that didn''t affect the oue when there are numerous targets clustered together.


    The bone spears struck the carriers in the head, chests, and shoulders. Targets that got pierced in their chests and head were immediately incapacitated. They fell and died, then their wounds emitted yellow lights starting the reanimation process, which is likely to fail since a wound that still had an object attached wold never regenerate and would only eat their energies away.


    With Jun''s power, the bone spear he threw didn''t travel in a parab but flew in a straight line. It left a trail of light after getting Empowered and it pierced a carrier''s chest while also piercing the others behind it.


    The clearing group ughtered numerous carriers that dash towards them. With the death wails of the encircled people slowly disappearing, the horde finally turned their attention to them.


    Usually, Jun would stay back on these kinds of situations and let the people handle small matters. Even with the D1 and H1 in the crowd, the elite members of the group could join forces and kill them.


    But this time he chose to intervene. He didn''t charge towards the horde of carriers but instead ran towards the cemetery entrance.


    Carriers continued streaming out from the entrance of the cemetery. He found the event interesting and wanted to investigate.


    Like clockwork, his mind quickly thought of numerous possibilities why carriers could get out of the cemetery. Before he could even reach the entrance of the cemetery, he already has an answer in mind.


    The only experience he had with Dungeon mobs that got out of their dungeons was in the town defense. With that as the base, he simply made an assumption: Marcus''death has an effect on the nearby dungeons.


    Lolita used her unique skill, Dream Come True, to distract the carriers that intended to chase after Jun. Though it has a short-casting distance with a small area of effect, the number of targets that it could affect wasn''t limited.


    The eye symbol on the ground glowed and an invisible shockwave spread around the five-meter radius. Carriers started pouncing on an empty space on the road creating a small mountain.


    Reena and Marvin fought side by side armed with bone short swords. Reena used her abilities to fight their way through while Marvin fought with reservation. He just acted as support but didn''t shy away from the role of a tank.


    Mellissa and Lourdes, who have only utility skils on their build, followed behind them with bone spears at hand.


    Jun''s group became a detached elite group that went straight to the entrance while the clearing group shed with the already roaming horde.


    Cain led the clearing team as they advanced forward. He took a Molotov cocktail from his dimensional storage and lit it before throwing it on the pile of tangled carriers. It was a simple throwable made from a gasoline-filled bottle with a piece of cloth at the top.


    The Molotov broke after hitting the mid-section of the pile causing mes to spread on the whole pile. Carriers started shrieking and the ones on top quickly woke up from their dreams. The ones who were underneath the pile had no chance to react as they began to burn.


    Molotovs is amon throwable that survivors made in the first week of the apocalypse. With numerous gas stations in town, molotovs were the number one item for crowd control. It can kill a medium-sized horde as long as they burn their bodies in the fire. Carriers can feel pain, evident on their painful shrieks as they burned while they ran.


    Burning up was the quickest way to kill R0 Carriers since their skin and muscles get damaged which requires recovery that uses their stored energy. When the carriers finally used up all of their energy, they would mindlessly stand in ce trying to conserve thest bit of life essence they had. Then, they would try to absorb the surrounding energy to survive, which would fail because the rate of destruction would be faster than how much energy they can absorb.


    As the burning carriers stood daze on their ce, Cain and Ralph started their havoc in the middle of the horde. The two mowed any carrier that tried getting close to them while going straight for the D1''s and H1''s. They were not alone and were being followed by the elites of the clearing team and even reinforced by the hidden powers that Marcus couldn''t kill.


    Benjie gave his all as he Mesmerized multiple targets at once. The R0 Carriers were affected for five seconds while the Evolved Carriers only stared for two seconds. Fortunately, before the carriers could even react, their heads were already chopped off by the nearby survivors. With their enhanced coordination from clearing the western, southern, and eastern parts of the town, they were able to perform higher than their usual skills.


    A group of hidden power took charge of several H1''s that charged towards the regr survivors. A tanned robust guy wearing a tank top stood in front of the charging Hunters. His muscles exuded great power as he ced his arms in front of him in a defensive position. When the H1''s jumped on him, he timed their attacks and a whiteyer of outline enveloped his body.


    The H1''s sharpened nails cracked before breaking when they touched the man''s skin. After 2-seconds, the white outline disappeared and he quickly retreated. His group reacted immediately and dealt the final blow. Their teamwork waspletely different from the clearing team since they have been together since the start and know each other better.


    On the D1''s side, another hidden power group was battling the titan with ease. Their leader uses a strange skill to control the D1''s movements.


    The man appears to be around his early twenties and has vast life experiences. Hemands a stic twine on his side to tie-up the D1''s legs and arms. The stic twine would tighten and loosen itself in random times but in the perfect time to cause a disturbance in the D1''s movements.


    The stic twine was tied up like a woman in a heart-pulsating Japanese bondage film. Its muscles were clearly defined by the way the twine bound its body. When the D1 chose to punch someone, the twine would tighten around the arms and its back, then loosen after a second when the twine was about to break. When it wanted to chase someone, the twine on its legs would tighten causing it to step over its feet and fall on the ground.


    Obviously, the stic twine beside the man was a special item received from the system. If it was amon twine, it wouldn''t even hinder the D1 and would immediately break at a slight movement of the body.


    Meanwhile, Jun finally cleared the entrance by throwing minute-stones around, which shocked a few people that were observing his actions. He felt greatly disappointed after clearing the onrushing carriers. Apart from the Evolved Carriers already outside, there was nothing of interest that followed. He gazed at the already ''imed'' loots and pondered whether to stick to his motto.


    In the end, he chose not to kill steal since having people view him in better light would make controlling the town easier.


    The fight was already half done, and the people were just being careful to not die by taking care of the rest of the carriers.


    After retrieving the minute-stones, Jun noticed that there was no boss monster to be seen and gleefully entered the cemetery. Marvin followed after him, which made the girls subconsciously follow.


    Jun killed any remaining carriers they met and the people behind him only needed to be cautious and follow him.


    When they arrived at the supposedst zone of the cemetery, a scenic graveyard weed them. Beautiful mausoleums stood at the center creating symmetrical arrangements with numerous gravestones on the left and the right side filled with excellently maintained grass.


    In the distance, two D1''s encircled a D2 and a strange carrier that has glowing eyes wearing overalls. It looked like a farmer but considering the ce where he is, the carrier must be the gardener of the cemetery.


    The gardener carrier''s hand glowed before stabbing through the D1''s chest. When it pulled its hand out, it brought with it the D1''s beating heart.


    The heartless D1 as if losing its battery, remained in ce while looking towards the sky. A few secondster, its body shattered and turned into lights.


    The gardener carrier put the beating heart inside a watering-can, then started sprinkling into the D2.


    "What are they doing?" Marvin asked as he narrowed his eyes while using Enhanced Sight.


    Jun felt chills as he stared at the D2''s eyes ring at him. He felt frightened when he felt a familiar aura from the strange carrier that has glowing eyes but for the D2 to lock on him as its target without them even shing on, he felt weird and somehow suspicious.


    A bizarre feeling rose in him and he said:


    "Whatever it is, we need to stop it!"

 Chapter 194: Power Levels

    Chapter 194: Power Levels


    The gardener carrier stabbed its hand into the chest of the remaining D1 while he watered the D2''s back. Then, without waiting for the watering-can to run out of energy, the D1''s heart was tossed inside.


    At the same time, Jun''s group was throwing bone spears from a distance, which were blocked by the three-meter Destroyer''s enormous body.


    Bone spears were consumable items made from R0 Carrier''s bones. Most of the Evolved Carrier''s bones were used as materials for weapon forging and tool crafting. Even in fighting the hordes, they were only used as a form of pre-emptive attack to reduce enemy numbers while inflicting additional damage. It could only be used as a support tool and never as a primary weapon since there''s a lot of more reliable choices out there.


    Numerous low-quality bone spearnded on the D2''s chest. Some split in half after hitting the D2''s defined muscles while others got its sharp ends chipped and fell on the ground.


    The bone spears didn''t dealt any damage and only caused its skin to redden, which irritated the D2. Aside from that, there was nothing else, but the group didn''t stop throwing them in the slightest.


    ''It''s not enough... I need a little more.'' the gardener thought then looked around. He saw Jun''s group ughtering the newly respawned R0 Carriers. There was no more sacrifice that it could use, so it sighed deeply before stabbing its chest with his hand before pulling his heart out.


    The heart is the one who produces energy for the carriers. It contains all the essence of a living thing. On the other hand, the watering-can extracts the purest energy from the item fed to it.


    The gardener stared at Jun''s face as he used his remaining time to water the D2 from behind. He thenmanded the D2 to destroy the watering-can after it evolved.


    Jun watched as the strange carrier''s body shatter and dissipate in shimmering specks of light. Afterward, the D2 clutched its face while staggering forward. It fell on its knee before suddenly smashing the ground repeatedly. Its body trembled slightly before calming down.


    And so, when the D2 stably stood up, and its supposed height of three meters changed, it has be a four-meter giant with much denser and more energized muscles.


    It entered a new realm and received some changes in its physical appearance.


    The Rank 3 Destroyer has several changes on its upper body. The shoulder bones came out of its body and became ck shoulder pads forming a unique shape with a coverage befitting of its sizeable body.


    The ck bones created a solid defense from any attacks on its shoulders.


    After evolving, it nned to aplish the duty it was given, but it felt something ominousing and hurriedly closed its eyes.


    "Ting, ting, ting!"


    Several dull sounds rang after the bullets bounced off the D3''s eyelids. It raised its hands in front defensively while trying to take a peak on its attackers.


    Upon seeing the D2 evolve in front of them, Jun had no choice but to try killing it as soon as possible. He quickly equipped his Colt pistol before unleashing a row of gunshots. When the attack wasn''t effective, he promptly switched back to melee.


    He know nothing about whether it gained new abilities after evolving, and the only way to make sure is to fight it head-on.


    "Keep a safe distance. Never let yourself fall on its hands." Jun said as he charged forward. Everyone instinctively debated whether to follow him or not. They knew that they would not be of any help, but they can''t let Jun go alone.


    "Let''s just distract it!" Marvin said as he dashed forward, wielding a bone spear to support Jun. In the worst-case scenario, he could transform and stall time for Jun to escape. He knew that if Jun couldn''t kill this Destroyer, everyone else would fail.


    He roughly knew the town''s people''s strengths after surviving by himself for a long time.


    Marvin was a well-known drug addict among the survivors. Although no one knew about his transformation skill, everyone knows him as someone not to be close to. People who get on fights and disagreements were never found again. Thanks to that, he was able to live a quiet life and was able to observe everybody.


    Jun was the only person that was able to beat him up, and its a fact. If he loses to the D3, there would be nobody on the same skill level as him to be found in the town.


    As he ran forward, Jun focused on the D3''s movements and noticed that it was turning its back once again. It seemed like it was focusing on something behind it. Before it could do what it wanted, Jun started shooting while aiming at its ears.


    The D3 shook its head as if tickled by the gunshots then angrily turned to Jun. It ignored the orders it received earlier and focused on the annoying bug that kept on pestering it.


    With an angry howl that echoed inside and outside the cemetery, it started charging towards Jun.


    Jun kept on firing as he ran until the pistol made clicking sounds. He immediately threw it to his dimensional storage then continued charging Bumuth''s Warhammer with energy. Empower isn''t a simple one plus one of energy. The longer you charge Empower, the stronger it bes. Just like exponents, the longer the value gets raised to the power of n, the higher it bes.


    Apanied by the stronger attack power was the higher energy consumption per second. Usually, Jun would only use two or three seconds to charge Empower since, with his stats, that amount of pent up power could kill anything on his path.


    With the D3''s eyelids even able to block bulletseven if it were only a pistol''sit was enough to scare him to take this gamble.


    Jun could run out of energy if he was not careful since the energy consumption was also being raised to the next level. He used Empower by only using 3energy/sec output, and he wouldn''t be able to sustain Empower for more than five seconds since it would consume 243 energy out of his 260 energy pool.


    Fortunately enough, the D3 was charging at him with massive strides, which shortened their distance faster.


    The D3 was twice the size of Jun. It pounced forward adding the gravitational pull on its attack and mmed its right hand towards Jun,


    Jun matched its attack with an underhand swing of his Warhammer, and both attacks met at mid-air.


    A crisp metallic sound resounded, followed by a blinding sh of light after the energy from the attack was released. A strong shockwave produced from their bout stopped the people behind Jun from advancing. They could only watch Jun''s silhouette disappear after getting blinded by the bright light.


    The D3''s body staggered as it retreated a few steps backward. Its chiseled right arm kept trembling even after the collision with Bumuth''s Warhammer. It nced forward with a shocked expression.


    A R0 Carrier needs to absorb 10 Human energy cores or cultivate for 100 days to gain 1000 energy points and then evolve into its desired path. Afterward, the Rank 1 Evolved Carrier needs to absorb 100 Human energy cores or cultivate for 1000 days to gain 10,000 energy points to evolve further. And so on, so forth.


    The number of Human energy cores or the number of days to cultivate could differ since human''s max energy points vary from one another and could increase after consuming mystical items. Carriers could also eat foods(e.g., energy fruit) that containrge amounts of energies to evolve themselves.


    There were billions of humans on earth, and it would be extremely hard to monopolize killing humans.


    Although the evolving conditions for carriers were harsh, the strength amplification they receive was unfathomable.


    Humans be stronger by gaining levels, encountering treasures, and by consuming items. On the other hand, carriers be stronger after evolving by increasing their overall stats by the multiple of two.


    An average human has more or less 5 points on their every stats depending on their physiques.When a human dies and reanimates into a carrier, it would maintain its current stats. After it evolves into its desired path(based on instincts and physique), it would immediately receive an increase in stats by the multiple of two.


    A D1 would have an average of 10 points on its stats after evolving from a R0 Carrier that has an average of 5 stat points. A D2 would have an average of 20 points, while a D3 would have an average of 40 points.


    Currently, Jun was on the same level of strength as the D3. The only difference between the two was the natural defense of the D3''s body.


    Jun, who tumbled backward after the sh,y sprawled on the ground while ring at the D3. Unlike the reinforced body of a Destroyer, Jun''s arm muscles received a solid impact when the two of them shed. Blood was dripping from some open wounds on his arms.


    Seeing Jun''s situation, the initially surprised D3 became ecstatic.

 Chapter 195: Team Work

    Chapter 195: Team Work


    Jun ate an energy fruit to recover his energy. He couldn''t eat an energy fruit earlier when he was charging his Empower skill since he could pass out immediately due to the multiple-fold consumption of the skill.


    The tree of life produces ten energy fruits and two life fruits daily.


    Evo receives the daily harvest from Gilbert, then sends three energy and two life fruits to Jun while distributing five energy fruits to the group in rotation. One of thest two energy fruits was being used as a Top Agent Reward for the person who aplished the most number of missions for the day, while the other fruit gets auctioned by the ck Haven Market with a price hovering around 10,000 CP to 15,000CP.


    After the first day when two lucky people got their hands on the energy fruit, the survivors learned that the fruit has less effect the more you ate it. The optimal times that an individual should eat an energy fruit would be three to four times. Afterward, it is better to keep or sell the item depending on preferences.


    Jun''s energy recovered in full before he ate a life fruit. The life fruit didn''t immediately make his arms better, but the itching sensations he felt after the warm energy from the life fruit traveled his body, made him focus. The itchy feeling he was experiencing was the wounds and torn muscles recovering from the recent sh.


    ''What to do?!''


    Jun watched as the D3 excitedly ran towards him. The gleeful expression it wore frightened everyone watching.


    "Run for now! I''ll think of something! Marvin, take that thing!"


    The D3''s right arm rose up in the air, before striking down.


    Jun''s feet glowed red after activating Sprint. He then used Time Perse after taking a sniper rifle from his dimensional storage.


    To his surprise, he noticed the D3''s eyes darting around while it stood in ce. It even turned its head slightly which costed some energy points. As if it didn''t mind using energy inside the slowed perception of time, the D3 slowly raised its hand to crush Jun.


    For a D3 with 100,000 points of energy, a mere two-digit energy consumption was like a drop in the ocean. It could easily recover energy from humans, its kins, and other sources.


    As carriers evolved, the more intelligent they be. When it learned about Jun''s strength, it tagged Jun as his number one priority and nned to kill him immediately.


    Before Jun could even raise the sniper rifle, he already noticed that something was wrong when the D3 looked around while Time Perse was still activated. He quickly jumped back as he canceled the skill.


    The D3''s hand pped the empty ground and caused the area to tremor. A palm print the size of two A4 papers appeared on the ground.


    Jun quickly fired a shot towards its head, wanting to test his luck, but it wasn''t his lucky day. The D3 was able to tilt its head to the side, causing Jun''s shot to miss.


    After missing the shot, Jun quickly ran towards the nearby mausoleums for cover. There were clear differences between the two of them. Jun had a small body with faster movement speed while the D3 had an enormous four-meter body which is extremely heavy. Even though the D3 wasn''t burdened by its weight, the surrounding wasn''t.


    Jun managed to get some leeway after using the buildings as cover, then examined the area before plotting a n.


    A bridge with a pond was on the left while a three-meter administration building was on the right side. Without hesitation, Jun quickly ran for the bridge.


    What can a three-meter tall building do against a four-meter giant? It was like a grown adult staring down at a low-budget camping tent, contemting whether to go inside or not, but in the end, packs up because it was morefortable to sleep at home.


    Also, the bridge was only about two meters in width and the D3 would have to slow down if it wants to cross it.


    The D3 found Jun after its hips nudged a building to destruction. Its anger calmed down after it got reminded that Jun still have something to injure it. The sniper fire at close-ranged made the D3 more cautious towards Jun.


    It followed Jun and arrived a few meters behind him after takingrge strides forward. With its long and powerful legs, every step helped it go forward, running in a straight line was always the best way to gain speed.


    Jun heard the tremors behind him and felt joy as he arrived at the bridge. Without stopping to look back, he threw several stones high above into the air.


    Marvin''s group followed from a distance when they heard Jun giving instructions to them. They hurriedly ran towards the eastern part of the cemetery after hearing a loud crash, only to find the D3 stuck in the pond with rubbles surrounding it.


    Jun had a sniper rifle in hand trying his best to find an angle, so he couldnd a kill shot.


    Jun threw the stones earlier, so he could get some space if the bridge crumbles. It was his luck that the D3 chased extremely fast and arrived in time when the stones finished expanding in mid-air; then they fell on the bridge and the D3, which destroyed the quarter of the bridge, plunging the heavyweight titan into the pond.


    Every step it took caused its other leg to sink deeper into the mud. With the D3 trapped, Jun took advantage of the fortune and started targeting the eardrums. He doesn''t know if eyelids could still block a sniper rifle but he wouldn''t waste the chance to find out.


    Time slowed down as he used Time Perse once again. The D3 still kept walking and ignored the energy consumption it gets.


    Jun fired and hit the earlobe. This is the day when he continuously missed shots even when under Time Perse, Enhanced Sight, and the zoom-in feature of Time Perse. He realized how terrible his aim was when targeting a moving target.


    The D3 became frightened when it heard the loud sound from the side. It even felt scared when it felt a stinging sensationing from its ears. It used its muscr arm to cover the side of its face that Jun was facing.


    Jun inwardly cursed after failing three times. He was forced to eat another energy fruit since he only had a quarter of his max energy after the bullet''s movements were counted as his consumption.


    With the sides being blockaded, he quickly ran off to the shore on the other side. He met up with the group and they immediately formted a n.


    He handed Reena a Tier 2 Short Sword made from Hunter''s bone. Her task was to try and cut the D3''s muscles on the ankle and shoulders. Even though there was no certainty whether it would work, this is the only n he could think of right now.


    They don''t have a weapon that could deal with the D3 on head-onbat. They have to use this underhanded tactic to survive.


    Marvin transformed into a red-skinned D1, then started throwing bone spears like he was throwing paper nes. With the stronger physique of a D1, he was able to irritate the D3 with meager damageing from the immediately shattered bone spears that he throws.


    As the D3 got closer to the shore, the team fully encircled on all sides.


    Lolita ced an eye symbol in front of the D3''s path, and the symbol immediately came to life. The D3 became dazed for a second when the eye symbol shattered causing Lolita to cough out some blood.


    When Jun saw Reena and Marvin slowly trudge forward as they entered the waters, he regretted not including Water Striding on the list of the skills they could learn.


    Marvin was supposed to act as bait while Reena aplishes her task. But the D3 didn''t pay attention to them as it continued walking towards Jun. After its feet got freed from the mud, it quickly pounced towards Jun, creating a tide of water as it jumped out of the pond.


    Marvin jumped forward and grabbed one of its arms, and yet the four-meter Destroyer dragged him like a father carrying his naughty son. Afterward, Marvin got caught on his legs and was smashed left and right, leaving dents on the ground.


    Mellissa and Lourdes kept throwing bone spears but the D3 didn''t pay them any attention. Reena finally caught up and started shing its ankles. The Tier 2 Bone Short Sword created sparks as it shed with the steel-like skin of the D3.


    The D3 kicked backward, sending Reena flying into the pond. Fortunately, the water cushioned her fall, and the only pain she felt was from the kick she received.


    After the D3 tossed Marvin to the side, it immediately sent a punch towards Jun.


    Just as the punch was about to reach Jun, a tanned robust man appeared. His body became enveloped with a white outline. The tank top he was wearing got shredded and his body flew backward towards Jun.


    The tanned man coughed out blood but his defense was a sess after seeing the trembling bloodied hand of the D3.


    Lolita was able to sneak behind the D3 and used Rxation, then Stimuli Control. She wanted to make the carrier sleep by making it rx and at the same time making it feel tired.


    Though the attack wasn''t a total sess, it helped set up a certain someone''s ability.


    Benjie stared at the D3, then started chanting his skill, Mesmerize.


    With the rxed and tired D3, the skill that should have onlysted for a second persisted for several seconds.


    Jun, who knew beforehand what kind of skill Benjie had, immediately put his eye into the scope of the sniper rifle. He even used Time Perse and Enhanced Sight, together with additional zoom-in and Empower, before pressing on the trigger.


    "Bang!"

 Chapter 196: Currency Change

    Chapter 196: Currency Change


    "Bang"


    The muzzle at the end of the sniper rifle emitted smoke after the shot. The bullet came out of the barrel and flew at high speed directly to its target.


    Before the bullet hit the D3''s eye, its irises regained focus and stared at the projectile in front of its eyes.


    It was already toote to dodge, so it tried closing its eyelids, but failed. The bullet entered through its eyes and pierced until the back of its head.


    Instead of piercing out of the head, the bullet hit the skull and failed toe out. It bounced around the brain creating a mushed white and red brain matter.


    From the empty eye socket, the mushed brain flowed out like sticky liquid as the D3''s body fell down into the ground.


    Jun hurriedly took a Bone Dagger from his dimensional storage and stabbed the other eye. He didn''t pull the dagger to make sure that the D3 wouldn''t regenerate.


    After making sure that the D3 won''t be able to reanimate, he went back to the tanned naked man.


    "Are you okay?"


    Jun became surprised when he saw the man already standing on his feet. He pulled a blue shirt from his dimensional storage, then gave it to the man.


    The tanned man waved his hand in rejection and took a gray tank top from his dimensional storage. He spat the blood that umted in his mouth before asking for a handshake.


    Jun went for the handshake and became shocked when he felt the other person suddenly pulled him closer. He reacted quickly and tugged forcefully, causing the man to be bewildered.


    "Whoa, whoa, calm down brother. I''m not here to hurt you," he said as he raised his free hand. "I just wanted to greet you. You know, the shoulder bump thing. Can I?"


    Jun stared and observed the man before deciding to agree. The floating name above his head was green which prompted Jun to trust him for now. Besides, the man saved his life earlier, and the best he could do was to greet him.


    "I''m Jun. Jun Reyes. Thanks for saving me earlier, I really appreciate it."


    "No problem man. My name''s Kylle rk and you can call me Kylle. I just did what I have to do. I''m good at defense, so I jumped in to help. Besides, if you died earlier, there was no one to stop that monster''s rampage. With no damager, we would all have died before we could pick that sniper rifle off the ground."


    The man then narrated their journey to the cemetery and even glorified Jun in his story. It sounded like Jun was an almighty hero who mowed enemies wherever he went.


    When Jun realized that the man was trying to suck up to him, he innocently asked about the skill he used to block the attack earlier. Jun saw the troubled look of the man and apologized for his rudeness.


    It''s true that the man was trying to establish a positive connection with Jun since he learned that he was the new Lord in town. From the information he gathered, aside from kill stealing and buying high-level carcasses at above market price, the new Lord was quite reasonablepared to Marcus. This was also the reason why the powerful small groups hiding around town decided toe out and live outside the shadows.


    Kylle wanted to gain favors after seeing the numerous things that Jun could offer. With his chance slipping away after his awkward pause to the question, he quickly stepped forward and whispered to Jun: "Its a skill called Reflect and like most of the skills, it mainly does what it''s named off. Any damage I receive after activating the skill will be reflected back to the attacker."


    "Ohh, that''s quite a life-saver. It must have helped you a lot. We''ll distribute loot a bitter, just let me check on my team." Jun said as he started walking back to his group.


    Kylle got disappointed with Jun''s response as he watched him walk away. He became pissed because, after everything that he said, he got pushed to the side with his efforts in vain.


    Marvin was lying on the ground with his eyes closed. His body already returned to a human''s while his chest heaved up and down in a rxed manner. Jun knelt next to Marvin and pped his cheeks to wake him up.


    "Boss, you know that I''m awake, right?" Marvin said as his eyes opened and stared at Jun with displeasure.


    "I know, but I can''t talk to you if your feigning sleep. Are you okay? Do you need any help?"


    "It''s alright. Aside from my whole body aching after getting smashed around the ce, I just have low energy and I''m currently trying to circte it on my whole body while getting depressed for being useless."


    "You''re not useless. If you say it like that, then everyone is pretty much useless."


    "No, they were able to help to weaken it while I acted as a rag used to wipe the ground."


    Jun pondered, then smiled. "Quite true. You really got thrashed around but it also helped us gain time. Come on stand up, what do you want? You can choose one. The red one is quite rare, so I''m not able to supply that daily."


    On Jun''s palms was a red fruit and a green fruit of the same size.


    Upon hearing the vague descriptions of the fruits, Marvin unhesitatingly took the green fruit.


    Although the red fruit emitted strong aura, what he really wanted to do now was recover his energy and satiate his hunger. After eating the energy fruit, his max energy increased by a mere 1 point. It was already the second time, and it seems like it can''t get any lower than that even after he ate more.


    He grumbled to Jun about the limit which confused him when he saw the confusion, then tion from Jun.


    He shook his head internally thinking that his boss has gone crazy.


    The loot distribution was divided by eight people with Jun''s group having six people while Kylle and Benjie were individuals that helped on killing the D3.


    After getting pushed aside, Kylle wanted to cause trouble to Jun and voted for taking the body instead of looting it. The others frowned at him. It was obvious that the decision wouldy on Jun''s hand for outnumbering the two outsiders but this guy confidently voted against looting the body.


    Even Kylle knew that there''s no way he would win, but on his mind, it was enough for Jun to learn of his displeasure.


    To everyone''s surprise, Jun actually followed after him and said the same thing. In Jun''s head, his decision was the correct way to do things. Not because he was always right but because this was the first D3 they encountered and killed!


    It was an important resource! If someone voted for loot, he would be the first to vote for salvage! Just looking at the two-feet ck shoulder bones made Jun ecstatic. He wanted everything that he could salvage from this body.


    With Jun casting his vote, the decision was quickly made. Jun asked which part the Kylle liked or would he prefer food stamps, which caused Kylle to seethe in anger since he felt like he was getting mocked by Jun.


    He ground his teeth as he forced the words toe out of his mouth. "Right arm."


    Jun ignored theser beamsing out of Kylle''s eyes, and became slightly surprised at his decision. The D3 mostly used its right arm which is probably its main arm. There''s a high chance that the right arm bone had better durabilitypared to the other remaining bones.


    He turned to Benjie whose answer also shocked him. Benjie asked for discounts on items that he was selling.


    And so, he gave him a blue-striped ck cardwhich had a name input option while also taking this chance to introduce ck Haven card and Credit Points to everyone. He even transferred 1000 CP to Benjie.


    The whole process was for everyone to watch and be amazed. Although everyone has a system, so they weren''t that shocked upon seeing the trade that happened in front of them, the futuristic holograms made them excited. Furthermore, they became surprised when they learned that the card was made by a person''s skill.


    Jun isn''t scared of anyone trying to copy his economy model or try to overturn it. The first thing for something to be considered a currency was if everyone epts it and everyone uses it. If the currency only circtes on a small group of people, at best, it could be treated as club points or the like.


    The best example of this was food stamps and stat essences. Food stamps are generally epted currency since Marcus controlled food distribution, and even after he died, people were already ustomed to it which made everyone continue using it. On the other hand, stat essences were hard currency since everyone needs it.


    Kylle became dumbfounded at the scene, thinking of why he didn''t thought of that? He doesn''t realize that Jun was only doing this because he was trying to pull Benjie to his side while at the same time, trying to change the currency of the town.


    Jun can''t hurry the process of introducing his currency since the people still had a stash of food stamps in their dimensional storages. He could only whittle down its influence by making them rely on his enchanting weapons and other services.


    He gave a brief description of what Binangonan has to offer, then continued with the D3''s distribution.


    After five minutes of continuous chopping(the energy inside the body was healing the wounds), they finally chopped off the D3''s right arm. Jun handed it to Kylle, then continued chopping of the body. It took them five minutes to cut the remaining limbs since Jun remembered that he could envelop the bone sword with energy. He even used basic Empower to hasten the process.


    All this time, the clearing group didn''t stand idly since the cemetery was respawning carriers every minute. With their numbers, it was quite a scramble for experience when weak R0 Carriers appear on the surrounding.


    Jun exhaled happily after stashing all of the D3''s body parts. Marvin and the girls also chose to sell their shares to him and opted for a ck Haven card. He generously gifted them the same blue-striped cards with the name input option.


    After everyone became happy, he looked around and made sure that no one was nearby before asking Marvin, "Do you have it?"


    Marvin nodded his head as he opened his dimensional storage in front of him. Jun walked closer and also opened his dimensional storage, so he could quicklyhide the item after Marvin hands it over.


    Lolita became suspicious of their actions and crept up behind Marvin''s back. She then yfully peeked under his arm while saying: "What are you two doing?"


    Jun saw her so he had no reaction, but Marvin who has a slight crush over Lolita had his heart in shock.


    He also stepped forward causing his dimensional storage to collide with Jun.

 Chapter 197: Exploder

    Chapter 197: Exploder


    When the two dimensional storages collided, a new window appeared.


    Jun became surprised after seeing the new window. Three inventory screens appeared on his vision; his dimensional storage on the left, the new window at the middle, and Marvin''s inventory on the right. He knew that it was Marvin because of the name attached to the inventory''s header.


    The new window probably connected Jun and Marvin''s dimensional storage together, and although their storage became connected, he couldn''t see what''s inside Marvin''s dimensional storage due to cked-out background with a huge white question mark.


    As he was contemting, a watering-can appeared on the middle screen. He raised his head, and saw Marvin in shock. He transferred the watering-can into his storage, then ced an energy fruit as a recement. The fruit disappeared not a secondter after it was ced.


    The two raised their heads and stared at each other in excitement. They didn''t celebrate but calmly backed off from each other without acting suspiciously.


    Afterward, Jun checked the watering-cans description and gasped in astonishment after reading it.


    [Energy Extractor]


    [Description] An item forged by a master craftsman. It can extract the purest energy from the supplied source and help develop another target.


    [Durability - 500/500]


    [Energy - 3/10,000]


    <em>''Could I use this to increase my energy? But what if I evolve into something... No, let''s experimentter. For now, I''ll just keep it hidden.''</em>


    The only people who knew about the watering=can was his group. He knew their personalities and became reassured that no one would spread this news.


    <em>''Since this is a watering-can, it should be able to help enhance the farm''s production, right? Wait... what if... Can this help the Tree of Life to grow faster?''</em>


    Jun became ted at the thought of harvesting more fruits when the Tree of Life matured.


    After the pit stop at the cemetery, the more than 200-man clearing team continued north while following the highway. Numerous survivors learned that a horde wasing, so the people nearby gathered and set out for the horde. When they arrived at the scene, everyst enemy was already killed and being looted.


    Then they noticed that rotters wereing out from the cemetery which should have been impossible. Everyone knew that the cemetery respawns enemies when your inside, but they can''t go out! Even more so, they can''t be looted!


    Contrary to mon knowledge'', the enemies still respawn from the cemetery but they can go out and get looted. This shocked many while also making pet-owners happy. The price of pet food has risen due to demand and supply ratio with demand so high with almost no supply circting in the market. With the changes in the cemetery, a few would lose their sources of ie while others would be able to save some costs.


    Jun thought of a n after understanding the changes to the cemetery. With the inspiration from the gardener, he nned to create an energy stone farm if possible. Its already proven that the carriers respawning at the cemetery were lootable and could evolve. Now, he just has to experiment whether it was true that a carrier at the brink of evolving produces an energy stone.


    And also, stat essences can be found inside the carrier''s brain. Jun learned that when he searched the D3 he killed earlier and found a +10 Essence of Power. Unfortunately, he only found a mid-tier essence shard when he searched the heart for energy stone. Though disappointing, it only further solidified his belief that only carriers at the border of evolution could produce an energy stone.


    Jun had many ns and he doesn''t even have enough time to do all of them.


    Jun asked Evo to deliver the salvaged resources(body parts) to Old John, together with his note while asking to do an experiment with the watering-can. He doesn''t have any time to start the energy stone farm since he was going somewhere, so the vegetable farm and Tree of Life could benefit from it first.


    A small group decided to guard the cemetery, in case another hordee out after it respawned over time. Everyone knew that those people only wanted a safe ce to get experience and loot but no one exposed them.


    The clearing group was like an army of bandits as they traveled the highway. At times, the group would split up after entering a new area, thene back several minutester, leaving empty houses on their wake.


    The carriers on the streets got mowed down after both survivor and carrier groups charged at each other. Evolved carriers were assassinated by powerful people while leaving the weak ones to regr people.


    Jun spearheaded this time, to further increase the clearing speed. He didn''t bother looting dead bodies as he only wanted their experience.


    He helped clear the roads by pushing cars to the side, and even gave some pointers on how to fight properly. In the end, the people loved him and deemed him much better and much approachable than Marcus.


    Indeed, Jun was a good man. He acted how everyone wanted a good leader to actexcept for kills stealing though. It''s just a small matter and the people were already getting used to it. Besides, he continued paying above the market price.


    Jun started to tone down his kill stealing after he stopped selling bone weapons. Not many people knew of the Faction Storage, and him having hundreds of all kinds of weapons were strange enough, but the survivors ignored it, so they could continue buying.


    He told everyone that he ran out and if anyone wants to procure anymore, they would have to travel to Binangonan.


    When people started asking for the ck cards, he sold five Numbered cards before announcing a sold-out. He exined that the ck cards were his extra and he already gave hisst card out.


    In terms of discounts, an anonymous or numbered card has no discount while the blue-striped and red-striped cards have ten percent and twenty percent discount, respectively.


    The group arrived at Vi Gloria and started cleaning. With their numbers, they easily swept the subdivision from the front gate to the veryst house. They were like thieves who barges into a house and clears room by room in a group of five. Most houses took more or less five minutes depending on the skilled individuals in the group. A group of friends takes their time as they loot from bottom-up while some groups searched the rooms as if they were shooting a police raid clip.


    As therge crowd traveled to the next subdivision, they encountered a flock of crows circling in the sky. The flock followed the group andnded on electric cable as they cawed and observed the people passing by.


    Two people stood at thewn of the residence they chose to clear when a dull sound came from the garage. Both of them knew that it was a rotter since humans don''t mindlessly knock on something repeatedly.


    The gate had a solid cover preventing them to see what''s on the other side, but it was slightly ajar. They could see an obese rotter that has arge beer-belly continuously pounding on the door.


    "You should stop scratching it."


    "I should, but it''s really itchy!"


    On the man''s arm was a swollen wound. He was the man that got bit by a house spider this morning. His friend kept reminding him to stop scratching the wound but he couldn''t do it.


    They entered Baytown and were now cleaning houses by groups. They prefer their two-man team since they can''t trust other people. Although they are helping each other right now, there''s no guarantee that when they let someone join their group, that person wouldn''t think of backstabbing them.


    Ever since the cemetery fight, he felt something crawling on his skin but he couldn''t find any insect even when he stares at it. The only thing he could do was to scratch it to alleviate some of the itchiness.


    As he continued scratching, he felt his skin got torn off followed by numerous tingling sensations.


    When he looked down on his palm, he noticed some cobweb on his torn skin, together with numerous small spider eggs. He shivered and finally paid attention to the tingling feeling from his other arm.


    Extremely small spiders scrambled after the ce they treated as home got demolished. The man quickly shook his arm to throw off the crawling spiders. Even though he was sessful in sending them away, he couldn''t help but shiver as his body hairs rose up from the creepy sensation.


    After taking a sigh of relief, he turned his arm and saw a small holearound one cm wide, one cm deep.


    "What the fvck was that?" he said as he shook his arm some more, making sure that all the spiders already fall from his arm.


    "That''s scary. I think it''s better to get bit by a rotter than getting bit by a spider. I think we need to buy some insect spray soon."


    "Let''s do that." the man replied while taking a gulp.


    The two checked the front door and it was locked, so they chose the garage as the entry point. The garage gate creaked loudly causing the obese rotter to notice them.


    Both of them backed off and waited for the rotter toe out. Its body fats jiggled as it ran, but its hoarse scream scared the two.


    Unlike its durable appearance, a nick of the bone short sword to the stomach caused it to explode. Strange juices together with all kinds of worms and parasites showered the two. The rotter''s upper body disappeared leaving only its lower body.


    As the two cursed while removing all the sticky fluids on them, the crows that followed the group since earlier appeared excited circling around the two.

 Chapter 198: Clearing the Town

    Chapter 198: Clearing the Town


    The flock of crows swooped down and started eating the worms on the ground.


    Due to shock, the two started killing any crows that get too close to them. Their actions angered the flock which dived down only to bite them. Some would peck their faces while others wed at the arms and body.


    The damage dealt by a crow was negligible but considering that there were dozens of them, it slowly piled up and eventually caused their deaths.


    The survivors nearby became dumbfounded at the scene. They couldn''t believe that people could die from getting pecked by dozens of crows. Usually, even if you get attacked by crows, you would only be sent to a hospital to make sure that you''re okay. Now, the crows that attacked them were the ones who survived a month in this world. It meant that at one point, it fed on something lying on dead on the street. Thus, causing them to mutate.


    These mutated crows were much aggressive than their former counterpart. It also has a stronger beak while having sharper ws. Except for the overall size increase around three inches, there was nothing else that changed.


    Unfortunately, the naturalws of the world changed. Your life, your weaknesses, your strengths, they''re out in the open. People could gauge how strong you are or see how weak you are.


    The two died not because of blood loss or open wounds. They died because they ran out of health after getting attacked nonstop, wave after wave.


    Several people came to help, but the two''s bodies were already mangled by the time they finally sent the crows away. They can''t even have an intact body after the crows ate their eyeballs. A few sneaky worms even slowly find their ways to get inside the dead bodies.


    The sticky liquid from the rotter''s stomach was like goo. Aside from the adhesiveponent, there was nothing else of value.


    The body was looted because they would reanimate if not attended to.


    After this event, the people became more cautious about the surrounding, even more of those watching them from above.


    Before dusk, the clearing team finally cleared thest subdivision, Aurora. Nothing eventful happened since everyone focused on their every step greatly slowing them down. It also helped decrease unnecessary casualties since they have no medical personnel with them. They also sent back numerous individuals that can''t fight anymore due to serious injuries from Destroyers and Hunters.


    Jun gained another level which gave him a skill slot for his aura skill. He learned it before he identally activates the wrong misceneous skill.


    The group took the whole day for them to clear the whole town and most of the time they used was from moving around from ces to ces.


    There were working vehicles around but what would be the point of doing a sweep if people just look around and never entered the houses?


    After getting back to the national highway, Jun bade his farewell with the group. Aurora is close to the boundary of Angono and Taytay which is convenient for Jun to split up with everyone. He was inclined to leave immediately until Lolita pestered him to stay for the night iming that there''s no difference when leaving now or tomorrow. Besides, he needed to solidify his authority before leaving.Marvin also chimed in saying that he doesn''t know how to handle the town if he ever leaves.


    Jun agreed with what they''re saying. He almost forgot to cement his rule just because he was in a rush to search for his mother. Marvin also doesn''t have enough strength or authority to control the town.


    Even if he can instill fear to everyone, it just a temporary measure and wouldn''tst for weeks. After some time, people would start to cause trouble and probably even try to revolt when given a chance.


    He agreed to spend the night in town which ted his little group. Jun found their clingy nature a bit funny, but deep inside he was feeling the warmth of their concern.


    On the return trip, Jun saw a branching road that they never entered before. Its because they entered the Aurora subdivision from the other side of Baytown. He thought that they cleared everything but it seems like they missed one.


    Jun turned to Marvin and asked: "Where does this road go?"


    Marvin searched for the street sign before he replied, he said, "It goes into another subdivision. I think its called Heraldville Subdivision? It''s still under construction, so not a lot of people live there. Don''t worry boss, we''ll go there tomorrow to make sure that the ce is cleared."


    Jun stared at the distance but still couldn''t see the end of the road. He nced at the trees by the roadside before nodding his head.


    The mall changed from full-on lighting to only using emergency lights. If people want to continue having electricity, they have to be frugal about consuming the remaining gas.


    When they got back after the Operation n Warmth, he asked for Marvin to look for a cook. Even if Lourdes knew how to cook, he rejected her offer to help since all of them were tired after a hard day of work.


    To his surprise, Marvin came back with someone he recognizes. The person walking behind Marvin was a man who appears to be around his thirties and has an elegant air around him, not regal but ssy. He was the man beaten up by Marcus in the gymnasium''s storage room.


    "Good evening Lord Jun. I heard that you''re looking for a cook? I have more than ten years of experience and I own a catering business. It''s a thriving business that can guarantee that people loved my cooking. What would you like for your dinner?"


    "You are?"


    The man hit his forehead softly then eximed, "I''m an idiot! I''m so sorry about that. It''s just that, I''m a bit nervous in front of you. Can I shake your hand?"


    "Sure... your name?" replied Jun after shaking his hand.


    "Oh my gosh! What am I doing!? I''m embarrassing myself in front of you."


    "It''s okay, calm down, calm down. Take some deep breaths and rx. I don''t eat people, so you don''t have anything to worry."


    The man followed Jun''s advice and after a few deep breaths, he was able to calm down. He stared at Jun emotionally and was even about to cry. In the end, he managed to control his emotions and introduced himself.


    "My name is Mia Logro. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving me that day. Ever since that night, my life became exciting after learning that energy cirction you taught me."


    Marvin eyed Jun when he learned that he taught someone else. This is also the first time he heard about him saving someone.


    Marvin warily nced at the glib-tongued person beside him. He needs to praise the boss more, so he could stay in favor!


    Jun yed like a rich guy and hosted a meat porridge party. Though a bit troubled whether Mike would haunt him after taking the remaining Giant Rat meat, he just prayed that Adrian wouldn''t tattle on him.


    Mia Logro performed his duties perfectly. Although there were minimal decorations, there were enough chairs for everyone. The bad thing was they only have monoblock chairs with no tables to ce their meat porridges.


    Even then, people still flock in droves and went straight to the porridge line. A young teen was even chanting excitedly with his hands. "Meat Porridge! Meat Porridge!"


    He didn''t spend this much just because he wanted to celebrate the sessful clearing of the town. The event was to gather everyone in one ce and gain some good guy points. If people think that he''s just another tyrant who doesn''t care about the people, it would be hard to control them. By doing this, the people who ate the food would at least be conscientious enough to not cause trouble.


    Later on the feeding program itinerary, he would introduce Marvin as the town manager together with his duties.


    The first half of the event was quite sessful since people just need toe over for a meal, but some who finished eating quickly left and went to scavenge.


    Jun didn''t think bad of them since he did not announce that he would say somethingter.


    When Jun noticed that people were getting full and tired of waiting, he walked in front and attracted everyone''s eyes.


    People are instinctively smart.


    Even if Jun doesn''t say that he''s feeding everyone because there''s something he wants, everyone already assumed it. Who would be crazy to feed people you don''t know? Even those people who already left knew that Jun was up to something.


    "Hello everyone. As per our agreement yesterday, I am the new leader of the town. This event was in celebration of sessfully taking back the town. We could finally work as amunity and bring back the old"


    "We don''t want that."


    Jun turned to the person standing in the crowd.


    Kylle arrogantly stared at Jun and even smiled at him mockingly. He then continued, "We actually like how things work right now. Survival of the fittest! You can''t strut around here anymore, boy. You''re just a lucky bastard who has lots of guns. And by the way, I wasn''t here yesterday, so I want to challenge you!"

 Chapter 199: Friendly Duel

    Chapter 199: Friendly Duel


    Though everyone knew that Kylle was causing trouble, the people didn''t stop him and waited in anticipation. A few of them were even excited at the thought of being able to see a proper challenge after the survivor''s poor disyst time.


    Most of the strong individuals under Marcus were dead. The gatekeepers at both northwest and southeast National Highway were already killed by Jun. Even the elites he had turned coats at the first chance since they were only following him to survive. Then, his avid supporters already fought Junst night and lost miserably.


    The survivors liked Jun as a leader but they don''t know what his limit was. The only thing they knew is he got excellent reflexes(TIme Perse) and superstrong.


    Jun stared at Kylle, then to the people. He noticed their excitement which prompted him to smile wickedly. Some thought that he was scared but Marvin and the girls watching from the scene felt uneasy after seeing his smile. Ever since they met Jun, this was the first time they saw him make that expression.


    "Sure, let''s fight outside. Is there anyone else who wants to do a challenge?"


    Jun swept his gaze over the crowd. He especially paid some attention on the hidden groups that recently came back to themunity, so giving them a fair chance to challenge would be suitable.


    Kylle shrugged after seeing that Jun was still amicable like he wasn''t irritated. The people who were enjoying the scene became disappointed that Jun didn''tsh out. They were the ones at the back secretly wanting to see the world burn but won''te forward in making that happen.


    "Can I try too? Well, mine is not really a challenge. Its closer to being called a friendly duel? More like a session? I just want to know the gap with our skills. Oh, I''m Zeke by the way."


    Jun turned to the person who was raising his hand. The man looked like a gigolo due to the sparkling and loose clothing he wore. His dyed blonde hair didn''t help with the first impression.


    He was the twine controller who had a small group of three. His members were two slim females who kepttching at him attracting the eyes of the nearby men.


    Upon seeing the man''s respectful and somehow weird attitude, the anger inside Jun decreased a bit and he somehow became yful after watching a harem y in front of him.


    He nced around one more time and after seeing that no one would try their luck, he invited everyone outside.


    A crowd gathered at the empty lot outside the mall. The empty lot was used as parking space by public tricycles. On the side was the TODA''s lounge where drivers could stay and chill as they wait for passengers. It was four pirs with a roof, walled by metal fences with radio and television.


    There were two women and two men surrounding Kylle. From the way the conversation works, they were probably his group members. Based on today''s observation, none of Kylle''s members were strong since no one left an impression to him. The only thing they were good at was showering Kylle with praises.


    Zeke arrived with the two slim women in tow. His hands were on their waists as they swaggered into the empty lot.


    "Who wants to go first?"


    Jun skipped any formalities and went directly to the point. Before Kylle could step forward, Zeke already started walking towards the center.


    "It''ll be me. I don''t like to be second. Is that okay, Brother Kylle?"


    Kylle could only agree since he knew he knew that he couldn''t win against Zeke. He wasn''t weaker in terms of stats but Zeke had an advantage over him in terms of skills.


    Kylle had defensive skills while Zeke had control skills. He couldn''t even move properly when bound and could be killed easily if the man wanted to do so.


    Jun and Zeke stood five meters apart.


    "So this is a duel, right? This is my first official duel, so do you have any rules in mind? Zeke said.


    Jun shook his head.


    "Great, what a strong man you are. Well as for me, I want a fight with no guns? Is this possible? We can''t just start shooting each other, right? That wouldn''t be fair."


    "For the record, if you lose, you will recognize me as the new leader in town."


    "Sweet! That''s good! Bets should be alright. If I win, you''ll teach me everything you know. And to be honest, I don''t really care who lords over the town as long as they don''t disturb me. Can we start now? Here I go!"


    Zeke retreated as he took a ck stic twine from his dimensional storage, then wore it in his wrist like a bracer. The end of the twine floated into the air and started unrolling itself from the bundle. It looked like a snake as it repeatedly unwinded itself from the bundle.


    Jun dashed forward while equipping himself with a Tier 2 Bone Short Sword. He dodged nimbly as the twine poked him from a distance like a spear.


    The two yed a game of tag as Jun charged in swiftly while Zeke defended himself via the twine.


    Jun became surprised when he learned that Zeke could also control the toughness of the twine. There were times that the twine bent and allowed the sword to push itself and moments were it became tough like metal which blocked Jun''s attacks.


    Then he started adding basic Empower to his attacks, which finally shredded the twines.


    When the twines defense got broken through, Jun was able to cut some of it after it missed an attack. All lengths of twines littered the empty lot they were on.


    After the long chase, Jun was able to send Zeke to the ground when he ran out of twines. He only had a one-meter twine on his hand which stood straight and acts as a sword. Due to getting cut, the tip of the remaining twine was hard like an actual sword.


    "We''re done, right?"


    Jun pointed his sword to Zeke who was lying on the ground.


    "Nope~ we''re just about to start the real game."


    The severed twines on the ground trembled before quickly flying towards Jun.[ol][li data-annotation-id="de3c0116-e87e-cbfc-d6a1-9d01c7636a49"]Tricycle Operator Driving Association = TODA[/ol]

 Chapter 200: Control & Drain

    Chapter 200: Control & Drain


    The dozens of severed twines scattered around the area flew towards Jun at high speed. The ones nearby quickly bound his foot while the distant ones formed themonly seen tortoiseshell bounding style from erotic movies.


    Like an advance technological robot suit, the strips of twines bound Jun piece by piece.


    Jun fought back sessfully and was able to move his arms, so he tried removing the twines that bounded him. Even with his power and endurance, he still felt that his movements slowed down for at least thirty percent.


    The annoying thing about the twines was they would reattach themselves after getting removed by Jun. In the end, he had to stash them into his dimensional storage, so they couldn''t pester him anymore.


    Everyone watched in bated breaths. Was the new leader in town really weak? It hasn''t been a day and someone would already defeat him. Will the town go on another change? The people prayed that it won''t happen since the man seemed like a lunatic.


    Some people passed out after watching the scene. The nearby onlookers frowned at them for acting in exaggeration. Although Jun treated them nicely, they shouldn''t be that attached to him! Heck, it hasn''t been twenty-four hours since he became the new town leader.


    Kylle watched the scene in contempt. See now? The person you guys thought was strong couldn''t do anything now. Bastard''s not as strong as he thinks he is! Better behave yourself from now on.


    He already lost interest fighting Jun but stayed to see him get humiliated.


    No one noticed the small strips of twines flying away from the people who fainted.


    Jun tried chasing Zeke but the additional weight on him kept him from speeding up. He opened his dimensional storage to take a bone spear, but before its tip could evene out, his body became weak as something inside him was getting drained.


    A momentter, he realized that his energy was constantly decreasing!


    In front of him, he saw Zeke with a disappointed look on his face. It seems like he got high expectations for him.


    Jun pondered how to get out this situation as his energy gradually decreased finally reaching fifty percent. Then realization struck him.


    How can this man continue using his skills even after all this time?! Something feels wrong about it! And does he control this strips of twine via levitation or psych?


    When Jun learned the answer to these questions, he became disappointed with himself. Something simple actually took this long for him to discern?!


    "Why are you smiling? I thought you were strong, so I fought you, but this is getting depressing. Stand still, okay?"


    Several strips of twinesizing around one footdetached themselves from Jun and floated away. As they hovered in the air, they suddenly straightened themselves with their sharpened ends pointed at Jun.


    Jun shook his head and sighed deeply. People''s true nature always shows itself in the end. The strips of twine charged at him, but they started swaying like falling leaves when they were about to hit him.


    Everyone bore witness to this strange scene. From the flow of the scenario, Jun should have been pierced gaining a few holes for himself, but the strips of twines harmlessly fell on the floor.


    In the middle of everyone''s confusion, the two involved parties knew exactly what happened. The energy used to control the strips of twine vanished after Jun used the skill he just recently learned.


    [Aura (Death) Lv. Max]


    [Description] After achieving sufficient control energy with energy, the user sessfully created a manifestation of his energy. When activated, a field of invisible energy would spread around the two-meter radius of the user. Due to numerous killings under the process of learning the skill, the aura evolved into Death energy.


    [Cooldown - None]


    [Cost - 5 Energy per second]


    Jun walked forward casually and quickly closed their gap after the twines that shackled him disappear.


    He sent a hard punch towards Zeke''s stomach and due to the frustration that built inside him, the blow was a bit stronger than he initially intended.


    Zeke vomited his guts out but nothing came out except for saliva. He felt his stomach churn continuously even after the punch. With a twine sword in hand, he tried to fight back and only realized that the energized twine he was holding was already limp.


    He looked up and saw Jun staring down at him.


    Jun said, "Stay still, okay?"


    As he was about to kick Zeke, the man quicklypressed himself as small as he could and started begging.


    Jun stopped his feet mid-air, then stared at Zeke. "Get up."


    Zeke stood up and got punched in the stomach. He retreated a few steps before ring at Jun. He tried using his control skill but it wasn''t working. The fear inside him grew as he felt like he became ''normal'' once more and was getting bullied by superman.


    "Come back here," he called to Zeke, which the man reluctantlyplied with. Jun then continued, "As per our agreement, you are now working for me and you will listen to my orders. Do you ept the results?"


    Zeke tried onest time but he still couldn''t control the twines. In the end, he grudgingly nodded his head. He could just run away.


    "Go and wait at the side," Jun stated after hearing Zeke''s confirmation. He eyed Marvin and signaled to watch over the man.


    Marvin understood his meaning and followed behind Zeke, making sure that the man wouldn''t escape.


    Zeke ignored whatever was happening behind him as he waited for the next show. Two slim girls weed him and his hands naturally hugged their waists.


    "I''m quite tireddies. Can I get some sweet energy from you two?"


    "Of course you can! Hehe, but you''ll have to y with me more tonight, okay?"


    "That''s not fair~ How about me? Let''s just share like usual. Zeke can multi-task have you forgotten? I really like your twines that bound me and explores the deepest part of me, at the same time."


    "Come ondies, let''s not kill every single man with jealousy, alright?"


    Marvin, ''What the heck?''

 Chapter 201: A Government

    Chapter 201: A Government


    Jun ate an energy fruit as he watched Kylle walked forward into the empty lot. He faced him and waited for the man to get in position.


    "I don''t know how you got lucky but your luck ends here," Kylle yelled as he charged towards Jun.


    Jun noticed that Kylle wasn''t using a weapon, so he stored his short sword in his dimensional storage. The two then traded blows vigorously. With Jun''s stats way higher than normal, he quickly oppressed Kylle.


    When Kylle discovered the gap in their stats, he quickly changed the way he fought. He waited for Jun''s Empowered punch before activating Reflect. The skill increases the user''s defense by a hundred percent before sending back fifty percent of the original damage received.


    Jun ignored the damage he receives since he had more than enough health to beat this man up.


    Kylle was a mixed power-endurance build making him much durable because of increased health and defense. Even then, he couldn''t out stat Jun since he still was on the average of 15. His core stats were around twenty but the other stats were mediocre.


    As the two continued their battle of attrition, Kylle suddenly noticed that his energy was rapidly running out! Even though he was dealing damage to the enemy, he doesn''t know how effective or efficient the trade was.


    "I hate you for making me use this!" muttered Kylle as he jumped backward.


    As soon as his feet hit the ground, he started flexing his muscles like a bodybuilder and change from different poses one after the other in quick sessions. He posed with his hand behind his head and smiled.


    After the fixed skill activationpleted itself, Kylle''s shirt exploded and a white sh of light illuminated the whole area. Everyone who was looking at him temporarily became blinded. Even Jun who was curious about what he was doing couldn''t look away in time.


    After Kylle was able to regain control of his body, he took a Bone Dagger from his dimensional storage before dashing towards Jun, nning to stab him.


    He failed miserably.


    Jun closed his eyes and hoped that it would recover faster this way. He then activated Aura which helped him see the surrounding clearly in his mind. Everything further than the two meters was made of fog.


    He saw a figureing from the fog and saw Kylle when he entered the radius.


    Even though he had his eyes closed, Jun was able to fight normally. He retreated and advanced seamlessly making Kylle doubt whether he actually had his eyes closed.


    Five secondster, Jun finally regained his vision as his energy dropped by a good chunk of his max energy. He stopped using Aura after shoving Kylle with his two hands to gain some distance.


    He dashed forward while charging Empower with 3energy/sec output.


    Kylle stared at Jun''s glowing hands and immediately knew that he had to block the attack no matter what. He waited for the attack and timed it perfectly, so Jun would not be able to stop his punch once he swung it.


    As Jun took arge stride and pushed his fist forward, Kylle couldn''t contain the excitement inside him. He felt something strange when he saw Jun''s index finger pointing forward but decided to ignore it. What, is he a god that can kill with a finger alone? He eagerly shouted, "You''re dead! Hahaha!"


    He used Reflect and his body became enveloped by a white outline. Everything was going ording to the script when a whirlpool of dimensional storage suddenly appeared in front of his face.


    Jun''s hand entered his dimensional storage and several wood nks and piles of rubble flushed out from the side. After hitting the ground and bouncing once, the items shattered and shimmered away.


    Kylle''s Reflect skill duration ended after not encountering an attack. Regrettably, it was also thest time he could activate the skill since his energy hit the lowest it could be and isn''t enough for another cast. His Pose skill took a huge chunk from his energy pool rendering him out of energy.


    Jun strangled Kylle with his other arm, then pulled his hand out from his dimensional storage.


    "Do you want to continue?" Jun asked nonchntly.


    Kylle vigorously shook his head as he tapped Jun''s arm.


    "Do you ept your loss?"


    Kylle nodded his head and forced a word out. "Let go, please!"


    Jun eded to his request which made him fall to the ground. Afterward, he started coughing as he tried to catch his breath.


    Jun did not pay him attention any longer and turned to Cain.


    "Do you have awyer here?"


    His team, his subordinates, and every survivor felt confused with his question. Was he going sentence them? Even though he didn''t understand what Jun was nning to do, Cain followed his orders.


    "Now, for the main reason why I''m doing this. Marvin Medina would serve as the manager in this town. He would set ns and supervise every decision made here. Together with Cain''s group, they would make this town worth living once more."


    "What about the old government? Wouldn''t they treat us as rebels then?" a survivor asked with worry.


    The worries of the top were always different from those at the bottom. While Jun was trying his best to regte the people, those people were already thinking about their interests.


    "A government is just a system made for the people, by the people. Their primary role was to make sure that everyone is safe and is living a good life. Where are they now? Did they help anyone of you? Did they send help when you needed it badly?"


    "And even if there''s still a functioning one somewhere out there, do we have the time to wait for them? Its already been a month and no help hase. This meant that they have problems that they can''t deal with. Who would help us? Ourselves! If you make yourself strong enough, you wouldn''t even need to rely on the government. Until that time, you have to rely on it."


    "My name is Jun Reyes, the current leader in town, and I urge everyone to follow my rules and in return, ck Haven will keep you safe."


    Marvin became the new town manager and although he appeared unreliable, the people epted him because he was deligated by Jun.


    Marvin felt nervous about epting the role since he didn''t even know how to n. Jun smacked him with the word of truth for his nearsightedness. "Go hire some."


    That''s right! Even if he doesn''t have the right skill set for managing a town, he could just hire counselors to guide him. But then came a problem, he doesn''t have enough goods or money to pay a sry to anyone if he ever chose to hire people. A problem easily solved by Jun.


    Jun gave Marvin his old smartwatch, so he could chat with him or Evo. If he ever needed help with something, he could just message them up. With the Faction Storage, as long as he didn''t need additional people, almost everything could be solved.


    He also gave him a red-striped ck Haven card since he''s now officially working under Jun. After inputting his name on the card via the name input option, he felt d for joining under Jun''s leadership. It was the best choice he made in his life.


    At the back office of the mall, Cain knocked on the door.


    Marvin opened the door and the two greeted each other. He nced around after he entered the room, and found Jun seating on a swivel chair in front of the security monitors. Kylle and Zeke appeared ghostly as they sat on monoblock chairs near a wooden table.


    The aged man wearing spectacles who lowered his head as soon as he entered the room. He was a timidwyer that no one wanted in their party because his skills were solely for administrative duties. He survived mostly viamissions when two parties wanted to use his contracting services. Aside from that, everybody else stays away from him.


    Cain afterpleting the assigned mission to him headed out of the room. Jun stopped him and told him that he could stay inside. He appreciated his gesture since this meant that he was on the inner circle of the new management.


    He did not know whether to go near the table, so he stood by the door.


    Jun pushed the floor which made the swivel chair glide towards the already prepared table. He stared at the sheep of an old man and beckoned for him to sit down.


    "Mister?"


    "Rene Galicia, sir." the aged-man said as he bowed before taking his seat on the other side of the table.


    "Mister Rene, you have the Contract skill, right?"


    "Yes, sir."


    "Can you describe how it works?"


    Rene answered his request since he deemed that there was no reason to withhold information. Besides, there were already several people who have contracted with him and knew how his skill work.


    Contract helps bind two parties into an agreement. Both parties have to agree on what''s written on the contract then seal it with their energies. The contracts may or may have no expiration dates depending on the decision of both parties.


    Jun became disappointed when he learned that it was this kind of skill. He determined that pre-generated skills somehow took a person''s nature when generation.


    Because thest time he saw awyer, the man had a Bloody Contract skill.

 Chapter 202: Death Sworn

    Chapter 202: Death Sworn


    Rene''s a kind-heartedwyer. He always put extra effort into his cases even if there was no guarantee that he would receive extra pay. That''s also the reason why his contract skill was a regr one.


    After his original idea failed even without being able to try it, Jun had to adjust his n ordingly. He thought of a few adjustments that were deemed possible by the system and performed a trial and error in front of Kylle and Zeke.


    Rene ces his hand over an empty piece of paper and uses his energy to inscribe the conditions Jun wanted. Every time that the conditions were too over the top, the contract would never be ''printed'' and would undergo another revision.


    Since Jun knew what he wanted, the contract drafting took less than ten minutes of their time. Marvin stayed behind Kylle and Zeke in case they do something rash after seeing their fates being discussed in front of them. Even Cain and Rene were a bit surprised at what Jun was adding on the contract.


    The contract states that Jun Reyes is the contractee while Kylle rk and Zeke Sicat are the contractors.


    As the one offering the contract(contractee), Jun had to set the job description, the payment, and the penalties in case the other party couldn''t perform its duties.


    The job offered to them was to follow three missions from Jun every month for as long as they were alive.


    The contractor has the right to reject once every one month and if the chance was not used it could be transferred to the next month, basically allowing them to pass two requests for that month.


    The contractor would have to do their best toplete the missions given to them with the best of their capabilities. Otherwise, a failure badge would be granted. After three failure badges were given, the contractor would be forced to perform the penalty. They have to kill themselves by stabbing their hearts repeatedly until they die.


    There were additional uses at the bottom of the contract.


    Contractors would be nurtured under ck Haven, so they would have the ability to perform their duties. They are also given ess to all kinds of information and numerous types of equipment inessible to the public. It also strictly prohibits the sharing of gained information and equipment to others.


    Another use states that contractors cannot intentionally harm or cause any type of damage to citizens, properties, and allies of ck Haven unless it was specified in their mission. It includes any type of idental explosions and the like. The contractor would receive a warning and if not heeded, the contract would forcibly terminate(kill) the contractor.


    ck Haven would not care what the contractors do in their daily lives unless they cause trouble and get reported by the people. If caught by former authorities, ck Haven will not be sending help.


    Contract Holders reserves the right for the interpretation.


    In essence, the contractors were like frence spies, as long as they finish their three mission quota they can do whatever they want as long as it doesn''t contradict the contract.


    Jun stamped his finger on the parts his sign was needed and transferred a bit of energy toplete the seal. Afterward, he ced the two identical contracts in front of Kylle and Zeke.


    "You listened to the whole process, but you can read the contract if you want. If you don''t sign it, I will kill you right now. I don''t need you to work under me, I just need to keep both of you in check. Typically, I won''t need your help but when some unique cases appear, I would rely on you."


    "I''m doing this to remind the two of you that lives can be taken as easily as this when there is now around. Because of saidw not being implemented, both of you tried to kill me, is that correct? That''s why I''m handling this matter with my own hands."


    Kylle and Zeke appeared ghastly while listening to Jun. Everything he said was the truth. After getting used to bing strong, they normally didn''t care what they do unto others.


    With Jun''s punishment ced in front of them, the two couldn''t do anything but to ept their fates. At least they could still live their lives after signing the contracts.


    After they sealed the contracts with their energy, two orbs of light flew out from each contract and entered the involved party''s head.


    Kylle and Zeke felt something inside them being bound by something while Jun received the orb that could send orders to the two.


    Jun gathered the contracts and stored them in his dimensional storage.


    After everything was done, he told the two that they could leave, which both of them happily epted.


    At the same time that Kylle and Zeke arrived at the staircase which leads to the shopping mall, a notification appeared in front of them. The two turned their hands at each other and saw each other''s shock.


    [Mission#01]


    [Description] You have been called toe back to the security room with your two hands behind your head. Do you ept the mission?


    [Reject Rights - 1] [Failure Badge - 0]


    Since the mission was quite easy, the two epted the mission and helplessly ced their hands on the back of their hands before walking back.


    The two arrived at the door but couldn''t open it since they couldn''t move their hands due to the warning that appeared when they tried to do so.


    Cain opened the door after feeling their presence which saved them the trouble of shouting to let them in.


    Jun nced at the two and said, "Congrattions onpleting your first mission. Consider this as a tutorial. Please behave yourselves and don''t try to run away. I don''t want to think of unique ways to call you back."


    "Besides, dying after going through all this would be bad, right? You''re basically free as long as you don''t do anything bad." Jun turned his swivel chair and pushed towards the security monitors. "You can go now."


    Kylle and Zeke gulped at the unlimited possibilities that they put themselves into. They even cursed themselves for acting out of ce and trying to kill Jun. Both of them scurried out of the room with frightened expressions on their faces.


    Jun watched the people on the monitor. There were couples, friends, and groups readying themselves to scavenge for the night. Everyone knows that the town was basically cleared of all enemies and they could freely loot whatever they wanted. This was the best opportunity for them to stock up on supplies.


    When he noticed that Kylle and Zeke have left, he went back to the table and stared at Rene.


    Before the old man dirtied himself from the pressure, Jun smiled tenderly and said, "Your now ck Haven''s Legal Counselor. We will be using some of the oldws while adding a few things. Your first job is to make a list ofws that would maintain public security and peace. Don''t make itplicated and make it so people could easily understand it. You can choose where you want to stay and you will have two personal bodyguards around you all the time."


    "Cain, choose two people from your group. I need trustworthy ones, it doesn''t matter if they''re weak; ck Haven can make them strong."


    "Marvin, protect him at all costs and give him what he wants as long as its possible."


    "And, Rene, try not to die, okay?"


    Marvin and Cain realized what Jun''s instructions meant. With a skill that can bound someone unwillingly, as long as you forced them too, they would have no one to worry off. They could maintain peace and restore public trust after some time.


    Rene couldn''t believe what he was hearing. It was the first time he felt treasured since the start of the apocalypse. Usually, he would be treated as a leecher for takingmissions when his tasks only involved with mediation between two parties. It was also the first time he used his skill like this, his perception of his skill also took a 180-degree turn after the event.


    He realized that Jun unearthed his talent which was worth protecting for. With a heartwarming gaze towards Jun, he pledges in his heart to do his best for the young man, then seriously said, "I will."


    Unlike their guesses, Jun wanted to protect Rene because he figured out that the bloody contracts he had weren''t stolen and just vanished after its mediator died. With the person that served as creator, witness, and mediator, dead, the contract was considered invalid because there was no judge to validate the legality of the contract.


    Although he noticed the three people''s fervent gazes towards him, he had no intention to rify the situation. It''s better if they misunderstand, and even better if they just thought that he wanted to protect Rene because he was tasked to create the newws.


    Jun stared at the title of the contract.


    ''Death Sworn''

 Chapter 203: Storage Balls

    Chapter 203: Storage Balls


    The rest of the night passed by as Jun spent his time meditating. He did not use the already learned skill Aura since it takes too much energy unlike from manual training.


    Jun also paid attention to his skill levels. Except for Rob, Threaten, Execute, Melee-Weapon Mastery, and Howling Rage, most of his skills were at max level even though he didn''t do anything to level them up.


    Normally, he needed to use the skill for some time before he gained enough mastery to raise the skill level. Then why did the system set it at the max level? Should he be happy? Of course not! A skill''s effects could be increased when it reaches a higher level. Even though the increase wasn''t that high, an increase is still an increase.


    With his skills at max level, he was prevented from raising it to a higher level and receiving a slight increase in power. On paper, having max skills appear exceptional but that also means, you''ve reached the limit and couldn''t improve anymore.


    Is this also special treatment by the system? Or a direct obstruction to his growth? Even though he wanted to know the reason, Yetu never spoke to him nor even showed his presence around. It was like he was gone except for the system being left for him as a gift.


    Although Yetu wasn''t responsive, the side quest ''Stranger Trouble'' still continued to go on.


    Jun continued to ponder what to do with the skill cap obstructions while he meditated. He wouldn''t find the answer immediately, but he had to something about it soon.


    On the streets of a certain subdivision, there were numerous spiked barricades facing outwards, creating a maze and serves to block anything from advancing hastily inside the subdivision. Also, there were barrels of fire scattered around the street that illuminated the area. Inside the houses were lit fuelmps that kept the dining table bright enough to see what you''re sticking your fork into.


    The two guards stationed at the top of a jeepney, blocking the entrance of the subdivision, chatted with each other as they shared a piece of bread. Below their wooden chairs were two cups of smoking hot coffee.


    "The town sure is lively earlier with all thosemotions around. What do you think happened?"


    "I have no clue and I''m not interested. We have our own problems and we can''t dy it any longer. The resources nearby were getting depleted by them. If we don''t find somewhere to look for supplies we would have no choice but confront them. Marcus is a bastard but as long as we y by his rules, we should be safe."


    "Goddamn right," said the other man as he stood up and unzipped his pants. He chatted as he did what he had to do, secondster water gushing could be heard. "Well to be fair, If I became a Lord too, I would probably do the same thing. I mean, everyone else probably will, right? Who wouldn''t? The power tomand people and..." As the man continued talking, he felt a breeze passed him by. He shivered and could feel his body hair raising. "Ugh, it''s cold. We really need a better jacket if they insist that we stay for nightshifts."


    The man took a bite of already cold bread and picked up the cup of coffee on the roof of the jeepney. When he got up, he noticed that his partner was as pale as snow.


    "Hey, are you okay? You should drink the coffee before it gets cold. What the f*ck?"


    A giant bat that sized around one foot was biting the back portion of his partner''s head. If it were a cat instead of a giant bat, it would have looked cute andical, but the glowing tooth as if absorbing something, frightened the man.


    Not a secondter, the giant bat flopped down into the jeepney and bounced off to the ground. He gazed at the giant bat as it fell down, missing the subtle movements of his partner''s hand. When his partner''s eyes opened, both of his eyes glowed ghastly white.


    Behind them, a colony of bats was wreaking havoc into the subdivision causing panic screams from numerous houses. People tried to defend themselves but the results after getting swarmed unprepared were inevitable.


    A couple sneaked into the rooftop of the mall to y and saw the dark sky above a distant subdivision. It gleamed as if the houses were burning, but it didn''t deter the two to stop what they came here for.


    After a few days with ack of proper sleep, Jun decided to not abuse his body and let his mind and body rest. When he took the nap he deserved, his body took this chance to recoup itsck of sleep which made Jun wake up quitete while Marvin was nowhere to be seen.


    He didn''t look for him neither the girls and just left the town as is while wearing his camouge cloak.


    "Takaw! Wait for me!"


    Anna shouted as she pedaled furiously uphill. Behind her were her friends Erin and Emman pushing their bikes as they followed her while breathing roughly.


    "Can''t we take motorcycles or at least something motorized? This will kill us before those carriers get us." Emman said as he gave his final spurt of energy to reach the top.


    "We''ve already been using these for a week but you still haven''t adjusted yourself? Give me a break. You are the only man I know whoins like a girl! Besides, isn''t the reason why we use bikes clear? We could get in trouble if we attract arge horde with our small group!" Erin sighed deeply while shaking her head.


    Takaw who was leading ahead suddenly stopped running and growled at the intersection corner. The three quickly reacted by taking a gacha ball from their dimensional storages and tapping it on their bikes.


    The next second, their bikes glowed and got absorbed by the gacha balls.


    The item was named ''Storage Ball'' and was a recent invention by Evo to storerger things that could not fit through the dimensional storage. It was one of the top-secret equipment of ck Haven that wasn''t even listed in the ck Haven Virtual Library.


    Currently, it could only store regr-sized bicycles due to certain circumstances and has to be charged every time you have to use it.


    Also, motorcycles and cars were too heavy and would always destroy the storage ball when forced to store them. An ident when someone almost got crushed to death isn''t funny when there was literally no risk to someone''s life due to the town being safe.


    Due to this, a lot of scavenging requests have been listed on the ck Haven Notice Board. All kinds of enhanced woods, odd-looking nts, and durable stones were submitted daily.


    Also, the information gathering missions were gaining a huge sess after the world changed.


    With almost everything having some minuscule changes to them, the information gathering mission has be a profitable way to gain credit points and reputation. As long as someone found something new and submit it to the Notice Board, after a few minutes and several verifications, the person could quickly know whether he would get a hefty amount or not.


    If the same information gets submitted repeatedly, its value would continue to go down until it could no longer be priced by the authenticating system Evo created. Of course, Evo couldn''t handle all that, and so he hired nners from the people. He distributed the task from the Notice Board and masked it like it was just a simple survey on what they wanted to be improved.


    Afterward, he would implement them whether those functions were useful. Those surveys regrlye once a day and is a jackpot mission for the people since it''s basically free and they all need to do is provide feedback to earn free credit points.


    The best information they got was that trees gained enhanced durability depending on their age. Also, pre-cut woods from before the apocalypse have a lower durability cap than woods being processed now.


    On a side note, tree loggers appeared and wanted to hoard trees but got rebuked by the police. There was no reason for the people to cut trees recklessly, and ck Haven and The Frontier supported the decision.


    A Nature Conservation Group was created with the three powers in town as members leaving the alliance of small parties out of the loop.


    Though the people were annoyed, they agreed on the surface and nned to do it when no one was looking. The three factions knew that they couldn''t stop everyone but would be able to reduce the number of troublemakers with this. Also, people can just report someone who recklessly logged trees.


    Also, cutting down trees isn''t illegal; hoarding trees is illegal.


    Anna charged the storage ball, so she could use it under an emergency. Erin and Emman did the same before all three of them stored the balls on their dimensional storages.


    Anna and Emman brought out their new longbow and crossbow made from redwood with enhanced properties before taking their corresponding arrow and bolt from their dimensional storages.


    Erin armed herself with a metal sword crafted from smelted metals and ground D2 bones. Her round shield was pure metal with leather strips as the handle.


    The group slowly inched closer to the corner with Erin in the front with Anna and Emman at the back. Takaw continued growling until it saw the one-meter mutated dog that appeared on the corner.


    Takaw stopped growling and wagged its tail acting like a good dog.

 Chapter 204: Looking for Revenge?

    Chapter 204: Looking for Revenge?


    When the mutated dog appeared around the corner while sniffing the ground, Erin almost peed on her pants. Emman who was closely following her froze in ce and almost squealed from the up-close sight of the mutated dog. Anna pulled the string further while staring wide-eyed at the one-meter tall mutated dog.


    The three stood frozen as they faced the mutated dog. For the past week, every encounter with a wild mutated animal meant casualties for the survivors of Binangonan.


    Currently, there were two types of mutated threats wandering the town and even its outskirts. Forested areas were even more prone to danger which prevented people from logging too much. The mutated animals and the mutated insects. Further varied into two types; those that travel alone and those who travel in groups.


    Those who travel in groups were weak individually but annoying to face head-on when in greater numbers.


    A perfect example was the Energy-sucking Mosquitoes who suck you dry until you pass out from energy bacsh and would be further fed upon by other mosquitoester on. Unless rescued by arge group, an individual caught by a swarm of Energy-sucking Mosquitoes would surely die after a few days due to blood loss, insufficient nutrients and numerous attacks received with health recovery unable to keep up with the damage.


    Some low-ranked mutated dogs started to gather around and formed packs while those high-ranked ones imed territories for themselves. With the advent of the apocalypse, everything with life is slowly bing more intelligent.


    Thergest Energy-sucking Mosquito seen was 5-inches long with appropriate body size while the lengths of the regr ones were about 2-3 inches long. Its proboscisthe needle-like partmeasures around 1-2 inches depending on their body size.


    There were passive types of threats like different kinds of bugs, a new breed of teethed worms, and ant colonies. It is rmended to not mess with nature at this changing times if you want to survive longer.


    Takaw stopped wagging his tail and sat down with his tongue sticking out while breathing rxedly. He appeared rxed like it was just a casual walk in the park with hisdy boss.


    Takaw stared at the mutated dog in front of him then barked once loudly.


    The mutated dog sniffing the ground turned to him. It noticed the three armed survivors frozen at the side but it ignored them as it turned back to Takaw returning the greeting it received.


    "Rarf!" the mutated dog barked then wagged its tail.


    The two then started barking at each other as if they weremunicating.


    "Arf arf. (Hello there are you hungry? Looking for food?)"


    "Rarf rarf! (Yeah, I haven''t eaten for days. Are they your friends, can I eat them if not?)"


    Emman stopped dubbing their conversation when both dogs turned to him. Erin in front of him quickly stepped on his feet and before he could even shout, her hand was already pinching his mouth.


    "I don''t understand what''s happening right now and I would really appreciate it if you don''t get us killed." Erin red at Emman, and only let go when the man nodded his head. She turned around and with a smile on her face, beckoned for the dogs to continue their noisy barking.


    The dogs faced each other once again and continued their exchange of barkings. After several exchanges, the mutated dog raised its front feet and brought it closer to Takaw.


    From the three survivor''s point of view, the mutated dog was going to crush Takaw with its paw but they don''t know the reason for it. Was it really hungry or was it angry?


    Anna watched the scene in horror and the hand holding the string trembled as she decided whether to let go or not.


    Just then, she noticed a piece of cloth tied on the mutated dog''s left leg. Takaw stood up and sniffed the cloth on the mutated dog''s leg.


    "We''re just about to head to the dungeon, so why are we this unlucky? If we''re a bitte, there would be no spot left for us and we would have nothing left to kill..." Emman suddenly uttered.


    The three of them were on their way to the Cemetery Dungeon but they have the greatest luck to encounter a stray dog that could kill them if it so wanted to. Thankfully, Takaw was able to have some conversation between them, so they could save the trouble of fighting and get injured.


    A mutated dog has a strong defense, high attack damage, and good mobility. Unless Takaw''s negotiation seeds, even if they manage to kill the mutated dog, it would surely bring one person together with it.


    A cornered dog is the deadliest.


    "It''s looking for its owner." Anna suddenly uttered after observing the mutated dog''s behavior.Emman and Erin turned their heads to her filled with confusion.


    She noticed their dubious looks and decided to exin.


    "It was sniffing the ground when we encountered it and there''s a piece of cloth tied to its leg. That could only mean someone owned the dog, or I''m just overthinking things."


    Anna started doubting herself whether she was overthinking things when Takaw suddenly barked and excitedly jumped around while wagging its tail. Meanwhile, the mutated dog appeared excited and stared at Takaw thankfully.


    Anna, Emman, and Erin had the same thoughts. ''Do dogs normally show such emotions?''


    Takaw barked once more before turning around and started running back to the way they came from. When he noticed that the mutated dog was reluctant to follow him, it barked once more as if to encourage it to follow.


    In the end, Takaw managed to convince the mutated dog after several barks. The words of courage that transpired were not discernible but it clearly reflected on the changes in the mutated dog''s emotion. When the mutated dog confidently darted forward and followed behind Takaw the three of them became further shocked at the situation.


    Anna quickly stored her weapons and took her gacha ball from her dimensional storage. She released her bicycle from the gacha ball and hastily rode downhill to follow the two.


    She turned her head and shouted towards the dazed Emman and Erin at the top of the hill: "Aren''t you twoing? I think this will be fun!"


    With her call, the two woke up from the suddenness of the situation and brought their bikes out and followed after.


    The town was bustling with activity as people went back and forth at the Notice Board and ck Haven Marketce. At the za square, numerous agents gathered looking for a group to join explorations with. Some were headed outside the town to obtain new information while others want to ughter carriers in the wild.


    The town was basically cleared of all carriers and has only mutated animals wandering in and out of the town. Some of the survivors went back to live on their former houses while others chose to live on manors found by the roadside. Almost everyone had a fair chance to get good housing for themselves since there was a low chance of the owner surviving if they haven''t imed back their houses.


    As the people minded their own business, a bullmastiff paraded in the middle of the road as it looked around the area as if looking for something. It was followed by a one-meter mutated dog who sneakily looks around and scans every passerby.


    A few gasp and shocked exmations could be heard within the crowd and if it weren''t for Annawho was following behind the dog, together with her guardsbeing known as the little sister of ck Haven''s head, the mutated dog would already be killed for food.


    The people have tasted meat thanks to the Giant Rats they killed, which in return, raised the peoples impulses to kill the mutated dog for its meat. Since they already tested that animals that mutated could still be safely eaten, the hunt for animals started the next day after the town defense.


    Ever since Evo learned that she was Jun''s little sister, he treated her a bit differently and provided her with more protection. She was the next person to own a smartwatch, so she could contact him in case of trouble.


    Erin and Emman got promoted to be her personal guards since they were already close to each other.


    Takaw sat at the roadside and watched everyone passing by. He would sometimes bark as he greeted the people he knows while continuing to scan the people''s faces. The one-meter mutated dog appeared cute even though it has strange ck fur as it behaved behind Takaw.


    The two dogs continued watching the people.


    At first, the survivors were rmed after seeing a mutated dog right after they exited the ck Havenpound. It was thanks to Anna and her guards that stood beside the dog, so people think that it was tamed.


    Time passed by and the sun shone directly on top of their head. They spent about two or three hours standing idly outside. The other survivors already became ustomed to the scene and aside from a few curious nce by neers, they were basically ignored.


    Until two men walked by.


    The mutated dog started growling while baring its fangs at the two.


    Anna immediately panicked.


    ''Was it looking for revenge?''

 Chapter 205: The Dogs Owner

    Chapter 205: The Dog''s Owner


    The mutated dog continued growling at the two men walking towards the ck Havenpound.


    The two innocent passersby got startled when they caught sight of the growling dog. They instinctively retreated a few steps, before calming down when they noticed that it has an owner.


    One of the two, who seems to be the decision-maker, haughtily stared at Anna before clicking his tongue in displeasure.


    "Keep a leash on your dog. What if it identally bites people? Do you have the credits to send them to a doctor?" the man said matter-of-factly. He then examined Anna''s group and found nothing outstanding except for the bulldog-like (bullmastiff) dog. The small brown-furred dog was tilting its head as if in confusion while staring at the growling dog.


    Takaw barked once and as if his bark was filled with authority, the mutated dog''s growling immediately ceased.


    The mutated dog whimpered with its pitiful voice while looking downwards to Takaw. To the survivors watching themotion, it appeared as if the one-meter dog wasining about its grievances to the small dog.


    Takaw barked once again and itpletely quelled the mutated dog''s objection. He turned around and approached the two men.


    Seeing the small dog approaching them, the cocky man nced at Anna as if asking what he should do about the situation. He couldn''t act rashly due to the circr ck emblem attached to Anna''s left chest.


    The emblem had a simple sword logo at the center which signified ck Haven''s Elite Scavenger Squad. There were less than ten people in town who has that emblem, so anyone who wears it would be immediately recognized as an elite.


    The survivors also knew about the fact that they could obtain the emblem if they join the ck Haven Scavenging Group, which had the same ck emblem but with a logo of running shoes.


    Once youpleted three scavenging runs from the regr group, you could attempt for promotion. The trials for promotion were simple, you just need to contact an Elite Scavenger and have them as a witness while you hunt a Ranked 1 Evolved Carrier on your own.


    At this time, receiving outside help or if the Elite Scavenger acting as a witness had to intervene in any manner, the promotion would be ssified as a failure. To prevent any kind of cheating, the witness must record the entire process via cellphone or camera provided by ck Haven.


    It was of this promotion exam that separated those who can fight by themselves and those who have to rely on a group.


    ck Haven Elite Scavengers receive a lot of benefits and in return, they would be tasked to do dangerous tasks like clearing hordes and responding to emergency situations.


    This is the reason why the man hesitated to do anything on the approaching dog. What could he do!? Even herckeys had the same sword emblem she had, which meant that they''re also from the Elite Scavenger Group. Meaning that this small party could easily wreck him and his friend if they wanted to.


    Takaw started sniffing as he circled around the man.


    "Hey," the man called for Anna''s attention. "Can''t you do something? Your dog doesn''t bite, right? I don''t know what the problem is with your other dog, but this is the first time our group encountered each other, right?"


    The man reasonably exined the situation and even Anna felt that there was nothing wrong with what he said. But when she turned and saw the furious look on the mutated dog''s eyes as it stared at the man, she couldn''t help but thought that something was wrong.


    Anna didn''t call Takaw back since he wasn''t doing anything rash, instead, she asked the man politely about the dog. She said, "Do you happen to know this dog? It seems that it is extremely angry at you... Perhaps, did you encountered it somewhere? Oh! I think it''s also looking for its owner."


    The man halted for a second and noticed that the small dog circling around him, sat down, intently listening to him. He was amazed but creeped out at the same time, then started pondering.


    He stared at the mutated dog. There was nothing worth noting since like every mutated dog, it had dark fur with a few patches of empty fur directly showing its skin.


    As the man''s eye went down, it noticed the conspicuous cloth tied on the mutated dog''s left leg. Then, realization struck him as he formed a fist and hit his other palm. "I remember now! That''s the dog we tried to hunt two days ago. We thought it was a wild dog, but apparently it had an owner."


    The man touched his chin as he tried to recall his memories of that day.


    "The owner was a young woman. Thankfully, she arrived on time before we killed it. We''re just about to deal the final blow when she came, then started to madly swing her daggers at us." He then bowed slightly and offered an apology to the dog.


    As he turned around and left, he asked the three of them in confusion: "Where is the owner? She''s quite hot for a mute, you know. Is she your friend?"


    Anna ignored the man''s question and turned to Erin and Emman.


    Seeing that he got ignored, he shrugged and left nonchntly.


    "Thankfully, he was a chatterbox," Anna said, then nced at her friends, "Now we know that we''re looking for a mute girl."


    "And a hot one on top of that," Emman added.


    Erin red at him for his remark, then rolled her eyes when their eyes met.


    "Do you guys know or encountered anyone mute these past few days?" Anna asked then started to ponder whether she actually did.


    Erin had no recollection of meeting someone like that and Emman just repeatedly uttered: "A hot woman who is mute... a mute woman that''s hot... Hmm..." Every utterance bing softer and silenced.


    In the end, his repeated utterance of the sentence reminded him of what he saw earlier this morning.


    "Ha! I knew I saw someone like that earlier. My duty of gawking at a pretty woman every day finally came to use!"


    As he finished speaking, he realized that what he said should have been a secret kept hidden in the bottom of his heart. When he nced around, he saw Anna softly shaking her head while Erin had no reaction except for staring at him nkly.


    Anna said, "So where did you see this woman?"


    "A hot woman," Erin added.


    "Yes, right. So where did you see this hot woman earlier?"


    Emman chuckled dryly sensing the weird atmosphere then answered. "This morning, almost every day, shees here as if looking for someone. The people knew her as a mute and she works as a volunteer together with the police."


    "You know a lot for someone who only saw her. I think you even have her vital statistics and her biography, is that right?" Erin said with a curious expression on her face.


    Emman thought she was ying with him, so he replied jokingly. "Yeah, I also have a list of her favorite food to eat and ces that she likes to hang out."


    His answer garnered a deep frown from the two women in front of him. He dry-coughed then continued, "I think we can go to the police to ask where she is. That should solve our problems."


    "I don''t think it will," Erin muttered softly.


    Anna ignored the troublesome scene in front of her and immediately turned around. "Okay, let''s head to the municipal hall."


    A few minutester, they found the officer in charge of today''s nning.


    "Oh, you mean Jennie? She''s a big help to us. She''s a nimble one I tell you. Though she doesn''t socialize with us old men in uniforms, just her presence around makes every operation safe. I don''t know how she does it, but she will instantly know when and where trouble wille. Why are you looking for her? Is there a problem? Did something happen"


    "No, nothing like that Officer. It''s just that... her dog is looking for her." Anna said.


    "Oh, you can leave the dog here if you want. Usually, theye back at the evening with new people in tow. We''ll keep an eye on it."


    Anna turned and was about to hand the dog over when she noticed its reluctant gaze staring at her. Even Takaw was staring at her as if asking her not to hand his friend over.


    Anna felt bewildered when she subtly felt what they were feeling. She sighed and turned back to the police officer. "Is it okay if we ask where is today''s clearing operation?"


    "Not really..." the police officer replied with disappointment. "We''re expanding eastward then would clear the rest of the south-east. After the strenuous Public Market campaign, everything became smooth sailing for the clearing operations. We have two operations today, the east and south-east campaigns. I think Jennie joined the campaign on the east, and unlike other days she appeared to be excited. The area must be her home."


    "Thank you, Officer." Anna bowed and was copied by Takaw and the mutated dog.


    "So, we''re going east?" Erin said.


    "We already started this, so let''s see the end of it," Emman replied.


    Takaw excitedly jumped around, then suddenly started running. The mutated dog followed after him, excitedly wagging its tail around. If the people nearby weren''t curiously looking ahead of time, they would have been struck by the swinging tail.


    The three apologized to the people that almost got hit as they chased the two dogs.


    Anna shouted, "Takaw! Wrong direction! We''re going east! East!"


    Takaw heard Anna''s voice and halted. He looked back and saw that she was pointing in the other direction.


    The mutated dog also stopped and turned around. It noticed Takaw''s dejected appearance and was about to nudge him when Takaw suddenly jumped around filled with vigor trying to swat a flying bug with his paw.


    Anna and her guards summoned their bicycles and started pedaling under the zing sun.

 Chapter 206: Auu

    Chapter 206: Auu


    After the town defense, Jennie joined the volunteer workforce of the police.


    Jennie didn''t pester Jun anymore after what happened at the BES Elementary School. The curious and surprised look when Jun gazed upon her was still imprinted on the back of her mind.


    She realized that the man who looked exactly like her brother wasn''t him, nor could she force him to act like him. It became enough that she could see him from afar without causing him any troubles.


    The next day after the defense, she checked new missions on the Notice Board while waiting whether she could chance upon Jun, but she never saw him.


    Followed by the next day, and still couldn''t have a chance encounter with him.


    On the third day, she finally got an answer to her doubts. She asked a female ck Haven staff and learned that Jun left the town the day after the defense. It wasn''t that she was unlucky to not meet him, but there was actually no chance for that to happen.


    That day, she dejectedly joined the Public Market Campaign and wreaked havoc all over the ce.


    Jennie already had an excellent hearing ability before the apocalypse and it was magnified when everything finally started.


    When she leveled up, she received Silence and Adrenaline, together with enhanced hearing as her pre-generated skills. Silence is a single target skill that prevents the target from making any kind of vocal noise.


    The skill wouldst for ten seconds and has a one-minute cooldown. She mainly uses the skill to prevent D1''s and H1''s from creating too much noise that could possibly attract nearby hordes if they weren''t already attracted.


    Adrenaline was a self-buff skill that increases Attack Damage and Speed by 10% while reducing defense by 20% for 30-seconds. It has a cooldown timer of two minutes.


    During the time of transition from BES Elementary School to ck Haven Compound, Jennie did her best to improve herself overall. With her previous knowledge of self-defense, she quickly rose to fame by using daggers in closebat.


    She was nicknamed ''The Blur'' because, by the time the enemy attack reach her, she already dashed closer for the kill.


    She could weave in and out with ease and doesn''t even have to watch where she was retreating to, as if she knows where all the enemies were. It was simply because she could hear every growl, footstep, and wind movement get amplified around her.


    It could not be called echolocation since she really doesn''t see what''s around her, but most likely a downgraded version of it.


    She wanted Jun to see her improvement and unknowingly waiting to receive praise. Then, Jun left and she realized that they weren''t really that close since he didn''t even bid farewell to her.


    Except for their brief encounter inside his room and the thrilling journey she had with him, there was nothing else. She was one-sidedly attaching herself to Jun because she felt lonely for being alive.


    After the Public Market Campaign, she went to the docks to rx and feel thete afternoon breeze of theke. She stood at the edge as she stared nkly on the skyscrapers on the other side of theke.


    ''I am always alone.''


    ''Even before this... I was always alone.''


    While contemting about life, she heard amotion from somewhere together with pitiful growling noises.


    She quickly ran towards the parking lot and saw two well-equipped men whittle down a mutated dog''s stamina as they ran around in circles.


    The dog''s left leg was severely injured and it was raised in the air, disabling it from getting a bnced movement. With its only right front limb used to chase after the two, the mutated dog slowly tired out.


    The two were Hunters who specialize in hunting wild mutated animals. The upation was created due to the farm mission on the Notice Board that asks Agents to catch livestock and submit them to ck Haven.


    People liked the mission and the adventurous ones epted it.


    At first, she thought that the mutated dog attacked the two but realized that she was entirely wrong after hearing the two''s conversation.


    "It looks like we''ll be rich for a week after this. Every part is profitable and we would surely be kings! Hahaha." said the man equipped with a short sword and a buckler shield.


    "It''s thanks to your ability to ambush it, Brother Tim. If we couldn''t injure its leg, I think we wouldn''t be talking right now." said the other person as he withdrew throwing the bone spear while quickly evading the mutated dog''s charge.


    Usually, Jennie would be level-headed and wouldn''t intervene, but today, after her discoveries and realizations, she became emotional


    She saw herself as the dog getting bullied and mistreated just because others could. She remembered the hard times when she needed help but no one came.


    The mutated dog knocked over a car and hit its injured leg on its roof causing the cut to bleed profusely.


    As the mutated dog wailed pitifully, the two Hunters rejoiced. The mutated dog was extremely tired and it''s finally their time to harvest their spoils.


    Just as they stood before the mutated dog, Jennie nimbly appeared behind them and quickly cast Silence on the bone spear-man. Afterward, she quickly wielded a dagger and hostaged the shield-bearer, pointing the bone dagger to the man''s throat.


    The silenced man became surprised and wanted to fight back but saw his friend on a tight spot. He tried speaking but no words came out of his mouth, so he just raised his hand to tell Jennie to calm down.


    "I''m sorry, but what are you doing right now? Do you know that we can report you to the police? Or... I shouldn''t have said that. You won''t kill us now because I threatened you, right?" said Tim as rxed his body. Although he knew that he could overpower the woman behind him, any unnecessary movement would only ce his life in further threat.


    Jennie ignored the man and red at the other person.


    "Please calm down! Ohh, I got my voice back. That was creepy, I don''t want to experience that again." the man said, then became serious. "Look, I don''t think we know each other, nor do we have grievances with each other. Can you please let my friend go before we talk?"


    Jennie felt that the man''s voice was rather convincing and almost let the man named Tim loose but when she heard thebored breathing of the mutated dog, she woke herself from the skill the man used on her, Suggest.


    She realized that the man used a skill on her and pushed the tip of the dagger with precision until the hostaged man''s throat bled a little.


    "You''re not helping man. Don''t try to bullsh*t at times like this." Tim gnashed his teeth as he red at his partner.


    "Okay, okay." the man apologized to Tim with raised hands. "Miss, we can split the loot. We can even split it fifty-fifty. Can you just let my friend go?"


    Even with his extremely fair loot distribution, the woman didn''t even seem to think about the offer. Instead, it only caused the fire in her eyes to burn more furiously.


    "No?" the man dejectedly asked, then his eyes widen when the realization struck him. He observed Jennie''s expression and noticed that it wasn''t of greed but pure anger.


    With a restrained chuckle, he managed to piece the puzzle and asked: "Are you the owner of the dog?"


    Jennie pondered for a few seconds before she decided to cover for the dog. Otherwise, she would be imed as a busybody and troublemaker.


    "Auu!(Yes!)" she uttered and followed with a nod of her head.


    Though Tim and his partner were surprised to hear the weird voicee from her, they ignored it and negotiated further.


    Tim said, "Alright, alright. We apologize for hurting your dog. We understand that we''re in the wrong and wouldpensate you. Can we treat this matter as a misunderstanding?"


    He then signaled for his partner to move away from the injured dog, which the man reluctantly followed. "See? We''re also good guys. We just thought it was a wild dog, so we tried hunting it. But now we realized our mistakes. Could you please let me go now? I promise that we would leave immediately. Please?"


    Jennie could feel the sincerity from the man''s words. She circled around and now the mutated dog was on her back. Tim''s partner cautiously moved as they swapped positions.


    A few secondster, Jennie pushed Tim towards his friend.


    Tim turned around after getting freed wanting to renege on his promise, but when he saw Jennie''s actual face and stance, he shivered.


    His dimensional storage appeared as he slowly moved back towards his friend. A small ointment bottle appeared on his hand which he ced down on the floor.


    "This is a new item produced by ck Haven. It''s an ointment that can slow down the bleeding. I''m sorry, this is the best that I could do."


    Tim''s friend became shocked after he offered one of their life-saving items aspensation. It cost them a thousand credit for that single bottle and they''re just giving it away for free!


    Before he could say anything about his displeasure, Tim quickly pulled him and they went off.


    When the two were almost ten meters away, they started to quarrel in hushed voices. Unfortunately for them, Jennie just has to focus intensely and was able to eavesdrop on them.


    "Why are we running away!? She''s alone with only a dagger in hand! This isn''t right! We should go back and im what''s ours."


    "Jori, do you seriously not recognize her? Although we didn''t get that deep into the horde, you must have at least seen her once, right?"


    "What do you mean?" Jori turned around and stared curiously at Jennie. Then a crazed woman who fought the horde alone earlier ovepped with the innocent woman in the distance. "Holy sh*t. Let''s get out of here."


    As they walked away, the two discussed animatedly and Jori even muttered something that creeped out Jennie,


    "Well, don''t you think she''s quite hot?"


    When the conversation turned weird, Jennie immediately stopped eavesdropping.


    She stared at the small transparent bottle on the ground. There was a greenish-red paste substance inside the bottle.


    Since it was already here, she might as well use it. She picked up the bottle and approached the injured mutated dog.


    The mutated dog didn''t even bother to move as she sat nearby it''s bleeding left leg. It only nced sideways with its lifeless brown eyes as if it has already given up.

 Chapter 207: Helpless Reality

    Chapter 207: Helpless Reality


    Jennie didn''t dally and quickly opened the small bottle. A piece of paper was written on the cap with words that say: Bleeding Salve.


    She scooped the greenish-red paste with two fingers and applied it on top of the cut wound.


    The mutated dog trembled every time she applied the ointment, but it never pulled away nor created noise. It silently endured the stinging sensationing from the treated wound.


    Jennie bit her lips furiously when she realized that the vertical cut was at least one foot long and a few inches deep. It was also around the foreleg portion which prevented the mutated dog from cing the injured leg down.


    If it chose to use its injured leg, the pressure from its body weight would hasten the opening of the wound and would cause much severe bleeding.


    She etched those two vulgar faces (for her)in her memory and swore that she would teach them a lesson.


    When her gaze met with the mutated dog, she smiled and masked her anger with a cheerful expression.


    "Auu? Auu, aau?...(Are you okay? It must hurt a lot, right?)"


    "Ah! Au! Auu...(Hey! Don''t close your eyes! I think its bad omen to close your eyes when you''re like this.)"


    "Auu? Au...(Are you also by yourself? Like me...)"


    Jennie continued chatting nonsensical topics with the mutated dog. Sometimes she even wondered whether it could even understand her, especially with the weird soundsing out from her mouth.


    At one point while she was talking endlessly, the mutated dog closed its eyes which caused her to panic. Thankfully, its chest was still heaving up and down indicating that it''s still breathing.


    Jennie wiped the tear that almost fell from the corner of her eyes and sighed deeply.


    ''Was it tired? Do I need to hunt carriers for it? Should I feed it something?''


    Jennie had a lot of questions in mind. It was the first time she cared for something else for the past few days. Normally, she extracted herself frommunicating with others because she hates it when she gets treated as handicapped. It only worsens her mood, so he decided not to talk to anyone. Besides, people who talk to her always have hidden motives. Sometimes appearance could lead to trouble if you don''t have the capability to secure yourself.


    Jennie scanned his dimensional storage and found a few Giant Rats she hid on a corner to be used forter trades. Despite the Giant Rat outbreak from the mines, meat was still a scarce food resource.


    An excellent grade Giant Rat with little to no damage could sell for at least two to three thousand credit points. Its hide would be processed to leather while its meat would be sold or served as rat steak or kebab. The bones could be sold at ck Haven Marketce and would be ground, turning it into bonemeal or additional strengthening material for the forging process which adds +1 Endurance.


    Jennie knew nothing about that since she focused on adjusting her movements with her speed. Most of her stats were poured solely into Speed which resulted in her bing The Blur. She only needed to get velocity, then m the dagger into the carrier''s neck or eye to kill them.


    When she meets D1''s she would only distract it until others killed it via bow or crossbow. When she encounters an H1? She runs away while making sure that she lures it in the process. This is why the police treat Jennie as an important asset in operations.


    She picked an already cooked Giant Rat and ced it in front of the mutated dog. With the new smell wafting its way through its senses, the mutated dog weakly opened its eyes. It saw the cooked Giant Rat in front of it, but instead of gobbling it immediately, it turned and faced Jennie in confusion.


    "Aa, auu. (It''s yours, you can eat it.)"


    The mutated dog sniffed the Giant Rat as if trying to see whether something was wrong with it. After several seconds, due to hunger of feeling weak, it gobbled the Giant Rat in one bite.


    It chewed a few times, creating a series of bones crackling which raised Jennie''s curiosity. ''Would it spat the bones out?''


    The answer was... it didn''t!


    After chewing repeatedly, the rat bones were crushed into smaller sizes and the mutated dog gulped down the whole Giant Rat without spitting anything out.


    ''Ohh!'' Jennie eximed after getting her curiosity satisfied.


    As she continued to watch the mutated dog, she was surprised to see that vitality returned into its gaze. It even tried getting up but was prevented by Jennie due to its injured leg.


    Then she was further shocked when she witnessed the mutated dog test whether it couldy its left leg t on the ground. It was able to do so but only for a second before having to raise it again. Unlike carriers who can convert energy into immediate healing, the mutated dog only received slow regeneration after it converted its energy.


    Jennie pped enthusiastically after seeing the drastic change in the mutated dog''s condition. She sent a thumbs up and congratted the dog even though she only produced weird sounds.


    The mutated dog turned towards her while limping. Then it started to growl while emitting a murderous aura.


    Jennie tilted her head while frowning. She felt something weird. It was like she could feel the seething anger of the mutated dog as it cursed the humans it once served. She could even feel the disappointment and hatred burning inside its heart.


    Jennie didn''t shy away from those feelings but embraced it.


    The sadness, the fear, the anger.


    At one point in getting drowned with the intense feelings that washed upon her, she started crying.


    Because both of them were alike.


    Both looking for their ce in this world filled with loneliness.


    Assumes that they found the right ce, then gets betrayed by their expectations.


    In the end, they could only me themselves for hoping in something unrealistic. With their ring ws, who would love them?


    She watched as the mutated dog''s mouth opened wide and inched closer in a sh. Her eyes naturally closed as she felt her whole body rxed.


    ''Please don''t be sad anymore.''


    Jennie wished for the dog''s happiness as tears continued to fall on the corners of her eyes. She waited endlessly but the dagger-like teeth she was waiting for didn''te.


    As streams continued to flow down on her cheeks, a disgusting, rotten smell engulfed her together with a rough gtinous sensation.


    When Jennie opened her eyes, she saw the mutated dog sitting upright in front of her. Its murderous aura from earlier was gone and turned into goofiness. It stuck its tongue out while breathing repeatedly.


    Jennie stared at the mutated dog and smiled warmly, she then said, "Auu. An aau aa? (It stinks. What have you been eating?)"


    Jennie exited the public bathroom in one of thefort rooms. She took a shower then changed to a set of new casual clothes.


    In the distance, the mutated dog could be seen swimming on the water. When it saw Jenniee out from thefort room, it hurriedly went ashore.


    Its wet paws climbed the edge of the docks and pulled its body to the other side. Its body rained with water as it sessfully climbed to the other side. Its ck fur hung low due to getting drenched, so it shook its body and sent forth sprinkled of water around.


    The mutated dog barked and ran towards Jennie. She noticed that the ointment she applied earlier was washed away, so she decided to apply another one on the injury.


    The two went towards a nearby car where Jennie couldfortably sit down. After applying the ointment, she took her scarf to cover the wound, so the ointment would not fall. Much to her disappointment, the scarf was a bit too small for the dog''s leg. She then chose to use her earlier shirt to cover the wound and tied it simply.


    They roamed around the market and it was a calm stroll since the clearing group already swept this area.After spending some time together, Jennie bade farewell when night finally came. She still had to report back or the people back at the station would probably get worried.


    It never crossed her mind to take the dog back home since she doesn''t know whether it has an owner. Although she really wanted to, she could only wait for a few days to make sure that it''s on its own.


    For the next few days, she kept her eyes and ears wide open for anyone who might have lost their tamed dog. When she was sure that it was really an ownerless dog, she happily thought that she would keep the dog.


    She spent the night camping outside together with the mutated dog at the public market parking area. She made a campfire and the two watched the stars in the sky.


    With her body leaning on the soft body of the mutated dog, she narrated excitedly about her ns for tomorrow. If by tomorrow, she still doesn''t found someone looking for a lost dog, she would adopt and take it as her own.


    The mutated dog appeared nonchnt as it continued to chill while listening to the numerous sounds that could only be heard in the evening. On its eyes, there was a glint of excitement together with reluctance, pondering whether its expectations and hopes would be dashed once again.


    "Auu? Ao. (Are you sure you don''t have an owner? Can you talk? Do you even understand me? Haa...)"


    The mutated dog closed its eyes as if about to sleep. Jennie shrugged upon seeing that and talked with herself.


    ''Tomorrow... I''ll give you a name tomorrow.''


    The next day, the sun rose up and the sky has slightly turned blue.


    Jennie was sure that there was no one looking for their missing dog. Also, the clearing operation announced was divided into two since the remaining ces to be cleared were mostly subdivisions and a few barangays.


    Jennie became ecstatic when one of the areas to be cleared for today was near her home and since the clearing operation started quite early in the morning, she had no time to visit her soon to be pet dog.


    Present time.


    Jennie pushed the ck metal gate and entered the yard. A small garden with a small nipa hut at the center weed her. The massive tamarind tree next to it provided shade for everything nearby.


    There were three buildings inside the fenced area. The main house, a sari-sari store facing the road, and the garage.


    With once nce, she already knew that the ce was empty. The reality that she had been ignoring the whole time presented itself to her. Her father was a doctor and works in the capital city, Man. Her mother was a teacher who teaches high school students at a nearby public high school.


    She looked around and noticed that there were no cars in the garage. Without bothering to enter the house, she left with a shed of tear about to fall off in the corner of her eyes.


    On the distance, the clearing team met with a troublesome two-meter tall white-furred house cat.

 Chapter 208: Cat Vs. Dog

    Chapter 208: Cat Vs. Dog


    Anna''s group traveled on a straight line with her as the lead. Erin followed after her, then Takaw and the mutated dog. Emman pedaled at the back of the group and has bruises all over.


    Earlier, he tried riding the mutated dog for fun but the ck dog did not appreciate his gesture. It ran wildly causing Emman to fall off resulting in his current appearance. He was crying dry tears as he remembered how his face almost hit the ground, but thankfully he was able to use her hands to shield himself from the fall.


    He used the ck Haven Innate Energy Cirction technique and although he wasn''t an expert with the technique, he still felt the pain gradually go away with hiscking control.


    As they continued along the highway, a car with a massive modified bumper appeared on a distant barangay entrance. It passed by in a hurry but Erin managed to glimpse at the backseat and saw a bleeding man unconsciously leaning back on the seat while his friends continued to apply pressure on his chest.


    She didn''t see what kind of wound it was, but it must be caused by a Hunter to bleed that much. Only Hunter''s had sharp nails that acted as ws among the known threats.


    Just as they reached the entrance of the barangay, loud shouts could be heard from the road. A regr tricycle cautiously driving downhill with the same situation from before. Someone was injured inside with the shirt covered with blood.


    "I think we''re in the right ce," Erinmented as she stopped beside Anna.


    Takaw and the mutated dog arrived by their side, followed by Emman.


    He then said, "Are you sure? I''ve never heard of operations getting this dangerous."


    "Then, this would be one. Let''s not waste time, people could be dying."


    Anna pedaled uphill for a bit and decided to get off the bike after reaching the halfway mark because the climb was too strenuous. The barangay they entered has more emptynds than housings. Most of the time, there were trees and shrubs in between before the next house. It could be considered rural since houses were at least too far from each other to be called neighbors.


    Except for the few stragglers, their group didn''t encounter any carrier group that wasrger than three. After several minutes of pedaling and following the winding countryside road, they finally encountered another group walking by the side of the road.


    A man was carrying a woman on his arms as he ran on the open road. He was being chased by two R0 Carriers that each had a bone spear and short sword on their chests.


    Anna pedaled as fast as she could but she knew that she wouldn''t be able to arrive on time. She then shouted: "Takaw, stop them!" Then continued to pedal.


    Takaw excitedly ran forward followed by the mutated dog. He then stood a few meters away from the man carrying the seemingly wounded woman and started barking at them.


    The mutated dog turned to Takaw in confusion while Anna''s group felt helpless. Sometimes he acted as if he understands what they were talking about and there were times that he acts like this.


    The more experienced mutated dog, noticed the carriers chasing behind the man. It quickly lunged forward with ferocity as it tore and swung the carriers it bit, before spitting them on the side of the road.


    The group arrived next to the man and immediately noticed something wrong from the left arm of the woman. Everything below the elbow was gone and the bloodied white shirt that covered the missing arm dyed his chest in blood.


    Instead of thanking them, the man stared at them earnestly.


    With a shed of tear slowly flowing down his cheeks, together with the hoarse voice that came out from his mouth which told the experience he just went through, he begged. "Please save her. I beg you, please save her."


    Anna quickly got off her bike and took a small bottle from her dimensional storage. She quickly ced a pinkish-red ball of medicinal nt mixture. It does not stick together properly and is already showing signs of deformation after being taken out of the bottle.


    "Open her mouth, quickly!" Anna called for Erin to help her. After Erin ran to her side in panic, Anna ced the ball-shaped mixture inside the woman''s mouth.


    "Okay, here''s some news for you. That''s a Health Recovery item. It can regenerate health a chunk of health if she swallows it but it gives slow regeneration if not. As a side effect, any wounds she had would feel itchy during and after she wakes up. You best watch her hands, so she can''t scratch her wound."


    "About the bleeding, I have something here but I''m not an expert, so I can''t guarantee her safety. The best choice you have is to immediately take her back to town and have a doctor look after her."


    "Thank you so much!" the man said in muffled cries. He stood up and was about to continue running when several cars started honking from a distance.


    Numerous vehicles appeared on the corner one by one. The lead driver peaked on the window and shouted for them to move aside.


    Emman moved to the middle of the road to take their bikes which caused the parade of cars to stop.


    "What are you doing!? Move!"


    Emman shook his head in disappointment on how people still had attitudes like this. He took the three bikes and moved it to the side.


    When a jeepney from the caravan passed by Anna, he saw that it was police officers riding a jeepney. She quickly asked for their help to bring the man back with them. Seeing the state of the woman, the police agreed.


    "Thank you." Anna bowed and waved her hand.


    "I suggest you leave, she can''t probably hang on much longer and would probably run away any second now. That cat''s really angry for some reason, be careful."


    Just as the police officer finished speaking, a loud hiss could be heard behind them. The police officer hurriedly ordered for the retreat and the volunteer caravan continued moving on. Several jeepneys passed by before the final one zoomed past them in a hurry. The survivors riding thest jeepney sighed in relief but still had frightened expressions on their faces even though they were already moving away.


    It was at this moment when the sound of rubble resounded followed by the screech of metal scraping a rock.


    A figure appeared and it continued to retreat as if escaping from something. The mutated dog''s gaze firmly watched every movement she made.


    Jennie dodged ahead of time every time the two-meter house cat swiped its ws. As she continuously danced with the mutated cat, she noticed that there were still people who haven''t left. She also noticed that foolish looking dog staring at her.


    Herpse in attention was quickly taken advantage of the house cat. It dived towards her and swiped its ws at the same time.


    Without looking, Jennie determined where the attacks wereing from and adjusted her position. Then she felt the ground vibrate as the cat tried sweeping the ground with both limbs. The sharp ws retracted itself and it sped its paws as if it tried to catch Jennie like she was a mouse.


    Jennie jumped in the air to dodge the sweep. She was staring at the house cat ring at her from below when she suddenly felt a bad premonition. She quickly looked up and saw its tail flying to her like a whip.


    Boom! Thud!


    Jennie was whipped by the tail and was sent flying towards a tree by the side. She bounced off and fell on the wild grassy ground that cushioned her fall.


    Everything happened in an instant.


    By the time the mutated dog ran to help Jennie, she was already sent flying by the cat''s tail. The good news is, the tail was slightly fluffy which did not cause much damage. Most of the damage she received was from the shock she received when her body hit a tree when she was sent flying.


    The mutated dog roared furiously as it lunged towards the two-meter house cat. It did not even consider the difference in size as it tackled the cat into the ground.


    The two mutated animals rolled several times and in that process, the dog tried biting the cat''s neck several times but only managed to lodged a bite on its body.


    The two became bloodied as they rolled for a few more times and the cat managed to send a few cuts to the mutated dog''s ribs and legs while it wed randomly.


    Due to its old instincts of getting bullied by a dog, it wanted to run away as soon as possible, then it noticed that the bite on its body weakening.


    And it was true. Although the mutated dog got the first attack in, in reality, it was still one rank below the house cat.


    When it received a few cuts from the mutated cat, its blood leaked and muscles got torn. It tried to finish the fight as soon as possible, but the mutated cat sacrificed a bit of flesh to get out of its hold.


    With some flesh missing on the back, the mutated cat started to bleed a little but not enough to cause death. It lowered its body into a prowl. Every step it took would leave w marks on the road.


    The mutated dog weakly raised its damaged left leg as it red at the mutated cat. In its eyes, there was a clear will to protect its savior even at the cost of its life.

 Chapter 209: Picking a Kitten Up

    Chapter 209: Picking a Kitten Up


    The house cat pounced forward and shed with its sharp ws. The mutated dog barely dodged the attack by lunging forward. The cat wed in midair while the dog tried tond a bite.


    Both animalsnded their feet with no damage dealt with one another. They merely traded positions which became advantageous for the mutated dog.


    An arrow flew in a straight line followed by a bolt. Both attacks hit the body of the mutated cat which caused it to screech in pain. It turned around while hissing and baring its fangs at them.


    When it saw that Anna and Emman were aiming once more, it quickly jumped back andnded on top of a nearby wall.


    Jennie finally regained the strength to stand up at this time. Feeling a bit groggy after being sent away, the first she did was to assess the situation.


    The Mutated Cat was getting pelted by arrows as it used the walls as covers. The mutated dog took this chance to jump over the wall and tackle the mutated cat into it.


    The difference in traits showed at this moment. A dog typically overpowers a cat while cats were much agile than a dog unless cornered.


    With the cat pounded into the wall, it shrieked in pain before hissing at the dog with widened eyes, fangs bared sharpened like daggers.


    As the mutated dog continued to grind the cat against the wall, the cat started wing at its head.


    This time, the difference in rank came in. Even after getting ambushed and tackled into the wall, the mutated cat was still hanging on, unlike the mutated dog who was starting to slow down due to pain and injuries.


    To escape from being pinned to the wall, the mutated cat''s sharp ws dug into the dog''s head. Pieces of flesh were scraped off which caused the mutated dog to tremble and take a step back.


    The mutated cat saw the opportunity to kill the dog and lunged at it.


    Unbeknownst to the two mutated animals, a small bullmastiff has been watching the entire scene since earlier.


    When Takaw sensed that his fellow dog was losing, he quickly lunged forward to intercept the mutated house cat.


    While in mid-air, Takaw''s body crackled with red-white lightning. The saggy brown skin slowly tightened as his body grew in size. The forelimbs, the hindlimbs, the chinsall the sagging skin were gone. and all of a sudden, Takaw''s body became tone and muscr. He became a two-meter tall Bullmastiff.


    He swatted the lunging mutated cat to the ground with his paws and stepped on it. Although the cat was pinned to the ground this time, it did not want to give up and tried to w at its attacker.


    Roar! Until Takaw let out a ferocious snarl filled with murderous intent which sent the mutated cat''s hair to rise in horror. It stared at the beast stepping on it and meowed as if asking for mercy.


    Takaw bit the mutated cat''s back of the neck and carried it towards Anna''s group. It was quite a sight to see a massive dog carrying a massive cat while its legs were getting dragged on the ground.


    Emman and Erin had their jaws almost dropped to the floor. Never for once have they ever thought that the yful dog they had with them could transform into something like this. The two turned to Anna wanting toin about not telling them ahead of time of Takaw''s ability when they noticed that she was also having the same expression as them: shocked.


    Jennie only frowned in surprise but had no other reaction. Then she noticed the mutated dog who was limping towards her, so she quickly ran towards it while crying.


    "Auu! au..."


    The mutated dog sat down after the two of them met again and this time its eyes were filled with warmth as it stared at its only friend.


    Jennie noticed the wounds on top of its head due to blood flowing down from it. She stretched her arm towards it but the sitting dog was too tall for her to reach its head.


    The mutated dog remembered that its past owner liked to pat its head, and so he lowered itself slightly to Jennie''s level. It saw the tears flowing down on her cheeks and simply licked her tears off. At the same time, Jennie tried wiping the blood flowing down from its nose but it only reddened her hand unable to erase the trail.


    Takaw ced the mutated cat in front of Anna before shrinking back to his regr size. The white-furred cat looked around searching for the dog that caught it but it was nowhere to be found.


    Before it even tried to get up and escape, Takaw barked once and caught its attention. The scheming cat that wanted to run away immediately became submissive after hearing the soft bark. It felt threatened as it watched the small dog in front of it.


    To prevent the white-furred house cat from doing anything troublesome, Takaw jumped and sat on its body.


    "So what are we going to do about this?" Erin asked.


    "If we bring it back to town, it would be ughtered in a second due to the number of casualties it caused. We can''t leave it alone since it could kill more people." Emman turned to Anna and said, "Should we kill it?"


    Jennie heard their discussions through her enhanced hearing and turned to them in shock. The whole time she fought the mutated cat, she only felt that it was angry about something, and fought her yfully. It was her inattentiveness that caused her to get hit.


    Feeling down and worried, she stepped forward wanting to object but someone beat her up to it.


    "Wait! Please wait!"


    A high-pitched voice of a woman from the other end of the street wearing a ck cloak resounded. The three-meter mutated dog she rode dashed towards the group while dangling its tongue to the side, swaying with the wind. Several secondster, it halted a few meters away from them and sat down.


    The cloaked woman was hanging on dear life as she hugged the neck of the mutated dog. The mutated dog ran towards them from the end of the street while dangling its tongue to the side swaying with the wind. It had ck fur but unlike other mutated dogs, there were no empty patches of fur to be found.


    When the dog stopped a few meters away from the group, the cloaked woman slowly unsped her trembling frail arms, then slid down the mutated dog''s smooth back andnded wobbly on the road.


    "Hello everyone. I''m... I''m someone not important. I''ve been trailing this mutated cat for so long. Can you give it to me? I''m willing to pay for it." said the cloaked woman straightforwardly.


    "Whoa, she seems loaded. Do you think we can trade the cat for a lot?" Emman remarked as he whispered to Erin.


    "Do we even need money?" Erin replied with displeasure. After getting recruited to ck Haven Elite Scavenger Squad, they have enough allowance and gear to not worry about whether they have money to spend on their leisure.


    Emman who didn''t understand what she was hinting on, pouted and looked ahead.


    Anna saw that the cloaked woman was looking at the three of them as if looking for the deal maker, so she spoke and decided for the group.


    "We''re about to kill the cat, so we don''t need your money. At the same time, we can''t give you the cat unless you show us that you''re capable of handling it. It''s quite ferocious at the moment and it injured a lot of people who were clearing this barangay."


    "I apologize." the woman bowed immediately when she heard that a lot of people were injured, then continued, "I think it''s partially my fault that people got injured. You see, I was trying to tame this cat and it got away."


    "You can tame mutated animals? How did you do it? Have you submitted this to the ck Haven Information Desk?" Emman excitedly asked. Just thinking of owning such a huge dog made him gleeful and forget about the recent troubles.


    "Uhh..."


    When Erin noticed that the other person was notfortable in answering the question, she nudged Emman with her elbow and apologized. "I''m sorry, this guy''s a bit bad in the head."


    "Hey, that''s rude. I''m not an idiot!"


    "Ssh! Just shut up! You''re embarrassing!"


    The woman was ufortable at first but smiled in the end after seeing how close they were to each other. She waved her hand and said, "It''s fine, its nothing too important and it''s quite crude so not a lot of people use this. Besides, I already submitted this to the Information Desk."


    "I found two ways to tame a wild animal. Since animals that ranked up have be more intelligent, its either you convince them or beat them up."

 Chapter 210: Pet Rune

    Chapter 210: Pet Rune


    "At first, I tried to convince it to work together, so we have a much higher survival rate and, obviously, I failed. Then since I can''t convince it, I only had to make it submit to mewhich answers your question whether I have the ability to control it."


    After the cloaked woman''s speech, Emman took a step forward wanting to argue that she doesn''t look strong but as if noticing his intention, the woman''s arm glided towards the right indicating that her mutated dog was strong.


    Emman stepped back and kept his mouth shut. Then as if feeling familiar with the cloaked woman, he asked her a simple question. "Have we met before?"


    It was a simple question and totally innocent, but for the four girls nearbyit was an already outdated way of trying to flirt with someone.


    The cloaked woman felt weirded out and looked to his friends. Her eyes then glinted when she saw Anna holding a bow. After pondering for a few seconds, she answered, "I think so? Weren''t you guys also defending against the horde of carriersst time? I think I saw her from a distance."


    "Me?" Anna pointed a finger at herself a bit surprised.


    "Yes, you. You''re the only one who had excellent marksmanship among these people, so it''s hard to get it wrong."


    "Oh, thank you. I''m just lucky that I joined the archery club prior to this. If it weren''t for that I would still be nothing."


    "What? No, you''re not. You''d still be a beauty. Besides, even if you didn''t learn archery, you would still live like a princess since your brother is the town leader, right? It must be good ying around everydaydoing nothing, worrying about nothing. Haa... what a life that is."


    Anna frowned upon hearing what the cloaked woman said. Erin and Emman felt worried whether the woman was good or not and stood in front of Anna.


    Noticing the weird expressions of the group in front of her, the cloaked woman pursed her lips then chuckled. "Oopsie. I didn''t mean to sound weird but I guess things came out weird for you guys. It''s alreadymon knowledge that you are Jun''s little sister. He even shouted that himself, right?"


    "You don''t have to worry, I have no intention of hurting you guysespecially when it''s your brother who gave me food when in desperate times. It''s even a wonder why he doesn''t recognize me! Maybe it''s my appearance at that time... Well, now that safety''s out of the way, let''s continue with the trade, shall we? I''m just here for the cat and nothing else."


    Emman turned around and looked at Anna then stated his views. "I think she''s trouble. Should we really give the cat to her?"


    "I think so too..." Erin turned around and added.


    For the first time, she agreed with what Emman was saying.


    "We have no choice. Her dogs three-meter tall and I don''t know what skill Takaw used but its probably on cooldown. We don''t even know whether he can use it again since we don''t know if he can activate it or it just happens on its own. Even then, we have no assurance that we would win if webined everyone''s strength. Look at the fur, look at its muscleswe can''t fight that mutated dog with just us."


    The two immediately understood the situation that they were in. They even understood why the other person chatted nonstop even though she didn''t have to. Chills went up to their spine when the thought that if it weren''t for Anna being here, the girl would have probably done what she wanted with them.


    Even though the other person was speaking casually with them, she was just being polite to Anna or something.


    Emman and Erin faced forward while stepping to the side. Anna took a step forward and said, "What will you use the cat for when you already have the dog?"


    "Isn''t that obvious? For protection! I''m quite frail you know because of that sh*tty stat distribution. Well, I don''t regret it, just disappointed that there''s not much power essence around. Even if some stupid agent group sold some it would be gone in a second. I wish we had an online auction house, so things could be bought even when people are away. Should I do it? But it''s troublesome... I''m sorry for talking too much, it bes a habit to talk to myself, so I don''t think about the past. You don''t want the money, right? Okay then, thank you~ bye~"


    The cloaked woman snapped her fingers and her pet dog bit the nape of the cat. The mutated cat didn''t even struggle since it knew that it couldn''t do anything. In the first ce, it was able to escape due to the urban advantage it got earlier in the day. Now that there were no houses and buildings to jump around, it was obvious that it wouldn''t be able to escape.


    The cloaked woman started walking forward and even tapped Emman''s shoulder as she passed by. She winked yfully then sent him a seductive smile before saying, "Catch youter~" with a flirty wave of her hand.


    Emman shivered in fright. He tried to recall where he felt that yfully seductive temperament but couldn''t remember it.


    Next to Anna, Erin could only stare at the receding back of the woman. Deep inside, she was promising herself that she would be stronger.


    The cloaked woman took one of the parked bicycles and rode on it as if it was hers in the first ce. Her pet dog started jogging while carrying the mutated cat.


    While the two continued thinking about the cloaked woman, Anna was staring at Jennie who stood frozen in ce and her dog bowing in front of her.


    Earlier, Jennie tried circting her energy on the dog''s head wound. After the Public Market Campaign, the new Chief of Police wanted to recruit her, so they gave her as much privilege as possible.


    She learned of several techniques that were extremely beneficial but weren''t known to the public. One of those was energy cirction. She knew that it could boost the health cycle but didn''t know the exact effect. She wasn''t adept with energy cirction but was able to grasp the basics of it. At most, she could create a small ball of energy the size of a nut.


    Even though that was the case, she tried her best to circte her energy so she could at least ease the pain it was feeling.


    Jennie''s hand was ced above the injured head as she focused herself to produce that ball of energy. As she started to perspire, the ball of energy finally formed and sank into the body of the mutated dog.


    At first, there was a bit of resistance then it disappearedpletely as if the dog let the energying from her enter inside its body.


    This was also the time when the cloaked woman left and Anna happened to get the first-row seat on what was about to transpire.


    ''Please don''t die. I''ll take better care of you from now on. I''m sorry for not visiting you first earlier. It''s just... It''s...''


    A tear fell from Jennie''s eyes as she remembered the empty house she called home.


    ''You''re my only family now.'' she said while trying to wipe her falling tears. The whole time, she had her eyes closed, so she could focus on the transfer of energy.


    Unbeknownst to her, the mutated dog was staring at her as if it understood everything she was thinking. Its eyes slowly closed filled with longing.


    The next second, a small orb of light flew out from the mutated dog''s head and breezed towards Jennie''s forehead like a meteor falling to earth.


    After entering Jennie''s forehead, it flew somewhere inside her brain. It orbited a white mystic rune before the orb of light transformed into a ck pawprint rune.


    Jennie opened her eyes after feeling a slight shock that followed when the pawprint rune formed. She clearly saw the rune but it was from the point of view of the white mystic rune while having no knowledge of the said rune.


    ''What just happened?'' Jennie thought to herself while checking her body.


    "Bark!"


    "Auu. (Hello.)"


    ''Wait a second... did you just say hi to me?'' Jennie quickly turned her head while speaking to her dog in confusion. She stared doubtfully and became shocked when the dog barked and nodded its head.


    Jennie''s eyes widen.


    "Auu! (I can understand you!)"


    "Bark!"


    ''You want a name? Wait, what are you?'' Jennie lowered her head and searched... ''Oh, a boy. Then, Jun... Junnie?''


    The mutated dog was staring at her in hesitation as if it didn''t like the sound of the name, so she added an exnation.


    ''Don''t you think it sounds like my name? Don''t you like it?''


    Jennie puffed her cheeks trying to appear cute and it seeded. The mutated dog, Junnie, excitedly wagged its tail after obtaining its new name.


    Jennie became ted that Junnie liked his name. She hugged his head and caressed his cheeks softly.


    The cloaked woman wanted to enjoy the breeze of air when going downhill until she noticed that there was no brake attached to the bicycle. She tried slowing down by using her feet but the high heels she wore immediately got destroyed after its tip scraped the rough road.


    With no other choice, she decided to go straight towards a tree and jumped forward while carrying the bike with her frail arms that contained immeasurable strength.


    Her pointless high heelsnded squarely on the tree with her body nting sidewards. She jumped off andnded safely on the ground before putting the bicycle down. The bicycle handle got bent inwards due to the force exerted on holding it.


    Her mutated pet dog zoomed past her with its tongue flying on the side of its mouth.


    She looked behind them before gazing at her dog in frustration.


    "Where''s the cat?! Did you let go again? Oh gosh, please! If there''s a way to understand each other, tell me! I would do anything just so we can talk!"


    She stomped forward in a huff and took her ck seductive half-face mask. The fair-skinned beautiful girl who always try to hook up with weird boys at night presented herself.


    When her pet dog slowed down and turned back, the frustration in her face disappeared and turned into a charming smile.


    She used one of her abilities, Haggle, and made a deal with the mutated dog.


    "Can we please track that cat again? You can have every kill we have for today. Please?"


    The mutated dog tilted its head as if thinking before barking out loud. It then started running uphill while wagging its tail. It sniffed continuously trying to locate the cat''s scent trail.


    The woman sighed then grabbed the bike''s handle and forcefully returned it to its original shape. She rode on and started pedaling uphill as she followed behind her pet dog.

 Chapter 211: Compatibility

    Chapter 211: Compatibility


    Anna''s groupincluding Jennie and Junniecould only walk back since they don''t have enough mode of transport. Emman had a bit of knowledge and could drive a motorcycle or a car, but most of the vehicles on the side of the road were already stripped of their parts, mostly having a chassis and its broken windows. The functioning ones? Who knows where they are? Most probably at the newly established car shop in town being renovated and modified into something ''much suited'' with current times.


    Due tomotion earlier and the loud convoy of jeepneys, trucks, and motorcycle, the carriers from the next barangay came out and hungrily rushed at them. They were just about to follow the highway back home but now they have to deal with this trouble. Although there were Evolved Rank 1''s on the horde, the group didn''t even flinch at the enemies line up.


    It was at this moment the ck emblem with a sword finally showed the capability of someone who owns it.


    Emman and Erin were ''inexperienced'' people a week ago. Besides from the ''had to kill'' encounters, they mostly chose to avoid any fight or conflict with the carriers. Now, after a week of training underElite Scavenger Head Adrian, they grasped the ins and outs of fighting.


    When outnumbered, peel the enemy numbers as quick and as fast as possible.


    Emman''s every shotnded squarely on the target''s head, lodging the crossbow bolt on the head, preventing reanimation. He used to be cowardly and unskilled but it was only due to inexperience andck of confidence. Now that he had both of them, he easily sent the target''s head backward before falling down the ground.


    On the other hand, Erin had confidence but does not have the proper experience and equipment. Now that she has both, she stood firmly ahead of the two. She even stopped Jennie from rushing ahead since charging now contradicts the concept of reducing the enemy numbers as much as possible.


    Together with Emman, Anna was casually sending arrows in an arc casually while her eyes and hands had a certain green hue on them.


    With Enhanced Sight that she learned from ck Haven and one of her own skills, Rapid Fire, activated, she sent arrows flying every second without taking much time to aim.


    Emman didn''t try topete with her and fired at his own rate since he knew that she was trained in archery and had her basics down even before the apocalypse started.


    The pack of H1''s crawling on all fours finally appeared after the regr vanguardyer was peeled off by numerous arrows. The D1''s that were also cowering in the back decided to charge after a D1 with brightly lit yellow eyes ordered them to move. Since it was at the brink of ranking up, it only ordered for them to injure those energy sources.


    The three D1''s charged forward following the trail of the mixed horde of R0 Carriers and H1''s.


    At this time, Erin dashed forward and was quickly followed by Jennie and Junnie. Though Erin took off first, Junnie quickly caught up and overtook her since he hadrger strides than her. To her disappointment, Jennie also passed by and followed after Junnie with agile steps. Junnie wildly charges ahead and the three of them sessfully divided the horde as they pierced through the center like a shepherd dog splitting the flock.


    There were moments that R0 Carriers or H1''s would sneakily lunge at them but would be struck by some bolt or arrow the next second. Erin did not look back or thanked her rescuer since she entrusted her safety to them when she decided to charge forward.


    Jennie and Junnie on the other hand did not need any kind of backup or cover fire as they moved on top speed and struck the enemies dead in one shot. Jennie nimbly fought in between enemies causing the enemies to hurt each other while Junnie brutally swatted and would sometimes eat the carrier whole when he received too much damage.


    He had the skill which most dogs would probably have at Rank 1, Devour. It has the highest probability toe out since to rank up from a regr dog to R1, they had to absorb energy from any kind of source.


    And where could they find it? Of course from the dead bodies lying around. Unless they were extremely lucky, in Takaw''s caseextremely picky, they would be able to eat a body that hasn''t been infected or contaminated by mutation.


    Every time Junnie used Devour to recover some Health, Jennie felt worried on the increasing Corruption rate on Junnie''s Pet Tab in the Menu. The tab only had the name, health, level, and corruption rate of the pet, there were no damage and defense indicators nor stat value disyed.


    Emman and Anna watched the battlefield with hawk eyes. Any carrier that tried to ambush Erin would be instantly shot down. Both of them just kept an eye on Jennie and Junnie, since they were too fast and too big and did not require much assistance as they rampaged on the battlefield.


    Jennie would attract the Evolved Carriers while Junnie wouldnd the finishing blow. When a D1 tried to tackle Junnie from his blind spot, he was able to dodge thanks to their telepathy being used to send warnings. They also took advantage of that when attacking when Junnie''s tail would suddenly coil around Jennie''s waist and save her from being cornered.


    "Why isn''t she in BHESS? Her skills would easily make her pass the promotion exam..." Emman uttered as he watched Jennie dancing amidst the horde.


    Anna replied indifferently. "People have their own ces they call home, she already has the Police Force as a family. Maybe, I''m not sure. You can try to convince her but I don''t see any reason for her to side with us."


    As the two chatted casually while they watched the enemy numbers rapidly dwindle down, Anna noticed the leader of the horde charge toward the trio. She took a deep breath and raised the bow while pulling the string as much as its durability could take.


    The D1 with illuminated eyes that even left trails as its head swaying from left to right as it ferociously ran forward became target practice for Anna.


    With a ''swish'', the arrow flew in a straight path, passed above several heads, before lodging itself on the D1''s right eye. Not a secondter, a small hole was created on the D1''s back portion of the head which gushed out blood and brain matters. It couldn''t even roar as it fell lifelessly to the ground.


    Anna had used her second skill, Bullseye. It does not have auto-aim but simply marks a target area. When she sessfully hits the bullseye, a piercing effect together with a damage multiplier would be added to her attack.


    The night time at the municipal za has be livelier with the help of modified sr streetmps. There were no barrels of drum lit with fire to be seen around and the surrounding street had brightly lit streetmps on 10-meter intervals of the highway.


    Anna''s group came back feeling weirded out after the mute and her mutated dog started exchanging strange sounds with each other. Both of them appeared happy and with their performance from earlier, the group didn''t request for them to shut up.


    Emman was also having a good time on the way back due to his work of dubbing the two''s strange conversation.


    Jennie heard him even though she was in the back due to her sensitive hearing which made her sad and caused her to be quiet. Even though she was not talking, it does not mean she wasn''t thinking. Her thoughts got transmitted to Junnie and he eyed Emman furiously.


    When Emman felt a chilling from behind, he turned around and saw the murderous look the mutated dog was giving him. He was waiting for the chance to ask her to try-out for the ck Haven Scavenger Group but he lost the courage after seeing Junnie''s re.


    Thankfully, they were already near the za which forced the group to go on their separate ways, saving Emman from the trouble and the pressure.


    Each of them bade their farewells and looks forward to working with each other.


    "Oh, I''m tired. Shall we find something to eat? I want some... wait, are those lizard kebobs?" Emman scratched his eyes doubtfully before eximing in glee as he ran towards the kebob hawker.


    Erin sighed and followed helplessly. Anna walked behind her when Takaw suddenly barked loudly. She followed his gaze and saw a hotdog hawker fanning the zing charcoal under the grill.


    "Do you want one?"


    "Bark! Bark!"


    "Okay, I''ll buy you one."


    Anna approached the hawker and did not see the disappointment in Takaw''s face. The majestic bullmastiff could only try another time.


    While everyone was busy on their night and social life, Evo walked at the empty corridor of the back office and entered one of the rooms. He closed the door and chairs being slid back as people hurriedly stood up sounded from the room.


    A simple crafted sign hangs on the door.


    [Research and Development/nning Room]

 Chapter 212: Promotions

    Chapter 212: Promotions


    "Good evening everyone. Please take your seats."


    Evo motioned for the people to sit down and they followed. There were three people taking each side of the table. He took the nearest empty side and sat down before cing a stack of paper on the table.


    "Take one pile and let''s proceed with the meeting." After taking their copies of today''s topics Evo began the meeting. "There''s a lot of progress in town development this past week which affected the people''s way of living. Subdivisions were getting reimed and new survivors areing in. The town security has becking and the area we could monitor could cover the whole town unless I can dedicate my whole time in modifying and installing numerous security cameras around the town. Everyone''s safety would be our priority for theing week."


    "On your printouts, you can see the feedback and suggestions the survivors sent us. They like the quality of service that we''re providing them and has several ingenious ideas that they want us to implement. I like the idea of Private Banking, Private Storage, and an Auction House. I could easily deal and create a Private Banking program but it would take some time to gather cost-efficient code for it. I could attach the function to the future ck Haven credit cards and they could ess their Private Bank ounts ''online'' in the server. Also, it is expected that the current servers wouldn''t be able to handle everything, so the Elite Scavenger Squad must be deployed to search for as many servers they could find."


    "On the other hand, the Private Storage and Auction House need a lot of manpower and resources which we currently don''t have. We don''t really need to implement this but if we could, this would make the people rely further on ck Haven."


    Evo repeatedly tapped his index finger on the table as he exined to the three people inside the room. Bernard, Gina, and Dyna nervously gulped when his gaze turned to them.


    He continued, "I know that you''re already busy with your day jobs but I can''t think of any outsider that I can trust with the tasks I gave you. Please understand."


    Bernard on the left raised his hand and Evo urged him to speak.


    "Don''t beat yourself up, we can just assign our jobs to some reliable member and that should be enough, Besides, were already old and a break like this should be fine." he scratched the back of his head shyly, then continued with his report.


    Bernard was ''promoted'' and became the Human Resources Manager. He was assigned the task to search and recruit promising individuals that have unique skill sets ording to the submitted documents by various factions and individuals.


    "After a week of recruitment, I was able to recruit seven survivors that have strange skill sets which prevented them from catching attention from the other factions. Most of the shining gems were already picked up and we have to unearth the potentials of the leftovers if we want to recruit more."


    "It''s fine. There are no useless skills, just unimaginative individuals. Get as many as you can and recruit them as ck Haven Agents."


    Afterward, he turned to Gina who was looking down seemingly unconfident with the report she had in mind.


    "Is there a problem?" Evo asked.


    "Oh, nothing... My report, yeah. I''m sorry."


    "Please don''t be nervous, everyone''s the same here. We work for Jun and we could be considered as one big family. We''re already familiar with each other and to be honest, it''s also a bit awkward for me. Maybe we could act more casually to relieve some pressure?" Evo suggested after noticing that everyone was acting like he was the almighty boss and any erroneous deed would be faced with a consequence.


    Dyna who was sitting on the right side of Evo suddenlyughed. "Can we do that? It''s a bit weird talking like this after everything we''ve been through."


    "Please do so," Evo replied with a smile.


    Gina left her staff duties and became the Inventory Supervisor of ck Haven. Her duties were to make sure they have enough supplies on-hand matched with supplies being on demand.


    At the same time, Dyna became the Principal of the newly founded ck Haven Academy due to her past tutoring experience. She debated that it was a long time ago and her skills weren''t even that good but Evo highlighted the word ''trust'' which forced her to ept the role.


    In any case, being a teacher now does not mean you would be teaching all the knowledge pre-apocalypse to your students. There was no curriculum and it was being built by Dyna alone.


    The meeting continued after Gina and Dyna''s inexperienced reporting. Evo did not scold them and it was a process to be learned. The training period was also a given benefit for any managers even in the past, and he didn''t expect much at the first meeting.


    The topic changed to the current news in town. The first batch of curious survivors from Angono arrived earlier, around noon, in the town.


    They mostly stayed on the outskirts of the town and observed whether the people in Binangonan were friendlies. It was only until they can''t take the searing rays of the sun that they decided to enter and crossed the bridge to meet with the police patrols.


    The encounter was thrilling and filled with anxiousness but after the two groups warmed up to each other and Jun''s name was mentioned, everything became a breeze.


    The police border patrols assigned on the outskirts of the 1km radius were all volunteer workers from the police force. They were survivors who came from other parts of Binangonan and werete to the ''faction divide'' preventing them from bing of any importance if they ever joined. At least in the police force, everyone has an equal chance due to the implementation of contribution points that its members could receive for actively doing tasks. It also does not have any conflict with trading with ck Haven.


    Why not join ck Haven instead? These were people who do not know what the history of the town was. They don''t revere ck Haven as much as the earlier people. At most they think that ck Haven was powerful and rising in the ranks would be harder. Furthermore, there were strange rumors that the leader was an egotistical maniac who does as he pleases. He even had a rumor that he enves his subordinates and works them to death.


    Bernard was the one who met with these people, and he reported his findings to Evo. A report which made Evo''s head hurt since if it was true that Angono has be their subordinate town, they have to send a management team to go over and check things out. He also had to produce more credit point cards and have it circted.


    Then he finally has the chance to worry over certain things: How are their food levels? Can they produce or just consume food? What resources they have? Those are one of the few reasons why he hurriedly called for this meeting, he wanted to ask guidance from the more experienced people.


    This incident further highlighted the importance of people as resources. Evo urged Bernard to also search for people with talent in management or simr skills.


    The meeting ended with no clear answer in hand, just more problems, and workload.


    As Evo made his way back to his office, a voice spoke beside him.


    "Too busy? You didn''t even notice me."


    Evo turned and found Adrian looking at him.


    "Oh, you''re back? How''s the search?"


    "It''s bad. Rank 2 Evolved Carriers were literally everywhere. To be honest, if it weren''t for the few people we encountered we would have assumed the ce as a ghost town."


    "How''s the trip? What happened to Edward? Is he back?"


    Evo worriedly looked around in search for the promising young man. Adrian made a team to escort Edward on his quest to journey home. Morong, Edward''s hometown was a semi-urban farming town, and it has a mixed modern-countryside feeling to it.


    "We reached his house. The good news? It was empty. Really empty. There''s a high chance that they left alive or..." Adrian sighed and did not continue what he was about to say. "He''s currently patrolling the streets, probably to get some air."


    Evo nodded softly, before taking something out from his dimensional storage. "Take this, its a smartwatch. If you see She and Edward, tell them toe and find me. I only have limited stock, so I can''t provide for everyone."


    Edward patrolled the streets and arrived back at the municipal za. He inhaled the intoxicating alcohol fragrance in the air and passed by a drunken old man. He noticed that it was Felipe, ck Haven''s vegetable farmer.


    A scantily dressed woman wrapped herself on his bulky body.


    Edward became surprised and temporarily forgot what he was thinking. He smiled sheepishly and made his presence small as he continued to walk away. Then he heard something weird, something he wished he did not hear.


    "Did you really not drink the blue pill?" asked thedy.


    "Of course not! Why would I need that when I have a watering-can." Old Felipeughed as he repeatedly smacked his thigh. He then took a swig of the beer and eximed refreshingly.

 Chapter 213: New and Old People

    Chapter 213: New and Old People


    "How''s your day sweetie?"


    An aged gray-haired woman asked the little girlying down on the mat while excitedly ying on her new tablet. It was a looted gadget and had some games installed in it. The ck Haven Scavengers literally loots everything that they could find resulting in treasures like these.


    The children were the most affected by the rapid change in the environment. ying games could decrease their boredom and makes them easier to handle during the day if you threaten to take back their games.


    "It''s fine?" Chloe answered with hesitation. "Teacher Dyna taught me a lot about fighting and other stuff today. We tried practicing with the sword but we can''t practice a lot because it''s too exhausting. Granny Teresa, I''m more interested in the farm. Can I not attend ss anymore?"


    Grandma Teresa smiled warmly as she gazed affectionately at Chloe.


    "You can''t do that. Everything that Teacher Dyna teaches you would be useful when you grow up. You need to learn them, alright? Granny can''t always watch over you. Can you promise me that?"


    "Okay," Chloe answered perfunctorily then rolled around the mat as she yed with her game. She tapped on zombies and prevented them from crossing the finish line.


    A loud bark sounded out which made the little girl delighted. Chloe quickly put the tablet down and got up. She ran towards Takawing in from the door and yed tag with him.


    "Dad, can you stop wasting our money on alcohol? If you continue to act like this, I''ll stop giving you credits!" Angelica cried out loud as she ced her dad down on the sofa.


    After declining the invitation to stay at Binangonan, the father and daughter duo quickly followed their original n: they had to go back to their town as fast as possible.


    Along the way, they noticed a small convoy with two vehicles headed in the same direction as them. Dominic felt that the group was up to no good when he saw a beautiful woman appear unwilling to be seated on that car. She was gazing outside the window forlornly as if thinking what future she would have.


    The first thing that entered his mind was an abduction, which was further solidified after seeing the rough-looking bodyguards on the rear car following the main vehicle.


    Although things were like that, it was a good opportunity to travel safely.


    Dominic didn''t let the opportunity pass by and sneakily tailed the group. They changed cars numerous times and he tried his best to look for functioning cars until he can''t follow them anymore.


    Unlike him who needs keys to start a car, those people only needed to hotwire a car and they''re good to go.


    Left with no other choice, the father and daughter duo spent their days cautiously moving forward only to be stopped by an unforgettable scene.


    They watched from a distance as a man got ughtered by a bandit group. Everything was taken from him even his body. Those people even cursed about getting unlucky for not gaining stats.


    For the first time, they became frightened about the possibilities that they could encounter along their journey back home.


    That''s why they came back to Binangonan and lived their life ''normally''.


    Angelica applied to be an Agent since she couldn''t find any work by herself and she doesn''t know anyone in the town. She had no hopes of finding a regr job since she was a botanist and had no battle oriented skills. Giant Rats were the only thing that she fought with and that mob only takes one hit to kill, as long as you hit and run, you would be safe.


    Unexpectedly, she got epted and even especially recruited to work for ck Haven exclusively. Her sry was 1000 Credits a day and more than enough for their daily needs.


    Her father had sumbed to alcohol due to depression. He grieved not knowing whether his wife was dead or alive. Being weak and old even made it worse, which made him frequent the bars and spend his time drunk.


    Angelica pped her father''s cheeks, trying to wake him up. "Dad, can you move to your room? You''re heavy..."


    She stared at her father''s downcast appearance and could only sigh as she went to the kitchen to search for towels. She came back after some time and wiped her father''s face with a wet towel.


    "Don''t worry Dad, I''ll concoct something that can ease the pain from your rheumatism. Then, you can work like before. Well, not really work but at least move aroundfortably."


    After cleaning and wiping her father''s face, she ced a nket over his body and went back outside to procure more nts from the vegetable farmer.


    Dominic who had his eyes closed opened his eyes. The drunk and forlorn gaze he had was nowhere to be seen.


    Jun swung his Warhammer and cleaved the head of a blonde female carrier from its neck. It was not sliced but forcefully severed due to the speed and power of the swing. The head fell to the ground as blood spurted out from the neck. A few secondster, the headless body slowly fell to the side with a thud.


    It''s already dark and the street lights at every intersection provided illumination on the area.


    Jun surveyed his surroundings before storing the Warhammer on his dimensional storage. He''s currently on the street where his mother was supposed to deliver the finished products. Behind him was a trail of headless bodies sprawled on the ground.


    Jun spent most of the daytime traveling around to reach this street but except for carriers, there was no one to be found. He met a few strangers but they were wary of him and did not approach him. Even when he informed them that he was only looking for someone, no one warmly weed him.


    Furthermore, when they learned that he was looking for someone and mentioned his mother''s name, he got treated more coldly and some even tried attacking him. He easily overpowered those people and tried to interrogate them but none spoke as if they were ready to die.


    Jun checked the address written on the gate and confirmed that he arrived at the right ce. The gate had a smaller door for people and the main gate was for the cars.


    He made a quick scan of the surrounding area using his IDSearch, the unique skill that allows him to see names above people''s heads. Sometimes, he felt that the skill was a blessing, and on other times, a curse.


    Upon detecting no one in the immediate surrounding, he jumped and grabbed the top portion of the gate and forcefully vaulted himself over. Hended noiselessly but the gate rattled creating a loud sound that reverberated on this quiet night.


    He examined the area.


    The pathway leads to a parking garage with an outdoor garden. The building had two floors and the windows were so small that people could not use them in case of fire, which meant those windows were only for allowing sunlight and air toe in. With his IDSearch, he estimated that he could search the whole ce within two minutes.


    Jun cautiously walked forward and followed the pathway. He entered through the front door by destroying the knob. The first thing that Jun noticed upon entering the house was its cleanliness. And dust.


    The dust has umted all over the ce, which is bad news for Jun since that means no one is living here. Jun entered the lobby and entered the spacious room with nothing else to be found except for all kinds of fabrics and essential materials like threads, etc. In the nearby room, there were dozens of sewing machines neatly organized with proper spacing.


    It seems like he was really in the right ce.


    Jun quickly toured the ce in minutes and did not find any trace of people taking this ce as their own. The second floor was a whole floor of finished goods waiting to be shipped out. There were school uniforms, casuals, trendy t-shirts, and various jeans and shorts. The number of goods here clearly shows how big thepany his mother was working with.


    After taking a stroll, Jun searched the kitchen and found canned foods on the cabs. He looted every edible food he found and left the ce afterward. There were no clues as to whether her mother arrived here or not, and he once again lost track of where to start looking for another lead.


    When he came out, he noticed that the gate was not actually locked. He smiled at his foolishness for not even checking whether it was locked or not.


    He stepped out of the gate still having the foolish smile on his face when several red dots appeared all over his body. Some of them were even targeting his left and right as they hovered around him like fireflies.


    Jun looked around and saw fully equipped soldiers walking out of their hiding spots slowly.


    A man slowly stood out from the group as he lowered his gun and started walking towards him.


    Jun could only see the eyes of the probable leader of the group.


    The man lowered the mask covering his mouth and revealed himself to Jun.


    "Please raise your hands to the side and don''t do anything we''ll both regret."


    A wicked smile appeared on Jun''s face as he raised his arms sidewards. His posture did not give the feeling of surrender and instead felt like he was weing the presence of the person that appeared in front of him.


    Jun chuckled softly before he said: "Long time no see, Carl. I''ll be the one beating you up this time."

 Chapter 214: Punks, Not Dead

    Chapter 214: Punks, Not Dead


    A luxurious ck SUV drove out from a vi followed by a caravan of military vehicles. The soldiers guarding the perimetertched on the trucks and hopped inside to take a seat. This cycle repeated as the ck SUV led them out of the subdivision.


    On the subdivision''s exit, numerous military trucks were parked in the middle of the road and used as a blockade to slow down carriers. When themander saw the ck SUV, he signaled his men to pack up and leave out of here.


    With their addition, the ck SUV became the center of the caravan protected in front and the rear.


    An old bald man checked the time from his old wristwatch and grew displeased by something. He leaned back to rest his head on the seat as he emptied his mind.


    Marianne who was seated beside the old man red without blinking even once. In the end, Marianne couldn''t take it anymore and started the conversation.


    "Uncle, where did you send Carl?" asked Marianne as she shifted to a position where her movements became morefortable with the dress she was wearing.


    The old man didn''t turn to her nor opened his eyes. Marianne continued to pester the bald old man but couldn''t get him to answer back.


    The convoy stopped at an intersection on the national road and waited for something or someone.


    Jun lowered his body and dashed in zigzagging lines. The Minute Stones that he sneakily took out from his dimensional storage were thrown on casually on both left and right sides. He doesn''t really expect to kill them with these and just wanted to gain some time to deal with Carl.


    Due to his immediate action, he quickly reached the five-meter range to lunge and strike at Carl when a sudden barrage of gunfire echoed.


    The soldiers were already briefed about the target and Jun was described as a dangerous and hot-headed one. They already assumed that the target wouldn''t listen to them as they fired preemptively.


    This was Carl''s makeshift elite team from the start of the apocalypse and there short time together didn''t hinder their cooperation.


    Unfortunately, although they knew that Jun wouldn''t listen to them there was nothing that they could do to apprehend him.


    The Minute Stones that bounced a few times after rolling on the ground instantly grew in size blocking the gunshots from behind Carl. Jun knew that the safest ce would be in front of Carl since no one would shoot him from the back. If he was able to stick like glue in front of Carl and sessfully blocks both sides, then he would win without a doubt.


    He took out his Warhammer and swung wildly at Carl.


    "Stop! Hey idiot! I''m not here to fight! Can you stop for a moment!"


    Carl continued dodging and every time the Warhammer barely missed him, his fatigues would slightly get torn.


    Carl kept his hand raised and didn''t take out any weapon. Though Jun was still doubtful, Carl being able to remain calm even with the risk of his life made him hesitate and think things thoroughly.


    Carl noticed his hesitation and called for a ceasefire on both sides.


    Jun saw his actions but took this chance to close the distance and grabbed Carl''s fatigues.


    Carl has been dividing his stat distribution with power and speed. Even with the additional stat essence he absorbed, he was still way behind by Jun in terms of additional stats.


    Jun pulled Carl towards him and grabbed his neck. He took notice of the soldiers positioning and used Carl as a hostage. He then whispered grudgingly, "We had an agreement. I won''t do anything to get close to her and you''ll let her live her life the way she wanted. Is that man''s word still worth something?" The grip he had on Carl''s neck tightened then he calmly asked. "Where is Marianne?"


    The team sneakily moved to the sides to get a better angle on Jun. Carl tapped Jun''s hand after feeling some difficulty in breathing.


    Jun loosened up which allowed Carl to voice out his thoughts.


    "They''re waiting for us. We need to go." Carl said.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Can you let go of me? Thank you." Carl massaged his neck and hurriedly called back his subordinates. "Stand down. I''ve got this."


    Carl continued. "Mr. Celestine''s promise remains. I did not take Marianne away from you, she came willingly and that''s her own decision. If you have any doubts, you can talk to her when you meet her. But for now, we need to go. They''re waiting for us and this town isn''t as safe as it looks like."


    Jun eyed Carl whether he was speaking the truth. He nced around and surveyed his surroundings contemting the choices that he could make.


    "It''s a bit hard to digest what you''re telling me. Actually, you haven''t really told me what''s going on. Why are you guys in a rush? Besides, don''t you think the wee you gave me is a bit... "


    "Believe me. If we wanted you dead, you would have died the moment you opened that gate''s door. Every member of this team is an elite marksman with matching skills. They could easily lock target on you and if you run out of tricks to y, you would die immediately." Carl exined then said sarcastically, "Can we go now? We can talk on the road. The priority is to get moving. Let''s go!"


    "Sure, but let''s settle something first."


    Jun hurriedly walked towards Carl and sent a punch straightforwardly. Carl tried to dodge by moving his head back but Jun''s base speed was higher and together with his other bonuses, the punch instantly reached his face.


    The knuckles hit and created a slight thud. It didn''t deal much damage since everyone''s body was enhanced but it mostly dealt mental frustration on Carl''s part.


    "That''s for sneakily taking my girl. Now, lead the way."


    Carl licked his lips feeling pissed. He red at Jun''s back but remainedposed as he ordered his subordinates to calm down and lower their guns.


    The guns were mainly to frighten Jun and so he could stand on the higher ground. The only mistake he had was hisck of information on Jun''s current power level and state of mind.


    The information he had on Jun was seven days old and many things could happen in seven days. The people that Jun had to kill, the ones he had to ignore since he was in a hurry, the decisions he had to make along the way. Those things created a different Jun from a week ago.


    Carl could also notice those changes. He knew Jun as someone who acts jolly and sarcastic like a little immature kid. Making stupid remarks that no one likes or cares about. Now? The man still felt like that little immature kid, that one kid that still makes sarcastic remarks but has now incredible power to do what he wants.


    Jun kneeled down beside the headless bodies that he killed earlier, and looted their bodies.


    When Carl saw him looting those R0 Carriers, he became annoyed. "Can you not do that? We can''t be wasting time here." he tapped Jun''s shoulders and called for him to stand up. He ordered his subordinates to pave the way towards their trucks


    When Jun ignored his call, Carl couldn''t help but ask: "What are you even doing?"


    Jun didn''t turn to look at him and simply replied while continuing looting the headless bodies. "I''m looking for my mother. I''m praying and hoping that she isn''t one of this."


    Jun moved to the next one after sessfully looting the carrier''s body. Just like usual, the information screen popped up when he ced his hand on the next woman''s body.


    [Narlyn Yanit - Dead]


    - Died from a stab wound from behind.


    - Killed after Health reached zero from getting its head cleaved off its neck.


    - Not enough energy to reanimate.


    - Essence not found. The body cannot recharge from the energy source.


    Jun stared at the name, then moved to the next one. He spent two minutes since he declined Carl''s offer to help because they weren''t friends.


    After looting thest dead woman, Jun stood up and inhaled deeply.


    "Haa." Jun took three deep breaths before turning to Carl. "Let''s go."


    The two jogged and followed the soldiers who already paved the way. They traveled into a secluded parking lot and made a beeline for the military trucks parked at the center.


    There were numerous abandoned cars parked at the parking lot. The military trucks were parked on the other side since they couldn''t push through the clogged entrance filled with cars that crashed on each other.


    As they traveled further, Jun noticed that his IDSearch detected several unknown individuals hidden inside those abandoned cars.


    It''s normal for people to hide or sleep inside a car, but what confuses him was the repeated blinking of their name tags.


    A question mark would appear then disappear, then reappear once more. Are they on the brink of death? Should they hurry and help them? Can they even be saved?


    Jun was thinking a lot of questions when the name tags suddenly stayed on. He quickly called for a halt and the soldier''s turned to him in confusion.


    Carl walked towards him and was about to say something when he got shushed by Jun.


    "Do you have other cars?" asked Jun.


    "No, why?" Carl replied instantaneously. He then noticed the wary expression on Jun''s face, so he decided to observe the parking lot.


    Except for a few open doors that weren''t open earlier when they passed through those cars, there was nothing else of significant changes.


    Carl turned back to Jun only to hear him say: "Get ready!" and armed himself with a shield that could only be seen in medieval movies and the Warhammer he used earlier.


    Even the soldiers were confused at Jun''s sudden exmation, so they searched the surroundings for enemies.


    At the same time, Carl turned his gaze back to the parking lot and saw peopleing out of numerous cars. These people appeared crazed as ck patterns coiled around their arms and faces. Their eyes were a deep shade of ck and their bodies clothed properly with shirts but looking dirty and untidy at the same time.


    There were at least a dozen of these people jumping out of their hiding spots. Right, people. Its because they stared at their group and acted like they aren''t scared even though they were only holding clubs and knives.


    Other probable terms for these people in the past were goths and punks.


    One of them who wore a torn ck leather jacket stared at Carl with derision. He spat on the ground and wiped his nose before grinning weirdly.

 Chapter 215: Immortals

    Chapter 215: Immortals


    Jun got confused with the nametags above those people''s heads. Their nametags, even though currently unknown and only filled with question marks, would repeatedly go on and off like it was blinking.


    "There''s thirteen of them. If we count those that remained hidden in some cars there''s around fifteen to twenty." Jun stated as he counted the nametags that he could see. Due to range limitations, he couldn''t give an exact number to everyone.


    "These are the threats that I''ve been trying to tell you about. I''ve only read it from reports but they sure look half-dead with all those weird ck patterns all over their bodies." Carl said.


    "You know them?" Jun asked as he watched the people made their move and slowly approached closer to them.


    "It would take a long time to give you a clear background of who these people are and we don''t have enough time for that, so I''ll just give you the short version. A small group of military forces happened to be passing by and took back control of the town from the undead. After the town was partially safe, one guy chose to destroy it all. We don''t know why but he had some personal beef with the military. He contradicts everything the military wanted and even rallied same-minded people who wanted ''change'' to happen. Taytay was then plunged into a civil war and innocent survivors were ''convinced'' to join a cult. From our investigations, the man was called The Whisperer and his partner was called The Queen. Both have unidentified skill sets, and the numbers of those half-deadckeys they control were increasing. That''s also the reason why we''re leaving the town in a hurry."


    "You won''t be able to leave this ce." said one man with a piercing on his lips and nose. He raised the baseball bat he was holding and pointed it on Jun. "Unless you give us that man, everyst one of you will die. You see, that man wronged numerous people on my turf and I had to give justice to them. My face would be scraped off if I don''t get to kill him. Literall"


    A loud gunshot rang over the area.


    "Matias died again."


    "Hahaha."


    Jun hurriedly switched to another target after firing his revolver. He ignored the weird chatter from those people and continued firing.


    He could save ammunition if he were to fight in closebat, but just like what Carl had said, they seem to not have enough time since people were waiting for them. Besides, he was too eager to see Marianne and he want to deal with this trouble as soon as possible.


    "To be honest, I don''t understand what he meant by what he said earlier. Nevertheless, I already started things up, so that you can''t think of handing me over. Is there any problem?" Jun spoke nonchntly as he asked Carl who was dumbfoundedly staring at him.


    As the two were talking, numerous yells and footsteps came from all around them. Jun became shocked once he learned that there were more reinforcements than he initially thought.


    Carl sighed then raised his hand to perform a hand gesture. Afterward, several gunshots resounded and every shot hit those deathly-looking goths.


    The fight was to their advantage due to the environment. Even though the tide of people charging from all directions was numerous, they still couldn''t do anything in the face of modern weaponry.


    The gunfire echoed endlessly until thest one slumped down after getting hit on the back of the head when the man tried to escape. The tranquility of the night was once again restored.


    Jun shrugged after watching the soldier''s performance. "Well, at least you''re not lying when you said that they''re elite marksman."


    Carl ignored him and headed towards the military trucks parked by the side of the road. "Let''s go."


    The team moved as one cautiously towards the trucks. The half-deads that tried to sneak away would get shot once found and those who remained in hiding were killed by Jun.


    Jun tried looting one and found out that they were already infected since the looting system appeared instead of absorbing. He quickly lost interest but still continued looting.


    When the countdown hit zero, instead of an essence shard, a bunch of random items littered the ground. There were several clothes, a bit of food, and various types of blunt and sharp weapons. Did the looting system malfunctioned? But can it even malfunction?


    "Hey, let''s go!" shouted Carl sitting by the passenger side of the truck.


    Jun stood up in confusion. He left the loot behind since it felt strange and if any of those item were cursed, he would be the one to cry.


    As he approached the truck, he nced towards the way they came from and became confused when he saw that there were no bodies to be found. if it weren''t for the trace of blood and the numerous items on the ground, he would have doubted whether they actually encountered those weird people.


    Jun leaped up to the back of the truck and sat together with the soldiers.


    One of the soldiers hit the side of the truck twice while shouting, "Let''s go!"


    As the truck disappeared around the corner, people started crawling out from under the cars.


    If Jun were to see this scene, he would be shocked to see that the man he just shot in the head was lively walking around.


    The group gathered up and the man with piercings noticed that a few people were missing. He walked around randomly and found the pile of items on the ground next to a car.


    He stared doubtfully at the ground for a long time until he noticed a knife with initials carved in its handle.


    "Isn''t that your brother''s knife? Where is he? Why did he leave his items here?"


    Without any warnings, the man with the piercings suddenly used the knife to stab that person in the head. "Don''t pull it off. Let him rest for a bit."


    The people around him nodded their heads and respectfully heeded his advice. One of them stepped forward and asked, "Brother Matias, I know what I would be saying is absurd and could be even considered against the doctrine, but aren''t we supposed to be immortals? As long as we have enough energy, we would revive. That''s why everyone willingly joined Sir Lloyd and the madam."


    Matias raised his hand to stop the man from talking. He looked down at the man he stabbed and pulled out the knife lodged on his head.


    The group of strange people encircled the dead man. If it were before the apocalypse, this could be misunderstood as vile people doing a ritual on a dead body even if there was not enough proof to be seen.


    Everyone stood idly and waited in expectation as they watched the stab wound slowly regenerate. The group nodded in understanding once they saw the wound fully heal. They also understood that the slow recovery was due to the low amount of energy the man had.


    Upon seeing the man open his eyes and stare at them, the group''s atmosphere becamex.


    Matias looked around and stated, "We are still immortals. I have some guesses on what happened to others and I would discuss it with the madam. Go back to your patrols and bring back more bodies. To bountiful hunting!"


    "To bountiful hunting!"


    "What do you think? Is it better to shoot them ahead of time or do we have to wait until they''re ready?"


    Jun chatted idly with the soldiers to pass time. He felt so excited upon thinking that he could finally meet Marianne. that he couldn''t stop himself from talking away.


    The soldiers answered perfunctorily so that Jun would stop talking to them. To their dismay, Jun wasn''t going to stop any time soon unless they arrive at their destination.


    "Then how do you judge when to shoot people? Only when they held weapons or threaten you? Those kind of thinking were from the old world. If you meet someone with a strange skill, you guys would die even before you realize what happened. Oh, by the way, do you guys know where are we going?"


    "We''re heading to the New Public Market, what do they call it there? Tiangge? Yeah, that ce. It was the nearest point of interest that has ess to both highways for easier caravan movement."


    "Ohh, is the ce looted? The ce offers good clothes and I don''t mind taking a bunch of them." Jun said.


    "The government took it. It''s being distributed to the survivors at Antipolo."


    "You keep saying that every time I ask you something that I''m interested in," replied Jun.


    "Well, its the only answer I can give you."


    As Jun was about to reply, the truck suddenly screeched and slowed down.


    Jun managed to grab something and prevented himself from flying forward.


    "Hey, what are you doing!?" Jun shouted as he stabilized his seating posture. He did not get the answer he wanted.


    Instead, Carl''s anxious voice traveled to his ears. "They''re gone."

 Chapter 216: General Basilio

    Chapter 216: General Basilio


    Jun leaped up from his seat and made his way behind Carl''s seat. After surveying the area, he found nothing noteworthy of his attention. Except for the trash on the street, there was nothing else on the street. There were no signs of movement around the area and if it weren''t for Carl mentioning that people were supposed to be here, he would have thought he was being tricked.


    "What do you mean they''re gone?" Jun asked in confusion. "Are we supposed to meet them here?"


    "They''re supposed to be waiting here. Something must have happened. Wait, let me radio them. This is CJ, we have the package. I''m radioing in for confirmation, are we supposed to meet at B Street, because we don''t see anyone here. Over."


    Carl looked out of the window and saw a shadow on the wall moved. Before he could say anything, the radio crackled and a trembling voice spoke.


    "CJ, get out of there right now! That ce is overrun with half-deads! We will be waiting on the open highway right after the SN Taytay. We can''t wait for long, hurry!"


    "What does he mean by that?" Jun asked perplexed.


    Before Carl could even answer, shadows moved from above followed by a shriek. Everyone looked up and saw a few strange survivors with tattoo patterns jump from the ledge of a building. Onended squarely at the isle of the military truck and destroyed his legs in the process. Blood sttered around causing Jun and the soldiers to wake up from their stupor.


    The man did not die immediately but still iled for several seconds until one of the soldiers shot the man''s head.


    "Go, drive!|" Jun tapped the passenger seat twice before standing up to assess the situation.


    The military truck had no cover allowing them to look around, which meant people outside could also see them.


    A sharpened pole flew in the air and struck the soldier''s leg who was dazed after shooting the man who jumped on the roof. The man howled in pain as he got forced to sit down.


    The truck''s engine revved up before flying away at high speed. The other soldiers returned fire to cover their retreat. Due to the truck''srge movements from maneuvering around the traffic, their aims were a bit off and mostly hit the shoulders and the arms.


    The tattooed people skillfully climbed down from the buildings they were on as if they were apes then continued to chase after the fleeing truck.


    "Watch out! There are people in the alleyways!" Carl suddenly cried out to warn everyone as he watched shadows moved around the walls.


    In the midst of the chaos, the driver suddenly eximed.


    "There are people ahead of us!"


    On the road ahead, a bunch of tattooed ruffians blockaded the nearest route that leads to the national highway. Two cars were at the center of the road, both facing outwards.


    The driver was nning to turn on the next corner when someone suddenly shouted from the back.


    "Drive through them!" Jun yelled what he thought was the right answer to the problem. "If we want to catch up to the main caravan, then we can''t afford a detour!"


    After saying what he wanted to say, Jun took an assault rifle from his dimensional storage and fired upon those tattooed people who were ferociously chasing the truck.


    Jun was using the rifle bullets that he usually saved since he wants to make sure that nothing would go wrong and they would not be followed.


    The truck shook wildly after ramming the trunks of the cars, which were the weak point of the blockade. The military truck went through but had its front lights crushed making it hard to see what''s ahead of them.


    Carl reacted swiftly and took a shlight from his dimensional storage to light up the way. After several streets, they entered the national highway.


    They were then weed by a horde of red-eyed carriers, which easily blocked the highway by their sheer numbers. There was little to no space to drive through them and they were walking in medium-sized swarms around ten R0 Carrier per group. If they were to count every head that turns to them, then it would easily reach a thousand give or take.


    The red-eyed carriers only stared nkly at the new arrivals as if they were uninterested with them.


    Jun swallowed the saliva that gathered inside his mouth then advised: "I think we need to look for a detour."


    "I agree with that." Carl subconsciously responded, then he noticed that the enemies started running towards them. "Turn the truck around! Get us out of here!"


    Before Carl even yelled his orders, the truck already reversed and spun professionally in the other direction.


    "Do you know another way that leads to SN Taytay?" Jun immediately sat behind the driver''s seat and demanded an answer. Although he isn''t a caveman who doesn''t know where is what, he also isn''t GMap who memorized every cities, towns, and street of a country.


    "...I don''t." the driver replied with fear. He knew that they shouldn''t be trapped in the town or everyone would die.


    Jun then turned to Carl, who dodged his gaze, so he turned to the remaining soldiers. They turned their heads away and did their best so they wouldn''t lock eyes with him.


    Noticing Jun''s displeased expression on the rearview mirror, Carl decided to give him an exnation.


    "We were sent here to extract people, not to tour around. We don''t know the area that well. I barely even remember that SN Taytay had huge open highways and had few stranded cars on its road. If you think you''re better than us, please go ahead and navigate."


    Jun''s chest heaved up and down erratically. He pounded his fist on his seat while cursing. "Fvck! Fvck!! Fvck!!!"


    A caravan was having a break in the middle of an open highway. There were only few abandoned cars to be seen around and the way forward was spacious.


    Marianne''s group almost got ambushed by strange people with tattoos. Thankfully, the perimeter guards were able to notice them before they got surrounded. The civilian vehicles that high profile individuals rode were escorted in both sides, and even in front and in the back.


    For some unknown reasons, the horde gave up after struggling to catch up under heavy fire from a machinegun.


    "They''re noting." the bald old man stated as he puffed smoke from his high-quality cigar. He weaved his hand on the smoke making sure to relish the rich aroma in the air.


    "Please wait! Let''s wait for a few minutes more." Marianne pleaded.


    The two would have continued to do a winding conversation since they have already waited for a long time under these troubled times.


    When suddenly, the door of another white luxurious car opened up and a man''s head peeked out. The man wore stylish clothes as if he did not need to worry about fighting the undead. Upon closer look, the man turned out to be Henry.


    After changing from the welfare clothing he once wore to the stylish one he had, a massive change to his appearance urred. He looked more high ss and someone who grew up with a golden spoon on his mouth.


    He then shouted with no care."Uncle Basilio, aren''t we going to leave? It''s so cold here! Also, I can see people watching us in that building. If we stay here any longer, we will get surrounded again."


    ''For once, that bastard uttered something useful.'' the old man thought.


    He coughed to attract Marianne''s attention then said, "I know you worry for him, but he''s already someone from your past. Once I''m done with him, you won''t ever have to worry about anyone looking for you again."


    "Wait, what?" Marianne became puzzled by what she heard. "What are you talking about? Didn''t you promise that you''ll only talk to him?"


    "I did. Let''s just say that men have a different way to talk. If you''ll be my nephew''s wife I have to make sure that there''s no trouble haunting us from your past. From your descriptions, he seems to be a strong man. I can''t wait to meet him. It''s also well-timed since Ick strong people right now. Come on, let''s enter the car."


    General Basilio did not wait for her answer and immediately turned around. He gave a signal on the soldiers waiting at the side to start moving.


    Marianne couldn''t say anything and was only able to look back at the distant empty highway before boarding the ck SUV nearby.


    Basilio wasn''t staying with her because he worries about Marianne. For him, it''s simply a matter of family reputation and saving one''s face. He can''t have her running away again.


    Numerous engines roared to life and the caravan started moving forward. They traveled the open highway under the dim illumination of sr lights.


    Henry drank from the alcohol bottle as he stared at the people on the building.


    The people at the building couldn''t see him but they were watching the caravan as it leaves their sight. These people didn''t have strange ck patterns on their bodies.

 Chapter 217: Alliances

    Chapter 217: Alliances


    The sharpened pole was skillfully removed from the soldier''s thigh with the help of the team''s medic. Then, he ced his hand on top of the wounded thigh as he activated his skill, Emergency Medical Care. The wound showed signs of vitality as the ruptured skin and flesh miraculously regenerated but at a slow pace. With the application of the skill, the pained expression of the soldier eased up.


    Although the pain was reduced, the bleeding did not stop. The medic cleaned the surrounding area of the wound cautiously since the truck was shaking randomly. Afterward, he took a bandage from his dimensional storage and nned to wrap the wound, but Jun stopped him.


    "Use this. It can help with the bleeding. I haven''t tried using it since I never got injured, but they told me that you can directly apply it on top of the wound. But they, don''t take my word for it. You can try to apply it on the swollen areas first."


    "Oh, you''re not grumpy anymore?" the medic replied jokingly.


    Jun smiled wryly. "There''s nothing we can do, so it''s better to move on." He then handed another bottle that can help with health regeneration.


    "Thank you."


    The wounded soldier sent a nod of appreciation to Jun before closing his eyes as he leaned back to get some rest.


    One of the soldiers watching them saw the dead body on the floor twitch. He stared at the dead body to make sure that he wasn''t hallucinating when the dead body suddenly started heaving.


    The soldier readied his assault rifle when a Warhammer suddenly struck the body''s shoulder. The ax-side of the Warhammer lodged itself all the way inside and the breaking of bones could be heard.


    The ''dead'' body suddenly screamed in pain as he squirmed around on the floor. The more he moved around trying to escape the more damage he received from the open wound.


    If the soldier was hesitating whether he was seeing things, Jun wasn''t. He could clearly see the nametag above the body and dead people doesn''t have them.


    Wait a minute... If dead people don''t have them, why did I see names in the middle of that horde!? Are they being eaten at the time? That''s impossible! If it was that, then the horde wouldn''t be calm!


    Jun decided to force answers out from the ''dead'' man, so he could understand what was happening. He looked down and saw that the man has stopped moving. He was dead once again.


    The man revived with a quarter of his full health and Jun''s damage alone almost instantly killed him. His struggle and loss of blood further hastened his death.


    ''This is good. Let''s see how long it takes for you to recover.''


    Jun took the Warhammer back since he did not want the man to identally die once again.


    "Since we don''t know the area well, I suggest we go south for a bit then go east. The horde was blocking the highway up north and there are strange people chasing us from the west. We could detour or find a new vehicleter on. As long as we go north, we''ll probably reach the destination, right?"


    Carl watched Jun from the rearview mirror and responded hesitatingly.


    "Let''s hope that works... for our sake."


    Carl was thinking of how to get out of the situation because they only have limited ammunition with them. He did not think that the enemy''s number was this great and only had the right amount of ammo a swift operation would take. They used quite a lot to get out of the nasty situation earlier. Now, they have to save and make sure that every shot counts.


    Sometimeter, the tattooed man woke up once again. Jun asked nicely for the information he wanted, like how can he revive and why is he attacking them for no reason.


    Unexpectedly, even with the meticulous care that Jun was giving the man, he remained tight-lipped. Jun noticed that the man doesn''t care for his life. It seemed like the man doesn''t care if he dies or he just had a strong belief that he would never die. If that was the case, Jun had to tell him a bedtime story.


    After hearing Jun''s bedtime story, the man''s ashen face further darkened in color. The confidence and bravery he once wore slowly disappeared and reced by fear.


    Instead of cooperating since his life was now in danger, the man shrieked loudly in high pitch before biting his tongue. Blood appeared from the corners of his mouth.


    This time, Jun has no clue as to what will happen and decided to lodge a bone dagger on the man''s head to keep him from resurrecting.


    The truck hurriedly drove out of the area, so they won''t encounter anything that might have heard the loud scream.


    Matias who was walking with his pack of red-eyed carriers turned his head to the direction of the shrill scream. There were ten of the same carriers acting like bodyguards as they surround him.


    One of his subordinates from the fight earlier spoke from a distance. He got brought up into the air by his own pack of red-eyed carriers.


    "What was that? Is someone in trouble? That''s the first time I heard someone use that stupid distress call."


    Matias waved his hand on his carriers and they disappeared from where they were standing together with a static of lightning.


    "Try to call the other members, make sure that you stay together in a group."


    "But what about you? You''re the alliance leader! If you die and they learned of it, the others would look down on us. Many of those people were waiting for a chance like this..."


    "Don''t worry, I won''t do anything stupid. I''m just going to investigate. We just got unlucky earlier. That kind of thing doesn''t happen every day. Go!"


    Though reluctant, the subordinate could only follow his leader''s order. He ran back to the ce they came from and took a mobile phone from his dimensional storage.


    Matias did not waste any time and quickly ran towards thest position he heard the noise. When he arrived, there were already a few familiar faces investigating the area.


    "Lookie here~ if it isn''t the righteous man himself, Matias ''the caretaker.'' Where''s your group? Don''t tell me you''re here by yourself?"


    Matias stared at the man with a huge belly who was provoking him at the first chance he could get. With his alliance members by his side, the man felt courageous to act arrogantly.


    The man''s name was Sam Lomaad, an alliance leader that has twelve members. This alliance wasn''t like factions that was connected by the system. It was a system created by these people to make sure they have someone on their backs in case they got in trouble. Typically a mob group, but they call it alliance for self-justification.


    The two had some beef for a long time due to a fight over recruitment. Sam Lomaad was forcing people to join his faction. These innocent people were pure and untainted by how the dark side of things works who chose to live it the harsh way of only having one life. They were forced to join him when threatened that their loved ones would be killed and further abused once they joined the circle.


    People have their individualistic interest. Most of them who chose to follow the Queen had the same power levels with their pre-generated skills as the difference.


    "I guess I don''t need backup if it''s just you."


    "Stop it, you guys... It''s been weeks since that happened. Grow up."


    A sophisticated-looking woman stopped the two from causing a situation to ur. Even with the strange pattern on her body, her beauty was not affected and instead got heightened. She wore a seductive tight-fitting red dress that could invite even the sleeping demons from hell.


    With her intervention, the two backed off and only gave derisive remarks on each other. It wasn''t because the woman was strong, to be honest, she was quite weak in regards to stats and troop-wise. The frightening factor to her was the number of suitors and followers she had. Their numbers alone could stomp a small-sized alliance and cause sufficient trouble to a medium-sized alliance that had twenty to fifty members.


    Sam chose this time to suck up and bowed slightly. "Good evening Miss Kay. It''s always good to see someone as gorgeous as you in this dying times. Well, we don''t die but you know what I meant."


    "I''m not so sure if that''s true anymore," Kay responded then smiled knowingly at Matias. "Right, mister?"


    Matias remained silent and stared back at her trying to dig how much she knows. When she noticed that Matias wasn''t going to answer, she pouted and said: "The walls have eyes while every dark corner has ears. You''re quite famous Mister Matias. People will follow you''re every movement to spy on you, you know that right?"


    Matias gave up. It seems like she knew everything. He cursed his bad luck for meeting a cold-blooded man who shots someone first before talking to them.

 Chapter 218: Half-dead

    Chapter 218: Half-dead


    The investigation led to nothing after dozens of people searched the ce. It was already unusual for someone like them to call for help since they usually move in groups. With everyone''s carrier pack on their beck and call, the event became odd.


    In the end, the event was wrapped up as someone being excited with their newfound strength and was trying out every step on the instruction manual. The small groups of people who came to investigate went back to what they were doing after epting that conclusion.


    Before Matias could leave, Kay stopped him on his tracks. With a seductive smile stered on her face, she caressed his chest and leaned forward. She whispered, "Follow me. You need to make sure that my mouth remains closed, right? Don''t worry, we''ll just have a little talk."


    Left with no choice, Matias epted and the two entered a nearby house. What happened inside was up to everyone''s imagination.


    Bryan who was Matias'' right-hand man arrived with back up. There has been an increase in encounter rate with the government forces these past few days. That''s why the reaction to that distress scream was quite extravagant.


    Why the scream? Who would scream so loud just to call for help? It was only people like them who can revive who would risk their lives in that scenario. Evolved carriers were still rampant on the streets and with the additional threat from the government troops who does not appreciate the way they live, they have to stick together and fight for their rights.


    Ten minutester, the two came out of the house. Matias appeared wary of Kay, while she smiled joyfully as she walked away from them.


    When asked what happened inside, Matias just advised everyone to stay away from that crazy woman.


    A man in his mid-twenties carried an unconscious bloodied woman as he ran towards a certain manor. There were patrols that blocked him to prevent him from going closer, but the gentle voice that came from the house forced them to make way.


    The survivors here have the same experience just like other survivors in other ces. It was difficult and frightful to live every day.


    Everyone was afraid of death.


    After seeing the strange appearances of those who converted into something new, the slow people decided to keep watching by the side.


    Every now and then this scenario would ur. Stubborn people who did not want to be converted woulde running when they get in trouble. It happens every day and it angers the believers who take pride in faithfully giving their life to their Queen.


    A mid-thirties man with short hair opened the door. He is the one who calls himself the Whisperer, the one who raised everyone''s hope by introducing the Queen, a woman veiled in greatness and extraordinary powerthe power to grant immortality to anyone who seeks it. Not much was known to her and the only one who knew her was the Whisperer.


    The week prior, the survivors took the helping hand that reached out to them and epted to be converted. Those people then revered the Queen for allowing such a miracle to ur.


    People worshipped and volunteered to serve her. It even came to a point that people who ept the blessing but don''t give in return (food, shards) were beaten up by these crazy believers. Seeing their valiant attitude towards serving the Queen, the Whisperer reluctantly epted their services and became personal guards of the Queen.


    The manor was guarded by dozens of guards from all sides. The main enemies they have were the spies that the government sends and the few Evolved Carriers that sometimes wander in the area.


    The Whisperer wore a white robe looted from a church. He weed the troubled man and asked: "What do you seek?"


    "Please help her."


    "What can you give?"


    "I... everything."


    The man lowered his head as he cried.


    "Then are you willing to be converted too?"


    "...yes."


    The Whisperer gave way and allowed the man to enter the living room. He then waved to the man who was eating snacks by the couch.


    The man wore a leather jacket and leather jeans. He was leaning back on the leather couch while twiddling his feet on the table, wearing leather shoes.


    The Whisperer already used to his getup told him: "Carry the woman upstairs. I''ll go ahead and speak to the Queen."


    The man who carries his girlfriend became confused and hastily asked, "I don''t need to go anymore?"


    The Whisperer ignored his question and continued walking upstairs. The leathery man stood up seemingly pissed with his question.


    The leathery man put down his bowl of snacks and stood up. He towered up like a giant and make the young man look up to him. He then walked forward and stared down at the already frightened young man before taking the bloodied woman in his arms. There were no remarkable injuries but there were numerous bite marks all over her arms.


    "Find yourself a seat. I''ll be down in a minute."


    The leathery man made his way upstairs and stopped at a certain room. He did not knock and merely allowed his presence to be known.


    "I''m here."


    "You may enter." the Whisperer''s gentle voice resounded inside the room.


    The leathery man looked down when he entered the room.


    "The woman received multiple bites from carriers, leading to numerous debuffs further weakening her body. She has a weak pulse and probably has a few minutes left within her. To arrive here still breathing despite all the threats out there. This one''s a fighter."


    The Whisperer clicked his tongue and the leathery man took this as the sign to ''leave the room''. He lowered his head and ced the injured woman on the floor. He bowed down as he retreated without ncing around the room. As he closed the door, he managed to take a glimpse of a veiled woman in a nightgown sitting in the middle of the room.


    The process of converting was quite simple.


    The person would be blindfolded to prevent seeing the Queen and would be bitten on the shoulder by something before receiving the converted notification and ''Half-dead'' status. The person who experienced the ritual would then have ashen skin. ck tattoos would spread out from the bitten area and enveloped the whole body with strange patterns.


    After getting the ''Half-dead'' status, everyone will gain an extra skill that allows them to bound a creature to their soul. To do that, they have to incapacitate the target first before actually activating the skill.


    This allowed everyone to have their own pack of creatures who obeys every order and are not afraid of death. And even if the creatures die, the survivor could just find another one.


    The creatures that they could bound depended on the skill level and personal stats of the individual. The mostmon tactic right now was to have ten R0 Carriers since they recover with energy by bathing under the sun, unlike other creatures who can''t.


    The leathery man blindfolded the young man and brought him upstairs. He called and was instructed to wait. A few minutester, the previously wounded woman walked out of the room on her own while blindfolded.


    They brushed past each other and the woman apologized. When the young man heard the familiar voice of his girlfriend, he became reassured. He strode forward with gant steps entrusting himself to the deity inside.


    He was made to kneel and so he did.


    Someone held his head, then he felt something soft brush upon his neck. The scent of a fragrant woman made its way to his nose followed by searing pain as his shoulder bled a little from getting bitten.


    Ominous chilly energy entered inside his head but he endured the urge to shove it away. He believed and trusted that everything would be fine.


    After one minute, the chilly energy circted fully in his body and sessfully converted him.


    [You received the ''Half-dead'' status! Your body can now regenerate wounds as long as you have enough energy. Consuming food will now instantly increase energy.]


    [Soul-bound skill learned. The Faith Weaver has passed down a skill to you...]


    The military truck took many detours trying to find the right way. There was actually no right way but they were only choosing the route that has fewer enemies.


    After encountering different monsters along the way, they decided to remain on guard no matter whether there were enemies on sight or not. Jun gagged the tattooed man and tried to convince him to cooperate. If he doesn''t? He would be handed over to the government.


    For the first time, the tattooed man wanted to die.


    The night was getting deeper and it was getting harder to travel the streets with only a shlight. They chose to hole up for the night inside a secure looking house when they saw a three-foot-tall hamster getting chased by a one-meterrge snake on the next street.

 Chapter 219: Alarm Clock

    Chapter 219: rm Clock


    Everyone didn''t feel safe even when sheltered by walls. The one-meter long snake they saw caught the hamster after getting it cornered. Its body width of one foot made it appear like a swollen hotdog due to its size if it weren''t for its ck scales.


    Therge snake constricted the hamster. When the three-foot-tall hamster stopped resisting, therge snake swallowed its meal. Its mouth stretched wide and stuffed the hamster whole.


    A night watch helped to ease their nerves but almost no one fell asleep.


    Jun''s an exception though.


    He practiced aura control and spread the invisible force to surround him. If he used the system skill, he would run out of energy in less than a minute. He threw that thought aside and manually trained.


    He increased the usual 2energy/second consumption to 3energy/second. For the first time in training with energy spatial control, his energy was slowly getting drained. He then learned that his energy regeneration was 2.6 which was one percent of his total energy (260).


    Confused, Jun wondered why it takes so long to recover energy after a fight. Was it meditation? Probably, that''s the only thing people don''t do after draining their energies. Besides, only a small group of people knew about energy control. Well, that won''t go for long and some bright people will learn about this too. Better widen the gap while still ahead.


    Jun closed his eyes and continued meditating.


    As he sat on the bed in meditation, a realization dawned upon him. An experimental idea popped up in his head which could solve the problem of his abilities getting maxed out after generation.


    Time passed.


    Dawn came and a loud explosion of something crashing onto a car sounded from the distance. The soldier on duty used his increased visibility to see what was going on at the end of the street.


    When the ground smoke scattered, he saw therge snake they sawst night engraved on the roof of a white van, unmoving. He turned around to wake everyone up, only to see five people armed to the teeth as they cautiously strafe towards him.


    "What happened?" Jun asked tightly gripping his Warhammer with two hands.


    Explosions of that caliber weren''tmon which woke up the light-sleepers inside the house.


    "I think the snake we sawst night got killed."


    "That giant snake? Where is it? Did you see what happened?" Carl responded.


    "It''s over there." the soldier pointed at the end of the street.


    Instead of focusing on the white van that got crushed and has arge snake embedded on it. Everyone stared at the silhouette that was pping its wings as itnded on the nearby roof where the snake was.


    It had red feathers on the head and the neck while ck on the body. A rooster usually found as a pet or in cockfights. It pped its wings a few more times before raising its head and crowing out loud.


    "Tiktok!"


    Its voice echoed repeatedly in the tranquil town.


    "Oh, it''s Mang Inasal," Carlmented. He noticed Jun''s confusion, so he exined. "We call him Mang Inasal back in the subdivision. He''s the rm clock of the whole town. Whether you want to wake up or not, he will keep going until the sun rises."


    "There''s no connection at all?"


    "True. We just want to cook him because he''s annoying. Now, I love him. Everyone pack your gears up. We''ll use this time to sneak out of here. We''re going on foot."


    With the hidden threatsing out of their hiding ces, the group of six moved swiftly and quietly. They retraced their steps from yesterday and finally got out of the streets. They arrived at the national and only encountered a few carriers along the way.


    Evolved Carriers seem to be scarce in this part of the town. Was it because there''s not enough time for them to evolve or were they already hunted down? Whatever the reason for their disappearance, it was good news for their group.


    They ran as fast as they could before looking for a working vehicle. The group found a four-seater sedan parked at the side of the road. Six people squeezed themselves in, so they could get out of here. There''s a lot of chances to change cars as long as they get out of here.


    The sedan stormed off at top speed.


    On the adjacent two-storied house, a man breathed furiously as he pushed the door open.


    "Not again! My car!"


    The sedan traveled the national highway quite peacefully. There was already a path for them to follow and the highway was pretty clear. The carriers on the other side of the guardrail became entertaining to look at as they zoomed past them.


    SN Taytay appeared deste as empty stic bags got carried by the wind across the road. There were no people to be seen but there were signs of life around the area.


    They stayed for a bit, hoping that the caravan waited for them but they were nowhere to be seen.


    "They''re long gone. Probably waited for a bit, but they''re gone." Carl stated dejectedly while scratching his forehead.


    "What are we waiting for? There''s no fork on the road. We could catch up to them if we drive faster." Jun said.


    "It''s not that easy."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Snipers were positioned randomly at Rotunda Tikling. We would get shot if they have a bad day and injured on a good day."


    "What, why are they doing that?"


    "Because we reported the strange people residing at Taytay and they encountered one who tried to pose as a soldier. The military can''t risk them entering the safe zone we created. This was the first outpost we had going south, so we have to hold on to it at all cost. Even if we wore this military outfit, we''ll be shot first before we get interrogated. Is that okay with you?"


    "Not really, but can''t you use your radio?"


    "I don''t know their frequencies..."


    Jun gave up and sighed. "It would be really sad if we get sniped before you could even introduce yourself. Let''s go! I''ll drive."


    Despite the sedan being unfit for crashing onto something, Jun still chose to nudge a few carriers that were idling on the middle of the road. It was a totally useless move since unless they loot the body, the wounds it received would just regenerate.


    The further they traveled, the more organized the highway became. There were no cars on the middle of the road as most of them were neatly parked at the side.


    Jun knew that they were near not because he was a psychic but simply because he traveled the area before. He followed the trend and parked the car on the side of the road.


    He got off the car and everyone followed in confusion.


    "Now what?" Carl said.


    "We travel on the side," replied Jun while pointing at the residential area.


    The sun rose up and shone its light on thend.


    Felipe woke up groggily while clutching his head. How did I get back here? He ignored his own question and proceeded with his morning rituals.


    He got up and started a set of morning exercises, rinsed some water and walked out to do his duties: tend to the food supply of ck Haven.


    After the people learned of the cornfield at the back of the mall, a few thieves decided that it was a good idea to test their luck. Unfortunately for them, Takaw became the guard dog of the small farm. Stealth was useless against him since he could sniff them out and any courageous survivor who tried to scare him off were taught a harsh lesson.


    The edge of the farm was encircled with a wooden fence.On the adjacentnd, a newly cleared area was reserved for fruit-bearing trees like apples and mangos.


    Currently, there were only vegetables and corns nted at the farm.


    Felipe entered the vegetable area and noticed the tomato ntden with glowing red fruits. He wasn''t sure if it was the reflection of the morning sun or just the tomato''s own glow. Do tomatoes even glow? In the end, he chose to pluck one and examined the fruit closely.


    It was still a tomato in name and even in the description. He felt curious as to why it would glow so he took a bite. A sudden cool feeling entered his mouth as the fresh and juicy fruit traveled to his stomach. The followed by a notification that shocked him.


    [Energy regeneration increased by 10%]


    Felipe frowned, then gazed at the numerous nts all over the vegetable garden.


    Was it because this was the first time they bore fruit, or because he watered them using that unique watering-can from yesterday?


    He shrugged and decided that he could just find out. He opened his dimensional storage and searched for the watering-can.


    But he couldn''t find it.


    He scrolled up and down, scrutinized every inventory slot, stared at every corner, but still couldn''t find it.


    ''Fvck.''

 Chapter 220: Internet & Trolls

    Chapter 220: Inte & Trolls


    [Let him worry for a bit. If hees to you for help, then show him the footage. I think he should get punished, but he''s the only real farmer we''ve got. We can''t have him feeling out, so let''s just make this be a lesson for him.]


    Evo sent the reply to the chatbox on his smartwatch''s hologram screen. He received a report from Tatang Robin that Felipe was frantically looking around for the watering-can.


    Last night, Evo randomly tried to connect to the inte, and to his surprise, it worked! He managed to connect to the world wide web. Though he doesn''t know whether each country''s power grid couldst for months or years, he knew that this was the only time he could surf the web.


    The first thing he did was to open social tforms only to find them not working. Then he tried online forums and sessfully found people at 4chan.


    The first time the inte was essed by people was from the first day after the ''Town Siege.''


    No country was prepared for what''sing but highly equipped cities were the ones who survived. Most of the world''s capital city was plunged into chaos since capital cities tend to have the most number of people.


    With a high-density area forced to dive into the unknown, the mortality rate was horrifying.


    He made some friends and learned a few more global news. The US, China, and Russia lost more than half of the poption at the initial phase. Besides old people dying from a heart attack and other injuries, the highest kill rate was from traffic idents. It even became a joke that people who don''t leave their homes were the most unlucky since they can''t experience the thrill of getting chased around.


    A lot of other news was spread around. No matter what kind of news circted, there was no reassurance that they were all true.


    That night, Evo continued to lurk around 4chan while having a bowl of peanuts by his side. Ahh, how cozy... Everything would be so nice if he had some warm coffee and chill background music ying on the speaker.


    You thought everything would go well, right? It doesn''t.


    Evo received a chat from Tatang Robin and requested him toe over. When he arrived at the security room, he was shown the video of a drunk Felipe bringing a bargirl inside the vegetable farm. Then he acted as a show-off by feeding a watering-can with an essence shard. He then demonstrated and exined everything that the watering-can can do.


    In the end, the woman became greedy and due to his drunkenness, got the watering-can stolen from him. At that time, Evo and Tatang Robin''s face were angered.


    Evo wore his AirPods and contacted Nik''s group to encircle the farm area. The woman excitedly stuck to Felipe as they made their way out. By the time she noticed that there were people waiting at the fence, she had no chance to run away nor even exin as she got apprehended.


    The womanined that she didn''t do anything wrong, but Evo''s orders resounded once more. When Nik learned that she stole the watering-can, he even threatened her to cooperate, or else he would have to do something bad, which is something he prefers not to do.


    In the chaotic situation, Felipe fell asleep by leaning on the fence. He was brought to his room and slept like a baby.


    After resolving the situation and retrieving the watering-can, Nik''s group handed the woman to the police. It was apelling sight to be escorted by the ck Haven''s elites, but it wasn''t good for the woman''s image when she was brought to the police. There''s a high chance that her social standing would be tarnished if she had some.


    Evo tried to get some peanuts from the bowl but failed to get any. He looked to the side and found that the bowl was empty with only salts and skins remaining. He shrugged then identally looked at theputer''s clock.


    5:45 AM


    Huh... that''s probably why I''m sleepy. I have work to do though... Let''s take one look at /b so I can wake myself up.


    After navigating to 4chan''s avable boards, he found the misceneous section and clicked Random.


    The board was still filled with people of culture but one post made him shudder.


    Anon22121: Zombie girls are awesome girlfriends! [tiedup.jpg] [sexy.jpg]


    He closed the window and went out to get some coffee.


    The sun has risen and it''s a wonderful day to ughter carriers.


    Jun led the group and left the national highway.


    They traveled on the back alleys and made sure to not attract attention to themselves. It was easy since the area was mostly cleared of carriers. The military would, of course, clean their own backyard first before moving around.


    He used his IDSearch to his maximum capability and scanned every corner before proceeding. At the same time, he was finally able to move around while training his aura sensing ability manually. The training process became instinctive after repeated training every day.


    To his surprise, he learned that if he used the skill together with his IDSearch, the usually 10m radius would double in size. In a sense, he doesn''t actually use the aura sense skill. He was merely tapping on the idea of it. When applied together with IDSearch, his innate skill improves and increases the detection radius by what his soul could take which was eleven.


    Together with his aura, the detection radius became twenty-one meters around him. Not knowing that set of important information, Jun tried to increase the output to 4energy/second hoping that the detection radius would further increase, but to his dismay, it didn''t.


    Instead of bing annoyed, he became thankful for having such a random windfall. He didn''t realize that he just tapped on the basic step of skill creation.


    The sky has turned light blue, by the time they could see the military soldiers patrolling on the distance. The residential area finally reconnected with the national road forcing them to leave everything to fate as they walked in the middle of the road with both hands raised up.


    Before they could even step at the national highway, a sniper from the adjacent building spotted them. The man hastily ced the ration he was eating and ced his eye on the scope. His partner, the spotter, quickly radioed the situation in which caused a series ofmotion to the nearest military patrols.


    "Chewck!"


    A soft sound reverberated the area. Jun was about to step forward when he felt rmed causing him to slow down. A momentter, dust rose up from the ground where he was supposed to step while its surface got scraped off.


    Jun stopped walking immediately followed by Carl and his subordinates.


    "That''s... do you think he''s in a good mood?" Jun asked Carl while sweat formed on his back. "I finally realize that this is a really bad idea. Haven''t they called back?"


    "Well, he tried to shoot you... but since he missed maybe?"


    The two didn''t know that the sniper was actually trying to shoot Jun''s foot but missed the timing.


    The six of them stood like target practice as soldiers ran towards them. The leading one was even shouting at his radio before ordering his subordinates to surround them.


    Jun turned to Carl with a sarcastic expression saying ''what to do now?''


    The sergeant did not appreciate his gesture and shouted while raising his assault rifle. "Don''t do anything you''ll regret. Kneel down and put your arms behind your hand!"


    Jun quickly knelt on the ground after getting a closer look at the rifle. The soldiers behind them blitz forward and pushed them towards the ground.


    When the soldiers sessfully forced them to lie down, they swiftly tied the ''terrorists'' hands.


    Carl who was getting tied up quite roughly shouted: "I''m Colonel Carl Joseph Antonil. I requestmunication with retired-General Basilio Mestreet or Major General Paul Celestine."


    The sergeant frowned upon hearing two high ranking officers came out from the man''s mouth. Of course, he couldn''t immediately believe him and threatened him with the rifle. "Who are you?!"


    "I repeat. I''m Colonel Carl Joseph Antonil. My toon was sent out to retrieve high-value assets two weeks ago and we got caught up in the town''s problem. We were left out after we got separated from the caravan. I''m sure a caravan passed by here, right?"


    "And this one?" the sergeant looked at Jun.


    Carl hastily thinks of something he could say. Jun was a special case, he was only an additional package since the General wanted some good dogs.


    "He''s also one of the ones we have to extract."


    The story was quite believable and it was true that a caravan passed through herest night. But anyone could know that! Besides, one of them was a civilian!


    The sergeant''s unusually clogged up brain decided that it was time to be used for imagination. He imagined that these six people managed to kill five soldiers and took their gears. With the news of crazed rebels spreading around, these ''soldiers'' saw the caravan and decided to cook up a story.


    The sergeant scoffed! Did these people think he was an idiot?


    "Bring them for interrogation!"

 Chapter 221: Military Struggles

    Chapter 221: Military Struggles


    The sun has finally risen and showered energy to everyone with life. The crowing of a rooster from a nearby town alerted the still sleepy soldiers who were about to change shifts.


    A multi-storied building on the Rotunda Tikling was used as the base of operations for the outpost. Giant reinforced walls were used as blockades on the streets while numerous soldierse and go by squads in different directions. Some were walking on patrol while others ride transport vehicles to move to their target locations.


    The immediate vicinity was, of course, already cleared of the threats and the patrols were mainly for stragglers or survivors that tries to sneak in. Survivors weren''t forbidden to enter the outposteveryone can. They just have to go under extreme investigation and identity verification.


    Inside themanding officer''s room...


    "Yes, sir. I understand. I will free them right now. I will help them as much as I can and make sure that they got everything they need."


    The sergeant bowed profusely after he got severely scolded earlier.


    When the sergeant left the room, the outpost''smanding officer sighed and shook his head. The man had numerous wrinkles on his forehead but still had lively eyes filled with enthusiasm. Those wrinkles symbolized the hardships he went through on his career.


    The middle-aged officer picked up the phone lying on the table. The phone has been working again despite having a slow connection, sometimes even none.


    "Is that okay with you?"


    "I asked you to punish the person but look at what you did. You''re still so soft even after all these years, my friend."


    "Not everyone has talent like you, Paul. I need to keep my subordinates on the right amount of fear so they won''t cause trouble. By the way, I haven''t seen you for a long time. We should chat over dinner sometime. I''m sure the kids would love it."


    "My toon''s still trying to pave the way to the capital. We lostmunications with the Presidential Security Guards two weeks ago. The higher-ups are feeling antsy about the situation so they''ll give me a regiment this time. And about the kids, please stop being a match-maker, it doesn''t suit you."


    "Pah. You can dictate your daughter but I can''t matchmake my own son? By the way, are you allowed to tell that information to me?"


    "I''m not sure... but you''ve already heard it so you''ll have to help me."


    "Haa... you still have that bad habit of yours, forcing people to y with your cards. Although I''m willing to help, there''s only around four-hundred armed forces here. I have it rough distributing forces to where they need to be. Pasig is overrun, Quezon City is no better. There''s even a rebellion happening at Taytay, one of the towns nearby. It''s quite serious if you ask me. They live like they don''t care about their lives. I heard that a cult was founded there. Things are getting really scary."


    "Cults... Alright, I have to go. It''s about time and I need to brief my boys up. I''ll be calling you if we need some help. We''re blitzing up north and hopes that could use the east exit if things get too crowded. Can you clear the eastern area?"


    "Sure, sure. I don''t have the manpower to send reinforcements but if t''s just creating an escape route, I can do that."


    "Thanks, bud. Let''s chat next time."


    "Okay."


    The smile on the middle-aged officer disappeared. The two were ssmates at the military academy and assigned as partners. They received a lot of achievements after helping stabilize the country. Due to war injuries, he couldn''t fight anymore and was assigned desk duties allowing Paul to further his career. He tried his best to impress the people above but being on desk-duty had its limits. He was a rank below Paul despite his perfect records on counter-terrorism, nningmunist stronghold''s search and destroy operations, gueri warfare with the New People''s Army, and other distinguishable merits.


    Even though he gets the most credit, it couldn''t be helped since he was still fighting from the back. The people fighting the war were the ones taking the limelight and he chose to ept it and gave the opportunity to the young ones.


    He also had been trying to set up his dolt of a son to marry into the Celestine family that has a strong influence, but it seems the rumor about the Celestine family and the Mestreet family having an engagement together was true.


    He could still try his chance with Paul since they were buddies and considering that both of them only rose in ranks because of their abilities, there must be some sort of understanding.


    But the Mestreet family came up to the picture and everything was gone.


    The Mestreet family has a deeply rooted military background. Their lineage became well-known during the first and second world war. They became dubbed as the finest men among man, the men who makes death himself flee in horror. There were two results when they charged the enemy, its either theye back victorious or nevere back at all.


    And most of the time, they came back.


    The middle-aged man seemed to have aged a bit after one phone call.


    He sighed deeply and reminisced. If he wasn''t shot in the back of the knee, could he still adventure beside his friend? Thinking about this, he couldn''t help but massage his knee.


    As he was massaging his knee, the phone rang again. He saw the caller was Paul, so he answered grumpily forgetting that he should have been friendly.


    Paul


    "If you need anything else, just look for me, okay? You can find me at the overpass over there. See you next time!" the sergeant ran off after giving a tour of the outpost to Carl''s group.


    Upon learning that the one he tied up and threw at some random makeshift jail was a real Colonel, the man couldn''t help but feel anxious. He worried about his life and position in the army.


    Although nothing too bad might happen, a simple demotion or hindrance could stop him from achieving a higher rank. Especially at this time, were ranks were given out to those who work for it.


    He would be satisfied if he could reach the rank of lieutenant and retire peacefully. Heck, even a captain or major shouldn''t be a problem if he fought valiantly. It was always nice to dream of the future.


    The group stood at the sidewalk.


    Jun who got ignored the whole time for being a civilian finally spoke. He waited until the sergeant could no longer hear them before speaking.


    "So what are we going to do now? The caravan only stopped here to restock and continued to Antipolo. It''s safe there, right?"


    "Yeah, it''s easy now that our identities are verified. I just need to make contact with retired-General Basilio so he can help us enter Antipolo."


    Carl noticed Jun''s confusion so he exined.


    "Antipolo has tighter security and survivors go under extreme scrutiny before they could enter. Even if they managed to enter, everyone would be under surveince for a period of time until the topbrass decides they''re not terrorists."


    Jun said. "How do they even investigate that?"


    With a wry smile, Carl replied. "To be honest, I don''t even know."


    "Stay at the canteen and get some food. I''ll be back after making some calls."


    Carl turned and was about to go to the administration building but Jun uttered something which made him quickly turn around.


    "I can''t go with you," Jun said with disappointment. He apologized to Carl with his eyes and turned around.


    "Wait, wait. What do you mean? I''ll just have to call someone then we''re good to go. Can''t you wait for a bit more time?"


    "No. I''m sorry, but I''ve already wasted too much time."


    Carl couldn''t understand what was happening. Weren''t everything going ordingly? They follow the caravan as fast as possible, so he could bring Jun to General Basilio. Did he learn of his n?


    Carl grabbed Jun''s shoulder to stop him from walking but Jun was able to shove his hand away. Carl tried a few more times to no avail. He noticed the soldiers watching them and felt humiliated.


    Out of anger, he pulled a pistol from his dimensional storage and aimed at Jun''s legs.


    "Stop! I''m telling you right now, if you don''t stop, I''ll have to shoot you." Carl said while grinding his teeth.


    Jun stopped, then turned around. He knew for a long time that Carl isn''t on his side. It only happened that they needed each other to achieve their goals. The only reason he hasn''t retaliate were from the times that his nametag was green, even though it was ck now.


    He stared at Carl with deadpan eyes. Carl''s subordinates behind were conflicted on what to do about the situation, and more soldiers noticed the situation.


    Jun didn''t care about being surrounded and nonchntly asked Carl.


    "What is it?"

 Chapter 222: Youngsters Are So Troublesome

    Chapter 222: Youngsters Are So Troublesome


    "Nevermind, I don''t want to hear what you''ll say nor am I interested on why you''re so intent in bringing me along with you. Let''s be honest with each other. I only came together with you because I wanted to meet Marianne, and yet, she''s gone. Isn''t it obvious that we have to go on separate ways now? Do you even remember where you found mest night? Of course, you do. You probably spent some time tracking me."


    "Shut up. Tie him up!" Carl ordered. His subordinates watched the scene from behind and hesitated. He shouted again, "Tie him up!" and caused the driver to follow him.


    "Do you still have a mother?" Jun''s hand were inside his jean''s pockets as he casually asked Carl who menacingly points a pistol at him. "Is she still alive? Because I was looking for mine and I don''t even know whether she''s still alive."


    Carl''s ferocity disappeared and he became dazed. The driver who walked forward stopped in his tracks. Matters regarding family has always been something highly valued by the Filipino people. Giving back and taking care of your parents was a must for every child of the family. It''s already part of the culture and someone who disrespects that culture would always be looked down by everyone.


    "I need to go back to Taytay and you have to shoot me if you want to stop me," Jun said as he turned around and started walking.


    Carl continued aiming at Jun''s back, contemting whether to shoot or not. Should he forego his values and do it for the mission?


    Loved ones? Everyone has that. Nothing personal Jun, I''m sorry.


    Carl lowered the pistol and aimed at Jun''s legs, his hands were trembling due to some cold that seeped into his body earlier.


    Jun was using Aura (Death) to see what Carl would do. With his reaction speed, he trusts his capability to dodge once due to predictability of the angle of the shot. What happens next were matters he really had no control whatsoever. His best bet was to enter a building to take cover and made ns ordingly.


    In themander''s office, a namete reflected light from the outside. Brigadier General, Corwin Homes.


    All high-ranking personnel were deployed in different areas around the capital city, Man, to extract the president. The initial n aftermunications became avable was to strengthen the capital city''s defense with reinforcements. Unfortunately, entry points; national highways and other major roads were clogged up with heavy traffic preventing blitzkrieg operations. The avable tanks were already moving at a turtle''s pace but having to fight dozens of giant monsters even made them slower.


    Currently, Man can be entered from threend directions; the North, East and South. While the West was a bay area and has some docking ports, thending zone could be immediately swarmed by enemies once they notice any big ship nearby. The current n was to whittle down enemy numbers from all sides before charging in. Paul''s regiment operation shows how worried the higher-ups regarding the president''s safety.


    The army distributed limited resources on every possible entry/exit point. The Rotunda Tikling was positioned to the east of the capital and even has a bridge that gives easier defensive positioning for Brigadier General''s troops.


    Corwin was known as a tactician, the main reason he was assigned to a defensible area with lesser soldiers. He had to make sure that every day the soldiers go out, they aplish something of value.


    As he was reading through the reports from yesterday''s operations, the mobile phone on the table that remained silent for a long time rang once again.


    Corwin picked the call up after looking at the caller''s name on the screen. It was his old ssmate, Paul Celestine.


    He looked at the numerous injured personnel on the report and answered with irritation in his voice. "What do you want this time? You won''t be able to change my mind and you know that, right? I don''t have enough people here."


    "Whoa. Did something happen? Nevermind, I don''t need to hear your problems. I heard there was a civilian named Jun on your outpost, is that true?"


    Corwin lit a smoke and took one puff before he replied, "How would I know? Maybe, what of it?"


    "He''s been acting troublesometely and I need you to teach the man some lesson."


    Corwin frowned for the disrespectful tone his friend had while talking to him. He barely calmed himself down by biting his lips. People like him who were already old and had no backings we''re being eyed by a few alligators on the topbrass. The only reason he wasn''t being touched by ambitious people was his ties with Paul.


    Heposed himself and asked, "Any reason someone of your standing would bother with him?"


    "He dated my daughter."


    Corwin frowned, then became infuriated. Someone beat his own son to the dish! He almost blurted what he was thinking on the phone but stopped before he embarrassed himself.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of it."


    "I know you will, that''s why I called you. Later."


    The call hung up and Corwin could only stare furiously at his phone. What a bastard! Ego really goes up together with rank!


    He remained seated wanting to defy the request but his logical mind urged him to stand up and suck up to his friend. In the end, he could only sigh deeply while thinking in his head: This is why I need more power.


    Let''s hope the man''s already gone, that would save me the trouble. He called his secretary in and ordered for the man named Jun to be detained.


    Corwin stood up against his will and made his way downstairs. Now, he just has to give some punishments and everything should be done. Every step he took shook his self-esteem, so he hypnotized himself that he just wanted some food from the cafeteria and he could casually visit the rebel interrogation rooms while bonding with his soldiers.


    When he exited the building and walked out the door, he saw amotion in the middle of the road. A soldier was pointing a gun at a civilian. He listened to their conversation and found it funny. The soldier was being out-ssed in speaking of justice and love.


    All of a sudden, the soldier aimed lower and fired. The next series of events happened in a sh.


    The civilian''s body swayed and sessfully dodged the gunshot.


    Jun turned around with unimaginable speed and brought his body low to the ground. Then, he lunged forward while twisting his body trying to evade the next sessive shots.


    Due to the order to capture Jun alive, Carl couldn''t shoot randomly since that might cause Jun''s death.


    Jun didn''t know this and when he got close to Carl, he took the opportunity and punched him.


    Carl blocked with his free hand but was still sent flying. He skillfully tumbled to recover andnded on a kneeling position, followed by aiming the pistol forward. He felt the force from Jun''s punch and his self-preservation instinct kicked in.


    Jun summoned a bone spear together with his round shield, then lowered his body into a squat, so he could protect most of his body.


    Carl stayed at Binangonan for a few days. Upon seeing the bone spear on Jun''s hand, the first thing he did was to raise his hand in surrender. Unlike Jun who had a shield that could probably block his shots, he had nothing on himself to defend from the bone spear.


    As he continued to wonder what would Jun''s decision would be, amanding voice sounded from the side.


    "Stop."


    Everyone turned around and saw themanding officer of the outpost watching from the side.


    "Detain him."


    Carl became happy with the sudden change in the situation. He stared at Jun mockingly when he noticed that Jun pulled his hand back as if he was going to continue throwing the bone spear. ''He''s not crazy, right? Doesn''t he know that a General just ordered for him to stop?! Wait, does he even know...''


    Carl couldn''t finish his thoughts as he rashly jumped to the side. The bone spear missed but Jun didn''t stop. He took his war hammer from his dimensional storage and swung it around him, preventing soldiers to get close to him.


    Seeing his attitude, the soldiers were forced to take their rifles out and surround him. Jun could only stop since he had nowhere to go.


    "What are you lot doing? Didn''t I ask you to detain him? Why isn''t anyone capturing him?"


    To everyone''s surprise, the outpostmander wasn''t looking at Jun, he was facing towards the soldier who almost got speared to death.


    "In times of cmity, a soldier is the citizens final line of protection. To dare threaten someone instead of helping themwhat a disgrace! Lock him up!"


    Carl was confused. His subordinates too. Everyone is confused.


    Corwin recognized Carl once he saw him. One of Paul''sckey. Well, at least now, he could let some steam off with a logical reason.


    Jun eyed the middle-aged man with curiosity. He noticed that the man seems to be in power and could decide things here in this outpost, so he decided to listen for now.


    The only bad thing he noticed about the man was the gleam in its eyes as he stared at his war hammer. His hand holding the war hammer tightened a little and his instincts revved at peak condition in case things went weird again.


    Corwin was staring at Jun''s weapon because it was something umon. The war hammer was very unique looking and unless someone was a big fan of cold weapons, it was impossible to chance upon it. The first thing that entered his mind was the Chosen Ones, the ones who received the system together with additional features and hidden quests. They have high potentials and could grow stronger quickly if allotted the correct resources.


    There were Chosen Ones among the army and the topbrass keeps their name ssified.


    His mind was working like clockwork trying to formte a n to get on the man''s good side. Although letting off steam was good, Paul would surely be unhappy when learns of the news. Having some ace up the sleeve would be good at this time.


    "I apologize for what happened, but at the same time, I can''t let you go for attempted murder."


    "You saw it, right? He tried to kill me first. It should be self-defense, not attempted murder."


    "He was raising his hands, an act of defeat. ording to the code of conduct, he should be taken as a prisoner."


    "Fvck that. He could have killed me!"


    Corwin sighed. ''Youngsters these days... so troublesome.

 Chapter 223: The Outpost Strikes!

    Chapter 223: The Outpost Strikes!


    "I know, I witnessed it, and I promise you that he''ll receive fitting punishments for what he did. Unfortunately, you''re also in the same situation as him. I know it may seem unfair to you, so I have a propositionone that you''ll be interested in." said Corwin.


    Carl was carried away by some soldiers towards the established prisoner''s building. Corwin ignored the scene as if the searing re from Carl did not bother him.


    "I should be able to walk out freely since it was self-defense," Jun sarcastically said.


    "Too bad I have the final say in this matter." Corwin rebutted. "Besides, I think you will appreciate my offer."


    Jun contemted the options he had. There were dozens of soldiers staring at him with hawk-like eyes watching his every subtle movement. Unless he had tougher skin defense or even malleability, that was the only time he could try to fight his way out. Left with no choice, he remained quiet and waited for the stated proposition.


    Corwin became delighted upon seeing that he was able to intrigue the young man. He raised his hand and said, "At ease." which made every soldier rx.


    "I have a few questions and I would like you to answer them," Corwin stated, then continued after seeing Jun''s confirmation with a nod of his head.


    "You have something to do at Taytay, is that right?"


    "Yes."


    "And you''re not friends with those lunatics, is that correct?"


    "Yes."


    "Great. Now, here''s my proposal. I want your help in clearing the town of those lunatics. I don''t care what you do with themkill them or send them to the random gateI don''t care. I just want them out."


    "This is the only chance you have. I''ll let the matter from earlier go and the only thing you need to do is help us clear the town. If you choose to ept, I''ll try to dig out some information about your mother. A lot of refugees passed here that came from that town, maybe one of them is your mother. Do we have a deal?"


    Jun stared at the man wanting to determine whether he was someone who likes to lie. From the admiration the soldiers were giving the man, it seems like he had a high favorability on his troops.


    Jun nodded his head. The probability of his mother getting rescued by the military was higher than staying in the town. If she happened to went to Antipolo City and stranded there, this would be a great opportunity to know that.


    "I have one question though. Why do you need my help? You literally have the army, what help can I give you?"


    Corwin smiled. "In wars, an army always needs that one man who can stand in front and lead everyone. I''ve fought my own wars young man, and I know at a nce when someone has the ability to turn the tides and win a war."


    Corwin believes that Jun was an exemry individual because of his status as a Chosen One. The courage that he showed earlier also highlighted his ability to make tough choices.


    "Do you need to speak like that? Can''t you just say things clearly?" Jun said.


    "Haih." Corwin sighed. "We''ve sent scouts ahead and learned that the enemy leaders control high-ranking Titans. Their personal guards even have speed-type ghouls that could outrun an average person. I need your experience to lead my army and sweep that town."


    "Okay, but I don''t want your armyI want my own team. You can have someone else lead your army." Jun stated then looked around him.


    He was surrounded by random soldiers who stares at him in doubt. Some even looked irritated by the way he rejected the position tomand the army. Also, it appears that most of them don''t even believe that he had the capability to lead them well.


    Jun''s gaze finally found his target, which was Carl''s subordinatesthe only people in this outpost that actually knows how he rolls. With their mutual understanding of each other''s skills, they don''t have to build trust from the ground up and could work more efficiently.


    Knowing that they were ufortable with his suggestion, Jun faced Corwin and added, "If they help me, you''ll have to release their Colonel and forgot about what happened."


    Corwin became confused for a second until he realized that the young man was actually proficient with management. The group seemed to know each other. With this move, he could willingly invite these people and get on their good side by cleaning their leader''s mess.


    "Okay, I can agree with that."


    After getting the confirmation, Jun turned to the four soldiers who stood dazed at the sidewalk. The four turned to each other and managed toe up with a decision within a second. The medic turned to Jun and nodded his head.


    "That''s great then." Jun smiled, then faced Corwin. "Now before we get to nning, I want to see the armory."


    After some additional chatter and quarrels, Jun was brought to a nearby building which happened to be the bank. He was allowed entry simply because he highlighted the importance of knowing the avable weapons they could use.


    Most of the rifles were standard military Armalite while the pistols were imported from other countries. A few sniper rifles were on the rack and they only have the default scope. There were a few other interesting things that caught Jun''s attention.


    Now that he grasped their firepower, Jun requested for a short briefing. He wanted to know what they know about the town and those ult people.


    Corwin knew that information was a powerful weapon and if he wants this operation to seed, he had to remain truthful. Besides, the information Jun wanted should be considered general knowledge. Jun could easily know this by asking any local he might encounter.


    Taytay had sixrge cemeteries; both public and private, and most of them could be navigated via the national highway. The Municipal Building can be found on the Don Hrio Cruz, inside the Club Man East.


    Afterward, the important questions came. Jun was briefed on the ces where the military encountered aggressive survivors.


    Upon looking at the map, everyone realized something strange. The encountersdrawn as a star on the mapincreased in numbers, the further the military tried to get closer towards the Municipal building of Taytay.


    Although Corwin reads the daily records on the number of casualty rates, he doesn''t have enough time to read the ce of encounter and mark them on an actual map. He became surprised with the discovery and shook his head at his foolishness. It seems like the dire state of the country caused his mind to be clouded.


    "Get everyone ready, we''ll attack after I finish some preparations," said Jun as he stared at the Taytay map.


    "What preparations? Can we help?" said Jaquez Rosario, the major who was assigned to lead the army.


    "Sure, just make a lot of sticks, barbecue sticks."


    The 200-men strong army marched on the national highway. It was the total number of troops the outpost could direct towards this expedition. Some of the soldiers were still out and were performing the clearing operations while others were still recovering from their injuries.


    The sole Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) stationed at the bridge for its defense was brought over for the operation. It''s armed with a 25mm autocannon and a 7.62mm machinegun. A few soldiers boarded ontop of the vehicle to get higher groundarmed with rifles as they scouted the horizon.


    In its usual ce, the APC was used to block the bridge together with a few other trucks.


    The army''s goal was simple: to attract as much attention from the rebel forces. This would be the first time the military sends this number of soldiers. The Whisperer and the Queen would be forced to respond if they wanted to save their people.


    And even if they don''te out, Jun''s elite group would be tasked to hunt them.


    Jun''s group hitched a ride until they got back to where they parked their truck. The five of them boarded the truck and Suico Panaligan, the driver, drove in a separate direction of the army.


    Jun finally got acquainted with the squad. Last night, no one really bothered to get close to each other since they have their own agendas. Now that they''re together on one mission which could possibly save numerous lives, they set aside their awkwardness and acted like professionals. To be honest, except for Carl, everyone was quite cool with Jun.


    They have no intention to hurt Jun nor befriend him; they''re just following their orders. Two people were quite friendly with him, Morgan the medic, and the rifleman he saved, Christian. Thest member of the group was Saul, the automatic rifleman. He appears neutral to Jun but appreciates the help he gave Christian.


    As the military continued matching towards the Don Hrio Cruz, numerous hidden survivors from afar secretly vanished and appeared at the teleport portal at the town''s municipal za.

 Chapter 224: Confrontation

    Chapter 224: Confrontation


    "Butch, go and talk to them. Bring a few guards with you." said the Whisperer robed in white.


    Several people reported the army''s sudden deployment, which alerted a lot of people. Although there were some conflicts with the military, there have been no medium orrge scale fights that happened.


    The people believed that the things they were doing were for survival and it was the army who was causing trouble to them.


    Everyone believes that the government did nothing and the Queen was their savior.


    Butch, the leathery man, stood up and adjusted his leather pants. He took a nearby guitar and walked his way out. The sun shone brightly on thewn and even reflected on the nearby pool. He called a bunch of guards to follow him, and they headed for the reported marching army.


    The ce where the Whisperer and the Queen stayed was at Club Man East, a top local Resort and Hotel business.


    The two parties saw each other from a distance. They met at the famous Tiange, a vast marketce dubbed as the second Divisoria.


    There were multiple buildings with numerous stalls at both sides of the road, and the marketce stretched for as long as the eye could see, taking over two to threenes of two streets.


    The army''s march halted and the soldier inmand of the operation, Major Jaquez Rosario, stood at the front together with his subordinates.


    Butch didn''t shy out and postured himself with a guitar on his shoulder, held like a baseball bat. He only took ten people to go with him but a vast crowd formed behind him. These people were believers of the Whisperer and the Queen and have lost hope for the government after not receiving help for far too long.


    "What a wonderful day for a stroll, don''t you think so?" Butch shouted, then sarcastically added. "Is there anything that I can help the silk squashes of our country?"


    The crowd behind Butchughed and snickered, some even booed while shouting profanities.


    Major Jaquez Rosario and most of the army didn''t appreciate his words nor the crowd''s gesture. Initially, the n was to stall for time and arrest these people after the detached elite team could take care of the enemy leaders. The detained individual would then sent as front liners for clearing the Capital City.


    Being called a silk squash means that they''re someone incapable. For soldiers who risk their lives every day to keep the country safe, they felt offended that people still had the guts to say things like that to them.


    On one hand, we have people who received care and survived by themselves. On the other, the government had tied hands but did everything but still waste. There were only around 125,000 active soldiers and 180,000 reserve personnel. Even if the initial phase didn''t affect the military that much since they were healthy and stationed at army bases, there was not enough of them to save the whole country at once. Even then, the bulk of the active personnel was at the southern part of the country fighting terrorists andmunist parties while the ones stationed at the top and the center portion of the country were the ones who got rotated in service.


    After calming himself down, Major Jaquez shouted in response to the question posed. "I am Major Jaquez Rosario of the Philippine Army. The government truly regrets what happened to most of you, and we can assure your safety once more. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is creating a safe zone on the north. We are guarding all the national highways that leads north while clearing all the enemies up there. This is the first phase of restoring peace for our country and we need strong people like you. I am tasked to apprehend each and every one of you lest your lot chose to surrender peacefully. You would then be able to reim your citizenship and live life just like before."


    Major Jaquez statement was a shock to everyone on the other side. Although it was true that the government didn''t send immediate help, they still sent one in the end. It was betterte than never, right?


    Butch almost got convinced with the major''s speech. If it weren''t his strong faith for the Queen and the Whisperer, he would have been convinced to turn sides. He looks behind and noticed the fervent gazes of the people turning to hesitation, then hope.


    Then he realized that the situation turned bad so quickly when nothing has even happened. He made a few knowing nces on the nted moles on the crowd and they started their work. After surviving the past weeks, he learned that people''s minds were fickle. Any sort of stimtion that deeply connects to them would make them unstable.


    And so the moles worked their magic.


    "What about are dead family?! Our loved ones!"


    "My friend died saving me! Though we only met when things turned to shit, we treated each other as siblings!"


    "Fuck the government!"


    "Yeah!"


    The crowd changed their attitudes after they were reminded of their sufferings. A few conscientious ones noticed the weird ambiance and separated themselves from the antsy crowd. Some wanted to back out as well after seeing a few turntails but got coerced by their friends to join the shouting.


    Major Jaquez clicked his tongue. It was true that the military was clearing the northern part of the country, but there were some problems with that.


    The Philippine is an archipgic country situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 inds that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.


    The capital city of the Philippines is Man and the most populous city is Quezon City, both within the single urban area of Metro Man found in Luzon.


    Now, Luzon is arge mass ofnd with nted L-shape. The capital city is found at the turning points and the way north was a long piece ofnd that would require time to clean up. With the limited number of avable personnel and the number of major towns and cities up north, it would prove to be tough to breeze through that process.


    The military''s n to make a safe zone up north was based on resources. There were more wilnds up north and the distance between cities would guarantee that there''s a buffer time before zombies could travel from one city to another. They could even get lucky if people managed to capture the city and make a stronghold out there.


    If the military could recruit the people in reiming thesends, everyone''s lives would be easier.


    "Follow the n and keep them alive. Kill them if you''re left with no choice. If you don''t have enough zip ties then use the barbecue sticksjust as ast resort, okay? We don''t want to antagonize them since they''re still our citizens. Go, go, go!"


    Major Jaquez ordered and everyone rushed forward. The soldiers ran in groups then readied their weapons while shouting.


    "Put your hands up in the air!"


    "Raise your hands up!"


    "We won''t hurt you if you cooperate."


    As the shouts resounded in the street, the dazed survivors on the other end finally reacted thanks to some provocative shouts from the moles.


    "They''re attacking us!"


    "The army is trying to kill us!"


    "Let''s fight for our lives!"


    Then those moles summoned their creatures. Most of the Halfdead survivors chose to collect carriers as their minions. They have passive regeneration and limbs that could hold weapons.


    It wasmon knowledge for the Halfdeads that a carrier takes ten energy to maintain, while a Hunter and Destroyer takes fifty and a hundred energy respectively. And those were the basic ones, if one wanted to bind a higher-ranked creature, the energy needed would be impossible for the current energy pool at the current time.


    Most Halfdeads only had nine carriers with them. Those people who had ten carriers were elites who rose the level of the skill or the lucky few who looted an energy stone.


    Butch''s crew also summoned their minions. There were about twenty Hunters and several carriers summoned out of nowhere which caused the charging army to halt their advance. The soldiers took defensive formations along the stairwells, pirs, trees, and everywhere they could hide.


    Two hundred soldiers weren''t big nor is it small. They littered the streets andpletely blocked the road.


    Butch had two H2''s in front of him. Although he doesn''t move around and fight regrly, he was a trusted aide of the Whisperer. He receives rare items from the Whisperer for his efforts and some of them were rare energy stones and essence stats that came from donations.


    The guards he took from the resort became envious of his summons but could only dream of having them. It was too much to capture an H1 and an H2 would be impossible at their current strength.


    The gray tattooed survivors were now about to fight for their lives.

 Chapter 225: Soulbound

    Chapter 225: Soulbound


    There were about fifty believers who followed Butch''s group to gossip. Aside from the few conscientious ones, there were more than forty believers left that vented their anger on the military.


    Among those odd-forty believers, most of them only had nine carriers since they still have to leave some energy for themselves, unless they''re suicidal and likes to pass out in the middle of a battle. The few believers that had ten summons were the moles in the crowd who works with Butch. Usually, they would act as a spy among the Halfdeadmunity, and they''re used to rile people up when needed. In exchange, they would have a better life than everyone elsefood, clothing, shelter, and sometimes rare stuff.


    The advantage of the army instantly disappeared as more than four hundred carriers dashed towards them. As if the horde of carriers were not enough, Butch''s side took rifles out from their dimensional storage and provided cover fire for the horde, shooting soldiers who gunned down several of the carriers.


    Guns are always more efficient at mid-range or long-range distances. Though it can be used at closebat, it must be a few meters away.


    At first, the front soldiers manages to control the situation since R0 Carriers would die with a headshot. Everything changed when Butch''s group provided cover fire and shot those soldiers who were fighting in the open.


    When the battle started, the original two hundred soldiers divided themselves into four groups of fifty. Two groups circled around to nk while two remained to siege. The n was guaranteed to work, and it was true that they would be able to nk Butch''s group. Hold the line and nk to get them to surrender peacefully. With enough guns, nothing would surely go wrong, right?


    But a problem urred. Although the army has intel about the rebel''s ability to summon creatures, they didn''t expect this much. They haven''t realized that this was only ten percent of themunity since most of the Halfdeads were either sleeping or hunting. If it was the Halfdeads full force, they would have been swarmed instantly.


    Additionally, carriers typically move in a straight line then lunges at its target. But these bound carriers were different. The appearance was the same, but their behaviors were nothing simr. These carriers follow the owner''s target around and hunt them in packs.


    There were one hundred soldiers left to hold the line, which meant four hundred-odd carriers would not pose a real threat. The real danger came from the agile Hunters that lurk on the ground and strike when the target is unaware.


    If it weren''t for the autocannon and machinegun on top of the IFV, there would be more casualties from the army.


    This was the first time, the survivors really fought the government on arge scale. The few skirmishes they had could be considered a lovers quarrelpared to what was happening now. The soldiers that got lunged on by R0 Carriers were brought to the ground. Though they weren''t killed, they got beaten up and knocked unconscious to prevent them from joining the fight. Even if they recover, they would be in pain and won''t be of much support.


    A few unlucky ones who got killed after facing the Hunters were sprawled on the ground. The soldiers started to feel the terror of facing a horde of Evolved Carriers in closebat. Usually, they would pick them from a distance when doing operations since they have enough ammunition. Some were severely wounded from getting wed but managed to get away, although bleeding from cuts.


    All of a sudden, one man from the Halfdead group plunged to the ground bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears. The pale-red blood that trickled out of the orifices, hardened shortly after several seconds.


    The next moment, another man who was providing cover fire for his summons fell down limply as if the ropes that control him were cut off. The nearby Halfdeads immediately thought they were getting sniped and ran for cover.


    Their actions created a breathing room for the pinned down soldiers, which immediately fired back and helped theirrades who were in trouble. As more carriers got killed, more Halfdeads limply fell to the ground, unconscious.


    Butch noticed the peculiar event as he backed himself against the wall. He peeked around the corner and saw numerous R0 Carriers get ughtered under heavy fire from a bunch of soldiers.


    To make matters worse, the 25mm autocannon and the machinegun from the IFV continued to mow down the summoned carriers. The operator would have a hard timending a headshot while using the machinegun, but its firepower alone was enough to mince and grate anything that stands on the end of the barrel.


    Each R0 Carrier would die and fall down after getting hit twice while a Hunter requires five to eight hits depending on where the shotnded. In contrast, the autocannon only needs to graze R0 Carrier while a solid shot on an H1 would spell its doom.


    More Halfdeads fell as their summons were killed. With the reinforcement from the IFV, the army regained control of the situation.


    Butch controlled one of his H2''s to rush the IFV. It ran in between running carriers and jumped high in the air as it lunges forward.


    The autocannon operator managed to react quickly due to the unusual parting of the horde. He was gunning them down when something flew up in the air, and by reflex, he fired upon it due to level of threatmostly panic.


    The H2 received a hole in the chest, and yet the autocannon did not stop. It kept firing until the autocannon can''t target it due to angle limitations.


    As the H2 died, Butch''s health points decreased by arge chunk. He noticed that the amount was exactly the same amount of energy he used to capture the H2.


    Then he heard the terrifying soundsing from the autocannon.


    "Bomm! Bomm! Bomm!" Every shot reverberated on the long street. The soundsing from the autocannon even masked the recurring rifle shots and the shrieks of the carriers. He could even imagine the piping hot shells dropping to the side of the tank after every shot.


    Butch instantly realized what was happening. The unconscious Halfdeads died after their summons got annihted. He also realized that having a high energy pool or owning multiple creatures doesn''t really help much in arge scale battle. The soulbinded creatures were like a double-edged sword; it would attack anything you want, and it could also hurt you.


    In a sense, the soul was health and soulbinded creatures dying meant health depletion from the owner. The cons and pros weren''t exined in the skill description. It mostly describes what the skill can do, together with its cost and not the intricacies of it.


    Butch quickly ordered his remaining H2 to drag its dead partner back. It was hard to capture H2''s since they''re quite troublesome. If he collects the body back, he could just ce it under the sun, and it would reanimate after some time.


    His crew noticed his actions and immediately called back their summons. They weren''t idiots, just slow with the uptake. As the Evolved Carriers retreated, the front liners could finally take a breather. Bruised and injured, they forced their way forward while securing unconscious allied forces.


    At this time, the two detached forces finally arrived on the enemy''s nk. The Halfdeads could do nothing but raise their hands due to surprise. They begged and apologized, but the soldiers roughly tied them down.


    After the cleanup, there were twenty-four casualties from the one hundred soldiers that held the line. These numbers came from the initial attack of the horde. Due to its suddenness, a lot of men got injured.


    On the bright side, thirty-three gray people were apprehended, and all of them were alive. Well, it was impossible for them to die since they were immortals, and after several minutes of dying, they got reanimated. Although Jun told them about this ahead of time, the soldiers became dumbfounded after seeing such a scene.


    An immortal life in exchanged of skin color?


    Major Jaquez eyed the prisoners, and no one knows what he was thinking.


    Jun''s elite detachment traveled parallel to the marching army. They entered two streets away and would do a blitz towards the municipal building. The group only had five people, but they had the most firepower in the whole army. Grenades, C4, and other types of explosives were given to them.


    This time, Jun stocked himself with ammunition, and Corwin couldn''t stop him. It was for the mission, after all. He didn''t take much but enough to reach the outpostmander''s limit. He also got an overall upgrade with his guns, a new automatic shotgun, a new Barrett sniper rifle with a new 5-12x42 scope. That means it has a 5x to 12x magnification, which makes things a whole lot bigger.


    He badly needed the new scope since he relies mainly on Time Perse to zoom in and out when ''precise shooting.'' If he wants to hit something from afar without wasting additional energy, the new scope is a good addition to his arsenal. Together with the Barrett sniper rifle, bursting Destroyer eyelids would now be much easier.


    As the truck reach the next turning point, Suico Panaligan saw a gigantic figure standing at the center of the road, blocking the path forward. It was a D2 that stood three-meter tall.


    Suico performed a quick maneuver, which made the truck move from side to side. The D2 tried to grab the roof of the vehicle, but it missed. Unfortunately, even though Suico sessfully dodged the D2, there was another one behind it.


    The truck crashed on the D2''s legs, which forced it to take a few steps backward.


    On the house at the end of the street, the Whisperer was watching the event unfold perfectly, together with the Queen. Her eyes were clouded with mist as grey light glowed from the corners of her eyes.


    "Isn''t this kind of cheating, Yetu? They''ll die without even knowing how they died. Do you hate everyone inside that truck?" said the Whisperer into thin air.

 Chapter 226: The Queen

    Chapter 226: The Queen


    The woman who had glowing white eyes answered. "It''s not cheating, besides, there are no rules here, and the only thing I told you was to wait here." Her voice was still feminine but despite of her calm demeanor, her words appeared as if sharp swords that want to kill someone.


    "If you say so." the Whisperer raised his hands up without care. "So, you do have someone you hate over there? What did the unlucky person do?"


    "He talks too much."


    "Oh. How about me? I''m not talkative right?"


    "Don''t worry, you''re good. You obey, and he doesn''t."


    The Whisperer gulped and cleared his throat, then stared at the truck on the other end of the street.


    All of a sudden, a panicked voice came from behind. It was Butch who looked paler than he usually is.


    "We need help," he said while trying to catch his breath. "The army''s butchering us."


    The Halfdeadmunity finally woke up after hearing the numerous gunshots in the area. They took peeks from the windows of their rooms and spied around the corners. Upon realizing that they were being attacked by the military, several courageous ones tried to fight back. These people sent their summons out to ambush the marching army, only to get ughtered by a hail storm of bullets after getting noticed.


    The army formed a more efficient formation as they stood in groups and stayed away from the sides. They traveled forward in the middle of the road so they could react immediately from threats that tried to ambush them. Soldiers would open fire on a pack of carriers that charges over. It doesn''t matter if it was a headshot or not since they would lose all their health after getting shot from several angles. A detachment would then sweep the area the carriers came from and the soldiers would find an unconscious man on the floor.


    The Halfdeads who witnessed the scene and managed to survive unhesitatingly used their Teleport Runes to report the event to the Whisperer and the Queen.


    As the army continued onward, they noticed a small ck patch of cloud in the distance. Momentster, the pping of wings echoed in the area. The ck patch in the sky wasn''t a cloud! They''re actually bats!


    "Bang!" The truck crashed on the D2''s leg and everyone flew forward.


    "Drive back! Drive back!" Jun shouted but the vehicle remained unmoving. When he turned to the side, he saw Suico dazedly clutch his head. A trickle of blood was flowing from his forehead. "Fvck! Everyone, get out!"


    Upon realizing their situation, the three people at the back quickly jumped off the truck. Saul and Morgan fired at the D2 running towards them from behind. Saul skillfully controlled the assault rifle he had since he was an automatic rifle expert. He knew how to control the recoil and how many burst fire his shoulders could take. Morgan on the other hand was the medic. Although trained in marksmanship, his expertise lies in somewhere else. Luckily, he only had to aim at the bulky chest of the monster. Christian mainly uses sniper rifles and had to whip out his pistol to try and distract the D2 in front of the truck.


    The front D2 slid its hands under the hood, probably wanting to overturn the truck.


    "Shoot the heads, through the eyes!" Jun shouted from inside. As he destroyed the driver''s seatbelt and hurriedly grabbed Suico, the truck suddenly shook even raising a bit.


    There were moments that the soldier''s trainingpromises their instincts. They knew that they have to shoot the head, but years of experience always make them shoot for the body where most shots couldnd.


    Upon hearing Jun''s reminder, the three immediately raised their aims. Christian who hasn''t fired a shot had a quick reflex and instantly locked on the D2''s eyes. He pulled the trigger and a bullet rushed out of the barrel. It flew towards the D2''s eyes and pierced its soft eyeballs. Then, it entered the brain and stayed inside since it couldn''t pierce the skull, creating a mushed delicacy. The D2 fell forward, crushing the hood of the truck since its hand was still under.


    Saul and Morgan managed tond a lucky shot after spending a full magazine trying to shot the moving titan. Although the D2 died, it continued its momentum and tumbled forward. Jun barely pulled Suico out of the truck before the D2 crashed on it. He clutched Suico''s head and rolled on the ground.


    Morgan saw them and ran towards them.


    After he calmed down, Jun became confused. How did these monsters die so quickly? The heck?! Were these fake ones? Why did the ones I fought too strong, and these ones are garbage!?


    Jun looked around in frustration, then he noticed Christian looking somewhere. After squinting his eyes, he saw a familiar figure on the balcony of a house.


    Christian raised his pistol and aimed at the suspicious woman. The teleport runes expanded out of her body and started circling her. Before he could take the shot, an arm blocked his vision. He turned to the side and saw Jun with a gaping mouth.


    "Do you know her?" Christian asked in confusion. When Jun, didn''t answer him, he turned back and shoved the hand to the side. The woman was still on the process of teleporting and so, he took aim once more.


    And once again, an arm blocked him.


    "What''s your problem?! Can''t you see it? That woman attacked us! Only top individuals had high ranking monsters! It''s impossible that these titans just happened to be here, right? Move your hand! They''re our targets! If you block me one more time, I''ll shoot them down through your hands!"


    "I... I think that''s my mom."


    Morgan who was tending to Suico on the ground and Saul who was looting the D2''s quickly turned their heads. Christian slowly faced him and had an expression that couldn''t believe what he just heard.


    "If that''s your mother, then why did she attack us?"


    "I don''t know...but maybe she recognized me that''s why she stopped the Destroyers from causing harm to us?"


    "Listen to yourself! Do you even believe what you''re saying?"


    Christian moved his hand away but there was no one in the balcony anymore. He sighed and shook his head before ring at Jun. He usually acts nonchnt and even appreciates Jun, but in the end, they were here for a mission. There was a high chance that the woman earlier was their target but she got away.


    He walked away to secure the area and ignored Jun.


    A woman appeared at the surrounding of the Teleport Portal. Usually, no one would bother about people who use the portal but this time, the woman immediately got surrounded by her bodyguards. Her bodyguards never saw her real face but her long white dress has been her trademark all along.


    For the people, the Queen had a unique charm that mesmerizes them.


    She strode towards the familiar man robed in white.


    "Did Yetu took over again? Why are there no warnings this time?" she said after regaining full control of her body. She then heard the repeated firings on the distance and became concerned. "Are they attacking us again?"


    "Yeah, they never stop. Thankfully, most of our people are immortals." the Whisperer said, then he noticed that she was acting strange. "Is there a problem?"


    The Queen bit her lip and uttered, "I think I saw my son earlier. I''m not really sure because it''s always hazy when Yetu takes over, but I felt something..."


    "Then, it isn''t true," he said, then further lowered his voice into a whisper. "Your son lives two towns away together with his father. With the number of threats they had to face do you think they''lle here? Do you even think they''re still alive? Look here, I already promised that when we get enough people with proper strengths, we would visit your town to search for them. As long as we can find your family, we can convert them and they''ll be immortals too."


    "...okay."


    The fight in the road ahead continued endlessly. There were at least five hundred Halfdeads helping to defend theirmunity. People would fall unconscious and someone would pull them out to the side. There were bodies lying on the grass and the only thing missing was bodybags.


    Halfdeads continued to arrive via the teleport portal and helping to support the defense. Most of them were already riled up when they arrived, which made them ran to the frontlines with their summon.


    As the Whisperer chatted a bit more, the Queen''s eyes suddenly glowed causing the believers to further strengthen their faith to her.


    Jun''s group arrived at the other end of the long road. The n to infiltrate from behind seeded but it can''t be said to be smoothly executed.


    Everyone got off the truck and started to walk. They don''t need to take the usual heavy load since everything a soldier needs were already in their dimensional storages.


    They sneaked up two blocks away from the municipal building and positioned themselves on a nearby two-storied house. It was the perfect ce to set up an assassination. Just as they reached the second floor, they couldn''t help but watched a strange thing. A woman''s eyes glowed in white and the Teleport Portal, which is the statue behind her, suddenly cracked.


    The believers nearby thought that she was angry but the real reason why the statue started cracking up was due to its dwindling durability. When another person arrived via the portal, the statue tried to keep the endless energy inside it but failed. The statue caused a blinding light for a second before returning to its tranquility. The cracked statue shattered and slowly fell piece by piece.


    Afterward, the Queen stared at a certain direction. Her believers followed her gaze and they found Jun''s group snooping around.

 Chapter 227: Simple-minded Halfdeads

    Chapter 227: Simple-minded Halfdead''s


    "They saw us!" Christian shouted after noticing the Halfdeads movements. "We''re in trouble! Let''s get out of here or we''ll get cornered."


    For a sniper, an exposed hiding ce was as good as staying in the open. It would only take some time before the enemies find and kill you.


    Jun watched the rushing Halfdeads from the window then declined firmly. "No. I think we should stay here."


    "Have you gone crazy? This house is too small! They would fill this up in seconds!" Christian gritted his teeth then added. "I can ept that you mistook someone as your mother and prevented us from finishing the mission early, but I can''t believe that you''re putting other people''s lives in danger!"


    "I have a n and its a guaranteed one. Just listen to me, there''s only one staircase that leads up here and the windows on the second floor are four to five meters high. They would have a hard time climbing up from there."


    "Does that matter when we''re trapped?" Christian rebutted then turned around having enough of Jun. He walked away and the squad members couldn''t do anything but follow him dejectedly. Suico who woke up earlier could only send a well-wishes gaze towards Jun. Saul, who received help from Jun when he got spear-pierced in the leg nodded and bade farewell. Morgan smiled wryly and followed Christian. All in all, these three people received Jun''s kindness and they have a good view of him.


    The military had a strict implementation of hierarchy. Christian was Carl''s right-hand man and a few ranks below him, making him the second inmand of their toon and their squad. Although he had some attitude, everyone knows him as a reasonable and patient kind of guy, and if it weren''t for that cautiousness of him, he could have risen up the ranks a long time ago.


    When they jogged towards the staircase, the sound of ss shattering echoed from the first floor. Shrieks and screams resounded in the building together with running footsteps.


    Christian who was in the lead, quickly whipped out his pistol. He shot every carrier that looked at him and the magazine ejected out in less than two seconds. Another magazine was loaded in and he continued burst firing the heads that appeared in front of him. His squad members started to fire and the carriers were dying.


    The carriers fell on the ground and would be a stumbling block for those running from behind. They would fall forward and gives the team an easy chance to shoot them in the head.


    Unfortunately, a problem cropped even before they could get off the staircase!


    There were too many carriers and there was nowhere to go to!


    Christian tried to look for the weak point but he couldn''t find any! The house was getting filled by carriers! Usually, the house could have ten tenants but that wasn''t the case now. The carriers were even pushing each other that the ones tripped on the floor were getting more crushed.


    When Christian concluded that they couldn''t force a path, he immediately ordered a retreat. The team fired shots as they went back up the staircase.


    As the horde of carriers managed to arrive at the base of the floor, something passed by his left side and hit the forehead of the leading carrier. A hole appeared on the forehead and after a dim glow, the carrier''s head exploded. Strange juice and flesh scattered all over the ce.Arge boulder appeared out of nowhere and blocked the staircase.


    Christian looked back and saw everyone staring at Jun.


    Jun said. "Come up, we need to block the staircase."


    Christian barely resisted the urge to ask Jun what just happened. It was the first time he saw something like that and Carl never mentioned anything like these.


    After getting out of the staircase and arriving on the second floor, the squad hurriedly threw sofas and other furniture they found down the stairs.


    As usual, the minute-stone returned to its original form after the one-minute mark. To their surprise, the carriers only wed and screamed at them. Carriers were supposed to destroy anything on their way to reach their target. That is the general understanding everyone has.


    But Jun found something weird earlier, even as far as yesterday. As basics, red-eyed carriers were different from the yellow-eyed one. He theorized that yellow-eyed carriers were ''energy'' carriers while ''red-eyed carriers'' were tamed carriers.


    He almost got it correct and the idea was the only thing wrong, its the meaning of the eyes color. The yellow-eyed carriers use energy to live, while the red-eyed ones use soul.


    "Do you want to hear my n now?" Jun sarcastically asked. He knew that he could rub it in harder but didn''t do it since he wasn''t a petty man. He continued, "Being trapped like these might actually work for us."


    "What do you mean?" Morgan asked. Christian knew that he shouldn''t be talking right now and kept quiet.


    "Do you remember the horde we sawst night? On the national highway? After we escaped those Halfdeads from the meetup point?"


    "Oh, thatrge horde? Of course, theypletely blocked the whole highway and nothing could pass through them." Morgan affirmed, then asked. "What about them?"


    "They''re also controlled by Halfdeads. Remember when they took some time to react when we arrived there?"


    "What are you hinting at? Come on, get straight to the point! We don''t have enough time to waste here!" Christian burst out and joined the conversation.


    "Okay, sheesh. You need to calm down, man. The whole neighborhood might hear you."


    "You!.."


    Jun smiled and slightly bowed his head. "I''m sorry, I was just messing with you. After you get back here, you kept quiet so I thought you need some motivation."


    It was thest straw and Christian was about to explode when Jun suddenly said something strange.


    Jun said. "I''m proving my theory to all of you, right now, so you could help me with my n."


    "Can''t you just tell us the n, please?" Christian said with a pleading tone to Jun.


    "Okay, so I realized that most of the Halfdeads are idiots. That might be a harsh word, so let''s change it to noobs? They barely have little to no knowledge in controlling their creatures."


    "Look down the stairs, we''ve been talking here for so long but not one of them chose to destroy the furnitures we used to barricade the staircase. If they were ''wild'' carriers, they would have forced their way in through the gaps even if they scraped themselves. Heck, they should be destroying those things that blocked their way! So, in short, even though there are hundreds of them, we only had a small number of enemies. We should be targeting their owners."


    Everyone''s eyes regained hope and they stole a few nce downstairs. It was true that the carriers aren''t destroying the furnitures and only kept wing at them.


    If everything went ording to Jun''s n, they should be safe here and they could disrupt the backline while the army mowed everything on their way.


    Morgan stood guard at the staircase in case the carriers suddenly decided to destroy the barricade. With Jun''s exnation of the Halfdeads being unskilled with controlling their creatures, it was decided that the owners only gave themand to kill the people at the house. Since they didn''t enter the house themselves, they wouldn''t know that the staircase was barricaded and the carriers could only w at Morgan from afar.


    Christian was a true sniper at heart. He already killed dozens of idling Halfdeads on the municipal za. No one knows what effect killing the Halfdead would do to their summons but having fewer people to worry about would good. Every time his position was found, he would immediately leave and search for a new one.


    The ones Christian targets were the Halfdeads that Saul couldn''t reach. Saul was an automatic rifleman. Although he had a great aim, he still had limited effective range and couldn''t kill past that.


    On the other hand, Jun was acting like a dastardly cheater. He had the worst aim among the group and he knew that. He chose to be the scrap man and kills all the sneaky ones who try to get close to the house by using Aura (IDSearch). He already had a name for thebined skill even before he actually learned it.


    He was like a wallhacking camper, the worst of the worst.


    As their group sessfully annoyed the backline, the Whisperer finally decided to make a move and summoned a three-meter tall mutated dog. It was impossible to distinguish its breed but it''s remaining hairs looked soft to the touch and it had perky ears.


    The Whisperer weighed where he should send his Rank 3 German Shepherd. To the ce where there are annoying ants or to the ce where it could maximize its true potential.


    The Whisperer smiled and ignored the house two blocks away. He looked at the distant marching army, slowly pushing onward even though facing the relentless assault from the horde of carriers. With a single, "Go!" the three-meter dog was unleashed to wreak havoc.

 Chapter 228: Yetu, Help!

    Chapter 228: Yetu, Help!


    When Jun noticed the situation, he immediately swapped to his Barrett sniper rifle. He used Time Perse to slow his time and put his eyes on the scope.


    A dog thatrge would decimate the whole army! The corresponding turn of events would not be good to watch.


    Unlike the Halfdeads, every soldier that dies during the operation would die for real. It''s not like the Whisperer would revive them from the dead, right?


    It only took a few strides for the Mutated German Shepherd to close the gap between the army. When it reached the backline of the Halfdeads, it stored power on its limbs and pounced forward.


    The scene of a rabid animal lunging at mid-airfilled with dripping saliva and showing its sharp fangpletely demoralized the army.


    Then a strange thing urred.


    The three-meter tall mutated dog vanished in thin air with sparks of lightning recing its original ce.


    To the soldiers marching and the Halfdeads battling them, it looked unusual when the mutated dog disappeared, even for the people watching from the municipal za, the event was a strange thing. But unlike the Halfdeads fighting at the front line, the Halfdeads on the za knew something they don''t.


    The Queen''s personal bodyguards found it strange when the Queen suddenly turned and jumped towards the Whisperer. Everyone thought that she wanted some love and attention so they looked away. These two single-handedly created them as immortals and whatever rtionship they hadas subordinates, they shouldn''t intervene.


    But in the next second, a loud roaring sound reverberated in the area.


    The Whisperer got shot in the chest together with the Queen when they were looking for cover.


    It was also at this moment, the mutated dog got unsummoned because it only took one shot to kill the Whisperer.


    Jun had an anti-material sniper riflethe Barrett M82, a recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-material precision rifle. It''s used to shoot through light armored vehicles and a person''s body was like jelly to it.


    Jun was absolutely sure that he killed two priority targetsone can summon a Rank 3 mutated dog while the other can summon two Rank 2 Destroyer. He supposed to be happy after killing two mission targets at once, but he couldn''t smile.


    Through the scope that got magnified numerous times, he could see both bodies tilt to the side. The man clearly in pain spurted blood from his mouth as he fell back. The woman tilted more and Jun managed to clearly saw her face. The glow in her eyes disappeared and he became sure of one thing.


    The woman was really his mother.


    "Mom!" Jun yelled in anguish, feeling pained.


    From the scopes, he saw how the chest became bloodied in a single second after getting shot. As the thought of her dying entered his mind, he immediately became worried.


    Then a realization struck him, his mother was already a Halfdead. Just like the man he interrogated from the truck and the ones he encountered since yesterday.


    But Jun did what he thought best and opened the window fully. Saul who was nearby and paid attention to him immediately realized his intent but failed to react quickly.


    Jun jumped off from the second floor and rolled on the ground. A ck whirlpool appeared on the ground and Jun took inserted his hand to it. He used his standing momentum to pull the War Hammer from within and performed a full spin, clearing his immediate surrounding.


    Saul who couldn''t stop him from jumping down immediately provided cover fire. He mainly shot the carriers from the side while spraying some shots on those blocking Jun''s way. Suico also stopped trying to snipe the Halfdeads from afar and supported Jun''s advance. Christian on the other hand, on;y swept a nce towards Jun and continued sniping Halfdeads in the municipal za.


    Christian''s actions were more useful as tens of carriers would get unsummoned every time their owners get killed. Though it was the truth, Jun still felt that Saul and Suico are more useful than him.


    Halfway through his run, Jun cleaved three carriers apart then got tackled to the ground. A man in full leather attire remained on top of him and started punching his face.


    When Butch saw the Whisperer''s mutated dog disappear in mid-air, he instantly knew that something went wrong. It was the first time that the mutated dog vanished without even fighting when sent out to a fight. By the time he looked back, the personal guards were already carrying the Queen and the Whisperer towards the municipal building.


    The ce was already fortified and barricades were all over the ce.


    The Club House can''t shelter everyone and only the topmost believers have the privilege to own a room there. Most of the reserve top believers could only guard the municipal teleport portal and hope that they could rise in ranks in the future.


    As he got nearer, Butch saw Jun cleaving his way through the carriers. Together with the covering fireing from the distant house, he instantly knew that the man isn''t here for some hugs. So, he charged at the man from the side and tackled him to the ground.


    After a few punches, Butch strangled Jun and took a kitchen knife from his dimensional storage.


    Jun saw the knife on Butch''s right hand, which prompted him to grab the man''s wrist. Butch realized that he was getting overpowered, so he used his other hand to push the knife down towards Jun''s chest.


    Jun then used Empower and punched Butch''s side, causing a few cracks to be heard.


    Butch rolled to the side while clutching his ribs. When he saw Jun standing up and staring at him, he rolled away a few times then jumped up. He wondered why Jun didn''t follow up an attack then he noticed that the man wasn''t at him.


    He turned back and saw the Whisperer and the Queen walking side by side as they went down the wide stairs of the municipal building.


    The Queen was soothing the anxious believers that stuck beside her. She was totally fine after recovering enough energy. The believers who failed to do their task of protecting her turned their gaze at the unknown man standing in the middle of the municipal za.


    All personal guards ran forward then summoned their creatures. Seventeen D1''s appeared and towered two-meters tall, immediately blocking Jun''s vision of her mother.


    Even then, Jun didn''t move and only watched the D1''s ran down the stairs. After the D1''s reached t ground, he could finally see his mother once again. The woman he had been longing to see a long time ago.


    No words came out of his mouth. He couldn''t think of anything to say except to apologize for what he had done.


    Like a knowing mother who understood clearly what her son was thinking, she smiled. Then shouted in amanding voice, "Everyone stop."


    When her believers heard her unusual dignified voice, all of them stopped and turned towards her.


    "He''s my son."


    The Whisperer quickly turned his head and could only stare in shock towards the Queen. Wasn''t your son a good child, someone who doesn''t know how to hurt someone and only knows to protect his little sister? What is this? Are you joking right now?


    The Whisperer became troubled and the situation became a stalemate. Though this is the first time he saw the man, he couldn''t help but feel a deathly auraing from him. The res he received from earlier and the warm gaze now were pr opposites.


    Maybe, we could recruit him? That would be good since we don''t have many people who wants to fight in closebat.


    The Whisperer coughed to attract everyone''s attention.


    "If you''re really the "Queen''s" son, you must know her name, right? Only the two of us know her name"


    "Rosa, derived from red rose for its meaningpassion and true love. Born in the summer of 1976 at my grandmother''s home in Binangonan."


    Jun emotionally stated while staring at her mother''s tearful eyes.


    She smiled like a blooming flower and her radiance showered upon her believers, making them feel touched to their Queen''s reunion with her son. It has been a long time when the rumor that the Queen wanted to go to Binangonan to search for her family has spread wide on the Halfdeadmunity.


    It was the reason why most of the Halfdead strengthens themselves every dayto payback for the immortality given to them.


    "I''ve secured the whole town and I reunited with little sis and grandma. You shoulde back with me, I could bring us back safely!"


    ''This is bad!'' the Whisperer thought. ''Yetu! I need your help! Yetu!!''


    "How''s your dad? I heard from your sister that she got caught in an office ident?"


    ''Why are you calling me!? I have too many things to attend to!'' Yetu''s voice sounded inside the Whisperer''s head. This is the first time that he felt happy after his numerous interactions with the grumpy voice.


    Before he could even provide an exnation, Rosa''s eyes started to glow.

 Chapter 229: Wings of Faith

    Chapter 229: Wings of Faith


    "Go back," Rosa said while gazing at Jun. Her eyes were glowing making her appear bitter. "I know that both you and your sister hated me for what I''ve done, but I can''t change the past. I chose to do that because it was the best solution at the time. Please go back and forget about me. You and Anna have grown strong and I''m sure that you''ll always keep her safe."


    A momentter, the glow in her eyes vanished.


    Jun knew what was happening and didn''t fall for their trickery. He said anxiously, "Mom, you''re being controlled! Listen to me, I have a friend that''s a bit smarter than me. We can ask him for help."


    Rosa stared at Jun for a long time but her face remained stoic. Her eyes would blink and shift from side to side as if thinking. She was currently negotiating with Yetu.


    Her unique title, Faith Weaver, was bestowed by Yetu to her. Then she met the Whisperer, someone who also made a deal with the devil.


    Their souls were bound to Yetu when they epted their unique titles. In return, they acquired immediate strength above everyone else. Surviving every day became worth living. As more people came to convert, theirmunity rose up on the societal pecking order. The initial powerhouses of the town died after some time while the Halfdeads kept on resurrecting. The news of the gift of immortality spread wide among the popce together with its curse of gray skin and strange tattoo.


    Even then, the survivors flocked in groups for a few days until the army appeared. A notice was given trying to recruit them but they declined. The army then started calling them rebels for not following their orders. The town was divided into four groups; soldiers, Halfdeads, carriers, and mutated animals.


    Every time a Halfdead group was out scavenging for food, it was inevitable for them to sh. Some Halfdeads would die but the army never got to beat them. The survivors just had to secure the body and wait for some time for the person to reanimate, and everything will be okay.


    A battle with the Halfdeads is always a battle of attrition.


    "Go back," said Rosa after a long time of silence. "I can''t go back to the old me. Your uncle died trying to protect me, and even now, I can still remember the smile he sent me as he got pushed to the ground by those things. Although we have simrities, we would never be like them."


    "Bang!" A loud gunshot came from the house two blocks away. Christian still had his eyes on the scope and his breathing was perfectly aligned when he pulled the trigger.


    Rosa moved her head slightly to the right, causing the shot to miss. For everyone at the scene, she looked like she had high reflexes but in reality, it was her other skill ying by itself.


    By consuming the gathered Faith from her ''soulbinded'' individuals, she could receive a warning of iing danger five seconds ahead of the current time. The remaining time after witnessing the future was just enough to dodge.


    Every believer immediately turned their heads towards their Queen. When they saw that she was safe, everyst one of them stared at the distant house with hatred.


    The personal guards sent fifteen D1''s to tten the house while two remained to keep Jun at bay. But to their surprise, Jun didn''t even nce at the house and only stared at the top of the staircase right after the za.


    "Mother!" Jun shouted.


    When he tried to run forward, two D1''s blocked his way. The two giants looked down on Jun and the next second, they had their heads cleaved off. Jun flicked his wrist causing the dripping blood from his War Hammer to flew to the ground.


    "Please back off!"


    "I know your the Queen''s son but please follow her orders."


    The crowd of personal guards divided themselves into two. One part stayed behind the staircase to block Jun while the other used their bodies as a shield to block the iing shots.


    The continued fire only stopped when the D1''s finally arrived nearby the house. It seems like their owners were smarter than the others since they were wrecking things all over the house. Christian''s four-squad team had to prevent the house from copsing if they want to survive.


    On the distant battlefield between the Halfdeadmunity and the army, the organized army finally won. Even with Yetu''s Large Bat''s help, the Halfdeads were still forced back due to the precise shooting of the army.


    The majority of the soldiers from the army gained aiming rted skills. Only the unique and a few selected ones had strange skills but stillplies with their skill set. Using their trained skills against the mob of Halfdeads, they were able to push through.


    The Whisperer turned to Butch and the man instantly knew what he needs to do. He channeled energy to his guitar and red at the iing army.


    When the guitar started to glow, he strummed hard and sent a sonic wave forward. His body flew back together with the guitar.


    The small sonic wave traveled in a linear path but something happened mid-way. The unnoticeable wave of energy turned into a lifesize red horse.It galloped forward and headbutted the first soldier it crashed into. The soldier flew back several meters and collision with others.


    When everyone thought it was done, the red horse suddenly raised its feet in the air and stomped down causing the surrounding ten-meter area to take damage.


    The unfortunate soldiers inside the ten-meter area received confusion and hearing debuffs.


    Nearby Halfdeads caught the unconscious Butch. To guarantee the effectiveness of the skill, he poured everyst bit of energy he had and make the final strum.


    The Halfdeads weaknesses finally show up. If they don''t have enough energy, they can''t capture a higher-ranked creature. If they somehow increased their max energy, their health would instantly get depleted when their summons die. While they have summons, their energy doesn''t regenerate as the energy gets consumed directly by their summons. Without enough energy, they can''t cast their other skills. And the most severe among them, they permanently lose their summons when killed. This makes it harder when fighting since capturing and summoning would use another set of energy.


    Although that was the case, the army did not rx. They knew that this time was the only chance that they had since these people have huge growth potential.


    After helping the affected soldiers and bringing them to the back of the formation, the army continued their march, but this time, the IFV stood in front to stop any strange events from happening.


    The remaining Halfdeads were forced to gather at the municipal za. More and more Halfdeads were falling ''asleep'' as the army made quick work of their summons.


    The house where Christian''s team crashed down after taking a beatdown from the inexhaustible Destroyers. The owners probably ordered to tten the house since even after the house crashed down, the Destroyers were still pounding its rubbles.


    Unfortunately for them, Christian''s team was seen moving around on the next block.


    The situation was dire and the Halfdeads were surrounded. The remaining Halfdeads did not run away but instead guarded their friends and family. Everyst one of them ready to fight to the death.


    Because everyone believed in that one person they leaned to.


    And she did not disappoint.


    Rosa walked down the staircase then faced the army.


    She stood at the forefront of the defensive line asked her people. "Do you believe in me?"


    Some Halfdeads were confused but when one answered, everyone else followed. "I do."


    "We do!"


    Rosa smiled solemnly and said, "Keep believing because I''ll need it."


    She spread her hands to the side and ethereal white wing expanded sideways. The wings easily stretched three to four meters to the side,pletely blocking everyone behind her. The wings feathers were made from unique individual energy and the number of feathers corresponds to the number of believers she had.


    . Upon seeing the strange transformation of the possible enemy leader, Major Jaquez immediately ordered suppression fire.


    The barrels of rifles continued shing nonstop.


    Jun shouted for them to stop but no one was listening to him. It was also questionable if they could even hear him.


    When the army started firing, the Halfdeads were about to respond with their own summons but Rosa had other things in mind. She ordered, "Everyone! Enter the portal and take everyone with you. Leave no one behind!"


    No one questioned her orders as everyone unanimously moved as if they were one body. They would take sleeping people on their way to the Red Portal.


    Rosa''s Wing of Faith negated every shot from the army. In return, the more than ten thousand points of faith she umted were quickly reducing.


    The personal guards manning Jun was startled when he suddenly threw glowing pebbles towards their Queen.


    A secondter, dozens of boulders appeared out of nowhere and blocked the barrage of fire, slowing down the armies attack.

 Chapter 230: A Mothers Love

    Chapter 230: A Mother''s Love


    Rosa and her guards turned to Jun in surprise.


    "You don''t need to go!" Jun said to his mother. "We don''t know where that Portal will take you. I can speak to the army''s higher-ups! I''m one of the few people who nned this, and they''ll surely listen to me!"


    Everyone was focused on him and they were indifferent. Most of them even focused on the wrong things.


    "What did you just say?"


    "Do you mean you helped nning this attack?!"


    "Everyone, stop!" said Rosa. "I''m fine, so go and help other people! Let me have some time to talk with my son."


    Her guards were hesitating at first but chose to follow in the end. They were ring at Jun even as they walked away.


    Momentster, some soldiers finally got some angle after running to the sides. Shots were fired and several unlucky Halfdeads got shot but received help from other people. This time, the Halfdeadmunity used their summons mainly to prevent enemy vision.


    Rosa''s wings could only block the area in front of her and as long as she had Faith Points, the wings would be unbreakable.


    Armed Halfdeads were shooting suppression fire at Christian''s group, making them pinned down at the building they were in.


    After making sure that she had the right angle to defend, Rosa turned to Jun. "Do you want to learn the truth?"


    Jun froze not knowing what to do. His mother didn''t wait for his reply after seeing him freeze up.


    "I''m truly sorry for leaving you but I had no choice. You were the older one, the stronger one, so I thought you would be able to take care of your father. At that time, there were two choiceswhether they kill us all, or they''ll just make us pay the consequences.We thought we had the best idea, but we were wrong. They left us on our own for a few years, but they came back. They didn''t keep their end of the deal and everything worsened."


    "Stop..."


    "They hired watchers and kept us in check. Your father identally messed with the wrong people," she chuckled wryly, "He didn''t even have protection and the only people he trusts left him be eaten alive."


    Jun had a sudden feeling. That something was about to wrong. "I don''t need to hear this anymore. I didn''t ask for it!"


    "Just listen, Jun... I still believe that you are my obedient son. With the way I look and how the government sees us, it''s impossible to go back with you."


    "That''s not a problem! I created my own government!"


    Rosa softly shook her head. "I''m not sure whether these people are still alive and whether they''re even interested in our family but this... Look at me! The military will surely take us."


    Rosa nced at her Faith Points then smiled at Jun.


    "I have to go now."


    "Take me with you!"


    Rosa pondered for a second then nodded her head. She then shouted for the remaining people that were defending toe and enter the Red Portal.


    Aside from the few angled shots that manage to make their way to her wings, most of the loss in Faith Points came from linking everyone to each other. Ever since people entered the Red Portal, she had been using Faith Points to make sure that everyone arrives together safely to their destination.


    Just like what Jun said, she had no knowledge of where the Portal could lead them. The only thing that she could do was to believe that it was a safe ce.


    As Rosa walked towards the Portal, she said to Jun, "Make sure to own a title. They''re pretty handy and has a lot of uses. Yetu doesn''t exin much but if you ask nicely he tends to answer. He''s like a small child who thinks he owns the world."


    As thest Halfdead entered the Portal, the two of them stood on the empty za.


    Rosa then said. "We have people to protect and we''re both weak now. Let''s see each other once we get stronger."


    Jun was surprised by her words but when she tried to reach out to her, she was already entering the Red Portal. He ran after her and entered the Portal.


    Ten points of energy got consumed.


    When he took another step forward, he was at a familiar ce. In front of him was a gymnasium and on his right was the municipal building.


    The patrols around the za caused amotion when something suddenly came out of the Red Portal. It was early in the morning and the Red Portal usually spats monsters aroundte afternoon or early evening.


    To their shock, a monster really appeared but it''s one monster they weed.


    Marvin ran out of the Municipal Hall together with Cain and Ralph. They were having a meeting on where to scavenge for today when the ruckus happened.


    That''s right. Jun was at Angono Municipal za.


    Marvin smiled then waved his hand. "Boss, we can use these Red Portals now? Is it safe?"


    Jun ignored his questions and looked around. "Did a group appeared here? There''s at least four to five hundred of them. Some were unconscious while others were wounded."


    Marvin looked for the Patrol Leader and the man shook his head.


    Jun saw the man''s answer and immediately turned around, once again entering the Red Portal. The Portal ate ten energy from him then spat him out to his next destination.


    Jun was standing at a vast open za and there were mountains in the distance. He examined the area but only found R0 Carriers wandering around. If his mother''s group came here then they should be fighting their way out but the ce was peaceful. He turned back once more and entered the Red Portal.


    This time, he received a surprise after walking out to the other side. There was a Rank 2 Destroyer sitting in front of the Portal as if waiting for unfortunate preys toe over to this side.


    The D2 immediately pounded its hand down but Jun was able to dodge. He turned around and left the ce.


    He repeated this for at least ten times with no sess. It was a random teleport and he even arrived at other countries. He knew it wasn''t the Philippines simply because the Portal Area and the written words on buildings were different.


    Every time he enters the Portal, he would appear to a ce he hasn''t visited. It would always be a unique area with a unique ce and people.


    After escaping from a dangerous ce, he nned to recover some energy since he only had a quarter of energy left.


    Christian was contemting whether to enter the Red Portal. When he noticed that there no one firing from the other side, they chose to move in. But it was toote and the only thing he saw was Jun chasing after his mother.


    When the army arrived, he learned thatrge boulders appeared out of nowhere which helped the rebels escape. Christian then realized that Jun helped the rebels and he became mad! As a man of duty, doing something like that was unforgivable to him.


    The army surrounded the za and has taken over the municipal grounds. They were now spreading out to secure the area for possible threats.


    As Christian cursed Jun inside his head, the man himself came out of the Portal and appeared before him.


    The two were both confused but Christian was the first to recover. It''s because his anger fueled him to recover faster while Jun happened to be deeply confused.


    Jun thought that entering the Portal would always bring you to a unique ce. That''s the reason why he was shocked and unable to react quickly.


    By the time he woke up from his stupor, he was already thrown to the ground away from the Portal. When he stood up, the soldiers were already surrounding him with raised weapons.


    "You''ll be brought to the outpost for interrogation. You helped the rebels escape and you''ll have to answer for a lot of things."


    Jun wasn''t listening to him. He was thinking about why he couldn''t chance upon his mother''s group. He gave up resisting and let himself be cuffed up.


    As he was staring dazed in thin air, a notification appeared in front of him.


    [You were chosen as the benefactor for the Quest, A Mother''s Love. You received a Mystery Gift. The item will be sent to your dimensional storage in one minute. Please make sure you have enough space.]


    A minuteter, a Mystery Gift box appeared in his dimensional storage. Even with hands cuffed, he easily essed his dimensional storage and opened the Mystery Gift.


    A fanfare that he could only hear yed by his ears, then a ckpass appeared on its ce.


    [ck Compass]


    [Description] A magicalpass that only points to the thing its user desired most.


    [Durability- 10/10]

 Chapter 231: The Hunting List

    Chapter 231: The Hunting List


    Military trucks were used to shuttle captured Halfdeads and Jun sat together with them as he was brought back to the outpost. He had no time to test whether the item works as intended but the thought of someone giving him a mystery gift surprised him. Though he knew who gave him the gift, he doesn''t understand how and why.


    What he doesn''t know was his mother made a deal with Yetu. Since she knew that Jun would never be able to ept her decision, and Yetu appears to dislikes her son, she bargained to get the most possible oue.


    She did her best and even made sure that Jun wouldn''t be able to chance upon her. After some time, Yetu confirmed that Jun stopped looking and their part of the deal had tomence.


    Jun looked daze and kept staring down the truck''s aisle. Fortunately, none of the Halfdeads in the truck new him but his skin color was making him the center of attraction.


    A few Halfdeads didn''t care about him but the rest repeatedly nced on him. He could hear a few whispers but did not pay them any attention.


    "Quiet!" the soldier on board shouted. The man sat on the exit together with his partner.


    The journey continued and they arrived at the Rotunda Tikling Outpost without a hitch. The trucks parked at a nearby parking space. Soldiers were already positioned at the area and were only waiting for them to arrive.


    As everyone got off their trucks, the Halfdeads were ordered to form two lines by gender. Jun who had different skin stood out among the crowd when everyone was forming their lines. The soldiers on board his truck pulled him over to the side and headed somewhere else.


    Momentster, he could see a familiar multi-storied building, a police station. It was the Outpost''s prison. He was brought to a cell and he could see Carl looking at him with a smirk on his face. Several minutester, Christian''s group arrived together with the jail officer. Carl was released and he mockingly stared at Jun as he passed by.


    Time passed and Jun was contemting life. There were no guards at the prison room. He could escape by activating the Teleport Rune and these people won''t even know what happenedbut he chose not to escape because he still had something to do, a grudge that needs to be settled.


    His first target. the old bald man from his childhood. The one person who caused trouble at their own house and had his security guards scare his mother by toppling their table.


    Retired-General Basilio Mestreet. He was the top influencer on the misfortunes that happened to his family ording to Evo''s report.


    At first, he had no idea where to look for him, butdy luck smiled at him. The ahole came knocking on his own and now, he got a lead on where to find him. He only wanted to see Marianne but he got some unexpected intel from Carl. If he catches Basilio, he could politely ask where the other people on the list were. Some of the people in the list were politician together with some businessmen. It was because of their vastwork that caused his family to suffer.


    Jun spent about half an hour detained in the prison cell before a schrly soldier arrived. He introduced himself as the Commander''s secretary and took him out of his cell. He was still thinking of ways to get out of the situation when an idea popped up in his head. He then allowed the secretary to lead him to the Commander''s office. He knew that something was going on but didn''t shy away from it.


    After the secretary urged him to enter, did only he chose to enter.


    The outpostmander was sitting on his swivel chair looking outside the window as if contemting about something. When the door opened, he turned around and looked at Jun.


    Corwin went directly to the point.


    "I heard of your deeds, the good and the bad. To be honest, I don''t know what to do with you. I know what you did was for your mother but at the same time, I have the duty to punish you. Christian also gave a full report on how you helped the rebel leaders numerous times. He also reported that you killed the leaders one time which is making me really confused. Whose side are you really on?"


    Jun shook his head before taking a seat in front of themander. "Are you asking me why I saved my own mother multiple times? Why I didn''t kill her when I had the chance? Are you really asking me that!?"


    "Do you usually talk like this? This is probably why Paul hates you."


    "Paul?" Jun asked himself on where he heard the familiar name.


    "You probably don''t know him but he''s Marianne father. He''s a friend of mine and he''s a bit over-protective of his daughter." Corwin said.


    "Ah, that sh*tface who likes to threaten people. Yeah, he''s a real bastard who can''t keep promises. I met him one time. He had this small group ofckeys with him. Hah! Pussies. I managed to smack that Carl in the face though, so it worth it. You know him?"


    Corwin frowned, then asked Jun. "You know him?"


    "Did you even listen to anything that I just said... We can talk about thatter on. Can we talk now? What do you need from me?"


    "Ah! That''s right. It seems like my age has really been catching up to me. If I just have amendable son like you, I could probably rest in peace."


    Jun tapped his fingers on the table to remind the man that he was going off-topic once again. His action also reminded Corwin that he still had his hands cuffed up.


    Corwin called his secretary to get the key which irritated Jun. Instead of pushing the conversation forward, there was useless chatter going on. He grabbed the opening of the handcuffs then forced them open manually, which shocked the old man.


    "Can we talk now?" Jun asked while cing the torn handcuffs at the table.


    Corwin nodded inside approvingly after seeing Jun''s strength. It looks like he really made the right decision this time.


    Jun continued, "What do you want from me?"


    "I want to know what''s on the other side of the Red Portal. In exchange, you would be sentenced tomunity service for a weekclearing subdivisions and helping survivors around the area. That''s the best that I could do. Although the soldiers could sympathize with you, you can''t go unpunished. I would also grant you citizenship, so you could enter secured cities without a hassle." Corwin said.


    Jun became surprised. "Why are you doing this? What''s the catch? You can get that information by sending people at the portal, right?"


    "In your opinion, will they be able toe back? In the reports, you were easily subdued by Christian. That meant something happened on the other side. I only have a limited amount of soldiers in rotation. The doctors here could barely keep them alive and they have to stay in the hospital most of the times. If I lose more soldier, the outpost would stop functioning anymore. So, yes, I can get that information by sending people to enter the Portal but I can''t risk their lives. Also, I want us to be on good terms."


    Jun frowned but continued to listen.


    Corwin continued, "The military needs strong people like you. I am privy to some information and there''s a n to make a special branch made from strong elites like you. You can say that I need people inside whose on my side."


    Jun''s mind began weighing the pros and the cons. If he epted, he could easily enter government-controlled cities and search for the people that caused his family''s division. On the other hand, they would surely want things and order him around. if he declined...


    "Okay." Jun nodded his head. The n wasn''t certain and if it was ever made into action, he could just don''t join. He knew that Corwin was trying to use him to get merits and so he would use him too.


    With that out of the way, Jun filled him in with the basic information of the Red Portal. It was a random teleport that costs ten energy per usage. There''s a small chance of going back to your entry point but most of the time, you arrive at a unique ce.


    Corwin was amazed at the information he received. He felt like a child getting curious about new things that he hears.


    After having his demands met, Corwin announced Jun to be a prisoner under observation and would work onmunity service to right his wrongs.


    That day, he spent the day inside the prison cell to rest. It was also Corwin''s order so that Carl wouldn''t be able to n anything for the meantime.


    Jun was lounging at his bed when he received a message on his smartwatch. He made sure that no one was nearby before opening the hologram message.


    The mail came from Evo, and it said, "Don''t ask for more. I''m too busy right now! When are youing back!? P.S. I ced the item on the Faction Storage. Check your corner. It''s the only one the scavengers found so take care of it."


    Jun opened the faction storage and found ck military shoes on his allotted corner.

 Chapter 232: Learn — Adapt

    Chapter 232: Learn ¡ª Adapt


    The orange rays of the setting sun shone inside an alley followed by numerous sound of puddle getting stepped on echoed repeatedly. The buildings nearby show no signs of someone living there for a long time.


    A group of people was run in a triangr formation while chasing a Rank 2 Hunter. As time went by, the carrier''s instincts were getting sharper. Once a Rank 1 or Rank 2 Evolved Carrier realizes that it would die, it would spare no effort to run away. It''s bing important to kill any Evolved Carrier as soon as possible since they were beginning to learn or adapt to their surrounding.


    The five soldiers chasing the R2 Hunter were armed ording to their positions. The lead soldier had a machete and a pistol as a sidearm. The rest had sharpened polearms with rifles slung on their backs. The usual tactic would be to first use the polearms to kill as much as possible and only use the rifles when they''re in trouble.


    As the group got out of the alley, they arrived at an abandoned construction site.The squad leader immediately noticed the sparse carriers in the area.


    After examining the carriers around them, a chill crept up behind everyone''s backs.


    All of the carriers in the area were Evolved Hunter, with R1 Hunters numbering the most while the R2 Hunters in the few.


    The squad leader did not panic and ordered a hasty retreat.


    Of course, the R2 Hunter who risked its life to bait them into chasing here wouldn''t watch them simply run away after all its effort. It snarled and the R1 Hunters immediately chased, while the other R2 Hunters just stood there.


    Seeing their attitudes, the R2 Hunter hissed at them. The three R2 Hunters then cowered before running after the crowd.


    These Hunters were the ones who experienced life and death under the soldier''s regr area sweeps. They became more cunning. They learned to bait when in trouble, trap when outnumbered and wait patiently in ambush until its the right time.


    It''s been more than a month since these batch of soldiers were first sent out to be stationed here.


    The Outpost has been standing strong if you look at it on the outside but the reality is that it was full of holes. The supplies they receive weekly have been dwindling and their ammunitions were starting to get dangerously low.


    As they ran away, the squad leader noticed his members nced at him pleadingly. Left with no choice, the Squad Leader sighed before allowing the use of their rifles.


    After turning into another corner, everyone quickly swapped from sharpened poles into automatic rifles. With renewed vigor, they turned around and started firing wildly on the chasing R1 Hunters.


    Everyone was using their skills and every shot was causing damage. Although it was hard to aim at the R1 Hunter''s heads due to their quick strange movements, it wasn''t impossible to hit their bodies in this narrow alley.


    The group easily dealt with the chasing R1 Hunters but no one created any sound. They stared at the end of the alley, waiting for the R2 Hunters toe. After waiting for a few more seconds, the Squad Leader walked forward and knelt down near the pile of dead Hunters.


    Just as he was about to ce his hand on top of their bodies, he heard scraping sounds from above. He immediately looked up and saw the R2 Hunters dagger-like teeth zoomed in on him.


    The squad members noticed his action and everyone looked up. Three R2 Hunters jumped from the ledge of the two-storied building and they were all going for their squad leader. The squad leader rolled back and everyone started giving suppressing fire as soon as the R2 Hunters dropped down.


    R2 Hunters wed at the air, causing the bullets that entered the ws path to get cleaved into two. The cleaved bullet changes direction but still hits the R2 Hunters body, albeit with reduced damage.


    The deadliest thing about using rifles in battles was the reloading time. It doesn''t matter whether you panic or not when a soldier runs out of bullet while this close to the enemy, they would be forced into a melee.


    The R2 Hunters realized their mistake earlier and distributed targets. One R2 remained while two ran past the squad leader to rush the soldiers from behind. At the same time, the two R2 Hunters didn''t miss the chance for a sneak attack while they ran past the squad leader.


    The squad leader''s upper arms got wed from both sides. Five red lines appeared and began to bleed. Thest R2 Hunter didn''t waste another second and quickly lunged forward for the kill.


    As the two R2 Hunters left the squad leader and lunge forward to the four reloading soldiers, a thin ivory spear pierced the protruding back of the R2 Hunter that was about to feast on the squad leader.


    The squad leader was surprised but still used his hand to block the flinging body of the R2 Hunter. He used his right arm to grab the Hunter''s head, preventing the numerous dagger-teeth from biting him. Then, he used his other arm to shield himself from the iling arms of the dead Hunter.


    The two soldiers at the front stopped reloading and swapped to their sharpened polearms. They raised the poles like amateurs as the two Hunter lunged forward. One even had his eyes closed as if he was afraid of seeing his own death.


    A loud crashing sound rang synchronically with the iling of fabric being blown by the wind.


    When the man opened his eyes, he saw a cloaked man stepping off the R2 Hunters dead bodies.


    Jun examined the area, then tossed a small bottle to the soldier nearby. "Use that on your leader. It can help slow down the bleeding," then asked, "Did you find their nest? Have you killed all of them?"


    The soldier he gave the bottle bowed and thanked him, then ran towards his squad leader.


    The soldier who closed his eyes lowered his head in shame then gathered his courage to answer. "I''m not sure. We didn''t get an urate count since we ran after we realize that its a trap."


    Jun asked for direction, then he bade farewell while running towards the abandoned construction site.


    The five-man team stared in a daze as they watch him run away.


    "That''s him, right? The crazy guy."


    "Sssh! Are you crazy?! What if he hears you? If you want to die, don''t get us involved please!"


    The man who asked the question covered his mouth with his hands before looking away.


    It''s been a week since Jun started hismunity service.


    When he first showed up for hismunity service, the officer in charge of directing manpower rejected his request to work alone. The number of people at the infirmary was already too many to handle but this one willingly wants to get injured! He steeled himself to not send another man to his death, but with the intervention of the outpostmander, Jun was allowed to do what he wanted on the condition that he would stay in the area he was designated to.


    Jun agreed and the officer in charge could only sigh. This man''s death isn''t on me!


    There are numerous reasons why Jun wanted to be alone. He had high-tech items that he needs to keep as a secret and several daily experiments he was doing.


    In these seven days, he was able to level up three times bringing him to level 14. His stats weren''t increasing leaps and bounds like it used to be, and it was even increasing ever so slowly.


    Even with the high-quality carriers he killed, the amount of experience he gained wasn''t up to his satisfaction. He wished that he could get the EXP buff from the monolith at the Calvary Peak to further increase his experience gain. If only he knew that most people took two to three days to level up, then would he still feel unsatisfied?


    Unlike Jun, other people work in groups to hunt carriers. The experience they receive would be divided into those who dealt damage and to those who gave them supporting aids.


    In these past few days, he learned destorm, Detection, and Block. destorm was a simple three spin cyclone move using a weapon. He has been using the skill a long time ago but only had the time to truly learn it now. Detection was the result of Aura(IDSearch) being registered to his skill list. Block was a recent discovery for Jun, and he learned it by ident preventing him from furthering his research on skill creation.


    Block was a simple skill. If the user has enough energy, the damage that was supposed to be received would be negated. He tried shooting his hand and it works perfectly fine.


    Jun arrived at the abandoned construction site. He looked around but couldn''t sense anything. He activated the camouge cloak to hide his smell then activated his military boots to remove his footsteps.


    Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by the R2 Hunter from the rooftop of a nearby motel.


    Upon sensing that Jun appears to be troublesome, the R2 Hunter chose to run away.

 Chapter 233: Profession Change

    Chapter 233: Profession Change


    Night has alreadye and the street corners and back alleys have turned dark. The sr streetmps was a regional project by the Governor of Rizal. You could see this sr streetmps all around the region.


    A few streetmps were damaged which caused some gaps in the illumination in the area. Trucks filled with soldiers wereing back after a hard day''s work.


    Although the carriers would act passive at night, Corwin prefers a safer approach towards sweeping the surrounding towns. Cleaning the towns faster would be a great achievement but he also needs to have soldiers with him to celebrate it. It would be bad on his record if there was more casualty than the other generals deployed around the country, especially when he was the one known for his tactics and strategy.


    Jun arrived with a bicycleone he received from Evoand used the gachaball to store it. Everyone nearby was astounded to see the miraculous action. He strode around the outpost''s hallways casually as if he owned the ce.


    The soldiers didn''t mind him since they were already used to seeing him around the area. After seven days ofmunity service, Jun gained the nickname ''the cloaked crazy guy who gets angry when you kill steal from him but doesn''t like it when his kill gets stolen.''


    Several stairwellster, Jun arrived at the top floor then made his way to the office. He didn''t even bother to knock and just entered without notice.


    The secretary was slightly surprised but rxed after seeing that it was Jun.


    "He''s waiting for you. Do you need anything? Drinks?"


    "No, it''s okay."


    Jun walked towards the end and entered Corwin''s office.


    Corwin was busy reading the reports on his table and a smile could be seen on his face.


    "You seem happy?" Jun asked.


    Corwin raised his head and finally noticed that Jun was inside.


    "Oh, hey. Of course, I''ll be happy! Is there a reason not to? Hahaha! I''m in the top three Brigadier General who sessfully established an outpost! Everyone has the same number of troops, but I have fewer resources to work around with! Ha! Do you know what this could mean? Promotions! If I keep getting good results, the higher-ups would finally notice me again and would trust me more! Now, I just need something that will make them love me. Oh, by the way, how''s your day?"


    "I''m here to collect my ''citizenship.'' I''ve finished cleaning thest area you told me to. Except for the few elusive ones, the rest of the Evolved Carriers were already killed." said Jun.


    "It''s thest day already?" Corwin uttered in surprise. "Time sure flies by when good thing happen. Don''t you want to stay? There are other ces you could go to. I can even allow you to go deeper into Pasig but you''ll have to be careful not to attract arge horde to us. Titans there are strangely overpowered. Even the weak small ones were much powerful than the regr ones here."


    "No, I just want the citizenship." Jun sternly said.


    Corwin smiled wryly before pulling the side drawer of his table. "Its a waste but there''s nothing I could do to convince you, I suppose... just don''t forget about me when you make it big, alright?"


    Corwin took a piece of paper and presented it to Jun.


    "Currently, there are three types of citizenship, the social ss also known as the high-ss. I think you can guess what kind of people belongs here, right? Then, there''s the business ss, also known as the middle-ss. These people have special knowledge or the ''important'' people in their trades. A good example would be farmers, masons, and the likes. Then, therees thest one known as the basic ss, also the lowest ss."


    "The basic ss is entirely different from the two. Anyone can enter the free ss without any expertise but there''s a catch. In times of war or when the military needs people, people in the basic ss could be recruited into the army. Don''t worry, these people would be trained before they get sent out for missions. And after their missions, they would be sent back home and is immune for a year. Thesews were still being amended since we don''t know how things would work from now on."


    Jun took the paper on top of the table.


    "It''s a business ss citizenship and that''s the best I can do. It has my seal so no one should be able to question its legitimacy."


    "Thank you," Jun said then bowed slightly which surprised Corwin.


    "Haha, I would like it more if you sell me some of those ointments you have. The doctor has been bugging me for a long time, so you know..."


    "It''s currently not for sale," said Jun stoically, then turned around to leave.


    Corwin became intrigued with Jun''s choice of words. Jun didn''tpletely reject the notion but instead stated its currently not for sale, which means in the future...


    If he could monopolize trading with Jun, then there''s no reason for that promotion not tond on hisp! If he rose in ranks, he would be in an equal position with Paul. He would also have more soldiers to work his way around, with more resources allotted to him.


    Corwin''s secretary entered his office. "He left."


    "Did he ask any questions?"


    "Nothing of importance? He just asked how to reach Antipolo City and what to look out for. I told him that it''s quite safe except for the few stragglers and mutated animals that sometimes get lost."


    "Alright, go and speak with everyone whom he talked with. Also, find out where he lives, search the town for someone who knows him. I want every information that we could find on him." Corwin said, then ushered his secretary away.


    The secretary bowed once and took his leave.


    Jun didn''t waste his time and started pedaling on his bicycle. He stared at the uphill climb and cursed Evo. He then applied energy on the bicycle like he was using a weapon and activated the modification on the bike. The bike''s wheels started to glow with Jun''s red energy and they automatically spun on their own.


    Jun ced his feet on the pedal and he could feel the fast rotation from his feet. There were no tensions and he felt like he was riding a scooter. A very slow scooter. Then he thought, what would happen if I pedaled? And the answer was the sudden increase in speed as if he were on t ground.


    With his experimental mind lit on, he ventured the night with different ideas in mind. For example, he increased the energy output on the bicycle...


    Old John got kicked off the ck Havenpound and is working hard at his new workce. The sound of anvils and the smoke from the burning charcoaling from the furnace were thest straw that made everyone kick him out.


    Outsiders would think that he got treated badly despite everything he has done for ck Haven but everyone from ck Haven, including him, knows the real reason. They were worried about him.


    Ever since he stopped creating tools from bones, and shifted his attention to smithing metals into tools, his workroom had been always filled with smoke. Old John like the usual old man himself, didn''t say a thing and only when Mike delivered his food to him did everyone learned of the situation.


    Mike isn''t someone who had a loose mouth but he''s someone who answers every question thrown at him with honesty. Even though Old John managed to hoodwink Mike to not tell anyone, Mike got hoodwinked to say why he appears antsy.


    Old John''s new workce was the newly finished three-storied building next to ck Haven. He stays at the top floor and turned the ce to his workroom.


    It only took less than two weeks for the building to beplete. Imagine hundreds of bored strengthened people working on a side project that pays well. The only problem was theyout of the building. It was literally just walls with floors and a roof. There were no divisions and every floor appeared like a warehouse.


    After a meeting, the ce would be the new marketce where ck Haven sells their finished goods. The first floor would be for general merchandise while the second floor is for rare and unique items.


    The whole building was more than 1000 square meters and Old John''s workroom only took a quarter of the third floor. The rest of the remaining space would be allotted for his students and other craftsmen.


    Old John took the heated metal from the furnace then ced it on top of the anvil. The metal was a regr iron pipe repeatedly hammered into a sword. As he finished the reforging process and stared at his mediocre creation, a notification appeared in front of him.


    [You''ve sessfully changed professions. Businessman ] Smith.]


    [Earned General ss title, "Smith Apprentice".]

 Chapter 234: Back to Society

    Chapter 234: Back to Society


    [For sessfully reshaping metals 1,000 times, Smith Apprentice Title unlocked! Smithing would be faster and easier. Every time a sessful item was crafted, the user would receive varying experience points depending on the quality of the item.]


    Old John stared at the notification in front of him with shock. It was already deep in the night and he doesn''t know if anyone was still awake, so he pocketed his urge to ask around and continued smithing. He took another heated metal from the furnace and reced it with a new iron pipe. He then ced the heated metal on the anvil and started hammering its impurities away.


    Jun encountered various night creatures as he traveled the road at night.


    The most annoying was the mosquitoes that sneakily hovered around him since they were small and woulde in swarms. They focused on his face since it was the only thing they could bite on with his cloak covering most of his body. Fortunately, he had Aura(Death) which allows him to detect everything in the two-meter area around him, allowing him to p them away when they decided to charge forward.


    And just like what the secretary told him, there wasn''t much to see along the road. A few trucks would pass by and the soldiers on board would nce at him but no one really bothered to greet him. They probably found it strange that someone was using a bike instead of the dozens of cars littered on the street.


    After pedaling for twenty minutes on the winding national highway, Jun finally arrived at the eastern entrance of Antipolo City.


    A blockade of cars and wired barricades could be seen in the distance. The soldiers on top of the bus called for him to stop while shining the floodlights on him.


    Jun squinted his eyes and used his hands for cover due to the severe brightnessing from the floodlights. When his vision finally adjusted, he examined the area more closely.


    Armed soldiers were watching him keenly but they kept it professional since they haven''t raised their weapons yet. The officer in charge spoke to Jun.


    "Good evening. Aren''t you cold traveling at night? How are you doing today?"


    The soldier realized that Jun isn''t someone weak since he''s not scared to travel alone. He remained wary and looked at the distance, trying to see if there were people in hiding by the side of the road. Its either the man had a group or he''s just confident with his skills to survive.


    Another reason for the soldier''s wariness was Jun''s appearance. Jun wore a ck cloak that covered most of his body and made him appear suspicious.The blockade was positioned at the only entrance of the city. Unless people choose to climb a steep mountainous area, this would be the only ce they could go.


    Although Jun could do that to remain incognito, why go for the hassle when he had a citizenship certificate with him?


    Jun already examined the certificate earlier and had a script in mind.


    He summoned his dimensional storage which rmed the stationed guards. After exining that he would only take out his citizen certificate did the soldiers calm down but still cautiously watched him.


    Jun get off his bike then pushed it forward while taking the certificate with him. He raised the certificate and exined excitedly.


    "I worked for the Tikling Outpost and finally got my citizenship this afternoon."


    The soldier remained stoic but upon seeing Jun''s upation, Hunter, the soldier''s expression eased and looked heartily at Jun.


    "So, Mister Jun Reyes. You''re a Hunter? Did you hunt lots of food for the outpost? I see the Brigadier General Corwin''s seal over here. You must have done a good job searching for food."


    Jun chuckled and replied, "You could say so..."


    "It must be tough to look for food in these situations. If you encounter any problems, you can look for me, alright? You can always find me here," he then closed in on Jun and lowered his voice, "In the future, you must sell some of your hunts to me, okay?"


    "Of course!"


    Jun found it interesting that the man misunderstood his upation title. Instead of a Hunter, one who hunts enemies, he was mistaken as a Hunter who hunts for food. Nevertheless, he didn''t correct the man and let the misunderstanding go.


    As the soldier ordered for the wired barricade to be moved, he chatted incessantly with Jun.


    Jun didn''t let this chance pass by and asked for more information.


    "Did a convoy pass here recently?" said Jun.


    The soldier turned to Jun in confusion but still answered him. "Yeah, about a week ago. Why?"


    "Actually, a retired-General also wanted to contract me but unfortunately I was already contracted with the outpost. He asked me to look for him after I finished my service and here I am. Do you happen to know where they stay?"


    The soldier hesitated to answer but with Jun''s offer of trading with him in the future, he reluctantly gave him some news he heard.


    "I don''t know where the people you''re looking for stays, but I know that most of the VIP''s stay near the CAF Garden Resort and Hotel. The ce is extremely guarded though. Well, that doesn''t matter if you just show your certificate and tell the guards who you''re looking for."


    "Also, let me tell you a secret." the soldier whispered, "Those VIPs are looking for skilled people like you." he patted Jun''s shoulders and waved goodbye.


    Jun found the overly friendly attitude of the soldier strange. He shrugged it off as the soldier being desperate in making connections, so he turned back and waved again.


    Just as the soldier turned around and went back to his station, the green question mark above his head turned ck. The man turned back and saw that Jun was looking at him, so he waved his hands again.


    Jun rode his bicycle and thought, "What a weirdo."


    As Jun disappeared from their sight, the soldier quickly fetched a mobile phone from his side pocket and dialed a number.


    It didn''t take long for the other side to pick up the call.


    "He came... The man named Jun Reyes, he came. He just arrived a few minutes ago. He got a business-ss citizenship certificate with the Brigadier General Corwin''s seal... Yes, I sent him there... Uhm, the reward... Thank you! Thank you!"


    The other side hangs up the call and the soldier ced his phone back to his pocket. The man sighed deeply and spoke to himself.


    "Everyone needs extra ie, right?"


    Unfortunately for him, Jun wasn''t a wanderer. He spent his teenage years securing his foothold over Binangonan and doesn''t have enough time to explore the country.


    After pedaling for minutes, Jun finally saw peoplehundreds of breathing and living people. He was only on the outskirts but there were already hundreds crowding the streets!


    Antipolo was surrounded by other towns and barrios. Barrios are small viges with at least a few dozens or hundreds of families. On the other hand, towns and cities only varies from the poption and revenue capacitywith cities having the upperhand.


    Jun approached a kind-looking old man and asked for directions.


    "Good evening. Do you know where I can find CAF Garden Resorts and Hotel?"


    "I''m sorry, you''ve got the wrong person to ask. I''m not a local and I just arrived here a few days ago."


    Jun thanked the man and asked a few more random people in the streets but he still got the same answer.


    He began thinking, if locals managed to retake the city with help from the military, they would surely choose the residential area near the center for more security. Or he could just ask a police officer!


    He looked around but found none. The outskirts must be not that important to them?


    Jun decided to ask one more time and would call it a day no matter what result he got. He approached the closest person, which happened to be a woman, and asked for the hotel''s direction.


    The woman answered. "You don''t need to take me to a luxurious one. Just give me the excess money you have and I''ll make sure that you''ll be satisfied."


    Jun pulled a blue bill rotting in the corner of his dimensional storage and presented it to the woman. "I don''t need your service. Just tell me where I can find the ce."


    The woman stared at him as if he was a weirdo but then shrugged and took the blue bill. "I don''t know the ce, but I know someone who might. Follow me."


    She strutted like a duck as if wanting to seduce Jun.


    Jun was surprised to know that the thing he thought useless could actually be used here! He followed after her and asked,"Can we still use money here?"


    "In the meantime, we can, but everything you can buy was limited, so people with lots of stored cash can''t hoard everything. We don''t know what the government is nning but we don''t feel good about it."


    "You''re not trapped here, right? Why not go rob a bank? With enough people, you could scavenge for things..."


    The woman turned and faced Jun while smiling wryly. "Please hand over your cash. I know your strong but please don''t force us to do things."


    Jun frowned and stared at the green question tags above her head. Then, he looked around and found himself surrounded.


    He red at the green question tags before sighing deeply.


    ''What a sh*tty ability.''

 Chapter 235: A Businessman

    Chapter 235: A Businessman


    What a sh*tty ability. Even in this situation, you''re telling me that she wants the best for me? That she thinks of me as... wait... That might be true. She thinks that I''m a good person since she''s robbing me right? Haa...


    Jun sighed and recounted the number of people around him. There were at least eight people and half of them were armed with rusty pipes and thick blocks of woods.


    "So, will I still get what I paid for, or was the person you know just an imaginary one?"


    The woman was surprised seeing Jun being calm and raised an eyebrow. She smirked then snapped her fingers while staring at Jun teasingly.


    With no choice in the matter, Jun activated his Aura(Death) and sensed every movement inside his two-meter radius. Although he could use the manual 3energy/second version of the skill, that was only when he was moving in a rxed manner. Now that he needs to fight, he reverted to the weaker version of itthe registered Aura(Death) that uses 2energy/second.


    He lunged forward and punched the person in front of him, sending the goon away. Afterward, he jumped back to dodge the attacks from the side. He used Reinforce which strengthened his body then elbowed the people behind him. Two rusty pipesnded squarely on Jun''s shoulder but instead of his health getting reduced, his energy was depleted by a bit. He was already under the effect of Reinforce and after he used Block, the damage he received was further reduced.


    Three people were suddenly down on the ground. Although Jun didn''t give his all, the shock these people received was tremendous. The two behind Jun tried to breathe as much air as they could possibly can after getting elbowed in the stomach. The man who got punched in the face was lying on his back with blood dripping from his nose. The people who remain standing became afraid to approach him. Still, they have to fight since the man was in their turf and they have to defend their area. It''s always fine to lose as long as you lose trying!


    As the five remaining goons nervously circled around Jun, a bearded man appeared on the adjacent house holding a cigarette. He watched as Jun easily yed around the five grown-up men while they tried to pin him down. It was a mess, they could even touch him except for when the man acted briskly.


    "Stop!" the man shouted. "Ugh, I can''t believe I''m watching something like this after waking up. You guys disgrace me! Get back to your posts!"


    The not-so-good-looking people ran in panic after hearing the angry yell of the man.


    The man then eyed the woman, which made her lower her head knowing that she was in trouble.


    "Do you have anything to say Mhiya?"


    "No. It was my fault for selecting the wrong target. I thought he was a lusty rich bum, so I lured him. In the end, he was a strong lusty rich bum and I was the one who got bit. I apologize." Mhiya bowed to the man once more before turning to Jun. She inserted her hand inside her shirt before taking a blue bill from her chest.


    Mhiya presented the 1000-peso bill to Jun, then asked. "Do you want the money back or do you really want me?"


    "Crazy b*tch," Jun muttered, then turned to the bearded man who was smoking by the door. "You''re the leader, right?"


    The man breathed in making the lit part of the cigarette deplete faster. He then blew out the smoke to the side while maintaining eye contact with Jun.


    "You can say so," he replied, then puffed another one. "What do you want?"


    "I''m not really interested in what you guys are doing. I''m just here because I''m looking for something and your girl brought me here," said Jun.


    The man replied. "First of all, she''s not my girl. Let''s just get that out of the way. Second, you happen to be in great luck because you arrived at the right ce. We can find you anything you want, or anyone if you prefer it like that. Anytime, anywhere. Questions are free of charge, but answers cost a few hundred. Wee to Newsroom."


    Information is power.


    Influence is power.


    Money is power.


    Everything in this world revolves mostly on things that you couldn''t hold. And even if you managed to get your hands in some of them, they wouldn''tst long.


    As a businessman, I learned of this a long time ago.


    When you''re ahead of everyone, they''ll never be able to catch up as long as you have these three vital power.


    Currently, I am behind dozens of people. The army had been doingrge scale surveyed recently. I wanted to get those papers, so I could learn who is useful and who is not but that doesn''t seem feasible since I have no money to bribe people from above.


    I have no power.


    I was rising towards that elite one percent but everything was destroyed because of this sh*t! Ah, how I wish time would turn back to the old days. Now, I''m stuck with this bunch and I even have to clean up their mess.


    "You''re telling me to give you a day, is that right Mister ke?" Jun said.


    "Y-yes, we can get you the information as early as tomorrow. I already sent out my men to ask around where the resort is. You just have to rx and stay in our most prominent roomit''s actually my room, but you could use it however you like." ke hastily replied while stuttering. He massaged the cheek that got smacked earlier and continued to assure Jun of his men''s efficiency.


    He was smacked earlier?! Yes, that''s true. Jun got pissed of his condescending attitude and taught him a lesson on who''s boss.


    The Newsroom was a small-sized gang with twenty members. They work with information via ckmailing and extortion. ke was the one who came up with the idea since he was already used to do this.


    Jun also learned that the Newsroom was allied with another gang that mainly deals with prostitution. The information that they use to ckmail and extort people were from those unfortunate ones who happen to buy services from their partners.


    Jun nced at the dirty room and shook his head. "Just get the job done and let''s talk tomorrow." He stood up and walked away.


    ke became puzzled when Jun left something on the table. A stack of neatly piled cash. ''Is he showing off?!''


    After getting out, Jun noticed that the fierce goons from earlier were now like scared kittens who had their tails stepped onthey couldn''t even look at him! He looked around for a ce to rest for the night when he saw a familiar name on one of the houses.


    Momentster, Mhiya got thrown out of the front door followed by a loud sound when the door got shut closed. Jun chose this house since he knew that women were more hygienic than men. If he was going to wait for news, he at least wanted to wait in a nice environment!


    Jun didn''t take much time to choose a random room before closing his eyes. He chose the nearest one and locked the door. He entered meditation faster than usual and arrived at the dark ce which contains the mysterious orb and two floating runes.


    The one thing he likes when meditating is that time passes quickly but he''s still able to sense his surroundings due to his Aura(Death) training.


    Since he had nothing to do, he went back toprehending what he was seeing and began pondering what they could be.


    The orb usually stays in the middlesacting as the centerwhile the runes circled around it. A yellow rune with an hourss image inside of it and a white rune with a portal image on it.


    At first, Jun only saw them from the perspective of the orb. However, after learning and actually controlling Aura(Death) to sense his surroundings, he was able to observe the orb''s surrounding area.


    The thing that surprised him ever since that day was the small ck orbying on top of the white orb.


    Jun had been pondering for a long time. He knew that the runes were the unique skills that he had. So, that should mean the orb should be him, right? That''s the only answer he could think of!


    With that as the base, he could also assume that the white orb was his soul since it grows bigger in size as his power stat increases. Though he doesn''t believe much in such weird things, the proof was alreadyid upon his eyes.


    Then, is the ck orb his inner demon, or something like his conscience? If that''s the case, why is it so small!?


    As he continued exploring the mystery of the orbs, he suddenly ''saw'' the door open. He exited his meditation and opened his eyes.


    Two beautifuldies with naked bodies entered the room.

 Chapter 236: Familiar Faces

    Chapter 236: Familiar Faces


    Derisive remarks echoed in the alley as two mature women were thrown out of the front door. When they noticed that people were looking at them, they covered their bodies with their clothes before running away.


    Jun shook his head seeing that the two weren''t even embarrassed about being seen naked. He then felt a presenceing towards him and saw ke by the side, looking worried.


    ke anxiously said, "D-did you not like the girls? They are already the top ones from the outer district. Do you prefer the innocent ones? Please don''t worry. I would personally enter the business district to search for the freshest ones right at this moment."


    Jun frowned and replied. "What do you mean?"


    "Eh?" ke turned to Jun in puzzlement. "Weren''t you asking for some good service? Isn''t that why you left ten-thousand on the table?"


    "Haa... I guess it''s also my fault. I didn''t leave money for extra service. I paid in advance since I thought you''ll need the money to pay for your connections. You don''t have those? Then, how will you get what I need? Oh, and by the way. I want this to be quiet. I don''t need rumors or any more problems. Do you understand what I mean?"


    ke stared at Jun for a long time. With the few hints Jun gave him, he finally realized that he was dealing with some hot sh*t that would definitely cause trouble for him.


    Considering that he already epted the task, he nned to finish it as quickly as possible and be done with this farce.


    ke gulped then nodded his head. "Yes, I understand."


    Jun closed the door, then said. "Don''t send women anymore."


    After going back to his room, he remained uneasy. He sneaked out from one of the windows then strolled the outer district. He did not wear his cloak since he felt like it was making him suspicious.


    For some reason, he felt eyes were watching him but he couldn''t find anyone when he turns around.


    The outer district was literally the outskirts of the city. A police tape that is usually used to prevent people from entering a crime scene was used to separate the outer district from the business district. Here, he finally saw soldiers but they were strict and only talked to him after he presented his business ss citizenship.


    After another fruitless attempt, Jun walked away in disappointment. Well, at least he learned a lot of information.


    Police officers can be found at the boundary of the business ss district and the social ss district. He also learned that the city was actually divided into three.


    Jun thought that people could still move around freely but there were actually barriers that separated the three areas.


    The outer district is the outer shell of the city and also its first line of defense. Blockades were positioned at every national highway with trained soldiers stationed nearby. The outer district took fifty percent of the cityndmass since the refugee numbered in tens of thousands.


    It was surprising to learn of the numbers but Jun felt warm inside him. Knowing that a lot of people survive somehow lightens his mood.


    The business district takes thirty percent of the city and is between the social and outer districts. People from the outer district could only enter the business district if they have a Labor Pass or a Merchant ID.


    The Social District covers the remaining twenty percent which includes the City Hall and the nearby unique infrastructures; such as the Cathedral Church, the Rizal Capitol Building. the Y Gymnasium and dozens of Malls. The entry points were heavily guarded by the police and several soldiers.


    "Jun Reyes... Jun... Bok, I feel like I heard that name before. I just can''t remember where."


    "Bok, stop saying random things... if other people from our ss heard you, they might think you really like men." said the soldier while taking a step away from his partner.


    On his stroll on the outer district, Jun passed through numerous markets.Sadly, most of the stalls only sell regr wares; scraps, clothes, food. The most unique item he saw at the market was the custom-made serrated knives which had different sizes and length. The stall owner said that serrated knives cause more damage. It also makes enemies move slower while losing more blood. He imed that it was a good weapon for those weak people who don''t have enough arm strength to pierce through the skull.


    Jun asked around for the CAF Garden Resort and Hotel as he shopped around the outer district. Unfortunately, all of the people he asked weren''t locals and were refugees from nearby towns.


    With his meager results, he wondered whether he should enter the business district to fish for information. The locals, even if unskilledborers, should be living in the business district, right?


    After buying every weird nt and seeds that he encountered, Jun made his way towards one of the entrances for the business district. There was a line but there were not that many people in the queue.


    Jun stood in line and waited for his turn. When it came to his turn, he showed his certificate then saw someone familiar in the distance.


    The man saw him and walked towards him with a smile.


    "When did you arrive? I didn''t think that you''ll still have the guts toe here."


    "Sup. I see you''re still alive? Do you think you''ll die anytime soon?"


    Christian red at Jun, but remain silent. After being unusually quiet for a few seconds, he walked away and brushed shoulders with Jun.


    Jun got pissed and barely contained the urge to brawl with Christian. The man was really getting into his nerves. He took a deep breath, then red at the soldier on checkpoint duty.


    "Aren''t you done yet?!"


    "What did you say!? Don''t you know how to"


    The soldier couldn''t finish what he was saying and could only gulp when he saw Jun''s deep re. He then weakly handed the certificate back and Jun walked away.


    After entering the business district, Jun quickly pointed out what was their difference. It was the atmosphere.


    Although the streets have fewer people wandering about, it didn''t lessen the lively atmosphere of the area.


    That''s right. It was lively.


    The atmosphere from the outer district was one of destion, the need to survive. People are selling everything that they have, so they could survive another day. If he did not chat with those soldiers, he would probably think that the government doesn''t care about the people.


    The government was already doing their best. There were just too many people which prevents them to distribute food freely. If they hire everyone, everyone would have money. That money would then be used to buy necessities, which are items that would quickly run out if they weren''t monitored; foodstuffs.


    That''s also the reason why the business district was filled with vigor. People work day and night to earn money to buy things. Food factories were the top priorities, followed by bakeries. Lands were being reimed from wild and would be turned into a farm. The top jobs in the city were hunters, farmers, and harvesters. The northeastern part of the city was a vast woond ripe with natural resources. Normally, the government would touch this protected environments, but due to the crisis, they were forced to do so.


    Jun found the market area and shopped around. It was still the same regr wares but since he hasn''t seen lizards-on-a-stick, he could assume that the business district market''s quality was a bit higher.


    While strolling around, he unexpectedly met with another familiar face. The other person smiled genuinely upon seeing Jun.


    Saul bowed slightly then greeted Jun.


    "Long time no see. Are you free right now? I want to thank you for saving me that one time. I haven''t thanked you properly, so I thought I should invite you to some drinks."


    "Sure! I''m curious about some things too. A chat would help save some time."


    "Great," Saul eximed, then continued. "Let''s go. I know a nice ce. I''ve been visiting the ce since I got back. They have some nice alcohol and pretty girls."


    "Haha, I didn''t see you as someone like that."


    "I know, right? The military becameced with things like these as long as you''re off duty. They realized that soldiers need to let out steam too."


    Junughed it off and the two walked while chatting. They entered a ce filled with neon lights.


    The bar was a bit dark but just enough to see where you''re walking. Jun had a hunch that this ce seems to be that kind of bar.


    Saul and Jun walked towards the corner away from the partying crowd.


    As soon as the two sat down, Jun couldn''t help but ask Saul. "Is this what you meant when you said you wanted to thank me?"


    Saul frowned not sure of what he meant, but when their gazes met, he realized that Jun knows what he''s up to.


    "I''m sorry..."


    "It''s okay. Let''s drink once, okay?"


    A bottle of alcohol appeared on the table together with two shot sses.


    Saul turned to the side as if asking for what to do. Jun followed his gaze, then waved his hand at the person staring at him on the distant table.


    A smirk appeared on Carl''s face as he watched the friendly smile on Jun''s face.

 Chapter 237: Meet Up & Plan

    Chapter 237: Meet Up & n


    Saul and Jun drunk and finished the whole bottle. The whole time, Saul appeared to have eaten something inedible and just wanted to get out of there. Carl didn''t interfere and waited for them to finish before entering the scene.


    Jun suddenly spoke out of the blue. "Do you know that having high stats makes it hard to get drunk?" He sighed then added, "Do you have anything to say? Nothing. Great."


    Jun then turned to Carl standing by the side, then casually waved his hand. "Hello."


    Carl remained stoic. "Follow me. Don''t cause any trouble and everything would be fine."


    Jun looked around and found several men ncing at him from different tables.


    These people were agents that Carl brought with him in case Jun decided to fight his way out. All of them had their own expertise and within this enclosed bar, they believe that they would be able to catch Jun with ease.


    And to their surprise, they did.


    Jun willingly followed Carl and didn''t cause any trouble. He followed Carl to a ck SUV and they rode off.


    Apparently, the hotel he was looking for was located outside the city. If Jun took the branching road instead of heading towards the city, he would have arrived at the hotel.


    Carl wanted to meet him there but he got lost since he doesn''t know the way.


    Carl wants to get on the retired general''s good side, so he was working hard to persuade Jun to work for the general. Even though he already had Major General Paul Celestine, having powerful connections is always good.


    They entered one of the buildings after they arrived at the resort.


    Jun followed Carl lead him around hallways before arriving at a lobby.


    On the table, two contracts were presented to Jun, a scavenger, and a bodyguard. Currently, he could only choose the scavenger contract and would be given a chance to work as a bodyguard after some time. They wanted to see if he was skilled and can be trusted.


    Jun didn''t show it but he was a bit surprised seeing a contract in front of him. He didn''t expect the army to be unearthing talents like these among the popce.


    Currently, nonbatants were being discriminated by everyone. Unless you have great physique or high intellect, people who had random generated skills because of being jobless were kept on their own.


    Jun examined the contract carefully and made sure that he appeared interested. He made some amendments regarding the proposed sry and even requested to see Marianne. If Carl allowed him to see Marianne, he would help him on his connection building.


    Carl pondered on what to do. Marianne was going to be used for a political marriage. If a scandal circtes around at this time, his neck would be ced on the chopping board.


    "It won''t be long. We''ll just chat, and I''ll leave afterward. She left in a hurry and we weren''t able to talk." Jun added after seeing Carl deliberating on the matter.


    After weighing things out, Carl agreed with Jun''s request. The amendments about the sry were something he could not decide alone, but there should be no problem if just say yes, for now.


    Carl agreed and he brought Jun towards the hotel. Along the way, he made sure to remind Jun on things that he should understand and ept; they''re already grown-ups and should know when to stop chasing something impossible.


    "I''ll be waiting out here," Carl said then knocked on the door.


    "Young Miss, this is Carl. Please pardon me for disturbing you at this time but you have a visitor."


    "I told you already! I''m not interested in talking to him!"


    Carl was about to exin, but Jun stopped him. Jun knocked on the door and said, "That makes me sad then... I came from a very far ce, you know?"


    As soon as Jun finished speaking, hurried footsteps resounded from the room. Momentster, the door flung open and Marianne appeared.


    Marianne''s room was on the fourth floor of the hotel. The disy was cool and refreshing as if there was never an apocalypse.


    Tears quickly escape the corner of her eyes. She missed the man in front of her but didn''t know what to do. When she saw Jun smiling at her, the already steeled heart of her melted on the spot.


    Marianne lunged at Jun and he weed her to his embrace.


    Carluncher upon seeing the scene. He looked left and right before anxiously reminding the two that there are people in other rooms!


    Marianne pulled Jun inside the room then shut the door before Carl could step forward to follow.


    When Carl twisted the know, it was already looked and only made clicking sounds.


    Carl examined the hallway and made sure that no one was nearby.


    "What are you doing here?!" Marianne said.


    Jun smiled wryly then said. "To be honest, this isn''t the reaction that I was expecting. I thought you''ll be happier when you see me."


    "I am happy! It''s just that I''m worried for you!"


    "I am also worried! Do you know I almost went crazy when you disappeared like that? I thought something happened to you! Only when Evo told me about Carl did I get a hint of what''s probably going on."


    "I-I''m sorry. I didn''t have the courage to say goodbye, so I just left a letter in our room. I knew that if I saw you, there''s a chance that I would change my mind."


    "I found the letterte at night and it didn''t lessen my longing for you. We can still go back. You can go back! With me."


    "I can''t... my father would kill you."


    "I''m not scared of dying but I''m scared of getting separated with you."


    Marianne stared at Jun with understanding. She knew how he currently feels but couldn''t do anything about it. The tears that already stopped pouring down earlier, came back at an even harsher tide.


    "I''m sorry, I''m truly sorry," Marianne said.


    "I have a n. I can get you out of this... this engagement!"


    For the first time, a ray of hope appeared on Marianne''s eyes. She remembered the fleeting moments when they cuddled together whileughing under the same roof. She knew that only two weeks have passed since she left but it felt like years.


    She raised her head and looked at Jun.


    "Tell me about your n."

 Chapter 238: Be Kind to Cooks

    Chapter 238: Be Kind to Cooks


    Carl leaned on the door and tried his best to listen to what''s going on inside the room. At this time, he wished that he had that eavesdropping skill that one of his colleagues had.


    Earlier, he could still hear them arguing but after some time, everything became quiet. Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps getting closer to the door, so he turned back and stood straight, acting like he was guarding the hallway the whole time.


    Marianne opened the door. "Is the restaurant still open? Can you get us some food? I want to have dinner here. Bring two portions of everything. Thank you."


    Carl did not get the chance to talk and the door almost hit his face when he tried to inch forward. He got a glimpse of the room and he could see Jun''s back at the balcony, staring at the distant twinkling lights which should be the city.


    Did they finally break-up? Is this a farewell dinner? This is my chance! Carl''s eyes sparkled.


    "Yes, I''ll be back in a minute, Young Miss."


    Marianne locked the door then turned around. "To be honest, I don''t think this will change anything..."


    Marianne noticed that Jun was gone. She looked around but she could find him in the room. The only thing that she knows was that things would be chaotic tonight.


    Jun scanned each room from the balcony. He made sure to check both the rooftop and the floor below of any people. The n he told Marianne was different from his original n, and the n he would be using was the original n.


    His n was simpleto assassinate both retired General Basilio and Henry. The n he told Marianne only involved General Basilio and that he wanted revenge due to the troubles the general gave to his family.


    He barely convinced Marianne to join him and he knew that what he was doing isn''t right, but he was desperate. He still had blood-rtives but the only one he felt as a true family was Marianne.


    He knew the consequences but he was willing to take the risk.


    After jumping over the balcony and using Detection several times, Jun finally found General Basilio. He already found Henry earlier and he was on one of the rooms below. Of course, he already gave him some gifts that would satisfy his fetish.


    Basilio''s nametag was extremely close with a set of ''?'' as if they have be one. He peeked sneakily into the room and witnessed a wild vixen kissing and riding a balding old man. Jun stopped peeking and did a quick scan of the surrounding to make sure that there were only two people in the room, which made him witness the scandalous thing happening inside.


    General Basilio urged the blonde woman to go faster and she did. After several seconds of rigorous movements, her body trembled and the old man below her released a satisfied moan. When the woman was about to fall on him, he caught her blessings and massaged it, then after getting satisfied with his dessert pushed the woman to the side.


    "You''re quite good. Tell the manager to give you a bonus, I''ll pay for it."


    Seeing the woman didn''t respond but look at him seductively, General Basilio became pissed andshed out. "Get up and get out of here!"


    The woman grew scared and hurried out of the room while naked. She couldn''t even dress up and only covered herself with her dress.


    After the blonde woman run out of the room, General Basilio''s trusted aid entered the room.


    General Basilio said, "Roman, go ask the manager for a new one. I''ll be taking a bath first and I want her to be lying at my bed before I finish washing up. I only want the freshest ones, got it? Oh, and bring some food too."


    Roman nodded and went out of the room.


    By spying through Detection, Jun was able to see what was going on inside the room. When Roman left and Basilio entered the bathroom, Jun slowly slid open the ss door and entered the room.


    He cast Detection once more to make sure that Roman really left before inching forward to the bathroom.


    He made a dashing stance before twisting the knob...


    "Huh? Who are you? You''re that guy! Wait, stop! We can talk about this. Stop!"


    A young ck-haired woman followed Roman. In terms of appearance, she could barely be around twenty years old and yet her body was developing in the right ces. Roman opened the room''s door and guided the woman to the bed.


    "Wait here, justy down and wait for him toe out," Roman exined then turned around to leave. He stood at the door then remembered that he was supposed to get food.


    He wasn''t normally like this. It just happened that on his way out, he met the blonde vixen from earlier and got a random extra service. I guess you could call it the privilege of working around these kinds of people.


    With his mind in cloud nine after the heavenly trip, he forgot that the general requested for food.


    Roman walked around the hallway while looking around, subconsciously hoping to chance upon the blonde girl. Unfortunately, his luck wasn''t that good. He arrived at the lobby without seeing her.


    The clerk at the lobby greeted him. "Is there a problem, sir? Was the woman not up to the general''s standards? We promise that the ones we give him are always the best and newest of the stocks."


    Roman shook his head. "No, I''m not here for that. I''m actually here to ask if the restaurant is still open?"


    "Yes, we reopened it earlier. One of the VIP wanted ate-night dinner, so the chefs are cooking something up."


    "Thanks, I''ll take my leave then."


    Roman entered the restaurant and saw a familiar face. "Goodevening Colonel, it''s bing hard to see you this past few days."


    Carl who was bored of waiting for the chefs to cook food became excitedly after seeing Roman. "Hahaha! It''s quite a busy week for everyone I guess. I had to do a bunch of paperwork and attend more meetings after I got back from the outside. Is the general feeling satisfied? There''s a lot of eyes at the social district, so we can''t do events like these over there. Well, unless you gather your people and take a spot on the board, then everything should be fine."


    Roman replied. "Yeah, he''s living the life. He''s thankful that you introduced this ce to him. By the way, are you here for your dinner?"


    "I''m just here to get food for the Young Miss. I barely have enough time to do luxurious things such as these. How about you? You''re here for dinner? Wanna eat together?"


    Roman was pondering if he should ck for a bit. For sure, the old general was already busy thrusting forward and if he enters now, he would get scolded. With that in mind, he decided to eat first before going back.


    Just as he was about to answer, the radio strapped on his side crackled.


    "This is HQ, somethings going on on the third floor. Please check the third floor."


    The HQ meant the security room where the hotels surveince could be found. Roman and Carl listened attentively om the radio.


    Several affirmations sounded out from different security personnel.


    The two stared at each other in confusion. Roman ced the radio on the table and waited for reports.


    A woman ran out of a room with blood all over her body and she appeared exhausted. She had no weapons in hand but there''s no telling of what she really was capable of.


    "*crackle*Be advised. The target might be armed. Proceed with caution."


    "Here''s your food. As requested, they''re already packed." the chef handed Carl the packed food. He turned around and was about to go back to the kitchen when Roman suddenly called him.


    "Please give me the same portions you gave him," Roman said nonchntly without even raising his head. His focus was solely on the radio updates that were bing frequent.


    "What do you think happened?" Carl asked.


    "Well, there''s one thing I know. If the person inside the room is alive, she would be killed. Haa... what are they thinking. Why even work this kind of job when they can''t stomach it." Roman uttered.


    Seeing that he was being treated like air, the chef left in a furious fit. Thankfully, he made more than enough, so he doesn''t have to cook anymore. In his anger, he made sure to spit on the food, so whoever eats this would be good to him.

 Chapter 239: Hotel Lockdown

    Chapter 239: Hotel Lockdown


    The security caught the bloodied woman near the emergency stairs. When asked about what happened, the woman kept spouting nonsense saying that she didn''t do it, that she couldn''t control herself as if a demon has possessed her.


    Feeling that something was wrong, Roman and Carl went to the third floor to investigate. They arrived just in time to see that security staffs were about to enter the room.


    "Search the room."


    "Be careful!"


    "Clear!"


    After hearing the series ofmands did Roman and Carl entered the room.


    A dead body was lying on the bed. It was a man with hands tied on his back while only wearing underwear. The man''s back portion of the head was caved in. Based on the sshes of blood that flew in numerous directions outwards from the head, it was obvious that the man was killed by repeated striking on the back of the head.


    Everyone ignored the weird fetish the man had since it wasn''t umon even before the apocalypse. Most of the people in the room were already used to seeing dead people and grotesque sights, so no one really got affected by the dead body. They were even thinking that social elites like this had a good life since even after living in the apocalypse, they never got even bitten once.


    The hotel security found a bloodied bat on the floor after searching around. It was lying around like it was simply tossed away after serving its purpose. It even appeared brand new if it weren''t for the bloodstains all over it.


    At this time, the woman was brought back to the room for questioning. She was crying, begging, and iming that she did not kill the man.


    Roman and Carl watched from the side of the bed. They don''t want to involve themselves in this but since they were already in here, they might as well help.


    "Please let me go. I told you already, I didn''t do it! He wanted this kind of y so I just followed what he wanted to do!"


    "Are you saying that he wanted to die?"


    "What... I don''t know! He prepared these things, then brought me into the bathroom. After bathing, we went straight to bed and he even blindfolded himself!"


    "So, after tying his hands, you used this baseball bat to kill him?"


    "That''s absurd! Do you think I''ll kill my customer!"


    "That''s the one thing I''m confused about. You have no reason to kill him and this is the first time you got assigned to him, right?"


    "Y-yeah. That''s right! Wait... let me take a look at that."


    The security staff deliberated for a second before agreeing. No matter if she tried to fight back, there''s more than enough people to capture her.


    The woman stared at the baseball bat and appeared distressed. "This... this isn''t it! It had the same size and shape but it was a red one! I don''t even know why he had something like that, and I thought he was just someone weird"


    "Lock her up." the woman got cut off when Carl suddenly interrupted her. "I want her locked up and the whole area in lockdown. Gather all the hotel staff in the lobby and no one will leave the area. The military will take over the investigation."


    "The general would be angry," Roman uttered while staring at the dead man''s face.


    Earlier, Carl decided that it was necessary to identify the individual, but when he turned the body over, what he saw shocked him.


    Henry was the perverted dead man lying on the bed.


    "Both heads of the family would," Carl replied, then gazed at the head security officer. "Please understand. A VIP was killed on your hotel and a proper investigation would ur. You are allowed to join the investigation if you want, but the hotel management has to give us an answer."


    The woman''s face lost its color after hearing Carl. "I told you already! I didn''t do it!"


    <em>Pak!</em>


    The head security officer pped her, then bowed to Carl. "We''ll be in your care. Get her out of here! Make sure to lock her up and watch her properly."


    The hotel was established with the help of numerous interest groups. It was their vacation spot in the apocalypse. Now that a VIP was killed in their hotel, everyone would be investigated and if everythinges to the worst possible scenario, the whole entirety of the management would be sacked.


    Just imagining how he would report this matter to the manager was already giving him a big headache.


    The group went on their own separate ways and tend to their own businesses. The security officers brought the woman to the basement and made sure to empty the room. Roman and Carl headed back to the fourth floor to bring the packed food they got from the kitchen.


    After the two walked around the hallway, Carl suddenly initiated a conversation.


    "Can I ask for your help this time? I can call for appropriate reinforcement but they would take at least ten minutes to arrive here. I''m afraid we don''t have that much time and people could just destroy the evidence.


    "We don''t even know what we''re looking for." Roman retorted.


    Carl sighed deeply. "See you at the lobbyter. I''ll just deliver the food and will be right there."


    Roman waved his hand in affirmation. Due to them both being working the same job, a feeling of closeness developed between them. It''s also a single step to forming a goodwork of connectionsfor the two of them.


    Carl opened the door and entered the room, just in time to see something incredible.


    Marianne and Jun were in the living room sitting with a certain distance between them. Marianne was teary-eyed before sending a p to Jun''s face.


    Carl knew Jun''s strength. The way Marianne raised her hand and the intentions behind it were very clear. He could have dodged the p but he didn''t! That means something was going on!


    Marianne stared at Jun filled with love and disappointment before running away to her room.


    ''Yes, yes, yes! This is how it should go! Stop bothering the Young Miss and know your ce!''


    Jun didn''t do anything and only watched her run away. This time, he knew that it was really his fault.


    The next morning, everyone staying at the hotel learned of the shocking news. However, the death count raised from one to four. The people who died were two politicians, a businessman, and a general. All of them were VIP''s and the hotel was sure to be shut down.


    Roman was seething with anger while guarding the hotel employees at the lobby. He hadn''t slept a wink and even if he could, he would never sleep. His boss was killed and he needs to find the culprit!


    Roman had Inspect and Restrain as his pre-generated skills. He used those two skills in tandem to investigate every employee with deep scrutiny. He searched everyone''s dimensional storage via Inspect and divided people into two from those who have deadly weapons in their storage and those who don''t.


    After finishing, he found out that what he did was useless. Everyone had weapons on their dimensional storage! And it was normal to have a weapon since you need to defend yourself at all times!


    The only thing going through his mind was how he would report this to the Mestreet n. Although he had been working for years with utmost loyalty for the n, he isn''t sure what would happen to him with the general getting killed on his watch.


    On the front desk, the manager was trembling while exining to the other VIPs that everything would be safe and this was just some people plotting against the hotel.


    Of course, his exnation was not satisfactory and he got chewed up by those frightened VIPs who felt in danger. Everyone left in a fit of anger and headed towards the parking lot.


    "Please go back inside. The investigation is still ongoing. We assure you that it won''t take long and you''ll be on your way in no time soon.


    Everyone went back inside but a few cunning ones sneakily split themselves from the crowd. They went into a secluded ce and used the Teleport Runes to get out of this ce.


    Carl''s report about the strange things about energy was dissected by the military researchers. They were able to learn the actual usage of Teleport Portals and how to activate them.


    Currently, this knowledge was only for the social ss since they haven''t learned how to repair the durability of the portal. When the military researchers branched out from energy activation and learned about energy transfer, then would they be able to repair the portal.


    Normally, this VIPs would be allowed ess to the Teleport Portal, so they thought that they could leave by using it. Unfortunately, a retired general was one of the deceased and the military got involved in the event.


    The wide za appeared before their eyes. Usually, there would be old people passing time by feeding doves all over the ce, but today was a special day. The few people who thought of themselves as smart by using the Teleport Portal immediately found themselves surrounded by armed soldiers before getting asked to get on the ground.

 Chapter 240: Someone Special

    Chapter 240: Someone Special


    The hotel staffs and the VIPs were separated into smaller groups. There was no possible way to apprehend the culprit or gather evidence since no one really knew what exactly happened.


    Last night, Jun found out about Henry''s "hobby" and took advantage of it. He ced the cursed damage ogre''s club on the set of tools near the bed. He had the sneaky military boots that Evo modified, which removed the sound of his footsteps, allowing him to finish the deed before continuing his search for the General.


    Also, he made the General''s death appear natural as much as possible. The floor became slippery after the soap melted from being exposed in water. The only conclusion they could get was a concussion when the General slipped and hit the back of his head on the wall.


    This prevented the security team from getting any leads, which forced them to interrogate everyone.


    While walking to the designated interrogation room, Jun saw Marianne being led by a woman towards the same room. Carl was following behind her like a dog guarding its owner.


    The female staff ignored Jun and walked past him. The two didn''t speak but only stared at each other. Their eyes revealing the feelings inside them.


    Reluctance. Sorrow.


    Seeing the two stop at the door, the hotel staff urged the two to enter. The VIPs were already investigated and most of them were proven innocent. The people who had someone with themst night were being interrogated twice(individual and together) to see if their stories match.


    A soldier who had the Detect Lie skill was sent as reinforcement to catch the culprit.


    "So, you were brought here by Carl, on his own, and even led you to Miss Marianne''s room. Is that right?" the soldier stated for confirmation.


    Jun stared ahead but he wasn''t looking at the soldier in front of him. It was as if his gaze were passing through thin air.


    When the soldier tapped the table, Jun woke up from his stupor and answered, "Yes."


    "Then, Miss Marianne, you opened the door and got surprised to see him there. However, ording to Carl, he was your errand boy and you were expecting him? Please be honest with me. I know when you lie and when you don''t. Let''s not waste our time, is that hard to do?"


    When Carl noticed Marianne bing ufortable with the questioning, he coughed and signalled for the soldier to do it gently.


    "I''m already being patient Carl. If she wasn''t the daughter of a Major General, do you think I would still be this calm?"


    If it was the old days, he could have easily bossed around this man, but with the appearance of skills, with him getting a marksmanship build, he could only back offfor now.


    After chiding Carl, the soldier continued his interrogation.


    "Let''s do this again. I won''t even be looking at your previous statements. I''ll start with you young man. Why were you here?"


    "I wanted to meet her."


    "Who are you to her."


    "I''m her boyfriend."


    The investigator frowned but knew that Jun wasn''t lying. He turned to Marianne, who was looking down, then to Carl, who was furiously staring at Jun.


    ''Isn''t the Young Miss engaged with one of the Mestreet''s family? Better not get involved in this. Haa...''


    He turned to Marianne and continued his questioning. "Were you expecting him toe here?"


    "No."


    "Is he your boyfriend?"


    "No."


    ''Huh?''


    This time, everyone was confused. The other person says he''s your boyfriend and you''re saying he''s not. The worst thing about this was that both of them were telling the truth!


    The investigator turned to Carl. ''This is the furthest I could help you. I need to do my job now.''


    "Where were youst night around nine to nine twenty in the evening?"


    "In my room."


    "In her room."


    The investigator knew that both answered honestly but still picked the report sheet to check their answers from the individual interrogations and they matched,


    "Do you mind telling us what the two of you were doing inside the room?"


    Carl became anxious after hearing the question, while the hotel staff and soldiers perked their ears. It felt like they were watching a TV Drama unfolding in front of them.


    Jun answered first without hesitation. "I was trying to persuade her toe with me, but she wouldn''t agree."


    Marianne added, "I kept telling him that I can''t, but he just won''t ept it."


    Jun said. "I told her that I could protect her, yet she wouldn''te!"


    Marianne continued, "I told him that my father would kill him, but he''s not listening!"


    "I''m not scared to die!"


    "I am afraid that you will!"


    Jun was about to say hisst exact wordsst night but when he noticed Marianne''s watery eyes, he couldn''t open his mouth. He felt his throat instantly dry up.


    Jun extended his hand wanting tofort her, but Marianne shoved his hand away andshed out.


    "Don''t touch me. Don''t you dare touch me!"


    Jun retrieved his hand. "I''m sorry. Calm down for now. We can talk"


    "Get out of here," Marianne mumbled. "Leave. I don''t want to see you anymore."


    Jun didn''t know what to do. Even the people who were enjoying the quarrel from earlier noticed that the atmosphere has changed.


    Marianne abruptly stood up and hurriedly made her way towards the door. Jun stood up wanting to follow her but Carl blocked his way.


    "I already helped you once, but isn''t it clear already? Don''t show yourself around her." Carl said then followed Marianne.


    Jun couldn''t do anything but stare at Marianne''s receding back.


    Outer District...


    "Hey, where were you? We''ve been looking for you the whole night. The boss is waiting for you. We found the ce you''re looking for."


    Jun turned to the feminine voice and saw the woman who tried to scam himst night.


    Mhiya continued. "To be honest, I expected you to be a conman since you offered so much money for a piece of simple information instead of asking around. I''m not gonna apologize for what happenedst night since you stole my room, so let''s just consider it even, okay?"


    "About the service being slow, it''s your fault since you disappeared abruptly! We won''t reimburse or cut payments because we finished the request before the day even turned over. We will take the payment whole, no questions asked!"


    Jun ignored Mhiya and continued walking. He was feeling especially tired today even though he didn''t do much work. From the gloomy air surrounding him, it appears like he was shouldering the problem of the whole world.


    Mhiya became upset for getting ignored but still chose to act nicely. Big shot clients who spend money like they were nothing were very rare! She waved her hands and shouted, "If you have other requests, please feel free toe back again!"


    Unexpectedly, Jun stopped walking and turned around.


    That''s right! Maybe...


    "Thank you for patronizing us. I''ll make sure that you''re investments wouldn''t go to waste. From now on, you sir is our top VIP. If you have any other request, please don''t hesitate at all. The Newsroom will prioritize your requests and allocate our resources to you whenever you have a request." ke animatedly said while staring at the multi-colored stacks of bills. There were different amount per stack which made ke and the other goons drool crazily.


    ke was a businessman and he knew in one nce how much money was in front of him. Around half a million! But there''s more! Precious stones were rolling on the table because someone''s leg was shaking.


    ke had more than ten million in his bank ount, but there was no way that he could withdraw his money anymore and his cards were probably useless now. Most of the banks and ATM machines were already looted on the first and second week of the apocalypse.


    ke wasn''t someone special. His businesses were just small businesses that earned him stable money. Most of his savings came from years of hard work. He could have entered the business district, but he felt the ce inappropriate for him. He wasn''t a saint but the corruption and the various things happening inside were something that his stomach couldn''t handle.


    Jun said. "I don''t have a phone right now, so give me your number. I''ll just contact you after I got one,"


    "Look at me even forgettingmunication. Of course, I have one. Let me write it down."


    ke wrote his number on a piece of paper and handed it to Jun, "Here."


    "Thanks. Don''t do anything stupid and just watch her from a distance. I don''t want her knowing anything about this, is that clear?"


    "Yes, we will be as natural as possible. By the way, you lost your watch? It was a cool watch, did you sell it?"


    Jun touched his empty wrist where the smartwatch he owned usually stays. Then, he muttered, "I gave it to someone special."

 Chapter 241: Big Haul

    Chapter 241: Big Haul


    After a few discussions, Jun decided to ask ke to help him gather a lot of food and buy strange things, as long as it looked unique they could buy it if it isn''t too expensive.


    There was a limited amount of food and the production was on the lower side. The government and military enforced a ration system which limits the amount that a person could buy. With the number of people ke had together with Jun''s hard-earned money from befriending Bernard, the goons set out to buy things to their limits.


    Food can only be bought with food stamps. To get food stamps, one must trade money or goods on various channels. Survivors could go to the official exchange channel set up by the government or directly trade with other businesses at the marketce.


    The mostmon way to earn money was manualbor. Pack mules would be second, and whoring yourself would be the third.


    There are various kinds of manualbor in demand. For the skilled and adventurous, the top-paying jobs were escort gigs or acting as bodyguards. For the casual survivors, helping with the creation of the outer wall was already a good fortune.


    Jun entered from the south-western entrance of the city, stopping him from seeing the reinforced stone wall on the eastern entrance. Since the acquisition of goods might take a few hours, he decided to make use of the time tp stroll around. He hasn''t traveled the entirety of the outer district because of what happenedst night, so now would be a good time.


    The residential area was bustling with people and each group had their own house.Newly arrived groups were assigned a house by the military after they passed all the required procedures.


    A few points of interest were especially brimming with life even in the early morning. The entrances were filled with people looking for job opportunities. Manualbors like construction and chopping trees were a daily thing for the survivors. The person tasked to recruit people for building the wall used the pretext, "I will give chances to others, so I will recruit daily."


    The parks found in the city became a social site for old and young people to gather in the morning. Individuals could be seen jogging around the area as if it was just an ordinary day. Some liked seeing this kind of scene because it makes them remember the past, which stimtes the feeling of safety. The past where you could casually go anywhere you want at any time without thinking of the consequences.


    After strolling around, Jun finally arrived at the eastern entrance.


    A three-meter tall wall appeared before him. It extended from the south as far as he could see towards the north. Soldiers armed with guns and pikes were patrolling on top of the wall.


    The first two meters were made from all kinds of cars; jeepneys, buses, and vans, then raised another meter to make the floor before getting cemented together with wood. At a fixed interval, some parts were reinforced with metal to make sure that the wall would standstill.


    The engineer who nned to make the wall knows that making a wall with poor materials wouldn''t keep them safe from everything. So he focused on the time used to defense ratio the city would receive. The targeted defense of the wall were the regr carriers and the Hunters. Regr carriers don''t have the intellectual capacity to climb withoutdders or stairs. Although Hunters can jump and climb, it would still take time and the patrols would be able to react.


    The three-meter wall had tree logs at a one-feet distance from the outer side of the wall. This helps soak damage while giving the time for the patrols to react and deal with enemies.


    "Looking for a group! I have the eavesdrop skill! I can act as the team scout and with me on the team, you will never have to worry what''s on the other side of the room!"


    "Looking for work! I''m a strong man! I can carry more weight than others!"


    Jun passed by after examining the foundation, mid-section, and the upper portion of the wall. He admired the creativity of the build before moving on.


    The marketce still had open stalls and Jun window shopped as he toured around. After making a full circle of the outer district which took around thirty minutes, he found out that not everyone had returned. ke''s subordinates went to fulfill his request to the best of their abilities. They stood in line for a long time and searched for the freshest goods that could be found in the outer districts marketce.


    Instead of waiting, Jun decided to enter the business district''s marketce. Due to the unpleasant meeting with certain people, he missed the chance to scour the business district''s marketce.


    After presenting the citizenship certificate, Jun was granted ess to the business district. The soldier on duty even advised him to register at the city hall, so he could receive an ID card. It appears that neers can enter the social district once, so they could register themselves.


    With a new goal in mind, Jun looked forward to seeing the social district.


    While passing through the business district''s marketce, Jun found a stall that buys and sells essence shards at one to two food stamps respectively. One food stamp can be exchanged for 100-peso($2) and vice versa. Jun bought every essence shard from the shop, gaining thirty-four essence shards. Since he didn''t have much food stamps, he paid with cash.


    The owner d in a robe made from sackcloth, stared at him as if he was a mad man, and hurriedly closed the shop after getting the payment. He warily watched Jun before collecting his things and running away.


    "What a strange guy." Jun thought.


    The boundary of the business and social district had armed policeman patrols. People in the social and business district were skilled people, so there''s not much problem with the security. That''s also the reason why soldiers were at the boundary of the outer-business district.


    People at the outer district had a higher chance of rebelling or causing riots if things were to turn bad. The army had to be stationed there for more impactful enforcement of security. Another reason might be that people in the social district prefers seeing policemen instead of soldiers.


    After stating his reason, Jun was guided towards the city hall by a policeman. He passed by a massive five-meter cemented block of stone. When the policeman saw his awestruck eyes, the man gave him an exnation. It was a new type of barricade invented by the engineer. The block of stone was made from gravel, scrap metals, and wood. Those extra materials were used to save cement and for extra durability.


    The block of stonewall was five-meters tall, four meters in length, and three-meters wide. Without a roller to push it, it was impossible to move due to its weight. It even has to be built on the spot to save time in moving them. After asking for permission to touch it, Jun ced his hand on the stone and saved a copy of its blueprint. He made sure that he was in the policeman''s blind spot, so he wouldn''t get in trouble.


    Unlike the outer district and business district, the social district appeared bright like a cheerful ce. Even the rays of the morning sun inside the district felt different. Most of the people found on the road were policemen.


    After arriving at the za, he could see the city hall in front of him. He tried side-tracking towards the statue, which likely is the Teleport Portal, but the soldiers guarding it didn''t let him get closer.


    The hotel incident has already passed and these soldiers weren''t the ones from before. They were the regr soldiers stationed to watch over the Portal in case people from the other districts using the Portal, further reducing its durability.


    The registration didn''t take long and Jun didn''t even care that he received the business ss ID. Although he probably won''t use it that much, having one give bring him benefits, right? He then stashed the ID in his dimensional storage before walking back to the outer district.


    When he tried strolling around, police officers warned him not to wander, so he steered off certain ces. The few ces he could roam about was the church and the supermarket. There was nothing notable in the social district except for the restricted areas that he couldn''t enter.


    By the time Jun got back on the outer district, ke''s men had alreadye back. Most of them brought back wild vegetables, fruits, several fish, and some meat. However, there were a few ones who brought seeds and unknown nts. All of these came from the vast forest in the north-eastern part of the city.


    Jun didn''t collect the remaining money from ke''s subordinates since they worked hard and he feels satisfied with his haul.


    After collecting all the goods, he received 50kg of rice, several kilos of various vegetables and fruits, dozens ofrge mackerel, and a fewrge birds andrge snake meats.

 Chapter 242: Limit Breaker

    Chapter 242: Limit Breaker


    After receiving all the collected items, Jun went back to his roomMhiya''s room which he tookst night. With nothing else to do here, he nned to finally go back to his hometown. His mother left after they briefly met. He didn''t even have enough time to talk to her after traveling from far away. Also, Marianne had a firm stance on staying in the city because of her father. Her father was also the reason why she doesn''t want to risk running away with Jun.


    Jun poured energy onto his Teleport Rune. It began to glow and slowly expand while circling outside his body when a notification appeared in front of him.


    Thug Life XP received. +10 XP.


    You have leveled up! Lv.14 ] Lv. 15


    Jun became surprised and canceled channeling the teleport. He usually ignored the title XP reward since it was of meager amount, but this time, it came as a surprise since it helped him level up. Currently, there is no way to know about an individual''s experience points. In the future, he had to look for a way to determine experience points, so everything would be easier.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 15]


    [Health - 1,200][Energy - 440]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 60][Endurance - 39][Speed - 44][Wits - 33][Cunning - 25][Charm - 27]


    [Stat Points - 8]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave] [Iron Guts] [Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - Lv.5]


    -[Rob - Lv.3]


    -[Execute - Lv.4]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.4]


    -[Blueprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Howling Rage Lv.4]


    -[Sprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Time Perse - Lv.Max]


    -[Water Stride - Lv.Max]


    -[Enhanced Sight - Lv.Max]


    -[Reinforce Lv. Max]


    -[Empower Lv. Max]


    -[Aura (Death) Lv. Max]


    -[destorm - Lv. Max]


    -[Detection - Lv. Max]


    -[Block - Lv. Max]


    Most of the energy stone he looted were immediately used to increase his max energy capacity. The thing was rare and mostly drops on carriers at the brink of evolving, chancing upon them was hard and extremely rare. When he got back home, he needs to pay some special attention at Angono, to establish an energy stone farm due to the strange phenomenon of carriers inside the dungeon bing real.


    Jun didn''t touch his stat points and reserved them in case he needed them in the future. For now, killing Destroyers and looting the essence of power from them is enough to raise anyone''s power ordingly.


    He raised his power to the right amount, so he won''t die on facing the level twenty tribtion before stocking up and sending the excess gems for Evo to distribute.


    Every essence of speed he looted was kept by him since it didn''t help in safely passing the tribtion. He nned to use it when he needed the extra speed stat or as a form of reward to hard-working people.


    After bing a gang leader for years, he knew that rewarding a subordinate with something "rare" always make them loyal and makes them work harder while giving a sense of belonging and expectation to everyone.


    Since he stopped hunting people, the side quest he got remained the same. Currently, he doesn''t want to do anything rted to killing people, but he wouldn''t shy away from it.


    With his level up and the extra skill slot that goes with it, he could finally do something that he had been postponing for a long time.


    Messing around with his max leveled skills.


    The skills that got maxed out even after only learning them once. After surviving for a long time, he realized that maxed out skills were kinda useless. The skill cap given to them prevented him from bing stronger.


    So he nned to change it by relearning the skill. He started increasing energy output on Sprint by 20, the very first skill he learned by himself, then received three shocking notifications.


    [Received +1 Wits and +2 Cunning for discerningws of nature.]


    [Sprint skill upgraded! Sprint (Custom) now increases movement speed by 15%(from 10%) for 6 minutes. (former 5minutes.) An additional 12% movement speed when running on t terrain.]


    [Received title "Limit Breaker" for breaking away from the limitations set upon you by the godly craftsman.


    Limit Breaker - You have broken free from the limitations imposed upon you by the godly craftsman. Your skills can change their level ording to your custom settings. The skills affected by the Limit Breaker would stop umting experience and would solely depend on the user''s manual changes.]


    Jun stared in awe at the series of notifications in front of him. He didn''t expect anything like these at all! He only wanted to increase the skill level but the oue totally shocked him!


    The max level tag beside the Sprint skill turned into a custom tag. Now, every time he uses Sprint, it would use 20 energy points and give him the raised movement speed value of 15% and 27% when running on t terrain! Though it doesn''t appear much, when his speed stat goes higher, the additional bonus would go higher!


    And what''s truly shocking was the Limit Breaker title! Doesn''t that mean he could change the skill performance whenever he wanted and whatever suited him? He could raise it to however output and received higher bonuses!


    He didn''t do that though. Although he currently had 440 max energy, he still felt that it was too little if he wanted to raise most of the skills he had to custom level. He must n it properly to check the most appropriate skill levels he needed right now. He can''t recklessly raise skills since the consumption would ruin his already ingrained fighting style. Practice and training were still needed.


    Last but not the least, the extra stats he received for thinking of this whole thing. He gained one additional point on wits and two on cunning.


    Based on his experience, wits raise the individual''s capacity to control energy while also increasing the mind''s power to think more clearly. On the other hand, cunning can bepared to wisdom in other games. It helps with reasoning and somehow helps in detecting lies. There were instances that he could feel whether the person he was talking to were speaking the truth or not, and he could only attribute it to cunning since it was the most probable stat for those kinds of things.


    If he could gain free stat points by discovering things, does that mean he could also increase his other stats naturally without using the allotted level up points? If that is true, then he needs to learn how to do so immediately!


    He needs to consult Evo about this...


    After the realization, Jun chose a few maxed skills he used daily to custom level up. The passive skills Execute and Melee Weapon Mastery doesn''t even use energy, so he doesn''t know how to use Limit Breaker on them. Blueprint has nothing to change or to improve, so he left it alone. All in all, he adjusted his skills ording to his taste.


    Jun fixed Rob at 30 energy points, having a 60% chance to take 10 random items. If Daylight Robbery activated, 10 items can be taken from the target''s dimensional storage. Threaten costs 50 energy points, reducing 30% of the enemy''s overall stats. Howling Rage costs 40 energy points, increasing physical attack by 30% and reducing enemy defense by 20%.


    The rest of the maxed skills were left untouched since he doesn''t want to increase their energy consumption that much. Empower, Detection, Block was the few examples of that. if he increased their base energy consumption, he would run dry after using them a few times. Time Perse, Water stride, Enhanced Sight, Reinforce, Aura(Death) was another batch of skills he wants to remain the same. There''s no use for these skills to level up since they don''t give much of a benefit to him.


    For example, Water stride and Aura(Death); Water stride would still only allow him to move faster and walk underwater but in essence, it was still the same. Unless he meets something that proves the need for it would he change his mind. Aura(Death) also falls into this category. He already had Detection that can sweep 21meters around him, the only use of the Aura(Death) is when fighting in close range. It already eats 5 energy per second for sensing the two meters around him, so it should be enough for now.


    After adjusting everything that he deemed important, Jun took onest look at his character sheet before channeling energy on the Teleport Rune.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 15]


    [Health - 1,200][Energy - 440]


    [Title - Thug Life]


    [Power - 60][Endurance - 39][Speed - 44][Wits - 33][Cunning - 25][Charm - 27]


    [Stat Points - 8]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave] [Iron Guts] [Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - (Custom)] Use 50 energy , reducing 30% of the enemy''s overall stats.


    -[Rob - (Custom)] Use 30 energy, having a 60% chance to take 10 random items. If Daylight Robbery activated, 10 items can be taken from the target''s dimensional storage.


    -[Execute - Lv.4]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.4]


    -[Blueprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Howling Rage - (Custom)] 40 energy points, increasing physical attack by 30% and reducing enemy defense by 20%.


    -[Sprint -(Custom)] Now increases movement speed by 15% for 6 minutes. An additional 12% movement speed when running on t terrain.


    -[Time Perse - Lv.Max]


    -[Water Stride - Lv.Max]


    -[Enhanced Sight - Lv.Max]


    -[Reinforce Lv. Max]


    -[Empower Lv. Max]


    -[Aura (Death) Lv. Max]


    -[destorm - Lv. Max]


    -[Detection - Lv. Max]


    -[Block - Lv. Max]


    The dim light engulfed his body and he disappeared with a sh that scattered around the room.


    Jun fumbled his step forward after opening his eyes. He felt bumping into something but instead of falling backward, his body remained in ce.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw a man donned in fantasy-themed armor on his upper body. He was wearing a metal chest te while his arms were studded with leather guards. His pants were still casual wear and seemed to not have received an upgrade.


    While Jun was trying to absorb every new information on the surrounding, the man turned around and red at him.


    "Are you crazy?! Don''t you know who I am!?"

 Chapter 243: Finally Back Home

    Chapter 243: Finally Back Home


    The troublemaker was amon scenario in ck Haven. There wouldn''t be a day where the man didn''t cause any damage to ck Haven. The police patrols stationed nearby immediately mediated and caught the drunk, pulling him away. They were already called in advance when people saw the troublemaker''s drunken stupor at the za.


    The police patrol asked for his ID, so he presented him with the newly printed ID from the city. After asking and reading the name, the policeman only gazed at Jun strangely while returning the ID card slowly. The policeman bowed and disyed a few words of appreciation to JUn for cooperating with him,


    Jun walked away feeling strange. Earlier, he was surprised for everything that he learned. Also, he almost got pissed off since an unknown dude destroyed his good mood.


    After walking out of the za, Jun immediately noticed something from the town. The town became livelier and more people could be seen around! The sun was already up in the sky but still hasn''t gone above everyone''s head.


    From his memories, no matter what time of the day it is, the za and the highway in front of ck Havenpound were never filled up like this!


    Jun entered thepound and heard snide remarks from other people. It seems like there was a line if you want to enter the submission desk.


    Currently, the agents still have to submit their quests on thepound since the newly established building only operates as the marketce selling and buying of goods.


    When the ck Haven staff heard themotion, they turned to the person causing the anger of the crowd. Those who knew ran forward to wee him and those who don''t, watched as their superiors run and greeted the man respectfully with a bow. Most of the women in the group feel indebted to him since if Jun didn''t take them in, they would have probably died at the start of the apocalypse.


    A few high-ranking people came out and weed Jun. Bernardughed and hugged him, feeling happy and confident that no matter what troublees now, it would be solved. Unlike Bernard, Dyna and Gina watched from behind and just weed Jun from afar. Evo and Old John were much colder since they were only watching him from the door and decided to leave after seeing that he was fine.


    Old John grinned after reaching beside him. "Oh, you actually know how toe back? I thought you died somewhere since you never messaged me."


    "I''m just so busy these past few days. Do you have your private watch too?" said Jun.


    "Almost everyone had their own smartwatch. Evo managed to ramp up his production this past week, and he added a feature for private messages. Did you not read the update log?"


    "Ohh... I lost my smartwatch, so I didn''t get to read the updates."


    Old John appeared disappointed. "Then, you didn''t see the armor I made for you? I ced it on your storage spot. Haa... nevermind that. You should talk with Evo, there''s a lot of new things going on. I''m going back to smithing, see youter!"


    After saying farewells with Old John, Jun chatted with the staff for a bit before going with Bernard''s group to meet with Evo.


    Just as they were headed to the back office on the second floor, Jun saw his grandmother together watching over Chloe who was reading a book. He asked the three to go ahead first and he would catch on after dealing with some matters.


    Jun bowed and greeted her grandmother. He took her wrinkled hand and pressed it on his forehead. This act is called "mano", an honoring-gesture for the young ones to their elders upon seeing them. Usually, it''s a sign of asking for approval or recognition. It is a deeply rooted culture and not taking initiative in doing this could be seen as a sign of disrespect.


    "May the Lord bless you," said Grandma Teresa. "You seem troubled, would you like to sit down and chat?"


    Jun sat down on the opposite side of the table. He asked, "Is Anna here?"


    "I think she already left? Most of the time, she''s hanging out with her friends and woulde back around early evening."


    Jun wasn''t close with his grandmother, His father was kicked out of the farm and although he liked her when he was young, things changed after they moved out. The willingness to chat and visit them on weekends lessened. Of course, Grandma Teresa knew what the young Jun was thinking and could not do anything but to bear with him. That''s the role of the elders, to understand and guide the younger ones.


    "I found mum at Taytay. Unfortunately, she became half-infected and doesn''t want toe back with me. She told me that she''ll find a way to cure herself beforeing back... but don''t worry Grandma! I have something that can help me find her! I have apass that could help me find her..." Jun continued retelling the story and couldn''t help but turn mncholy.


    "Is that so?... It''s okay Jun, don''t cry. I''m sure she had her reasons for doing that." Jun did not see the trembling of Grandma Teresa''s hand since he was currently overwhelmed with emotions. He already epted his mother''s choice but when he was reminded of her leaving him the second time, he couldn''t help but silently cry like an abandoned child.


    "Come closer. Let this grandma hug my grandchild. It''s been a long time since I got to spoil you eh?"


    Chloe stopped studying since she can''t focus on theoretical energy usage when theirs a rowdy bunch beside her. When she saw her uncle Jun hugging his grandma, she decided to join and hugged her too. Grandma Teresa felt Chloe hugging her from behind, so she patted her head.


    While they were busy in their own worlds, Anna leaned on the door frame lifelessly. A few of the elder sisters from the group informed her of her brother''s return. It''s been two weeks and even though she acted cold towards him, it was only due to the awkwardness of seeing each other for a long time. She was excited to learn of his return but also nervous when she learned that he returned alone.


    Jun left to look for their mother but returned alone. This could only mean one thing, and she doesn''t want to think about it. Since childhood, her mother was the only pir of support she had. Everything she needed were provided by her without fail. Her mother also served as the father that she didn''t get to see while growing up. Even though they moved near her grandmother when she grew up, that didn''t change her reliance on her mother. She still saw her as the greatest of all.


    Upon hearing Jun''s story, the first thing that entered her mind was to deny it. Mom would surely choose to go back no matter what, right? She still has me.


    But when tears rolled down her cheeks, she knew that the only thing she could do was to ept it. She wiped her tears and ran away without showing herself to her brother.


    After a few seconds of warmth, Jun finally calmed down. He then felt that Grandma Teresa was leaning on him too much and so he used a bit of strength to steady her body.


    "Grandma, are you okay?" after calling once, Jun realized that something was wrong. Grandma Teresa was unresponsive and she actually fainted. "...grandma? Grandma!"


    Jun clenched his fist while staring at Grandma Teresa lying on the clinic bed.


    Noel, She''s father exined to Jun what happened. "Well, from the things that you''ve told me, it''s probably too much stress that caused her to faint. You should have checked first whether she''s stable or not. Just give her some time to rest and she would wake up soon."


    Although Noel specializes in chests, general checkup was something that he could do effortlessly.


    "Thank you, Mr. Noel. Sorry for calling you on such short notice." Jun bowed respectfully then transferred 1000CP as payment. Noel wanted to refuse since he was a benefactor directly and indirectly, to him and his daughter but chose to ept after seeing Jun''s state.


    "Why don''t you help her gain some levels? I heard power and endurance are great stats for physical attributes. Nevermind, maybe she''s too old to fight. Let''s let her rest, she''s already too old for this... Anyway, I guess I''m done here, right? If there''s anything else, you can find me at my new clinic."


    Noel bade farewell and Anna escorted him out of the room. When she turned around, he saw Jun staring at the door with wide eyes.


    ''Of course, I can do that!''

 Chapter 244: Preparation Trip

    Chapter 244: Preparation Trip


    After a few minutes, Grandma Teresa woke up. Jun did his best in persuading her to level up. He would also bring some female members of the group since their levels were kind of low. Even if they have no ns in hunting, a few more stats would be better.


    Jun hasn''t seen Adrian''s group for a long time, but he had no ns to call them back just for a meetup. It takes a lot of time and resources to venture out and the asion isn''t up to par.


    The main assault team were hovering around at level 11 and 12. Every day, they head out to reim the outskirts of the town and the surrounding mountain and forest. Evo was still his stubborn self and was forced to join the ''carrying'' he nned to do.


    The event would be for tomorrow when it was ck Haven''s turn to clear the Northern Mines.


    Jun spent the entirety of noon together with his grandmother. The time lost would never be reced but it''s still not toote to catch up. He''s a bit familiar with Chloe but they weren''t that close.


    In the afternoon, he brought Grandma Teresa and Chloe for a stroll. Together with Jamie''s group of young women, they set out for the Calvary Hill. The three elders; Bernard, Dyna and Gina vehemently refused to join them. They were busy with their own jobs and much prefer the young survivors do their thing.


    Evo helplessly followed behind the crowd. Jun epted Bernard''s group''s excuse but he can''t let Evo stay idle. He was in charge of development and other important things! Gaining a few more stats in wits should make everything much easier for him.


    A modified jeepney stopped in front of ck Haven. There was a reinforced ram in front and wires at the window preventing people outside to reach inside. It might not do much but when moving, it was impossible for regr carriers totch onto the window.


    "Okay, everyone please board. This is our transportation for this afternoon, so please rx and enjoy the ride." Jun said happily while assisting Grandma Teresa board the vehicle.


    After everyone got on board and Jun signaled for the driver to drive. He leaned then watched the scene outside the window.


    The town was bustling with people. It felt like a different ce from the one on his memories a few weeks ago.


    "There''s suddenly a lot of people..." Jun murmured.


    "Of course, what did you expect?"


    Jun became surprised that someone answered him, so he looked around. He noticed Evo sitting opposite him. The two of them both boardedst and were seated at the entrance of the jeepney.


    "What do you mean?" said Jun.


    "You told a bunch of guys toe here if they want. Then,ter on, a group from Angono arrived iming you sent them here. We also recaptured the whole town. Together with a few independent barrios and barangay, the poption skyrocketed." replied Evo.


    "Then why do you look troubled?"


    "We''re about two thousand people cluttering in this town. Resources get depleted faster. There are not enough carriers to kill and not enough food to go around. The farm is producing food for us, so we don''t have a problem. The thing is, what about the people? Although you renounced your mayorship, everyone knows that you''re still the one in power. The people were still busy scavenging the town dry, and when I say dry, I mean licked-clean dry. Most of the major ces were already looted clean and scavengers were already looting random houses for the hope of finding food."


    "Can we talk about thister?"


    "You were gone for two weeks! We need to do something about this!"


    "I know, I know. I''ll take care of everything. I''ll cook something up and I''ll rely on you on other technicalities. Just like the old times." Jun grinned and signaled for Evo to look around.


    Everyone appeared busy and doing their own things, but Jun can sense that all of them were listening. Of course, they would! There was nothing to do except to eavesdrop on the current state of the town.


    Evo clicked his tongue and looked to his left. People of all ages were staring at them. Some kids were even waving at them.


    The jeepney stopped in front of the local church. A shortcut could be found beside it. Besides, traveling on the jeepney to enter the alleyways would be impossible.


    Jun and Evo led the group this time since they were outside of thepound. Although the town was safe from carriers, there were still small and big wild animals randomly getting lost in town.


    Jun saw peopleing in and out of the church. Evo noticed his curiosity and gave some exnation.


    "After we cleared the public market, some people investigated the ghostly ringing of the bell. It would ring every morning, noon, and afternoon at the same exact time as the other day. People thought it was cursed until one day when the church''s doors opened. The priest inside knew that the area was cleared by some group and started preaching how God saved him. After that, people started going to church every day to offer some prayer. Maybe, it became a habit or people just want something to believe in. He''s also a tough one, he managed to survive by himself all this time."


    "Ohh," Jun answered with ack of interest. "By the way, what skills does he have? He''s a priest, so probably heal, or is it buffs?"


    "Nothing. He hasn''t even leveled up. He ims that as the instrument of God killing people who lost their souls was a sinful thing to do. Unexpectedly, those words worked for some people and they get "blessed" daily to repay for their sins. They even donate food and crystals to the priest."


    "That''s just a waste. Well, it''s their stuff, so I won''t meddle with what they want to do with it."


    "You don''t believe in God?" Evo asked with raised eyebrows.


    Jun looked back at the church then sighed. "Bruh, I lost faith a long time ago. If there''s really a God, it better make its presence known. With things looking like this, sooner orter, people would probably start cursing at him."


    "That mouth of yours... haa... if other people hear you, you might get in trouble."


    "It''s fine. We''re family. Everyone is. Ohh, that''s the ce. Do you see that staircase? That''s where we''re headed."


    Jun already gave enough essence of power to everyone who doesn''t have at least ten points in power. After making sure that everyone has the minimum ten points in power, Jun led the way and brought them up the Calvary Hill''s first resting area. Thanks to having high enough power, everyone reached the first resting area with ease. Even Chloe had no problem climbing the stairs.


    The bushes glowed and produced berries and everyone ate them on the spot. Jun told everyone to wait here and brought Evo on the second resting area. Along the way, he fed him a few essences of power until the stat reached 20 points, so he could climb with ease. Unfortunately, Evo still had a hard time climbing through thest steps even with a high power stat since the final steps required some level of willpower.


    Jun watched his friend climb thest step then became dazed while staring on thin air.


    Several secondster, the life in Evo''s eyes returned and he looked around. Tears suddenly welled up on the corner of his eyes as he searched for something.


    "Is that a dream?" Evo asked Jun in puzzlement.


    "I''m not sure myself. We have the same reaction though after waking up. I''m actually surprised that Adrian didn''t tell you about this."


    Evo ignored Jun and asked his own question. "Can I go back? How do I go back?"


    Seeing his friend be like this, Jun felt sadness. He remembered the first time he first reached the top and entered the illusion. For him, the illusion was like a parting gift that pulled him out of a dark ce. A gift that helped him move forward and let himself loosen up.


    For Evo to act like this, he must have met someone truly special for him.


    Jun shook his head, increasing the sadness that Evo was currently feeling.


    "There are benches here. Go first and take a seat. I''ll follow you after I activated the monolith."


    Jun felt the smooth surface of the rock in front of him. He gathered energy on his hand, then transferred them to the gray monolith.


    [Altar''s Blessing]


    [Description] You have received a blessing from the altar. Increase experience gain by two-fold for three days. You can''t receive another blessing for seven days.]


    After getting the buff, Jun went back and sat beside Evo. Both of them stared at the almost setting sun on the horizon.

 Chapter 245: Energy Drink

    Chapter 245: Energy Drink


    After receiving the Altar''s Blessing, the group spent some time rxing and ying around at Calvary Hill. Jun collected another rainbow seed together with Evo in the second resting area. He still hadn''t eaten the first one he got and had no ns on eating the two rainbow seeds.


    The group returned to thepound when night arrived. After making sure that Grandma Teresa feels well, Jun bade farewell and called Evo for a chat.


    Evo agreed and invited him to his room.


    "Hahaha! Why is this room so cramped.? This ce looks like a mess. Do you not clean up Evo?"


    "Shut up. I have too many things on my te. You were gone for two weeks, so you should manage this town. I''ll focus on experiments and research, so don''t bother me anymore." Evo grumpily replied then sat on his swivel chair.


    Jun examined a few papers scattered on the floor before sitting down on a chair. "Alright, alright. Isn''t this just the usual? You sub in for me when I''m gone somewhere to deal with things? Besides, didn''t you do well?"


    Evo sighed. "The usual, but on arger scale. Do you have any idea how popted this ce is? The town might appear barren but the current food production speed is not enough. We have two towns under us, which means we have three towns to protect and provide and sell food for. If we can''t give them proper benefits, it might be better to just let go of some of them."


    Jun became surprised. He hasn''t told Evo about Taytay but it seems like information travels quite fast. "Do you already have people at Taytay? I told my new recruits from Angono to visit the ce. Did they visit recently?"


    Evo frowned in confusion. What Taytay? Did you do something there? I know you went there but please don''t keep iming towns! We don''t have enough food! Haven''t you yed any civilization simtion games?! The number one resource for expansion is food! Unless you have a stable production of food, you can''t go expanding your territory!"


    Jun covered his ears. "Wow, calm down Mr. Nice Guy. If people hear you, they might think that your a cruel petty bastard."


    "Tsk!"


    "Haha! Regarding that, I think I have an idea for our food problems. Do you know that dungeons on "destroyed towns" produce real mobs? If we can find those dungeons from Angono and Taytay, the food problem would be temporarily solved. I think Angono had bats, but as for Taytay I have no clue!"


    "Oh, that''s something weed to hear." Evo excitedly said. "You should assign quests at the mission section of your smartwatch. I added an admin feature where you can edit missions on the go. Just don''t go giving excessive rewards! Also, I set the value of 1CP to $1."


    "There''s a new feature? I didn''t know about that... I mean, about the smartwatch; I gave it to Marianne." said Jun.


    "What!? Hey, I know she''s your girl, but there''s a lot of information stored in the library. What if she discloses them to the government? Would our hard work be free then?"


    "Tsk. Can''t you just revoke ess to admin rights and other permissions?"


    "What else to do besides that?" Evo shook his head and essed his smartwatch. He made a few motions and returned back to hisputer after closing the smartwatch''s hologram. "It''s done. By the way, I didn''t mean Taytay when I said we have two new towns under us. I meant Angono and Cardona."


    "Cardona? What happened?"


    "ck Haven''s Elite Scavengers and the regr scavenging group was way ahead of everyone. We cleared the next town due east. The portal was destroyed and weter learned that most of the residents escaped via fishing boats. Cardona is a port town after all. They rely mainly on fishing, so it isn''t hard to get themselves on a fishing boat. The problem was they willingly joined us, and we had no valid reason to reject them."


    "Hey, hey, I thought we''re done ying saints? Didn''t we agree on that?"


    "What do you mean? You solely decided on that. Don''t worry, after I get my revenge I''ll stop this useless act. And just for your information, Adrian was the one who epted them. They were already streaming in droves to pay ''tribute'' when I saw them."


    "Haa... so how are the boys doing?"


    "You mean Adrian''s group? Edward reached level 10 and passed the tribtion easily. It was quite a sight to watch if you ask me. On the other hand, Adrian and She had a bit of a problem. She applied Heal and Cure on Adrian, which caused the bolts of lightning to also target her. Fortunately, both of them had stable stats, so the damage they received was manageable. I heard Nik''s group was about to reach level 10 too."


    "That''s great to hear. At least we know that the town''s strength is improving. Is there anything else I should know?"


    Evo pondered for a bit before continuing. "I secured the surrounding area with security cameras; the town hall, the gymnasium, the TESDA, and the nearby streets. Tatang Robin also hired a friend of his to share shifts with him. Oh, have you noticed the armors the people wore around? It''s Old John''s works. He managed to changed professions. He became a smith after producing items steadily. I also think that anyone can change professions ordingly if you repeatedly do something. We assigned people based on their skills, so we really didn''t realize this sooner, but with Old John''s smithing skills unearthed from the past, we finally have things to look forward to. Speaking of which, I nned to train a bunch of freeloaders into farmers. Do you still need the Northern ins?"


    "Yeah, I need it for something. Is that all?"


    "Hmm... I can''t think of anything of importance right now. I''ll send you a chat when I remember them."


    "I don''t have a smartwatch anymore," Jun said with a grin.


    Evo dejectedly opened his dimensional storage and threw a gray smartwatch to Jun. It felt like he would grow white hairs a bit faster than it should. "Don''t give it away, please. We can''t have other people get ess to these things."


    "It''s fine. I didn''t give it away to some random people." Jun said then stood up. "See youter. Send me a message if there''s something. Oh, and give me admin rights and other stuff, okay?"


    "Sure, sure. Go away, leave me alone." Evo waved his hands shooing him away. He operated his smartwatch and gave relevant permissions to Jun.


    "Now I can do what I want. However, first things first. Let''s rx and surf the web."


    There''s a lot of information on the inte. Some were trash but there were rare useful ones. Through surfing the inte, he learned that there were other mutations of carriers. When a nuclear nt exploded due to unknown reasons, carriers that appeared were toxic and had weird forms. ording to the person who posted it, the carrier can even spit toxins and chemicals.


    Also, when dead carriers were left alone, they would coagte into a new type of carrier filled with fats like an abomination. An extremely tough and durable variant but had slow movement speed and weak attack power.


    These things only proved that the environment affects the evolution of the carrier.


    Evo opened the web browser and started surfing various bookmarked information boards. He looked at his messages but there was none. On one information board that he joined, there was a friendly man called TruthSeeker. He shares his knowledge with everyone who seeks for them with no requirements. His actions made him popr and themunity cared for him. Not much was known to him, except for the generally essible knowledge that he was a monk and is scouring the remains of the earth in search of the truth about the apocalypse.


    Evo closed the messages tab and started gathering useful information across the information boards.


    Jun sat on the chair and waited for Mike to serve him some real food. To his surprise, Mike served him a lemonade before even serving the main dish.


    "What is this?" Jun asked in confusion.


    "It''s a new dish I made. Please try it and give me some feedback." Mike stated then stood by the side, intently watching Jun. He received a green fruit from Evo earlier and he decided to make some refreshments out of it.


    Jun drunk half of it and felt that it was particrly sweet, so he finished it all in one gulp. The ss wasn''t big in the first ce and by the time he drunk them all, a notification appeared in front of him.


    +1 Energy


    [The user has be "energized". Increase energy recovery by 20% for 1 hour.]


    Jun be dumbfounded. Did he gain additional energy just by drinking this lemonade-thing?


    "M-Mike? How did you make this?"

 Chapter 246: Collecting Resources

    Chapter 246: Collecting Resources


    Mike saw the surprise in Jun''s face and became ted. He had some inkling to that it might be beneficial but he had no idea of its actual effect. He felt that as a chef, he should be looking forward to working with various ingredients instead of staying in hisfort zone.


    "It''s an energy drink. Evo gave me some energy fruit earlier as a reward for working hard. I think he must have hundreds of it to actually give every staff one each." Mike said then added, "I don''t really use much energy and I thought it would be a waste to use it. So I used it to make some refreshments. Is it good?"


    "It''s way better than good! It increased my energy permanently by one point while also giving me a buff that increases energy regeneration by 20%! Can I have another one?" Jun grinned while extending his hand holding the ss.


    Mike felt ted that his creation was appreciated. As a chef, receivingpliments on their food was their greatest joy. He took the pitcher and poured the juice into the ss.


    Jun thought it was lemonade due to the liquid''s yellowish color, but in reality, it was actually the pulps and juice of the energy fruit.


    After getting his ss almost full, Jun hurriedly drank it. Strangely though, he didn''t receive another notification.


    "Well, that would be a bit over the top, right? At least, it tastes good and gives the energized buff." Jun thought.


    He smiled at Mike and raised his ss. "Good work. I''ll remind Evo to give you energy fruits every day. Make sure every staff drinks some before working, alright? If they''re energized and feel refreshed, they might work harder."


    "Thank you for the praise, boss." Mike scratched the back of his head meekly. Afterward, he served Jun marinated chicken that came from the wild and let him dine in peace.


    When Jun finished eating, he noticed that Mike was ncing at him as if he wanted to say something. "What is it? Don''t dally, if you need something, never hesitate to tell me. We''ve known each other for a long time. You''re more than enough qualified to requests things from me."


    Mike felt touched by Jun''s words. Although he doesn''t have high intelligence, he still had a basic understanding of things. "Thank you, Boss Jun. Recently, people from Angono woulde to visit us and trade goods. They have a poultry and pig farm, and I don''t have enough money to buy their goods. Could you raise my sry, so I can offer better dishes for everyone?"


    Jun smiled. "I''ll remind Bernard to raise your sry. Actually, you don''t have to buy them with your own money. These things would be paid by me, so just keep on buying them. Also, I''ll introduce you to the farm owners once I n on visiting them. That way we could have some meat once a month."


    "Thank you so much! Thank you, boss Jun."


    After settling things with Mike, Jun went back to his room to get some rest. To his surprise, his room was unexpectedly clean and tidy. Dyna and Gina took turns cleaning the room when he was gone. It was like paying appreciation for helping them when they were in need. It was the least that they could do for him.


    Jun didn''t even turn the lights on and plunged himself into the bed. He sniffed theforter and did not find the expected smell he was longing for. The pillows and nket by the side smelled like how they should be: newly washed with sweetly perfumed detergents.


    He sighed and closed his eyes letting the darkness swallow him. For the first time in recent days, Jun actually slept and did not meditate.


    The next morning, Jun woke up feeling more energized than usual. He got up from bed, grabbed some breakfast, and stopped everyone from the regr scavenger group toe with him.


    Adrian''s elite group chatted with him for a bit then continued on their way to reim Cardona.


    Jun smiled watching them board their jeepneys. Everyone was doing their part and he should start working to protect this town.


    ''Let''s start by strengthening my faction.''


    Jun stood at the highway in front of the Northern ins. The ins can be found north of the town hall and west of the Northern Mines. A flowing river could be seen on the distance that divided the ins and the wild forest area of the north.


    He opened his faction menu and essed the buildings that he could make.


    [Faction Hall - requires x1000 essence shards, x1000 Ophir''s gold, 1000kg of stone, 500kg of wood]


    [Faction Altar - requires x3000 essence shards, x2500 Ophir''s gold, 100kg of stone, 50kg of wood]


    [Faction Portal- requires x5000 essence shards, x4000 Ophir''s gold, 300kg of stone, 100kg of metal]


    "What are we doing here? Are we going to cut the weeds and plow the fields?"


    Jun smiled after hearing this sarcastic voice. It''s been a long time and he actually grew fond of it. Nik stood behind him and examined the Northern ins.


    The remaining six death ves worked as officers in the regr scavenger group. The contract was gone and they remained loyal to Jun. The six of them left the elite group, so they could nurture and assist the budding talents from this group.


    There were at least 200 people in the ck Haven Scavenger group. Most of them were here for the benefits while others stayed for the protection and the sense of belonging. Some were also trying their best so they could join the elite group and further their careers.


    "We need 1400kg of stone, 550kg of wood, and 100kg of metal. Have everyone collect those things and meet here at noon. They''re scavengers, so they should where to look for these items, right?" Jun said.


    Nik frowned then answered with dissatisfaction. "You brought everyone here by walking. Caused amotion back in town, all for scavenging missions? Couldn''t you have told us back at thepound?"


    "Ohh, it looks like someone thinks they be stronger. How about we y for a bit?" Jun smirked as he turned to Nik.


    Nik scoffed and replied while walking away. "Forget it. I''m not a masochist."


    Junughed and let the matter go. There was a simple reason why he gave the order here. It''s because he forgot to check in advance. What? Can''t he make simple mistakes?


    Nik exined the situation to the scavenger group and everyone went on their way. With their number, getting those resources would be easy. They just have to look for several construction sites and it would be done. They could even rest and take a stroll since there was too much time avable.


    Jun knew that there''s a huge buffer time and the job could be finished easily. With everyone''s dimensional storage, gathering those materials would be a swift job. There was a reason why he asked them to meet up before noon.


    It''s because of essence shards and Ophir''s gold. Although ck Haven already had enough essence shards in their warehouse, the Ophir''s gold was of a different matter. It only drops in dungeons and a daily would be around 500-600 gold.


    In two weeks of alternating between the Cemetery and Northern Mine dungeon, ck Haven has stored around 4000 Ophir''s gold.


    The current division of dungeons allowed the three factions to enter twice per week while allowing unaffiliated survivors to gain ess to the dungeons on thest day.


    Now, he just needs other people to cough up a bit of gold from their stash.


    Jun operated his smartwatch and arrived at the mission board panel. With his admin ess, he created a new mission and posted in on the advertisement spot located at the top of every mission page. Through this, more people could easily see the advertisement and news would travel faster.


    Now, he just had to wait for the big fish to bite. He strode towards a big mango tree and sat down to meditate.


    Nik and his friends didn''t join the scavenging hunt and stayed to protect Jun. For the first time since the apocalypse, they have the time to appreciate the nature around them.


    The white clouds, the boundless sky, and the swaying green grass.


    While in meditation, Jun suddenly opened his eyes.


    It''s because of the notification that appeared in front of him.


    [The user meditated for 24-hours. Received 1 stat point.]


    Jun did not meditate for a whole day. The 24-hours was thebination of several days of interrupted meditation. Most of the time, he would meditate from midnight until early dawn. With the repeated action, he was able to gather 24-hours in the span of a week and a few days.


    After recovering from the shock, Jun closed his eyes again. A free stat point was good, but he can''t dedicate a full day for a single point. Well, it''s still a good thing to learn about these things and he could still get free points in the future.

 Chapter 247: Information is Gold

    Chapter 247: Information is Gold


    A man wearing floral shirts and everyday shorts were surrounded by people. Celebre Antazo was an info broker. He mainly trades information about profitable missions but also works a side gig about general information. He had a fewpetitors but thanks to his fast and urate information, most ballers still choose him.


    Most of the agents don''t want to waste time searching the mission hologram tv for viable quests, so they pay for his services to search for them ahead of time. His recurring customers formed a habit of giving him a designated difficulty and profit margin before going to the mission desk to ept the job.


    There''s not much time in a single day and Celebre''s services were weed by the top agents. They don''t mind the small fee that they were paying him.


    After receiving a piece ofpetent information from Celebre, the agent ran towards the mission desk and epted the task rmended to him. On the way out, he handed six essence shards to Celebre.


    Celebre smiled as he sent his customer away. When the man was no longer in sight, the cultivated smile he had disappeared and turn into a frown. He etched the face of that stingy man into his mind and ced him on the cheapskate''s list that he have.


    "Essence shard again? Haa... some people started paying with these instead of CP. Forget it, I can still trade these at the marketce for 10CP each."


    Most people still can''t find any use for the essence crystals except for absorbing them for XP. It''s being used as gifts for nobatants or family members that don''t like to fight. Of course, these shards were only given to people who have already leveled up to prevent people from generating weak skills.


    It''s already about nine in the morning and the number of people browsing the mission board was dwindling. Most of the agents either ept quests around six or seven in the morning or around noon. No one would stay around this time since everyone was busy doing their missions.


    Celebre went forward and crowded together with the people lining up to use the mission board. Currently, there were five 55" LED TV''s that allows one to browse the various missions avable. Thanks to the wide screens, five people from different groups can use one TV at the same time.


    Due to the time, there are only three TV''s being used. Celebre went and operated one without dy. He''s a soloist. A person who doesn''t work for a faction or a group. Even pre-apocalypse, he mainly works alone and connects people and businesses together. A frence lead specialist.


    He tapped the widescreen TV with his ck Haven card and the missioned panel opened up. A loading screen appeared showing a list of the avable missions.


    There were three types of missionsmonly found in the selection; one-time missions, repeatable missions, and advertisement missions.


    One-time missions were missions that can only be epted once and would only appear once on the board. It would disappear on the board after they got epted regardless if it gotpleted or not. Repeatable missions allow multiple agents to ept the job and submit it as many times as they can. These two missions were mixed together in the mission board and were easily identified by the tags one and infinite before the mission titles.


    Thest one, the advertisement missions, are missions with much stricter requirements but have higher rewards. These missions were ced at the top of the search results on every page.


    In the first ce, people who ce this kind of mission on the board need to have money or is in a tough spot. People would not y around and waste their money like this since there are a lot of things worth spending money on.


    As the search results loaded in, he instantly saw a new mission on the advertisement section of the results page. The mission was titled "The Collector''s Gold." He quickly opened the mission and examined its details.


    Even though he was focused, he was still able to hear the chattering around him.


    "Oh, we can sell those useless golds? I have a few here and they''re rotting at a corner in my inventory."


    "Yeah, this guy must be addicted to this gold. He''s buying them at double the market value! Since its a useless gold priced at 10CP each, it suddenly became 20CP! This is easy money! He''s buying until all of his depositsst. What a rich guy! This person must be powerful to earn so much money. If I were just at least a bit aplished like him... Hey guys, why are you running?"


    Celebre finished reading the mission description but didn''t move from his spot. Those people who ran first before thinking were probably already profiting from this. Unfortunately for him, he''s someone who leveled up through consuming essence shards. He had no experience in fighting and isn''t nning to do so. That''s the only reason why he would leave like this while earning scraps instead of hundreds or thousands of CP a day.


    The people were already adapting to this world. Even the changes to the environment and the way they lived had changed. Most people already have a grasp of what items are important and what items are useless. If an item can help you survive or can make you stronger, it is deemed as important and has a high tag price in the market. If the item ismon and can be found anywhere, it would, of course, have a low price.


    Besides decorations, no one has found any uses for the gold that they looted from the dungeon mobs. It was natural that it was priced lower than a full set of bones from a regr carrier priced around 30-50CP.


    While feeling unfortunate for losing out on such a good venture, he heard the delightful exmations of those people who earned quick money and became more dejected. He also heard that the mission seems to have arge deposit since it wasn''t closed even after more than fifty gold were traded-in.


    A glint of inspiration appeared in his eyes. Celebre epted the mission via tapping the mission title with his ck Haven card. He then wasted no time and ran out of thepound. He searched for an empty space in the center of the town za then started shouting, "Buying Ophir''s Gold 12CP per piece! 13CP if you sell in bulk!"


    Celebre shouted repeatedly. He ignored the dozens of eyes staring at him in confusion. It was time for hunting and the za only had small stalls at this time of the day.


    After shouting several times, a curious person approached him. Celebre smiled upon seeing the other person. It was one of his patrons who regrly purchase his services.


    "This is new? What''s going on?" the man said.


    "Good morning brother Tiu. I happened to chance on a rare mission and it doesn''t need any fighting, so I epted it," he replied animatedly, then added. "A collector was buying Ophir''s gold at a higher rate than the market price. I just took it upon myself to save him the trouble by bing his little servant."


    Brother Tiu smiled. "So you''re basically running an errand? Hahaha, let this brother help you. Here, I gathered 12 pieces. Just buy them at the market price, no need to calcte prices with me."


    Celebre bowed gratefully. "Thank you Brother Tiu, I''ll reserve the most profitable mission for you the next time you see me."


    He then paid 120CP for the 12 Ophir''s gold and bade farewell with Brother Tiu. Afterward, he continued shouting wanting to attract as many people as he can.


    Most of the people that survive until now weren''t idiots. At first, they thought that Celebre was up to something and just watched him. However, after learning that the man just got lucky and epted a rare mission, the surrounding people loosened up.


    More and more people gathered around him and traded their "useless" gold with him. He runs out of CP after buying 69 Ophir''s gold. He poured all of his money into this and it better be worth it. He barely had 1000CP in his ount card since the daily expenses were getting more expensive. Food has risen from 10-20CP to 50-100CP. And those things were even sold in portions!


    "I''m sorry everyone, I''m already out of CP. If you guys are still interested, I''ll try to talk with the collector and ask if he needs more. Please wait here for me, okay?"


    After Celebre apologized to the crowd, he hurriedly ran towards the mission desk to submit the gold. The female receptionist smiled at him and took his card to transfer the mission reward.


    "Thank you!" Celebre uttered in rough breaths. If his calctions were right, he earned around 500CP in just a few minutes. Without wasting any time, he ran towards the widescreen TV''s to ept the mission.


    He became ted after seeing that the mission was still there. He epted the collector''s mission and ran out to share the happy news to everyone waiting for him.


    He sessfullypleted the mission before the people get suspicious of what was happening. The next time he went out, the people already learned about the advertisement mission and refused to sell to him. Left with no choice, he camped around the teleport portal and bought Ophir''s gold from unsuspecting survivors who haven''t heard of the news.


    Whenpetitors entered the scene and the price of each gold rose to 15CP each, he stopped buying them. He was not sure until when the mission wouldst and he can''t risk losing all his earnings.


    In less than an hour, he managed to earn 2000CP. He couldn''t believe the money registered in the hologram of his card.


    "Could it be... Am I born to be a merchant?" Celebre thought.

 Chapter 248: This Cant Be A Group Event Anymore

    Chapter 248: This Can''t Be A Group Event Anymore


    At the Frontier''s Headquarters...


    "Did you confirm it?" Crisanton Simon, the Frontier''s quartermaster asked his subordinate.


    Ever since themotion at the teleport portal this morning, the whole town was turned upside down. Not because of the extra money but whether someone has actually found where to use gold.


    At first nce, the gold appears pure and people kept them for the future in case its price skyrocketed. They could also sell it to jewelers if someone takes that kind of job.


    "Yes, the mission was posted around nine as an advertisement mission. A collector happened to have taken a liking to those unique gold and is buying them at twice the market price. Furthermore, for the person to waste credit like this, that person must be so strong to umte that much credit, or he found out how to use those gold. We tried asking around, but no one saw anyone that could probably be the collector. We have a tightmunity here, and everyone knows how much they earn per day."


    The quartermaster pondered his choices and it didn''t take long for him toe up with a decision.


    "Take half of our gold and trade them for credit. Use half to pay for our loans then use the other half to buy T1 weapons. If you can get your hands on the crossbows, prioritize them over swords and spears. Buy a few sets of arrows, then spend the rest buying every type of item avable. Even if we can''t produce them right now, we could still use them for research."


    The same thing was happening at the town hall. However, the police chief was busy with operations and his secretary was the one who had to make decisions.


    The tworge factions learned of the news and joined the earning opportunity. However, they still remained apprehensive and only traded half of their gold stash.


    The small factions realized that having random loot was much better than having no loot. They didn''t care much about the current division of dungeon entry since they weren''t getting much loot from there. They prefer hunting new ces since they could scavenge along the way.


    These group of people rallied in front of the town hall and demanded that changes have to be made on dungeoning terms. Everyone enters the dungeon once a week and gold usually drop when a mob was killed. Nobody really cared about the gold but since someone was willing to buy them, people got angry when not being able to earn as much as the others did.


    The Chief of Police''s Secretary had no choice but to step out and calm everyone down. He promised that their suggestions would be put into consideration before people started leaving.


    At ck Haven, Bernard was panicking when he heard that the deposited credit points at the mission desk dwindled rapidly. He immediately called Evo to assist with thecking funds.


    When the matter stabilized, Evo asked Jun whether he had something to do with this event.


    And indeed, Jun was the culprit.


    The two chatted on the smartwatch;


    Jun: Calm down... I know, I know. I''ll notify you next time.


    Evo: You better be. Bernard was talking about some intion thingy. He said that we can''t just keep "printing" money.


    Jun: It''s fine. I don''t know much about intions but as long as we have things that people need, everyone will use our currency. The only reason why people are using our currency is because, it''s widely epted and it can buy useful things. Don''t worry about things like that. By the way, how do you manage to make this? This is cool.


    Evo: There''s a ce called "inte", and there''s a bunch of free codes all over the ce. Bye.


    Jun: Wait! Help me first. Go get our gold from the storage room on the first floor and the gold submitted at the mission desk. Transfer them to the faction storage, I need them for something. Also, I need 9,000 essence shards. Please help me for a bit. Thanks.


    Evo: You better need them for real...


    After reading Evo''s reply, Jun chuckled and closed the hologram private chatroom. From his friend''s reply, it seems like he was actually pissed. It was a rare scenario and most of the time, it only happens when he gets interrupted while doing something important.


    He stood up and did some stretching before getting out of the shade. Currently, around 60slots out of the 100slots on the faction storage were upied, while his storage had around 30slots out of 100slots avable.


    He sessfully managed to umte 5,000 gold through the advertisement mission he posted. Now, he just had to wait for Evo to start transferring the gold, so he could use them.


    While waiting, Jun took out items that do not stack from the dimensional storage and ced them on the ground. After tossing out the various weapons and tools down, he was able to free around twenty more spaces of storage.


    The scavengers have already returned from their scavenging trip and were just sitting down on a grassy slope, waiting for his next orders. Most of them were eating their lunch while chatting, while others rested absorbing the hot rays of the sun.


    To be honest, it was particrly cloudy today, and there''s not much sunlight to go around.


    Upon seeing Jun stand up, the survivors taking a break immediately direct their attention to him.


    Jun opened his faction menu and navigated to the building''s section. He tapped on the cheapest building, the Faction Hall which appeared to be a modern house.


    After tapping, a five-meter blueprint appeared out of nowhere in front of him. The faction hall stood inside a square-shaped blue tform and the image of the faction hall was created from blue lines. There''s also about a few meters of empty space on the outer periphery of the blueprint.


    Thanks to some experimentation, he learned that he could move and rotate the blueprint by hand. He slightly became shocked but recovered almost immediately.


    He walked around and chose the center of the ins as the ce he wanted to build the faction hall, and confirmed the location.


    The people around himNik''s group and the scavengerswere watching what he was doing. To them, he was raising and waving his arms like an idiot, but when a giant series of blue lines appeared from thin air, everyone couldn''t help but widen their eyes in shock. When they came back to their selves,they heard Jun calling for specific groups of people.


    "Those who found stone and wood, pleasee forward. Make a line in front of me. Stones are on the left side, wood on the right."


    Jun opened the faction storage and found 20stacks of Ophir''s gold and 20stacks of essence shard. Both items had 100 pieces per stack.


    "Wow, so considerate," Junmented to Evo''s quick execution of transferring items to the faction storage and even bncing the distribution.


    Without further ado, he quickly went to work.


    Jun said to the first two survivors in front of him. "Take the loot you found and ce them inside."


    Jun also did the same and started taking out items from the faction storage. The first time he tried taking out the essence shard by stacks of hundreds, he could only grab five while the rest fell down on the ground. He had to shove and toss them into the blueprint, so they would fill up the quota.


    The blueprint kept sucking all materials it needed that entered its borders. Although Jun can''t see where they go, he could see a progress bar and the remaining items needed when touching the ethereal blueprint.


    The Faction Hall requires one thousand essence shards, one thousand Ophir''s gold, one thousand kilos of stone, and five hundred kilos of wood. Watching the two grown-up men manually toss hollow blocks and gravel into the blueprint and seeing the pitiful amount of progress they made, Jun had to think of a new way to do this.


    And he thought of something almost immediately.


    After tossing all the leftover essence shards on the ground, Jun stood up and went closer to the blueprint. He stretched his arm forward and opened the faction storage. Then, he took out a stack of essence shards and everything fell on the blueprint.


    He turned and guided the people on what to do.


    "Just open your dimensional storage inside the blueprint and unload your loot. Its faster this way and saves us a lot of time."


    The two men followed his suggestion and opened their dimensional storage inside the blueprint. Things started pouring out and the progress hastened after their discovery.


    With this new discovery, transferring the items and filling the requirements went on without a hitch. People kept on pouring items in and the progress bar increased significantly each time. This onlysted until the faction hall got finished when all the required items were submitted.


    A white spiraling vortex appeared above the blueprint, which spat out all the items they poured earlier. The stones and woods created walls and furniture inside the house. Floors, stairs, and ceilings were magically made.


    When the white vortex stopped pouring things out, the screen in front of Jun changed. After reading its entirety, Jun almost cursed out loud.


    [Energy needed - 0/10,000]


    Jun became ted after calcting the required amount and the number of people here. With around 200 people here, even if they only use 90 energy, they would still easily reach the quota. The real problem was the subsequent buildings that he had to make. Since the cheapest building that requires the fewest amount of resources already required this much energy to finish, what about the others?!


    Jun sighed deeply.


    This group event can''t be called a simple errand anymore. People might need to stay for a bit longer than he expected.


    Jun opened his smartwatch and message Evo to have Mike prepare some snacks. Since they are overstocked with corn, he could make some kinabog. He could also make the energy juice he invented yesterday as refreshments.


    Of course, Jun told Evo to give ten energy fruits to Mike, so the man doesn''t have to worry about where to look for them. His reasoning for doing such a thing was to increase everyone''s affection to the guild, ck Haven, while also giving them the energized buff for faster energy recovery.

 Chapter 249: Suspicious Person

    Chapter 249: Suspicious Person


    Jun ordered everyone to provide fifty energy, creating an equal amount of consumption for everybody. With this, everyone was able to use their energy and there are no idlers avable.


    When the faction hall finished, the blueprint shone brightly and exploded. Thankfully, everything was ethereal, so no one got hurt. After the explosion, the finished house appeared.


    The house had two floors. There are a lot of windows with various lengths in front and a few on the back. There are two small attachment buildings but both of them were garage. The main garage can be found together with a fountain on the front while the guest''s parking garage was on the right side divided only by a gate. The backyard was a bit spacious but was empty. Additionally, the whole house was encircled by a wooden fence.


    Jun stared at the trees by the parking lots but decided not to think about it. He could ask someone what the heck was happening but he was sure that he would not get an answer. Besides, he does not have a good feeling about the other, so better stay away from him as much as possible.


    After watching the magical scene unfold in front of them, though everyone became shocked, no one really felt scared. Why would they even? Their daily lives were already as magical as it could get.


    Now that the faction hall was finished, Jun hastily chose a location for the two other buildings. He created the blueprints for the faction altar and the faction portal at a fixed distance from each other. It was enough for cars to go side by side when driving.


    With the faction hall as the center, the faction altar and faction portal were created on its left and right respectively.When both buildings absorb their required resources, the state of the blueprint updated, and the required energy can finally be seen.


    It took a great number of resources to set the two buildings up, but Jun felt surprised to know that there were actually a lot more resources that remained. He assigned an empty plot ofnd as temporary storage and had everyone pour out their materials over there.


    After unloading their loads, a huge pile appeared on the once emptynd. He had some ns in mind for these materials. He could use the stones to create the stone barrier he copied from Antipolo City. There''s a lot of stone, wood and metal scraps left so it was feasible.


    At this time, Mike finally arrived full of sweat. Thankfully, he didn''t need to wipe his hair since he does not have much hair.


    "Boss Jun! I came when you called!"


    "Great... You could prepare your things out here or inside the house. It''s your choice. Though, I''m not really sure if there''s a kitchen inside."


    "Ohh, there''s a new house here? Can I really go inside? Wait, eh? What is this? Boss Jun, it doesn''t allow non-members to enter. Wait, there''s another gate."


    Jun was investigating the required energy values from the altar and the portal when he heard Mike''sint. He was already shocked by seeing the figures from the two buildings, but Mike''s question woke him up.


    Why can''t he enter? Non-members can''t enter? Of course, it''s the faction hall, so unaffiliated people can''t enter.


    "Oh, I can enter this one. Hahaha, that scared me. Wait... now it''s asking me whether I want to register as a resident of ck Haven? Well, of course! Why wouldn''t I?! Now, let me go now. I brought a lot of raw corn, so I still have to prepare a lot of things."


    Mike walked forward and twisted the knob of the only door he could found. "What now!? I need to wait for permission? Is the owner inside?"


    While Mike was busy talking to himself, a notification appeared in front of Jun. There was a slight dy but Jun was still able to make up what was happening.


    [A resident wants to see their lord. Allow visit? Y/N]


    Jun answered yes, and allowed entry to the house.


    "Thank gosh finally."


    "Make some drinks first. We need to recover some energy."


    "Okay~"


    After the incident, Jun announced the required amount of energy for the new buildings. The altar needs thirty thousand energy while the portal required an insane amount of a hundred thousand. If the altar works like he thinks it is, then everything would be worth it; the wait and the trouble. The faction portal''s whooping amount of required energy was quite understandable, to be honest. For a thing that does weird magical things, Jun thinks that the required amount was quite low.


    To prevent any resentment from the people, Jun gave them a few benefits. Everyone would receive 500CP together with other benefits. A snack would also be provided together with refreshments. He refrained from telling that the drinks could increase energy by one and wants to keep it as a surprise.


    Thest one, everyone from the ck Haven scavenger group could register as a resident of ck Haven. They would receive a 10% discount on every product and services found in ck Haven.


    He just thought about this one and had to inform Evo about supporting frameworks. To save himself from getting scolded, he already came up with an idea. A citizen status can be added to the ck Haven ount card and anyone who registers at the faction hall who does not have an ount card yet would receive a free named card without needing to deposit 100CP. The card would have zero bnce though and would still required topping up.


    Upon hearing Jun''s terms, the scavengers became excited. Everyone stays at k Haven because they buy your loot at a fixed price no matter what. They never ran out of credits and also provides protection to everyone''s family members. There were times that you could even lend from the financial officer and only need to pay with a small amount of interest.


    Everyone happily lined up outside the gate of the guest parking lot and waited patiently for their turn. Every time someone enters, Jun could see the number of registered citizens under the territory tab increase by one.


    It continued on until someone weirdly got teleported out of the guest''s parking lot. The young man looked around puzzled and apologized for clicking the wrong option. He begged the next person in line to let him try again and thankfully, the woman was generous enough to let him go again, or else, he would have to go to the back of the line.


    "Oh, that''s weird... You just need to answer yes or no, why do you need to click?"


    "Yeah, what a weird guy..."


    Jun was hearing a few murmurs from the people who already finished registering as residents. He beckoned Nik toe closer and muttered: "Investigate him. Don''t do anything rash, we just need to know who he is and what he wants."


    Nik nodded and stepped back. He did not rush to do things and only calmly watched the young man who thanked the woman and smiled at her as he walked away.

 Chapter 250: Not A Useless Title

    Chapter 250: Not A Useless Title


    It took an hour and a half to finish the faction altar that requires thirty thousand energy. Jun didn''t keep them idle here and only required them toe back after their energy became full. They also received their sweetcorn and refreshments from Mike and felt grateful for the treatment they were receiving.


    Jun also received an unexpected gift after survivors kept on registering as his citizens.


    [Reached 100 residents. Your title has been upgraded. "Thug Life II" received.]


    [Thug Life II]


    [Description] You have taken a step further to bing a big boss respected by all. People are now willingly working under you. Passive XP increased from 10XP to 50XP per day.


    If it was from before, Jun would have cursed this title. He could just farm carriers and easily get that 50XP. However, once he realized that it could still get upgraded in the future as long as he gets more citizens to register to ck Haven, a proud smile crept up his face.


    The title didn''t seem that useless anymore.


    With people free to go wherever they want, this meant that the news about the ck Haven''s Guild Leader building things at the Northern ins and epting citizens became widespread in town.


    Not many people were good at exining things, causing the townspeople to be confused. However, one thing was for sure; registering as citizens under ck Haven would only bring benefits.


    People arrived in droves with all kinds of reinforced vehicles. There were even some unfortunate ones who don''t have a car for themselves and needed to ride public transportations.


    Jun already inspected the faction hall and the faction altar.


    The faction hall had a living room and a kitchen on the first floor. There''s also a conference room with a long table that has ten chairs for ten people. The guest''s parking lot door also leads to the hallway nearest to the conference room. At the center of the first floor, a wide staircase leads towards the second floor. There were ten rooms that filled the entirety of the second floor. Jun didn''t really enter the room and only inspected from the door. Overall, the house was a mix of stones and woods, had modern designs, and was very spacious. It also had a durability of ten thousand.


    The house was already surprising, but the altar was much breathtaking. First of all, it appears like a small mountain with a small river snaking its way down. The flowing water created a small pond that stretched and surrounded the rock mountain, epassing the immediate vicinity. The rock mountain was also enclosed by a wooden fence. There were four entrances with tall gates from Japanese Shrines from all general directions and a dirt path that leads to the pond. It was already miraculous for water to be here, and Jun decided to not think about how things were created when he building in the future.


    Upon entering the faction altar, it gave him the Faction Leader buff.


    [Faction Leader Altar Buff]


    [Descritpion] As the faction leader, you would receive double the amount of the usual buff. Receive an additional increase of 10% in overall stats.


    Jun found the increase in basic stats an appreciated bonus and decided to tell everyone on the faction about it.


    Nik and his group were busy directing the people who were arriving in groups and made sure that nothing would go wrong. This was unexpected for them since they thought this would just be a regr scavenging trip.


    Since Jun caused amotion, the two big factions couldn''t help but suspect that he was the one behind the sudden increase in gold prices. They have some suspicions but they can''t pinpoint why would he need those gold.


    Evo had to stop his quest for copying tons of useful codes from the inte and had to update the ount cards manually.


    With demandes inventions.


    He searched the storage room on the first floor for a credit card machine and edited its functions. Instead of using energy to manually edit every card, he could just insert the card and edit the information through a hologram. He could even device a temte format for registered citizens and those who were not.


    He took two credit card machines and proceeded with the n. After editing a few ownerless ount cards, He gave the machine to Jamie, the newly promoted Customer Support Manager. Most of the members were tasked with management jobs and the new recruits became the staff that greets andmunicates with the survivors.


    After teaching the ropes and how to recharge the card machine with energy, Evo went back to his endless search for useful codes.


    And to his surprise, Jamie came looking for him in less than ten minutes. The credit card machine broke after she tried to recharge it. It worked as usual after she filled it with her energy, but after inserting a card, the card exploded together with the machine.


    Evo checked the logs by using his ability and found the issue. It was because of a simple mistake on his part and he assured Jamie that it wasn''t her fault.


    ck Haven ount cards only allow Evo to edit them. After the card machine run out of energy and Jamie recharged it, the ount card thought that someone was trying to edit the values on their own, and performed the security procedures. That''s why it exploded and turned into dust.


    Evo retrieved the card information and made a new card for the owner. He told Jamie that she coulde back when it runs out and this would just be for the meantime.


    Evo thought hard. He managed to solve one problem but a new problem came up. Does he need to make energy batteries now?


    That... sounds feasible.


    Back to the Northern ins...


    Jun asked everyone who came to register as a ck Haven citizen to help transfer some energy to the faction portal. He didn''t tell them that it was a portal and mainly stated that it was a building he was working on.


    The rock mountain altar became a tourist spot and everyone couldn''t help but take pictures with it as the background.


    Yep, that''s right. Ever since survivors learned that they could ess the inte,cellphones came back to business. Somebody probably profited a lot from their sales.


    Even with the help of waves of people, the total energy only reached fifty thousand. It was already great progress and it was the umted work of more than five hundred people.


    The two thousand people inside the town were separated from multiple groups. ck Haven had around three hundred people working for them and the rest were divided on their own.


    The Frontier took care of their own people and advocates surviving together. They have around six hundred people thanks to their system. The national police promote helping one another. These include sharing resources and going into rescue missions regrly. With their motto, they gained the support of five hundred people, and most of them had families to take care of.


    There''s a lot of other groups with differing mindsets. Everyone is free to go and join them whenever they like.


    The survivors view ck Haven as a powerful group that had the mindset of the survival of the fittest. It epts everyone and gives good benefits to those who were strong. Their guild leader was even known for being a bad and short-tempered person.


    If you want apetitive work that has a chance for promotion, go for ck Haven Scavengers. If not, then join some other factions.


    The faction portal finished around five in the afternoon. As usual, the people tried to get close to it but were repelled by an invisible force. All of them received a notification that only faction members could use the teleport portal.


    Jun transferred energy to the portal and activated it. A prompt also appeared in front of him.


    [Set as a home portal? Y/N?]


    "This is still Binangonan, so there''s no harm in changing sethome portals, right?" Jun thought.


    With an answer in mind, he epted. A small orb of light flew out from the teleport portal and entered his forehead.


    He closed his eyes and investigated through meditation. There are two portal runes stuck together like they were keys on a keychain.


    Jun opened his eyes then activated the teleport portal rune he just got. He nned to at least make some tests since he was already here.


    Instead of expanding after receiving energy, a notification appeared in front of Jun.


    ] Binangonan


    Home


    He did not understand what was happening at first, but then realization dawned upon him. The portal rune was actually asking him which destination he would like to go to!


    With no hesitation, Jun chose Binangonan. If what he was thinking was right, he should get teleported to the town hall za.


    After his confirmation, the portal rune expanded and encircled him. When the lights dimmed, he found himself smiling contently at the center of the za.

 Chapter 251: The Guild Leaders Bus Became Too Crowded

    Chapter 251: The Guild Leader''s Bus Became Too Crowded


    Jun felt exhrated. He couldn''t wipe the smile in his face while walking the streets. He sent Nik a message to stay and guard the area then made his way back to thepound. He greeted everyone who talked to him and stopped by Evo''s room.


    "Close the door and leave. I am extremely busy." Evo said before he could even say anything.


    "Chill bro. Why are you acting like this? I''m here to bring you out to get some levels. Can''t you appreciate me for a bit?" Jun said with a smile.


    "Oh gosh... there''s that thing too," Evo said while clutching his head. "Can I note?"


    "Extra stats in wits gives you better control of energy. Besides, you can''t rely on stat gems for everything. You need to level up too. I''ll go get Grandma Teresa, be downstairs. We''ll be waiting at the entrance. By the way, can you hire a jeepney? I have no connections to the drivers here, and me asking them would be a bit hard on their part." Jun said.


    "I''ll just save my things then I''ll head downstairs. We don''t need to hire jeepneys, the bus just got renovated this afternoon. I didn''t have time to get it, but now should be a good time. The problem is, who knows how to drive a bus?"


    Jun pondered for a bit, then answered: "I have someone in mind. I''ll talk to him after getting ready. Bye."


    Jun left and searched for Grandma Teresa and Chloe. They weren''t on the second floor nor the first floor, so he asked around where he could find them.


    Apparently, the kids wanted a break from studying and wanted to help in the vegetable garden.


    Jun arrived at the vegetable garden seeing Paterno learning farming from old farmer Felipe. The two were having a good time since they were interested in nts.


    Dyna and Grandma Teresa were watching over two little girls ying around the garden.


    "Grandma, we need to go to the dungeon now," Jun said after walking closer. "Have you forgotten already?"


    Grandma Teresa smiled at him. "You''re the one who forgot. Here I was waiting for you the whole day. You even managed to hoodwink me to follow you. Don''t you think it''s toote already? Should we postpone this for tomorrow?"


    "It''s other people''s turn to enter the mines tomorrow. If we miss today, then we need to enter the Cemetery dungeon instead. It''s better hunting rats than carriers. Besides, I didn''t forget our appointment. I purposely waited until it got darker since monsters became weaker at night."


    "Okay, okay. Do I need to bring anything?" Grandma Teresa asked.


    "No, I have everything taken care of." Jun''s eyes met with Dyna and they smiled at one another. He then looked around and found Felipe and Paterno staring at him.


    "How are you doing Old Felipe? Is everything good?" Jun asked.


    "Yeah, everything''s alright. I have a good boss, the people are kind, I and my son are well taken care of. We''re even allowed to enter dungeons when we''re free. And you know, afterying seeds and taking care of pests. farming has a lot of downtimes, so I have a lot of me-time."


    Jun smiled at him and refrained from saying that he knew about the event where the watering-can almost got stolen. He turned to Paterno and raised his hand as if greeting a friend. "Sup~ I remember that you know how to drive the bus, is that correct?"


    Paterno stared at Jun for a few seconds before responding. "Yes, I was the one who parked it to be used as a defense. Is there anything I could do for you?"


    "Would you like to be the official driver for ck Haven? I think you know how to drive most types of vehicles. Heck, you can even drive firetrucks!"


    Grandma Teresa, "Jun,nguage!"


    Paterno thought about the matter for a second before he answered. "I can''t leave Judy alone."


    Instead of answering, Jun turned to the side and stared at the adopted little girl, Judy.


    "Have you heard of the new variant mosquitoes?" Jun said loudly then turned back to Paterno, before whispering, "Do you think you can protect her every time? You need to give her the strength to defend herself, not to overly rely on you. You''re already experienced and you know how the world works. The world is filled with irregrities. We can''t say what might happen tomorrow or today. Do you want her to remain clueless of what was happening, or do you want to prepare her for the worst?"


    With Jun''s words, Paterno was reminded of what happened to his granddaughter. The terrible events made him shook his head, and when he turned to Judy, he couldn''t help but hear her cries of help filled with terror.


    "I-I''ll drive the bus. Can we also enter the mines? The giant rats on the first floor are weak, right?" Paterno answered and asked certain things for verification.


    "Yeah, you cane. The more people entering the dungeon, the more mobs respawn. If you take care of the numbers on the floor, there should be no problems. The only problem that can happen is when a mutation urs when giant rats eat each other to evolve. So you''reing?" Jun asked for confirmation and so Paterno nodded his head.


    "I have to pass since I have a lot of nts to water. Go and enjoy the day!" said Felipe then walked away.


    Jun informed Paterno that the bus just got reinforced with tes and was parked at TESDA.


    Paterno nodded as a confirmation then turned to Judy. "Stay with Chloe, okay? I''ll be back in a minute."


    "Be careful~" Judy waved her hand and stuck closer to Chloe.


    The group waited at the entrance of thepound. With Jun at the front, the group immediately attracted quite a bit of onlooker. Evo arrivedter exactly five minutes after Jun informed him.


    Several minutester, Anna arrived together with Erin and Emman. Takaw mostly stayed at thepound since he and Anna do not seem to understand each other. After learning about the event, Anna''s group chose to help and volunteered toe with them.


    The bus arrived a minuteter and parked in front of thepound. The gate opened and everyone got on board, allowing a fast loading and transition to idling and moving forward. Jamie''s group of friends happily chatted on the way to the dungeon.


    At the Northern ins, Nik was busy directing the crowd. He felt exhausted dealing with numerous questions that he doesn''t know the answer to.


    Why can you enter the altar? Why can''t we enter it? People usually move along after he exined he doesn''t know, but there were a few who likes to quarrel uselessly. If it weren''t for the reputation he had to uphold, he would have answered back a long time ago.


    He saw a shadow of a bus crossing the bridge in the distance towards the northern part of the town. A bad feeling dawned upon him but he wasn''t sure what it is.


    Jun''s group arrived at the Northern Mine. Since it was ck Haven''s scheduled day to enter the mines, there were a few scavengers fighting giant rats inside. The scavengers only learned this afternoon that gold prices doubled this morning. They werete to the action but they didn''t stop ad tried their best to earn some money while earning safe XP.


    Jun of course would never take their spot, so he led everyone deeper into the mines. Giant Rats are weak and easy to kill. The problem was that they respawn inrge groups giving trouble to anyone who wasn''t prepared.


    Thanks to the Titalerite gems etched on the walls, a blue light shone the corridors brightly. They continued walking and before everyone noticed it, they were already on the second floor of the mines.


    Paterno was the first to react. "Shouldn''t we stay on the first floor? It''s not safe for the girls to be down here already."


    "You saw it yourself. There''s already a group upstairs. We have arge group and we can''t take their kills. Besides, there are only straight corridors here. We can defend everyone if we put the inexperienced members at the center."


    Paterno had been with Jun for some time. He knew Jun''s strengths and knew that the strategy they were using has already been proven. He reluctantly agreed and stayed back to protect the back line.


    Currently, the formation is Jun and Evo at the front, Jamie''s group follow behind them, Grandma Teresa''s group of kids, and Paterno at the rear guard.

 Chapter 252: Dungeon Boss

    Chapter 252: Dungeon Boss


    "Calm down... I know it''s hard to do it, but everything is for your benefit. Just keep hitting them and keep your eyes closed if you feel scared." Jun said while having a Giant Rat pinned down on the ground.


    He was stepping on its body causing it toy t on the ground. Grandma Teresa already gained two levels after fighting for about an hour inside the mines.


    Grandma Teresa''s skills weren''t that great, but she wasn''t scared of fighting slightly huge "pests" and easily got herself into the rhythm. Unfortunately, she doesn''t have high stamina and had to take frequent breaks.


    Chloe tightened her grip on the bone sword and stared at the Giant Rat. She took a deep breath and recollected everything that her uncle has thought her.


    She raised the sword and made a quick stabbing motion downward. The Giant Rat was pierced in the head and died without being able to defend itself.


    No one really needed his protection except for Grandma Teresa and the kids. Jamie''s group easily killed Giant Rats by swinging their swords, they even have shields for protection in case of unforeseen circumstances.


    Most of the ck Haven staff were around level one or two since they weren''t interested in leveling up after securing the mall. Only people who had things to do outside were left to level up.


    Paterno had a decent level since he was the first scavenger of the group and hovers around level four, about to reach level five. With his level, he was able to grab a Giant Rat and help Judy safely level up.


    After the group reached an average level of four, Jun as an exception, he finally felt confident to leave the group. They''ve been fighting for a long time on the second floor and hadn''t visited the floor even once.


    "Anna, watch over the group for a bit. I''m going to clear the third floor. We can''t have too many Giant Rats mutate at the same time. We don''t even know if those mutations can mutate further if left alone."


    Mobs in a dungeon respawn every minute and their numbers depend on the number of people in the area. The Northern Mine dungeon summons five Giant Rats per person and the veteran''s of the group kills half while leaving half for those who had lower levels. Giant Rats only takes one hit and dies so they weren''t a problem for beginners.


    A troublesome feature of the dungeon was its ability to respawn mobs on random floors. Most of the mobs respawn at the floor with the highest people density while a small fraction gets summoned elsewhere. With this feature, Giant Rats can spawn on the third floor, a troublesome floor to hunt on because you need to ride the elevator.


    Thwangg...


    Anna released the string of the bow and pinned another Giant Rat on the wall. The Giant Rat shrieked and moved wildly but more than half of the arrow was lodged in the wall behind it. After confirming that the Giant Rat can''t move, she then turned to Jun. "Be careful. Send a message to the chatroom if you need help."


    Jun waved his hand and headed to the elevator lift. Even before the lift reached the third floor, he could already see the swarm of evolved giant rats, encircled by packs of giant rats acting like they were bodyguards protecting their kings. There were dozens of them in the area and it made Jun wonder whether the other two factions entering this dungeon even clears the third floor.


    Just like usual, Jun opened the safety cage door of the lift and jumped off after reaching the twenty feet distance from the ground. He started wrecking swarms of giant rats and their mutated leader turning them into gold nuggets that dropped on the ground.


    Since Jun already know that Ophir''s gold is useful, he started picking them up along the way.


    Killing giant rats have be so easy it could be done by pping them on their head or randomly swinging a bone sword around. He prefers not to use Buruth''s Warhammer when clearing mobs, since he hasn''t found a way to repair its durability.


    After mowing the crowd of giant rats and only seeing gold nuggets drop as loot, Jun couldn''t help but understand why veteran survivors don''t want to hunt inside dungeons. The mobs give meager XP while only dropping useless loot.


    Now that he found where to use the gold, he nned to keep the information to himself and keep survivors guessing.


    After looting all the gold nuggets, he couldn''t help but feel disappointed.


    Jun thought: "How great it would be if I could loot their hides and turn them into leather. Especially the mutated rats back, they make a good coating for shields due to their toughness. Haa... if only their bodies don''t disappear when they die..."


    Jun was walking when an idea suddenly popped on his head. When he saw a giant rat charging at him, he couldn''t help but feel excited. "Let''s test it out!"


    He weed the giant rat and grabbed its mouth. The flickering shadows on the cavern''s walls illuminated by glowing gems showed what Jun was doing. A dagger was used to saw the outer skin of the giant rat. It didn''t even take long for the giant rat to die and disappear.


    "So, it won''t work if it takes too long, or is it because giant rats have low health? How about mutated ones?"


    Upon further experimenting, Jun learned that he could cut a regr giant rat''s tail before it could vanish. With this discovery, a myriad of ideas came into his mind. But for now, he should finish all the mobs on the third floor.


    It took several minutes until he reached the intersection of the resting area. When he reached the ce, he saw the pathway that leads to the unexplored cavern area and immediately became interested in it. He evenughed derisively when he thought that he could explore the whole cavern by himself.


    Was he getting ahead of himself or was he truly be strong to think like that?


    He chose to investigate the area to determine whether it was doable or not. The corridor that led towards the unexplored cavern was a straight wide path but had a low ceiling. The corridor can fit ten people walking side by side and is two to three meters high.


    The corridor was dark but the exit was glowing with bright lights. The other side couldn''t be seen but the closer Jun got to the exit, the clearer things appeared to him.


    The unexplored cavern was twice asrge as the third floor. Glowing crystals attached at the ceiling served as a source of light that kept the cavern bright. In the distance, a piece ofnd with a small rocky mountain filled with minerals caught his attention. The rocky mountain was filled with various minerals and a ten feet mutated rat was sitting on top nibbling on them.


    He stood at an elevated tform and everything below was part of a clear waterke. As he wasn''t paying attention, a mutated giant rat tried to w him from below. Fortunately, he managed to retreat back and barely dodged the swipe attack.


    He heard several loud screams from below and became shocked to see dozens of mutated giant rats waiting for him to jump down the elevated tform.


    While observing the cavern, Jun witness a giant rat respawn in the cavern only to get eaten by mutated giant rats nearby. The weird thing he noticed was the body not disappearing after getting killed.


    Shouldn''t it have disappeared? Was it because it was assaulted by its kin?


    After seeing a strange scene, Jun couldn''t help but stare at the ten feet mutated giant rat sitting on the mineral mountain. It stopped eating the minerals and stared at thin air. A few secondster, it gave birth to a giant rat, which plopped down to the ground squirming. The event continued for five minutes straight and every minute a new giant rat would appear.


    When it finished giving birth, it got off the mineral mountain and waited for something. A giant rat respawned and the mother rat shrieked. The onrushing giant rats stopped on their tracks and turned towards it.


    As if understanding its intentions, the giant rats ganged upon the newly respawned giant rat and delivered its meat to their new siblings. After watching the scene, the mother rat went back to the mineral mountain and started nibbling again.

 Chapter 253: Butcher Skill

    Chapter 253: Butcher Skill


    Jun examined the cavern''syout and made appropriate ns ordingly. Most parts of the cavern where submerge by water for at least one meter. If he ns to kill them all, he needs to at least reduce the mutated rats into a single-digit number.


    And he had the right tool just for that.


    The mutant rats kept jumping and swiping at the tform causing ripples and loud sshes on the water.


    Jun stretched his arm forward and poured energy into the pebbles in his hand causing them to glow brightly. Secondster, Jun opened his hand and let them freefall into the mutated rats below.


    The pebbles expanded into one-meter boulders that caused a lot of damage to those under. The unfortunate mutated rats that were struck in their heads fell unconscious and started bleeding while those who were hit in their tough backs manage to squirm their way out of harm''s way, not without troubles since they were still sent away.


    With a jumping pedestal for him to jump on and with the pack of mutated rats in disarray, Jun took this chance to go down into theke.


    He skillfully skidded down the wall and jumped on the temporary boulder he made. He used Waterstriding to kept himself above water, so his movement wouldn''t slow down. He killed the trapped and unconscious mutated giant rats by stabbing them in their heads and noticed something wrong about the situation.


    The bodies of the mutated rats weren''t disappearing even after getting killed!


    He stabbed them a few more times to make sure that their healths really reached zero and yet, the bodies still remained!


    "Am I still in the dungeon?" Jun thought to himself wondering what was happening. He was then reminded of that one instance where a mutated giant rat was actually harvestable.


    After pondering over the matter, Jun stared at the dead mutated rats and the ten feet giant rat sitting on the mineral deposits. Jun thought, "Can I turn this into a rat-meat farm? This should be possible, right? If that mother rat only needs to eat minerals to give birth to giant rats then we could get a steady supply of meat! Not many people would like it, but unless we can find a breeding pig or sets of chickens and ducks, we can''t start a meat farm. And even if we actually found them, it would take too long to breed them into hundreds that could sustain a whole town."


    While Jun was thinking, the mutated rats that were sent away due to the shockwave and collision of boulders finally got up and started charging at Jun. There were at least nine of them charging at him at the same time.


    Jun summoned Buruth''s Warhammer since he wanted to investigate the cavern quickly. He would pummel mutated rats with the blunt side of the Warhammer when they lunged at him and use the ax to deal the killing blow on the back of their heads.


    The Warhammer was like a stick as Jun swung it around although having a weight of more than fifty kilos.


    After killing all of the mutated rats, Jun sent a message to the guild chatroom. It was the group chat publicly essible to those who have the smartwatch.


    [Jun: "Anyone who knows how to butcher giant rats? Pleasee to the unexplored cavern on the third floor of the Northern Mine."]


    After sending the message, Jun noticed that the ten feet giant rat was staring at him. Unlike the mutated rats that have bristled furs, the mother rat had smooth furs all over its body. Despite its humongous size, the mother rat appears scared and wary of him.


    Jun operated his smartwatch and sent another message to the group chat.


    [Jun: "Also, if anyone knows people who know how to mine ores and gems, hire them and send them here ASAP."]


    [Mike: "I''m on the way. I know how to butcher them. And please, if anyone knew who took my cooked ratsst time, I beg you, don''t take everything and leave something for me."]


    [Evo: "I''ll ask Bernard if he had some information about survivors who knew how to mine."


    After reading the messages, Jun closed the hologram and focused on the problem in front of him.


    The mother rat decided to stand up and show him its real size. It''s height immediately doubled almost a few meters from hitting the crystals on the ceiling. Still, it only defended and shrieked at Jun from a distance.


    Jun decided to try and talk to it. He inched closer and held both hands in the air. "Hello, little rat. My name''s Jun, I''m a friendly person and a lot of people like me. Do you think we can be friends?"


    Wait... that seemed wrong. I''m befriending it so I could eat its pups?


    "Squeak!" The mother rat roared and became frenzied, not because it understands Jun nor knows what he was thinking. It was purely because it was already backed against the wall and yet Jun still kept walking forward. It felt threatened and scared.


    The mother rat lunged at Jun with its humungous body and wed at him. To dodge the attack, Jun plunged into the water and used Waterstriding to swim like a fish. After getting away, he rose up like a dolphin and stood perfectly fine dripping with water.


    "If you''re not going to listen to me, then I have no choice but to kill you!"


    Jun covered the Warhammer with energy and charged forward. With a shout, he activated Threaten, Howling Rage, and Empower.


    "Take this! destorm!"


    Jun jumped high in the air while spinning with his Warhammer. The mother rat shrieked and instinctively wed at Jun. The first cycle of the spin cleaved the mother rat''s hand while the second struck its stomach. By the third rotation, Jun was already falling and torn the muscles at its leg.


    The mother rat continued screaming as it fell down into theke.


    "What is this? Why is it so weak?"


    Jun didn''t know it but the mother rat was an evolved animal. It evolved by eating minerals and its life change after evolving. It relied on ores and gems to increase its power.


    The reason why it became so big was that it had been left alone for more than a month. No one really bothered to explore the deeper parts of the mines since nothing drops except gold. Monsters respawn at a higher ratepared to the cemetery dungeon but the XP they receive was always the minimum.


    Unlike other evolved animals, the mother rat has never fought humans in its life. It was the reason why it was scared to fight back despite its humungous size. Dogs and other aggressive creatures could have been a problem for Jun if those were the guardian.


    After sessfully killing the mother rat, Jun decided to secure the cavern. The blood of the giant rats blended with the water and the crystals that reflected the glowing gems gained a red hue.


    Mike arrived after some time, together with Nik''s group. Grandma Teresa and the rest of the leveling group stopped by the Faction Base to get some rest. They also registered as citizens since they were already staying at the faction hall.


    Mike held a butcher''s knife and activated his skill, Butcher. The butcher knife he was holding became enveloped with red energy. He then tapped the dead giant rat floating on the water and the energy in the knife encapsted the body. After getting wrapped by energy, the energy slowly dimmed and the meat, hide, and bones of the giant rat separated from each other.


    It was a curious sight and Jun spared no time and hastily learn the skill. Mike''s instructions were to envelop a body with energy, then imagine separating what you need.


    This skill requires a high level of energy control and arge amount of energy that can wrap around the target. With his high wits and expanded energy pool, Jun easily achieved a basic understanding of the skill.


    Jun followed Mike''s advice and managed to sessfully use the skill in his first try. He didn''t even need a knife as he only willed for his energy to be sharp to cut the meat into pieces. Due to being inexperienced, Jun would sometimes cut the skin too thick and sometimes too thin causing the rat hides to be low quality.


    Just as they were celebrating for getting meat, Jun was reminded of the mineral mountain at the center of the cavern. He strode towards the piece ofnd and brushed his hand on the gems and ores sticking out of the rocky mountain.


    With his Warhammer, Jun tried whacking the mountain of their ores and gems. The blunt side only crushed the ores and gems to dust while the ax side slipped and grazed at the stones.


    "Do you guys have pickaxes? It''s better if it''s enchanted."

 Chapter 254: Optional Functions

    Chapter 254: Optional Functions


    After killing the mother rat, the whole cavern vibrated like an earthquake was happening. Jun knew something changed within the cavern but couldn''t pinpoint what it actually is.


    The group chat has be lively after Jun''s continuous message. Most of the original group members already owned smartwatches and has ess to most of the smartwatch''s functions except for the mission edit.


    [Jamie: "The faction hall feels cozy. It''s just a bit weird when a permission dialogue appeared in front of me, but I guess it''smon courtesy to ask the owner before entering the house, right?"]


    [Edward: "What do you mean faction hall? Where are you? It''s already dark outside."]


    [Alex: "Ohh, someone did not ask for permission to go out."]


    [Jamie: "We''re at the Northern ins. Boss Jun built a new base here. There''s a house, a beautiful pond, and a teleport portal. The Scavengers are guarding the whole area, so we''re pretty safe. You can see it from a distance, we are the only house in the center of the ins."]


    [She: "We''reing~ the Crimson Jeepney is flying. I''m scared."]


    After a few more minutes, a message that doesn''t belong in the topic made its way through.


    [John: Hey, little Jun. I just gave Evo the pickaxe that you''re asking for. These ones made from metal scraps and of inferior quality at the moment. You were rushing me, so don''t me me. It took me some time to craft the mold, but after that everything was easy. If you can get better materials, I can make a better one."]


    The chat didn''t stop bing lively and everyone chatted with each other. It''s just that for Jamie''s group, many new things happened today.


    After idling for a long time, Jun sprung into action. He opened the faction storage and immediately took out one of the five pickaxes in the storage.


    The design was a basic one and even its description was stale.


    [Metal Pickaxe]


    [Description] Amon pickaxe. Its head is made from various scrapped metal melted together. Even the wood used was not carved properly.


    [Durability - 100/100]


    The pick head was not treated of its impurities and the handles were carved by Old John''s apprentice. Although they were used to carving bone weapons, they still felt peculiar when the material they worked on suddenly changed.


    Jun sent a private message to Old John thanking him, then immediately started working.


    "Now, let''s harvest these treasures."


    Jun started hitting the ores and gems stuck in the mineral mountain. He kept calling it mineral mountain because it was literally is one. Except for the spacing between gems and ores, the whole mountain was filled with all kinds of minerals. He had no idea what was important nor expensive, what he knows is everything here was for him to take.


    Nik''s group joined the fray and grabbed the pickaxes in the faction storage. Since there were not enough pickaxes for the six of them, two remained in guard duty to kill giant rats that respawn.


    Jun found mining quite tiring and had to stop several minutester. His breathing was rough and unregted.


    When he looked around, he noticed that he was the only one mining and everyone was taking a break. It was understandable.


    Every time you swing the pickaxe, it uses your stamina. Then, when it hit its target, a vibration would crawl up to your arms and tire you even more. With nonstop mining for ten minutes, it was understandable for one to be sprawled on the ground.


    Jun looked up and gazed at the five-meter mineral mountain. With a smirk, he plopped down and thought, "It''s impossible to mine this in one day, right?"


    "Let''s rest for a bit, then head out."


    With nothing to do, Jun browsed the territory management menu and reviewed everything.


    Lord: Jun Reyes


    Poption: 2168 Registered: 612


    Territory: Binangonan


    Territory Type: Neutral - Bad


    Affiliation: Nature - Receive 10% increase in crop growth rate


    Considering the number of small factions in the town, and the two big powers that had most of the poption, having more than six hundred registered citizens was already good for him. Those six hundred people were the ones who were rescued and helped by Jun but joined another faction. They don''t hate Jun nor despise his methods, they just felt they weren''t strong enough to contribute to ck Haven.


    Afterward, he moved on and checked the building menu. The altar and portal were grayed out and cannot be built again, and yet to his surprise, the faction hall wasn''t.


    He tapped on the image and a notification appeared.


    [Faction Hall building must be at least one kilometer away from each other.]


    I guess not... If it''s that far, then I could build one in Angono. The problem would be materials. We have enough essence shards but the gold was too hard to get. I can''t send the Scavengers to fight in dungeons since they''re not suited for battles. Having the Elites do dungeons would be a huge waste of resources since they''re expanding the safe zone and clearing the surrounding area. I need a group made for clearing dungeons...


    Is it time to make an army? Probably. I can also use them as guards and patrol the streets. People would feel safer and they would like the status quo of things.


    Then that''s that. Hmm?


    Jun noticed a cogwheel button on the topside corner of the building''s images. He tapped on the cogwheel and a new popup setting appeared.


    Jun''s eyes widened upon reading the features listed on the popup.


    [Faction Altar]


    Altar Blessings


    -Faction Members only - Checked


    -Faction Members and Citizens Only


    -Everyone


    [Faction Portal]


    -Faction Members only - Checked


    -Faction Members and Citizens Only


    -Everyone


    [Faction Hall]


    -Faction Members only


    -Faction Members and Citizens Only - Checked


    -Everyone


    So that''s why! Wait... if I set the Altar to faction members and citizens, people would rush to get these extra buffs! Then should I include the portal in that package? No, I should keep it to our group. However, I could allow the Scavengers and the Elites to take the faction portal rune since they''re working for us.


    Jun smiled then stood up. "Let''s go back for today. I think we need an expert to guide us with mining this. Even if we can''t find an expert we''ll just have to use manpower to do thisbor."


    Everyone agreed and got up while activating their teleport runes. After experiencing the so-called mining fatigue, they all decided to rx their body and soul.


    Jun browsed the group chat and found out that thetest trend was the new base and whether they were going to move in and leave the mall. He felt that he should clear things up, so he should exin his current direction in mind.


    After arriving at the Northern ins Portal, Jun came up with a reply.


    [Jun: "There would be no changes to our operations. The ck Havenpound would serve as our main hub while the Northern ins would be our safe house."]


    Jun looked around after sending the message. A safe house? Everyone knows this ce and with my n, people will regrly visit. He called everyone out of the house and gathered them at the altar. Then, he changed the setting for the altar and portal to faction members and citizens.


    "Please go in. you''ll receive an altar buff. It''s a different one from the XP Buff we got before and they don''t stack." Jun exined as he ushered everyone.


    The moment people stepped closer to the altar, Jun kept receiving ess permission to the altar. While thinking of a way to deal with the notifications blocking his screen, the notification stacked and additional options appeared.


    Y / N


    Yes to All / No to All


    Jun chose Yes to All and everyone felt the barriers stopping them disappear. When everyone was busy talking about the buffs they received, Jun found out that the additional options were added to the building setting functions.


    Since he nned to make the altar essible for his citizens, he chose yes to all, so he won''t get notified to death. He also adjusted the settings for the faction portal to members and citizens for easier ess. Though it was like that, he had to enforce a rule that only the Scavengers and Elites could use the Portal. In the first ce, there was no reason to use the Faction Portal unless you were in a hurry to go back to the faction hall. The town hall portal is still functioning well and people had no reason to teleport in the Northern ins.


    While the group chatted, Jun heard something odd about the altar buff.


    Apparently, the altar buff for citizens was time-limited. It onlysts for three days or seventy-two hours. It was a surprising discovery for Jun since Nik''s group received a permanent version of the buff that increases 5% overall stats.


    After setting everything on the right course, Jun informed Evo of his n to use the altar buffs to attract more citizens. No one could refuse to receive a stat increase buff in exchange for registering as a citizen.


    While he was feeling overjoyed thinking about people flocking to register, he received a private message from Evo.


    [Evo: "Don''t give it to them for free! They will take it for granted and will think ck Haven is a pushover. The buff had expirations, right? Then set some rates, like 100CP to receive the buff. The 5% overall stat increase is worth that much. You can also use price variations. Your collecting gold at 20CP per piece. Then you can set the rates at 100CP or 5 Gold. Also, have you ever thought of the altar durability? With the influx of people, the altar would need repairs in the near future. Have you heard about the usage limit and the repair procedures of the town portal? More than a thousand people venture out every day. If everyone just uses the portal, it would get destroyed since it only had one thousand durability. Everyone needs to repair the portal every time they use it, No one is exempted to that. I guess you''re the first one. Paolo Cas talked to me about that and I told him that I would remind you."]


    [Jun: "Bruh, you need to walk around and rx."]


    [Evo: No u.]

 Chapter 255: Idle Rooms

    Chapter 255: Idle Rooms


    The group returned back to the faction hall and lounged around the living room. There were lights and how they ran without electricity is something no one can answer.


    Edward and She happily greeted Jun. They haven''t had time to talk since Jun took an early rest yesterday. They chatted about the ce they scouted and cleared, together with the numerous adventures they had. Adrian only watched in the back and a simple nod of the head was all he needs to make sure that he still works for Jun''s interest.


    After eating dinner and chatting nonstop, everyone returned to the ck Havenpound to rest. Although the faction hall seemed cozy, everyone was still used to the familiar mall they call home.


    Adrian''s group escorted the bus back to thepound. With only Nik''s group remaining here, Jun decided to tour the ce.


    There was nothing noteworthy in the living room, so he moved to the kitchen.


    He found out that the kitchen''s cab had dimensional storage as storage, even the refrigerator was of the same standard. All of the cabs had twenty slots avable while the refrigerator had fifty slots.


    Next to the conference hall, the table and chairs seemed antique and made from unique wood. He walked to the end and sat at the only chair with exquisite designs.


    Initiating Conference Mode...


    Not enough people in the room...


    Initiation canceled.


    Jun closed the notification and stood up. He looked around for useful and odd-looking things and found a map on the wall. The map had three buildings on it and had numerous green and blue dots.


    [Territory Overview locked. You need at least 1000 citizens and 10,000 altar prayers to unlock the feature. "Prayer" can be obtained by offering energy to the altar. 100 energy is equivalent to 1 prayer.]


    The notice disappeared after Jun read everything written on it. When he finished searching the room for anything, he moved upstairs to search the rooms. He didn''t spend much time inside of the rooms since there wasn''t much to look at.


    It was alreadyte in the night and the Scavengers were already back in town. The whole faction base was out in the open and he can''t force people to stay. Even if he did, he doesn''t have enough food or housing to feed them.


    Jun stayed at the faction hall together with Nik''s group. Each of them took their own rooms and rested for the night.


    Jun who was meditating in exchange for sleeping received various strange feelings. He was inside the dark secluded ce he refers to as one''s "inner self", busy observing the mysterious orb of light with a small patch of cklighting from the small ck orb. It looked like Yin and Yang from Chinese culture except that the white portion took 95% of the orb.


    The next day, Jun finished meditating and everyone woke up. Everyone was then shocked to see the notification in front of them.


    Everyone received a [Well-rested] buff together with a passive experience earned while sleeping.


    Jun listened to everyone and found out that he had double their earnings. Everyone received 100XP while sleeping while Jun got 200XP while meditating. True, they weren''trge amounts but they didn''t do anything to earn them.


    Everyone looked at each other when they realized what this could possibly do. Nobatants or a lot of children could level up without having to fight monsters!


    There were ten rooms avable and this could only be kept in the inner circle of ck Haven. Jun hastily reported their findings to Evo and let the nning, together with otherplicated matters to him.


    With nothing to do so early in the morning, Jun and Nik''s group moved all the resources piled on the ground to the Faction Hall''s backyard. Even though there''s only a wooden fence separating the outside and the backyard, people still can''t enter unless Jun gives them permission.


    As the morning sun rose from the east and showered energy to everyone, a tricycle could be seen zooming towards the Northern ins.


    Dominic Sison stared at the rumored new base for ck Haven. He didn''t join the crowd yesterday since he felt it would take too long and was too troublesome. He wasn''t even the one working and buying things, so he doesn''t need the discount they were giving.


    However, the HR Manager of ck Haven came looking for him. He doesn''t know how he found them since he didn''t talk much about him being a farmer, and the only a few people who know about it was that group that saved them in the mines.


    Afterward, he received a mining job. The HR Manager told him that if he impressed his employer, he could be a regr and teach a few young recruits how to mine. He would then be the manager, and be in charge of mining operations.


    As an old veteran miner, the only thing that stopped his conviction in mining was his aging body. However, with the advent of levels and stat points, if he manages to allocate a few power and endurance points, then he could freely move like his drinking buddy, ck Haven''s farmer, Felipe.


    As the tricycle reached the destination, his heartbeat became faster. He took his first step intoing back to his beloved career.


    Jun could easily know whether the man sent by Bernard was the real deal. He just had to ce all the minerals they found in the cave and have the man inspect it.


    "Hello and good morning. My name is Jun and I think we''ve met before but I wasn''t really interested at the time, so I don''t know your name."


    Dominic smiled wryly but kept hisposure. "It''s only natural. We didn''t really have a good thing going even back then. I guess me and my daughter can be called burdens at that time."


    Jun shook his head. "Not really, there were just things that happened that day, so please don''t take offense. Your daughter, is she here too? What happened to your n? I thought you guys were going back to your home town?"


    "We saw people get robbed and killed on the road. I can''t risk it. I can''t take the risk of having my daughter going out there. Coz'' you know... she''s frail, not used to the violence."


    Dominic became sullen after getting reminded of his hometown. If he had a beer by his side, he would already have drunk some to make him forget sorrows. Not knowing whether people you love survived or not was a type of torture that gnaws a person''s sanity.


    Sensing Dominic''s feelings, Jun stopped asking questions and ced a batch ofmon and unique ores he found inside the mine on the table.


    "Do you recognize any of these?"


    "Yes. This is Titalerite, a phosphorous gem. How did you get this? Did it not explode?" said Dominic rubbing a glowing blue gem on his palm.


    "I literally mined all the ores surrounding it before excavating this gem. By the way, what are your basic skills? Can I know about them, or is it kind of top-secret?"


    Dominic wondered why Jun was asking long-windedly about his skills but decided not to ask. "It''s okay. I have Precise Strike and Invigorate. Precise Strike helps me attack precisely while Invigorate helps recover health and energy faster, but I have to remain still for the duration."


    "Then, do you recognize all of them?" Jun said pointing to the minerals on the table.


    "Starting from the right, Titalerite, Papaingite, Copper Ore, and Iron Ore. This Adamantite Ore is really interesting though. It only says that it''s a tough mineral and nothing else."


    Dominic picked the ck ore and felt it on his palm. The adamantite ore had a rough texture despite its smooth appearance.


    Jun nodded after hearing Dominic identify all the ores. To be honest, he already asked Nik and his group members to try and discern the items. Most of their answers were the same as his and Dominic''s.


    Jun asked a few more questions about mining before they headed towards the Northern Mine.

 Chapter 256: The Guild Leaders A Bit Too Carefree

    Chapter 256: The Guild Leader''s A Bit Too Carefree


    The pickaxe struck a slightly ajar portion of the ore on the wall of the mine. It caused the thudding sound of metal and rock hitting each other, which reverberated on the cave. Dominic struck the same spot and finally excavated the chunk out of the wall.


    The chunk of ore dropped to the ground and Dominic picked it up. After checking its quality and pureness, he tossed it to Jun watching behind him.


    "This iron ore''s at least 60% pure. If every ore we mine results like that, then we can get several kilos of iron by the end of the day. Depending on the vein, we get more than a hundred kilos per month."


    Jun calcted in his head.


    Does he mean we can get twenty-five kilos of iron weekly? I don''t really understand mining, but since he''s the expert. it''s best to listen to him.


    "It''s okay. Just do what you think is right and keep mining. By the way, aren''t you surprised that ores suddenly appeared in the mine shafts? I heard this mine was already running out." Jun asked.


    Dominic smiled and scratched his head. "I''m a bit surprised, but not totally. I mean, look at those glowing gems. I''ve mined here half of my life and I''m sure they''re not native here. I think these gems aren''t even from this world. You can call me crazy, but this ce is much crazier."


    "Okay then, let''s go to the real ce you''ll be working on."


    Jun led the way and Nik''s group defended Dominic from the back of the group. They easily reached the special area on the third floor and jumped down theke.


    Dominic had to be carried to the small ind in the middle since he doesn''t know Waterstriding.


    "Wow. I can''t believe that all of this was naturally formed. Even the corridor that leads here was widened by nature. Moreover, this small mountain filled with minerals. What is this? How can this happen?"


    Dominic immediately fell in admiration of the wonders of nature.


    Jun watched him with interest since Dominic was the only person who knows the before and after of the mine. Upon seeing the man''s expression, he finally epted that nothing inside here was normal.


    He coughed once to catch the old miner''s attention. "Ehem... As you can see, this is the mineral mountain that I''ve been talking to you about. It had all the minerals found inside the mine and I want them all. How many men do you need to mine this every day?"


    Dominic pondered and calcted the size of the mineral mountain. With its height and width, if he employed a hundred man, it would be too crowded in the small ind. On the other hand, if he chose to get too few workers, everyone would easily get exhausted and there would be no shifts avable.


    Seeing Dominic thinking, Jun added: "There are no due dates or quota, but I want some eptable results. We can use the iron to make a more durable weapon and tools. I have no idea what the other minerals could do, but for now, let''s mine them and have them on the stock."


    Hearing Jun''s thoughts openly, Dominic finally had an answer in mind.


    "I need around fifteen to twenty people. Initially, I wanted more people to get faster results. With more people, I can arrange for more shifts and more mining could be done. The cons would be more people to pay and much work to handle. The main reason why I chose to go with fewer people is simple. The area of the mineral mountain is small. If we want to efficiently mine everything without idents, ten people could mine while the other ten guards the area."


    Jun said. "Okay, that''s great. If you have some people in mind, go ahead and contact them. They can reach Bernard to get their contracts. Also, you don''t have to worry about enemies here. No matter how long you stay here, Giant Rats don''t respawn if you''re inside the room. Unless there were people on the other floors, then that''s the only time that Giant Rats would respawn. I''ll assign somebative Scavengers here to guard your mining group. If you have any questions, don''t hesitate to ask anyone of them."


    Dominic could only nod and listen to the young man in front of him.


    Jun turned to Nik and said: "Deal with things here. I''ll be joining the eastern hunt for today. I heard the Morong town hall was still standing until today, so I''ming for a visit. It''s good manners to talk to our neighbors, right?"


    Nik shook his head. "You just don''t want to deal with troublesome things."


    Jun patted Nik''s shoulder, then activated his portal rune while grinning, he said,"Ohe on. You''ll just arrange for tools,bors, and storage. Just deal with them as quickly as you can and assign guards here. That''s easy, right? Bye bye~"


    The group left within the cave was dumbfounded.


    After bringing everyone here and saying a few things, Jun really left without any hesitation.


    Nik and his friends were already used to seeing Jun''s mannerisms, but for the newly employed miner, Dominic, it was such a shocking scene.


    Dominic thought: "So, it was true. ck Haven''s Guild Leader is a carefree individual. Too carefree at that."


    At the Binangonan town za...


    Jun appeared with a sh of light and hurriedly ran out towards the gathering site for the journey to the east.


    After taking a few steps out of the premise of the statue, Jun suddenly remembered something. He hopped, skipped, jumped, and came to a halt, then ran back to the portal. He then raised his hand and transferred energy to the portal to repair it. After using 50 energy which equates to 5 durability repaired, Jun felt contented and run away.


    If you want people to follow your lead, you must a good example for them to follow. Besides, he had his own portal to take care of.


    If the Scavengers and the Elites don''t repair the Northern ins portal when they use it, it would get destroyed quickly and had to be rebuilt or repaired which needs more resources.


    It would be okay if it only uses raw resources but if it involves gold and essence shards, it would be troublesome.


    Also, Jun noticed that teleporting to a portal that isn''t your home costs 50 energy per trip. It was not much but for regr people who don''t have many encounters with energy stones, it could be a pressing issue.


    Currently, there are three consumption levels when using a portal. When using a home portal for 20 energy, a random red portal for 10 energy, and a saved portal for 50 energy.


    On the way to the meetup ce, Jun sent Evo a message to handle the announcement. Everything they talked about the benefits and payments from yesterday would be used and implemented today.


    Although he didn''t receive a reply, Jun knew that Evo would just probably curse him a few times before aplishing the work assigned with flying colors.


    Before he even arrived at the abandoned lot, he already saw Edward''s crimson jeepney, Fiery Dragon.


    Adrian, She, and Edward were chatting surrounded by the other Elites.


    When Jun got closer, people noticed him which caused the three to notice him.


    "Hey, Brother Jun. Here, here. We''ve been waiting for you." Edward excitedly greeted.


    Adrian and She turned at the same time and watched as Jun made his way towards them.


    Jun looked around and noticed the number of people here. "There are more people than usual."


    "Yeah. We have two people aside from your little sister that joined us. Our numbers haven''t reached twenty but at least we have the firepower to fight anyone." Adrian exined. "On the right is Mr. Errol, on the left is King. Please introduce yourselves."


    "Good day, Sir Jun. My name''s Errol, a former hunter. Pleased to work under you."


    "The pleasure''s mine," Jun said. "What kind of weapon are you familiar with? Are you good with the bow? Do you have any experience in hunting bats?"


    "I-I..." Errol gulped from the pressure. And no, Jun wasn''t putting pressure on him. Errol was someone who''s not good at dealing with people. When trading his hunts, he would often get taken advantage of and he would even let the matter go. The only reason why he survived was his trapping abilities.


    The mountain was a tough ce to live in, but thanks to that same reason, not many people lived around him causing his survivability to rise up on the initial phase.


    "I have no familiar weapon but I''m currently practicing the spear. Also, I excel at trapping animals and making traps. I usually hunt game in the mountains to survive and sell some for a few other needs. Thanks to the environment, I was able to survive for some time until I ran out of supplies and had to go to town."


    Jun turned to Adrian. Although the man had unique expertise, it was extremely difficult for the man to hunt monsters on his own. How was he able to join ck Haven''s Elite Scavenger Unit.


    Sensing Jun''s doubt, Adrian decided to exin.


    "Errol had Heightened Sense and Entangle. Both were auxiliary skills that help him set his traps and kill the target. The only problem is it takes time to set up his trap and mostly kills around two to three Evolved Carriers. Since the requirements to join the Elite Unit only needs someone to hunt an Evolved Carrier on their own without outside help, he sessfully trapped Hunters to their deaths."

 Chapter 257: Journey to the East

    Chapter 257: Journey to the East


    "It was just luck." Errol scratched the back of his head shyly. "Hunters move in packs and uses their instinct when hunting. I just had to set a door trap with another trigger trap to activate the spiked mower to kill them. Well, if the first trap didn''t work, I just have to copse the doorframe then kill the Hunters after getting trapped in the rubble."


    Jun listened to the man and found nothing he could understand. He just smiled and turned to the muscled man staring at him.


    "The name''s King, an amateur boxer." the man said, then continued with a condescending tone. "Are you the guild leader?"


    Jun''s eyebrow rose in surprise hearing the question.


    Everyone turned to the man and looked at him strangely while having the same thoughts, What was this guy thinking?!


    "As far as I know, yes, I am the guild leader. Is there anything you want to say?" Jun said feeling entertained. He became interested as to what the man wanted for him to ask such a question in that kind of tone.


    Adrian wanted to subdue the man for disrespecting Jun, but he was stopped by a single gesture from Jun that told him to remain still.


    "Please allow me to spar with you." King bowed respectfully. "I''ve heard that you''re strong and I want to see it for myself. I want to see whether you really have the strength to protect everyone that works for you. I only joined ck Haven for my family. People who join the Scavenger and the Elite unit only works for one thing, their families safety. Other groups have the numbers and are catching up in terms of power. Besides the weaponry, there''s not much advantage in working for ck Haven."


    Jun scratched his chin. "Then why are you still here?"


    "Because... unlike the Frontier and the National Police, ck Haven strictly advertises that they will defend our family. I don''t know if you have the strength to do that or if you would even keep that promise, but I want to know if how strong you are."


    "Okay, sure. Just wait a second."


    After listening to King, Jun operated his smartwatch and sent Evo a message.


    [Jun: "Also look further into the recruitment styles of the Frontier and the National Police. Moreover, collect feedback on the Scavengers on what aspects could the organization be improved on. Just a heads up, I''m nning to build an army. That would make the Scavengers solely assigned for looting, the ck Haven Army to dungeoning and protecting the town and other locations, and the Elites, who only do special missions and hunts on their own. If you have any questions or suggestions, I''d like to hear it."]


    [Evo: "asd@Kjqwdni!!@#! Feedback? Leave me alone..."]


    He''s sure quick to reply... must be doing something. Well, back to business.


    "You''re a boxer, right? Go and punch me, I''ll only block. Is that fair enough? Nevermind, just do it. We can''t be wasting time here." Jun said then stretched his arms while waiting.


    "Thank you." King bowed once again and activated his skill, Power Punch as he got up. Power Punch was an auxiliary skill that doubles the attack damage for the next attack.


    "Please be careful! Here Ie!" King shouted as he took a step forward.


    While moving forward, he used his other skill and moved slightly to the left. His other skill was Feint, it allows brief invisibility while creating an illusion that follows the original path that his body should take.


    Most of the time, the skill works on both nasty survivors and Evolved Carriers, however, Jun was the natural nemesis of invisibility due to his ability to see names above the person''s head.


    Jun felt strange when he watched two bodies separate directions, but he still blocked the named one. He caught the fiery red hand and stopped it from moving.


    For the people watching, Jun appeared reckless and ignored King.


    Until Jun caught something in thin air, where someone reappeared. "King" disappeared and Jun was now holding into King''s right fist like how an adult catches a little kid''s fist.


    King''s eyes widened in shock when he saw Jun caught his fist. There wasn''t even the slightest movement of getting pushed back!


    "Is that all? Now listen. In the future, you will not be a member of the Elite Scavenger Unit anymore."


    Jun''s announcement came as a surprise to everyone. It was a harsh punishment but it must be epted. Adrian was about to step forward when Jun continued speaking.


    "I''ll be forming an army. An army that protects our people and deals with other tasks that the Scavengers and the Elites can''t deal with. Clearing dungeons, enforcing rules and protecting our properties. We will be using a business model to assemble the army. You will be reassigned and be the first Director. We''ll discuss this further at ater time, but for now, do you ept the task of protecting the citizens of ck Haven?"


    King was feeling overwhelmed. He just wanted assurance that whether he lives or dies in the future, his family would be taken care of and kept safe.


    Hearing Jun''s promation, his heart turned warm and started feeling the burden of his future actions.


    What am I even hesitating for? I want to protect them, right? If I have a higher position, then I could make sure that everyone will be safe!


    With a will in his mind, King bowed once again, and yet this time, there were tears dropping to the rough ground.


    "Yes, I am willing to protect everyone!"


    The group passed by the Calvary Hill to receive the XP Buff. Although Jun already received the buff yesterday, he still came to watch how things would go.


    The rainbow seed at the second resting area only grows once a week. It was specially timed whenever he could receive the XP Buff.


    Since Adrian already reached level 11, climbing Calvary Peak has be much easier than the past. Everyone also experienced their own yearnings in the form of illusions. Unfortunately, no one has ever experienced the same illusion again.


    They didn''t spend much time and immediately made their way to Cardona, the fishing town.


    The road winded around mountainous cliffs with the picturesque scenery of theke before reaching the town.


    Since the town was already moderately cleared there were no carriers visible on the national highway. Most of the survivors of this town have already fled on their boats while the unfortunates ones left behind took refuge in Binangonan.


    Numerous people can be seen from time to time. Most of them running away from the sound of the vehicles since carriers would get attracted to the area.


    Jun looked out of the passenger seat and watched the current state of the town from the small window. The town was deste and if it weren''t for the people scavenging here, the town could be considered as a ghost town.


    Edward loved to chat while driving. Usually, he had no one to talk to since no one was sitting on the passenger seat. However, this time, someone actually did.


    "Yeah, the town was basically empty, so we just breeze through it. There are only a few locals left and you can count them in one hand. A blind beggar that refuses to leave his spot, a baker that won''t abandon his house, and an old butler. After we scoured the townst week, we found them and invited them toe with us, but they rejected help. I guess people still feel sentimental about things, so we let them go."


    As Edward finished talking, Jun saw a ragged man staring off to the distance at the center of the bridge. He was standing on the outer side of the bridge fence and any sudden movement could cause him to fall into the river.


    On the distance, carriers could be seen running towards the ragged man.


    Jun felt intrigued whether the man would really jump, so he watched intently. Edward noticed that Jun wasn''t paying attention to him, and when he looked to the side and followed Jun''s gaze. He then saw the ragged figure slowly fall forward into the water.


    "Oh, he let go," Jun stated.


    "What the h*ll!? That''s him! The blind man I was talking about!" Edward shouted then drove towards the bridge.


    After feeling the sense of urgency in Edward''s driving, everyone on board became alert.


    "What''s going on?" Adrian asked habitually. Every time there would be a strange situation, he would be the first to react among the group.


    She patted his back. "Calm down. Edward, what''s happening? Are there carriers in front?"


    "No! Much worse! The blind guy jumped off the bridge." Edward answered, then hit the brakes before jumping out of the driver''s seat.


    "Is he talking about the old man we found in the town hall?" She said,


    Adrian responded. "Probably. He''s the only blind guy we encountered after all. Let''s go out and secure the area. Check for any signs of Evolved Carriers then regroup at the bridge. Be careful everyone, they have be smarter after living for a month."

 Chapter 258: Im Blind, Not Deaf

    Chapter 258: I''m Blind, Not Deaf


    Jun remained seated and watched everything with interest.


    Edward elerated and ran with his top speed towards the bridge. A small group of R0 Carrier came running towards him like a ferocious dog from the other side of the bridge.


    Wondering whether Edward would run away, or defend until backup arrived, Jun became shocked to see the yellow energy that enveloped Edward''s hand turn into a short de.


    Edward''s two hands easily cut the flesh of the R0 Carriers, killing them in the process. It didn''t even take him a second to behead his targets before decisively jumping into the water.


    A loud ssh of water was heard before things became quiet.


    While Edward was being a busybody to someone who obviously wanted to die, the Fiery Dragon''s passengers aplished their jobs.


    Adrian grew up as a team leader and learned to remain calm in emergency situations. He even came up with a decision while devising a n, barely knowing what was going on.


    The group gathered at the bridge and looked under. It was alreadymon knowledge to behead a carrier if you want to disable it.


    Edward was running underwater while pulling a fully grown man behind him up to the surface level.


    After Anna''s group looted the bodies and received essence shards, Edward was finally able to climb into the water surface and stood up stably.


    Without wasting any second, Edward ran towards the riverbank and put the ragged man down.


    Jun finally jumped down from the jeep and joined the crowd watching the scene.


    Edward shouted, "Anyone knows how to do CPR?"


    "I do!" She raised her hand.


    Before She could take a step forward, her hand was pulled down causing her to turn her head. Adrian was staring at her with a strange pleading gaze.


    "What is it? Speak!"


    She watched Adrian stare at her, which caused her to be pissed. She yanked her arm out of his grasp and walked towards Edward.


    A few secondster, Adrian overtook her and sat next to the drenched unconscious man. He turned and said to She, "What to do? Aren''t you going to teach me?"


    "Sometimes, I don''t understand what you''re thinking..." She sighed softly, then proceeded to instruct him on what to do. "ce the heel of your hand on the breastbone at the centre of the person''s chest. ce your other hand on top of your first hand and interlock your fingers..." After a few more sets of instructions, She ended with: "Now, keep pumping."


    Adrian was not knowledgable in terms of life-saving techniques. After performing a set of chestpressions, he felt the ragged man''s chest heaving and hurriedly moved to his head to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.


    She got surprised and shouted, "Stop! What are you doing?"


    Adrian turned to She in puzzlement.


    A few secondster, the ragged man spouted out river water from his mouth, which almost hit Adrian if it weren''t for his quick reaction. He then answered with no confidence.


    "CPR? Isn''t it normal for, you know, tha-that kissing thing..."


    Seeing Adrian''s panicked and blushing appearance, She finally understood what was going on. Adrian was getting ufortable with the thought of her having to do CPR because of the "kissing-thing". She didn''t know whether to feel happy or angry about how he responded.


    As the older one in the rtionship, She chose to remain calm and exin. "Listen here. You only do mouth-to-mouth when the person isn''t responsive after receiving chestpressions. The man clearly regained breathing and you still went for it. If I haven''t stopped you, you would be soaking wet right now."


    "I know, it''s just that..."


    "I understand where you''reing from. Stand up for a bit and let''s talk over there."


    She pulled Adrian behind the Fiery Dragon and started the lecture.


    "Mister, wake up. Are you okay now?" Edward called as he shook the ragged man''s shoulder.


    "Have you ever considered that what you did was something wrong?" Jun said.


    "What do you mean?" Edward replied in confusion.


    "The man clearly wanted to end his suffering. Have you forgotten that he was blind? Living in this new chaotic world, how do you think he feels every day? I''m not saying that saving someone suicidal was wrong, and I don''t doubt that you only intended to help. However, every decision takes courage and every choice equates responsibilities. What are you going to do now?"


    Jun stared at Edward stoically and in return, he received a serious answer.


    "I''ll take care of him! I have enough money to support him!"


    Jun sighed. "You didn''t even ask the man what he wanted? Why are you even doing this?"


    Edward contemted deeply.


    Why?


    Why do I feel empty?


    Why do I want to help people?


    He was asking himself, even though he already knew the answer.


    Just like how I received hope from someone when I thought everything was lost, I wanted to share that blessing to other people.


    With a determined expression, Edward stated: "I want to bring hope to those who need it. I don''t care whether they think of me as someone evil as long as I can give them hope."


    "What a selfish bastard."


    Edward smiled after hearing the familiar voice of the ragged man. He excitedly turned his head only to see a face filled with tears. A fist was slowly zooming towards his face. With his speed, he could easily dodge the attack but decided not to.


    "Pak!" The punchnded on his cheeks but Edward wasn''t moved from his position. He had too high of endurance to receive damage from someone who seems to not prioritize levelling up.


    "I won''t apologize. Please allow me to change your mind." Edward bowed sincerely with both hands at the sides.


    Jun watched the ragged man sit back down as if all the energy he mustered up was already consumed. Seeing that Edward doesn''t know what to do, Jun took it to himself to fill his curiosity.


    "Why are you trying to kill yourself? I heard from my subordinate that they invited you back to our town but you declined. You have a strong will to live by yourself. I can''t think of any reason why you would choose to do that."


    Edward was reminded of the first time they encountered the blind man. Although he was alone most of the time, he had a positive outlook in life and even joked around them.


    The ragged man stared at Edward as if he could see him. His white eyes pierced through Edward as if he wanted to burn him alive.


    Then tears continued to fall once again, followed by tragic sniffing noises.


    "I killed her... She got bit because of me."


    Edward practically ran and kneeled in front of the man. "What happened? Tell me, you can trust me, us. Who is she?"


    "I-I... I told her not toe anymore. Stop giving me food and other things, but she won''t listen! She invited me to her house, but I refused. And yet, she kept delivering food to me! Why! Why did she not listen to me?! Can''t she see that the world has changed! Why!?"


    At one point, the blind man held Edward''s shoulders while shouting his heart out. The grief and sorrow from knowing someone died because of him kept wing at his conscience and his will to live.


    "What happened to her?" Edward asked firmly. If there''s one thing he learned about the apocalypse, important losses need to be said out loud. Unless one was able to do it, the decaying feeling inside one''s self would continue to eat someone from the inside.


    "She got bitten yesterday and I haven''t gotten news about her. I told her that I woulde with her but she refused to go with me."


    Jun was feeling mncholy until he heard the reason. "Haa... I guess people have different breaking points."


    What he didn''t know was because of his high wits that kept his mind clear and calm, things cool down faster in his head once he focused on recovering. Once he lost interest, the matter died down in his head and he started analyzing the situation.


    "Heya, my name''s Jun. You have one?"


    The ragged man turned to Jun''s direction and frowned. He contemted for a few seconds before deciding to answer. He wiped away his tears and responded, "Matt Rojan."


    "Alright Matt, ording to your statements, the one you''re talking about is not an adult, right? You wouldn''t be this worried if that was the case."


    Everyone turned to Matt in surprise. Although not confirmed, they never imagined that the one he kept mentioning on his story was a teenager.


    "That''s right. I think she''s around ten or eleven years old? She''s a yful and cheerful girl. Why?"


    "How did you know that she got bitten? You''re blind right?" Jun asked.


    To which Matt replied with contempt. "I''m blind, not deaf. Besides, I can see the surroundings though they''re only lines of ck and white."

 Chapter 259: Responsibilities

    Chapter 259: Responsibilities


    "Oh, I''m interested to learn everything about your skills. However, if I take a guess on where she lived ording to your descriptions, there''s a high chance that she lives uptown. And if my hunch is right, that''s thend over there on the other side of the bridge. If it''s true that you can see through sound, then you could see enemies before they could even see you. So, what''s stopping you from searching for her?"


    After listening to Jun, Matt could only stare down at the ground. His hands formed a fist while he gritted his teeth.


    "People die when they get bitten. That''s a fact! I''ve seen it numerous times!"


    "Then, how many times was she bitten?"


    "I was able to save her quickly and she only got bit once. After that, she paid more attention to her surroundings as she runs away from me."


    Jun frowned. "Why did you let her go? Is there anything she said that allowed you to let a little girl travel on her own?"


    "That... her butler would be waiting around the corner, so I don''t need to worry."


    "You believed that?" Jun scoffed then turned to Edward. "I thought there were only three people left? It seems like there are four. Nevermind that, things became easier since we found some clues."


    Jun looked at the time and saw that they still had an hour before the actual meetup time. He decided to do a good deed for the day, so his soul could be cleansed, even slightly.


    "Edward, you take care of him. I don''t care whether you bring him back with us or leave him here. From now on, he''s your responsibility."


    "Yes, Boss Jun!"


    At this time, She and Adrian came out of hiding. Adrian''s face was looking blissful as if something good happened. There was even a few specks of fierceness remaining on his eyes. What ns he had tonight? No one knows.


    Jun waved his hand and said: "Prepare the jeepney. Drive towards that butler''s home you guys are acquainted with. If I guess correctly, the little miss we are looking for is restingfortably on her mansion. One bite gets you sick. If the mansion had medicines, then she''ll be fine."


    Matt felt that things were going in a strange way. He resented himself for not being able to protect the friend he got and when he chose to end himself, a random person denied him of what he wanted.


    After hearing Jun''s words, he was able to think more clearly. There were a few unknown pieces of information that he learned of but he kept them in the back of his mind.


    He stared at the young man called Edward. Even though the man still appeared inexperienced and had a sense of naivety, he could sense that the young man can be trusted.


    Hope? I already lost it once. Can I really believe in it once again?


    On the way to the butler''s mansion, Edward told Matt some basic information, "Bites don''t kill you, the side-effects will."


    Matt sat behind the driver''s seat ording to Jun''s arrangement. It was because he had a few questions regarding the abilities Matt had.


    Small groups weremon inside the jeepney. The newbies stick together while friends and those who know each other grouped up together.


    Errol and King sat on both ends of the left and right bench near the entrance. Anna, Erin, and Emman were seated on the left bench together while Adrian and She leaned on each other on the right bench.


    After getting Matt to exin his skills did only Jun feel contented and went back to watching the scenery outside. If you call toppled cars and trash-littered streets scenery, then it was passable.


    Matt had the trait Echolocation which allows him to see his surroundings through sound vibrations. He also had Blindness, a debuff skill that temporarily blinds the target and Hyper Sensitivity, a skill that allows him increased awareness.


    Those were great skills but something that he can''t learn.


    Edward learned to drive after gaining experience on mostly free open highways. He was driving smoothly and even announced that they were near to their destination.


    After turning a curve, he suddenly shouted: "Carriers! Hold onto something!"


    Everyone except Jun and Matt was able to react. The moment they realized what was going to happen was when the carriers were already sent flying away. Their bodies moved forward due to the inertia but still didn''t cause much trouble for them.


    It was troublesome when "things" get stuck in the hood and the engine, and it is troublesome to get out of the jeepney to manually deal with them, so Edward had the front bumper reinforced with a solid ram.


    When the bumper was reinforced, it kept the engine clean by pushing bodies to the front or to the side, however, it also increased the jeepney''s weight. Fortunately, the increased weight can be used as an advantage when dealing with Evolved Carriers.


    Hunters when hit would receive grievous wounds while Destroyers would be stunned, or even pushed back depending on its rank.


    After mowing the few regr carriers, everyone let go of the handlebars at the center of the ceiling and continued chatting.


    Jun realized from everyone''s attitude that the event was a normal urrence and didn''t bother himself about it.


    The jeepney parked in the middle of the road, in front of the ce they were headed to.


    Edward, Jun, and Matt were the first to react to how things are looking at their destination.


    The mansion was isted from other vis. The ck metal fence surrounding the mansion appeared sturdy. Also, the grass inside appeared regrly maintained despite the apocalypse already on its way to its second month.


    The mansion''s front gate was already destroyed with pieces and parts lying on the ground. Rank 1 Hunters and Destroyers can be seen inside wandering around aimlessly.


    After scanning the area, Jun couldn''t help but smile. "Now things were finally making sense. I was wondering why scavengers keep dying here when the town was already cleared. It seems like those Evolved Carriers formed a group."


    Jun jumped down from the jeepney and everyone else did the same.


    Usually, Adrian would form the n after assessing the situation, but he refrained from acting by himself and waited for Jun to make a decision.


    "The Hunters keep going back and forth. They''re tracing the scents of people who lived here. That either means, both the butler and the young miss is alive, or one of them is still alive. This is a bit troublesome since they partnered up if we deal with this quickly, we can do it. There are seven pairs of Hunter-Destroyer and a bunch of regr carriers. Adrian, how is everyone''s fighting power?"


    Adrian responded. "Aside from Errol, everyone can handle an Evolved Carrier on their own. King is slightly troubled with fighting Destroyers but Hunters are no longer a problem with him. Most of us had thirty points in power while the newbies hover around fifteen points. We nned to feed them power stones when they reach level ten, so they could safely pass the tribtions. In regards to Matt, I can''t really say anything but since he''s able to survive on his own, he could probably deal with regr carriers."


    Jun assessed the mansion once more and came up with a n. "We go in, we fight them, we kill them."


    "That''s the gist of it, but I have a more borate one."


    "Edward will deal with two groups, then Anna''s group will take care of another two. King would join Adrian and She to deal with the other two and I''ll kill the remaining one."


    Edward raised his hand and asked a question. "Is there a misunderstanding? I can''t kill four Evolved Carriers on my own yet..."


    Jun was a bit surprised to hear Edward saying "yet", which means he was confident that he could deal with them if he was a bit stronger.


    "Don''t worry about killing them and focus on defending. Anyone who finishes their targets first would help those in need. I''ll go for you after I finished mine. By the way, Errol and Matt would take care of the regr carriers. We will go once everyone gets ready."


    Without further instructions, everyone readied their weapons.


    Anna and Emman pulled out their bow and crossbow, while Erin brought out a round padded-iron shield and a glistening iron sword. The iron shield had stacks of leather to reduce impact while the sword was the newly improved recipe that Old John made.


    Errol and Matt stayed together and focused on the mission in mind. Even though it was upsetting to be treated like this, they could do nothing but to follow orders.


    Jun ran ahead with his Warhammer followed by Adrian and She. Adrian held a crossbow and ns to switch to a sword after firing once, while She had no other skill aside from the spear. The extended reach the spear gave her, allowed confidence to blossom within her.


    King and Edward ran behind Adrian''s group both unarmed. To be fair, Edward taught King a few things about energy control since he found someone who practices the same art ofbat as him. The two had their hands covered with yellow energy.


    Although the front yard was vast, there was little to no space to hide their advance. It was impossible to sneak ahead unnoticed. That''s why Jun decided to charge forward and deal with things in a rather straightforward manner.

 Chapter 260: Cleaning the Mansion

    Chapter 260: Cleaning the Mansion


    Ttwang! Ttwang!


    Bows and crossbows fired preemptively before the Evolved Carriers noticed the whole group. The arrows flew in a low arc and struck two Hunters'' protruding backs.


    Anna and Emman didn''t waste any time and reloaded another arrow on their weapons, then aimed for their next target, its partner, the Destroyer.


    After getting hit on their weak spots, the Hunters dropped and iled in the ground trying to reach their back to remove the embedded arrows. Their Destroyer partners were surprised and immediately searched for the attackers.


    When the two Destroyers found their group, they shouted in unison and charged at them. The Destroyer''s roar was heard by its other friends and caused them to respond.


    Intepping roars were heard in the area. Five Rank 1 Hunters and Destroyers came running as reinforcement.


    The group divided themselves ording to Jun''s arrangement.


    Anna''s group had already disabled the Hunters and only needed to deal with the Destroyers charging at their group of three.


    As per usual, Erin ran far in front to hold the ground. After regrly fighting Destroyers up close, Erin had a few enlightenments she achieved.


    Never take the first hit on.


    Unless you''re way stronger than Destroyers, which should be extremely hard to achieve, never receive the first attack. The best possible action was to dodge, and if you can''t dodge, deflect the attack.


    No matter how strong you are, the damage received would bound to be of high amount. The knockback could even send you flying into an unfavorable position.


    Erin waited for the right moment to dodge and observed the two Destroyers charging at her. Thanks to her being calm and knowing what to do, she learned that one of the Destroyer was going for a full swing while other was an overhead m.


    She waited for a bit more time until they got closer and was about to swing their arms before forcibly jumping back to dodge.


    As the Destroyers arms struck the ground, the soil and grass flew everywhere.


    Nevertheless, this didn''t stop the two archers behind her from firing their arrows.


    Together with the whistling wind, two thudding sounds echoed. One of the arrows pierced the eye and entered the brain while the other bounced off the Destroyer''s forehead.


    Since one of the Destroyer mmed both fists on the ground, its head was slightly lowered which led to the arrow missing its mark. The other Destroyer died after getting its brain lodged with an arrow and fell to the left side where its full swing momentum was going.


    "Emman, deal with the Hunters. Erin and I will take care of this one." Anna said while nocking another arrow to her recurve bow.


    "Okay!" Emman responded immediately. Both of them knew that it wasn''t his fault and there was no need to me anyone. Instead, a quick reaction to dangerous situations needed to be nurtured to one''s self.


    Adrenaline was pumping to everyone''s blood as they fight their designated targets.


    "Energy Barrier!" A loud ringing echoed the area as Edward blocked the two Destroyers advance.


    Two Hunters jumped over his energy barrier and was about to w at him when two sharp energy des sprouted from the barrier and pierced the Hunters'' chest.


    "Stop being so fast! I can''t shout my skill names! Energy des, pierce through them!"


    The energy des moved upward and cleanly went out through the back. With the help of gravity and due to the energy des sharpness, the Hunters'' chests got sliced. A long cut then appeared which exited through the left ribcage, causing the two impaled Hunters to fall in mid-air.


    Edward had the unique title, Pioneer. It was the title given to the first person to discover how to use energy. There might be other people who practice energy before him but he was the first one to use it when the world changed.


    The Pioneer title gives him an additional twenty points in max energy every time he levels up. Together with the increase in max energy, he also received a 50% increase in efficiency which helps him halved the required energy during casting and usage. This title was also the reason why Jun doesn''t bother giving Edward any energy stone.


    Edward''s traits were Resilience and Thick-skinned, while his skills were Energy Maniption and Energy Barrier. Everything about his character traits describes the way he lived his life.


    Energy Barrier creates a malleable energy barrier. It drains ten energy on activation with an additional cost depending on barrier thickness and width. Instead of receiving health damage, energy would be used as a damage substitute.


    Energy reduced is equal to damage received less endurance stat.


    There are other factors involved in damage calction like velocity and force applied, however, Edward wasn''t privilege about those topics, so he never bothered to think about them.


    With his current stat, he receives around twenty to thirty energy reduction every time a Destroyer strikes him. It was peanutspared to his over five points of energy.


    Energy Maniption allows him to control his energy with his own will. It consumes five energy upon activation and additional one energy per minute of remaining active. It was a cheat-like ability and only one person has it in the whole world


    To Edward, he just happened to be lucky. He ended up getting chased into a dumpster and with nothing else to do, was forced to imagine a source of light inside the dark dumpster.


    And light appeared, in a much magical way he imagined.


    Jun Warhammered his way through the charging Evolved Carriers. With his over the top power, endurance and speed, he weaved in and out of the Evolved Carriers swinging arms. Hunters and Destroyers alike failed to stop him.


    Hunters who were a bit slower than him managed to w at him but only caused long red nail scratches. The Destroyers were of an even pitiable situation since Jun just weaved through them and smacked the back of their knees with Buruth''s Warhammer. He would sometimes activate the attached skill, Destruction Bash, to break through the Destroyer''s muscles and disable their movements.


    Adrian''s group became Jun''s cleaner. They have to kill the already wounded Evolved Carriers that Jun passed by.


    Adrian, She and Edward were already used to Jun''s reckless fighting style. However, even they couldn''t escape the shock when they saw him dance on the crowd of Evolved Carriers.


    Anna, Erin and Emman were also surprised to watch someone jump around numerous Evolved Carriers as if the person was ying with them.


    Errol and King who never saw how Jun fought from before were utterly shocked. King even realized that his challenge from earlier was like a little kid talking big to an adult. He must have embarrassed himself big time to the Guild Leader.


    Although Matt couldn''t see, he knew what was happening in the surrounding. He knew those fast walkers and those big muscled bullies. He usually ys hide and seek with them and never once dreamed of fighting them.


    Every one of them thought of the same thing.


    We can also be strong just like that.


    Every one thought Jun was dancing in the midst of the enemies, but deep inside his mind, he was cursing them for watching him get assaulted from all sides.


    He couldn''t even rx and shout at them since he needs to focus on his surroundings.


    Aura(Death) was activated. It helps him see the immediate area around him. With this, he could dodge any attack from behind.


    Left with no choice but to deal with the matter in front of him, he slowly whittled five Hunters and Destroyersing at him.


    In the corner of his eyes. he could see Errol and Matt killing the regr carriers that came to support their daddies.


    At least those two were helping!


    With Errol and Matt''s hard work, Adrian''s group was reminded of what they had to do. They started the cleaning process of the already cleaved and injured Hunters and Destroyers.


    As expected of the Crazed Healer, She joined the dance to cast healing supports to Jun. Though he didn''t really need the buffs since he barely reached half health, he still appreciated the effort involved.


    Adrian poked every weakness of the Destroyers causing them to fall down. Their kneepits and armpits bled continuously until the Evolved Carriers assigned sufficient energy to repair their bodies.


    Hunters were easy to target since the protruding bone at their backs only needed a simple cut to make them lose movement functions.


    King took care of most of the Hunters while Adrian and She dealt with whatever''s in front of them.


    It didn''t take much time for the five Rank 1 Hunters and Destroyers to get thrashed, bing resources.


    Jun learned the Butcher skill from Mike but doesn''t want to use a slot for it. He manually generated energy to envelop the hulking Destroyers, then separated the bones from the flesh. He carefully cut the torso and the head, to get the essence shard from the heart and the energy stone from the brain.

 Chapter 261: Distracted By A School of Milkfish

    Chapter 261: Distracted By A School of Milkfish


    After manually using Butcher, the Destroyers body separated itself into three different piles; the bones, the flesh, and the essence shard together with a low tier energy stone.


    From Jun''s experience, energy stones have a low chance to drop from regr carriers while having a good chance of dropping from evolved carriers. On the other hand, mid-tier energy stones have a low chance of dropping from evolved carriers.


    Jun already learned that energy stones can form once a carrier arrives at the energy tipping point. For regr carriers, it takes them around ten days to evolve to their desirable paths if they don''t absorb any kind of external energy aside from the energy of the sun.


    He thought those who wanted to learn the new way of "looting" the bodies. Although everyone was surprised to learn that the heart contains the essence shard while the brain is the ce where energy stones form, they were able to easily ept it and absorb more information like a sponge along the way.


    The process of manually learning Butcher was quite simple. The only problem was its high requirement for energy. If one had the base max energy pool of one hundred, it would take them around fifty energy to envelop a Rank 1 Destroyer while twenty for a regr carrier and twenty-five for a Rank 1 Hunter.


    Basically, energy consumption depends on the target''s size.


    Everyone learned of the skill but Errol took a liking towards it. Since he liked trapping, getting amon skill of a hunter was convenient for him. He then registered Butcher as one of his personal skills.


    Both Errol and King were level nine and were saving their skill slots for ater time. It was the logical thing to do since they don''t know if any suitable skills could be developedter on.


    Both people knew what they want to specialize in. Errol wanted to be an excellent trapper, while King wanted to be a durable damage dealer; basically a fighter.


    Everyone excitedly tested out their newly learned skill. Carcasses left and right was getting enveloped with different colors of energy. Still, one thing was the samethe loot.


    After clearing the yard, everyone decided that it was time to enter the mansion. Before they could even enter the front door, Matt already informed them of the iing danger.


    "There are two monsters in the eastern part of the mansion. Both of them are on the second floor, repeatedly circling an area as if looking for something. Also, they move very fast and would sit idly around the corridor corners."


    "Oh?" Jun eximed, then added while sighing deeply. "We have experienced ones. Based on your description, there''s a high chance that they''re even Hunters. Now, this is troublesome."


    Adrian turned to Jun and asked, "Experienced ones? What do you mean?"


    "Experienced ones are carriers that escaped from a near-death experience. They be more careful and cunning the longer they stay alive. They''re different from natural evolving carriers who only know about eating and absorbing energy. If I guess correctly, instead of hiding, they are actually setting an ambush and waiting for us to step into their trap. Experienced Hunters liked to set an ambush from above, and if it fails to kill its target, it quickly flees and runs away."


    She couldn''t help her curiosity and asked Jun, "Did you encounter one?"


    Jun answered. "I encountered them twice after getting sent for a week ofmunity service after challenging the army. They''re not that strong, but when they decide to run away, it''s quite troublesome to catch them."


    He began plotting a n inside his head, and could onlye up with a direct approach to kill the targets.


    Jun said. "All of you would surround the eastern part of the mansion. Just wait around on the possible exit points. I''ll head inside and deal with them."


    "Can''t we help?" Adrian asked feeling down.


    After all his hard work, does his skill really can''t catch up with Jun?


    Was he really a burden?


    Adrian was the first to learn of Jun''s splendor. He takes pride on being able to be the first to work under such an influential boss when the apocalypse came.


    He already knew of him a long time ago, and envied him for having such a strong group protecting the town.


    And now, he was already standing by his side but still can''t help him...


    "These experienced Hunters require a bit of cunning to hunt. I''m going alone, so they will think I''m vulnerable and is unknowingly entering their trap. I can kill them with ease if they fight me, but its a different topic if they choose to run away. I can pin one down, but the other will surely escape. I''ll leave that one to everyone, make sure to kill it or it would be more cunning. "


    Everyone felt nervous but still answered in unison.


    "Okay."


    Jun ate an energy fruit to be on the safe side. He used a lot of energy staying alive "dancing" with the evolved carriers from earlier.


    After feeling his energy replenish itself, he wasted no time and ran up the wide stairway found at the center of the hall.


    The mansion had a modern artistic design despite being built on a poor fishing town. This is probably the home of some middle-ss people who managed to get lucky in life.


    The whole first and second floor was filled with smooth white tiles. The whole theme of the mansion was a clear and fresh vacation house for the summer.


    Jun cautiously made his way to the eastern part of the mansion and passed several toppled porcin vases printed with green nature design.


    Since he doesn''t have Echolocation like Matt, Jun used Detection and sent pulses of thin energy waves every five seconds to search for his targets.


    In a sense, what he did was kind of stupid and at the same time, a brilliant move.


    Jun detected four presence in his immediate surrounding. All four of them inside the furthest room on the eastern hallway.


    He could sense two erratic movements from the same floor and two still people on a higher floor. There were two sets of question marks above and without the need to think, he knew that those two were the ones they were looking for.


    The energy pulse that spreads out from his body irritated the Hunters in the room. The two were bing troubled whether to charge in Jun''s direction or to escape quickly.


    In the end, Jun made the decision for them.


    He crashed through the front door and greeted: "Why hello there, cute little things. Are you ready for some beating?"


    Jun did a quick scan of the room. There are two Hunters in the room but with different ranks. The Rank 1 Hunter panicked and abandoned the treasure it was looking for sincest night. It ran towards the nearest window and break the ss to get out of the room.


    Although surprised, the Rank 2 Hunter remained calm. It sniffed the air cautiously and learned that Jun was alone. Its hands made cracking sounds as it readied to hunt its prey.


    The Hunter prowled on the floor back and forth observing Jun. It was a test of patience and Jun has a lot of it. Unfortunately, the one he doesn''t have a lot was time.


    Jun charged forward and used Howling Rage, then used Threaten to make the Hunter flinch. Usually, he would activate Threaten without prior notice, but if paired with Howling Rage, he doesn''t have to do anything else and just receive the benefits.


    After immobilizing the Hunter for a few seconds, Jun pounced forward bare-handed. If he knew that the other Hunter would escape, he would have entered with a shotgun in hand. Even if he''s not that good of a shooter, there''s still a slim chance of hitting the target due to scattershot.


    Regrettably, he had to make do with what he has.


    The Hunter regained its calm before Jun couldnd, however, it was toote to attack or run away since Jun was basically two feet away from him.


    Jun sped the Hunter''s hand tightly causing himself to received continuous damage as the Hunter''s nails dug deeper into the back of his hands.


    The two of them struggled but Jun gained the upper hand due to superior power stat. He managed to push the Hunter to the floor and sat on top, overpowering it.


    His hands bled but a smile was forming on his face.


    "Let''s see who has a harder head."


    Jun activated Empower with three energy per second, together with Block and Reinforce, then started headbutting the Hunter.


    His energy rapidly dwindled but the results were there for him to see. The Hunter squealed and struggled under him wanting to break free. Whatever screaming and biting it did, it couldn''t do anything to Jun''s current amount of energy.


    When Jun felt no resistance on the hands grasping his hands, he canceled all the skills and activated Butcher.


    However, something strange happened. The skill failed to envelop the Hunter''s hand and only gathered at his hand.


    Then, realization dawned upon Jun.


    "What a sly sh*thead," Jun said then stood up.


    He stared at the Hunter the whole time, waiting for it to move, but it didn''t. After getting bored of waiting, he killed it with a short sword he took from his dimensional storage.


    After stabbing the Hunter in the head, the Butcher skill worked fine andted him some good materials.


    He then went towards the window and peeked outside.


    She was tending to Matt, who had several w marks on his arms while the others were watching the river.


    Jun was puzzled at the situation outside.


    It''s just some Rank 1 Hunter. Why did someone get injured?


    "What happened?" he shouted.


    Everyone turned to him and a visible sign of relief appeared on their faces.


    Adrian stepped forward and exined. "The Hunter jumped out when we''re distracted by milkfishes jumping out of the water. It will never happen again."


    "So it escaped?"


    Adrian pondered of what to say, and answered, "...Yes, and no? The Hunter caught us in surprise and jumped into the water, wanting to swim away. It got attacked by a school of milkfish and pulled underwater... We''re still waiting for ite up but it seems like it would never happen."


    "Is he okay?" Jun asked pertaining to the wounded Matt.


    Adrian replied, "Thanks to his fast reaction, we were at least able to defend ourselves. Unfortunately, the Hunter managed to w at him before running away."


    "Secure the first floor, we''ll be there in a minute."


    Jun turned back after giving the order. He took the Warhammer from his dimensional storage and used it to tap on the ceiling.


    "Can you hear me? Pleasee down. We''re here to help."

 Chapter 262: Wild Dungeon: Fish Ponds

    Chapter 262: Wild Dungeon: Fish Ponds


    There are two sets of unknown nametags above the ceiling.


    This either means there''s another floor above or there''s a hiddenpartment somewhere in the ceiling.


    Jun believes thetter option.


    Hunters are excellent trackers. They can follow a scent as long as it hasn''t disappeared. Two of them lounging on this room looking for something only meant one thing, a hiddenpartment could lead to some hidden stairs ordder.


    Jun waited but no one answered. It seems like they were either sleeping, passed out, or outright ignoring him. The option of them being dead is impossible since he could see their nametags.


    The room he was in was the study room. Lots of books were on the shelves at the far left side of the room. He started touching stuff looking for that magical puzzle piece that would show him the way.


    Unfortunately, he was looking for the wrong thing.


    One part of the ceiling dislodged itself and a pull-downdder appeared. Thedder slowly skidded down until it reached the floor.


    Jun turned and waited for the people to show themselves. A middle-aged man with ck hair peeked his head out and scanned the room. When his eyes interlocked with Jun, he asked, "You''re not looters?"


    "Well, if that''s how you''re going to put it, should I just rob you?" Jun criticized the man.


    "I apologize, that''s not what I meant. Thank you for your help. My name''s Luke Baslot, I''m the head butler of the mansion." the man said.


    "Let''s go down first. Where''s the kid?" Jun casually said to speed things up. However, Luke, the butler, didn''t like the way Jun spoke.


    Upon hearing that Jun was looking for the young miss, the first thing that entered his mind was abductors. It wasmon in the past and not impossible even now.


    The young miss was a beautiful and cheerful budding woman. Of course, there would be starving wolves always eyeing her!


    Luke slowly backed off the hole and hurriedly pulled thedder up. Seeing how the butler acted, Jun became confused. He lunged forward and managed to grab thest part of thedder.


    "What are you doing? I don''t have much time! I''m an extremely busy person, and whatever your thinking, I think you''re wrong."


    At this moment, a group of people entered the room. It seems like the group couldn''t wait downstairs and hurried here.


    Matt was taking the lead position while the rest followed behind him.


    "Jane? Jane, are you okay?" Matt shouted upon "seeing" the butler trying to pull thedder up while Jun stopped him.


    He could see the image of a little girl covered in a nket with a towel on her forehead. She breathing at regr intervals upstairs.


    Upon hearing Matt''s question, Luke realized that he hadn''t fed anything to the young miss and let go of thedder. Jun was then able to pull thedder down and hurriedly climbed up.


    Before he could grab Luke''s cor for doubting him, the man started to beg for help.


    "Can you give us some food. Do you have bread? I need to feed the Young Miss. She hasn''t eaten anything sincest night." Luke said.


    Seeing Luke pleading, Jun lost interest and scanned the room. It was a hidden room with a desk table and a shelf filled with documents. Ampshade can be seen on top of the desk table, together with some unknown books.


    The little girl was peacefully sleeping on the floor covered with a nket with a wet towel on her forehead. There are also a few empty bottles of water that can be seen by her side.


    "Let''s go down. I already told you we are here to help."


    Luke apologized for the misunderstanding. Being the Zantua family''s butler for a long time made him aware of possible threats that could harm the family.


    He used the stocked frozen fish to prepare a sumptuous meal for everyone.


    Jun wanted to leave after getting things settled but he changed his mind after hearing a piece of interesting information.


    Luke learned a random skill through reading fishing-rted books in the study. He learned the Bait skill, which allows him to attract nearby targets around him even if wasn''t doing anything. The skill works by sending out packets of energy enticing the target toe and eat him.


    After looting the nearby vis and managing to level up a few times, Luke run out of things to do. He can''t live the mansion since he feels indebted with the master and leaving the young miss alone wouldn''t sit well with his conscience.


    With nothing to do, except constantly clearing the yard and the nearby plots ofnd. Luke decided to pass time by reading useful books in the study.


    Most of the books involved fisheries heavily revolving around the industry; breeding, farming, and harvesting. One thing he found useful was fishing since the town was a fishing town.


    He also learned the hazards of fishing in this new world. Although there''s suddenly a lot of fish in the river and theke, they have be omnivorous. He doesn''t know when it started but fish bred from fish ponds became interested in meat. They also have be noticeably bigger than usual.


    Jun gathered all the relevant information and discarded all the useless ones.


    First, he needs to gather books that might give useful skills. A good example was books about farming, hunting and other survival books. Even psychology books might be useful depending on the topics it provides.


    The second was the unnatural poption growth of the fish in the river and theke. Jun could only attribute the various changes to the town portal getting destroyed. The town''s dungeons must have been freed and its dungeon monsters could now roam freely.


    How to differentiate the dungeon mobs from regr wild threats? Easy! They have to be the most popted species in the region with a sudden increase in presence and power.


    If the same logic applies with wild dungeons and tamed dungeons, then they just found themselves an untouched treasure trove in terms of food!


    An unlimited amount of native fish for everyone to feast on!


    The food problem was basically solved and Jun didn''t have to rely on the families stationed at Angono, nor does he need to send people to hunt and feed on those dungeon bat''s meat.


    Thankfully, Jun didn''t have to search for the wild dungeon.


    After exining the idea of dungeons to Luke, the man immediately gained an inkling of where to look for the dungeon. The ce where we can found most fish?


    Their breeding grounds, the fish ponds!


    The fish ponds were situated on the eastern waters of the town. It epasses around five kilometers of various sized breeding pens.


    They just need to look for the biggest one and verify whether it was the home of the wild dungeon fishes or not.


    Unfortunately, Jun''s fighting power underwater is extremely weakened. For this matter, he needs to ask help from Lakeside Marina since they were best suited for this expedition. They could also be the caretakers of this dungeon if they ever seeded.


    Jun sent Evo a private message.


    [Jun: "Does Gilbert own a smartwatch? Please tell him to prepare and train for some underwater battles. They would be fighting schools of fishes that can fight back. Thankssss."]


    The message appears as if he was requesting but both of them knew what it really is. And they both ept it. It has been the status quo since the very beginning of their friendship. To use each other to the best of their capabilities.


    Some might think that Evo was always on the losing end, however, the truth of the matter was the stronger Jun became, the stronger Evo''s position bes.


    "So have you decided whether toe with us or not? You''ve seen the natural growth of carriers. They could juste back and attack the mansion with a bigger number, while you watch and wait for the end."


    Jun stared at Luke waiting for his response and it came packaged with a condition that was a bit expected.


    "We will, but you have to promise our safety and well being," Luke replied hopefully.


    "I have no obligation to that and that''s not how things work back in town. You can learn to adapt to live or stay here, your choice. We''re only having this talk since my underling''s subordinate cares about you."


    Also, you''ve given some help with providing useful information. But I won''t tell you that.


    Luke stared at Matt staring at him with the whites of his eye. It was as if the blind man was begging him to reconsider staying here ande with them. He could even feel the man''s resolute will to follow after the young miss.


    The two already learned of each other. Matt was the person the young miss visits whenever she runs away from home, while Luke was the butler who forcefully leveled up the young miss by making herst hit numerous pinned down regr carriers. A great example of a grand idea with poor execution.


    After having a staredown, Luke agreed and packed everything they needed. The little girl stared at a family picture disyed in the hallway.


    "Jane, let''s go," Luke called after noticing the young miss slowing down.


    Jane Zantua gazed at the wide hall onest time before grabbing a smaller family picture by the side.


    "Coming!~"


    The group didn''t waste any time and boarded the Fiery Dragon. Edward started the jeepney and they made their way to their destination.

 Chapter 263: Escalated Too Quickly

    Chapter 263: Escted Too Quickly


    Cardona''s cemetery had to be taken care of. However, as long as no one enters it, mobs wouldn''t respawn and they won''t have to worry about them passively evolving. Jun added the ce to his notes.


    It was already noon when everyone saw the edge of the next town. The hot sun rays were shining directly above everyone''s head from the heated roof of the jeepney.


    It''s already the Ber-months and yet there are no signs of Christmas spirit that could be seen on the highways. Much worse, the highways were littered with random trash.


    Since the Elite group already passed the area numerous times, the crashed cars were already pushed to the side of the road. Most of the abandoned cars were already retrieved by survivors of the town''s survivors.


    The travel was peaceful and everyone could feel the cool breeze as they drove down the hill. The vast farnd filled with budding rice crops on both sides of the national road reaffirmed the notion that they have arrived at their destination.


    Jun couldn''t help but salivate at the thought of harvesting the ricefields. He couldn''t wait for the harvested rice and cook them into the real staple food that everyone was fond of.


    Rice has been running out and has be a luxury good in the town. Its current price ranges around 200CP to 300CP depending on its quality. As a substitute for rice, corn has be the next staple food for every survivor and they''re bing tired of it.


    While staring at the ricefields, Jun had a sudden idea.


    The ricefield can ripen faster if Felipe works in tandem together with the Energy Watering-can.


    Morong is the next suitable town in terms of farming which already has arablend. The whole two kilometers of the straight national road onlyprised of rice paddies.


    At the end of the journey, the jeepney was stopped by a simple car barricade.


    Edward peeked his head out and greeted the person in charge. It seemed like the two knew each other and were already had amon understanding.


    He even received an extra tip while they passed by that the chairman wasn''t happy that they arrivedte.


    "Understandable. Have a good day!"


    Edward bade farewell to his acquaintance and sneakily gave him a piece of rat meat. His acquaintance smiled wide at him and ordered for the barricade to open up. The young man became the center of attention and got flocked by fellow barricade members.


    It didn''t take them long to arrive at the town hall since it was located on the outer periphery of the town and nearby the marketce.


    The group was weed by an unenthusiastic crowd and was led into the building. The group stayed at the first-floor lobby as a woman in ponytail invited Jun to follow her.


    Jun gave the secretary a canned food causing the woman to chat and act nicely to him on the way. Unknowingly to the two, Edward was following behind secretively.


    After snaking around the hallways and staircase, he was finally brought into the leader''s office. Edward appeared at this time and he sent knowing gazes to Jun.


    The current leader of the town was a minority Barangay Captain. He was unfavored by the people during peaceful times but thanks to the changes in the world, the harsh and strict methods he had managed to save a lot of people.


    Matteo Ruiz brought the town to peace and safety with his iron fist.


    He felt proud when another town''s protector organized a visit, wanting to talk about cooperation. However, the said group arrivedte as if mocking him.


    Two knocks came from the door followed by his secretary''s voice. "The visitors have arrived Chairman."


    Although he became the spiritual leader of the town, he still hasn''t changed his ways and promises to the people.


    He works for the people and would die for the people.


    He remained humble even after getting all the power avable.


    "Let them in."


    The door opened and Edward entered the room followed by Jun. The reason for the rest of the group staying downstairs was they want nothing of the boring talks for cooperation.


    After the two entered, the ponytailed secretary closed the door and took her leave.


    Edward stepped forward while apologizing with a wry smile.


    "Isn''t it a good day today, Uncle Matteo. Too bad, we got held off by a pack of evolved carriers at Cardona. There are at least a dozen evolved ones while hundreds of normal ones!"


    Jun stared at Edward''s back.


    You found your uncle but can''t find your family members? What kind of rotten luck do you have?


    Chairman Matteo clicked his tongue and red at Edward. "You still haven''t changed brat! Your father''s a punctual man! He values time the most! Why didn''t you inherit that trait?!"


    Edward smiled awkwardly and shifted his eyes, so he doesn''t meet Matteo''s gaze.


    In reality, Matteo wasn''t his real uncle. He was just acquainted to him thanks to his father being friends with him. This was also the reason why he was able to arrange this meeting so easily.


    "So, this is the man you want me to meet. From the way you praised himst time, I thought he was someone way older than you." Matteo said to Edward then turned to Jun. "Alright, you can sit kid. Let''s talk about cooperation."


    "I''ll be outside," Edward said then strode towards the door. He felt something wrong when he saw Jun smiling pleasantly but ignored it thinking he must be happy for having an easy time.


    However, he heard something wrong about the script before he could head out of the door.


    With an amicable and friendly tone, Jun said casually, "Thank you, but I''m fine. As for cooperation, it all starts after I take over this town."


    "What are you talking about? Have you gone crazy? Sit down!" Matteo stated in a rough manner.


    Edward quickly turned around just in time to see Jun banging both hands on the desk.


    Matteo was even more shocked than Edward. He was just trying to act rude as payback since the other leader treated him like dirt.


    What''s with the sudden esction of events?


    Of course, he couldn''t show that he was troubled and continued his poker.


    With a frown, he said, "And if I don''t agree?"


    "You''ll get kicked out of your position and someone reliable will rece you. I think you''ve already seen a lot and you know that there are many people eyeing your position, especially now that the world is in chaos. If you yield now, you''ll be the manager of this town and you can speak with Edward with anything you guys need. What do you think?"


    Both Matteo and Jun have learned bitter truths after getting into a high position. Matteo knew that Jun wasn''t kidding but he doesn''t understand why he''s acting like this.


    Before Matteo could form a reply, Edward''s cracked voice sounded from behind.


    "Brother Jun, is this a joke? Or do I really have to start calling you Boss Jun from now on?"


    Jun softly clicked his tongue and scratched his head. He turned and stared at the disappointed Edward looking at him.


    "Haa... I''m just taking shortcuts, you know. It seems weird but he''s the one who started it. You already told him the truth and yet he''s still acting like a child. I came here for cooperation, but I have to take control of the town first. I want to do it as quickly as possible with no hassle. We don''t have much time. Carriers evolve daily all over the country. We don''t know when a horde of evolved carriers marches to this town, any of our town in that regard. I need full control with things such as this."


    "I know... I understand. Maybe I''m just biased since this is my hometown..." Edward lowered his head and remained still in front of the door.


    Jun turned to Matteo and continuously asked a lot of information. He knew that the chairman inwardly epted their faith and wordlessly took Jun''s offer.


    "How many survivors does the town have?"


    "...around one thousand five hundred."


    "That''s a lot more than I expected. How many can fight?"


    "Two hundred?"


    "How many can scavenge for food?"


    "About five hundred..."


    "What''s with these numbers? Considering that those fighters are already counted with the scavengers, is something wrong in the town?"


    Jun was not to me for being confused.


    More than half of the town wasn''t doing anything with only two hundred fighters on the front line. Also, they can''t venture further distances since they also need to protect the people scavenging for loot.


    How can these people survive for so long?!


    "There''s nothing wrong with the town. It''s just that the average age of the people in town hovers around thirty-one. A quarter of the town poption were already forty-five. Most of the old people that survived but can''t do any fighting and are old farmers who had their ownnds. The diversity of people in town is currently divided into four groups; those who can fight, those who can''t, those who are wounded, and those who don''t want to help."


    "So the town can''t sustain itself, right? You are surrounded with forests and ins. How are you going to feed them? What are the people''s response to the current state of the town?"


    Matteo clenched his fist and some of his nails dug into his flesh. Since he already epted to be someone''s underling, he might as well go all out and tell the whole truth.


    "Some of the abled bodies were leaving for a better ce. We saw helicopters a few days ago up north and they''re trying their luck by leaving the town. The fighters we have would even dip down in numbers and scavenging would be more troublesome. We were able to harvest some food from house gardens. but with the poption at the time, it didn''t take long to run out of food. Currently, the poption has been starving for at least two days."

 Chapter 264: Get Rid of Leeches

    Chapter 264: Get Rid of Leeches


    "Did you save a lot of people? Is the whole town poption higher on the first week of the apocalypse or did you guys lose some?" Jun asked.


    Matteo pondered from a brief moment and relived the first week of the apocalypse. All the fighting. all the chaos.


    "All that I could say is we managed to save a lot of people while also losing some. I heard Edward''s version of how things happened in your town. What you managed to achieve, those were excellent achievements. Unlike from Binangonan, we only encountered those "evolved carriers" as you guys call it, on the first week."


    "Our town had eight barangays separated by ins and were too far from each other. The barangay that had a bustling business center where most of the crowd gather always had heavy-traffic. When things happened, the most terrible thing that urred was traffic idents. Cars nudging each other, drivers losing consciousness for a second and waking up with their bumpers rammed onto someone else''s rear. No one died at the start and people just got injured."


    "Then how did you lose so many people?"


    "The problem came from private and public hospitals. I heard from other barangays that some old orphanage and retirement homes were one of the ces were the monsters first appeared. Most of the people died from getting killed by zombies and everything else fell like dominoes. Other barangay who remained on their ces had fewer poption than us and has slightly better living standard than us."


    After hearing the truth of the town, Jun started to machinate his ns.


    "I''ll give you your first task. Get rid of the leeches. Kick them out and you''ll have until tomorrow. I don''t need people who don''t want to work yet still expect to be fed. You don''t need to convince anyone to stay. The more people that live, the better. Pay attention to those old farmers, I want them. Also, take this, you might need to arm your trusted people."


    A series of nging metallic sound resounded in the room. Three metal swords and five bone swords dropped on the ground.


    "That''s all for now. If you aplish with good results, I''ll give you a surprise tomorrow."


    Jun and Edward exited the room. They walked along the hallway and headed downstairs towards the lobby.


    "I''m sorry for doubting you," Edward said without looking at Jun.


    "It''s fine. I''m at fault too." Jun gazed at the back of Edward''s head, but the teenager doesn''t even have the courage to look back.


    "I guess I became a bit sensitive since I knew the person."


    "That''s a normal reaction. I would have done worst if I were you, to be honest."


    Edward then scratched his head and turned around. He had this embarrassed face while trying his best to say something.


    "I understand now why you acted like that and why you needed to. I hope you can trust and forgive me about this blunder." Edward said and bowed.


    "I already told you it''s fine. I should have told you in advance but I didn''t get the chance. I noticed that people were overreacting to see any kind of food. Your acquaintance and his friends reacted strangely when you gave him food. I also learned about the food situation when I chatted with the secretary earlier. I just used that information to my advantage. Well, now that I think about it, I''m actually getting annoyed that you don''t trust me. Mhmm."


    "Forgive me, Brother Jun!" Edward bowed then took something from his dimensional storage. "I''ll gift this low tier energy stone to you as a sign of my apology."


    "Then, I''ll take it." Jun grabbed the energy stone without hesitation. However, something strange happened, the energy stone won''t budge from Edward''s hand. "I said I''ll ept your sign of apology."


    "Brother Jun, I know that you''re a magnanimous person and would never take things from his little brothers."


    "I need it! Give it now!"


    "Nooooo."


    In the end, Jun reigned supreme and sessfully retrieved the energy stone by taking one finger at a time.


    The "cooperation" was deemed sessful and no one from the group knew what transpired on the chairman''s office.


    The group toured around the ce with the chairman''s secretary as their guide. They visited the portal statue and absorb the town''s portal rune.


    When the Elites first arrive at this barangay, the first thing they did was to absorb the portal rune. It didn''t take much to convince Matteo at that time since the portal repair knowledge was traded for it. It could also be attributed that the ce was Edward''s hometown as to why they shared the repair secret.


    They didn''t realize that they just gave away the knowledge of using energy freely.


    There wasn''t much ce to visit or to look at. If there was one, it should be one of the dungeons in town, the Landmark Church.


    "The most notablendmark of the town, built by a Chinese craftsman during the arrival of the first Spanish priest. It is known for its unique and intricate neo-baroque style design and its three-story belfry as its facade. The church was half church and half school that strangely transformed into a dungeon. The monsters inside were priest lecturers saying mantras at you, until you get dizzy and sent out.


    "The priest lecturers inside don''t kill you. They only send you out after some time, or when you answer their questions incorrectly. It''s a weird dungeon that specializes in teaching you about modern school subjects. No one has gotten a question right ever since we discovered it. It''s as if we''re not meant to answer them."


    Jun stared at the church in front of him. ording to the secretary, the main gate of the school was locked and people who tried to climb over were captured by priest lecturers and tortured to study until they pass out.


    "Would you like to try? There would be no problem as long as we drag you out before you pass out." the secretary said.


    Jun feeling adventurous smiled. "Alright, no harm is done if I try."


    The secretary ced two hands over her mouth and shouted, "I heard they stretch the difficulty to the utmost possible! Good luck!"


    Jun stood in front of the priest lecturer. It had themon priest robe but wore a full face mask that hid the entirety of its face. He could see wrinkled and slightly dried out skin from the neck and hands of the lecturer.


    The lecturer raised his arm and pointed at Jun.


    ["For all real numbers<em>b</em>and<em>c</em>such that the product of<em>c</em>and 3 is<em>b,</em>which of the following expressions represents the sum of<em>c</em>and 3in terms of<em>b</em>?]


    [A. ...]


    Jun didn''t even wait for the multiple choices to appear and immediately ran out of the church.


    That scared me!


    What was that?!


    I''m a high school drop out, don''t do things like these to me, it''s not even funny!


    The secretary, "You''re back so fast?"


    You!!!


    Jun ignored her and walked away.


    Matteo was busily implementing his new idea. He gathered his trusted aides and supplied them with swords. His n requires brute-force and he needs the people to hate him.


    It was the only n he coulde up with and he ns to proceed with it.


    Arge recruitment campaign wasunched. Every able-bodied men and woman were conscripted for a wide scavenging operation that would ur the next day.


    Individuals who were caught hiding, or neglecting their responsibilities would be imprisoned for three days without food.


    The aim of the operation was to gather enough food for everyone. The recruited individuals would gather at the town za and would scour ins and forest for animals and wild nts.


    After the news of the campaign spread out among the popce, the townspeople went mad.


    Dissatisfaction.


    Threats.


    All kinds of negative things were spoken by the people.


    At this time, a sliver of good news spread like wildfire. Antipolo, the city up north, was rumored to be epting survivors from all over the ce. There were walls that protected the city and food has never run out even once.


    Matteo thanked the heavens when he realized that people were considering risking the travel. Large groups of an expedition to the north were being formed at great speed.


    I can''t believe it! My n is working! I have no idea where that rumor came from, but it came at the right timing!


    Jun was eating snacks together with the group as they toured around the streets. He chatted with the secretary about Antipolo City while trying to forget the unpleasant memory the lecturer gave him.


    His loud voice allowed nearby people of the promisednd up north.


    Jun heard of the scavenging campaign that Matteo thought of. It was quite decent for making people want to leave but not perfect enough.


    Actually, it was a bit idiotic and could even backfire, if not resolved properly.


    Although people hate being oppressed and being told what to do.


    What they hate most was missing on something good that is actually free.

 Chapter 265: Town Relations

    Chapter 265: Town Rtions


    Luke decided to stay in town after learning that everyone was epted here. Matt willed himself to refrain from troubling the young miss any longer and joined Jun''s group, under Edward''s wing.


    Afterward, the group visited famousndmarks while touring around the seven barangays.


    Uugong Park, a park known for its breathtaking view of the rice fields, while different birds can be seen flying around. Together with its majestic waterfalls, the ce became a hot summer spot for families in the past.


    Uugong means echo, because of the strong current of the falls it makes a loud echo or sound. People from the town usually wash their clothes there, even water carabaos also takes a dip during the hot summer months.


    Duckling Society Park, many people in Morong likes to go here early morning, to do some jogging, and chatting. Even in the apocalypse, nothing changed and people can still be seen around.


    This was the best ce for Jun to spread rumors about the city up north.


    Jun would openly chat with the secretary about her views on the matter. Could it be true? Would she be going?


    This created the illusion that he was someone who knew nothing and also interested in going north.


    However, he couldn''t keep asking her about the same thing every other barangay, so the Elites had to act their part.


    Everyone would would talk about this to "themselves" while in a public setting, and only stop when they are on the road to the next barangay.


    It was already afternoon when they finished touring the whole town. They toured the ce in a clockwise manner, which allowed them to arrive perfectly at the town hall without missing or double backing to a barangay.


    They also searched the whole barangay where Edward used to live, but couldn''t really find anyone. Except for the hope that they packed their things up and headed north, there were no leads avable to be found.


    "Did you like the tour?" the secretary asked after everyone got out of the


    Jun didn''t answer and just handed a pack of biscuits before turning to the group. It''s not much, and Jun just want topensate for the fuel used.


    The secretary had other thoughts in mind though. Her cheeks were blushing and there were butterflies in her stomach.


    "Edward, prepare the jeepney. I''ll be heading inside to say goodbye. I''ll be back quickly, it won''t take long."


    "Please follow me."


    The secretary excitedly brought Jun to Matteo''s office. She knocked twice and announced Jun''s presence.


    "Wait..." Matteo''s voice sounded inside together with shuffling of footsteps, "You may enter."


    After hearing the confirmation. the secretary gestured on the door. "Please."


    Jun doesn''t care whatever ns Matteo had in mind. The only thing important for him was the town''s manpower and possible future tributes to him.


    It doesn''t matter if one was weak, anyone can be strong at this time. The most important trait right now is the willingness to improve, the will to be stronger.


    As Jun entered, Matteo''s trusted aides formed two lines and were bowing at him. In front of the table was the executive chair which used to be Matteo''s seat.


    Jun sat down and crossed his legs, then everyone not needed inside left the room.


    With him and Matteo the only people left inside, Jun initiated the conversation.


    "Prepare these materials, make sure to have them ready by tomorrow. I already met some people leaving, so I''ll just consider your n as sessful. Continue the act to drive the leeches away. I''lle around noon to settle everything about the cooperation."


    Matteo took the piece of paper and read the items that Jun required. The faction halls required items were written on the piece of paper.


    "I''ll get everything ready. However, we don''t have enough gold. Also, will you bring food tomorrow?"


    Jun frowned. "You can get gold from killing mobs in the dungeon. Have you guys never entered the dungeon church and the cemetery?"


    "We don''t. We can''t find food there so we never entered those ces." Matteo answered truthfully.


    "Then what happened at the town siege? How did you guys survive? ording to my observation, you guys werecking in weaponry. Most of the weapons you guys have were sticks and anything you can grab your hands on."


    They could still with regr carriers but how about evolved carriers? It''s impossible to kill a Destroyer unless you know that its weakness was its eyes.


    Did they hack him to death with umted damage? That''s possible but too many people would die!


    Matteo felt Jun''s puzzlement, and yet he doesn''t know how to answer. He himself was confused to Jun''s question.


    "If you mean the sudden release of monsters from their dungeons, then we could take care of them. It''s just a bunch of zombies from the cemetery anyway. Well, the priest lecturers were troublesome to deal with since they sometimes teach everyone at once. If we get surrounded, we can''t escape and had to study until we pass out."


    That''s terrible!


    "Well, they drop good stuff, so we attacked them the next day. Unfortunately, they only dropped gold and became angry, ganging up on anyone who enters. After that, we just left them alone. Do you think it will happen again? If it will, I have to n our defense." Matteo said.


    "Wait, that''s all?"


    "I don''t really understand, but yes, that''s all thates in mind."


    "What about waves after waves of monsters?"


    "Wave of monsters? The cemetery?"


    Jun gasped in shock.


    How was that possible? Why was it so different? Did something go wrong?


    Wait...


    Does this mean this town doesn''t have a lord? I''ve also been on the lookout but no groups caught my attention while taking the tour.


    If that''s really the case, then taking control of this town would be much easier!


    Here I was acting tough, strutting around to attract attention, but it appears I didn''t have to do so.


    Jun started to reflect on himself. "What have I been doing since this afternoon? Haa..."


    Matteo didn''t know whether to answer the question and kept his mouth shut.


    "Forget it," Jun said then opened the faction storage. He grabbed a whole piece of cooked Giant Rat and ced it on the table.


    "I''m sure Mike wouldn''t mind." Jun thought positively and even chose to act kind by serving the dish on a te. "I''ll take care of the gold. Have everything ready by tomorrow."


    Matteo stared at the fragrant scent of whole piece meat in front of him. Still, he managed topose himself and answer, "Yes!"


    After arriving back at ck Haven, Edward''s first business was to chat with Jamie, then go back out to clean his Fiery Dragon. The jeepney still runs on gasoline since Evo and Edward don''t have much free time.


    Also, if Edward wants the jeepney to run by energy, he needs to find an engine that runs by electricity for Evo to do his job. Evo can only edit the engine if it was an electric car. That way, he could turn the engine to use energy instead of electricity.


    Just like appliances and devices. Most of these things use electricity and he only edited the way they work, to ept energy as a source.


    The whole of ck Haven gathered at the dinner table. It was such a rare thing that everyone became surprised. Even Old John took some time off from smithing to bond with everyone.


    Tatang Robin was called over together with his friend. The Elite unit was also invited to join the dinner. There''s even a new addition to the group, Edward''s first underlingthe blind man, Matt.


    Aside from the hired staff that stays at the next building, everyone who had close ties with ck Haven was here.


    Two long tables were added to the kitchen for the event. Mike also prepared a couple more dishes and even made refreshments for everyone.


    To Jun''s surprise, he gained another point in energy after drinking the refreshment. He then realized that it was the energy drink made from the energy fruit. Also, it dawned upon him that it wasn''t a one-time energy increase and became happy. If he had Mike make this every day and drink this, he could gain a bunch of free energy! The drink could also greatly affect those who have no chance of buying an energy stone or an energy fruit.


    The celebration went on and everyone finished eating. Jun stopped everyone from leaving and decided to announce his current ns. They were his new family and he wants them to know his current direction.


    "Currently, Binangonan has enough food to sustain ourselves. However, we couldn''t say the same in the future. We have two towns under our control; they are Angono and Morong. Angono suffered a lot and barely reached a thousand survivors. It was a much-developed town and had more people in it, which caused more carriers and faster death rates. That made them stronger and more innovative. I already have someone who manages the town over there, and we just need bettermunication."


    "Morong is a new addition. We just finished cooperation talks earlier and they willingly epted to work for ck Haven. The town had a favorable position which allowed for more survivors to survive. The problem? They''re struggling to feed themselves. Since each barangay had survivor groups, they can''t mindlessly loot another ce. They have to rely on nature by hunting animals and gathering wild vegetables in the wild."


    "Does anyone notice the problem? We would run out of food if we help them, and yet we can''t turn a blind eye. Now, we found a solution that can help us. Wild dungeons. Dungeons were freed from the barriers that were stopping the monsters to roam thesends. It''s unfortunate that town portals have to be destroyed for a wild dungeon to appear, but we could also consider it a blessing depending on the type of dungeon."


    "In Cardona, we suspect the wild dungeon had fishes as monsters. Just like the increasing numbers of bats in Angono, there''s an explosive increase in fishes in Cardona. With that as the base, we can assume that we''ll have plenty of fishes in the future. The hard part about this is we need to fight them underwater, we need to watch our breaths and fight at the same time."


    Everyone can see that Jun was troubled about the issue. Only a small number of people in the room understand how tough it is fighting underwater. Although they could move fast thanks to Waterstride, the inability to breathe underwater was a big problem.


    Just as everyone was pondering, the two young girls startedughing.


    Chloe and Judy giggled endlessly.


    "Why don''t you just fish them? We have Uncle Gilbert, right? He probably knows how to fish." Chloe said, while her friend Judy mimed sending out a fishing rod to the water.

 Chapter 266: Every Problem Has Different Solutions

    Chapter 266: Every Problem Has Different Solutions


    At first, Jun shrugged the idea off. What do kids know about fighting, right? Then he realized it. It''s because kids don''t have much exposure to the outside threat. That''s why they could think clearly and simply.


    They''re hunting fish. Why not just catch them? Even if they evolved or mutated, unless they have dagger-teeth or des as fins, it would still be possible to fish them out of water.


    "That''s actually a good idea." Jun praised the two girls and they joyfully epted it.


    He continued. "Now if we take Teresa and Baras, we can have the whole region for us. We can filter people who enter our controlled areas. But we won''t do that. We''ll focus on stabilizing our control over our towns and increase our defenses. We also have to set up an outpost at Taytay, to deter the army from rushing in our controlled areas. Overall, we will focus on increasing our food production, resource collection, and fighting power."


    "Also, I need someone who would like to manage unupied towns. Edward is assigned to Morong. Marvin manages Angono, and I trust him. Is there any volunteer for Cardona? The ce was already cleared and you would only need to deal with the leftovers and the cemetery."


    Seconds passed and no one raised their hands. It''s quite easy to understand why no one wants to take it. Everyone had carefree lives with no responsibilities, if they take this management job on, the number of things they could do would be limited. They would also have to live up with the expectations while working under pressure. Who would want that?


    At this time, Adrian courageously raised his hand. Jun was a bit shock but deep inside he was happy.


    Unfortunately, Adrian had other things inside his head. "How about Gilbert? He''s the perfect candidate for a fishing town."


    Jun hastily rejected the idea, "Gilbert has more important job at the Lakeside Marina. He can''t leave and manage another town."


    "Then how about Luke? I heard he''s a butler of a tycoon who owns dozens ofrge fishponds." She added.


    Now that people were suggesting ideas, the atmosphere of the meeting has turned less suffocating. It all started from the two little girls'' soft giggles.


    The meeting continued on and decisions were made.


    The Elite Unit would stop expanding eastward and would establish an outpost at Taytay. The town manager for Cardona would be Luke Baslot while Gilbert would temporarily keep watch over him.


    Weapon production would also be increased. Spears and pikes would be prioritized. Spears weremonly around two meters in length and could be wielded with one hand. If it can''t be used with one hand, then it bes a pike. A pikes usual length hovers around four to five meters.


    This decision was made since most of the survivors weren''t battle-hardened and needs time to adjust. The spears and pikes would be crafted by Old John''s apprentice while he would focus on swords and armor tes.


    King was also formally reassigned and given the rank of Director for the ck Haven army. The hierarchy would be one CEO, several Directors, a bunch of Managers, Hundreds of Team Leaders, thousands of Rank & Files, and an infinite amount of Trainees.


    Jun believes in character more than an individual''s strength. He can train weak people to be strong but he can''t teach character to people.


    Jun teleported back to the faction base at the Northern in. Since he had nothing to do, he might as well meditate while gaining additional XP.


    He updated Marvin about current events through chat. Although Marvin''s smartwatch was a bit outdated, it could still receive private chats as long as the sender has ess to his ID, which Jun got from Evo.


    Angono has regained life with a bit of struggle in terms of food. Bat meat tastes like mutton with the texture of chicken. Not many liked it, but could only bear with it. There''s also a side-effect from bat soup that makes your stomach churn, however, everyone still sips it for that free additional max energy gain. Afterward, they fight the side-effect by circting their energies inside their bodies.


    Also, the poption has spiked up after people who escaped to the mountains arrived. Some survivors from secluded barrios crossed the mountain and joined the town. The poption has reached one thousand with more or less a few hundred more.


    After checking the list of things he had to do in his mind, Junid down on his bed. He imed the first room to be seen after climbing to the faction hall''s second floor. His reasoning, he could gain more XP if he enters the room immediately.


    While checking his dimensional storage, Jun noticed a ck cellphone rotting in a corner. It was ced together with other important items. He inserted his hand to the ck vortex and grabbed the cellphone out.


    Upon seeing the design and model, Jun immediately remembered what he was forgetting about. A few seconds after the cellphone exited his dimensional storage, a series of notifications appeared on the phone.


    They were all from ke sending updates about his request. Most of the message has no value, but one particr information stands out. The army was acting antsy for some reason.


    After checking everything, Jun stored the cellphone back to his dimensional storage and continued meditating. The more he practiced, the faster he could enter the meditative state.


    Jun entered the half-asleep, half-awake status, and started his meditation. Inside his self, he started pondering on useful abilities that he could learn.


    Most of the people in town already registered as citizens after hearing the news about the Faction Altar. Even though someined about the payment, they still paid the entrance fee to receive the buffs.


    There was a bunch of different mode of payments and the most popr one was energy repair. What the people didn''t know was that when the faction altar reached the maxed altar durability, it would consider the influx of iing energy as prayers.


    Everyone was ustomed to transferring energies without question after habitually repairing the town portal. Most of the time they transfer energy until the portal stopped taking energy, however, the altar didn''t stop sucking their energy and survivors had to regte it themselves.


    The altar uses one durability point to give the buff while gets repaired by one point, which is the equivalent of ten energy. Since the energy payment for taking the buff was fifty energy points, the altar gains forty energy which trantes to 0.4 Prayer.


    At the town za...


    On the prestigious Veronica''s Pub, Dominic was drinking with his friends, the same-minded fellows, the ones he recruited for the mining job he received.


    All of them wereyman and know nothing about mining and he had to teach everything from safety and basic mining techniques.


    They learned quickly and the group was able to mine 1/10th of the mineral mountain. Everyone was surprised since they were already cking and yet had gotten such great progress. The Scavengers tasked to guard them also collected all the mined minerals for safekeeping. Whether they steal or not, no one knows.


    Old Felipe could be seen drinking merrily with the group with a woman by his side. He already learned his lesson fromst time and temporarily entrusted the watering-can to Tatang Robin.


    "We''ve already waited enough. From the information that we''re able to gather, he was able to reach Antipolo. There''s also a military outpost at Rotunda Tikling. If we want to gainmunication with the government, we need to do it now!"


    Sitting in front of the Chief Officer, the newly promoted police branch secretary continuously dered his opinion.


    Paolo Cas massaged his forehead in contemtion.


    "What we have are rumors. I''ll talk to him tomorrow and confirm whether these things are true. And if it is, we''re going for a walk and make contact with the government. Just prepare our boys, some transport, and supplies. We don''t need a big group, we just need enough people to defend ourselves."


    The same thing was happening at the Frontier''s headquarters. They were itching to know whether Jun was able to make contact with the government.


    Most of the factions that knew Jun left for Taytay wants to know.


    They even left him alone for a few days to catch up with family and friends, but tomorrow, they want answers.


    The night was getting deeper and people were minding their own business.


    Inside his office, Evo ced a prototype ck Haven ount card down on the table. He stretched his arms and took a deep breath,


    "Mhmm! Haa... I''m finally finished with this project. Let''s hope that those people who wished this be satisfied! No use in mulling about this now. I could only wait for tomorrow for its release and see how things go."


    He took a break from editing items and started procrastinating surfing the world wide web.

 Chapter 267: Auction House Plugin

    Chapter 267: Auction House Plugin


    The next morning, everyone who entered the new marketce became surprised.


    A new announcement was posted at the information desk which introduces the Auction House Plugin.


    In the past few days, something new was happening almost every day and those changes were making everyone''s lives easier.


    The newly built building was officially named as the ck Haven Guild Hall. It still retains its former functions of acting as a privately owned marketce that sells all kinds of unique goods.


    The second floor that used to be empty became designated as the ce where the Auction House and other future facilities would be ced. The first and third floors still remained as the marketce and the crafting area, but the staff that uses the second floor as their sleeping quarters had to move away.


    Thankfully, they have no problems with the changes and epted appreciation gifts from Bernard. Considering that you can im any house to your liking, moving away also doesn''t really feel that bad.


    The information desk became crowded with the onrushing people wanting to get into the middle of things.


    Since its early in the morning, people habitually go and search for new profitable quests on the mission panel. This caused an influx of people when the news of the auction house was released.


    The customer representative at the information desk exined.


    "Yes, you need a named ount card to get the plugin. The plugin would be embedded to the chip on the ount card and you could ess the online Auction House just like how you check your bnce. There are two price levels, the free version, and the premium version. The plugin costs 100CP monthly for the premium version.


    "The only difference between the two was the disy dy when someone ced an item for sale and the ability to hide their name. Free users could only see the item once the Auction House received the item for sale, while premium users could see those items the moment they were registered."


    "Then give me the premium. I might as well try it even if it''s just a month."


    "Okay, please hand over your ount card." The man handed his card and she inserted it into the pre-programmed card machine.


    Beside the receptionist were two card machines with differing functions. There''s one for basic information edit and input, another for citizenship status, and the newly built Plugin Installer. Next to those machines were piles of heavy-duty powerbanks that had Evo''s energy stored.


    Evo spared some time to solved the issue in regards to the required energy for information editing, and power banks were the best option he could think of. The item already functions with charging and transferring energy, and the work he needed to do became more straightforward. He edited the item and added the energy conversion code as usual.


    Berry and Cherry continued working hard at their work. Ever since they started working as a receptionist for ck Haven, they received fewer harassments from the other gender.The two were beautiful twins and both were neen years old.


    Berry had a long ck hair that reaches up to her waist, while Cherry also had a ck one, but only reached up to her shoulders. The two were the main attraction for the information desk and the cause for idlers to pester them to chat with them.


    They lived at the uptown district of Cardona and locked themselves on their vi. When the town was cleared by Elites and small groups of scavengers, they decided to relocate to Binangonan.


    Since they were neers, they know no one and had no money to buy food. They weren''t even courageous nor powerful enough to hunt carriers. They joined numerous small factions and would always be predated by survivors with evil intentions.


    Men regrly approached them in hopes of spending a night with them. They even got used to people giving them weird looks from time to time.


    Nowhere was safe, not the National Police, nor the Frontier.


    Not until they bumped into a smiling old man who quickly grabbed their hands and pleaded as if he met the most beautiful pair of flowers in this muddy ce.


    "My name is Bernard, ck Haven''s HR Manager. You two are perfect for the job I have in mind. Would you like to work for ck Haven? "


    The twin sisters'' initial reaction was to decline the weird old man upon hearing the mention of the strongest faction in town.


    He must be scamming them right? ck Haven only epts strong people!


    Fortunately, they grabbed to that small glimmer of possibility that the old man wouldn''t sell them to be ythings of rich men. Which brought them to their stable and peaceful job.


    Time passed and most of the people had already installed the auction house plugin. The auction house plugin was still in its trial phase and changes could be made depending on the situation.


    The auction house plugin was a stock program copied from MMO games on the inte. It had several tabs consisting of food, ores, tools, armor, weapons, mob-drops, service, and misceneous.


    It is also directly connected to the information avable on the card and would provide the name when bidding. You could also not bid on an item if you don''t have enough bnce on your card. After a sessful bid, the credit would be frozen, for security reasons.


    Currently, everyone was fascinated to scour the auction house for useful and cheap items. Most of the items disyed on the auction house were Tier 1 Weapons with several Tier 2 Weapons avable.


    There are also five energy fruits that wereid out on the misceneous section, together with a bunch of energy stones and varying essence stones. All of the misceneous item only had three hours of waiting time and were priced at 1,000CP as their base price.


    This was Evo''s move to satisfy and make the people on the auction house, He wants it to be known as the best ce when chancing upon treasured goods.


    Paolo Cas closed the Auction House hologram, then started slowly tapping his desk He turned to his secretary and asked: "How much CP do we have?"


    "Thest time I checked, it was around 15,000CP."


    "Why is it so low?" Paolo asked in puzzlement. They have been the most active in reiming the towns and had arge group of scavenger working for them. Even if they weren''t extremely rich, they should at least have more than 50,000CP!


    "We are rationing food to our people, so we don''t need to pay them wages. However, they still keep 50% of what they loot for themselves while only 50% goes to us. Most of our expenses came from food and arming the people. The refined swords that ck Haven sells were at least triple the price for bone swords. We can''t afford to arm everyone with the iron sword, so we''re still using the brittle swords for the grunts." the secretary exined.


    Paolo Cas slumped back to his chair with a troubled expression and sighed deeply. He continued tapping the table, then muttered, "It''s impossible now. We can''t take back the town considering where things are headed. The people are getting used to this new world and ck Haven keeps getting stronger." he formed a fist with his hand, then smashed the table. "Why is the government not sending help here, goddamnit! Don''t they know that they need to regain the people''s trust?!"


    Upon hearing the anger in Paolo''s voice, the secretary sneakily took a step backward and made his presence smaller.


    Binangonan suddenly became frenzied with the appearance of the auction house. Small factions who only ever got their hands on T1 Weapons decided to bid on them. The Frontier and the National Police weren''t interested in the weapons but rather paid special attention to the misceneous items on disy.


    Together with the demand and influx of courageous survivors who are willing to travel thends and fight carriers, the price of weapons steadily increased and hovered around 300CP to 500CP. The base price was made from bones while the ceiling price was crafted with a mix of iron, which was sturdier and stronger.


    The energy stones and essence stones on the other hand were currently priceless.


    Outsiders could only obtain energy stones from two ways, can be bought by the top bidder from the marketce, and as a reward for the top agent for the day. Their scarcitybeled them as the most sought after item that could permanently increase energy.


    The people recognized that this is one of those days that ck Haven had a surplus of the energy fruit and was willing to sell them. Although many people wanted to join the bidding war, two names popped up and exchanged positions as the bidders. The National Police''s procurement officer, Andok, and the Frontier''s Quartermaster, Crisanto.


    The prices kept increasing and each one of the energy fruits was being bid at 2,000CP. Normally, the lucky top agent who receives the reward energy fruit would sell the item for 1,500CP.


    The previous and past top agents felt frustrated watching the fruit''s price climb higher.

 Chapter 268: Army Recruitment

    Chapter 268: Army Recruitment


    The day of army recruitment came together with the release of the auction house plugin. People who were interested in the auction house hurried towards the second floor of the Guild Hall to shop around. Bernard hired several staffs to work as auctioneers, and though the staff have no prior experience, they were still active and excited to work there.


    Survivors who were interested in joining the ck Haven Army gathered at the designated empty plot ofnd and waited nervously.


    Most of the people that gathered here were already experienced people who fought a bunch of regr carriers on their own. They came from small and big factions and was tired of the unstable life they were living. Some were even from the Frontier and National Police. They realized that, at least with ck Haven, they would have a lot of benefits that would help them and their loved ones survive.


    The recruitment standard was very simple. As long as someone is able to fight, they can join the recruitment process.


    With the bars so low, some women even decided to try out and were waiting whether they would be kicked out or not.


    Everyone became quiet when a dozen people walked towards them. It was the higher-ups of ck Haven.


    Due to being the most powerful faction in town, every high ranking personnel of ck Haven was popr. Their faces, attitude, and the way they speak have be the talk of the town for some time. Some female-only circles even had secret pieces of information on what they prefer for their group''s members to capitalize on and try their luck and get into the group.


    But with the tight rtionship of the old members of the group to each other, no one has married themselves to the group. The best chance was withters, for example, Felipe who frequents Veronica''s Pub at night and his son. Marrying someone who works for ck Haven has also be a trend to survive.


    Jun stood in front of the crowd and stared at them. He studied everyone''s faces and would sometimes, stare at a few individuals that had ck nametags above their head.


    Since there are many reasons why he would get hated on, he ignored those people and continued with his n.


    "Around 200 people? I guess that''s good enough for now," he said then took a deep breath. "Everyone is gathered here because of the recruitment notice you saw. If there''s anyone here who didn''t know that and just happened to join the crowd, this is the time to take your leave now."


    Jun waited for a bit and saw no one move after his reminder.


    He continued. "Now, everyone has been drafted to be the first batch of ck Haven''s private army. We expect great things from all of you, so please don''t give up and strive hard. King,e forward."


    "Yes," King said while he stepped forward, gazing at the crowd.


    Jun said. "King would be your Director. Its a rank and he is someone who reports to me. He could be said to be of equal ranks with a General. But with our army model, we would be using a business model for that. He will exin everything you need to knowter on, but for now, he would be doing a set of programs to filter out everyone. He will be your direct superior during this recruitment and if you guys are lucky, even in the army. He would decide who fails and who passes. Good luck to you all!"


    After his speech, Jun left with Adrian''s and Nik''s group. Bernard was following them around as he had new reports to present to Jun.


    The various livelihood personnel recruitment was doing great. Some of the people on their mid-thirties were convinced to be farmers while those who were in the mid andte twenties were recruited as fishermen. Thetter would be taught the Waterstriding skill while the former would be taught the Reinforce skill.


    With the Waterstriding skill, those people recruited to be fishermen could easily move underwater and catch fishes, while the recruited farmers would have stronger body due to Reinforce, properly circting energy inside their body. They might even have better health after getting their bodies cleansed after a few sets of energy circtions.


    After getting Jun''s approval, Bernard left the group and continued to work with other business.


    Meanwhile, Jun ns to visit the fish ponds whether they could really harvest infinite fish from them. Gilbert was already waiting for them at the Lakeside Marina with basic fishing boats on the ready.


    King stood in front of the crowd with a raised chin and straight body.


    He was proud to be selected as the first Director of the first batch of recruits and he ns to do his best to nurture everyone to be an unstoppable force who would protect this town and its people.


    He already examined the recruitment process given to him earlier and he strictly ns to adhere to it.


    After everyone finished signing an attendance sheet, he announced the start of the recruitment process. There were 238 people who wanted to join the army.


    "We are doing a set of physical tests, so we could filter out those who don''t have enough strength in themselves. It''s not because we don''t like weak people, its because we care for you. If you don''t have good stamina, there''s a chance that you might die when fighting for a long time. The first part of the recruitment process would be running. We will run around the outskirts of the town for threeps and anyone who can''t finish the course would be out. This will test your endurance. Let''s go!"


    With everyone basically having enhanced stats, this part of the exam would test an individuals willpower to endure exhaustion and physical training.


    Humans are not simple humans anymore. They can do a lot of things which were deemed impossible, coupled with enhanced stats and various strange skills, humans might even create miracles.


    King led the run as he jogged and set the standard pace. It wasn''t extremely fast nor was it considered slow. The pace was just right enough to cause your heart and body to feel the tension of moving around.


    For those who fought and hunted regr carriers daily, they were able to runfortably at the same pace. However, to those people who only hunted for fun and to scavenge enough resources to live another day, the pace would slowly take their breath away.


    The long parade of runners attracted attention from everyone. Some who didn''t even know what was going on joined the group and jogged with them, thinking it was some sort of marathon for fun.


    After circling around town and finishing onep, King noticed that the group behind him was slowly getting thinner. Even the people who closely followed behind him was starting to decrease in numbers. The good news was their numbers were still high and most of them were only breathing roughly.


    King continued running forward perfectly fine without any signs of slowing down. It was because of the skill, Reinforce.


    With Reinforce activated as he ran, he was able to feel his body lighten up and strengthened at the same time. It was one of the benefits of joining the Elite unit and getting ess to the skill library.


    King wasn''t cheating. He didn''t ban any use of skills and everyone just thoughtlessly ran after him without even using the basic Sprint. Anyone who was Agent Rank 1 and has enough agent points could browse the Virtual Library of ck Haven.


    The more time passed, the more people disappeared behind him. Even then, he could still see people pushing themselves forward, wanting to finish the test.


    When the thirdp ended, the number of people who finished the test was a few dozen above one hundred. They were even confused when King didn''t stop at the empty plot ofnd they started and continued running for another half of the course and only stopping at the nearby cemetery.


    "Congrattions on passing the first test. Now, we''ll be moving to something that requires real skill; hunting practice. Listen here, the names I would call out would be teammates..."


    King took out the attendance sheet and proceeded to randomly assign teams. He would group people up and have them sign beside their names, so he would know who passed and who didn''t.


    With this method, he was able toe up with fifteen teams, with one team only having nine people.


    "The first group would enter and must get back here after clearing the first zone. This tests whether you can fight or is too scared to fight."


    The test only wants to find out who can fight and who can''t. The cemetery carriers were just regr ones and experienced survivors should have no problems with dealing with them.


    Back at the people who didn''t manage to pass, the female staffs of ck Haven were tending to them and invited them to join the Scavenger unit. They can apply for the army once they have better stats and physical ability.

 Chapter 269: The Glaring Truth

    Chapter 269: The ring Truth


    Before Jun''s group could leave for Lakeside Marina, they encountered Paolo Cas.


    At first, Paolo Cas wanted to ask someone to bring Jun over to the town hall for them to talk but considering their power levels, it didn''t seem appropriate.


    ck Haven solidified their foothold among the people with numerous tricks and benefits. The EXP buffs, the stat buffs, and the items that they sell. There was nothing wed about how they ran the town except for their cold and uncaring attitude to most things. They mostly interfere when things turn too bad, but if its just quarrels and disputes, they won''t care.


    That''s why, Paolo Cas met him in person, as a sign of respect and to personally ask the information that he wants.


    He was already informed by his subordinates when the group got out of the mall and headed somewhere else. So, they followed them and arrived at the recruitment ce and even waited for them to finish.


    As Jun walked away with his crowd and were headed to Edward''s Fiery Dragon, the two faction leaders met.


    "Heya!" Jun casually greeted and raised his hand. "It''s rare to see each other. I guess this is not by chance, right? Is there anything that I could help you with?"


    Seeing Jun agreeable, Paolo also didn''t make things difficult and also acted like the two of them were best buddies.


    "Hahaha, that''s quite true. Even though we were able to clear the nearby towns and barangays, there were still sitios and barrios on secluded ces. We don''t know whether there are people awaiting rescue and we''re still doing our best to rescue everyone every day. I''m here to rify somethings about rumors that I''ve been hearing for the past few days. Does Antipolo really have the city secured? Is there really a stronghold established at Taytay?"


    Jun pondered for a bit. As someone who works for the government, Paolo Cas would surely be interested in this information. The problem stems from the probable effects of the National Police reestablishingmunication with the government. But still, he can''t just lie and can''t say the whole truth either.


    So, he decided to say the truth, the whole truth.


    "Yeah. Antipolo was secured but is too crowded with refugees. I think their food is already running out and riot might ur soon if things continued that way. They also made a stronghold at Rotunda Tikling. They''re trying to rescue the president for a month now but haven''t seeded. You know how it is in the Capital. It''s the most popted ce in the whole region. The amount of regr, evolved and mutated carriers must be overflowing.


    "But don''t worry, they have strong firepower." Jun was reminded of the guns and ammunition the military used to sieve holes on the bodies of his mother''s people. Although he and the Halfdeads didn''t see eye to eye, he could still understand that they only did those things in order for themselves to live. "They even forced local groups out from Taytay who aren''t willing to follow their demands. Most of them got injured, some got killed while others were captured. Yeah, they''re doing great. The best thing about this was that I helped the military thinking I was doing a good thing."


    Jun chuckled softly then shook his head. "I''ll head out first. I still need to search for food sources. We can''t all starve, right? The marketce needs food so people won''t riot."


    Although Jun seemed casual, everyone could feel the hatred in his voice.


    To those who were informed about the situation, they couldn''t help but feel remorse and anger. Jun''s mother was forced out of the town just because she and her group had a strange appearance and doesn''t want to submit to the military.


    Paolo Cas and his escorts didn''t know how to respond. How could they even respond? They didn''t even know whether the information they received were truths and their faith on the government kept them from siding with him.


    Still, some small seed of doubt was nted on everyone here.


    After the small chat. Jun''s group was then able to leave without much trouble.


    It didn''t take long for the Fiery Dragon to arrive at the outskirts of Lakeside Marina. Edward parked the car near the dirt path and the group went straight to the docks to greet Gilbert.


    "How''s the marina doing? Do you encounter any problems here?" Jun inquired interestedly with the small marina''s situation.


    This ce was his treasure trove. He had the Tree of Life nted at the beach end of the marina. With the marina''s people as caretakers, he at least wanted to treat them better. It''s a must after everything they have been through.


    Their first meeting was kind of not good. Jun was very selfish and hotheaded and Gilbert lied to him about rewards. That ended up creating friction between them. It was when everyone sees the new world as something helpless and terrible.


    However, a month has almost passed after that. Jun experienced a lot of things. The killings, loving someone again, trusting people, getting betrayed, and mutually taking advantage of each other. In these few weeks, he was able to experience most of the things that he experienced in his life during his gang times.


    It was quite hectic, and yet, it made him improve himself so much and see new things that he couldn''t see.


    After reuniting with his mother, and saying farewell once again, he realized that people aren''t just resources to move around like chess pieces.


    They are people.


    He somewhat forgot that along the way after experiencing the worldly affairs the world has to offer. The beautiful lies and the apanied sorrows.


    He thought that as long as he kept them safe, fed, and happy everything would be fine.


    But he finally understood. As people, it''s not enough to give them what they need. You still need tomunicate with them.


    People are such a troublesome being to please.


    The Tree of Life remained stagnant at ten energy fruits and one life fruit per day. Also, after the Tree of Life was nted at the small ind at the end of the marina, they never experienced high tides anymore. Even the low tides were getting so low, they had to get a longer boarding wood to climb their boats.


    Helena was still taking charge of the Tree of Life and has several people training under her with energy control.


    There was nothing much the marina people could request and Jun thought of a good gift for them.


    Improved housing!


    He could use Blueprint to copy a bungalow or some cottage houses and build it at the higher part of the marina. He didn''t tell Gilbert about his n and only kept it in the back of his mind.


    They sailed using abandoned boats retrieved at the Public Marketce''s docks. They were for civilian uses and were easy to drive around, so the marina people already adjusted to them.


    Gilbert reported to Jun what they found out yesterday after investigating the fish ponds at Cardona.


    "We''re still not sure where the exact spot is, but it seems like this dungeon was huge. If I only guess, it should be a vast part of theke. Since this is a wild dungeon, the dungeon zones might even havebined with each other and expanded. We got the general direction of the dungeon and they mostly spawn at the eastern part of the uptown district of the town."


    "You already caught some of them? How are they? Are they edible or are they mutated?" Jun asked.


    Gilbert looked around the boat and stalled his reply. There were many people here and what he''s going to say might disgust people who had weak stomachs.


    There were two passenger boats with thirty seater capacity. One boat had the veteran fishermen while this had the people from ck Haven; Jun, his bodyguards which is Nik''s group, and the Elite unit.


    "There''s a variety of fishes in the fish pond but the mostmon were the milkfish. They were the ruling species and has the strongest group. Although they don''t have sharp teeth, they had great suction and could nibble at your skin and flesh in seconds. While investigating, we happened to chance upon a regr carrier walking underwater get dismantled by a school of milkfish. Thankfully, we were fast swimmers and got up the boats in time before they noticed us."


    Everyone''s imagination was vivid. A regr carrier unfortunately drops into the water, walks around aimlessly, then gets swooped back and forth by the school of fishes, nibbling at every part of its body.


    It was horrifying and disgusting.


    Jun said. "Let''s hunt every fish in the area first and feed them to corrupted pet animals. I heard the corrupted dogs have big appetites, sell them at a cheap price. If no one wants the fishes, hand them over to Felipe, so he could convert them to energy."

 Chapter 270: Hunting All the Mutated Fishes

    Chapter 270: Hunting All the Mutated Fishes


    Animals that eaten corrupted beings tend to mutate. The mutation could cause good or bad effects depending on the mutation.


    For the dogs and cats, it was their increased body size. The improved intelligence happened to everyone who had the capability to think. Even insects like mosquitoes were being economical by keeping their prisoners unconscious but alive, so they could harvest more blood as much as they could get.


    On the other hand, their intelligence might have not increased but their instincts surely did.


    These first batch of fishes can''t be sold at the marketce for consumption, yet they have no choice but to hunt them.


    Gilbert continued narrating their experience yesterday and it gave everyone the understanding that as long as you don''t swim towards the fishes, they would never catch up to you when using Waterstriding.


    The veteran fishermen only brought harpoons yesterday, and only killed several fishes that got devoured by their friends in mere seconds. If they were able to suck metals, the harpoons would have been devoured together with the dead fish.


    "How many fishings did you bring today?" Jun inquired. He already informed Gilbert about the fishing rod and fishing suggestions that he had.


    "We brought a lot. Actually, we already tried capturing them with fishings yesterday but they just nibble at them and got away. This time, we wouldyer the fishings and will sessfully get them out of water." Gilbert excitedly said, "We win as long as we fish them out!"


    It didn''t take much time for them to arrive at the fish pond. Jun took the lead and jumped underwater to assess the situation.


    The boat''s engine scared away most of the fishes and yet he could see a school of milkfish swimming towards him at top speed. The theory of the most popted species might be true seeing how things are looking.


    Moving underwater was hard and swinging a weapon was much harder. Fortunately, he didn''t need to think of what to do as he could just position a sword forward and use Waterstriding to dash forward with a single stroke. He could run underwater and the only problem was shing.


    Why bother shing?


    Let theme to their deaths on their own!


    Jun would take sidesteps and the fishes would pass by his iron sword and cut themselves in half.


    The problem came when the blood scattered on the water and blocked his vision. The more he killed, the more blood blocked his vision. Even with help from everyone, killing a school of fishes would waste a lot of time.


    Jun signaled everyone to get out of the water and have a meeting on the boat.


    "They''re weak, but it''s probably because I have high stats," Jun stated, then exined. "I let one suck me but it didn''t hurt. However, their nibbling was strange... Forget it. Let''s manually them out. We''ll work by groups. Four people take each end of the while one person acts as bait. Five people will wait at the boats to receive the. The people waiting at the boat should be the strong ones to be able to pull the full weight of the fishes."


    After receiving the orders, everyone paired up with the veteran fishermen and started the n.


    Though the fishes were great in numbers, they still had the same small brain they had. With their eagerness to eat the new source of energy they found, they charge straight at the bait and got caught up in theyered fishings.


    The fishings formed a huge cage that strangled the fishes together. The human bait and the holders would easily get into action once the fishes swooped down at the bait. With everyone''s Waterstriding in full action, they were able to run underwater as if they were onnd. The veteran fishermen even swam like they were mermaids pping their legs in one slick motion before catching every fish that targeted the bait.


    After hauling a big catch, every holder worked together to tie up the corners and rapidly swim up to the surface. The first attempts at bringing the fish to the boat resulted in failure. The fishes were too heavy and the boats could identally capsize.


    The team thought of various ns. One of the closest they got to bring the caught fishes to the boats was through throwing it. They simply swam upwards at top speed and used their momentum to jump on the surface of the water, wanting to throw the haul of fish into the boat. Unfortunately, the moment the fishings filled with fishes got out of the water, they suddenly weighed in tons and caused everyone to plummet back down to the water.


    In the end, Gilbert had to step in.


    With animated movements of his hands like some cultivator drawing energy from the surrounding, he brought his left hand down while his right hand went up. His action seemedical, however, to the people from the marina, it was a magnificent action.


    The water rose up and formed a ramp towards the boats. It was the Waterbending skill learned from the Waterbending Manual that he received from Jun after he resuscitated Edward from drowning when the town defense at theke happened.


    At first, he wasn''t interested in the skill book, so he asked for a vote on who should learn it after returning to the marina. However, everyone voted for him and resulted in him keeping the book. He wanted to give it to his wife, Helena, but even her rejected him saying it was a gift for him.


    The skill book has a very simple requirement, the owner''s creativity. Anyone could do anything they want as long as they have enough energy and control over the skill. Currently, the skill is at level two and costs ten energy per second.


    Gilbert knew he had no creativity whatsoever, and yet no one wants to take the skill from him. In the end, he could only rely on practice and create water pirs rise from the water surface. His max was three simultaneous water pirs, two of them were controlled by hand and one by his feet. He tried pushing for four, but he doesn''t have enough control and it would usually end up in failure. Besides, at the time he tried for the fourth water pir, his energy would already enter the danger zone for energy bacsh and would stop training to recover energy.


    The fishermen, both veteran and not, watched Gilbert train daily at the ind where the Tree of Life is found. Its a kind of bonding for the husband and wife.


    After the water ramp was built, the Elite group from ck Haven and even Jun himself was surprised.


    Gilbert only smiled at them sheepishly. "Please work faster. The energy cost isn''t cheap for my current level."


    With his reminder, every holder dragged the haul into the boat. Everyone celebrated with their first sessful haul.


    Gilbert was removed from bait duty and focused solely on creating water ramps. He also were given energy fruits in case he needed it.


    Jun was never stingy with rewards. Especially if the person was making achievements left and right.


    They repeated the fishing method and sessfully caught every wandering fish in the nearby vicinity. The group even mapped the whole size of the dungeon through calcting the outskirts where milkfish would respawn. They had to make sure that everyst first-generation summoned wild fish were hunted.


    In the early afternoon, everyone was basically done scouring theke''s vicinity and guaranteed that future milkfishes caught were pure and safe for consumption.


    With their prior experience in hunting the fishes, they realized a lot of things to improve on. They must use a real fishing boat if they want to haul more fishes. They can''t just rely on Gilbert''s Waterbending since it requires a lot of energy. Also, if one could develop a skill rted to underwater breathing, or increased breathing capacity in general, things could be improved for the iing batch of recruited fishermen.


    It was also decided that Cardona would be revived and be used as a fishing port. A suitable ce would be turned into a marketce where fish would be ughtered and sold for EXP. The buyer would also receive the fish and bring it home for food. With this n in motion, food would be stabilized and the not-so-courageous people who can''t fight regr carriers coulde here for EXP.


    The Cardona wild fish pond dungeon would be owned by ck Haven solely and would control the supply and demand. They won''t severely limit the number of fishes sold and would actually make sure that everyone has at least five fish per person.


    It was a generous scheme and some people could even take advantage of it. However, ck Haven could just sell more. No matter what, they control the supply and has control over the price.


    Other survivor camps could also luck out and find a treasure trove of resources like this. However, they first need to secure the whole town or city, then make sure that the dungeon would be wild by destroying the portal.


    Until now, no known methods were avable to repair a destroyed portal. Random carriers would continueing out of them every day.


    Whether the infinite resource was worth the trouble?


    No one knows.

 Chapter 271: Information Leak

    Chapter 271: Information Leak


    In the next few days, ck Haven and the towns under it experienced peacefulness. It was as if the world didn''t change and there were just fewer people around.


    Luke Baslot became the person in charge with the soon to be ck Haven''s food-manufacturing port town. The task was truly important for someone who doesn''t work with ck Havenm but with the promise of survival education for him and the Young Miss, he epted the job.


    The uptown district of the town would be the new town center since it was closer to the marked wild dungeon. The unloading would be faster and the shipping would be a breeze.


    A dock was being made on the shore using logs of wood and piles of stone. These people were hiredbor under the newly established Labor Union.


    The Labor Union was Bernard''s attempt to get rid of building and manufacturing requests from the mission panel. He wanted the mission panel to only give missions that require a certain difficulty so people can''t just spam requests like "craft me wooden spears", "craft me bbq sticks", and the crazier ones were "jog with me for 10mins".


    Although malicious people who were definitely causing trouble and trying to find loopholes were warned and punished by Evo, it still takes a lot of time and the two of them decided that something needs to be done.


    The Labor Union was a sister program of the mission panel. It can be essed on a different tab and doesn''t yield agent points. No one would probably use it now that things have changed, but ck Haven could take advantage of this.


    With the Mission Panel and the Labor Union on different browser tabs, people could clearly see the real missions from now on. And if someone tried to register abor mission into the mission panel instead of the Labor Uniontab, the user would be warned or banned depending on his next actions.


    Looking for actual fishing boats with cranes would take some time. Even the basic fishing boats that had automatic pullers were already gone from the piers a long time ago.


    This problem was solved by using a lot of manpower. Five sturdy metal rods withs tied on them were attached on both sides of the boats. The hauled fish would be ced on the rods and two people would grab one rod and carry them up on their shoulders.


    After the hauled fish got out of the water, people at the boat would pull the bounty into the boat and would repeat the process. The veteran fishermen and the newly recruited fishermen worked together.


    Four boats were used and one hundred people were alternating on catching the fishes. Everyone knew that these hundreds of fish would give people a lot of hope in terms of food and they were proud to be involved in it.


    Each haul had fifty or so fishes caught in the and it takes around ten minutes or less, depending on how fast the baits could gather the fishes to form a school and swim back to the trap.


    Besides the fishes, every also realized that they can''t keep staying underwater for a long time due to hypothermia. It should have been a basic precaution for fishermen, but even them actually forgot about this problem due to excitement.


    In total, ck Haven had around seven thousand survivors to provide food for and they need more fishermen if this was to be achieved.


    Luke Baslot didn''t shy out from his responsibilities and even weed it. He missed the feeling of working for something, knowing that it will give him security and stability.


    The proper venues were arranged and being modified. The people involved were already designated.


    He looked forward to working for ck Haven the more he saw how they do things.


    Morong received additional farmers from the Labor Union.


    With the freeloaders moving north due to the secured promisednd abundant with food and water, the conversion of the people became easier.


    After Jun built a faction hall and sent the first batch of milkfish they caught when they cleared all the mutated milkfish on the fishpond dungeon, the residents became more appreciative of him. They trusted him quicker for solving the food problem and registered to be a citizen of ck Haven.


    Everyone was briefed about the current towns owned and the future direction the Guild ns on taking. The new currency was introduced together with the mission panel and the types of ount cards avable.


    The people were divided to skilled and average guys. The farmers were given the task to tend thend and the harvest would be paid in full.


    Most of the people had their own skill sets and they filled their forms to the best of their capability to ensure that they would receive the right job.


    Matteo was thankful for the help given to the people and was happy that he made the right decision to work for Jun. He received a unique watch that could open a hologram that leads to a chat program.


    Seeing how things were looking, it wasn''t impossible that he could have been killed and someone else would take his ce if he rejected the offer.


    All town managers, Matteo and Marvin, were shocked at the extra benefit of the faction hall.


    One could receive EXP even while sleeping!


    How wonderful was that!


    Jun gave them some time to give him ten names and he would whitelist them, so they could enter the faction hall without needing to ask for permission.


    Angono also finally received a Faction Hall while Cardona had none. It was inevitable since there is not enough gold. In the whole of ck Haven territory, only two dungeons produce gold.


    Due to the petition for fair use, the three top factions had to give up the monopoly and only took one day of entry each. Although they agreed, it didn''te without certain conditions. The remaining four days would still remain almost the same. One day would be for the small factions while the rest of the days would be a free for all.


    Everyone settled with that to prevent further disputes. They wouldn''t have to actually do this if the dungeons at Taytay didn''t turn into wild ones after the portal got destroyed.


    Also, ording to Marvin, monsters that appear on the red portal started bing slightly stronger. Even the regr carriers have tougher bodies than usual.


    It seems like other areas weren''t doing as fine as them.


    The world was vast and life would sometimes depend on luck.


    Jun helped with clearing Taytay of its carriers.


    To everyone''s surprise, survivors wereing back to their houses trying their lucks out. It must be emphasized that most of the residents of this town were evacuated into the stronghold, then transferred to Antipolo city. It seems like a small percentage of people were sentimental and couldn''t live the past behind.


    Taytay''s wild dungeon was a Living Forest. A small area was transformed into an enchanted forest and had tree people wandering inside. The tree people''s skin was rough tree barks and they turn into wooden logs after death.


    While clearing the town, he couldn''t help but remember his mother. It''s been only a week and yet he couldn''t help but get worried every time he gets reminded of it.


    The National Police sessfully made contact with the stronghold. Thanks to crucial information that he hasn''t shared, the military was forced to escort them to Antipolo City.


    It wasn''t that Paolo Cas was making it hard for the military. He just preferred talking to a government official rather than the military since he knew that the final decision would stilly in their hands.


    After getting on a meeting with top officials, every police officer at the Binangonan branch would be granted citizenship and housingpounds if they decided to move in, together with remuneration money to start a new life and settle down.


    He gave them the summary and the basic research of ck Haven. In return, he was given a promotion and a new home, yet he wasn''t happy.


    Nor his colleagues that came with him.


    After giving the useful pieces of informations; portal repair, dungeons, and wild dungeons, everyone felt a sense of emptiness inside them.


    Some even felt regret for what they did.


    With the information given by the National Police, the hunts and scavenging runs became swifter. The survivors at the city received more jobs to hunt wild dungeons from nearby towns, while the army seized control of the stable dungeons in the city.


    The government officials and the military were already nning on crediting money to people since they were running low on cash. Although the money still circted in town, most of the people saved it for when they really needed it.


    After learning a small town was using fake money as a new standard, they pushed forward and made credit and gold as n alternative currency.

 Chapter 272: Training Soldiers - New Shield

    Chapter 272: Training Soldiers - New Shield


    Stability.


    A stable life.


    Normally, an individual could easily achieve stability once getting a regr job. It doesn''t matter whether the job had a high paying sry or a high position.


    Once someone had a regr job, they could be stable.


    In the apocalypse, bing stable means having enough strength to live day by day.


    To feed yourself, to fight for resources.


    If you can''t, there''s a high chance that you''ll die.


    After the basic checks on the newly recruited army, King brought them to the very front lines.


    Teresa and Baras, the towns northern and eastern to Morong, respectively. The First Army had 149 recruits and would be trained daily until they''re used to fighting in groups. The army''s main goal was to be able to deal with Evolved Carriers without receiving any casualties.


    Jun overruled the decision to send the disqualified recruits to the Scavenger unit and ced them as reserve army soldiers instead. They would still continue to train and would receive remuneration from ck Haven, but with no benefits and only half the regr sry.


    As the First Army attempted to clear Teresa, they were able to meet an increasing number of survivors scavenging for loot.


    Everyone knew that the scavengers from ck Haven hasn''t reached here and these scavengers are probably locals or belong to the Antipolo City up north.


    Teresa only had fresh regr carriers and mostly Rank 1 Evolved Carriers. The First Army was taught how to differentiate how many days the carrier has died depending on the clothes carriers wear.


    A worn dirty carrier was easily recognizable against a newly killed survivor. Even if only a day passed, their clothes tend to remain softer than blood-drenched clothes of the older carriers.


    The First Army was faring well against Rank 1 Evolved Carriers. Attackers and Defenders were assigned based on their skill.


    A person who can block a Rank 1 Destriyer''s punch face to face would mean a lot and naturally would be ced as a Tank.


    People who had piercing or cutting rted skills would be frontline attackers and had to remain alert and on standby to make sure that the Tank''s skill would be put to good use.


    Unlike toggle skills, most skills thatpletely negate an attack had an averagely long cooldown.


    Individuals who had supporting skills were taught how to use bows for further attacking ability.


    For example, a teacher who had the silence skill could help keep the Destroyer quiet, making sure that they could pick lone Evolved Carriers on their own. If it can''t shout or roar, the Tanks don''t need to worry about the ringing on their ears while fighting.


    There''s also a unique support skill by an unemployed NEET. He had the skill called Disrupt, which helps confuse the target by jolting them for a second.


    Along the way, the First Army was able to save a few groups of scavengers. They were thanked and appreciated but not rewarded.


    Not that they wanted to in the first ce.


    Most of the scavengers were from Antipolo while the few unrted ones were from secluded barrios that managed to survive by themselves.


    Baras was of the same poption size andnd border.


    Unfortunately, since not many people have traveled from town to town, the whole town was still popted by carriers, and not just regr carriers, but Evolved Carriers.


    The First Army had to slowly push forward and had to retreat several times to the outskirts due to the enemy numbers. Though the town residents fought back due to evidence all over the ce, one could assume of the grim end that the town couldn''t escape.


    King had to make a decision. He either has to go back and request for help or continue with the slow progress.


    Since they were here to train, he was inclined to continue. They just have to be careful with fighting the enemies and everything should be fine.


    "We''ll take a short rest to n things out. Team Leaders,e over for a meeting."


    One hundred fifty people blocked the road that led to Baras. No carriers could sneak out unless they were invisible.


    King gathered the team leaders for brainstorming. This was the temporary team leader that had high contribution and has good prospects with retaining the title.


    There were six people that came forward and met with him, two from each role.


    For the tank team leaders, one was a bodyguard while the other was a club bouncer. The attack team leader had a barber and a chef. Last but not the least, the support team leaders, a teacher, and a NEET.


    Everyone worked in harmony since previous jobs don''t really matter anymore after leveling up.


    King exined his n to continue forward but slowly and safely. This was still training and although getting the first-hand experience in clearing towns was a good experience, dying would be bad.


    After the break, they continued their training for the next few days.


    At ck Haven...


    Old John sighed in relief after dealing with the shoulder guards Jun gave him. He finally seeded crafting the naturally formed shoulder guard from a Rank 3 Destroyer into a long-pointed shield that lengths at least one meter. The shield had a round-top and a pointed bottom. He named it Fantasy Shield.


    Anyone who uses this shield couldpletely defend his body from knees to shoulders easily.


    At first, he was surprised when he received the item from Evo, saying that Jun found it for him and requested the material to be made into a shield.


    For the past few weeks, he couldn''t work on it due to his energy not being able to pierce it, but after leveling up and alotting points on power and wits, he was finally able to pierce it.


    At the same time, he gained a level after working on the two shields.


    Old John quickly sent the two Rank 3 Fantasy Shield to Jun and started working on the remaining armbones and legbones. For a Rank 3 Destroyer that had a height of four meters, the arm and leg bones easily reached one meter, very suitable for making pole weapons.


    But he won''t do that.


    This material was very rare at the moment and he wanted to experiment.


    Since Jun didn''t request anything in particr for these bones, he might as well give it to others. From the main attack group, Adrian and She had outdated and inferior weapons, so he would like to gift them something that could help them.


    At the thrid floor of the guild hall, more apprentice had applied. Most of them doesn''t were even fine if they weren''t taught personally by the master, but as long as they could watch him work, they were alright with it.


    They knew that the Master wasn''t able to work with that strange ck material for a long time and were surprised to see him finish it.


    After seeing such a scene, they worked harder thinking that their sharp energy profeciency weren''t good enough to pierce and carve on that kind of material.


    Cardona, Wild Fishpond Dungeon.


    The haul was good and the rays of the setting sun covered the surface of the water. It was a tiring long day and yet everyone had smiles hanging on their faces.


    The food supply was bing stable for the four towns under ck Haven.


    A military camp was setup on the uptown district, close to the fishport and warehouse. It provided a sense of security for the people who worked and returned to this town.


    The baker who didn''t move from his house became a local celebrity and continued producing bread from his remaining stocks of flour.


    At the military camp, the reserved soldiers who just returned after patrolling were headed back to their lodgings when they heard panicked shoutsing from the outside.


    On the other side of the bridge, a man was running at full speed towards the uptown district.


    "Pleasee and take a look! There are people who came out of the red portal!"


    Not everyone was privy to a lot of information, however, even if that does happen, why would the man be so panicked about it?


    One of the reserved soldier stepped forward and calmed the man down.


    "Are you sure that they are people and not carriers?"


    "Yes!"


    "Where are they? Did you not talk to them? Are they from other towns? What if they''re troublemakers! Did you leave them on their own?!"


    "About that... I''m sure that they''re human, but they''re severely injured. There are a few people watching over them, and they passed out after taking a few steps from the red portal."


    "Thank you for immediately reporting this. Everyone, as the reserve soldiers for the First Army, we must keep the town safe. A small group would remain here to watch over the fish port while a small group woulde with me. Let''s go!"


    From the sixty reserved soldiers, thirty people joined the response group while thirty people remained to defend.

 Chapter 273: Wounded Strangers from the Wild Portal

    Chapter 273: Wounded Strangers from the Wild Portal


    The military camp at Cardona became lively due to the arrival of two wounded strangers. Both were men in their twenties and only has slight difference in age.


    The younger one had sharp facial features as if he was a short-tempered individual. He had short hair rich in volume, tied on the midsection like bundled reeds, that reached up to his shoulders.


    The older man had long flowing hair that reached his waist. If it weren''t for the overflowing masucilinitying off from his body, he could be mistaken as a girl due to his calm-innocent appearance.


    Both of them were unconscious, lying down on the town za. They wore ck and white kimono soaked with blood from the cuts and bites all over the limbs. Some dried blood didn''t even belong to them.


    Based on their facial appearance and the way they dressed, these two appear like they were somemoners from the medieval times.


    As the town manager, Luke Baslot was forced to deal with the matter. There was no one who could make decisions on the military camp since they were all reserve soldiers and in no right position to interfere.


    Luke decided to help the two strangers but kept them under surveince at all times. He also informed Gilbert about it since he was the only person he could really ask for help at the moment.


    Instead of hurrying to get medicine and treat the two, Gilbert ordered the reserve soldiers to bring their bodies towards the river.


    From then on, people witnessed the powers that humans could achieve.


    With a sway of his arms, a small tide of water was forced to the riverbank and enveloped the wounded bodies. Together with additional energy and intent, he was able to relieve the pain and give a slight recovery to the two strangers.


    Although he knew that it would work, Gilbert was still surprised when it actually happened. ck Haven''s research was avable exclusively to trustworthy people. As the head of the town that takes care of the Tree of Life, old and new discoveries were avable to him.


    Most of the skills originate from something, then branches out to do another thing. One could also learn a different variety of skills and the only requirement would be one''s intention.


    With water''s healing nature, Gilbert tried and seeded.


    Afterward, the unconscious youngsters were brought to the military camp to be watched.


    Gilbert told Luke to inform Evo about the event and everyone went back to their posts.


    The arrival of random people through the red portals raised awareness of possible unfortunate events that could happen and future security breaches.


    With the event as a reminder, Evo was able to convince Jun to recruit more soldiers to defend their towns.


    Not everyone is interested to die and work as a soldier.


    Unless one has something to protect or you have high enough benefits for people to consider it.


    Jun already has three towns under him, four if the newly repopted Cardona would be considered. Angono and Morong were the two towns he had the highest control with, while Cardona and Binangonan had small groups marking their bases.


    With around seven thousand people in total, he had a good reputation over six thousand of them. Recruiting would be much easier if he raised the sry since people would be willing to take the risk.


    And he nned to do it.


    Raising the soldier''s sries, more benefits; insurance and the like.


    In the first ce, he doesn''t need to worry about running out of money.


    Worst case scenario, intion could happen and he just needs to increase the price of essential things. No one could really argue since he had control over weapon and food productions for the entire region.


    But there were things that must be announced first.


    When passing by Angono to create an outpost for Taytay, Jun met with Marvin and was given a piece of great news.


    The newws were finally finished.


    Rene Gcia produced a set ofws that also acts as a contract.


    There were two sets ofws.


    For the civilians and for the army.


    Rene Galicia''s newlyposedws were of the same nature as the old government''sws. His version just heavily emphasizes the citizenship of an individual.


    In general, the new proposedws revolve around several things.


    The tax collected from the people, the protection offered, rewards and punishment dished out to the people.


    They were practically ripped off from the old government and Jun likes it. These were the corews, and they were quite simple. Due to its simplistic design, anyone could understand them after roughly reading them.


    Also, thanks to its simplistic design, it could be easily amended and anything could be added in the future!


    ck Haven citizens would be protected at all costs from all kinds of mutated monsters. However, they would be taxed for a small percentage of their monthly earnings.


    They were charged monthly because they can die at any time.


    For paying taxes monthly, they would be protected from all threats.


    Anyone who caught causing trouble would be imprisoned or killed depending on the final decision of the military court. While those who worked well and serve with all their hearts could be promoted to exemry positions.


    Everyone would be given a copy of thews and would have to sign their names on it. This would force them to abide by thews that acted as hidden contracts.


    As a security measure, Jun decided to ban anyone who doesn''t sign the contractws from using all the facilities of ck Haven. The stat buffs, the mission panel, auction house, and the CP ount cards.


    Not signing the contractws meant that they don''t want to be citizens of ck Haven, so why should they be granted ess to all of ck Haven facilities, right?


    After his encounter with Rene, Jun realized that he had a lot of things needed to set up. The first was the military court. The neww already mentioned it before he even established it.


    That''s fine though.


    Since the ck Haven army structure was already decided, he could just select the top Directors as members of the military court.


    While pondering about things, he also gained an inspiration about military ranks. With the current setup, people would have the same ranks and could easily reach the top ranks after some promotions.


    That''s why Jun decided to create ten tiers for every rank.


    Everyone would start from the lowest rank after passing their training period. Reserve Soldiers could also be considered as having the Trainee Rank.


    After sessfully passing the training period, they would be promoted to Tier 1 Rank & File. Whereas after reaching Tier 10, they could wait for further promotion, which would bring them to the next rank, Team Leader. If they worked hard and sessfully climbed thedder from Tier 1 to Tier 10, they would be taken for evaluation to be Managers.


    As for the Director position, Jun needs to see whether he could trust a person or not before making a decision. They also need to have some sort of understanding between each since Directors work directly under him.


    Jun informed Evo about the "Oath-taking" ceremony and the military recruitment ns he had in mind.


    Although not peaceful, Evo still agreed with Jun. Besides, having strict control over their citizens would be better than having to regretter when people got used to the easy life and cause rebellions.


    The outpost at Taytay was chosen to be the Club Man East Resort. They were near the red portal and at equal distance with the cemetery and wild dungeon. If they want to continue making sure that the town stays safe, then they must guard these points of interest.


    There were increased sightings of armed military officers while establishing an area of control in Taytay. However, no crossfire happened and both groups left each other alone.


    Time progressed as usual and night came.


    The soldiers in training returned back to the military camp at Cardona and found out about the captives.


    As the Director in charge of the training camp. King''s first action was to visit their guests.


    The two injured strangers have already awoken before the night came. Unfortunately, not a single person could understand them since the two were speaking a differentnguage.


    Luke ignored the problem and let the military camp take care of it. Dealing with strangersing out of red portals wasn''t mentioned in his job description.


    With bits and pieces of interaction; through drawings, the reserve soldiers were able to learn some things about the strangers.


    Even if one doesn''t know how to speak anothernguage, drawing was another universalmunication tool regrly underestimated.


    King observed the drawings on the bunch of papers given to him.


    From his observation, the two men were rtives; most likely brothers. Their city was overrun by mutated monsters and ghostly spirits. Afterward, they fought their way to get out of the city but were forced to escape by jumping into the red portal.

 Chapter 274: Increased Weapon Production

    Chapter 274: Increased Weapon Production


    To build amunity, one must gather a number of like-minded individuals to start themunity. Next on the list would be a stable source of food. Then, trade follows.


    The more than seven thousand survivors residing in towns managed by ck Haven finally had their fixed roles. They have their own roles that help support ck Haven. Even if one was on an opposing faction, just using and buying anything will cause the cycle ofmerce to further solidify themunity''s foundation.


    One would do their job, get rewarded, then buy what they need. Afterward, the cycle would be repeated and the economy would flourish.


    After severalmunity trades and epts each other, society would be born.


    Community has its own physical existence but society exists only in the minds of individuals who constitute it.


    Farmers till thend, while fishermen catch fish. Fighters hunt enemies to keep everyone safe. Those who know no livelihood skill studies to learn them, so as to not get left behind.


    Everyone had their own roles and it makes living every day meaningful.


    On the third floor of the Guild Hall, the apprentice cksmiths were mechanically moving as one. From the initial six apprentices, they have more than quadrupled and now totaled twenty-five.


    Old John had to ept more apprentices due to the number of weapons Jun requested. Thankfully, most of the survivors from the Scavenger unit had basic energy control, and teaching them basic bone carving became easier.


    Ten survivors were drafted from the Scavenger unit, while an additional nine came from the outside factions.


    The Frontier and the National Police both sent three people while the Alliance, an organization formed by small factions that grouped together to oppose the three powers, was also allowed three apprentice slots, but had to quarrel who to send.


    The six initial apprentices have now be craftsmen. All six of them were able to learn all the basics of crafting and only needs to develop their cksmithing skills to be a full-fledged cksmith.


    The six craftsmen would watch Old John process metals every day and would put into heart what they witnessed. On their training time, they would craft basic weapons, but most of them were still a bit inferior from the items personally made by Old John.


    cksmithing wasn''t all about shoving items to the smelter, shaping them on a mold, then cooling them to get the final product. One still needs to learn of handling techniques and vast experience regarding timing and instinctive productions.


    Jun and Evo emphasized the need for weapons in theing days.


    First of all, the carriers appearing from the wild portals were slowly bing tougher. Even though not intended, people tend to underestimate enemies after they got used to their patterns. If they were careless, they could die when a horde arrives and they were unprepared.


    Also, carriers aren''t the only enemies in the world. There are malicious people who tried to intentionally destroy tamed portals to make everyone suffer. These people were caught and were never seen again.


    Wild mutated animals roaming around also became a problem. They would cause trouble when they get hungry and has enough strength to fight a small armed group, depending on the situation.


    Highly corrupted animals be stronger the more corrupted they get. However, there are instances that wild mutated animals could lose sanity and attack anyone on sight due to corruption.


    Mutated animals were corrupted by an unknown infection. It could also be said that carriers were corrupted by the same disease. The "corrupted" information came from Jennie, and was submitted for reward money and to help the R&D Department of ck Haven.


    The R&D Department of ck Haven solely consists of Evo. He gets all the information through the feedbacks and missions he set up, to gain information and experiment.


    The First Army and every portal volunteer would be given free weapons and armors to guard the respective wild portals. Even the tamed portals need to be guarded since a group of random people were trying to destroy the tamed portals in Binangonan and Morong.


    Currently, the new apprentices had an average crafting time of ten minutes per bone swords and bone spears. They might improve over time, but they were forced to craft stably at the moment. Any sudden loss in focus while carving and shaving bone materials might destroy the weapon, so rushing isn''t tolerated and might cause revocation of apprenticeship.


    At this rate, twenty-five people crafting basic bone weapons can produce one hundred fifty items per hour. Unfortunately, there are tool and weapon varieties, so they have to focus on one type; weapons.


    Four apprentices who had the highest energy control was chosen to craft bone swords together with the six official craftsmen.


    Bone swords require precise energy control since they need to carve sharp edges while making sure that the sword isn''t to thin. The handguard and handles weren''t that important and as long as one could design a proper handle, it should be fine.


    Ten people who had above-average energy control were chosen to craft throwable spears. Even though it requires less discipline and focus, the apprentice still needs to focus on carving the spearhead, making sure the bone spears tips weren''t too dull or too thin.


    idents can happen to both two groups of apprentices and that''s why the remaining five people were assigned to restorative duty.


    The third group only had basic energy control and could barely produce the sharpser energy required for shaping bone materials.


    As apprentices on restorative duty, their jobs were to make items depending on the shape and size of the defective bone materials. Anything above six inches would be made into daggers, a de with a handle, while six inches and below would be carved into throwing knives.


    This way, everyone would be useful and they would learn energy control while raising their proficiency if they ever decided to learn the skill.


    Though mishaps couldn''t be avoided, everyone is working hard to prevent as many as possible. In the next few days, these groups of hardworking people would be able to arm half of the fighting sses in the ck Haven territory.


    Jun closed the chat hologram after reading all the updates from Evo. "That''s interesting."


    "What''s interesting?" Adrian who was struggling to eat his burnt fried egg as dinner asked in confusion. The fried egg appeared like charcoal and was personally made by She.


    She likes baking. While making dinner, she decided to show her feminine side tp Adrian and baked him some cookies. Unfortunately, she forgot about the fried egg and resulted in the current situation.


    She seated on the other side of the table gazed lovingly at Adrian. The baked cookies appear pleasing and thanks to that he was able to force a smile on his face.


    Jun ignored the scenario on the dining table and drank a ss of water. They just returned back at the Taytay Outpost and were having dinner.


    Jun answered Adrian''s question. "Apparently, two samurais appeared at Cardona. Unfortunately, we can''t speak to them unless we find someone who can speak Japanese. Ughh~I''m so tired!" he stretched his arms and yawned, before remembering something and looking to Adrian. "You have stealth, right? Why don''t you go to them and ask for ninja training?"


    "Didn''t you just say they were samurais?" She replied in confusion. "How would they even know about ninja-things..."


    "Well... Nevermind then. I still think it''s better to learn a few things from trained individuals. If they were samurais, then they must have trained for a long time." Jun said casually without thinking.


    Adrian pondered over the idea. He''s already proficient with firearms and swords and daggers were something he''s taken a liking for.


    "I guess there''s no harm in learning new things. It would be a hassle asking them to teach us, but let''s hope they understand gestures."


    After seeing Adrian making a decision on his own, She turned to Jun and eyed him with dissatisfaction. She felt like her cute little puppy was growing up and bing a dog.


    Even before the apocalypse, women tend to desire more time from their partners. They want to be their man''s focal point.


    Their universe.


    She got up and retrieve the cookies from Adrian''s side and run away.


    "Why are you taking them? Give them back." Adrian called. "Where are you going?"


    "To the pool! Let''s rx for a bit. Everyone''s been too tense these past few days."


    "Haa... sometimes, I don''t understand what''s running through her mind."


    "Not used to that yet? Time wille and you''ll stop trying my friend. It''lle to a point that you''ll just stop thinking and ept it as it is."


    Adrian listened to Jun''s advice, then looked down at the unfinished charcoal egg. He stabbed it with a fork then swallowed it whole; chewed a few times, then summoned a water bottle as if grasping for life.


    He forcefully gulped the dry and rough food then started drinking water.


    There was too much salt!

 Chapter 275: The Wild Dungeons Strange Behavior

    Chapter 275: The Wild Dungeon''s Strange Behavior


    The next day...


    Jun brought his trusted aids, Adrian, She, and Edward to help with the troubling poption of bats in the Angono wild dungeon. The Elite unit was left to guard the Taytay Outpost. Though ck Haven hasn''t built a faction hall at the ce, it was still an important point of interest and they couldn''t live it empty.


    The Angono wild dungeon was odd since it creates bat monsters even though there wasn''t anyone nearby. This problem forced Marvin to set up clearing teams twice a day to make sure that everyone can sleep peacefully at night.


    Although the town''s residents actively cleared the wild dungeon, they could still not reach a stable bat poption. It was as if there''s a gigantic mother bat tied at the dungeon ceiling producing unlimited supplies of bats.


    The wild dungeon became problematic enough that Marvin had to request help from Jun.


    The group was weed warmly. Most of the residents had good faith in Jun and feels thankful for being able to live a stable life. The tons of fish provided daily by Marvin''s faction hall was the game changer and the deal sealer. Even if one still wants to find faults with Jun, they might have to look whether they could feed everyone here.


    The Castro family who rose into prestige due to their animal farms felt dejected since their worth was lowered. However, Jun reassured them that ck Haven would be fair to them and would buy their porks and chickens.


    The Montano family renowned for their metalworking profited by selling their gears to ck Haven. The unique and apocalyptic design of their weapons intrigue a number of people and became a hot-seller for some time in the Guild Hall.


    Unfortunately, the weapons only work perfectly for regr carriers, while bing weakened when fighting Evolved Carriers. If one was not skilled enough, the Evolved Carriers could easily destroy the welded weapons by striking them.


    Marvin stepped forward and greeted Jun. "I''m a bit ashamed of having to call you like this, Boss. I know that this could be considered a small matter, but the wild dungeon has turned even stranger. Wild bats starteding out even in the morning. Some of the residents were caught unaware and until now they remain unconscious."


    Jun waved his hand and smiled. "Don''t fret too much about it. Unexpected things can happen anytime and knowing when to call for help is a good action. Prepare a small gathering and invite all the influential families for some lunch. We''ll directly head over at the site ande back after killing the dungeon boss."


    Of course, Jun didn''t know whether there was really a dungeon boss. He just said it to appear more reliable.


    "Yes! I''ll have Mia Logro prepare the dishes. He''s been waiting for a time to show his thanks for saving his life." Marvin shyly scratched the back of his head.


    He wouldn''t have been reminded of the chef''s name if it weren''t for his daily pestering asking when would be Jun''s next visit, wanting to serve a delicious feast for his life''s savior.


    "Great! We''ll be back before lunch."


    Jun bade farewell and rode Edward''s Fiery Dragon.


    With the announcement of Jun''s arrival and the chance of meeting him at the lunch gathering, the hopefuls and the ambitious families started to gather unique gifts that might attract Jun''s attention. If they were able to get on the leader''s good side, their futures would be considered well-off.


    The town immediately went alive as if fueled by a mysterious energy.


    Mia Logro was one of the people who became busy. He was able to reestablish his catering crew and they turned the Municipal Gymnasium into a decent reception venue.


    Ever since people learned that he was close to Jun, everyone started treating him amicably. Still, he preferred to work with his crew since they have a long trust built within them.


    They even hunt with each other to further their understandings.


    "I thought I would die that night, but you saved me. With your help, I was able to learn a lot of new things. Please let me serve you thiscking dishes of mine."


    After settling his emotions, Mia Logro pped his hands. "Everyone moved faster. Get more tables and chairs! Make sure that everything is presentable! A lot of people woulde, so make sure that everything''s working as intended."


    Mia Logro pointed left and right and assisted with the venue''s generalyout before running off to the kitchen. His battle was there, and it was a whole new kind of battle.


    All kinds of ingredients were ced on the kitchen table. Several people stood by the side, waiting for orders.


    Mia Logro was in charge of everything and his apprentices were here to watch and learn a few things if they were able to.


    He rxed his breathing and did some warm-up stretches before proceeding to work. A small wooden rack with a bunch of sheathed knives appeared. It was his weapon at the kitchen tablethe kitchen knives.


    He pulled one from its sheath and a slight glow appeared on the knife. Mia''s energy was flowing to the knife, making it several times sharper.


    Afterward, he started slicing the pork in front of him and gave orders to his apprentices. "Start boiling water for soup. Sterilize thedles and make sure they''re dry before we move to the next step."


    While working, he started giving small chores to his apprentices. He also exins what he was doing and why he was doing it. Therge pork was turned into satisfactory sizes and portions, depending on their use.


    Cooking isn''t there just to fill your stomach.


    It''s also an art.


    The Fiery Dragon took fifteen minutes to arrive at the wild dungeon site. A team was dispatched to guard the area, making sure people wouldn''t cause unnecessary bat hordes.


    The jeepney was blocked and stopped for inspection, however, when they realized that it was Jun''s group, the guards quickly bowed down and moved to the side.


    Everyone got off from the Fiery Dragon and scanned the area. The site was filled with underbrush and foliage. Mature trees could be seen everywhere.


    There were three points of interest; a shooting range, a storage warehouse, and the tunnel that leads to the petroglyphs.


    "Please forgive us. We didn''t know that Lord Jun and his crew would be arriving at this time." said an old man, wearing a worn working sleeve and ragged pants.


    "It''s fine. Don''t worry about it." Jun responded.


    The old man smiled and showed Jun the way forward. "My name is Dan. I''m the storage warehouse caretaker. These guys are friends from the shooting range. We''ve been paying close attention to the dungeon since we want to get back what was ours. To be honest, they''re just helping me since we''re long time friends."


    "Oh, you''ve been driven out from here once?"


    "Yeah, when the bats started flying out from the caves regrly, we were forced to move out. We like the peace and quiet here, and in the long run, we became dungeon watchers. We stay out here to watch over the area, so no one would mistakenly enter the dungeon."


    "So, are there any tips or information you can give us?"


    Dan pondered then said, "Two cauldrons of bats flew out earlier in the morning. One returned while the other hasn''t."


    Jun nodded his head. "Thank you. Please continue watching over the ce. We''ll go investigate and see what''s going on inside."


    "Alright, but please be mindful of where you step," Dan emphasized being extra careful while walking.


    "Mister Dan, is the ce slippery?" She asked.


    "Not really. But there are lots of bat poops everywhere. Unless you don''t care about dirtying your footwear, then you can walk anywhere you want."


    "Uhh... no please."


    She hurriedly ran forward and grabbed on Adrian''s arm.


    "I''m on scouting duty," Adrian said.


    "We should be fine. We''re still at the tunnel, it takes at least three minutes before we arrive at the dungeon."


    Jun and Edward led the way. The entrance to the tunnel was enough for four of them to walk side by side, but ording to the group''s current structure, they went by two''s.


    The tunnel was a man-made tunnel for easier ess to the petroglyph site. There was no lighting inside the tunnel, which made everyone use Enhanced Sight for better vision.


    And yet, they still couldn''t see anything except for the bright exit on the other side of the tunnel.

 Chapter 276: The Hollowed Room Inside the Cave

    Chapter 276: The Hollowed Room Inside the Cave


    The entranced had walls on both sides with a sign "National Museum" by the side of the tunnel, which had a small map of the trail that leads to the petroglyph. The tunnel was three meters tall and two meters wide. As for its distance, it could easily reach forty meters easily from the entrance to the exit.


    Jun used a shlight to illuminate the area, which shone onto several bats hanging at the middle of the tunnel. Whether they were initially sleeping or waiting in ambush, no one knows.


    The bats screeched and numerous ovepping pping of wings echoed inside the tunnel. Some flew to the entrance while the others to the exit.


    "Let''s go. Don''t forget to Reinforce your bodies. We can''t get bitten by these things. We don''t know what they''ve sunken their fangs into." Jun said while cautiously moving forward.


    "Brother Jun, I heard there are new interesting people in the fish port town. Are we going to visit them today?" Edward asked innocently.


    However, Jun knew what this subordinate of his really thinks and answered, "We don''t need to go, but you can go if you''re interested. After we finish investigating this dungeon, everyone can have some free time for themselves. I would have some things to settle for the next few days, and you guys can do what you want."


    Edward has been away from his girl for a few days since he had to stick with Jun during the establishment of the Taytay outpost. Although the two were able to chat, they were young and would of course miss each other, especially when one fights on the frontline while the other stays back at the town.


    "Then, what are we waiting for? Let''s speedrun through this!" Edward excitedly charged ahead enveloped by yellow energy covering his whole body.


    She''s eyes widened and a smile appeared on her face. She turned to Adrian hinting about a date that hasn''t happen for a long time.


    Sensing her gaze, Adrian responded honestly. "I''m nning to visit the Sword Instructors back at Cardona. I hope they could ept me and teach me a few things."


    She frowned, but Adrian didn''t see it due to the bad lighting inside the tunnel. She let go of Adrian''s arm and produced a spear and acted tough until she stepped on something soft.


    Bat poop.


    Fresh bat poop that formed anotheryer from the previousyer. Survivors who clear this dungeon twice a day also had to enter through this tunnel. It was natural for bat poop to get squashed when stepped on and create ayer like soil.


    "E!" She barely suppressed her urge to cling at Adrian and forced herself to move forward.


    The group easily reached the exit thanks to Edward''s enthusiasm. He formed a huge fly swatter with his energy and swiped left and right, killing all the wild bats that dared move towards them.


    Jun stashed the shlight and used Aura(Death) to sense his surrounding. Any wild bats that sneakily passed through Edward''s defense were killed by him. Adrian and She didn''t have to do anything but to follow behind them.


    They easily reached the exit and arrived at the path which leads to the actual site. It took them five minutes of walking through a wide dirt path, and could only stare at the endless underbrush by the side of the path.


    Upon arriving at the site, they immediately saw a building at the entrance of the site. It was a simple building that only had one floor and served as an admin building to regte the guests. It also serves as a resting area that sells food if one was in need of food.


    The ce was already looted and the only thing of interest was the basic introduction disyed outside. The site, which is considered a National Cultural Treasure is managed by the Natural Museum.


    It had a viewing deck that covers the whole petroglyph from start until the end.


    The group headed towards the viewing deck and got ambushed by wild bats hiding underneath.


    Screech! Screech!


    "They''re weak and annoying!" yelled She while performing a full spear swing, sending dozens of wild bats to their deaths. Her kill total was even higher than the three menbined since she had a weapon with extended reach.


    After dealing with the ambush, the group was finally able to appreciate the scenery above the viewing deck. A sign giving a short exnation about the petroglyphs was near the shallow rock formation.


    Due to theplexity and plurality of the drawings, it is suggested that the drawings on the rock were not only created by a single individual. It is widely believed that the figures drawn on the walls are for healing purposes as the site is an altar.


    Researchers have argued that the figures were medicinal and religious in function as they were made by ancestors to transfer the sickness of a child onto the limestone wall, thus, curing the child of their ailments.


    While they were appreciating the drawings at the rock formation, a new set of wild bats respawned and hung over the cavern entrance.


    "Let''s go. Let''s at least deal with the problem before cking off." Jun reminded everyone of the reason they were here.


    The wild dungeon has alsobined with the natural world, making the cavern produce strange tunnels that weren''t even supposed to be there. They should have asked for the cave map earlier.


    It didn''t take much time to find their way around since the cave system still connects with each other. However, wasted time was still time lost during the period.


    Wild bats were taken care of easily by the three men since She''s spear proved to be at a disadvantage when fighting at a closed space. The only time she could vent her frustration out was at the spacious cavern where numerous tunnels meet up.


    After spending almost half an hour clearing the whole cave system, the group felt that something was wrong. They already mapped the whole ce, but they didn''t encounter any type of boss monster.


    Restless, the group investigated harder and found out that there''s a hole on the ceiling of the central cavern. After using Detection, Jun could feel movement from above.


    "Now that we found where the problem might have originated from, how are we going to investigate it?" She asked frustratedly. She felt useless the whole time they explored the cave system. She wanted to contribute by killing everything hiding inside that hole.


    "We can''t use any of Evo''s thingy''s since they''re rather explosive, so I guess we just have to usedders," Jun replied.


    "Why do you havedders? How did you even store them in your storage?" Edward was extremely puzzled. Large items can''t be stored in their dimensional storage. It''s a hard truth that everyone already epted.


    "I don''t have one, but I can make one."


    Jun prepared a set of blueprints that he might need in the future anddders were one of them. He had instances where he could have easily escaped a horde of carriers if he was able to climb to the other side of the wall.


    Withdders, he could do a variety of things when scavenging or hunting. He could use thedder as an escape tool when cornered and get back to safety.


    He took the blueprint and set it up on the floor. The ghost-image of thedder attached to the hole in the ceiling and Jun started giving materials to it.


    After five units of wood, thedder was formed.


    Jun stepped away and stared at Edward.


    "What?" Edward looked around.


    Everyone was staring at him.


    "You guys... you guys can''t be thinking of what I''m thinking right?"


    Jun nodded, Adrian and She, followed.


    "No. No, no. No, no, no! No! I hate you guys."


    Edward unwillingly gathered energy and activated a skill. Three glows of energy orbs circled around him. It was his newly invented skill, Guardian Spirits.


    He invented it, so he named it himself. He wanted a skill that could protect him proactively and this was the result of his hard work.


    To be honest, he wanted to name it Calling of the Guardian Wisp Spirits, but it was too long too shout, and he could get injured before he could even activate it.


    Each orb can nullify an attack and uses one hundred energy each. Currently, he had around five hundred energy give and take some. He can''t focus all his energy into defense and only used three orbs at the moment.


    "If I die, make sure to destroy myputer and tell Jamie that I love her."


    Afterward, he climbed thedder and poked his head into the hole. He couldn''t see a thing, so he used energy to illuminate the area. Pure energy costs a lot of energy and if he had a choice, he preferred not to use it.


    Screams and howls echoed in the hollow room. The room was vast and wide allowing at least twenty people to stand inside with their arms stretchedfortably.


    Dozens of wild bats dropped from the ceiling and transformed into humans. They covered their eyes with their hands and started shrieking at Edward.

 Chapter 277: Mutual Destruction?

    Chapter 277: Mutual Destruction?


    "Graaah!"


    The vampire stopped caring and lunged at Edward''s energy illumination. For creatures like them who spent most of the day under no light, the bright light was too blinding.


    "Waah!"Edward squealed, then hurriedly jumped off thedder. His feetnded squarely on the ground, followed by a side roll to reduce impact. "I think I saw vampires up there!"


    Just as Edward finished speaking, wild bats flushed out from the hole above and transformed into pale-skinned humans.


    Unbeknownst to everyone, these people were the residents of a ughtered subdivision from Angono. They mutated into vampires after getting bitten by the origin vampire.


    The four of them were instantly outnumbered as more than fifteen bats transformed into vampires.


    Jun remained calm and examined the situation. Although they were surrounded, not a single one of them was weak. They could easily fight one on one any of these vampires, and they would still win. However, they don''t know what skills it had and whether they would be able to injure them.


    "Let''s y it safe, but kill them when an opportunity arises. Edward, don''t waste energy on defense; focus on killing." Jun saw what Edward could do thest time they went for clearing operations.


    If Edward could learn to be more aggressive and properly utilize his energy use from attack and defense, a day woulde that he would be stronger than him.


    "Don''t waste ammunition. I don''t think the military would willingly trade them with me unless they''re desperate for something."


    Adrian and She don''t need any reminder from Jun. The two already have their own fighting style, unlike Edward, who was still undecided about whether to go attack or defense. Maybe he doesn''t even need to choose and just go with both.


    The fight started, and the vampires lunged at them simultaneously.


    As a form of habit, Edward cast a barrier on their blindspot to protect the others. Afterward, the energy ball on his palm elongated and became a spear that skewered a lunging vampire. He also applied the tips that he got from Old John and sharpened his energy before swiping it all over the ce.


    It was like aser show, but flesh and blood were all over the ce. Two vampires died while the fast ones turned into wild bats and hovered away where the energy spear could reach them.


    At a nce, it could be judged that it was a good attack; however, anyone could see from Edward''s rough breathing that he overexerted himself.


    He already used a lot of energy while scouting the hollow room, and now he used most of his remaining energy to give burst damage. Fortunately, he still had some energy fruits, and it restored his depleted energy.


    For Edward, it was worth it being able to secure a safe distance amidst a dangerous situation. Nevertheless, if he could just have thought more clearly and used minimal energy on every move he made, he wouldn''t have to rely on the consumable fruit.


    Adrian and She were doing a great job fighting multiple vampires at the same time.


    Adrian quickly moves around the enemies and could slightly predict their attack patterns. The vampires acted like they were never on the same side and never cooperated. They would attack when they wanted and retreat while watching other vampires fight.


    As a scout and a rusher, Adrian still relies on critical hits that kill the enemies in one strike. Every attack would hit a vital area, and when there are times that he couldn''t immediately kill the enemy, he would cripple their movements first before dashing to another target.


    She remained through to her role in the group, a support spear-wielder. He remained at the center of the formation instead of moving around. Every time a vampire would pounce towards someone, she was ready to send them flying away. A woman with pure power was terrifying foe. The vampires looked like naughty kids that went out to y and got chased back to their rooms by the punishment stick.


    While the three were busy fighting, Jun was casually strangling two vampires on his hands. He was observing the flow of the battlefield with conservative eyes.


    A strange foreboding feeling drummed his heart as if he was missing something important.


    Then all of a sudden, he felt chillsing from above.


    Everyone felt the cold aura and prompted them to reset their battle while pushing their enemies back. Half of the vampires died during the fight.


    Jun slowly looked up to the ceiling since the chills were being sent from there. Cold sweat formed on his back as his eyes met with two gleaming white eyes. The eyes were the familiar eyes he saw from his mother back at Taytay when another spirit possessed her.


    The old vampire red at him while standing at the hollow room''s entrance. There was anger, annoyance, and disbelief hiding on his res.


    Jun immediately knew that it was the vampire leader from the way itposed itself. He also knows that the spirit inside the vampire''s body was someone he was close with.


    Ever since entering the wild dungeon, he could feel a familiar aura lingering throughout the cave system.


    He already had an answer in mind, and he just didn''t want to ept it.


    He red back at the pair of illuminated eyes and snapped the vampires'' necks before tossing them to the side.


    At the same time, wild bats respawned near them and hovered around the area. The vampires that acted dumb earlier, retreated, and grouped together while surrounding the four of them.


    When the wild bats flew near the vampires, they were seized and bitten to death. Wings pped together with the wild bats'' death wails, and the vampires continued eating their little brothers.


    A noticeable increase in vitality could be seen from their bodies after they fully consumed the wild bats. The open wounds the vampires received earlier were slow healed over time.


    Instead of worry, a sh of excitement twinkled on Jun''s eyes.


    "Hey, Yetu. Will you drop good loot after I kill you?"


    "Hahaha! A puny human dares to speak nonsense to me! You''re not even on the list of my priorities! There are more people much stronger than you out there!" The vampire leader clutched his face in shame, then suddenly waved his hand and struck a pose as if an Emporer giving a decree to his subordinates.


    Yetu''s voice was filled with annoyance and irritation, together with pride and confidence. "Go! Everyone, kill them all. Live nothing on their corpses. Take from them everything!"


    Several wild bats appeared behind the vampire leader and flocked towards Jun''s group. All of them transformed into vampires while in mid-air and charged madly with no care. Even the first batch of vampires joined the fray.


    "It''s useless," Jun muttered then produced Bumuth''s Warhammer.


    With a single step forward and a powerful swing embedded with Empower, coupled with the weapon''s innate skillDestruction Bash, everything in front of him was cleaved into half. Even the vampires behind the frontline received some impact and were blown away.


    Destruction Bash was a skill to destroy and stun anything it hits. The additional power from Jun and the Empower skill dealt tremendous cleaving damage to every vampire in front of him.


    Bodies flew in different directions as blood showered over Jun.


    "You should have leveled them up if you want to use them as minions. From the way you''re doing things, I think you''re an old corpse who likes to pretend that he''s still relevant. You don''t even dare fight me yourself! Be honest with me! You''re quite weak, right?" With a smile on his face, Jun mocked Yetu, who was residing inside the vampire leader''s body.


    The vampire leader''s faces turned serious. He red at Jun while grinding his teeth. "I gave you your strength! I gave you your abilities! You. Are. Weak!"


    The vampire leader jumped from the hollow room and descended towards Jun while pointing his palm at him. The flight wasn''t fast and even shrouded with the air of mysteriousness.


    For some reason, no one was able to react to the situation. The vampire leadernded in front of Jun and bit his neck.


    Afterward, Jun cked out and fell to the ground together with the vampire leader. The two of them were unconscious and showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.


    As if Time resumed, everyone was finally able to react.


    "Jun!" She, who was closest, shouted while running towards Jun. She immediately used all her healing skills, but nothing happened. Jun remained unconscious on her arms.


    Adrian nced back but didn''t dare stop and continued killing the remaining vampires. With She beside his Boss, he was sure that Jun would be safe.


    Edward, on the other hand, unleashed energy spikes all over the enemies. This skill costs a lot of energy per spike, and after using it twice, his energy level was already entering the danger zone for energy bacsh. The skill costs a lot due to the pushing power needed to send them flying and the forming of sharp energy projectiles

 Chapter 278: Inner Spiritual Realm

    Chapter 278: Inner Spiritual Realm


    Jun opened his eyes and yet he couldn''t see anything. He could feel his forehead sweating due to panic.


    "Am I dead?"


    He rxed his mind and cycled energy through his body.


    Breathe in, breathe out.


    So what was I doing before this?


    Right.


    I was fighting Yetu. That piece of sh"t. He jumped from the ceiling and did something to me. I don''t know if he was fast or I was just slow, but he appeared right in front of me, then...


    Am I really dead?


    He gasped and got scared of the thought.


    Due to fear, his survival instincts rampaged for a second. He started channeling, reinforcing, and gathering energy in his surrounding. At one point, he felt the shackles that bounded his body disappear.


    His eyes that could only see darkness finally saw light and his surroundings started to brighten. He looked around and to his surprise, found himself inside a familiar ce; his inner self.


    The void was still peaceful and the orb of life still shines brightly. The rune skills continued circling around the orb harmoniously on equal distances. However, he noticed something worrying about the orb.


    The usual small speck of ck orb was slowly getting bigger while taking more space from the white orb. It was as if the ck orb was getting nourished by leeching off the white orb.


    If there was one thing Jun knows off, it was that the white orb is something inside him. If he let the ck orb continue devouring the white orb, something bad would surely happen to him.


    Although he knew what to do. he doesn''t know how to do it...


    In the first ce, he was the white orb and just spirited out, so he could move around and get a different perspective.


    Should he go back to the white orb from where he came from?


    "I didn''t expect that you''ll break free from those shackles. This body is so weak that it could barely store a portion of my energy."


    Jun was startled and looked around the area. There was nothing except for the white orb, the ck orb that was enveloping a quarter of the white orb, and the rune skills he learned, circling the white orb.


    While struggling to search for the voice, he noticed a familiar in front of him. To be precise, the ck orb slowly consuming the white orb.


    "Yetu?"


    "It took some time to recognize me? I thought you hate me to the bone. Hahaha!"


    There were no movements, no influx of energy or aura. Jun could just hear the voiceing from the ck orb in front of him.


    "How did you get in here?" Jun asked in confusion.


    As far as he knows, this void space was his inner self. How could other people enter this ce?


    "Why are you asking stupid questions? I guess that''s what humans do. You could have just enjoyed your new life. You know, just like everyone else. Happily toiling themselves to survive. You could have been someone strong in this world, but you just have to be curious and poke around. Unfortunately, you have to die now. Such a waste of a good vessel."


    Even though Yetu had no face, Jun could see the expression he was probably making. A condescending face, mocking him for going against the flow. He thinks that for disobeying and questioning him, it justifies giving a proper punishment.


    It was like when parents punish their children when they did something wrong.


    Junughed. "You can''t kill me, isn''t that right? At least directly, that is. If you want to kill me, you have to use indirect methods like possessing something or by doing that. By the way, if you don''t, would you like to exin what you''re doing?" he asked, then followed with sarcasm. "I''m sure you don''t mind since you''re someone really strong."


    Yetu scoffed and shook his head. However, he currently doesn''t have a head, so Jun couldn''t see it. "Humans have really progressed in terms of slyness, however, they''re still petty tricks that can only fool those who are foolish. But since this is taking too much time, let me entertain your stupidity."


    "This ce is your spiritual realm. A ce where your spirit resides, together with your soul. Your spirit is weak that''s why this ce is easy to invade, your soul is weak that''s why it''s getting devoured. No matter what you do, you can''t change anything. You''re destined to die here!" Yetu said.


    "Is that all? I figured up to that much already, but I appreciate your confirmation." Jun breathed deeply, then smiled. "That makes everything convenient then."


    Jun looked around and found two small cracks in the void above him. If he takes a guess as to what they were, they should be the two fangs that sunk into his neck when the vampire leader bit him.


    "This is my spiritual realm, right? So I should be able to do this much."


    While raising his hand and pointing at the cracks in the void, he channeled energy on his hands wanting to repair the holes.


    And of course, it didn''t work.


    "What are you trying to do?" Yetu asked in puzzlement. If the ck orb had a face, it would surely be frowning. However, it doesn''t have one, so Jun could only hear the bewilderment in his voice.


    Jun exined. "I''m trying to seal the cracks, so you won''t be able to escape here. Do you know why there are people who be leaders? It''s because they think a lot than needed and they read between the lines. I''ve thought a lot of things while chatting with you and I found a way to kill you."


    "Ohh," Yetu replied in amusement. "Would you be kind as to tell me of this n? I''m quite interested in how you think you can kill me! Hahaha!"


    "I can do that if you tell me how to repair that crack."


    "So your n involves fixing those holes? Well, I can''t tell you directly how, but energy isn''t going to work for you. Energy is just a source. You need something else when controlling things inside here."


    So I need something else? If it isn''t energy, then...


    I got it!


    A smile formed on Jun''s face, followed by an invisible force forming around him. Red specks of light gathered and formed an outline of his body.


    Spiritual energy!


    Maybe he should be thankful for attending Sunday masses when he was a child? At least he had some spiritual energy inside him!


    "How!? I didn''t teach you anything!" Yetu shouted.


    "I''m not stupid." Jun smirked, "But your hints helped me, so I must thank you. As a gift, let me tell you about my n while foiling your n."


    Jun started repairing the broken void by feeding it spiritual energy. However, the recovery speed was slower than he thought.


    "We are currently inside my spiritual realm, so that means I probably have control over anything spiritual here. Instead of killing my spirit after invading my spiritual realm, you chose to shackle me and "corrupt" my soul. That proves that you can''t do anything to my spirit, but my soul was of a different matter.


    "However, I woke up and my soul resisted your invasion, which is why you''re trying to demoralize me by saying a bunch of things. Currently, we''re at a stalemate. You can''t touch me, and you can''t corrupt my soul."


    "I know that I can''t beat you with my current strength, however, if I repair the void cracks, then I can trap you here with me. You''re not omniscient Yetu. You can''t be everywhere. That''s already a proven fact since you have to deal with thousands of strong people in this world on your own."


    "As long as I''m able to fix the broken void, my spiritual realm can serve as your prison. In a sense, I might not be truly killing you, however, by keeping you here, no one from the outside would have to deal with your bullsh*t"


    Yetu, "..."


    "Why are you so quiet now? Cat got your tongue?" Jun mocked continuing to pour spiritual energy into the holes.


    After a few seconds of eerie silence, Yetu sniggered, thenughed maniacally. "You wouldn''t do it! You''ll be trapped here with me! You will die!"


    "Isn''t that a good thing for here? I''m actually not dead yet? That figures since we''re inside my spiritual realm. Even then, that doesn''t sound so bad? At least, you won''t get to possess other people when we''re stuck together."


    "Arrgh! This is stupid! I''ll make sure to kill you next time!" Yetu shouted and a shadow flickered out from the ck orb and dashed out of the holes in the void.


    The ck orb that was continuously expanding earlier became lifeless. It took almost half of the white orb before slowly turning stationary.


    The broken void above his spiritual realm got fixed and a jolt of warm energy entered his senses. It was She''s healing skills taking effect.


    Jun looked around and spread his spiritual energy to make sure that Yetu wasn''t inside his spiritual realm anymore before heading back outside to the material world.


    Back at the dungeon...


    Jun dropped down together with the vampire leader.


    Adrian and Edward rushed to ughter the enemies while She continued defending while trying to heal Jun.


    After killing all the enemies. Adrian hurriedly picked Jun up and ran towards the exit. Edward led the way striking wild bats with his energy bat swatter.


    By the time they reached the cave''s exit, Adrian could feel movementsing from Jun.


    "He''s awake!" he shouted.

 Chapter 279: A Treasure Presents Itself Unwillingly

    Chapter 279: A Treasure Presents Itself Unwillingly


    "Are you okay?" Adrian asked, followed by She and Edward''s inquiries. "Is he okay?"


    At the same moment that they got out of the cave, wild bats respawned and rushed at them. He set Jun on the viewing tform''s resting area before running to help Edward. While passing by, he reminded She to tend to Jun. "Watch over Boss Jun for a few seconds. I think he''s already regained consciousness and would wake up in a bit.."


    "Okay!" She nodded and stayed beside Jun with a spear on her hand. Both healing skills were still in cooldown; however, due to the long duration of Cure, the skill was able to help Jun gradually recover his energy.


    With their current levels, it was guaranteed that they would never get harmed inside wild dungeons. Even tamed dungeons served no difficulty at the moment. As long as one learns of the mob''s attack pattern, together with adequate armor and weapons, clearing dungeons would be a breeze.


    Jun felt lightheaded. Exhaustion conquered his body. He had the feeling of being submerged underwater, and yet it was like he was floating in the air, soaring towards the sky.


    He felt high as if he went back to using something not good. His body was engulfed in a burning sensation that he can''t escape. No matter whether he tried to twist his body or breathed air repeatedly, the immtion continued to increase.


    A soft restrained groan was released from his mouth. She who heard him groan turned in worry and hurriedly tended to Jun. She ced her hand on his forehead.


    "She''s burning up! Is he sick? But how?" She eximed in shock, panic clouding her ability to think clearly.


    Edward shouted while fighting the wild bats. "He got bitten earlier by the vampire leader, right? One bite causes sickness. Normally, we could ignore single bites since our resistance to regr sickness have improved. However, considering that it was the vampire leader, it must have done something to Brother Jun. That must be it. It''s the only thing that I could consider to be the answer."


    Adrian nodded and agreed with Edward''s reasoning, then chipped in his contribution. "Help Boss Jun to circte his energy. That vampire leader should have potent infection or disease that got transferred after biting Boss Jun."


    After receiving suggestions from the two, She focused on gathering her energy and shifting it to Jun. She slowly guided Jun with the basic cirction pattern that everyone has been using for a long time.


    Breathe from the nose and cycle through the diaphragm before exiting back to the nose. This was the most basic breathing technique that could increase stability and blood flow. Typically, it would three short inhales with one long exhale, but Jun couldn''t do it right now, and only breathed regrly.


    Inhale. Exhale.


    She''s palm radiating energy helped Jun breathe calmly like how a menthol ointment can rx one''s sore throat and ease the individual''s breathing.


    Most skills originate from basic ideas and further branch out toplex ideas depending on need. Everything was made for a purpose, just like how inventions were invented because it was needed.


    In the future, anyone could learn therapeutic healing if someone had enough energy control and max energy.


    Jun tried to squirm from the darkness but still couldn''t move. He exited his inner spiritual realm to wake up but encountered Yetu''s trap on his way out.


    It was nothing but a simple spirit shackle likest time. The only difference was he was trying to get out of his spiritual realm, which caused the corruption inside his spiritual realm to continue devouring his soul.


    Thanks to the warm energying from She, he managed to gather enough energy to break the spiritual shackle that blinded him.


    Before he could even open his eyes, he immediately went back to his inner self and grabbed the ck orb that was trying to devour his soul.


    The moment he touched the ck orb, it suddenly squirmed and became a liquid substance that transformed into a wild bat. The wild bat was dozens of inches bigger than the usual wild bat that respawns from the wild dungeon.


    The wild bat screeched and caused a sonic wave attack that pierced through his spiritual defenses. Afterward, it pped its wings, causing sharp bone needles to eject from its wings.


    Jun easily dodged the attack, before sending one of his own. He gathered a small spiritual energy ball on his palm and threw it like an experienced baseball yer.


    Though he doesn''t y baseball a lot, throwing and hitting things had been a part of his teenage life. Together with the skills that help him aim, the spiritual energy orb flew at high speed towards the wild bat.


    The wild bat screamed in pain as its spirit burned from the attack.


    Jun readied another spiritual energy ball and waited for the wild bat to transform into its vampire form, but it never did. It fell to the ground and twitched continuously as thest spiritual essence left its body.


    The wild bat''s body slowly faded as smoke rose from its body.


    Jun stared puzzled at the ce where the wild bat died. An ivory fang with the size of a pinky finger dropped as loot, then started floating towards the white orb. The fang joined the other rune skills and circled around his soul.


    "Is that it?"


    Jun couldn''t believe what was happening. He was reminded of Yetu''s threat from earlier and expected a terrifying enemy that would surely bring trouble for him. However, what he got was an evolved wild bat that could use some skills, but was too fragile. It couldn''t even endure one attack from him!


    In reality, things weren''t as simple as what he thinks it is. The wild bat was the spiritual essence of the wild bat from the vampire leader. It should have been much weaker, but with Yetu''s possession, it was evolved and learned a few tricks.


    identally, they were inside his spiritual realm and the wild bat was already exhausted from Yetu''s possession. It could only send out basic attacks without even being able to transform into a vampire.


    There was no escape route and it couldn''t connect to its body to recover spiritual energy. In simpler words, Jun had the homecourt advantage! No matter what happens inside his spiritual realm, as long as the fight could go on, his enemy would run out of spiritual energy while he continuously recovers.


    There was no chance for him to lose a battle of attrition unless the opponent was many tiers above him!


    As for Yetu unable to beat Jun, there were two variables to that. The vampire leader had limited max energy outside and couldn''t outright his group, so he chose a spiritual attack. Unfortunately, Jun woke up and broke free from the spirit shackle.


    He only had the same amount of spiritual energy the vampire leader had. He used a small portion to escape while using the rest to set up another trap. That was why Jun had a hard time escaping the spirit shackle on his own.


    When Yetu left the ck orb and abandoned the vampire lord''s corruption inside Jun''s spiritual realm, the vampire leader was only left with a sliver of spiritual energy to fend off on its own.


    After the crack in the void was sealed by Jun, the vampire leader couldn''t establish the connection to its body further weakened since it was on another spirit''s territory.


    Without any knowledge of this, Jun could only assume that the vampire leader''s spirit was weak.


    Jun watched the white orb shine brightly as it became pure again. The ck orb sticking to it like a lecher became smaller and went back to its initial size, after the vampire leader''s corruption disappeared.


    Jun touched the ck orb and receive no response from it. The corruption became inactive again.


    As to why some corruption still remained, he had no concrete proofs, but he had a few ideas in mind.


    Jun verified whether there were no threats remaining before going out of his inner self.


    The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was two dazed heads staring at him. It was Edward and She looking down on him. They were staring at him as if he was a puppy inside a carton box.


    "Hey, you guys okay?"


    The two smiled at Jun''s casual remark.


    Jun stretched his arms then sat up. Afterward, a notification appeared in front of him.


    [Innate Ability "Energy Absorption" acquired.]


    You have sessfully acquired a new innate ability! Every time your attacks pierce your enemy''s body, there''s a slight chance to steal some of their energy.


    "Holy sh*t! I got a new innate ability!" Jun eximed in surprise. It was a momentary slip in character, and he shrugged the confused stares at him.


    When he regainedposure, he stood up and dusted himself.


    "Let''s go out. I''ll exin it on the way back."

 Chapter 280: Mid-day Banquet, Part 1

    Chapter 280: Mid-day Banquet, Part 1


    Jun exined what happened in his spiritual realm. Everything about Yetu and the soul corruption that tried to devour his soul. Everyone became shocked by what they learned. ording to Jun''s narration, the carriers were just transmitting corruption to those they bit. That means people could still die by just getting their souls thoroughly corrupted.


    As for mutated animals, they only mutated because they ate corrupted meat. The corrupted meat was in a state of inactive corruption and doesn''t have a will unlike when its host was alive.


    Jun made sure that everyone meditates and check whether their souls were high in corruption. Fortunately, the three weren''t.


    After teaching how to control spiritual energy to his group, Jun guided them on how to cleanse their spiritual realm. Although they weren''t in trouble due to the low-tier corruption that they receive when they get bitten, the corruption still piled up and covered a small portion of their souls.


    Scared and surprised, the three hurriedly purified their soul through spiritual energy. Unfortunately, they didn''t have as much spiritual energy as Jun. Spiritual energy was gathered through meditation. Although its figures cannot be seen, the individual could "sense" how much spiritual energy they have.


    Yetu was the system that everyone was familiar with. He''s dealing with people who fell out of favor with him, and from what Jun knows, there were many people like him.


    Aside from that, Jun had no more information about Yetu. What was his goal, why is he doing these things... not one bit was known, except for the few slip-ups from his recent conversation.


    Now that his mind was clearer, he also remembered what happened in the cave when the vampire leader glided towards him slowly, and yet no one could react..


    Considering that Yetu was the one who gifted Jun the unique skill Time Perse, it wasn''t impossible for Yetu to use the same or a better version of the skill. It could be a higher version of Time Perse, which temporarily stops time for a few seconds inside a selected area, or it was the basic Time Perse, and the four of them were just to mesmerized to respond with the vampire leaders gliding.


    Jun leans on thetter. If Yetu was able to use the higher-grade Time Perse, he could have killed him instead of entering his spiritual realm.


    While thinking of the various possibilities, something terrifying dawned upon Jun. If Yetu was really the system, how vast was his energy pool to be able to supply everyone with the system? There were billions of people on Earth, even if he only gave a quarter of that number, it would only mean that Yetu was too strong and unfathomable!


    In the end, he chose to ignore the matter. No matter how strong Yetu was, something was preventing him from acting directly. He could only resort to indirect methods to deal with his enemies.


    Jun informed Dan about the problem in the dungeon. "There are vampires inside. We don''t know if they are part of the dungeon, but please be careful about future dungeon clearing. There''s a hollow room at the ceiling of the wide cavern on the central cave system. It''s empty and only used as the vampire''s food storage."


    The old man wasn''t sure how to react to the situation. He could only thank Jun for the information he has given them and guide them back to their jeepney.


    Back at Angono...


    Thanks to the private chat function of the smartwatch, Marvin was able to send Jun the details of the party.


    The Fiery Dragon stopped at the municipal za to drop Jun off, before driving away to the horizon. Edward was too excited to see his girlfriend once more. Adrian and She didn''t teleport back to Binangonan and apanied Edward on the way back.


    Jun looked around and noticed that survivors were looking at him like he was an animal at the zoo. The women whispered at each other with excitement and glee while the men admired him for his aplishments and his legendary achievements.


    Clearing towns of monsters and finding a way to feed everyone. It was an achievement that would raise anyone to the highest pedestal one could achieve during these dying times.


    The Portal Patrols simultaneously greeted Jun. They were a specialized group tasked to guard the portal at all times. Someone familiar smiled at him and stepped forward.


    It was Cain.


    Cain took Jun on a walk on the za''s sidewalk. He became Marvin''s trusted aide after learning some secret informations from Jun on the day Rene Galicia created death sworn contracts for Zeke and Kylle.


    Among the crowd, Jun saw two figures he was familiar with. Ralph, the dog owner, and Benjie, a survivor who had an unusual crowd-control skill.


    The za was stocked with barricades of wooden spike traps to regte the movement of the carriers that appear from the wild portal.


    The spike traps formation was loose since it only intends to stall for time while the Portal Patrols kill their targets. The formation has been corrected numerous times to suit the enemies that appear from the wild portal.


    If only regr and tough carriers appear, the spike traps would stall for time and allow the Portal Patrol to kill them. If a Destroyer or Hunter arrives, the traps wouldn''t get destroyed since most Evolved Carriers just push the spike traps to the side or just quickly run around the traps. No matter the result, the elite group would take care of them and the traps would still be in good shape.


    Jun kept everyone''s hard work in mind and headed towards the gymnasium.


    Marvin appeared at the entrance breathing roughly. A smile appeared on his face upon seeing Jun. "You''re back so quick... I should have expected that, but I somehow forgot that my Boss works efficiently. Come in,e in! Let''s go inside."


    "I only invited a small group of people for this event. The Castro family, the Montano family, the Galicia family, and Mister Aries'' family. Aries Nicor helped us tame more wild animals to cooperate with us. Currently, we have dozens of animals on the back of the municipal building. We have thirty mutated doves, twenty mutated dogs, fifteen mutated cats, and a parrot."


    "With that many mutated animals under him, aren''t you worried he would seize your position?" Jun asked jokingly.


    Aries Nicor''s matters were already reported to Jun thest time they met. The old veterinarian already signed a contract with Rene to not induce or provoke the animals to cause trouble to ck Haven. It was a simple request and the old man could understand why they were worried.


    Marvinughed sheepishly."To be honest, the thought crossed my mind once, however, I remembered you value loyalty more than talents. Also, Mister Aries could only talk to them, he can''t force them to do his biddings. That''s why we only made a contract that forbids him from suggesting evil deeds."


    Jun nodded contentedly.


    As they got further from the front door, they heard the door swung open once again.


    "You''re really here! Hey, rascal. Don''t you think that you''ve been providing less attention to this town? As survivors that willingly defend your territory, shouldn''t we get some type of benefits?"


    Jun and Marvin turned back only to see a group of girls having their arms crossed at the gymnasium''s entrance.


    They were Dream Fairy''s team who Jun worked together with to assassinate Marcus, the swindler.


    Reena was still the tomboyish surgeon that she was. The blunt attitude she had never changed after weeks of not seeing each other.


    Jun smiled cheerfully. "You already said it yourself. You guys worked willingly, so why are you expecting to be rewarded?"


    Reena rebutted. "Working willingly doesn''t mean that you don''t have to reward them! If you continue doing this, you would lose volunteers!"


    "Are they volunteers? Jun asked Marvin.


    Marvin was the town manager. He had the power to hire people and had the financial support to do it. "They aren''t. I tried to hire them, but Miss Reena kept rejecting my proposal. She was saying that I could just consider their help as payback to you for helping Miss Lourdes get revenge."


    "I never said that!" Reena eximed while blushing.


    "There, there~ Calm down, Reena. I think Mister Jun would allow us to enter the party." Lolita patted Reena, who was much older than her.


    "So you guys just wanted free food... why didn''t you just say that immediately? Let''s go inside."


    "No! We''re not just here for the food. We''re here for the meat! The meat!" Reena continued shamelessly.


    "So vulgar..." Jun muttered then jogged away. Marvin, who understood the joke, hurriedly followed him.


    Reena continued blushing and only stared at Jun''s receding back.


    She clicked her tongue while thinking, "If you told me that you were a leader of the strongest group in the region, I wouldn''t have treated you so badly. Now, it''s even toote for me to get close to you. Haa..."


    "Let''s go inside. Do you think he still had rat meat with him? Wild bats only had small chunks of meat on them. It gets tiring even if we cook them in different styles!" Mellissamented, salivating at the dish that she had long forgotten.


    Seeing her friends act so childish, Lourdes, the oldest member of the Dream Team, assumed control. "Everyone calm down. As Elite Patrols, we can''t have the hired survivors see us like this. Go inside, start walking. Reena, watch yournguage. There are other people inside, we can''t have you embarrassing our group, okay?"


    "Yes~" Lolita answered since Reena kept quiet while getting pushed from behind.

 Chapter 281: Mid-day Banquet, Part 2

    Chapter 281: Mid-day Banquet, Part 2


    Although Jun returned ahead of the anticipated time, Mia Logro was still able to prepare most of the dishes he wanted to present.


    The venue was decorated well despite the rush, thanks to every crew working well with each other.


    On the venue hall, four long tables were arranged in two sets of parallel lines, together with a small table, facing all four long tables. The small table only had three chairs,pared to the long tables filled with chairs to maximize capacity. The three chairs were reserved for Jun, Marvin, and the main chef.


    There were only two to four people per long table. It was unexpected but it was extremely rare for big families to have most of their members survive for this long. Mia Logro forgot about that matter, but couldn''t do anything about it when the guests started appearing.


    Next to the small table was Mia Logro with a wide smile on his face.


    When Jun got closer, Mia Logro bowed slightly and said, "I apologize in advance. I didn''t get to cook everything that I wanted to serve you. In the future, I would make sure to make all of them."


    At first, Jun didn''t recognize the old man who was smiling brightly in front of him. He didn''t even know he was a chef. For him, saving the old man was just a casual thing, and didn''t even pay him any attention afterward.


    Even so, he couldn''t just ignore the man, so he responded nicely. "It''s fine. I''m not really a big eater, but I always look forward to eating deliciously cooked meals." Afterward, he took a seat and waited for things to flow naturally.


    The banquet was a small event he created to get acquainted with influential powers residing in the town. It was to gauge whether future rebellions could rise up from any of these families. Also, he had some announcements to make and this event would serve as a good ce to start.


    Marvin already asked the crew to prepare another long table for the Dream Fairy''s group. The Dream Fairy was a popr elite agent group, who volunteers on defending the wild portal when Evolved Carriers attack.


    The catering crew joyously prepared another long table and took their chance to speak with the Dream Fairies.


    After getting everything settled, Marvin rushed back to Jun''s table.


    While Marvin was settling some matters, Mia Logro looked towards the kitchen entrance and gave his signal. Followed by the next scene where carts after carts of food were pushed out from the kitchen.


    Although additional guests arrive, his assistant was able to react quickly and prepare another set of meals. Thankfully, they weren''t like other caterers who only prepare the exact amount of dishes required to them.


    Everyone got their tes of food served to them and yet, no one moved to eat their food. They were waiting for Jun to speak.


    Jun looked around. Not everyone had their families with them, just like him. It was the apocalypse that did this, and if he goes deeper into things,; then it could be considered that Yetu might have a hand on the matter.


    He calmed himself as to not terrify his future allies. Most of the people here brought their families, while some could only bring their friends, who they consider as family. It was an important event and them being able to seat here was a great fortune for them.


    Even before Jun came, these families were already observing each other. In the back of their heads, they need to maintain good social interaction with these groups of people.


    After getting a good look at everyone, Jun finally started to speak. "I gathered everyone here to thank you for helping me stabilize this town. Each and every one of you yed your own roles whether they were big or small. Also, I would like to extend my invitation to everyone here to be the first batch of people who takes oath for bing citizens of ck Haven."


    "We have Mister Rene Galicia over, on that table," Jun pointed and Rene Galicia stood up, making everyone turn to him. Although he was a bit embarrassed, he didn''t immediately sit down and allowed everyone to get a good look at him. "He was awyer who created a bnce oath for everyone to swear on and abide.He will give everyone a copy of the Oath and you may read it before the ceremonyter on. If anyone has any feedback after reading the oath, they are weed to speak up and point out any problems."


    "I''m not really sure if you were already acquainted with each other, but let''s introduce ourselves to each other. My name is Jun Reyes, ck Haven''s leader..."


    Everyone already heard of each other, but only in name. They weren''t close to any one of these families since they can be considered rival powers in town. The introduction went on quite smoothly and a rxed atmosphere was established.


    Afterward, Jun announced that everyone could eat. "This banquet was made so everyone could get closer to each other. I hope it would serve as a way to establish a stronger connection with everybody. Please eat as long as you can, and let''s not waste food."


    As if the floodgates opened, Reena was the first to grab a piece of crab from their table. Also, she was already eating sneakily before Jun could even announce the start of the banquet.


    The Castro family had three people. The family head, together with his wife and daughter. It was with great luck that they were able to survive together. The only unfortunate thing that happened to their family was the loss of animals when wandering carriers attack their farm. Also, their caretakers died while reinforcing the defensive perimeters of the farm.


    It was a fortunate thing that their animal farm was established far away from the popted part of the town due to the smell of animal feces. It helped maintain a high animal poption and the animal noise didn''t be much of a problem.


    The Montano family had four people. Three men and two women. Since they were a metalworking family, they have a lot of tools on hand when the apocalypse happened. They were trapped in their workshop but were able to fortify it, making it a fortress where they could hide from the carriers prying eyes.


    The three men were father and sons, while the two girls were the sons'' post-apocalypse girlfriends. Both son were muscr and robust. They could fight carriers with ease but has trouble with fast enemies.


    Rene Galicia brought his pre-apocalypse neighbor to the party. He received a lot of help from this man a lot of times, and he could repay him with this opportunity to make friends. Also, the man has be his trusted aid like a personal secretary.


    Aries Nicor pointed on several dishes that he liked and waited for the mutated Golden Retriever beside him to answer. It was his personal pet that mutated from defending him from carriers. It was also the reason why he received the ability tomunicate with animals through feelings.


    When his dog got bitten, he tried his best to speak with it while performing first-aid. He knew that first-aid might not do anything to help his dog, but with a streak of luck, his dog survive.


    Aries was already 42-years old and were already used to peculiar staresing from people all around him. He doesn''t care about anything else, except for his dog.


    After the Golden Retriever pointed on several dishes that it liked, by hovering its paws over the dishes, Aries divided the food and conceded some dishes that both of them liked. The dog wasn''t greedy and new that his owner still had to eat. It only chose food that appealed to its sense of smell.


    Jun watched everyone before eating the dishes in front of him. He grabbed a regr-sized steamed crab and started sucking the meats out of its body.


    Marvin and Mia Logro waited for him to chew his food before smiles blossomed on their faces.


    Jun felt that something was wrong upon seeing the two''s reaction, however, he didn''t sense any evil intents, and both men had green nametags above their head.


    He couldn''t be poisoned, right?


    "Is there something wrong? Why are you guys looking at me?" Jun asked in puzzlement. If the two decided to be mysterious, he might flip the table and cause a scene.


    "Something good will happen when you finish the dish. I was also surprised when I first ate his dish." Marvin responded with a smile, followed by Mia Logro nodding his head.


    Seeing Marvin''s look of encouragement, Jun forced himself to finish the steamed crab.


    What came after shocked him.


    [Satiation increased. Bonus effect: Energy Recovery increased by 10% for one hour.]


    Jun grabbed a fried milkfish and started devouring it. After eating almost every edible part of the fish, a new notification appeared.


    [Satiation increased! Bonus effect: Speed increased by 1 for one hour. Energy Recovery increased by 10% for one hour. Total Bonus: Energy Recovery increased by 20% for two hours.]

 Chapter 282: Trash of the Apocalypse

    Chapter 282: Trash of the Apocalypse


    Mia Logro learned that different types of food have different types of effects. Any kind of pre-apocalypse food provides satiety increase and energy recovery buff after undergoing a chef''s hand.


    The person who was cooking the food matters! Chef and experts have a higher chance to "enchant" the food with recovery buffs depending on the level of their skill.


    Also, post-apocalypse food has an additional stat increase effect together with the recovery buff.


    Upon further studies, each type of food can only stack twice before losing effectiveness. Additional consumption of that type of food would only refresh the buff timer.


    For example, Jun already ate a steamed crab and a fried milkfish. If he ate another seafood, he won''t receive another buff and would only have their duration refreshed. If he wanted to increase the efficacy of the buff, he needs to eat a different type of food.


    All the food we eat can be divided into basic categories. The seven food categories are (1) Vegetables, (2) Fruits, (3) Grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, (4) Meat and poultry, (5) Fish and seafood, (6) Dairy foods, (7) Eggs.


    Jun already ate fish and seafood. Among the dishes on the table, he could find five food categories except for the dairy foods, which is the hardest type of food to get considering the current circumstances. Hopefully, they could find living cows, or sheep, in the future.


    Everyone who was eating at the banquet were shocked. Only Marvin, who has knowledge about Mia Logro''s cooking, remained calm.


    Mia Logro felt exhrated watching Jun eat everything served before him. Stir-fried vegetables, sliced fruits, rice, barbecued pork, marinated chicken, and a finely cooked sunny side up egg.


    Jun got a massive boost with his energy recovery together with free temporary stats thatsts the same time. However, the free stats would not get refreshed unless he ate another post-apocalypse food with the same effect.


    Jun drank water and felt slightly disappointed. He was expecting something to happen, but the water was just regr water. He was reminded of Mike''s lemonade and wished for one right now.


    "That was such a satisfying meal that I ate everything. I apologize for that. You prepared everything here?" Jun asked Mia Logro with a satisfied expression.


    "I did most of them, but the small tasks were done by my apprentices." Mia Logro replied feeling appreciated. Although he wanted to im the credit for himself, his humane instincts kicked in reminding him of how he got this far in the apocalypse.


    "How did you do this?" Jun casually asked, filled with interest.


    Mia Logro didn''t think for a second and immediately answered him. His life was saved by him and even supported him in his hard times.


    The old man thought it was Jun''s idea to hire them as the town management''s private kitchen, but it was entirely Marvin''s idea. After tasting Mia Logro''s cooking, he longed for it every day, resulting in the catering crew getting hired. Unfortunately, Marvin didn''t know about Mia Logro''s reverence to Jun and the two worked together in misinterpretation.


    There were hundreds of people cooking their own food. However, Jun never hear of a mystical restaurant that offers additional food effects when you at their ce.


    The secret wasn''t really a secret. It was such amon knowledge that people tend to overlook it.


    One must have the profession of a chef or a cook for them to get a bonus food effect. Additionally, the individual must acquire the cooking skill, obtained after toiling hard and perfecting several dishes from the seven food category.


    Everyone can cook, but not everyone can cook good food.


    Housewives are a great example of this.


    They can cook a lot of variety of dishes using a limited amount of ingredients. However, the quality wouldn''t be guaranteed even if they paid more attention while cooking. Unless they studied culinary skills, chopping and serving would have slight differences than professionals.


    Mia Logro''s apprentice was mostly cooks. A group of apprentices who perfected less than four dishes from the food category. The easiest category were; grains, which can be perfected by cooking rice, together with vegetables and fruits.


    Vegetables needed to be cooked at the right temperature and ced on a te at the right time. If it was overcooked or has too much oil, the dish would be considered average.


    Fruits on the other hand were the easiest ones. Just make sure to cut them cleanly and present on a tter. A good example was apples and mangoes, they can be easily cut and presented. Unfortunately, the stocked ingredients were about to run dry.


    After understanding Mia Logro''s way of thinking, Jun became dumbfounded. He realized that he must think simpler for some things to work, He was reminded of his cousin''s suggestion about catching theke fishes with fishings.


    The world change, but it didn''t change the way how things work!


    At this time, his mind wondered why Mike never got any bonus food effects. It didn''t take him long to realize the problem.


    Instead of calling Mike a chef, Mike can be considered a butcher. The man only likes cutting and butchering things. He probably had the basic skills for cooking but hasn''t achieved perfection.


    Then this train of thought begs the question; why?


    How was Mike able to produce lemonades that give almost the same buffs?


    With his curiosity piqued, Jun brought two energy fruits and handed them to Mia Logro. "Please make lemonades with these. A friend of mine made lemonades and they''re quite magical. I hope you can use this and use cooking once again."


    Mia Logro stared wide-eyed at the fruits disyed in front of him. He recognizes the energy fruits and knows of their corresponding function. He wanted to buy one when he was at ck Haven but he couldn''t find it anywhere in the market. He also learned the ways to find it but doesn''t have enough credit points nor agent points to buy the fruit.


    With trembling hands, he extended his hands and epted the energy fruits. "I''ll do my best."


    After receiving two energy fruits, Mia Logro wasted no time and run back to the kitchen. He calmy juiced the energy fruits and mixed them with water. He learned that the fruit doesn''t need any sweeteners. It was already sweet on its own!


    With two fruits, he was able to make two liters of lemonade. He brought one pitcher to Jun while the other would be given to the guests.


    Jun only drank one ss since he already knew that drinking more wouldn''t give him any more results. He gave his pitcher away and it got around so that everyone could have a drink.


    The only difference was the additional satiety and energy recovery the energy lemonade gave.


    While everyone was getting merry, Jun''s expression twisted up.


    A worrying notification appeared in front of him. He had been expecting it toe, but it should have happened tomorrow.


    [First Wave wille in 5:00]


    In a ce surrounded by darkness, a pair of furious eyes stared forward. Nothing could be seen in front of him except for the Mandatory Monthly Siege that lords with territory must resist.


    After escaping Jun''s spiritual realm, his consciousness returned back to this dark ce.He''s been trapped in the darkness for hundreds of thousands of years.


    The only time he could escape from here was when he''s possessing other people. Every time he goes out, he wanted to enjoy his time. It was also the reason why he favors certain groups of people to cause havoc and harm.


    If everything was peaceful, he would get bored again! And he doesn''t like that feeling!


    One could say he has turned crazy from loneliness and was doing things for fun. Whether it was the truth or not, only Yetu knows.


    For someone who came from the Origin Era, After waking up from a deep slumber, he found out that everything that surrounded him was new and fragile. The living beings were weak and couldn''t control energy, they were weak beyondpare and couldn''t even fly!


    Unfortunately, he was still sealed and couldn''t get out. He doesn''t know what the reason for his awakening, but it must be something rted to what these humans have done.


    He also discovered that these humans liked to y games, especially on small square things calledputers. To entertain himself, he performed a global corruption skill and allowed everyone to y his game. He set up the theme with the Era of Dark Ages that he liked when he was still a young man.


    A world that was full of chaos and a ce where only the strong could survive. Unfortunately, he didn''t expect the skill to eat everyst bit of his energy, making him incapacitated for some time.


    In games, it would be the downloading and uploading period. It was also the time when humans received the system, causing the splitting headaches that caused the corruption to be active after they die.


    When Yetu woke up, he found out that every time his energy recovers slightly, it would get used up. He had to meditate just to equalize the consumption.


    Yetu had billions of energy, however, he could only meditate to keep himself alive. Later on, things stabilized as humans started to die. The energy used was returned in small packets while the stress on himself got lighter. As more people died, Yetu had an easier time managing his energy.


    Yetu red at his screen. It was an area map of a certain town. The four general directions were filled with regr and evolved carriers that woulde in waves. The wave cycle would still proceed clockwise starting from the west.


    After waiting for a million of energy to recuperate, he set the final wave as a mid-tier muscle head and continued with his approach.


    "Let''s see if you can survive this! I ignored you for a while and now you think you can step over me! B*stard!" Yetu scoffed, then chuckled.


    Then he chuckled some more.


    Then startedughing maniacally.


    "Hahaha!"

 Chapter 283: Second Town Defense, Start!

    Chapter 283: Second Town Defense, Start!


    Marvin noticed the immediate change in Jun''s expression. He frowned and asked Jun. "Did something happen?"


    Upon hearing Marvin''s voice, Jun woke up from his stupor and jumped up from his seat.


    "The wave ising!" Jun shouted and immediately operated his smartwatch.


    He sent the news to the ck Haven chatroom and demanded everyone to be prepared. He private messaged Evo about the situation, so he could


    Jun''s shout attracted everyone''s attention. Everyone turned to him and had looks of confusion.


    At first, they didn''t understand what Jun was trying to say, but when they realized what he meant, everyone became frightened. The past experience when the town got sieged by carriers were still fresh in their minds.


    At that time, Angono was heavily watched by Marcus'' cronies and every strong weapon was ounted for.It was the time of the month were a lot of people died due to the unexpected event.


    "What should we do?" Marvin asked in rm.


    Jun can understand that it was Marvin''s first time leading a group, so he didn''t reprimand him. Instead, he calmly offered advice. "Gather every civilian and guard them in a safe ce. Everybatant must be armed and ready for battle. Monsters arrive by batch, so your armed forces should be able to defend the town easily. Also, contact Old John for higher-tiered weapons."


    Jun doesn''t know whether all the towns would receive an attack, so he contacted every town manager to prepare for a possible siege.


    As the First Army continued to train at Baras, King received Jun''s urgent message. The army immediately stopped pulling hordes from the town and returned back to Morong.


    Binangonan was considered the safest ce among the four towns. It''s the most popted ce where elites gather since the Auction House offers top quality goods every day.


    Evo sent a messenger to the National Police, so they could spread about the iing monster wave.


    With the National Police helping in spreading the news, everyone in the town became informed about the situation. Each small factions busied themselves to gather their members.


    People who were farming the dungeons were pulled back to join the event. Except for the scavengers that don''t have amunication device with them, every avable manpower was called back.


    ck Haven has been slowly arming its subordinate towns with all kinds of weaponry. Spear and pikes were delivered on time, together with dozens of bows and crossbows. Bows were the fastest range weapon the craftsmen could make, aside from the throwing spears and throwing knives.


    Morong was guarded by its local powers together with the First Army stationed there. They have ess to the Teleport Portal since this town was closer to their training grounds.


    Two sets of spiked barricades were on the outer perimeter of the za. It was some sort of thest line of defense in case any carriers got past the defenders fighting the wave. Also, tamed dungeons would be wild for the town siege, and groups were already assigned to them.


    Morong never encountered a monster wave in the first month. It could be considered a benefit and a disadvantage. Wave monsters drop gem stats that could slightly improve a person''s prowess.


    The First Army soldiers were thinking that if things were really like these, it would be better to get assigned at Binangonan to obtain more loot. Besides, only the cemetery dungeon sends forth its gathered army, while the church dungeon mobs stay inside the church, not caring about the mundane world.


    In Cardona, most of the manpower was guarding the wild portal and the wild dungeons. The more than fifty people who failed the First Army recruitment were divided into two groups and designated at two important ces.


    One group was assigned to the cemetery dungeon, while the other has to guard the wild portal. The cemetery was a great ce for beginners. The Reserved Army''s mission was to help locals who returned to the town to get some battle experience. The army was stationed here, but having a militia would be a good idea if thingse to worst.


    The veteran fisherman was also assigned to give backup support in case Cardona needed reinforcement. They stopped operations after learning that monster waves woulde and made sure that the wild dungeon only had a minimum number of fishes respawn.


    Angono was already tucked in their defenses. All nonbatants were gathered on the second floor of the mall. Mutated dogs were standing by at the wild portal while other mutated flying animals were watching above the building.


    Since they were treated well like how they were treated from the past. They became much tamed and friendlier with the survivors after getting to know them. Mutated animals were traumatized in the first few days of the apocalypse. Their owners turned to them wanting to hurt them, together with everyone they thought who loved them. If it weren''t for someone who was able to soothe their feelings, they would still hate humans.


    For animals, there were always two kinds of humans. One that loves them, and one that hurts them. They couldn''t see the abnormal changes in humans but could differentiate good from the bad.


    Dan''s group was also prepared in the mountains. Jun''s group just cleared the wild dungeon and they were waiting for the remaining wild bats to attack. Their group had more than twenty people who personally own bows and crossbows. Shooting wild bats charging at them would be a piece of cake.


    At the clubhouse at Taytay, the Elite group was minding their own business when they discovered the urgent message in the chatroom. Anna asked Jun what should the group do, and Jun answered, "Stay there. Although we don''t have anything of importance there, we should see how things would go. You can help the town locals if you want, but the group''s safety should be prioritized. Teleport to safety if your group gets in trouble.


    Taytay remained safe since the Elite unit was staying directly across the wild portal. Any carrier that passed through and step on the za would be target practice for Anna and Emman.


    By the side of the pool, a skinhead old man was seated in meditation. It was Matt Rojan, the person Edward saved who jumped off the bridge at Cardona. His looks have changed after getting a proper haircut and new clothes. He wore a loose shirt andfortable jogging pants.


    He was practicing breathing techniques taught to him by Edward. The technique helped him slightly increase the chance of entering meditation and stabilize it. While training, he had his eyes closed, but he could see his surroundings filled with color thanks to the particles of energy scattered around him.


    This is the mostmon aura sense that Nik''s group discovered and could evolve depending on the individual''s nature. As for Jun having Aura(Death), it was due to him killing a lot of people, then identally registering the skill.


    The first time he learned of the skill, tears fell down his cheeks in joy. He even bowed to Edward while thanking him profusely.


    Matt Rojan was able to temporarily join the Elite unit thanks to Edward''s rmendation. To be honest, anyone could join the Elite unit if they were able to fight bravely and skillfully.


    However, most of the powerful people have ambitions of their own. They don''t want to be someone else''s underling and only receive partial benefits if they could get it on their own.


    Jun realized this a long time ago and was the reason he prefers nurturing hidden gems.


    Errol had been busy setting traps in the whole za. It was to make sure that carriers wouldn''t run in a different direction and would get trapped in a maze of spike traps until their deaths. This is also the reason why they were able to keep the zone safe even though they only have few people.


    Back at Binangonan, everyone was already raging to go and sh with the enemies.


    Small groups of people were staying together with their faction members. Powerful individuals who were only interested in the loot can be seen standing on their own while waiting. Mutated pet owners rode at the back of their tamed beasts, while others who only had mutual benefits had to walk side by side.


    Finally, the main group of attractions arrived. The ck Haven higher-ups geared with superior weapons and armor. Edward was forced to hold the Tier 3 Fantasy Shield, together with Jun, for extra defense. He was constantly nagged about conserving energy.


    Edward had the habit of overly relying with his Pioneer title, which reduces skill costs, and often runs out of energy even when the fight was already in the bag. Earlier, he was also needed to be dragged out since he wanted to cling some more to Jamie. After barely getting to hug her, he was called for tanking duty.


    There were four people leading the ck Haven''s group. Jun, Edward, She, and Adrian. Behind them was the Scavenger unit assigned to loot their kills, armed with bone swords for basic protection, and wore the ck insignia of ck Haven with capital B and H at the center.


    Although there were dozens of Scavengers, it wasn''t guaranteed if they could keep up with the killing speed of the four leaders.


    Everyone was waiting at the za, waiting for the Pir of Light to appear. Dozens of vehicles were parked at the roads, making some groups of people consider running instead of boarding a car.


    Seeing everyone''s gaze turned on their direction, Jun sneaked a peek at the wave countdown. Afterward, he looked up and looked at everyone in the surrounding.


    He spoke of a simple thing that made everyone thrilled and worried at the same time.


    "The rules are simple. You own what you kill, but be careful of kill stealing. It would be bad if you make enemies out of everyone."

 Chapter 284: Increased Difficulty?

    Chapter 284: Increased Difficulty?


    "We will follow the previously appointed ces. We will take west, the Frontier to the north, and the National Police to the east. The Alliance would guard the south. Individuals could roam around and do as they want. However, be mindful of kill-stealing."


    As soon as Jun finished speaking, the Pir of Light dropped down from the western front. The survivor groups went into a frenzy and ran into their designated areas.


    The ck Haven had less than one hundred people with them, and yet not a single one thought that they might fail. They were the most geared and golden spoonfed with resources. If even they could fail, how could the others fair?


    Powerful individuals tend to go solo. A great example was the masked beauty with a mutated pet dog. Since the rules were clear, most individuals chose to go for more profit. They would roam everywhere to take advantage of the rule.


    Edward''s Fiery Dragon brought the four of them towards the west. The western patrolmen were already running away upon seeing the horde of evolved carriers running at them.


    The jeepney stopped at the gas station and the four got off to wee the horde. Patrolmen were gleefully running past them and started activating the teleport rune. They were caught off guard earlier and couldn''t activate the teleport rune in time. Faced with charging Destroyers, they could only run away hoping fordy luck to save their lives.


    There were ninebatants on the western front; four were from ck Haven, while the rest were individuals. Two were mutated dog owners, both female, while the rest were men in their mid and early twenties.


    Both women had a gorgeous body. It might seem that appearance could be one of the factors for taming a pet or and an individual''s charm.


    The three men appeared calm even after seeing the wave of charging Destroyers who appeared to be excited for seeing living flesh.


    The five individuals waited for ck Haven to make the first move.


    Jun didn''t care about their motives or ns. There were about twenty Rank 1 Destroyers charging at them. The battle hasn''t started and he already decided that all of them would belong to ck Haven! He wouldn''t give this opportunist b*stards to get some of their loot!


    "I will charge together with Edward and She. Adrian, use your sniper rifle and don''t save on bullets. Reduce the numbers as much as possible from the backline. Only allow the Scavengers to follow us after the enemy numbers went below fifteen."


    "Alright," Adrian answered, pulling a Marine Scout Sniper Rifle or MSSR. It was another semi-automatic designated marksman rifle Jun received from the army.


    "Let''s go. Edward, use your energy to attack while we test the durability of these bad boys." Jun instructed while nging his Bumuth''s Warhammer to his Tier 3 Fantasy Shield crafted from Rank 3 Destroyer''s shoulder guard.


    The horde of Rank 1 Destroyers were already attracted to Jun''s vanguard group and be more agitated after hearing the nging sound.


    At this moment, a loud echo came from behind, bursting the eyeballs of one of the leading Destroyers. The dead body fell down and caused slight disarray on the formation.


    Jun didn''t waste time and immediately sprung forward, waving the Warhammer with one hand, while having the shield in front of him. His whole body was fully covered from knees to chest.


    The swing cleaved a Destroyer''s face and caused a vertical line to appear on its cheek. Though it dealt some damage, the attack only infuriated the Destroyer more.


    Jun watched the infuriated Destroyer raise its arms and brought down a two-handed m towards him. The strike arrived when hended and he was able to brace for the impact.


    He tensed his arm and thighs as he waited for the impact. However, only a soft ''dong'' resounded, followed by a slight knockback.


    Jun was astonished when he realized that the new shield almostpletely negated the attack from a Rank 1 Destroyer! It was too weakpared when he manually shes with the Destroyers!


    After the two-handed m, Jun took advantage of the recoil period the Destroyer had to endure for a second and stabbed through the eyes like how a Spartan from the movies would.


    His form. Perfect!


    Jun pulled the Warhammer back and could see blood and flesh from the sharp tip of the weapon. There were three main ways to attack with the Warhammer; pounding with he sledgehammer, cleaving through the ax, and stabbing through the tips.


    The wide array of attacks is one of the reasons why Jun liked Bumuth''s Warhammer over everything else.


    While Jun was busy killing a Destroyer for his own, Edward and She were busy working together. Edward would block any iing attacks with the Fantasy Shield with additional energy thorns.


    The thorns were energy spikes summoned on the surface of the shield, causing the attacker to impale themselves on their own. Thanks to the shock absorption of the shield, he didn''t have to worry about getting exhausted. Additionally, he runs on full endurance, so it would take a long time for him to get exhausted.


    Heck, even Jamie was having a difficult time with his endurance.


    After Edward sessfully impairs the enemy, She would then stabbed them to death. It doesn''t matter whether they were tall or shakes their head while trying to pull their hands out. She only needed a second to aim and thrust the spear before killing them. It was even better when Destroyers bellows at them since she can have a better aim at their head.


    Adrian was continuously firing and controlling the pace of the battle from the backline. Although Jun told him to stop saving ammo, he couldn''t fire rapidly since urate lethal shots were better.


    He would alternate from Jun and Edward, making sure that not too many Destroyers could approach them.


    Seeing the stable scene, the individuals who were watching from the sidelines were stupefied. They were here to take advantage of the situation, but from the way how things looked, it wouldn''t be impossible if they didn''t even get one evolved carriers for themselves!


    By the time they decided to join the fight, the battle was already at its end. Jun smashed a Destroyers head on the side, causing it to fall down to the crowd unconsciously.


    Jun turned back and frowned, then he shouted at Adrian. "Why is there no one looting?! If they respawn, do we need to take care of them once again?"


    Adrian yelled back. "I''m sorry! Things happened too quickly, and I forgot."


    After getting reminded of their jobs, the Scavengers woke up from their daze and run forward.


    That''s right! Everyone was dazed because everything happened in an instant. Even before the opportunist individuals could react, the battle has already ended. There was no chance for them to obtain loot!


    In the past, Jun''s group still had trouble fighting tens of Destroyers on their own. However, at that time, they were only using inferior weapons, trying to gauge themselves. They didn''t be stronger, they were just better armed!


    The Fantasy Sheild and the MSSR offered a great boost on the clearing power of the group!

 Chapter 285: Confession of a Lovestruck Succubus

    Chapter 285: Confession of a Lovestruck Subus


    The solo survivors couldn''t do anything about the situation. They could only watch in awe as the Scavengers strode forward and started dismantling the Destroyer''s carcasses.


    The Scavengers expertly separated the bones from the flesh and collected the essence shard at the heart and gem stats in the brain. It was a great haul considering that Wave Monsters always drop the gem stats, which is power for Destroyers.


    The Scavengers were feeling proud at the moment. The scene that they witnessed would forever be in their minds. Could they also be strong like them if they train hard enough?


    After gathering everything, Jun congratted his group. "Let''s rx for a bit. You can go stroll around if you want. Just make sure that you don''t interfere with other groups clearing operations."


    Everyone answered, "Yes!"


    Edward rushed back to thepound and shared the good news with everyone. He told tales of how majestic he was and the power within him.


    "So, it goes like this. The Destroyers would strike my shield, then bam! Blood would stter as they got injured by my thorns. Afterward, She would stab them with the spear, and they couldn''t react in time before dying off. Hahaha!"


    "So, you were just the usual meat shield?"


    "Come on! It''s teamwork! Teamwork!"


    Jun, on the other hand, was stopped by a masked female riding a mutated dog. She blocked his way every time and he couldn''t do anything about it unless he dealt with her. He tried moving faster, and yet the mutated dog was behind and was even more of a barrier. It''s tongue out and breathing roughly as if it was enjoying Jun''s suffering.


    He turned and faced the masked girl. "What do you want? This better be good."


    "I want you as my husband. Marry me."


    "Pfft!" Jun almost spat the imaginary water in his mouth. The words spoken by the masked woman was utterly shocking to the core.


    People were still on their teleport channelings and could hear the hot juicy confrontation, but decided to not stay any longer after seeing Jun''splexion.


    Under the hot scorching rays of the sun, in the middle of the road, the two were facing off as if they were going to shoot each other to death. However, this wasn''t a cowboy shootout, but a love confession in the apocalypse.


    Jun examined her expressions and could concur that she meant what she said. He doesn''t understand why nor was he even interested.


    Seeing Jun''s disinterest, the woman took her mask off.


    At this time, they were alone and everyone else has already gone far away.


    Her fair beautiful face presented itself to Jun. The exquisite form of her body perfectly aligned with the sharp contours of her face.


    She appeared mature with no signs of innocence at all. Her whole body exerted an inexplicable sense of exotess that would make any man long for her.


    But for Jun, the overly high charm stat of the woman served no purpose in charming him. In the end, the woman was the one who remained lovestruck with Jun.


    Love couldn''t happen at first sight. Something must be done in order for love at first sight to work. In Jun''s case, it was when he helped the girl from Old John''s garage.


    He stared at the woman and found her familiar, but couldn''t pinpoint exactly where he had seen her.


    "My name''s Lynnana. We don''t need to be lovey-dovey or anything. We can just even meet for s*x. I want your body and money, nothing else. Fair deal?"


    Lynnanabed her hair to her ears as if showing off her feminine attractiveness while blinking twice and smiling tenderly at Jun.


    At the start of the apocalypse, she got captured by men and got yed around. Until one day when monsters broke into their hideout and she managed to kill everyone while they were distracted.


    She gained a disgusting innate ability and a set of skills that reminded her daily of her past self.


    "I''m a subus. I''ll get benefits as long as you *explode* in me. You''ve shown me kindness, so you must do it until the end. Do you remember a dirty woman at the garage? I was that dirty girl. If we can''t be husband and wife, then at least be my sugar-daddy. Just visit me a few times a week."


    "Don''t get me wrong. If I''m going to use my body to collect *explosion*, I might as well do it with someone strong who can give more %stats, while repaying my gratitude. I know I''m forcing myself into you, but I have to do everything I can to survive. At least, if I be a bit stronger, I can p the sh*t out of those guys when I meet them in hell."


    Lynnana was brought back to the light by Jun''s kindness. The food he gave her sparked doubt in her and made her stop sucking off essences from men. Her usual modus would be to seduce men and have s*x with them before killing them. That way, she could be stronger faster and stop using her body.


    She observed Jun for a long time and found him a genuine man. Unfortunately, he was already taken at that time.


    She still gathered *explosions* from other men to be stronger. When she got stronger and tricked the mutated dog at the apartment buildings, she was able to break free from the hellish cycle of her nightlife.


    And here she was, after finding no one hovering around Jun, she decided to make her move. If she was going to pimp herself, she would choose Jun with no hesitation.


    Jun suddenly remembered who she was. She was that woman who begged him not to kill her "friend", the seductive woman that talked to her while he was browsing the job board, and the beautiful woman that tried to hit on him.


    "No."


    Lynnana knew not to push her luck, but she won''t easily give up. Her foe was nowhere to be seen and the fort was empty.


    This was the only chance she could get to sway the most influential man in the region!


    She bowed slightly and stepped closer to Jun, then hugged him softly while muttering. "Thank you for helping me at that time. I will never forget it. I will treasure it in my heart and will always think of you."


    Teleport runes escaped her body and lit up their surroundings. A few secondster, she disappeared and left Jun standing in the middle of the road. A frown could be seen in his face as residual sparkles from the teleport can be seen scattered around him.


    "What in the world??"


    "Bark!"


    Jun got surprised and turned around. He saw the mutated dog staring at him furiously, then watched it turned around and left while repeatedly scoffing softly.


    After some preparation time, the Pir of Light appeared in the northern part of the town. The National Police was already fighting the rat invasion from the broken dungeon when the second wave urred. Thirty Rank 1 Hunters appeared when the light covering the summons disappeared.


    Now, the National Police have to fight two waves of monsters due to ck Haven''s disgusting clearing speed. The sudden arrival of the second wave was unexpected and caught them by surprise.


    At the start of the town siege, both tamed dungeons broke their barriers and started invading the town. The dungeon''s main goal was to destroy the tamed portal at the center of the town. It was made like this so that carriers could enter the heart of the town at any time through the wild portal.


    The National Police was filled with volunteers. Although they weren''t the strongest, they were battle-hardened from fighting and rescuing deep into enemy territory. Besides, they have an ace in their group.


    A mute girl who has a mutated pet dog.


    Jennie was silently watching over the survivors killing the rats and harvesting their resources. It was the time of the month where they could obtain delicious meat for free.


    Upon seeing the charging horde of Hunters, Jennie immediately dashed towards them without fear. Junnie followed after her with his tail wagging. The two didn''t need to talk since they couldmunicate through feelings. They could directly understand each other by just ncing at each other.


    The solo survivors were already killing giant rats and venting their frustrations from earlier. When they saw the Hunter horde, they immediately abandoned the rat horde and charged forward.


    They wouldn''t make the same mistake of ying too safe.


    What if this girl and her pet could clear everything here!? They can''t get sweeped again!


    Charge!

 Chapter 286: Return of the Commander

    Chapter 286: Return of the Commander


    Upon seeing Jennie rush forward, the National Police and volunteers reacted systematically. The volunteers would charge to stall for time, while the National Police makes sure that no one dies.


    An elite unit from the National Police and volunteers was created to follow Jennie. Their job was to kill anything wounded she left behind while dancing with the enemies.


    During these past few weeks, everyone has established their own fighting style.


    For the National Police, their tactic was to support the strong so that they could keep the weak safe. They would pool their resources to a group of trustworthy and strong people.


    The National Police Elite unit was barely able to keep with Jennie''s movements. Unlike Jennie, who had sharp instincts when detecting danger, the Elite unit had to watch their surroundings and make sure that they never got surrounded or they might die.


    When Jennie gets too deep to the enemy line, they would call for her to retreat. They would use a whistle to catch her attention, and when the whistle was blown, it meant the Elite group couldn''t follow her anymore, and she had to go back.


    The solo survivors felt happy knowing that they could get something from this side. The most intriguing person among the solo survivors was a man who kept shouting lies and nonsense on the enemy. Afterward, the enemy might get affected or not, depending on the level of its focus.


    The man was a deceiver who specializes in telling lies. He does it so smoothly that even evolved carriers believed him.


    He strikes an inattentive enemy from behind then points at another evolved carrier to pin the crime. The two would then fight, and he would get the benefit after killing both of them.


    The battlefield was at a standstill until Giant Rats started eating each other and transformed into a mutated Giant Rat. Three groups of Giant Rats suddenly started eating each other, causing panic to those who know. They immediately called for reinforcement from those who were in the frontline.


    After the transformation, the usual attacks from the volunteers became weaker as the mutated giant rat''s hide be tougher. Some members of the National Police''s Elite team had to withdraw from the frontlines and take care of the mutations.


    With the sudden change in the battlefield, the frontline became unstable. There was no debate whether the solo survivors nor Jennie and the National Police''s Elites were strong. They were strong and have already proven it a lot of times.


    The problem came from the enemies.


    Since Hunters have fast movement speeds, they were able to surround anyone at a rapid rate and deal continuous damage. If one was not careful, they could quickly get cornered and ripped to pieces.


    Even then, not every Hunter was attracted to the Elite group and the solo survivors. Each Hunter that identally escaped the frontline was a significant threat to any volunteers. Most of the volunteers weren''t specialized in fighting nor skilled in it. They were volunteers because they were helped, and they want to help.


    Everything was happening too fast. The National Police''s Elite unit couldn''t react since they were busy dealing with the mutated Giant Rats.


    Three Hunters passed through the frontline. They madly charged towards the unsuspecting survivors sieging the mutated Giant Rats.


    By the time the spotters noticed the situation, the Hunters were already in mid-air, mouths wide-open with dagger-like teeth.


    Three roars urred.


    The next thing that happened surprised everyone.


    The three Hunters lunging in mid-air suddenly jolted, followed by the bursting of their heads. The three roars came from the muzzles of automatic rifles owned by Police Marksmen,ing from the town za''s direction.


    Paolo Cas and his security group have returned from Antipolo City with modern weapons in tow. The guns were gifts from the higher-ups due to their excellent work in getting a lot of useful information, together with keeping the honor of the government in the citizens'' hearts and minds.


    Paolo Cas strode forward with armed officers behind him. Automatic rifles, pistols; everyone was armed with guns loaded with real bullets.


    "Don''t lose focus! We''ve trained a lot these past few weeks. We weren''t the same weak people from yesterday! Archers, bowmen; wait for the mutated Giant Rat to stand up and do a tail sweep. Shoot the chest and eyes! Bruisers; hit the joints and tendons! Shield bearers; hang in there!"


    Upon arriving, Paolo Cas immediately regain control of the battlefield. His presence alone alleviated the pressure the National Police and the volunteers were feeling. Everyone believed that as long as they weremanded by him, they would get out of any situation alive. Also, the additional firepower he brought rekindled the undying hope inside everyone''s heart.


    The armed officers checked the battlefield before switching into swords and bows. Only a small number of expert marksmen were allowed to remain on their firearms. Although they still have ammunition for their guns, they won''t know when they could get another ammunition supply.


    It took Paolo Cas great efforts to deal with the quartermaster, to part with these firearms and bullets. Even if these were considered rewards, he still had to bargain to make sure that he could get the most out of the deal. That was also the reason why the firearms came in a variety; to get more bullets since handguns had lower value.


    Still, they can''t openly show that they have a low supply of ammunition, allowing the expert marksmen to remain armed. With them as the shooters, it was guaranteed that every shot counts.


    The marksmen positioned themselves on a secured spot at the base of the bridge. They climbed atop vehicles to get some elevation. Their main role was to support and make sure that no one dies during this battle.


    From the continuous dealings with ck Haven, the National Police was able to gear everyone with Tier 1 weapons and Tier 0 Tools. Some of the Elites were even geared with extremely pricey Tier 2 weapons that can only be bought at the Auction House. However, Paolo Cas never thought that he wasted money. It was a good price to pay if these items could make everyone survive.


    Back at the dark ce filled with wrathful gaze of two ring eyes...


    Yetu autofilled most of the town siege for other lords, while personally crafting an army for a few selected lords who were causing him trouble.


    After setting everything up, he went back and spied on Jun''s territory. This was the man who wasn''t even strong and yet dared to mock him!


    A ghastly eye appeared above the sky and watched everything below. It was a scrying invisible eye that no one could see unless they have True Vision and happened to look up at the sky.


    There were only a limited amount of monsters Yetu could ce per wave. The number of monsters he could send per wave, together with how strong they werewas relevant to the town''s strength. Unfortunately, he failed to think rationally and failed in diversifying his wave management.


    The town''s strength was calcted by the people detected and registered in the territory.


    The first wave was filled with Destroyers due to consecutive tapping of the add monster button. The second wave was of the same fate and was filled with Hunters.When he realized his blunder, he was already at the third wave, and could only create a proper wave for the town to deal with.


    Upon seeing that the first wave was already cleared, he became more furious and immediately wanted to watch a rey of the event but couldn''t. He had to wait for the full siege to finish before he could view the town siege rey.


    The second wave was also dealt with by a smooth process of elimination. The monsters were killed one by one until the final shriek of the Hunter echoed the area.


    Yetu was furious.


    He could have taken his revenge immediately and killed Jun with the first two waves. Due to his mistake, Jun probably got more free stuff and resources.


    No matter what happens, he believes that his n would work out in the end. The three remaining waves was where he ced all his hopes. They were all high-tier monsters that required high amounts of energy to produce.


    Yetu sacrificed quantity and proceeded with quality for this month''s town siege.


    Yetu red at Jun from the scrying eye. His little figure seen from above made Yetu irritated and curse inside his head.


    "You''re dead meat! Hehe. Hehehe!"

 Chapter 287: Elemental Waves

    Chapter 287: Elemental Waves


    After leading the National Police to victory, Paolo Cas managed to solidify his prestige on the heart of the people. In the future, he would learn about the secret of aura and gain Aura (Command) that would make sure allies will perform with discipline and confidence.


    In the eastern part of the town, near the bridge. The Frontier fought the wild dungeons invasion with several parties of powerful survivors.


    Each and every one of the Frontier members was experts of their own. They trained individually for a long time until they could fight with the confidence to survive.


    In the long run, the Frontier faction members were able to ept the new changes in the world. They were able to bring joy out of hunting monsters and adventuring the wastnd.


    Alday Ruan oversaw the battlefield from his apocalypse truck. The wild cemetery carriers were weak and offer a good experience for everyone. Still, the best goodies one could find in the town siege were the loot. Also, there''s an additional loot that came from the Dark Priest who constantly summons regr carriers and unique ghouls. It was the ck gem that dropped after killing the boss monster.


    Although they were used to the attack pattern of the boss monster, they still took some time before sessfully killing the Dark Priest.


    And no, the Dark Priest nor its summons didn''t be stronger.


    The reason was simple.


    The Frontier was using the boss as a training partner for their new recruits.


    For someone to be stronger in a short amount of time, they need to experience a lot of life-threatening situations. If they survive, they will be experienced fighters who survived the initial change and their first practical battle.


    Confident and battle-hardened warriors regrly appear from the Frontier. Their slogan of bing stronger together has been effective, and as long as one was willing to work hard, they could be powerful.


    After killing the Dark Priest and regrouping the army formation, the Pir of Light descended on the east. Even when the monsters couldn''t be seen, the menacing presence could be felt from a distance.


    The area became hotter as the ground proceeded to tremble.


    In the distance, regr carriers appeared rushing towards the eastern bridge. Most of them were bloody and injured, while also having iplete limbs.


    These regr carriers were the unlucky few who had to run past the Earth Elemental''s earthen spike surrounding.


    Being on top of the truck, Alday Ruan was able to see how manyyers of monsters they have to confront.


    There were fouryers; a horde of regr carriers at the vanguard and the rear, a batch of Fire Elemental at the center, followed by a group of Earth Elemental.


    The injured regr carriers were fast runners and easily overtook the slow Earth Elementals. However, since the Earth Elementals doesn''t distinguish enemy or ally, anything that enters its treble sense would be attacked by an earthen spike.


    The batch of regr carriers crossed the bridge and met the first line of defense.


    The Bruisers.


    A group of survivors who loved melee battles. These people had natural adrenaline when fighting in close quarters. They love the rush and excitement one could only get when up close with the enemy.


    "Archers ready!"


    "Aim!"


    "Fire!"


    The well-trained group of archers perfectly executed an arcing shot that fell many of the regr carriers.


    There were hundreds of regr carriers, but the Frontier isn''t one to be underestimated. They have more than five hundred people of expert fighters holding the fort. It was impossible for the enemy horde to plow through their defenses especially when they were properly equipped with decent gear.


    The bridge became a meatgrinder. Regr carriers continued rushing forward even when their horde were getting ughtered at an unbelievable pace.


    Things only turned difficult when the Elementals joined the fray. Among the Frontier, no one was able to perfectly remain scot-free while battling them.


    The Fire Elementals turned arrows and bone spears into dust with only the scorching heating off their bodies. If the materials were of higher quality, the arrows could have reached them.


    And to deal with the Earth Elemental, they have to first deal with the Fire Elemental since they can''t advance forward or shoot them from afar.


    A few people received degree burns and had to be rushed back to the ck Nurse, a title bestowed to She by other faction members since she asks for exorbitant prices every time she heals someone.


    On the other hand, members who got impaled by earthen spikes were rushed to the Quack Doctor, a title given to Noel Arada after he got caught doing experiments on his patients. In Noel Arada''s defense, the patient agreed with the procedure and received proper exnations before and after the operation.


    The operation was the reattachment of a severed arm due to a Destroyer yanking the man''s arm off. The procedure failed and seeded at the same time. The arm was reattached but cannot be used due to the nerve''s disconnection.


    In the end, the Frontier was able to end the battle thanks to the Battlefield Commander, Gener Guevarra, taking risks for the group.


    He brought his elite crew and charged forward at the Fire Elementals. His n was to kill all the Fire Elementals as fast as they could before they get cornered and pushed back to the town za. if that were to happen, the whole Frontier would be considered an embarrassment to the three main powers.


    With a bit of casualty on their side, also a burned arm and leg, the Battlefield Commander, Gener Guevarra, prevented the humiliation toe.


    His heart and spirit were engraved into his members and to some members of the Frontier.


    After getting rid of the Fire Elementals, the Earth Elementals became a breeze. It took some time for the Frontier members to deal with the Earth Elementals, but they still did it in the end.


    If they only knew the weaknesses of these two elementals, then they could have fought them easily.


    Jun took care of a Fire Elemental using a fire extinguisher. If the Frontier thought of using water to weaken the Fire Elemental, they could have fought more easily. On the other hand, if the Earth Elemental was lifted into the air, they would lose ess to the earth underneath them.


    These secrets were easy to spot and yet people only notice them after some time. This tactic would be continuously used in the future town siege.


    After a brief waiting period, the Pir of Light shone on theke waters in the south.


    The Alliance of Small Factions did a good job defending the southern waters. Takaw didn''t even have to intervene as the Alliance killed all fishmen trying to get out of water. Every time a tide of water came towards the shoreline, a group of fishmen appears above the waterline.


    The previous experience with these slimy figures gave the Alliance the wisdom to use spears and pikes as they stabbed the enemies at a safe distance.


    Weirdly enough, the Alliance didn''t encounter a single Water Elemental during the whole monster wave.


    It was due to the veteran fisherman intercepting them from underwater. Gilbert took his friends to catch some Water Elementals. The Water Elemental dropped good loot when they first killed it during their vige upation of the Lakeside Marina.


    By doing this, Gilbert was expecting to get another skill book. Unfortunately, most rare and unique books drop only from naturally raised mutations. Also, the stronger the monster, the better items can be looted.


    Still, that didn''t lower the value of the dropped orbs from the elementals. Each elemental dropped its corresponding orb. Fire Elementals dropped fire orbs, Earth Elementals dropped earth orbs, and Water Elementals dropped water orbs.

 Chapter 288: Final Wave! A Rank 4 Destroyer!

    Chapter 288: Final Wave! A Rank 4 Destroyer!


    Jun casually sipped lemonade while waiting for the final wave toe.


    The sisters at thepound were chilling and vibing, despite the possible danger looming behind their back doors. Nevertheless, everyone was ready and at standby, in case the fishmen actually escaped the shoreline and reached the mall.


    Which seemed impossible considering the aged lineup of Paterno and Felipe, who were supporting Takaw at the cornfield.


    After the five minute preparation period, the final wave has finallye. Every survivor got a brief resting period and a time window to restock on things that they need. The top three factions reorganized themselves.


    When everything was settled, they waited on their assigned spots for the final wave.


    Just likest time, four Pirs of Light appeared on the four general directions of the town. However, one light specifically shone brighter than the others.


    Coincidentally, the Pir of Light that shone the brightest was the western part of the town, which was ck Haven''s assigned spot. Not many people noticed this small disparity as everyone was focused on what''s ahead of them.


    Jun stared at the Pir of Light with a deep frown. Even from afar, he could see the towering silhouette of the monster they were supposed to fight.


    As the resplendent light slowly disappeared, a single figure remained standing. A dark muscr giant appeared for everyone to admire, After some time, he runic symbols from the Pir of Light faded.


    It was a five-meter tall Destroyer with slightly tanned skin. Since it was an artificial being, it had no body hairs and was purely made of skin, muscles, and bones. Coiled around its neck were two massive pipes for breathing. It appeared menacing and tranquil as it dazedly stared at the vanguard group.


    Additionally, a small portion of the upper chest area has be ck te armor connected to the shoulder guards slightly above. The shoulder guards were of the same color just like the shoulder guards from the Rank 3 Destroyer that they turned into shields.


    Considering all the information they have on Destroyers, this particr one should be a Rank 4 Destroyer; the height and various features perfectly fit the bill. However, Jun and everyone who knows the basic evolution of carriers was dumbfounded with the situation.


    For instance, the Rank 3 Destroyer that Jun fought in Angono was an artificial carrier that evolved through a hidden shortcut. The watering-can was a god-tier tool that could boost any living things by nourishing them with energy.


    Now, a Rank 4 Destroyer stands directly in front of them. It was something unimaginable since the town siege has always been fair. Even if it spawns a lot of monsters, the wave would still be pretty doable.


    Unfortunately, Yetu specifically designed this wave to get revenge on Jun. He used all the possible slots and energy required to send a mid-tier muscr monster. To bnce the things out, the waves from the other directions were quite weaker than normal.


    Everyone couldn''t even feel pressured since most of the people here weren''t privileged to know.


    Adrian spoke first, feeling burdened with the unusual silence on the battlefield. "I don''t understand. Why is it just staring at us?"


    Most of the time, the summoned monsters charge ahead without a single care for their life. Seeing the Rank 4 Destroyer stare at them, Adrian couldn''t help, but get confused.


    "Is it bugged?" Edwardmented from the side.


    "What do you mean bugged?" She asked in interest, then added. "Like mind-control worms? Eww..."


    "No..." Edward wanted to exin for She but knew that she wouldn''t understand, so he stopped trying. "Bugged simply means something isn''t functioning as intended."


    The two chatted a bit more until Jun finally spoke his thoughts.


    "It''s observing us. We already know that evolved carriers tend to be intelligent. This only proved that we are right. Now, we have to kill it before it kills us all."


    Jun already shared the story about veteran evolved carriers developing survival instincts with additional cunning. After getting their brains refreshed, everyone was able to ept the reality of having to face the Rank 4 Destroyer.


    "We need to kill it as fast as possible. The longer we fight it, the higher the chance that we would all get killed. Let''s proceed, assuming that it could learn and adjust its attack pattern like a human being. Adrian, as soon as we charge in, try to kill it with the sniper rifle. Don''t join the melee and keep pressuring it by shooting its eyes."


    At this moment, the Rank 4 Destroyer finally made a move. Without bellowing, it suddenly dashed forward like a professional naked athlete. Its arms swung from the side and its running posture was passable.


    Jun ran forward equipped with the Fantasy Shield and Bumuth''s Warhammer and left a message for Adrian. "Also, inform Evo about the situation. Ask if he has something that could help us deal with this monster. With our current weapons, I don''t think we''ll be able to kill it in a short amount of time."


    Jun used every buff avable that he could think of; Reinforce, Empower, Block, Aura(Death), just so he could fight without having to worry about getting one-shotted to death. That would have been the worst scenario for everyone.


    As the got nearer to each other, they could clearly see each other''s faces. The Rank 4 Destroyer remained stoic and calm just like Jun. Both of them had no expressions of urgency or panic shown on their faces.


    The Rank 4 Destroyer swiped Bumuth''s Warhammer to the side before sending a fist towards Jun. Its fist bulged and excreted white smoke as if it was a steam engine forced to work more and overheat.


    Jun felt his hand floating after getting his Warhammer smacked to the side. Still, he kept hisposure and nted his feet on the ground as he braced for impact.


    The Destroyer''s fist struck the Fantasy Shield and caused a dull reverberating sound when metal strikes metal.


    As the first sh urred, the whole area experienced a vast shockwave followed by the trembling of the ground. Anything weightless in the surrounding was pushed back due to wind power alone. If it was raining, the area could have been rain-free for a few moments before resuming once again.


    Jun immediately felt his arms go soft and tremble, yet he didn''t let go of the Tier 3 Fantasy Shield and jumped back slightly.


    Upon taking a look at the surrounding, Jun noticed that She''s spear couldn''t do much damage to the enemy. It was like trying to sculpt a marble by using a nail. The spear could only nick small portions of the marble and might get destroyed if repeatedly used.


    Edward, on the other hand, was doing a fair job dealing some damage. The energy spears could pierce the Destroyer''s skin albeit too shallow. However, the injuries recover quickly even though the Destroyer wasn''t consuming anything. It''s simply because it had a lot of stored energy inside its body, making regeneration possible.


    "Edward, we''ll take turns blocking. Use Reinforce and Block to negate some damage. Keep watch over your energy levels!" Jun shouted then continued observing the enemy.


    After giving his orders, Jun heard a loud gunshot from behind. Adrian finally took a shot after getting a good angle on the Destroyer.


    The high-caliber bullet flew in a straight line and spun erratically. It was a guaranteed shot that will hit the target.


    Unfortunately, the Destroyer raised its head after it got curious about what the loud sound was about, causing the bullet''s trajectory to hit the lower part of its eye.


    The bullet ricocheted from the extremely tough skin and grazed the tip of the eye before getting stuck when the Destroyer instinctively closed its eye, catching the bullet in the process. It clutched its eye and saw its blood making it infuriated. It roared wildly as it felt the throbbing paining from its left eye.


    It nced at the faraway people and found a suspicious person pointing something towards him. It was Adrian with his MSSR.


    Jun didn''t let this moment of distraction pass by. Although they could only reach up to its stomach, that doesn''t stop them from disabling it.


    Jun expertly threw shining pebbles towards the shallow holes in the Destroyer''s body. He watched as the shallow stab wounds recover its flesh while the pebbles got absorbed inside.

 Chapter 289: The End of the Beginning

    Chapter 289: The End of the Beginning


    After sessfully nting the minute-stones inside the Destroyers body, Jun shouted at the top of his voice: "Everyone, get back!"


    He was expecting the Destroyer to explode from the inside and might send those ck tes flying. If someone identally got hit by those tes, they would receive too much damage or would probably die.


    The Destroyer felt something unfamiliar within its body. When it found out what it was, it was already toote and the minute-stones already started growing.


    As the minute-stones expanded, the legs and stomach which received most of the stones suddenly bulked up. It was like a side-effect of someone who frequently used steroids to gain muscles.


    A Destroyer''s skin was naturally tough and resilient from the outside while soft from the inside. Due to the sudden expansion, the skin couldn''t contain the boulders that developed inside its body.


    The outer skin stretched like it was a pregnant woman, before producing visible cracks and getting torn down, birthing boulders from the legs and stomach.


    As the boulders fell forward, the Destroyer howled in pain as chunks of its stomach and leg muscles disappeared. It appears like an injury when you pop the chickenpox from your skin and sustains a chunk of missing flesh.


    With its leg muscles gone, the Destroyer couldn''t support its body weight and plummeted down. The stomach remained with only the upper torso remaining as blood continued to trickle out.


    The ground trembled as the Destroyer fell into a kneeling position. Even while kneeling, the Destroyer still easily towered at three meters, only allowing its chest area to be reached.


    The Destroyer''s bones were so durable that even when the front flesh was missing, it could still kneel stably while only having the rear flesh of the leg intact.


    It felt pain.


    It was scared.


    However, a guiding voice inside its head was forcing it to continue fighting and kill these people. Only after he destroyed a certain structure could he be freed from this guiding voice.


    Infuriated, it looked around and searched for the person it hates. With two muscr arms, it picked the boulderying in front then hurled it to Jun with overwhelming speed and power.


    Jun observed every movement of the Destroyer and hope reignited inside him. Although the Destroyer was tough and strong, it has be a lot slower due to its bodyweight!


    Even the throwing motion was so grand and easily predictable!


    It was like a stone golem with shoddy materials, causing its every move to be filled with creaking noises.


    With a quick maneuver, Jun effortlessly dodged the boulder thrown at him. After evading, he hurriedly shouted some encouraging words for everyone to hear.


    "We can win this! Just fight like how we usually fight Destroyers and be more careful than usual! Its movements are hindered by its weight. However, it still had more strength than a Rank 3 Destroyer."


    Adrian finished sending the message to Evo and joined the battle. Upon hearing Jun, he managed to think of amon tactic used against heavy opponents.


    "Boss Jun! We need to disable its legs! If we can destroy its legs and stop it from moving, killing the Destroyer would be guaranteed!"


    "Alright!"


    The n was very generic and most survivors were already using it on Rank 1 Destroyers. If you get them down, you can pelt them with long-range weapons until they die. A single shot to the head is all it takes to finish the battle. The only risk with this n was if the Destroyer covers its head with its arms, then everyone would be forced to a melee.


    The first part of the n was already set in motion. The Destroyer was now kneeling on the ground and could be attacked from afar. Now, they just have to kill it.


    Adrian raised the MSSR and aimed at the Destroyer. He quickly pulled the trigger after getting the target in the scope. If it hits, it would finish everything and they wouldn''t have to stress about how to fight it.


    However, the Destroyer already experienced this thing before. When it felt killing intent from the distance, followed by a loud roaring sound, it instinctively knew that it was the same person who almost killed it earlier. The Destroyer used the boulder it was holding as a shield and blocked the sniper shot.


    Upon hearing a crisp echo from the boulder, the Destroyer didn''t waste any time and charged for throwing momentum while searching for Adrian.


    Adrian was shocked to see the Destroyer ring at him, then the next thing he knew, there was a boulder flying towards him.


    "Everyone, dodge!" he shouted while jumping to the side.


    The boulder divided the Scavenger unit into two like how traffic divides itself when an ambnce passes by.


    "We need to take care of its arms!" She shouted, seeing the situation of the backline.


    "Target the armpits!" Adrian shouted.


    "Let me do it!"


    Edward lunged forward upon seeing the Destroyer aim another boulder at the backline. While the Destroyer had its arms arch backward, he summoned an energy spike to pierce through the Destroyer''s armpit.


    And it worked!


    The Destroyer was slightly weakened and the boulder slipped from its grasp, dropping behind it.


    Jun took this chance to go on the opposite side and sneakily throw shining pebbles towards the hole in the stomach.


    Unfortunately, the Destroyer was already guarded with his little pebbles. It blocked the pebbles with itsrge arms and covered the hole, so Jun couldn''t do anything about it.


    Left with nothing to do, Jun stabbed the rear portion of the legs hoping that he could create shallow stabs to put minute-stones in.


    While doing so, he noticed a peculiar thing about the Destroyer''s legs. The missing flesh was regenerating! It was magically getting repaired from the inside, making him overlook the process.


    At the same time, when the tip of the Warhammer was about to hit the rear flesh of the leg, its muscles tensed up increasing its resilience.


    Since Jun was exerting more force than usual, the tip of the Warhammer shattered after it struck the target.


    The Destroyer wanted too conserve energy and wait for its natural regeneration to heal itself, but it got caught doing so.


    Knowing that Jun already discovered its recovery, the Destroyer allocated more energy to its wounds to heal faster.


    For monsters, the energy they have was their life. Every time they use it for something, it would permanently be gone. They would need to hunt other beings with raw energy or absorb them directly from the sun.


    It started crazily regenerating while defending itself. It was now truly pissed beyondpare. It was still learning earlier, but now it had to do everything, so it could survive.


    With the increased energy output on healing, the missing flesh was being restored in a blink of an eye. Jun watched dumbfoundedly as the injury disappeared without even leaving a scar.


    The Destroyer slowly stood and towered like a building once more. The shade it offered was cool, yet scary at the same time.


    After standing, the first thing it did was to kick the boulders towards Adrian''s group. As if ying ser, the Destroyer consecutively kicked the boulders away. In the process, it was able to injure and kill dozens of unsuspecting Scavengers beside Adrian.

 Chapter 290: The Beginning of the End, Part 1

    Chapter 290: The Beginning of the End, Part 1


    "Help me! My legs! I can''t feel my legs!"


    Chaos. Bloodshed.


    For the first time during a town siege, some people actually died from ck Haven.


    Adrian hurriedly rolled to the side and only stopped when he felt it was safe. He slowly stood up and assessed his surrounding.


    A quarter of the Scavenger unit has died. Everywhere he looked, there were dismembered bodies. The area had holes in the ground as if a cannon struck the ce.


    "Everyone who can still move, help bring the injured back to the town. Those who are still conscious, teleport at the same time, and hurry to the doctor''s clinic!"


    Scavengers who were severely injured were barely hanging by a thread. Some were even unconscious and might die any time when their Health bleeds out.


    With this incident, people will learn about group teleports. Survivors who tearfully teleported back with their loved ones in their arms noticed that they arrived at the same position at the town za, instead of having some space apart.


    As long as a small group of people was in physical contact with each other, they can teleport back to the town at the same time. The only catch was that they have to activate the teleport runes at the same time.


    This discovery can be considered worthless or an exceptional idea depending on a group''s motive.


    Only the lead activator could decide where the group would teleport. That means this discovery could be used as an invasion tool for raiding a Tamed town.


    Teleporting to a Tamed Portal needs a one-time physical interaction with the portal. If ten people received the portal rune, they could bring ten people each, and perform a surprise raid with one-hundred people.


    What about if a hundred people had received the portal rune? A thousand?


    People with evil intentions could visit you at night and you''ll be dead before you could even scream.


    Adrian watched the continuous stream of disappearing people. He waited for everyone to get out of the area before raising his MSSR.


    The Destroyer has fully regenerated. It doesn''t need to block its stomach since there was no hole anymore.


    Edward and Jun could barely injure the Destroyer. After experiencing the firstbination attack of the group, the Destroyer gave its all to defend. Its muscle tensed as energy healed every small stab that appears.


    The group took advantage of the Destroyer''s weakness. The slow movement speed and attack speed.


    Edward and Jun circled around every time they attacked. This caused the enemy to respond and rotate slowly.


    Jun focused on the kneepits. It was the closest weak point that he could attack, while Edward used energy spikes to pierce the armpits. They were trying to do it fast enough, but the recovery speed was still faster than the rate they can deal damage.


    She was reduced to a supporting position after her spear broke. She already learned distance activation and could heal and cure at a distance. The way distance activation was quite simple; it was all about the aura.


    Aura was created by scattering small bits of energy in the surrounding. With She''s energy forming a small circle with her as the center, she could instantaneously activate a skill.


    Normally, she needs to touch the individual to heal them. It was due to the transfer of healing energy into the person''s body. With the aura helping to scatter the energy, She doesn''t need to get close before she could activate her skills.


    A minute passed.


    Everyone from ck Haven has already eaten energy fruits twice. The Destroyer could see the humans in front getting reinvigorated after eating those green fruits, but it couldn''t do anything about it.


    "This feels like a boss monster! An extremely grindy one! Even so, this lord will triumph over this difficulty and be much stronger! Spinning Energy Stab!" Edward talked nonsense with a smile. He believes that spouting rubbish could sometimes increase the damage dealt by an ability.


    In a sense, it was true for him. His abilities were directly controlled by his energy. Any form of motivation or imagination could increase his power output. If he believes that his skills were strong, then they would be strong. If the thinks that they don''t deal much damage, then it would do so. It was a hidden trait of the Pioneer title affecting his skills, due to the freedom in control he has over energy.


    After hearing his remark, everyone calmed down and treated the battle more calmly. Repeated actions, leads to a repeated response.


    Every time the Destroyer raises its hand, they would watch its trajectory before dealing some damage. Afterward, they would dodge the attack and continue hitting the target.


    Even though they couldn''t see the damage, they knew they were slowly whittling down the enemy. If its Health wasn''t receiving damage, its energy would.


    At this moment, everyone feltcent. The Destroyer raised two arms in the air, which is a new attack pattern, but no one paid attention to it and continued attacking.


    Usually, the Destroyer would send jabs at Edward and Jun when it suddenly performed a two-handed m on the already cracked ground.


    The ground shook as a powerful shockwave caused further damage to the road. The asphaltyer cracked in a web-like manner while the already cracked ones rose up and pointed their edges towards the sky. Some small parts of the road became fragments that assaulted the team.


    Jun and Edward flew back and hit a raised asphalt, causing some blunt pain in their back. Both kneeled, staring dazedly at the towering Destroyer.


    Adrian continuously fired covering fire while the three front liners busily protected themselves from the impact. When the Destroyer was rotating in response to their attacks, he couldn''t do anything but watch in the back. As the person who has the greatest uracy in the team, he remained true to his task of dealing the killing blow.


    Adrian''s actions made the Destroyer furious but it could only defend. Its left hand was used to defend its head while the other to attack. The boulders have already returned to pebbles a long time ago. However, there were newly raised stones to kick around.


    The Destroyer arched its foot in a kicking motion and sent a raised asphalt on Adrian''s direction. The asphalt turned into small pieces after receiving the force from the kick.


    Numerous small stones flew like meteors towards Adrian. He used his extreme agility to run out of the danger zone. Afterward, he heard explosions as the nearby housing had their roofs and walls pierced by the small stones. The small stones were nowhere to be seen as it already turned into dust upon impact.


    In the distance, a tricycle could be seen stopping upon witnessing the ensuing chaos, Its passenger couldn''t do anything but get off the vehicle and run the remaining ground.


    Adrian heard the tricycle leaving and subconsciously turned his head. There, he saw Evo breathing roughly while running as fast as he can.


    "What''s the situation?" Evo asked while catching his breath.


    "The enemy has exaggerated healing and defense. We''ve been attacking it for a long time and we can''t kill it. Currently, the fight has be a battle of attrition."


    At this moment, Evo opened a sachet of peanuts. To be clear, he wasn''t hungry. He eats peanuts every time he was stressed or is thinking of something. At this moment, it was both.


    He was a low-leveled individual with low stats. How can he contribute to the battle? The question came fast, and the answer faster.


    "Take this." Evo handed Adrian a D-size battery, thergest battery of the small group. "Hold both ends and charge them with energy. Throw it at the Destroyer''s stomach. If you''re urate enough, no one would get damage except for the Destroyer."


    "Do I need to be the one to throw it?" Adrian asked feeling troubled. He didn''t even ask what the item was about since he had some spare triple-A''s with him. Seeing that this battery was thrice the size of the triple-A''s, he felt immense pressure holding it.


    "I have terrible aim and I suck at throwing. Just warning them should be fine. The battery has a controlled explosion and doesn''t scatter more than one meter of the contact radius."


    ''You''re acting like this is nothing!''


    Although he was still feeling afraid, Adrian went closer for a more urate throw. His actions risked his life since he could get attacked by pulverized stones at any time.


    With his arms pulled back, he threw the energized battery into the target. The chest of the Destroyer was high and bug enough to not miss. While the battery was still on its flight, Adrian yelled: "Step back!"


    As Edward and Jun defended with their shields, they heard Adrian''s warning and mindlessly followed. It was trust developed by fighting numerous battles. These people have been together for a long time and any warning that came from one another can be treated as truthful.


    And they were right to trust him.


    Momentster, a soft ding sounded as the energized battery struck the Destroyer''s chest. It didn''t have any chance to bounce off as it exploded immediately.


    A thundering explosion echoed in the surrounding as ck smoke filled the area.


    When the smoke disappeared, everyone witnessed the dire straits of the Destroyer. It was bloodied all over and has burnt patches on most parts of its chest. Its nose was bleeding and its eyes appeared dazed.


    It might be thinking of its mommy or why it was still here...


    The shock didn''tst long. When its eyes regained rity, the first thing it saw was Adrian staring directly in puzzlement.


    "Roar!!!"


    Adrian watched as the Destroyer raged and went berserk. Its eyes turned bloody-red and he could feel its desire to kill him. He could even trante the furious roar it did into simple words.


    ''You''re dead meat, M.F.!!!

 Chapter 291: The Beginning of the End, Part 2

    Chapter 291: The Beginning of the End, Part 2


    "Run!"


    A wild goose chase urred. Adrian turned and ran for the nearest building.


    Evo was steps ahead of him and was already hiding inside a nearby shop on a strip mall. Upon seeing Adrian head towards him, his eyes widen in shock, and ran to another ce.


    Jun and Edward tried to regain aggro but it was impossible. The Destroyer was hell-bent on chasing Adrian! Considering the damage and frustration he dealt with the Destroyer, it was understandable why it was chasing after him.


    The strides of the Destroyer were short and slow, but it caused the ground to tremble. Jun and Edward couldn''t risk getting stepped on, so they shouted instructions to the two people being chased.


    "Run towards the marketce! Take a detour on the stairs and go to the second floor! Let''s meet there!" Jun shouted and proceeded to run in the other direction.


    Adrian never felt so close to death itself. Every trembling of the ground made his legs run faster. The more it got closer, the more he pushed himself to the limits.


    And yet he felt that the Destroyer was catching up.


    While losing hope and on the verge of giving up, he heard a loud explosion from behind. A shockwave boosted him forward and helped him escaped getting trampled under the Destroyer''s foot.


    Evo was ten meters ahead of him, returning from his throwing posture to a running one. Before he turned, Evo didn''t forget to remind Adrian on what to do.


    "Run faster!"


    "Roar!!!"


    Tremble. Shake. Creak.


    Adrian finally arrived at the stairs that lead towards the second floor. Evo was already running upstairs and breathing roughly due to overexertion. With onest look, he turned to the Destroyer as he climbed the stairs. His eyes widened at what he saw, then hurriedly ran up the stairs.


    The Destroyer was in a much bloodier state. Its chest was burnt crisp and cuts were appearing from its stomach and arm muscles. However, those injuries weren''t the ones that caused Adrian to panic. It was the motorcycle the Destroyer was holding, he was afraid of.


    The next second, a loud st echoed as the motorcycle struck the wall.


    Evo arrived on the second floor and noticed the injuries of the Destroyer. Their gazes met and instead of running away in fear, he threw another energized battery on its chest.


    Realizing what the projectile was, the Destroyer crossed its arms to protect itself. Evading wasn''t an option since its body was too big and it was impossible to dodge.


    "Boom!"


    The Destroyer coughed out blood and received lethal damage. Its knees felt weak as its legs wobbled. Afterward, it suddenly fell on one knee to the ground, causing the earth to shake.


    Jun''s group was entering the front door of the huge marketce when the ground shook. They unconsciously let out a scream which attracted the Destroyer. The two looked back only to see that the monster was ring at them with bloodied eyes. Some parts of its body were already showing the flesh inside the skin.


    Jun beckoned. "Go, go, go! Let''s go inside!"


    Evo stared at the weakened Destroyer, then a realization struck him.


    At the same time, Adrian arrived at the second-floor bridge and headed towards him.


    Evo turned and said, "Let''s go inside and regroup with the others. I have an idea how we can defeat this one."


    The group gathered in the lobby of the marketce. Everyone could see that the Destroyer was trying to recover some strength to move. Evo could have finished the enemy earlier if he had another D-Battery. Unfortunately, he didn''t expect anything of this caliber.


    He had four types of batteries with him. From the biggest to smallest, D, C, AA, AAA. The D-Battery had one thousand energy stored inside it, while the C had half of it. AA can only ept one hundred energy while AAA can be considered overcharging with fifty energy. All of them can be called mini-bombs with an urate explosion radius. They were designed to deal controlled damage to a unique target.


    Evo realized something from watching the Destroyer earlier. His theory was solidified after asking some questions to Jun and Edward.


    "So, it pays more attention to Edward while only blocking Jun''s minute-stones? We need to try this. This is the only way I can think of."


    At first, Evo felt it natural that the enemy would be damaged when struck by an explosive. However, he wondered why the enemy felt so weak in front of those batteries. It''s because it waspressed energy exploding to a monster leaning towards physical defense!


    In the whole world, no one has any skill that requires more than 1000 energy that could deal high enough damage to disable an enemy. Even if there was a person who had that high amount of energy, it was hard to get a skill with more than 100 energy per usage. Even then, they couldn''t use it consecutively without having to recover energy instantly. Otherwise, the enemy could just run away and recover its injuries ande back!


    Evo started exining his theory and Adrian worked around it to create a battlen. Afterward, he gave something to Adrian and She.


    "Take this, Old John told me to hand it to you two."


    "It''sing! Be ready!"


    Jun shouted as the Rank 4 Destroyer crashed through the wall. Its body was covered with burnt flesh and blood, while continuously recovering damage it received earlier.


    It stopped and looked around, then dashed towards Edward who was trying to raise his creative powers. He already fell deep in concentration as he chanted words than no man could utter.


    "If it were anyone else, you could''ve achieved victory. me your destiny as you are fated to die underneath my feet! Drill Hammer!" Edward bellowed as he jumped at the Destroyer''s chest with two hands by his side, preparing to strike.


    Both of his arms became covered with a yellow aura, and his body had three wisps of yellow light circling him. An image of a spinning drill was formed in front of him as he poured most of his energy into this attack.


    The Drill Hammer was like a hammer forcefully thrown with drilling power. It''s rotation forced an average-size hole to appear on the Destroyer''s chest.


    The Destroyer smashed both of its arms on his sides, but a yellow barrier that appeared on top of his head blocked the attack.


    "Ding, ding!"


    From the three wisps of light, two vanished as the two strikes were blocked.


    Afterward, the Destroyer''s arm fell limply, and blood sprinkled out from its armpit.


    Adrian appeared on its side holding a katana covered with energy. He shed the armpit a few more times, before kicking the side of the stomach and jumping back to safety.


    The katana had exquisite sharpness into it. Even though it was covered with energy the weapon was still of high enough tier to cut the enemy. One sh caused shallow wounds to the tough skin of the Destroyer.


    It was Old John''s creation from the bones of the Rank 3 Destroyer that Jun gave him. He worked on it non-stop and it was finished in a timely manner.


    When the Destroyer turned his attention to him, it got pierced by a spear on its other armpit.


    She stabbed its armpit, but couldn''ttch for a long time on the Destroyer''s body. Her bnce and control were subparpared to Adrian. She immediately pulled back before doing a barrel-roll.


    Before the Destroyer could turn its head to She, a couple of C-Type batteries fell and exploded in front of its legs.


    The energized batteries caused a mini-explosion, destroying one of the Destroyer''s legs, making it kneel.


    "Roar!"


    The Destroyer growled and acted tough to deter any further attacks on itself. However, Jun wasn''t scared and used its thighs as a pedestal and jumped high in the air.


    If the arms weren''t injured, it could try to grab him, but they were recovering right now. If one of the legs weren''t crippled from the explosion, it was impossible to reach its head. If either one of those two failed to be executed perfectly, he wouldn''t even be able to get close to it.


    In the middle of his jump, a smile formed on Jun''s face.


    tion. Satisfaction.


    "Tough one to crack? Let''s see if you''re brain can remain intact after this!"


    There were three sides to Bumuth''s Warhammer. The one used this time was the hammer-side.


    Empower multiplied his damage exponentially.


    Reinforce increased his physical ability.


    Jun shouted, "Destruction Bash!!!"


    "Boom! Arggggh!!!"


    In this battle, Jun learned the perfect usage of the embedded ability, Destruction Bash. The embedded skill works wonders with blunt weapons. It was a simple trick and it wasughable that it took him a long time to realize.


    Bashing was for blunt weapons while shing for sharp weapons. Stabbing and thrusting were the same and applies for pointed weapons. All of this can be mixed up but the damage would be higher if followed correctly.


    Jun bashed the Destroyer''s face with the blunt side of the Warhammer. With the Destruction Bash skill, together with all the auxiliary skills, the force of the attackpletely turned the brain into mush.


    The Destroyer slowly fell backward as its consciousness faded away. The life on its eye disappeared together with the active healing coursing through its body.


    With its tensed muscles restored to normal, Jun''s continuous attack turned its face unrecognizable. By the time its back reached the floor and caused another shockwave, its face had already caved-in with blood and flesh scattered away.


    Jun then put the Warhammer inside a ck vortex that appeared beside him.


    "We did it!" She cheered happily after seeing the lifeless body of the Rank 4 Destroyer.


    "Of course we did. Nothing''s impossible with this lord''s power," Edward chuckled, but deep inside he was so d that they were able to do it.


    "Isn''t that expected since I nned for it?" Adrian grinned widely. All the battle coordinations were nned by him. The formation, the attack patterns, it was all him!


    After calming down, She came back to herself and continued her duties.


    "Is anyone injured? None? Okay~" she said filled with relief then checked on Adrian.


    "*crunch crunch...*" After a stressful battle, Evo started eating peanuts to calm himself. For a nonbatant, the battle was extremely tiring and unpleasant. He felt in danger all the time. If it weren''t for his inventions, he wouldn''t be able to help in anything except for theory crafting.


    Jun watched hispanions. A lot of people died during this two months. He never thought he would survive with them this long, but he was happy.


    He was happy that he''s with them.


    He knelt and ced his hand on top of the enormous Destroyer''s body.


    [Looting... 10...9...]

 Chapter 292: Exchange of Resources

    Chapter 292: Exchange of Resources


    The fight with Rank 4 Destroyer attracted most of the survivors to the western front.


    The monsters summoned to all other directions were a lot weaker than the first waves the people fought, causing the lead factions to felt intrigue on the explosions at the ck Haven''s side.


    There, they saw the oue of the battle and the ensuing fight. No one was able to help ck Haven since they weren''t even confident about taking on such a high level of an enemy.


    The other towns weren''t attacked. In the first ce, only towns with lord and territories were sieged monthly. The most problem that these free towns had was the iing monsters from the wild portals.


    The regr carriers have been upgraded. They have better resilience and attack speed. Their nerves were showing as ck blood flow through them. The web-cracks on their eyes have also increased and their eye colors changed into void-ck from the usual brilliant yellow.


    In the future, these would be known as the effect of carriers not getting energy from humans. These ck-eyed carriers failed from attaining ascendence and evolution. These carriers would only grow stronger and remain as fast running carriers for the rest of their lives.


    For carriers to evolve, there must be some catalyst for them to use. Any kind of catalyst is epted. Burned in mes then reached evolution. Submerged in water and reached max energy.


    Anything!


    However, if a carrier only absorbs energy from the world, it could only remain as itself and be stronger on its own.


    Back at the marketce...


    Jun stopped himself from touching the body. Due to excitement, he forgot that looting like this would yield fewer resources than if he did it manually. He manually harvested the body by using the Butcher skill. With the Destroyer dead, the following tasks were done without resistance.


    After harvesting everything from Destroyer, Jun congratted everyone for their hard work. In this town siege, they got a lot of low-tier power essences on the first wave, while a mid-tier power essence appeared on the final wave. Together with the durable bones and the ck te armors, the loot they got was more overpowered than usual.


    Even if they encounter a natural-born Rank 3 and 4 Destroyers in the future. They wouldn''t have to turn tail and run. With this experience, they could hold their own and fight enemies as long as there weren''t too many of them!


    Besides luck, there''s another reason why the group was able to gain victory over this hurdle. It was because the Rank 4 Destroyer doesn''t have battle experience.


    For a Rank 1 Destroyer to reach Rank 2, it had to kill a lot of people and survive a lot of days. It would get hunted sometimes and experience would make it stronger when it survives. Thecking instinct of the enemy was the one that helped the group survive.


    The summoned monster was like a newly hatched chick observing the world and was immediately sent into battle. Although it knew its strengths and abilities, it doesn''t know how to n nor fight effectively.


    If it knew of anybo or knew that its enemies could plot against it, it would surely give its everything right at the start of the battle.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t and now it became the ck Haven''s rarest resource.


    The notification of the sessful defense appeared and Jun happily shared the news with everyone.


    "Evo, can you help me with something?"


    The town was in a frenzy. The marketce was crowded with people trying to sell Giant Rat meat at exorbitant prices. Even then, people are still buying them for the rarity and the unique texture it gives. Their hides could also be turned into leather if processed correctly.


    While everyone was still enthusiastic about the event, ck Haven announced that it would sponsor a feast to celebrate the victory over the waves of enemies.


    In the municipal building, the threerge faction leaders were staring at each other. After exchanging some pleasantries, Paolo Cas started the meeting.


    "The loot distribution can be considered fair and unfair at the same time. You own what you kill. That''s the rule we settled with.However, some waves appear to be too good to be monopolized by a single group."


    "Yeah, I think owning most of the elemental orbs is too much! At least sell some to us!" Jun childishly responded.


    "Then, are you willing to exchange some of your loot? I''d willingly do it in exchange for some weapons made from that Destroyer''s bones." Alday Ruan replied knowingly.


    Jun groaned inside but continued smiling. The fight against the Rank 4 Destroyer has be the talk of the town.


    The sight of ck Haven Scavengers returning in mass in the town za shocked everyone. The final wave was such an easy one, so how could ck Haventhe most geared and strongest faction receive too many casualties?!


    This intrigued the survivors and numerous ambitious factions to investigate. They found out that ck Haven got unlucky to battle with a fearsome Destroyer, towering at five-meters tall. They don''t even know what rank it was and could only infer that if they were the ones fighting it, they would never win.


    After some consideration, Jun came with a decision. "Sure, one weapon would cost four elemental orbs."


    "What!? Why don''t you just rob me?"


    "Sounds like a great idea!" Jun smiled fearsomely. If he wasn''t remaining still on his seat, the bodyguards behind Alday Ruan would have already acted.


    Alday Ruan''s face twitched, but a smile remained on his face. "Brother Jun, I respect you a lot. I know you''re not a bad person. However, trading four orbs for a single weapon doesn''t seem right, don''t you think so?"


    Jun said. "Actually you''re right. I think it should be five or six orbs per weapon, but since we''re fellow survivors trying to make ends meet, I already gave you a discount."


    Alday Ruan kept hisposure, but deep inside, he was already cursing.


    Seeing his reluctance, Jun decided to exin.


    "The Destroyer we fought was already Rank 4. It caused two Tier 3 Fantasy Shields to barely survive against it. With a Tier 4 Weapon, you could kill anything you meet under a certain level. You could hunt anywhere you want, and clear anyce you want. This would help you in a lot of things that you could imagine. So, what rank are those elementals again? I''m sorry, but I don''t think those orbs have more value than my loot."


    Alday Ruan remained silent after hearing Jun''s exnation. Everyone in the room from a different faction didn''t expect that the giant was a Rank 4 Destroyer. With all those bones and resources belonging to ck Haven, the power level would surely widen.


    Alday Ruan decisively agreed. "I''ll exchange for two weapons for eight elemental orbs. Do you have any specific requests on their ratio?"


    "No, just keep them bnced."


    "I would also like to exchanged for some weapons!" Paolo Cas spoke after getting ignored for the past few conversations.


    Jun stared at him in confusion. "Do you have things of value?"


    "I..." have nothing!


    The National Police have nothing of value! Except for the Giant Rat meat they monopolized, the only resources they have were sharp ws and agile bones from Hunters. There was nothing else!


    If he pushes himself a bit more, he could exchange some newly acquired guns for a weapon. But would the cunning brat ept his offer? In the end, he chose to take the chance.


    "I have guns. I can exchange some guns for one bone weapon."


    "You''ve met with the military? Jun frowned, then smiled. "How was it? Were they reliable? Were they truthful? Did you felt like you were saved?"


    Jun sounded spiteful but still retained his smiling face. Seeing the troubled expression of Paolo Cas, he diverted the topic back to the exchange.


    "I can agree with that, but I want a quarter of your guns and half of your current ammunition. As a friendly reminder, I suggest having your officers train in meleebat. It would save a lot of resources that way."


    "I''ll keep your suggestions in mind." Paolo Cas smiled eagerly. He was being robbed in daylight and yet he couldn''t do anything but agree. If he were to refuse, the National Police would lose the opportunity to earn a Tier 4 Weapon!


    It was an opportunity he couldn''t miss!


    After exchanging a few more ideas in mind, the meeting finally came to an end. There were a few major ideas implemented.


    Any items that other factions want to be sold must be first sold inside their circle. If no one wants them, they can be sold outside. Also, a small percentage of the overall loot must be open for exchange. Any faction can exchange for things that they want for an equivalent value agreed by both parties.


    As everyone got up, a small hand raised its hand. It was the new representative of the Alliance of Small Factions.


    A female teenager who appeared frail, but confident. Prisci Arabit, the student council president of the nearby University.


    After Emman quit the role to join the Anna on the Elite unit, she took the spot with flying colors. Everyone from the small alliances trusts her. Her outgoing and lively personality easily gains her votes to be the representative.


    However, she was still inexperienced and felt pressured seating together with this caliber of people.


    In the end, she could only speak when everyone was done speaking and were about to leave.


    "I also want a weapon for the Alliance!" she uttered shyly with her lowered as if she was about to cry.

 Chapter 293: The Founding Day, Black Haven Empire

    Chapter 293: The Founding Day, ck Haven Empire


    As the sun sets on the horizon, the srmps started to lit up on their own. People were preparing for the feast that ck Haven especially sponsored.


    ck Haven spent the whole afternoon to prepare for the feast and spread the news about the event. The venue for the event was set in the Northern ins, just beside the new outpost of ck Haven.


    Long tables stretched far and wide to allow thousands of people to attend the event. Huge piles of firewood were scattered in the ins. To make sure that the bonfire wouldn''t spread, there was an empty space around it as a safety measure.


    Mia Logro''s catering crew took care of everything that involves setting the ce and cooking. Additional manpower was hired from the Scavenger unit to help with setting the ce up. Most of the cooks were hired housewives that have basic cooking skills.


    Aside from the First Army stationed at the Binangonan and Morong Tamed Portals, the towns under ck Haven were emptied for this impromptu event.


    ck Haven bought half of the Giant Rat meat that the National Police managed to loot with credit points. All of the Giant Rat meat would be used as dishes for the people.


    When the time came, the whole Northern ins was packed with people. Everyone had food and wines at their table.


    Jun didn''t meddle with the people''s happiness and watched the event quietly unfold inside the EXP Room at the Faction Hall.


    It was a huge event caused by one simple reason.


    The mass contract signing masked as oath-taking of the citizens.


    After the meats and fishes were eaten, the wine bottle''s toppled, Jun started his scheme.


    He gathered everyone''s attention by slowly climbing on an elevated stage and taking the microphone. He opened with pleasantries and congrattions to raise everyone''s pleasant mood.


    Drunk with the atmosphere, everyone pped their hands fervently and showed their support over Jun.


    "This is a night worth celebrating and I''m d to see everyone enjoying their evenings. We are celebrating the sessful defense against this month''s town siege. We have a hunch that it would happen every month and two consecutive victory means a lot for us.


    "That means that as long as we improve our offensive and defensive powers, we could easily survive. We can finally stop surviving and start living our lives.


    "During this siege, there were brave survivors who became unfortunate. However, their sacrifices would not be in vain as it would serve as a reminder for everyone to push forward and remain strong. We will keep their memories in our hearts as we continue our journey forward.


    "I would also like to announce, from now onwards, registered citizens of ck Haven will no longer need to pay for service fees and charges on all of ck Haven''s services and establishments. The mission board and auction fees are waived. The Altar buff would also be free."


    Hearing his announcement, everyone cheered and hailed Jun.


    At the moment, no one could think straight and could only drown in the overwhelming atmosphere.


    "Also, I would like to take this chance to introduce to everyone a very special person that would lead the ck Haven Army, King! King Laysiko, pleasee over the stage."


    Jun waved his hand and pointed at a young man seated at the front table.


    King appeared surprised, not knowing what to do. Errol pped his back and pushed him off his seat.


    "Don''t act so timid! It doesn''t seat you." Errolforted his teammate.


    The two entered the Elite unit almost at the same time, but the other person was already high up in the hierarchy. It could be considered luck, but luck doesn''te without opportunity.


    King paved his own path by following what he believes was right. His actions led him to a chance which he immediately grabbed and caused the opportunity.


    Seeing his fellow member supporting him, King straightened himself and walked towards the stage. He stood in front of Jun filled withposure.


    "How was the soldiers training?" Jun asked casually with the mic turned off.


    "IWe''ve been doing fine. The town remation training has been going on smoothly. Half of Baras has already been conquered. We''re just taking a safe approach to clear the town since looters and unique carriers appear sometimes."


    The people were surprised about the progress the First Army has achieved. It took a bit more than one month topletely reim the whole Binangonan. Although it was because of their weakness back then, no one really paid attention to those matters.


    King received apuse from everyone after unintentionally giving out the details of the military training.


    "So, just to make things official, we''ll have to do a public inauguration," Jun muttered, then turned the mic on. "King Laysiko, do you promise to lead the ck Haven Army to defend and stabilize our territory?"


    King''s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Yes!"


    "Do you promise to quell rebellions and always act in the best interest of our people?"


    "Yes!"


    "Due to your efforts and determination, I hereby appoint you as a Rank 1 Director of the ck Haven Army."


    The members of ck Haven controlled the momentum of the event and started apuding.


    "On this day, I dere that ck Haven would branch off from the Republic and would be a sovereign of its own. Binangonan would now be ck Haven''s Capital city with its bordering town as its territory. You would be our precious citizens!


    "We will protect you! We will guide you." Jun raised his hand. "For living a better life!"


    Jun doesn''t care about the negative effects of his actions. No matter what he does, there would always be people who oppose it.


    His actions only had one purpose.


    To protect those who are dear to him.


    His family. His friends. His people.


    Paolo Cas stared in disbelief at the familiar person up the stage. His heart burned with fury as an open rebellion was established in front of him.


    As aw enforcer under a government agency, he couldn''t ept the event happening in front of him.


    "Stop!" He stood up while clenching his teeth.

 Chapter 294: Sorting Truths, Verified Citizens

    Chapter 294: Sorting Truths, Verified Citizens


    Paolo Cas bellowed. "Stop! Don''t do this. You can still im that you were just joking Jun. If you continue with this nonsense, as a police officer, I would be forced to arrest you."


    The National Police'' tables were on the far left of the venue. Next to them were the Frontier, followed by ck Haven and the Alliance of Small Factions.


    After shouting, Paolo Cas had a bad feeling about the strange atmosphere in the surrounding. It felt like he has be a party crasher that everyone hates.


    At least, he saw some muddleheaded-people regaining their rity.


    Jun didn''t stop him and only stared at him. "Do you have anything to say?"


    Paolo Cas wanted to speak, but he felt his throat tighten up. He forced himself to open his mouth and mutter some words.


    "You can''t set up a new government when there''s an existing one trying its best to save its people!"


    "No, they''re not. I''ve been at their so-called Outpost and Stronghold. You also visited them, right? That''s why you were away for a few days. So, how was it? Would you like to share your experience with everyone?


    "Since you''ve been there, I''m sure you''ve reported about our situation. There are still survivors here. Are they going to send help and take us there? What''s the government doing? Do they have any ns?


    "Cos'' when I got there, there was a division in the people. People were divided into their abilities. If you''re weak, you''ll be disregarded or be used as cannon-fodder. If you''re useful, you would be used for manualbor. Only the elites live a stress-free life over there. Influential people takemand of everything.


    "I don''t hate you personally. It''s just that I don''t trust my life nor the people I love to those kinds of people. The kind of people who only gives orders from the top and doesn''t know what happens at the bottom.


    "The old government has been weak in the past and yet it tried its best to prosper. However, the current government is full of corrupt leaders who don''t care about its people. The only thing they care about is their personal interests, getting richer, and strengthening their factions.


    "Is there anything you would like to deny? You visited Antipolo Stronghold. And yet, here you are, back at this small town. Can you exin to us what happened over there? Were you rejected and sent packing, or did you get promoted considering the new firepower you brought with you? What mission did they assign to you? Was it to protect the remaining survivors or to spy on us?"


    Jun stared at Paolo Cas with a calm attitude. The whole time he was speaking, he never shouted even once. His voice never trembled and showed how confident he was while speaking.


    It was because he was speaking from his heart. All the frustrations inside him. All the questions he wanted to be answered. He poured all of them out.


    He wanted to know.


    As a faithful citizen of the old Republic, he wanted to know what the government''s next actions would be. Would it be to save them or to watch by the side as if nothing was happening?


    However, upon seeing Paolo Cas ghastly face, regret welled inside him.


    Paolo Cas became the center of attraction for the whole party. Everyone could see his expression and the underlying meaning behind it.


    Jun said with a wry smile. "I''m quite disappointed that you don''t even dare answer. You are weed to stay here, but please don''t cause too much trouble. Everyone here is already suffering enough."


    Jun faced the crowd.


    "ck Haven will protect its people!"


    "We will guide you!"


    "For a better life!"


    Unexpectedly, the National Police didn''t leave after losing face. Paolo Cas came clean and spoke truthfully in front of the crowd.


    The government wanted them to watch over this town and report in case there was trouble. Also, the so-called Stronghold was barely surviving with the number of people living inside it. Government officials have different goals in mind while citizens suffer in the background.


    Government officials want to stabilize the city, so they could safely live their lives before expanding and rescuing people. However, the military wasn''t of the same idea. The military wanted to aggressively recapture nearby towns and cities, but the Government officials always have something negative to say and they can''t argue with it.


    Food.


    The food supply has been going down steadily as more people entered the city. They were trying to cover it up with rising prices, but people will notice it once the supply goes under a certain level.


    After hearing of the truth, the police officers who excitedly wee the ''pioneer'' group became dejected. They only recovered after they realized that the government officials were the problem. The Armed Forces were still reliable!


    Currently, the old Republic was divided into two powerful organizations. The Military faction and the Government Official''s faction.


    The military respects and honors their oath, which is being taken advantage of by corrupt government officials.


    In the end, the National Police regained vigor and proudly raised their heads while survivors nced at them in the party.


    They will continue to uphold the justice they believe in and the oath they have sworn in.


    To protect the people!


    The time wille when the Armed Forces will regain control and their honor will return. But for now, they''ll just have to stand at the side-lines for now and watch silently as a new government is born.


    In their minds, it was a temporary retreat to protect the people.


    The Frontier and the Alliance had no qualms about the establishment of the new government. After witnessing the ruckus earlier, they further believed that joining under ck Haven was the right choice.


    When the party ended, registered ck Haven citizens could do the oath-taking on an installed booth to be verified citizens. Their ount cards used for daily transactions literally transformed from being a credit card into an ID card.


    Most of the poption has converted into ck Haven citizens. Only the National Police remain alienated and stubbornly refused to join the new government. Most of the volunteers joined and be verified citizens, while police officers kept their pride.

 Chapter 295: First Army Graduation

    Chapter 295: First Army Graduation


    In the middle of a ruined city, an army of heavily geared soldiers fought head to head with arge horde. The enemies were a mix of strengthened carriers and evolved carriers.


    Strengthened carriers were the ck-eyed carriers that patrols guarding the Wild Portals regrly encounters. They were the group of carriers that unfortunately didn''t evolve and remain stuck at their initial form.


    Although they remained the same, their power and resilience were increased. Their skin was tougher than usual while their ws and teeth became slightly sharper. They were like a half-hunter and half-destroyer that only has a quarter of their strengths.


    "Stay in formation. If you''re running out of energy, swap out and let other people go! Don''t be stingy with experience points. Regr carriers don''t give that much!"


    King shouted orders as he punched a Rank 1 Destroyer to death. Its head arched backward before its neck got torn off from the pressure spilling blood over him.


    "Sh*t! I''ll get scolded again by theundrydy. Let''s hope we get a batch of detergents in this town."


    As a Rank 1 Director, King received a Tier 3 Short Sword that could easily kill anything Rank 2 and below.


    He treasured the weapon badly and only used it when under siege byrge hordes that might disrupt the training.


    It''s been two days since the town siege and everyone have adjusted to the things that happened. Truthfully, not much changed aside from the fact that ck Haven was now considered a ruling government inside its territories.


    The survivors respect it and live a happy life.


    The First Army was fighting the final horde they could find in town. Except for the few small groups of carriers, there was nothing else of threat that could stop their advance.


    Every person in the First Army was armed with Tier 2 Swords and Shields. The swords and shields were smithed personally by Old John. The iron swords have ground bone from Rank 2 Hunters, giving them extra sharpness while the shields had ground bone from Rank 2 Destroyers, making them a lot stronger and sturdier.


    The soldiers were also given appropriate essences when they managed to loot a huge haul. It was an order from Jun to reinvest resources into the soldiers.


    The First Army already had a huge improvement in terms of their cooperation. Two soldiers can now fight a Rank 1 Destroyer on their own, while Hunters could be fought by anyone singlehandedly as long as they were careful. Regr carriers weren''t even a threat as long as there are people watching your back.


    Initially, they could only grind slowly and whittle them from the outskirts of the town. However, the supplied weapons during the town siege be a great help in strengthening the army.


    In the course of clearing the town, they''ve met all kinds of survivors. Friendly people who trust each other have be a thing of the past. If people wanted to survive in this town, they have to be cunning and not trusting towards each other.


    This caused the locals to be wary of the group of bandits that suddenly arrived in town.


    There were three kinds of survivors that the First Army met; the lucky. the cunning and the strong. Each people had their own groups they belong with which makes the First Army''s day good or bad depending on who they encounter.


    Survivors who tried their luck andmunicated with the First Army were brought back to Morong after doing some inquiries. They would be under review for a few days before being asked whether they want to stay and be a citizen or leave and go back to the wild.


    The First Army didn''t even have to assign watchers since the citizens were doing the job on their own. Any neer who acted suspiciously would be reported to the Town Manager and be investigated. If the person was proven guilty of nning something bad, the person who reported would be given a reward money for helping the town maintain its peace.


    This method was established due to people who had evil intentions towards the Tamed Portals. The security in Tamed Portals has be more stringent than in Wild Portals.


    The cunning and strong people were captured and brought to Jun for sentencing. Most of the time, these people were never seen again if they weren''t able to justify their actions.


    Cunning people always try to sabotage the First Army by performing various tricks. The mostmon was luring evolved carrier hordes in their direction, together with setting up ambushes in the area. Thankfully, these people weren''t armed with guns, or else, there would be death casualties urring.


    On the other hand, strong people tend to group together to lord over weak people. They couldmand others and live like kings since they can loot food whenever they wanted. Due to the arrival of the First Army, the town''s situation has turned for the better. People started leaving them and switched sides.


    Filled with anger, they tried to fight the First Army but miserably failed. The First Army has more knowledge of energy control. Even when the other side had unique active skills, the disciplined offense and defense still triumphed over uncoordinated attacks.


    Everyone has gained unique skills, which means the better person who can wield the skill has a higher chance of winning. Also, the person who had more energy would always win.


    With the basic skill package taught to them; Sprint and Reinforce, they were able to be victorious over any foe.


    After sessfully winning a battle of attrition with the horde of evolved carriers, the First Army performed a full sweep of the town killing all the remaining carriers nearby. Before the sunset disappeared on the horizon, the First Army was able to proim the town cleared of carriers.


    King reported the matter too Jun. "Good work! Gather everyone at the Faction Base. I''ll officially congratte them. Also, choose the best student for this batch, I''ll reward them with something."

 Chapter 296: Unexpected Visit

    Chapter 296: Unexpected Visit


    In the Northern ins, the First Army stood in formation as Jun stood at the elevated stage. Passerby''s who were epting the Altar''s blessing stopped by to watch the scene.


    Jun stared at King who stood beside the First Army and immediately noticed the changes in the young man''s temperament. King was typically serious, but the aura around him improved which made him look mature. His gaze, his posture, they have been refined and much sharper than before. It was the result of leading people into battle while making decisions that could kill or save a life. The immaturity remaining inside him has totally disappeared.


    Jun subtly smiled and started speaking."Congrattions to each and every one of you. The skills and experience you gained during this training period would surely help you in theing days. You would be ck Haven''s backbone that would help its citizens safe and territories protected."


    "Please step forward if your names are called. Alonzo. Nicole. Jakobe. Dwayne. Jayce. Leonard..." Jun called ten names and made them line up in front of him. These ten people are the top candidates in bing this batch''s top trainee.


    Most trainee''s in the top ten were the temporary leaders during the training.


    Jayce and Leonard were from the tank team. Both have supporting professions and proper skills that helped them maintain their status. Jayce was a bouncer from a night club while Leonard was a private bodyguard.


    Jakobe and Dwayne were from the offense team, a barber, and a chef respectively. Both have precision skills that deals piercing damage and self-buff skills.


    Alonzo and Nicole were both from the support team and were the most probable contenders for the top trainee position. Both people have unique skills that could turn the tides of any battle they were in. With everyone having the same physique and equipment, personal skills would be one of the deciding factors on who will be the strongest in the future.


    "The name that I will call next will be this batch''s most outstanding trainee. Pleasee forward, Alonzo."


    Alonzo appeared shocked unable to believe what he just heard. He was a regr NEET with baggy eyes and unkempt hair. He doesn''t have an obese body, but one might mistake him for being malnourished. Never once in his life had he felt appreciated before. It was only when he joined the First Army that people suddenly started relying on him.


    Suddenly getting recognition because of a skill that he thought useless, he couldn''t help but be emotional.Still, he held back his tears and started walking towards the stage.


    Nicole, a fellow support main, an elementary teacher who helped give him confidence, congratted him and patted his shoulders. The two were close friends since they usually stick to the back of the group.


    "Congrattions, Mister Top Trainee," she said while chuckling softly like someone teasing a close friend. She had to look up and reach high since she was a head shorter than Alonzo.


    Alonzo blushed slightly and awkwardly replied. "T-thank you, Mam Nicole."


    "I told you to stop calling me that. That makes it sound like I''m so old. I''m still in myte twenties, you know?" she responded with a pout jokingly before waving her hands sending him away. "Go on, don''t let the leader wait. FIghting!"


    Alonzo regained confidence after receiving encouragement from Nicole. For him, she was like a loving mother that he never had. A guide that lit the way and showed him the way forward.


    He faced forward and climbed the stairs and proudly stood in front of Jun. He was socially awkward and appeared nervous at first, but upon seeing Jun''s encouraging smile, he managed to calm himself. Afterward, he appeared natural and forgot about his fear of socializing.


    "Congrattions Mister Alonzo. Please protect ck Haven''s citizens and territories with all your might. Keep striving hard and study different skill usage until there''s nothing to learn. But I doubt that you''ll ever run out since there are too many skills to learn waiting for you at the library.


    "There are also people developing skills right now, and if you ever manage to understand the foundations of your skills, please help ck Haven by providing us a copy. Skill development has been on the rise and as soldiers who would probably have a lot of free time when there are no hordes attacking our territories, we expect a lot from you."


    "As the top trainee, you are eligible for taking any item from Tier 3 and below at the Auction House. You would also receive ten thousand credits to be transferred at the same time after taking your item from the Auction House. Lastly, you have free ess to Tier 2 Virtual Library for three days."


    "Thank you!" Alonzo bowed deeply feeling overwhelmed. A smile that couldn''t be erased remained stuck in his face.


    The rest of the program was of the same nature. The rest of the top ten trainees receive identical treatments. A free item from the Auction House from Tier 2 and below, five thousand credits, and a Tier 1 Virtual Library ess for three days.


    Anyone who wants to ess the Virtual Library had to sign a Terms and Conditions Agreement. The TCA was a binding contract that prevents anyone from duplicating or sharing the skills and knowledge they learn inside the Virtual Library.


    Upon getting ess to the Virtual Library, another tab would be added to the newly reformed IDCard.


    The stic ount card has undergone numerous updates and has be a trademark for ck Haven. Everything could be done using the former bank ount card.


    Recently, the Mission Board was also added to the IDCard, making registering and epting missions easier. Mission items still need to be submitted physically, but payments would be automatically deducted and received since the ount was connected with the bnce.


    After the program, Jun went back to the EXP Room in the Faction Hall to receive the Well-Rested buff.


    While resting, he received a message from Marvin. A bunch of military personnel appeared at the border of the town and was driving through the highway. Currently, they stopped its advance and was being interrogated by the people.


    Jun''s hatred and disappointment with the government have spread to his citizens. Everyone has survived for this long. They weren''t idiots. They knew that Jun was up to something and they knew that he was also doing his best for them.


    For his loved ones. For his friends. For his citizens,

 Chapter 297: Forced Logic

    Chapter 297: Forced Logic


    "Get out of here!"


    "We don''t need you anymore!"


    "You guys are useless! You onlye when we''re already up on our feet!"


    The people shouted and mocked the military convoy. There were two trucks filled with armed soldiers unhappily staring at the crowd.


    If it weren''t for the captain standing calmly at the side, some of the soldiers might have argued and caused a fight to break out.


    "Captain Hill, why are we suffering like this? Can''t we at least shut them up somehow?" said an irritated soldier as veins appeared on his head. If he wasn''t wearing his uniform, he would have already charged forward and entered into a brawl with those loudmouths.


    "Calm down. We aren''t here to make enemies. We have a mission toplete. Stand down and don''t provoke anyone. We just need to wait patiently and the big fish wille to us."


    At the same time, Captain Hill saw amotion in the distance and the crowd parted. Two lines of spear-wielders marched forward in trained fashion.


    "No one talks. No sidements. I, alone, do the talking." Captain Hill reminded, not his soldiers, but the special person seated on the passenger seat of the truck.


    It was an average young man with basic features and perfectlybed ck hair. He wore a tight ck suit as if he was attending his wedding when the everything happened. His eyes were closed most of the time and only opened when the crowd temporarily hushed.


    If the man wasn''t seated on a military truck, no one would probably pay him any attention.


    The man ignored the Captain and stared at the new batch of people.


    A single line of spear-wielders had a dozen of people. The two lines split to the side and a man with armor arrived.


    One look and anyone could tell that the man was fragile. He had a lean body and his stature andposure doesn''t seem much. However, this is a new world. Upon seeing his escorts and the way the people respected him, he should be someone high up in thedder.


    The man stared at the military in return without showing that he was pressured. His gaze traveled left and right scanning everyone. After taking a good look, he turned back at the officer standing at the front.


    "Considering that you have manners, I guess we can talk. My name''s Marvin. I''m the manager of this town. Is there anything that I can help you with?" Marvin asked.


    "Manager?" Captain Hill blurted out in confusion.


    Marvin hit his forehead. "My bad. I''m a bad host. But considering the current circumstances, you guys aren''t supposed to be here. Nevermind then, wee to ck Haven''s territory. ording to our information, you guys should already know about our group. ck Haven was formed by average people, to save the people, to serve the people. I hope we can settle this matter without having people to die."


    Captain Hill had one mission to do. To get that man in a suit to speak directly with Jun. Other than that, the man doesn''t have to do anything and just have to sit patiently.


    The briefing he received indeed spoke of a powerhouse faction called ck Haven. A group that provided weapons, food, and shelter to survivors and maintaining stable control on the surrounding areas. They have people with unique powers that are powerful threat unless taken care of immediately.


    ck Haven might be strong for the civilians eyes, but he believed that the military could easily kill these rebels if the higher ups wanted to do so.


    Every soldier in the military had been trained rigorously for years. Their individual skills should easily outdo any man out here in terms of physical prowess and marksmanship.


    Although he was pissed that civilians were blocking their way, he couldn''t mindlessly kill them since cruelty wasn''t in his blood. Military discipline was still running through his veins and he would strictly follow what he believed is right.


    In the future, the military would be able to capture all these rebels and reeducate the brainwashed people to rejoin the government. For now, they would work together and feed the people.


    The military didn''t have a stable food supply that could feed a whole city. They have to constantly scavenge nearby towns, only to ration the remaining warehouses of food.


    When Paolo Cas left for the Outpost and visited the Stronghold, the Cardona fishpond wild dungeon hasn''t been discovered. This fact was hidden from the military upon his report. Even when his secretary learned of the news, they weren''t able to contact each other and just aggressively bought food supplies,


    The National Police was also using the Ration System. Having each person purchase fish for the National Police would lessen the stress on their food storage, The National Police would provide the money, so the volunteers also benefitted. They could usually buy two to three fishes and would receive one as their supply while the rest were returned to the National Police.


    "I''m Captain Hill. The Tikling Outpost sent us tomunicate with Hunter Jun Reyes. It is important that the message we have be delivered immediately. Can you take us to him?"


    As a soldier Captain Hill had to do his mission at all cost. Even if he had to do certain things that go below his standard.


    And just like him, it was Marvin''s task to dig any information he could find, before deciding whether it was worth the risk for the leader to meet them.


    Although the Hunter title intrigued him, he didn''t ask any question and immediately responded. "How about you tell me what important information you have to say, and I can deliver it to my leader?"


    "Unfortunately, I can''t do that." Captain Hill said, "This information is highly ssified and even I doesn''t have privilege to know of it."


    "Then it is really unfortunate." Marvin responded a little troubled. "I don''t think I can let you pass through, not knowing your intentions."


    Captain Hill agrees with Marvin.


    Without speaking anything factual, their convoy would appear suspicious to any rebel group.


    What kind of rebel group would allow their enemies deep into their territory?


    Captain Hill smiled wryly and scratched his head. He nced back at the suited man who was currently shaking his head.


    The man in ck suit said, "I told you that your n wouldn''t work, but you didn''t listen."


    "I just want to try doing it rationally. Maybe some of them still had hope, right?" Captain Hill muttered.


    Adan Robles fixed his necktie and jumped off the car. He was an attorney that topped the recent bar exams. He should be getting a good life after studying for seven years.


    And yet here he was, working exclusively for top officials after finding his ability quite useful.


    Forced Logic.


    Adan examined the surrounding before starting his speech. "Please listen to me. Currently, the military recognizes you as rebels. We have enough firepower to gun everyone down, but we won''t do that. That''s why move aside and let us through."


    Marvin felt strange as if the man was convincing enough. When he looked around, he saw that everyone was slightly moving to the side, while still having clear eyes.

 Chapter 298: New Orders, Confiscate

    Chapter 298: New Orders, Confiscate


    As the angry mob moved to the side, Marvin finally noticed a small inkling of haziness in their eyes. The more he saw, the more he understood. The other person must have used a charming skill that caused this to happen.


    Even so, he smiled and remained calm. Since he was able to remain awake, it could only mean that he had higher stats than the other person.


    He red at the cored worker but retained his smile.


    "Capture them!" Marvin shouted, "but don''t kill anyone."


    As soon as he bellowed, several strips of twines ran out under the military trucks and snaked around every soldier''s body. The twine strips climbed the soldier''s legs and run up to everyone''s neck, coiling around it. The ends of each twine were sharpened like knives and were pointed on each and every soldier''s necks. If they were to do anything unnecessary, the twines could easily pierce their necks.


    The soldiers gasped in surprise and tried to pull the twines out, but they were too slow since they were trained to always hold their weapons. Before they could reach for the twines, it was already wrapped tightly on their necks. Some tried their luck and pulled harder, only to receive a soft poke from the twines making them feel its sharpness and bleed.


    The convoy captain fumed from the sudden turn of events and if not for Adan stopping him after noticing that he was about to explode. The captain calmed himself before ring at Marvin and his weird backups.


    "What are you doing? Are you finally showing your true colors?!"


    "I don''t understand what you''re asking me, but I can definitely say that I''m defending my people. You see, we were living peacefully until you''re group showed up. I suggest that you go back to where you came from, so nothing serious happens."


    This is the first time that outside forces with real threats hade on the border of ck Haven. As a designated town manager, Marvin decided to make use of this group of soldiers to solidify his position. He must make sure that he gets every information and items he could take from them without ruining their rtionship if there was a rtionship to be salvaged anyway.


    The captain was about to respond when a hand stopped him. Adan who took a few steps back earlier and was watching from the sidelines finally stepped forward again.


    Adan knows that there was only a selected type of people that could resist his skill, and those people were the ones who were stronger than him.


    The captain backed off immediately. He wasn''t someone stupid or he wouldn''t be the one assigned to lead this group. He was asking for answers earlier as a mental retaliation and to buy some time for others to recover. Every soldier calmed down instead of panicking after hearing his shout. They immediately looked around to assess the situation.


    Most of the people were still under the spell with some survivors with higher resistance slowly breaking free and waking up.


    Hidden behind the first line of dazed people, Zeke Sicat was trying his best to control his twines. If it weren''t for the energy drain, he wouldn''t evenst this long while controlling several twines at the same time. Beside him was Kylle rk as a bodyguard and his two favorite women. The two women were his backup energy source once he ran low. He has been using this trick for a long time, and the women agree with this in exchange for safety and a better life.


    When a soldier up the truck noticed them, a gun was immediately pointed at them. To teach the group a lesson, Zeke was forced to slice the man''s neck.


    The soldier gurgled in his own blood as he tried to grasp for air. Kylle came forward and took a tower shield he bought from the auction from his dimensional storage. The rectangr shield dropped on the ground and caused the road to quake due to its weight.


    The quake was not too strong, but it was enough to jolt everyone nearby to wake up from their dazed state. If other soldiers were to risk it and shoot at them, Kylle could use reflect and send their attacks back at them. If the enemy chose to be evil, they would receive what they initially sent with slightly stronger power.


    Adan didn''t know what happened, but he saw a soldier fall from the truck and die. He instantly shouted to take control of the situation.


    "Calm down! Don''t do anything rash!" He shouted for both enemy and ally to hear.


    Adan then stared at Marvin wanting to size him up. The man doesn''t look experienced in any way. If you don''t know who he was before, you would never consider him as a drug addict.


    Marvin was just malnourished due to circumstances. Once his way of life improved, his stature and manners were finally shaping up. His muscles were developing in the right ces and his mental age was continuing to mature.


    After gauging Marvin, Adan finally spoke. "I''ll repeat one more time. We were sent here to send a message to your leader. If you could help us set up a meeting with him, then we would immediately retreat giving the message."


    "And like what I''ve said earlier, I''m here to receive the message."


    Upon hearing Marvin''s words, Adan could feel his annoyance meter rising. He was about to lose his temper when he noticed that Marvin was looking dazed while staring at his wristwatch.


    When Marvin looked up, a yful glint showed up in the corner of his eyes.


    "We''ve got orders. Confiscate their weapons and bring them to the gymnasium."


    The spartans behind Marvin scattered and moved forward in a defensive position. Their shields covered their ankle up to their shoulders while their spear was arched behind, ready to throw at any moment.


    The soldiers wanted to resist, but a soft cuddling reminder from their necks stopped any retaliation from them. Each soldier was kneeling on the ground as a special individual check their inventories for dangerous weapons.


    Marvin said, "Don''t worry. We will not hurt you. Our leader wille here, so we are making sure that nothing hidden in your inventories could cause trouble."


    After checking everyone''s dimensional storage and confiscating every dangerous weapon, the convoy was brought to the gymnasium.

 Chapter 299: The Request

    Chapter 299: The Request


    Jun arrived at the gymnasium within ten minutes. The national road has been cleaned as every vehicle was shoved to the road''s side or looted for parts. Carriers were the least of the problems now as certain groups of silly bandits continuously try to ruin ck Haven''s peace.


    Bandits operate smartly, though, making it hard for good-hearted survivors to report them and extinguish them. Every time a righteous faction arrives at the scene, the bandit group would already be far gone.


    Jun was guided to a table with a gentleman already sitting down. The man''s face was bruised like any other soldier by his side. He nced at Marvin by the side and raised his eyebrow to inquire.


    Marvin shrugged. "There''s been a squabble. Someone tried to stab me with a pen, so I pped him. Thankfully it wasn''t a book. I''m much scared of books. I watched this one crazy movie with a man using a book to kill someone... It was awesome! And frightening."


    Jun knew that that p wasn''t a simple p. Marvin must have transformed and pped the man into oblivion for him to fall unconscious. Still, he wouldn''t bring that into the open and kept his mouth shut.


    Noticing Jun''s weird stares, Marvin faked a cough and reported seriously. "One soldier died while another was currently unconscious. I identally pped him too hard when I got angry. The rest underwent investigation and never answered. This pretty guy here loves his junior so much that he started talking once I threatened him about cutting it off. Also, we kept them at low energy, so they can''t use any skills."


    Jun refused toment and sat down. He nced at Zeke and Kylle and smiled at the two. Usually, they would do their own things, but they received an order from Jun to help Marvin deal with the visitors. The two were forced toply since they were under a contract and has already used their avable rejections for the month.


    Jun regrly sent missions to them, but they often refuse it when they think it wasn''t worth their time. Every time a serious problem arises in the town, he would regrly send an order to them. A great example was the cavern outbreak. Jun requested them to solve the worsening bat problem, but the two rejected them since killing bats weren''t profitable.


    If they continued rejecting surpassing the avable limit, they would probably die due to the contract taking effect. That would have been really bad for them and so they have no choice but to ept the task.


    The two walked away after seeing the missionplete notification appear in front of them. They were going back to their own worlds since they already filled their quota for this month.


    As the two left, only Marvin and Jun remained in the room, together with the army convoy. The two were confident that they could easily take care of these people since their main skills were easily predictable due to their jobs. It was impossible for them to have any unique overpowered abilities unless they have weird hobbies even when in service.


    Jun warmly greeted the flowery guy in front of him and learned that he was the messenger escorted here. The two exchanged some pleasantries before talking about the main topic.


    "General Corwin sent us here to request something from you. It''s quite confidential, so it would be appreciated if unrted people could leave the room." Adan spoke filled with authority. He seemed to have forgotten what happened earlier as confidence was reignited inside him.


    Adan''s face started to scrunch up after noticing that no one was leaving the room and Jun only stared at him. Earlier, he tried to add charm into his voice but nothing was happening. Of course, he knew that the person in front of him was the enemy leader, so he doesn''t really have that high of expectations and easily epted that petty tricks have a low chance of sess.


    Jun sat back rxed on his seat as he responded nicely. "I trust everyone here, so you can speak your mind. Also, I guarantee that your group could return alive to your outpost, but all of your weapons would be considered as toll. Just treat the items as an entrance fee."


    Adan wanted to refute that, but Jun stopped him. "I know that you already lost one man, but that''smon nowadays. Which side doesn''t have casualties? The road is clear and you could easily go back with ease. If you don''t encounter bandits..."


    Adan gulped and recollected himself. It seems like getting treated highly at the stronghold turned his head into mush. He adjusted his mindset to the appropriate one. They were currently held captive and his words could either save their lives or cause them all to die.


    Knowing that tricks won''t work, he decided to be direct and get out of here. "General Corwin requests your help. The military was nning to send one final expedition towards the Capital to rescue the president and we want any help that we could get."


    Jun and Marvin perked up, intent on learning of the current news.


    Seeing as the two were interested, Adan continued to narrate his story. "The rescue battalion reached the Mcanang Pce but was trapped together with the president. They''re currently surviving with the rations they brought with them and that won''tst long for a week. They need immediate extraction.


    "The General wants your help in clearing their designated area and thinning the enemy numbers. This is the information given to me and if you want more information, then the General said that you can speak with him directly. Also, if you ept this, the General would reward you with anything that you want as long as it''s possible."


    Jun was currently in a neutral rtionship with the military outpost. Both of them took advantage and benefitted from each other. Still, he had no ns on working his butt for someone else''s dirty work for a meager reward. Unless the reward outweighs the risk, he would never ept the deal.


    "I''m not interested. Tell Corwin that if he wants to recruit me and my people, he needs something better than just rewards. He better be prepared to bleed his warehouse."


    Jun wasn''t being greedy. He was being smart.


    Wars are just like gang fights but on a muchrger scale. And what they''re asking him to do was more than war. Fighting evolved creatures and all kinds of mutated animals could lead to unknown oues.


    Since the army even resorted to recruiting external powers, it could only mean one thing. That things were getting worse and a lot of people would surely die.


    Adan used his phone and contacted General Corwin to ry the news. He didn''t even hide what they were talking about and calmly spoke while Jun stared at him.


    After learning that Jun doesn''t like vague rewards, General Corwin specifically thought of several things that the man wanted. After thinking of possible items, which he only had few interesting ones, he asked Adan to hand over the phone to Jun.


    "I''ll give you an IFV and some rifles."

 Chapter 300: Move Out

    Chapter 300: Move Out


    Jun heard the old man''s cheap trade and immediately refused. "I don''t want a useless tin can. I think I can pack more punch than that thing.


    "Regardless, I''m a friendly guy who likes to help people in need. I want all of your guns and ammunition, the IFV, and the transport helicopter. In return, my guys would be fighting as the vanguard, and your guys could fight from the rear. It''s safer that way, and we would achieve mutual benefits."


    Jun waited for the other side to respond but could only hear rough breathing. He even wondered if the old man was sleeping when he heard a deep sarcastic voice. "Do you think I''m an idiot?"


    To which Jun replied honestly.


    "I think you''re desperate. I''ll stay here, so you can take your time and decide. To make things a bit fair, I can allow you to enter Angono to buy some of our crafted items."


    "...I''ll think about it."


    After hearing Corwin''s reply, Jun handed the phone back to Adan. The deal was as good as sealed. Corwin wanted a lot of items from ck Haven but couldn''t find any traders. In the first ce, ck Haven citizens treat the military as an enemy for abandoning them.


    It was guaranteed that Corwin would ept due to his greed. If he could monopolize this connection, he would get a better standing inside the military.


    And as expected, Adan''s phone was handed back to Jun, not even a minuteter.


    "Okay, but I''ll arm all of my soldiers first before I hand over the armory."


    Jun refuted immediately. "I don''t want a looted armory, so no."


    The two haggled once more like conniving old merchants. When the fight ended, Jun managed to get everything he was promised and onlypromised by giving out a 3-day training session for the gunless soldiers.


    At first nce, Jun seems to be the one benefitting a lot, but if you look into things deeply, Corwin still had the upper advantage. Corwin was transitioning his subordinates to close-quarterbatants like Jun. He realized that supplies would surely run out shortly, and investing in meleebats would raise their survivability.


    The IFV and Transport Helicopter needs a lot of gas to be used. Their ammunition was also running out, and having them around only attracts more carriers than intended. They were even less efficient as a transport vehicle since many jeepneys and buses can be found everywhere.


    Even if Jun took all the ammunition and rifles, they would need to use it in clearing the designated area. Overall, he was just getting rid of soon-to-be useless items.


    On the other hand, Jun was also exhrated. He sneakily brought out the matter of selling items to a high-ranking military man. It would soon spread towards the outpost, and the reliability and usefulness of CP would soon explode together with the demand.


    Marvin doesn''t know of this and could only stare at Jun in puzzlement.


    Jun informed King of the situation and asked him to gather the first army for a clearing mission. The mission was a simple and direct confrontation with the carriers.


    The First Army would enter the Capital and clear the western districts and secure nearby bridges to provide an escape route for the VIPs.


    No matter what, they don''t need to do a full clear since the Capital was four times bigger and several times more popted than any other small town. The small town they cleared wouldn''t even match up with the capital''s poption density due to the number of people flocking towards thend of opportunity.


    People with ambition from all provincese to visit the capital most of the time. Hoping to strike that golden opportunity that only a few people could grasp once in their lives.


    A few hourster, the First Army finally arrived at Angono. Since there were no portals nearby, they had to use public vehicles as their mode of transportation. There were three busses forming a caravan and each bus could carry fifty people without losing convenience.


    The First Army has already prepared everything they needed and were waiting for further orders.


    King got off the leading bus and jogged towards Jun, who was waiting by the gymnasium door.


    "The preparations wereplete, sir. I''ve already briefed everyone about the mission objective and we can go at any time."


    "Good. Let''s go!"


    At Mcanang Pce...


    An old man with dark-brown skin stared at the reports on his table. He had a short stature but his presence was filled with vitality. His eyes had dark circles underneath due to the sleepless nights he had to go through.


    He was the President of the Philippines, Rodriguez Duforte, known for having a foul mouth but having a good heart.


    Due to the PSG''s and the initial safety protocols, the Mcanang Pce was able to enter lockdown before everything started. Only a few unfortunate employees turned during the initial phase which was easily handled by the security.


    The problem cameter on as time passed by. They helped anyone they could which resulted in the increasing number of civilians on the outer courtyard.


    During the first week and month, they could still safely gather supplies. However, things changed after carriers evolved. Their movements became further restricted and volunteers dwindled as more deaths urred.


    The once harmonious civilians don''t want to risk their lives anymore and just want to free-load on the government.


    After several months, the PSG''s finally contacted the outside world and managed to cook up an extraction mission. Unfortunately, the evolved carriers roaming the city were already in great numbers with a few strong champions leading their packs.


    In the towns and provinces, a Rank 3 Destroyer seems to be farfetched, but inside the capital where there were millions of people at any time of the day, it was extremely easy for carriers to evolve. Most of the evolved carriers were already at Rank 2, while regr carriers were mostly sparse.


    The extraction team was able to enter the Mcanang Pce at the cost of a small decoy group that lured nearby evolved carriers to the outer perimeters of the city.


    Their job was simple.


    To run back home, and attract as many evolved carriers as possible.


    Rodriguez Duforte shut his eyes to rx when someone hurriedly knocked on the door. He massaged his forehead before allowing the person to enter.


    Paul Celestine entered the room with a solemn air in him.


    "We found enough vehicles in an underground parking lot. We can move now as long as you order it, sir."


    "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go, everyone. We shouldn''t be wasting time here." Rodriguez Duforte hurriedly stood up from his wooden waxed chair.


    The PSG''s quietly followed after him and ignored the General in front of them.


    Before Rodriguez Duforte exited the room, Paul voiced some of his concerns...


    "With all due respect. I still think bringing too many civilians would slow us down and mightpromise your safety, Mister President."


    At those words, the President turned and stared at him.


    "I became the president because the people trusted me to change this country. They are my people. I''ll act as if I''ve never heard this. Do your job, and let me do mine."

 Chapter 301: The Loving, Foul-mouthed President

    Chapter 301: The Loving, Foul-mouthed President


    It was already afternoon and the sun was on its way down from the sky.


    Several fashion jeepneys, mostly used for shows and decorations, were packed with civilians that formed a convoy behind the courtyard gates. They still have gates on the entrance which allowed better safety for the civilians. Some of the jeepneys had cool fiery designs while some selected few had hot anime girls sticking their tongues out with their eyes rolling upwards.


    The military trucks can be found at the front and back of the convoy to ensure the safety of the members. On the center of the convoy were a bunch of bulletproof and armored ck sedans.


    The gate was manned by armed soldiers, making sure that they could get some headstart from any nearby horde by checking the surrounding area.


    Of course, the military took overmand and security of the convoy while the PSG''s stuck close to the President''s car.


    The civilians were armed with knives and blunt weapons in case they have to fight for their lives. The soldiers would do their best to protect the convoy, but they would only use their guns when necessary.


    "Mister President, please take this. It might not be much, but please use this in emergencies." The Presidential Security Group Head Officer said while holding a Glock pistol.


    "Calm down, Jerry. This is just like any other day. There are dangerous people that want to kill me, and you protect me from them. Hahahaha!" Rodriguez Duforte took the pistol then startedughing.


    Jerry could only sigh upon seeing the presidentugh. It was true that it was like just any other mission, however, unlike those missions, there were thousands of assants going after them. If it weren''t for the well-stocked armory inside the Mcanang Pce, they would be struggling with their daily supplies.


    With all the firearms inside the Mcanang Pce, they could have easily stormed out of the city and hunkered up north. Unfortunately, the President was a loving one and had to care for every living citizen of the country. He refused evacuation since the situation up north wasn''t verified.


    Also, they tried to establishmunication with the Philippine Army Headquarters only to find out that they were overrun. Most of the garrisoned troops were sent out to help civilians while the people in charge were killed from the inside, due to soldiers and civilians they helped to turn to carriers after some time.


    The convoy was headed south where most of the military soldiers were waiting at the boundary. They couldn''t go back up north since the attracted evolved carriers were waiting there. As for the east, it could be used as a backup when things don''t go well for the southern path.


    As the convoy continued its parade in the middle of the street while trudging the sea of abandoned cars, gunshots started to resound in the area.


    "We''re gonna be in trouble." Rodriguez Duforte frowned upon noticing the increasing number of carriers in the distance. He turned and faced Jerry, before asking,"Can you give me a better gun?"


    "Eight. Nine. Ten! Hold up! Get back to formation! The enemy line has be thinner. Another ten count!"


    King furiously shouted as he hacked another regr carrier. Its head easily got separated from its body and made a loop around in the air. The fight has been on for half an hour and yet they''ve already fought three hordes of regr carriers.


    Although he felt weirded out that he hasn''t seen evolved carriers in the mix, he took it as their luck being good since they don''t need to work so hard for a simple side job.


    At best, they could just consider this as another form of training where they don''t know what monsters they would have to fight next.


    Jun watched the First Army fight from the backline. If any high-ranking carrieres, he would be there to deal with it.


    Corwin stood beside him with a sullen expression. He knew that Jun established a private army but he never thought that they would be this effective in dealing with the enemies. He wished that his soldiers could be like them in closebat sometime in the future.


    Still, he remained level-headed and continued with his n to dominate the government market and improve his underlings'' strength.


    Corwin cleared his throat before directly pointing out his intentions.


    "I see that you''ve trained your people on how to fight. I hope my soldiers could be like them one of these days." He intentionally refrained from calling them an army since he doesn''t want to make Jun feel good about the situation. He doesn''t want to deal with someone who gained confidence due to his ramblings.


    On the other hand, Jun didn''t care about his words, and coldly responded with his thoughts."I''m sure they will since they will die if they don''t. You can''t babysit your soldiers. There''s a high chance of dying if they be toocent."


    "By the way, I haven''t seen my helicopter around. Are you hiding it from me?"


    Jun red at Corwin with a bit of killing intent.


    "No, no! I would never do that. It''s currently retrieving soldiers sent out this morning. If you can wait until dusk, then you can have it."


    "And the pilot?"


    "I-I can''t give you the pilot. I can lend him for some time though. But you''ll have to answer for his needs."


    Nod, nod.


    Jun nodded his head feeling pleased.


    ''I guess that''s reasonable. I can just brainwash the pilot with benefits, so I can lure him to my side. If not, then I''ll just be content with training a newbie pilot.''


    The two continued haggling over benefits as the First Army trained on the other side of the bridge. They weren''t that deep into the city, but they were far enough that hordes woulde every time they were about to finish a horde.


    "These demons never stoping. I don''t think we can reach the expressway exit at this rate. Jerry! Give me another magazine!"


    Jerry grabbed another magazine nearby and handed it over.


    Rodriguez Duforte took it and loaded it into his M16.


    "Whose idea was it to use the expressway again?"


    "I-It was General Paul Celestine, sir President."


    "Tell him that his brains are made of porridge! He better start thinking of another n! If more people die here, I will shoot him myself!"


    The convoy had to stop at the skyway. Half of the road from the bridge has copsed and they couldn''t continue anymore.


    A wild earth-element carrier has been rampaging destroying the area as more and more regr carriers surrounded it. Every time it attacked, the bridge road bes thinner. Its victims hanging in the air continued snarling even when pierced which attracted more monsters into the area.


    The worse thing was, they have chasers from behind that rued to a horde due to being ignored since earlier.


    The soldiers only fired when the drivers were threatened or when a vehicle is about to be breached. This caused more trouble than actually saved due to over-relying on firearms.


    The extraction was supposed to be swift and easy. The skyway was an expressway that wasn''t even open to the public since the aesthetics weren''t even finished. However, all ns were destroyed due to an elemental carrier roaming around the city.


    Stuck between a rock and a hard ce, the military had to deal with the elemental carrier while the civilians helped fend off the chasing horde from behind.

 Chapter 302: Skyway Bridge

    Chapter 302: Skyway Bridge


    Paul Celestine looked troubled as he continued shooting every carrier that appeared in his sights. Every bullet caused a grotesque hole by the side of the enemy''s head.


    A single line formation of soldiers was enough to send a horde of regr carriers to their deaths.


    ''This can''t go on.''


    That was what he was thinking upon seeing the dead bodies getting covered up by other carriers. They can''t loot the bodies, and there are too many enemies. Usually, the army wouldn''t even look at regr hordes like these since they don''t give much benefit in terms of experience. A horde like these only cause harm more than anything.


    If it were any clearing operations, they could have just turned around and called it a day. If they were in the mood, they could take some time to split the horde into smaller groups before killing them.


    However, they don''t have time.


    And this wasn''t any regr clearing operations.


    The president was behind them, and they couldn''t afford to fail.


    "Ceasefire!"


    "Five people, on me. The rest, continue thinning their numbers!"


    Paul, armed with his rifle, run forward to get a better angle on things. Due to the elemental carrier creating spikes and causing noises, the horde circled with it as the center.


    The military already stumbled with this unique carrier and knew how to deal with it.


    The only way to deal with it was an assassination. If you shot it through the eyes, there''s a high chance that you could kill it before it became careful of its surrounding.


    The six-man group boarded atop an overturned construction truck and started firing on anything that gets near.


    Paul raised his rifle and took his shooting stance. The sights were only basic scopes, but with his trained eyes and the aim, he immediately found his target.


    Unfortunately, the earth elemental carrier was almost the same as any other carrier. The only thing that reminds Paul that the target was the repeating rotation of the carriers in that area.


    The earth elemental carrier was the eye of the horde where constant spikes of pierced carriers rose up.


    ''In the end, we have to waste ammo and clear the horde.''


    "Attack the undead surrounding the unique one. I''ll take care of that one if I get a clear shot."


    The five followed his orders and started thinning the eye of the horde. As more shots fired, the heads nearby became sparse.


    Paul continued searching for the elemental carrier, and when he found it, someone actually shot it thinking it was a regr carrier. He found it through his instinct, but someone identally rmed it.


    The earth elementals external skin was tough. The bullet ricocheted and killed another carrier.


    By the time Paul pulled the trigger, the elemental carrier had already turned its head towards them, causing his shot to hit its nose. The bullet bounced off like how a pickaxe causes sparks when hitting a stone.


    The earth elemental growled and summoned several spikes in its surrounding. The prolonged thinning of the remaining cemented road caused web-like cracks to appear.


    When the earth elemental created another spike, the road couldn''t take any more weight and copse, causing everything above to fall.


    Half of the horde joined the earth elemental as they plummeted towards the road below, getting their feet crushed like jelly.


    "Fvck!"


    Paul cursed out loud unable to control his emotion.


    The horde on the other side of the road finally noticed them and started moving towards them, causing them to fall on therge gap between the bridge.


    Jerry finally took this chance to step forward.


    "General Paul, do you have any other ns? The president''s patience is running thin. If you don''t think of an alternative, he might snap on you..."


    Everyone from the military and the PSG knew what kind of temper the president had. He loves his citizens, and that''s a fact. So, if something were to happen to them, people in charge would surely be put in trouble.


    Paul Celestine looked back at the gap over the bridge. Since the gap was about two meters wide, he was thinking about whether they could use something to make a temporary bridge. Several logs would do, or even a long piece of metal beams.


    Luckily, he saw some construction materials earlier by the side of the road. It seems like the ce hasn''t been cleaned of materials and it was their great fortune.


    "Grab those lumber! Pick the sturdy and long ones! Hurry!"


    Paul ordered and ran towards the president and exined the situation.


    "The bridge copsed and we''re making a makeshift bridge. Don''t worry sir, it would only take less than a minute."


    "I think we don''t have a minute to wait."


    Paul frowned upon hearing the president''s words. He turned and followed his gaze only to see arger horde entering the skyway entrance. The previous chasing horde seemed friendly ifpared to the following horde, which easily numbers around the thousands.


    Since the group was already had a height advantage, they could easily see the crawling Hunters and towering Destroyers amidst the crowd.


    Paul called his elite marksmen to help with reducing elite enemy numbers. His target was Destroyers, which the army calls ''Titans''.


    His breathing slowed and his eyes glued to the sights.


    Every time he uses the aim assist ability he had, every sound disappears and the world bes still quiet. The only things that remain were the sound of his breath and his beating heart.


    BangBangBang!


    Most modern firearms fall under four different firing modes: semi-automatic, automatic, burst, and single shot.


    Semi-automatic firearms fire one shot every time the trigger is pulled.


    Automatic firearms fire continually until the trigger is released.


    Burst fires multiple shots (usually two to three) every time the trigger is pulled.


    Finally, there is a range of single-shot weapons that require the user to cock, load, pump, or somehow feed the gun a new cartridge by hand every time they fire.


    In this case, Paul used the burst option which could deal sessive damage in case his aim was off the target.


    If Paul had higher high zoom-quality, he could have seen that the first two shots missed, but caused the Rank 1 Destroyer to jolt its head, which caused the third bullet to enter through its eyes.


    The dead Destroyer managed to take a few more steps before falling forward causing a few carriers to get crushed underneath it.

 Chapter 303: Military Politics

    Chapter 303: Military Politics


    Paul Celestine continued firing, emersed in his own world when all of a sudden his world suddenly shook. Due to the shaking, his aim went off but still managed to kill a random regr carrier by the side of his target.


    "...ral! General! Can you hear me? The makeshift bridge has been ced!"


    A soldier tried to catch his attention since earlier but upon noticing that the General was in aim assist, he decided to shake him up. Every veteran soldier has almost the same skillset, so they knew what kind of skills the other soldiers had.


    It could be seen as a weakness and strength at the same time. An army filled with elite marksmen could kill their targets far away. Even if the enemy had unique powers, if they were unable to utilize it, it was still useless.


    On the other hand, having the same set of skills would put everyone in danger once they meet something extremely dangerous. If a Hunter or Destroyer gets too close, it would spell certain doom to that small number of people.


    Paul Celestine recollected himself and saw a crude bundle of lumber ced on the broken bridge. He wasn''t sure if he could trust his life with the bridge, but with the vibrations, he could feel under his foot, he had no choice but to trust it.


    "Mister President, let''s go."


    Paul Celestine tried pulling Duforte''s arm, but it didn''t budge. Even though he didn''t put much strength into it, he still has enhanced power and should be easily able to pull an old man.


    Unfortunately, the president wasn''t someone who hides in safety during the initial phase. Before the extraction group arrived, Rodriguez Duforte had already reached level ten by rescuing civilians and searching for supplies.


    "Let the civilians go first. I''ll hold off the enemy."


    "But Mister President?!"


    Paul wanted to debate, but a fair-skinned PSG wearing barong blocked him.


    Jerry shook his head before guiding the crowd of civilians towards the makeshift bridge.


    Knowing the president''s temper, Jerry knew what to do. He also hoped that the General assigned to extract them adjusts to the president''s temperament.


    Paul Celestine''s group of six stayed to defend the uphill climb. The different modern guns echoed around the area as they endlessly fired. They even had to resort to using the vehicles as a ramming tool, which caused quite a destruction when going downhill. One vehicle even tumbled upon a corpse which caused it to overturn and tumble down and explode.


    As they repeatedly used the tactic, the skyway entrance became a crash site and carriers couldn''t get past them. The Evolved carriers were hunted down once they climbed up the wreckage making them easy targets for professional shooters.


    When thest of the civilian boarded the bridge, the barely gripping lumber slid making the civilian lose bnce and fell to the side. He was able to grab the group lumbers, but his hands would soon slip.


    "Please help me!"


    Unfortunately, before someone could even run up to him, the makeshift bridge finally gave up and fully slipped. The man''s scream echoed as he fell, followed by several thudding noises.


    No one looked down. No one could.


    In the middle of their stupor, Paul suddenly thought of an idea.


    "Let''s make another bridge!"


    He quickly ran towards the lumber pile by the side of the road only to see wet and short pieces of cut lumbers.


    The officer on the other side of the bridge shouted upon hearing him. "We already used all the longer ones. The remaining ones couldn''t reach this end. Do you have anything on your inventory that we could use?"


    Paul searched his dimensional storage for anything useful.


    "I only have a rope with me. I don''t think we need to risk it. You guys head to the Southern Outpost, we''ll go to the eastern one."


    Upon hearing the news, an officer from the other side of the bridge frowned but no one noticed it since he was on the back of the group.


    Paul continued. "The skyway should be pretty safe unless there''s another unique on the other side. Just be careful."


    "Please take these." The friendly officer tossed a rifle magazine, followed by a grenade. "Let''s hope you won''t need to use it."


    "Thanks. Good luck to you too!"


    Jerry calmed his other brothers on the other side of the bridge.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll die first before anything can get close to the president."


    His friends didn''t smile nor showed fear. They only left him some words of encouragement.


    "Don''t die. Let''s drink once we meet again."


    With their farewells said, the two groups finally moved.


    On the president''s side, there were only eight people armed with rifles. Paul Celestine''s group of six, Jerry, and Rodriguez Duforte.


    The First Army swept the floor with ease. Anything that came forward was easily dealt with, Rank 1 Evolve carriers were no match for them thanks to their equipment. They move together as one and marched forward as one. Behind them were soldiers looting the body of the dead with the loot distribution of equal half with ck Haven having priority pick.


    Jun and Corwin were following the group while seated on a military jeep.


    After watching the First Army battle with the abominations of this world, Corwin finally epted that regr guns were finally going to be phased out. Bullet production has been on the low and keeping with the upkeep of rifles wasn''t going well. Every manpower is needed to fight on the battlefront or looking for supplies.


    During the whole clearing, Jun only stepped out once when a Rank 3 Hunter jumped on the First Army. Thankfully, King was armed with Tier 3 Shortswords and was able to react in time to defend the army.


    Any carrier above Rank 3 must be killed at all costs. They''re cunning and they learn. If left unattended, there''s a high chance that they''ll be a true hunter in the name and in the sense.


    In the quiet city, they could hear the echoes of diverse gunshots. Some were continuous while some had a certain rhythm to it. They also varied from the loudness and softness as if they had silencers or stabilizers.


    Amidst the quiet journey, Jun felt that something was off about the military operation, so he decided to inquire, It doesn''t matter if it was top secret, or he doesn''t get the answer he wants, he just wants the itching curiosity to be scratched.


    "Why did they choose to go south? I think they know that your Outpost has already cleared most of the nearby threats, so the most logical route should be this one, right?"


    Corwin smiled at Jun. "You''re still young, I see. Some people at the top don''t really care about the president you know. They just want a figurehead that can help stabilize the situation with the people, a scapegoat. What they need are ranks. Expeditions under their names, so they could get promoted."


    "Aren''t you the same?"


    Corwin turned to Jun with a sly grin.


    "Aren''t we all? People don''t move voluntarily. They don''t take risks unnecessarily. There is always a reason even if it is a tiny one."


    Now, it was Jun''s time to turn his head and face Corwin with a question.


    "And what''s your reason?"


    Corwin stared at Jun. Both of them gauging whether the topic they were discussing was just a chat to pass time or a genuinely serious one.


    Upon seeing Jun''s expecting gaze, Corwin answered truthfully.


    "I think I have hinted it to you for some time, but I need a higher rank if I want my family to be safe. There are dozens of wolves in the military and a bunch of foxes in the government. Unless I get promoted, I would still be seen as a crippled desk-General."


    Jun shrugged and looked outside. Everyone does something because there are reasons for it. Even himself was under that rule. The whole reason why the newly graduated First Army was here was so they could get better gear and to escte some part of the n.


    "I guess you''re right. But you still haven''t answered my question."


    "Some things weren''t good to hear. Do you still want to know?"


    "On second thought. please don''t tell me."


    Of course, Corwin found it enjoyable to go against him and spoke his mind.


    "Do you remember when I said some people don''t care about the president? That group literally doesn''t want him toe back. Our president always weighs everything for the good of the people. Often times, the military would take the full brunt of his actions. Yet still, the people loved him. This is just my guess though."


    "And here I thought you were speaking facts."


    "Semi-facts... Is that even a word?"


    The two continued converting useless information and would sometimes try to dig about important topics. Like a true gentleman, the two often alternated with giving each other factual truths.


    Most of Corwin''s interest lies in what kinds of items he could buy and what things he could exchange. During their chatter, the two learned that information was still the global currency that could be epted anytime.


    When the sky started to darken and the city became gloomier, the First Army was forced to stop and ask for further orders.


    The decision was to hold the First Army at the main bridge near the Outpost, so they could respond in case of an emergency. Since this mission onlysts for a day, Jun agreed with the condition of dividing the loot at 6:4.

 Chapter 304: Hunt is On

    Chapter 304: Hunt is On


    The night hase.


    The street was once again tranquil filled with certain dangers in every corner.


    Random encounters that can happen for any reason at all as if the universe was against you.


    Small critters hid in the darkness waiting for good things to befall them.


    Some smaller insects move in groups like evolved cockroaches who had stronger exoskeleton after shedding. For smaller beings, evolution was far easier since they have small bodies that need to circte energy.


    Also, reaching the maximum amount of needed excess energy can easily be acquired in the surrounding.


    A few more examples of small insects that slightly grew in size were lizards and ants.


    Lizards have faster regeneration ability while ants be much stronger. There is no telling as to how strong these neglected creatures would be in the future.


    "Bang! Graurw!"


    A male regr carrier continued pounding the door of a coin-operatedundry shop.


    Its clothes were ripped and bloodied everywhere showing the various bite and tore marks all over its body. Miraculously, there were no wounds to be seen as if the carrier has already eaten something else. or regenerated on its own.


    Inside the room, eight people were eating MRE in the middle of the room while trying their best to remain silent, It was the president''s group that got separated from the main extraction group.


    Rodriguez Duforte stared at the door.


    "The noise will attract more. Jerry, can you please deal with it."


    Before Jerry could answer, someone else answered.


    "It''s fine. Let me take care of it."


    Everyone just got seated after clearing most of the rooms. When they met up at the lobby, their shlights happened to attract the attention of the carriers outside.


    Fortunately, only a small number of them was interested while most reserved their energy.


    For regr carriers, every bit of energy needs to be saved when night time since they can''t receive constant energy from the sun. Although the moonlight gives a small amount of energy, which isn''t enough to preserve until morning, it is still mostly used as a catalyst for evolving.


    Unless the carrier was on the brink of running out of energy, they would never be so desperate on moving around. But once they achieved their first evolution, they would be free to go wherever they wanted.


    Paul stood up and walked towards the door.


    With his keen senses, he knew that there was only one carrier pounding the door.


    He breathed in and waited for the right timing.


    Thud!


    Breathe.


    Thud!


    Breathe.


    After learning of the attack speed of the carrier, he suddenly pulled the door open for retaliation.


    The supposed scenario was like this;


    The carrier hitting the door and is on force rebound. With its body unable to react, he would stab it with his military knife and end the farce quietly.


    Weirdly enough, the pounding sound didn''te even after he opened the door. The carrier that was supposedly pounding it was nowhere to be found.


    It was as if the event was just a figment of everyone''s imaginations.


    Instead of carrier lunging at him, he could only hear a quick gust of wind that passed by followed by an eerie silence.


    Feeling perturbed, Paul squinted his eyes and surveyed the area.


    The streets were filled with darkness.


    The sr-powered street lights were dimly lit and could only illuminate the area near them.


    Paul felt that something was odd. Even though they have cleared the road where they came from, there were no carriers to be found in the area.


    With the situation unclear, Paul was forced to return to the group.


    "Let''s eat and rest for a few minutes then continue heading east. We need to get out of here by tonight."


    Jerry felt that something was wrong so he asked for more information.


    "What happened? Is there a horde nearby?"


    "Nothing like that. It''s even the opposite. There''s nothing outside. Even inside the Pce''s walls, we could hear wandering zombies at night. I have no proof but something just doesn''t feel right."


    Rodriguez Duforte having finished heating his MRE, suddenlymented by the side.


    "Then start eating. As soldiers, you should believe your instincts. It''s one of your best allies on the battlefield."


    He opened the pack and started eating with a spoon that came out from a ckhole.


    It took less than half an hour to get everything sorted out and be back on the road.


    The group mostly used alleyways to avoidrge hordes on National Highways. Even then, they were in a constant battle with the weakened carriers.


    "Wow! This is tiring. Even if they don''te in droves, killing small groups after another is getting pretty taxing." Jerrymented while wiping his sweat.


    Normally, he would just be guarding for unseen threats, looking threatening, but this time, they can''t use guns and resorted to meleebat.


    Although trained in hand-to-handbat, he wasn''t the best on it.


    The group encountered at least seventy carriers while traversing the alleyways. It was a small number but big enough when you only use poles and knives.


    Most of the time, they could get easy kills since there were few stragglers. But when they don''t kill them fast enough, more carriers alwayse on their way.


    Every battle was a time attack and you need to be swift for it to end. Unless you could do that, every carrier in the area would swarm towards the location and things will only end when no carriers remained in the surrounding area.


    "Hahaha. You should exercise more, Jerry. Howe your already exhausted when I''m not."


    Hearing the president tease him, Jerry scratched the back of his head. In his mind, the answer was obvious.


    ''I am exhausted because I''m protecting you!''


    They continued their journey to the east with their minds at ease. The rxed atmosphere helped everyone in the group to remain level-headed and observant of the surrounding.


    Paul remained extra cautious since he still feels that something feels wrong.


    It was like everything was finally going their way until a Rank 1 Destroyer chanced upon them.


    Before they could even enter another alleyway, a Destroyer happened to pass by on the road ahead of them.


    "ROAR!!!"


    The Destroyer bellowed upon seeing them.

 Chapter 305: Night Stalker

    Chapter 305: Night Stalker


    Upon seeing the Destroyer charge towards them, everybody instinctively retreated backwards. Their steps were slow at first until someone shouted for everyone to run.


    "Run!"


    If they weren''t surprised, they could have easily shot the Destroyer down. With their expertise and aim assists, considering the distance, it would have been a sure hit.


    Thud! Thud! Crash!!!


    Unluckily for them, the Destroyer wrecked the walls as its humungous body collided with the cement.


    Dust formed and served as a cover for the Destroyer. It even picked a trash bin and threw it towards the survivors.


    Unfortunately, or fortunately, the group was able to reach a turn and dodged the flying trashbin.


    The trashbin whooshed behind Paul who was thest person running in the group. He was the one leading the march, so he was the one closest to the exit.


    The soldier who was at the rear of the formation became the lead runner. He saw an emergencydder nearby and hurriedly jumped and grabbed it, sessfully pulling it down.


    Two soldiers barely managed to climb up when the shaking of the earth intensified.


    Paul knew that they don''t have enough time.


    "Try to shoot it from above. Keep your radios on! Let''s enter from the backdoor!"


    The two soldiers who managed to climb up nodded their heads and answered in affirmation.


    "Roger that!"


    "You can count on us, sir!"


    With two climbing the emergencydder, six people ran towards the distance. By the time they saw a door, they could hear the Destroyer skidding to a halt then enter the turn they just took.


    The Destroyer had dried blood on its arms, elbows and hands. Their origins were unknown and whether they were fresh were debatable. Its eyes hunger for blood as if it was on the verge of reaching the next level.


    It saw two groups of people. One hastily climbing adder while the other was running away. Instinctively, it chose the people running away since they had more people.


    Unfortunately, the group suddenly entered the building and from its previous knowledge; it couldn''t fit easily into those doors.


    In the end, it changes target in the middle of its run. It turned and grabbed the basedder, yanking it out.


    The two soldiers climbing thedder felt sudden turbulence and shaking. One of them even missed their step due to the shaking, causing them to temporarily lose bnce.


    With the Destroyer continuously yanking thedder, thedder''s screws and connections to the wall slowly loosened up and disconnected.


    The two soldiers climbed faster due to adrenalin. By the time the first soldier climbed the rooftop, thedder was halfway destroyed.


    Seeing that both of its prey was about to escape its grasp, the Destroyer forcefully yanked the emergencydder.


    Thest soldier was forced to prematurely climb the rooftop skipping several steps from thedder.


    Like amon death scene in movies, the soldier was about to reach the rooftop railings but stopped ascending. His fingers stretched forward trying to grasp even a minuscule hold on the edge hoping for survival.


    Unfortunately, he was short for a few inches.


    On his way to descent, a hand grabbed his hand and a familiar face smiled at him. He was saved like how a protagonist would be and the two smiled at each other.


    "I got you bro, just hold on." said the soldier while prepping himself to pull his friend. He ced one of his foot at the railings to counter the gravity, and through gritted teeth, exerted force on his arms.


    "Hooh... Let me pull you upkeok!"


    Before he could finish what he wanted to say, a bloodied hand tore through his chest. He only felt a needle sting from his back before realizing what happened.


    Blood dripped off from the five sharp elongated nails holding what supposed to be was his heart. He tried turning his head around, but only a few secondster, his vision dimmed and strength disappeared from his body.


    Even with all the remaining HP, he still died immediately. His HP hastily drained like a broken dam losing water while his energy immediately turned zero.


    The other soldier hanging onto him could only watch in horror as his buddy got impaled by a Hunter from behind. He was showered by trickling blood and when his friend died, all resistances disappeared causing both of them to fall off towards the alley.


    The Rank 3 Hunter hurriedly pulled its hand back when it felt that it was about to be brought down. After hearing a soft thud, followed by munching noises did it decided to look down from the edge.


    The Destroyer was eating the fallen soldiers heartily like how people ate barbeque.


    Seeing its spoils getting stolen, the Hunter screeched angrily at the Destroyer.


    "Kraaaaa!"


    The Destroyer shuddered and looked above. Upon seeing that the noise came from someone smaller than itself, it readily ignored it and calmly picked the dead bodies and walked away.


    Getting ignored wasn''t new to the Hunter. Most "big brothers" usually ignore him and it got used to it.


    But that was from the past.


    Ever since he learned that he had the advantage after evolving, he often killed the "big brothers" that doesn''t listen to him. Well, most of the times it would get a pounding and had to retreat, but from there, it gained more experience and learned every time.


    It wants to teach the big brother an unforgettable lesson. As it climbed like spiderman using its nails that dug through the walls, it suddenly smelled a familiar scent in the air.


    "Sniff, sniff."


    After recognizing the smell, it abandoned teaching its big brother a lesson and immediately run away. It jumped from rooftop to rooftop and used balconies whenever possible to get as far away as possible from the ce.


    The Destroyer didn''t know what it meant for the Hunter to run, but it knew that there were people inside the building.


    After eating most of the life essence from the two soldiers, it tossed their fleshy remains to the side and pummeled the backdoor open.

 Chapter 306: Rescuing the President

    Chapter 306: Rescuing the President


    For the Destroyer, it''s two-meter height wasn''t a problem when entering doors. Its main problem was its two bulging arms slowing it down. Not in a sense of weight, but through interference.


    Even though it had enough strength to destroy doorframes with ease, it still needs to focus enough force to achieve that. For low-rank Destroyers, casually bashing doorframes isn''t possible. Also, it doesn''t have enough brain cells to be able to think of entering sideways. And when it evolves to a higher rank, it doesn''t even need to think of crouching since it can already wreck simple doorframes.


    After widening the doorframe through brute force, the Destroyer entered the backroom and wildly searched for human presence. Storage boxes were tossed aside with every swing of its arms. Shelves were shoved to the ground after getting bumped slightly causing stocks of misceneous materials to scatter on the floor.


    ng, ng!


    "It''s here!" Jerry eximed upon hearing the noises in the backroom.


    The building the group entered was a two-story convenience store. Since they were clearing carriers even before they were caught by the Destroyer, there were only a few carriers inside the store and all of them were moving impaired. Some had leg muscles missing while others were missing a leg or two. They easily dealt with the stragglers who can''t move and frenziedly looted the remaining items on disy.


    The store had half of the goods on disy already looted. That either means there was a weak survivor group nearby, who can''t clear the store or a few random survivors who passed by.


    Nevertheless, getting more food would be better than nothing.


    They don''t know about the unlimited fishing opportunities at ck Haven and Jun would never take the initiative to tell them. Jun doesn''t know if theke''s resources would run out in the future and he doesn''t want that to happen.


    "Okay, get into formation. Make sure to quickly kill it. We can''t afford another mistake." Paul eagerly said.


    Yes, not being calm enough to shoot and kill the Destroyer was a mistake. Even then, it was still understandable. Caught in surprise, their bodies reactedte and there was nothing they could do when dust particles covered their line of sight.


    This only proves that they still have a lot of things to improve. Their senses and caution altogether. With this experience, future military explorations would be much stricter and safer.


    "ROAR!"


    The four elite military personnel took a fan-shaped formation making sure that they got each direction covered. Jerry stood in front of the president who was at the rear of the formation with his back against the wall.


    When the Rank 1 Destroyer enters the room, its head would immediately be bombarded with a hailstorm of bullets. They only need a couple of lucky shots to enter through its eyes and it''s their win.


    Paul stabilized his breathing and waited in bated breathes. He was too focused on the door in front of him that he could barely hear the words Jerry was saying from behind.


    sh! Thud! ng!


    The next second, he could hear the wild rampaging of the Destroyer on the other side of the room, followed by soft rings like how iron strikes metal.


    The continuous trembling of the room and the sound of things falling to the floor resounded repeatedly. It was as if the Destroyer was nning to overturn the ys to look for them.


    ''Was it this ipetent?''


    From Paul''s experience, Destroyers would search non-stop for its prey once cornered, However, this was the first time that they managed to shake off their chaser, and hide in the room.


    ''But that should be impossible. That room only had limited space. It should being here anytime soon.''


    Paul didn''t lower his guard not wanting to make the same mistake from before. However, the backroom suddenly turned quiet after a strange thud as if a body fell to the ground.


    He then felt a hand touching his shoulders and that''s the only time he loosened up, finally exiting his focused zone.


    He turned and saw Jerry staring on the streets with aplicated expression on his face.


    Through the ss window of the convenience store, six people stared at a sea of people casually killing wave after wave of carriers. They were armed like medieval soldiers with swords and shields, apanied with matching chest armor.


    On further observation, they noticed that these people were organized and were actually working in small groups of ten. There seemed to be one leader giving instructions per group and the members instinctively follow as if they have already done this hundred of times.


    These carriers were attracted by the bickering between the Hunter and the Destroyer. By the time they arrived at the ce, they saw a horde of prey charging at them. What they didn''t know was they were actually the prey instead of the predator.


    A few shester, the streets became tranquil with only "Clear!" reverberating.


    When these armed mob turned and faced the convenience store, Jerry tried to hide the president behind him while Paul and his brothers raised their rifles.


    Although it looks like these people helped them, they have no reason to back it up. This group could possibly a strong bandit group reigning in this area, and they happened to trespass their territory.


    "I am Major General Paul Celestine of the Philippine Army. May I inquire who are you people?"


    Paul didn''t know whether his voice was low or the people were ignoring him. Secondster, an answer came from the adjacent room.


    "I can answer that."


    Creak...


    The backroom door slowly opened and spat a young man with bloodied hands. He wore leather armor and has iron-studded leather bracers on his arms.


    "We are ck Haven. I am King, Director of the First Army. We are looking for the president. He''s still alive, right?"


    Paul frowned upon hearing King. Although he knew certain news about ck Haven, he only had outdated news of them. Back then, it was still a motley crowd of survivors trying their best to survive. Well, it was information that came from Corwin, so he shouldn''t have trusted it.

 Chapter 307: Black Haven Army, CEO

    Chapter 307: ck Haven Army, CEO


    Paul stared at the blood on King''s hand and didn''t lower his rifle.


    Noticing his gaze, King exined himself.


    "There was something annoying in the next room, so I had to deal with it. That said, I hope this blood doesn''t stick. I just ordered these guys and this is their first battle."


    King ignored the guns pointed at him and shouted towards the street filled with people.


    "I need a butcher here. Although it''s only a Rank 1 Destroyer, we can still use most of its remains."


    Rodriguez Duforte frowned.


    "Do you eat them?"


    King turned dumbfounded.


    "In case you want to die or mutate, I suggest not eating them. You can use them as pet food, but too much corruption would make mutated pets insane. Wait, should I be telling you these? Demn this mouth."


    Rodriguez Duforte replied. "Thank you for the advice then."


    Hearing the two people conversing peacefully, Paul decided to abruptly interrupt them.


    It seems like Jerry was getting jittery with how close the unverified man was acting to the president. The way he clutched the pistol on his side could prove detrimental to their safety.


    Still, he couldn''t me him. He was just doing his job.


    A random middle-aged man entered the store and went towards the back room, followed by continuous chopping sounds.


    Paul probed for more information.


    "Do you live around this area? Have you seen any soldiers around?"


    ck Haven was rooted in a distant town. Although their presence has appeared on the military outpost, there were only small groups that passed by.


    It should be impossible for them to grow this much in a short time.


    "We are the reinforcement. Sir Corwinmissioned us to escort you back safely to the Tikling Outpost."


    Most of the soldiers doubted his words, unfortunately, King''s next actions were solid and irrefutable.


    "This is Sir Corwin''s seal. He also said that you wouldn''t probably believe it, so he gave us his dogtag. If you''re still not convinced, then I have no other options. We can just travel to Point A, so we could get radio signal and contact the outpost."


    On King''s hand were a seal stamp and an army dogtag with Corwin''s details engraved on it. Paul scrutinized every information listed and found them urate ording to his memory.


    "It''s real. This should be Corwin''s dogtag."


    "Great. Now that that''s out of the way, please follow us and we''ll guide you to safety."


    Their conversation ended at the same time the butcher harvesting the Destroyer finished his job. The man went back to his group and remained in formation.


    The First Army was also finished looting the carriers they killed and just finished looting the nearby buildings. Working in small groups makes things faster and easier.


    By the time the small meeting in the convenience store was over, the First Army was ready to set off.


    "Lead the way."


    As the person in charge of the operation, Paul epted and had to take responsibility. He stretched his arms and showed King the way out as if saying, ''you first''.


    While they were walking, Jerry stood beside King and softly said, "You need to wash them quickly."


    King got startled but managed to work up a reply. "Pardon?"


    "The bloodstains. You need to wash them quickly if you want to remove them easily. If they dry up, you''ll have a hard time cleaning them off."


    "Oh, thank you."


    King didn''t ask why Jerry was telling him that nor why the man knows about it. In the end, they were strangers to each other and would probably never meet again.


    When they got out of the front door of the convenience store, Paul started calling for his brothers on the rooftop but no one answered.


    A bad feeling dawned upon him. After making his way through the staircase inside the second floor, he found nobody on the rooftop. He called out a few times, but there was no reply.


    Amidst his search, he found a series of bloodstains near the edge where the emergencydder was supposed to be.


    When he finally peeked over the edge, he saw the disconnecteddderying on the back alley. A few meters away were bodies missing tons of flesh.


    He then made his way back down, back to the alley. Upon seeing the missing facial flesh, the meaty arms, and legs, the missing stomach, he instantly knew he couldn''t bring the dead bodies back. It was like a scarecrow with bones sticking out instead of sticks.


    He crouched beside the bodies and took their dogtags for identification.


    The First Army moved with their VIP''s at the core of the formation. The president remained silent the whole time and only watched the surroundings.


    Paul stood beside King and stared some idle chat.


    "So, what''s this Director-thingy. Are you like, you know, high up in the rankings?"


    Like an honest young man he is, who was eager to show how righteous he wanted to be, King unhesitatingly answered the question. "It''s like our own military ranks. I''m a Director who leads thepany and I have other responsibilities other than that."


    After saying this much, King suddenly remembered that he shouldn''t be saying too much information about them. He tried to remain quiet, but it''s not sure until when will his lips remained shut.


    Even though he noticed that King doesn''t want to talk to him anymore, Paul continued asking to pass time.


    "You operate as apany? You''re a Director, so there''s still someone above you? He must be strong, right?"


    Like a child tricked of candy, King proudly answered.


    "Of course! As long as he leads us, everyone would be safe."


    "That strong? You must rely on him a lot then. Does this person have a name?"


    Feeling that nothing was wrong about sharing the leader''s name, King replied eagerly. "He''s the one and only CEO of ck Haven Army, Boss Jun!"


    "Boss Jun?"


    Paul became skeptical upon hearing the name. His thoughts be muddled as bits of information entered his head.

 Chapter 308: Killing the Rank 3 Hunter

    Chapter 308: Killing the Rank 3 Hunter


    Backtracking a couple of minutes earlier...


    The Rank 3 Hunter who was slowly climbing down the wall like a spiderman smelled a familiar scent in the air. After recognizing the smell, it immediately ignored the Destroyer that stole its prey while scuttling away on the rooftops.


    Several secondster, a figure vaulted over the edge and scrutinized the area. The man had fierce eyebrows and was armed and clothed pretty well. His attire wasn''t entirely for cosmetics because they were enchanted items with hidden effects.


    Thebat boots had a minor-noise cancetion effect. The leather pants and jacket had increased tenacity with bite and w resistance. These were simple improvements that help a lot when fightingmon carriers.


    After taking a sweeping sense, Jun felt the survivors from below but decided not to peep on them. King and the First Army would be there to do that.


    The problem was the Hunter that run away. Jun only thought it was a higher leveled Hunter and so he wanted to kill it, but after seeing its sly reaction, he felt a foreboding feeling and made an assumption that it was that slippery Rank 3 Hunter that always escapes from his grasp.


    When he was under military service for a week, he always crosses paths with a Rank 3 Hunter who always run away before even fighting. When it was a human, its motto was probably "just survive" or "live another day".


    After a probable encounter today, Jun decided to finish things once and for all.


    Having a high-level enemy with a high chance of reaching the next level near his territory probably wasn''t a good idea.


    He listened to the Destroyer pounding the door and looked back to King who was on the road.


    "Our target is inside the building. There''s also a Destroyer in the back alley. Deal with the carriers in the area and wait for me at the bridge. I''ll be chasing something."


    "Got it!"


    King answered and ran towards the alley following the Destroyer into the backroom.


    Jun activated his tracking rted skills and chased after the Rank 3 Hunter. If he doesn''t pay attention to his surrounding, the obvious tracks wouldn''t be noticeable.


    Due to the sharp ws of the Hunter, there were scratch marks all over the rooftop and he only had to follow them to catch up.


    It didn''t take long for Jun to see the silhouette of the Hunter since it was making a lot of noise when running atop roofs made with iron sheets. The loud nging also helped Jun detect the general area of the Hunter.


    With his eyes set on its target, Jun proceeded to speed up and finish the hunt.


    Thest time they fought, he was a lot more inexperienced, underequipped.


    But now. he had swords crafted from a Rank 4 Destroyer. Its sole damage alone should easily oust any enemy like cutting tofu. What can a Hunter who specializes in speed do?


    After catching up, Jun hastily threw bone needles towards the Hunter.


    And of course, the bone needles missed. He wasn''t an expert with throwing weapons. He just wanted to slow down the Hunter and he actually seeded.


    Although the bone needles missed their mark, the noise created rmed the Hunter. It turned quickly around and shrieked at Jun as if warning him to not get closer.


    This sudden turn was all Jun needed to get close. He lunged forward destroying the roof he was stepping on and shed at the Hunter.


    As if feeling the extreme dangering from the sword, the Hunter crossed hands and blocked Jun''s sh with its nails.


    The tier 4 sword stopped in its tracks surprising Jun. He didn''t expect the Hunter''s sharp nails to be so sturdy to be able to block his attack.


    To amend the situation, Jun didn''t waste time and activated Empower and destorm.


    The sword coated in ominous red energy gradually cut the nails of the Hunter. His body slowly started to rotate and unleashed a series of attacks on the Hunter.


    The nails were the only thing that gave resistance to the sword. Every time the de sliced the Hunter''s flesh, it would scream in agonized torture. Even when it tried to counter-attack, it only resulted in failure and got its hands cut off.


    In the tranquil night where most beings reserve their energy, a piercing wail of a cry echoed throughout the city. For the carriers, whether high-level or not, they weren''t interested in the event.


    However, solo survivors hidden expertly in the darkness felt troubled about the anguished screams, making sleeping for tonight a hard one.


    After butchering the Hunter, Jun headed towards the meetup location. He ignored the human presence he felt in the area as long as they did nothing that needs action.


    Most of the presence he felt was alone. And for them to be alone, they''re either someone strong or someone with great luck.


    He didn''t bother inviting them to follow him, nor initiating a conversation with them. People who need help will call for help. If they don''t need help, then it''s better to leave them alone.


    After running for several minutes, Jun finally arrived at the bridge. The First Army took hold of the ce and killed anything that came close enough.


    Upon seeing Jun, King immediately ran forward and greeted him.


    "You''re right. The president was with them."


    King only thought that these were random groups of survivors they encountered. However, Jun believes it to be the target group since they were traveling in the correct direction.


    "How is he?"


    "The president is safe. They had silencer on their rifles, so small conflicts don''t attract big hordes."


    "Good job. Treat everyone to a fish barbecue once we got back. Everythings on me."


    After praising his subordinate, Jun felt a couple of gazes directed at him. He saw the president curiously staring at him and another familiar face frowning upon seeing him.


    Paul Celestine stared at Jun in confusion.

 Chapter 309: The Presidents Gratitude

    Chapter 309: The President''s Gratitude


    ''What''s he doing here? Isn''t he a small town boy?''


    Paul Celestine couldn''t believe what he was seeing. From what he remembered, Jun was just a small-time pre-apocalypse thug who happened to seize control of certain areas.


    Due to his contempt for Jun, he wasn''t able to see clearly the broader things that were pretty obvious.


    It was a great feat for a small-time thug to capture several towns and dere them his territory uncontested.


    Because of the over-reliance on guns, the military has been blindsided for a long time with the advancement of skills and individual powers. Military personnel still think that being armed with guns was better than training in other skills.


    Jun arrived in front of their group and scanned everyone. A warm smile appeared on his face.


    "My name is Jun Reyes, the founder of ck Haven. It''s nice to meet everyone and I would really like to spend some time chatting with you guys, but I think we need to move on.


    "If we encounter a horde of high-level carriers here, I think we''ll suffer a great loss."


    As the person-in-charge, Paul stepped forward and agreed. He stared forward and Jun stared back. The two remain in locked tension waiting for the other person to speak, but no one was willing to speak first.


    In the end, they ignored each other while everyone was left curious as to what just happened.


    The return route was cleared which caused a faster return.


    The military was stationed at the bridge with a floodlight lighting the way. Jun specifically told them to stay here as to not cause trouble by attracting hordes due to gunshots.


    Corwin waited at the front-most row and immediately saluted to the president upon seeing him. After a simple rundown of the outpost situation, Corwin received the president''s praise for doing a good job in managing the outpost.


    Corwin instantly felt pride in himself. The praise alone was heartwarming and yet the feeling of eptance he felt from the sincere gaze of the president made his heart tremble in excitement.


    The greatest thing about the situation was that the president recognizes him now. Even though barely, he should be on his radar and probably on the good side.


    Afterpleting the mission, Jun gave the First Army some free time to do what they want to do. Giving a vacation after a mission was essential in keeping the soldier''s morale and loyalty high.


    Everyone from the First Army weed the day off dly. Fighting daily while risking their life can cause tension to form, which would eventually lead to mistakes.


    A single mistake could lead to death and one mistake can cause numerous troubles. Mistakes aren''t needed on the battlefield.


    Seeing the treatment the First Army was receiving, some of the soldiers watching them felt envious. They were regrly working on shifts and often have over time. The looming threat on the other side of the bridge can''t be overlooked which causes soldiers on duty mental fatigue.


    King and several Team Leaders stayed back to guard Jun. They were still in neutral territory and First Army''s high-ranking officers have already lost trust in the government. They have to make sure that nothing bad happens to their founder.


    The reason for Jun''s stay was simple, making acquaintances.


    The person indebted to him was the president. The country''s president!


    At the same time, he also has a lot of questions he wants to be answered.


    Jun casually conversed with Corwin about the APC and transport helicopter. Although pained about the crooked deal, the old man still entertained him since he was still feeling overjoyed. The president was inside his office and making several calls on various still-functioning government departments.


    Benefits would surely fall to this outpost even if he didn''t ask for it. Everything was about politics, and politics would always benefit one side while causing losses to the opposing side.


    As the two continued to idle, Jerry came over and interrupted them.


    "Mister Jun, right? The president would like to have a word with you."


    Jun and Corwin turned their heads at the same time. The other appeared to be surprised while Jun calmly spoke his mind.


    "Lead the way."


    After following Jerry to the highest floor of the outpost building, Jun finally entered Corwin''s office.


    King and thepany were stopped by a squad of soldiers which prevented them from advancing further.If it weren''t for Jun telling them it was okay, they would have insisted on entering with him. Left with no choice, they stood on standby and waited outside the hallway.


    Two groups of elite soldiers stared at each other like they were prepared to lunge at each other if the other side showed any signs of violence.


    Inside the room, Paul Celestine silently watched Jun as he entered the room. His feet were raised on the coffee table like he was a carefree man.


    However, hidden behind his calm appearance was an arrow ready to strike if he showed anything out of order. He was tasked to extract and protect the president and he will do that until he brought him back to the current Stronghold.


    The president was busy talking with people on the phone and yet upon seeing Jerry and Jun enter, he immediately bade farewell and dropped the call.


    Before Jun could reach the desk, the president already stood up and excitedly walked towards him. Rodriguez Duforte shook his hands with a warm smile on his face.


    The two sat in front of each other with nothing in between.


    "So you''re that promising man. I''ve heard some tales from Corwin, but I would like to hear the story directly from you. That is only if you''re willing."


    Jun suddenly felt overwhelmed. An invisible pressure surrounded him, however, it wasn''t a bad feeling nor a positive feeling. It just urged him to do what he wanted to do.


    Since he intended to make acquaintances and ask some concerning questions, he proceeded forward with honesty.


    In the end, he slowly opened up and told the story of a regr citizen, his hardships, and how he gathered everyone to survive the apocalypse.


    Upon hearing the basic story from the man himself, Rodriguez Duforte stood up from his seat and lowered his head to Jun.


    "Thank you for helping them."

 Chapter 310: Gentlemans Agreement

    Chapter 310: Gentleman''s Agreement


    "Mr. President!"


    Paul stood in shock after witnessing the president lower his head to Jun, a regr civilian who used to be a thug. He couldn''t believe what his eyes were seeing.


    On the side, Jerry had a conflicted expression on his face but remained standing. If the man himself voluntarily did it, he had no say on the event.


    Besides, Jun really did save thousands and people. After years of staying on President Duforte''s side, he already experienced a lot of bizarre things and this could be considered one of them.


    "I thank you for helping as many people as you can during this crisis. Your efforts will not go in vain and I will make sure that you get rewarded ordingly."


    President Rodriguez Duforte raised his head and gazed at Jun. The two stared at each other briefly before Jun felt awkward and nodded his head.


    Paul Celestine felt that Jun''s actions were inappropriate, but he couldn''t do anything but re at him. It seems like he needs to teach thugs some proper lessons before they know their ce!


    "It just happened along the way, so you don''t need to pay too much attention to it."


    President Rodriguez Duforte smiled softly then sat down on his chair.


    "Thanks need to be said whenever it''s due. Without your help, a whole province could have been wiped out. Even if some people luckily survive for long, they would be scattered and weak only dying the inevitable."


    Jun epted the praise, then continued with his agenda. He wanted to be acquainted with the president and establish a rtionship with him. The result of this conversation could either make things hard or easy for both sides.


    "So what''s your n now? I don''t have any informationwork like you, so I can''t get an overall situation of the country. The most I know is that the whole country''s paralyzed and government help was scarce. People are still waiting to be saved."


    President Duforte tapped his fingers on the armrest while he thought of an answer to the question presented to him.


    "Hey, brat! Know your ce! If you don''t speak politely, I''ll have to teach you some manners!"


    Jun turned to Paul with eyes as if he was looking down at an insect.


    For a short second, Paul felt threatened even though they were a distance apart. Hie subconsciously took a step back and when he realized what he had done, shame and anger gathered inside him.


    "You!!!"


    Paul charged at Jun withrge strides, yet the brat ignored him and only faced back towards the president.


    Fuming with anger, Paul fiercely grabbed Jun''s cor. Before his hand could reach Jun, a bright runic seal expanded under President Duforte''s feet and covered the surrounding ten meters with moving gs.


    It''s President Duforte''s ace skill, Presidential Diplomacy. Anyone inside the covered area would never get no matter what even if the whole building copsed. It was the skill that helped maintain the Mcanang Pce withstand hordes of high leveled carriers.


    Paul''s hand stopped in mid-air as if a barrier blocked him from grabbing Jun. His eyes widened after realizing what happened. The skill was supposed to be secret and to be used only when the president''s life was in danger, and yet it was used to protect someone disrespectful.


    "Mr. Pres"


    "Get out." Rodriguez Duforte icily red at Paul. "Jerry, lead the man out of the room. Stand guard outside the door, don''t let anyone in. I want some privacy."


    Though reluctant, Jerry took Paul out of the room leaving the two alone in the room. He knew better than anyone how the skill works, so he was confident that nothing bad will happen.


    Presidential Diplomacy is an absolute defense skill that guarantees the safety of the people inside. The skillsts for an hour but it had a really long cooldown of one week and could only be used as ast resort.


    Intelligent beings inside the coverage area couldn''t attack each other. That meant if carriers entered the zone, they cannot be attacked and they cannot kill anyone.The invisible forcefield would even stop bullets before they reached their intended target.


    After Jerry and Paul left, the two continued their conversation.


    Rodriguez Duforte realized one thing in this short time. He wasn''t talking to a young man who knows nothing of the world. It was a mistake to assume that he could take advantage of Jun while barely knowing his information.


    Actually, he activated the absolute defense skill to protect themselves. The cold re Jun gave Paul slightly shocked him and he too was frightened.


    From the story that the man just told, he survived and grew stronger through fighting stronger monsters endlessly. That means, in terms of battle experience, he far outmatched anyone in this room.


    "I''ll be honest with you. I hate the government.


    "My family was destroyed by corrupt government officials who run shady business just for their benefits and no justice was given.


    "The government failed to react quickly and caused a lot of death all over the country. And no matter what reason you give, the damage has been done and the people I know have lost trust in the system.


    "A government was supposed to protect its people but we were left to fend on our own for a long time.


    "That was me talking to you as a concerned citizen.


    "Now, I speak before you as the founder of a stable settlement built through hard work and suffering.


    "What ns do you have in rebuilding the country?"


    Presdient Duforte pondered long and hard.


    Jerry guarded the office door and prohibited anyone from listening in.


    It has already been ten minutes when they left the room but the time crawled so slow and it felt like an eternity for those standing outside.


    Right then, the door opened and Jun walked out of the door with a stoic expression.


    "We''re leaving," Jun said to King and his elite soldiers.


    Bodies disappeared in bright lights as the group teleported out of the building back to the home statue.


    Jerry spared no effort in stopping the group from leaving and immediately entered the room.


    President Duforte was staring outside the ss pane with a smile on his face.


    "He already left?"


    "Y-yes. I know this is a dumb question to ask, but are you alright?"


    "Hahahaha!"


    President Duforteughed loudly, then turned around.


    "Of course, why would I not be alright?"


    "Ah, yes, of course, I know that... I was just routinely checking. If there''s nothing else, I''ll go get your dinner now." Jerry retreated but was stopped by a sudden call.


    "Jerry."


    "Yes?"


    President Duforte handed a piece of paper towards Jerry. "Go look for Corwin, tell him I''m asking for him. Also, do me a favor and gather all the information you can get on the people on this list. Do it as discreetly as possible."


    Jerry didn''t ask any questions after seeing top-ranking military officers and government officials on the list.


    Although he had a vague idea of what it is, he rejected the urge to personally involve himself. He would do the job and forget about it.


    "I''m on it."


    Jerry left the room and closed the door.


    Rodriguez Duforte stared outside the window. The sky was too dark to see anything clearly except for the scattered flickering lights in the distance.


    The capital city still had survivors living inside it. The image of his citizen''s endless suffering yed inside his head in a loop.


    He bit his lips and clenched his hand tightly.

 Chapter 311: Corn nuts

    Chapter 311: Corn nuts


    For the next few days, the territory remained peaceful.


    The announcement regarding the alliance between the government and ck Haven came as a shock to some people, but they had no choice but to ept it. They could only bury the hatred in their hearts as they continued their daily life.


    Jun slowly find his natural pace in everyday life. In the morning, he would spend some time to manage the territory. Most of the things that needed his attention were matters regarding expansion and safety. Everything else below doesn''t concern him.


    Bernard took most of theborious job as the Head of HR Department. New territories need a lot of workforces and arge variety of them.


    Cardona has be the food center of the territory and was heavily guarded by the First Army. Thanks to the advent of evolved fishes from theke, new recruits don''t have to risk their lives for the first few days of training. Every recruit could easily get a few levels off killingke fishes.


    As more people were saved during the territory expansion, more children of all ages started to appear. The management decided to teach those who were willing to attend basic survival techniques together with free basic skills they might need.


    Currently, the ck Haven Academy had less than three hundred students ranging from thirty years old and below. Most of the citizens don''t want to sit in a ssroom to learn things that they could learn outside.


    However, that doesn''t mean there aren''t any old people who want to study the changes brought by the new world.


    In the future, a few of these curious people would surely stumble upon new knowledge that would improve everyone''s lives.


    On the eastern side of the territory, Baras, Jun led everyone forward to scavenge on the next town, Tanay.


    Their goal for today was to scavenge for as many water purifiers and water filter equipment they could get.


    The Mission Board already assigned high rewards for buying as many water filter equipment avable. It was a project by Gina to allow everyone a free source of purified drinking water.


    Underground wells still work but many got sick drinking from them. The various organisms or waste inside them couldn''t be guaranteed. The stock water was also dwindling at an rming rate due to consumption.


    If they can get a water filter tank and several other types of equipment, Evo could modify them a bit to their advantage. Evo''s skills weren''t magical, they were just rare and unique. He could easily modify an item as long as it corresponds to its normal use.


    For example, he can''t make a pen shoot aser, but he could modify it, so he could write in thin air. The words would remain floating in the air for some time and would only dissipate once the energy used to create them was consumed.


    Once they get enough equipment, they could purify theke water into potable drinking water. A debate whether the cold and hot option should be added was still on-going at the town center. Either way, everything would depend on how much energy does it require to run, purify, and convert water.


    Tanay was a decently-sized town and has a poption of more than 100,000 people. It had a couple of tourist spots that could potentially turn into treasure spots or monster dens.


    Upon arriving at the outskirts, Jun immediately felt something strange about the town.


    It was eerily quiet.


    The national road they were traveling in was devoid of people, alive or dead. The farnds on both sides of the road were empty with only grass reaching above the knee.


    There were no signs of carriers in the distance nor survivors looking around to scavenge. Still, they were still far away from the town center to determine the overall situation and so, he gave it some benefit of the doubt.


    With a simple gesture of his hand, the First Army moved forward. King made relevantmands to send scouts and secure the region.


    It didn''t take much time for the scouts toe back and inform them of their findings.


    The ce was clean. There were no carriers to be found in the immediate vicinity nor there were any survivors snooping around.


    That means they can safely search the nearby houses.


    After deciding that he already had enough information, Jun assigned everyone to their jobs.


    "Search the houses, take everything useful, leave anything we can''t use. If it''s too big to enter your dimensional storage, then carry it on your shoulders.


    "But that probably won''t happen too often. We''ll meet back here after half an hour."


    Everyone dispersed and ran to the houses by the side of the road. They were at the entrance of the town and they weren''t expecting any good loot here. Still, any kind of loot they could take would surely help them even if it was small.


    Right then, Jun noticed someone peering at him from the distance.


    He immediately turned his head to try and catch the culprit but failed to see anyone on the horizon. The town center remained tranquil with no signs of life appearing anytime soon.


    Some timeter, the army returned with their loot and Jun didn''t waste any time.


    "There''s something in the town. Don''t tense yourself, but be prepared. Let''s go!"


    Back at ck Haven, Evo had his jaws open after hearing the terrible news.


    "It usually takes five months?! Can''t we do something to make them grow faster?"


    Felipe nodded and patted his shoulder.


    "Well, we can use the energized watering-can to speed it up a little bit. But even then, the peanut nt might take 2 to 3 months until we can get some harvest. Why not try some corn nuts? We have a lot of corn, and they''re great snacks."


    Felipe left after giving a few more advise and went back to his duties, leaving a dismayed Evo.


    "Corn nuts... do I really have no other choice?"


    Corn nuts were one of the country''s renowned products. A lot of recipes could be found online and with the vast resources that he could get his hands on, making them shouldn''t be a problem.


    A small orchard on the corn farm was turned into a peanut farm. Evo stared at them longingly before leaving filled with hope.


    "Two to three months without peanuts?"


    "I can do it! I can survive!"

 Chapter 312: The Musang Family

    Chapter 312: The Musang Family


    The First Army led by Jun finally entered the town center. It took them ten minutes of walking before arriving at the local park and clearing the proximity.


    The group upied the park of all ces to make their presence known.


    First of all, they don''t know if there is any strong faction out there that could endanger them. While it might put them at a disadvantage, it would also allow them to filter through the survivor groups in the area.


    Anyone who attacks them would be tagged as an enemy while anyone who wants to speak would be invited to step forward.


    "We can feel survivors nearby, but we can''t pinpoint their specific locations. They''re scattered around the town as if they''re disorganized mobs. With the amount of presence each of them had, we could safely assume that they only have average strength." the Head Scout reported.


    "That''s good enough. Any information is good as long as it can help in our nning." King praised his subordinate before continuing with the discussion.


    "We holed up here in the open to openly gather for supplies. Focus on getting what we need and don''t cause amotion if that''s possible."


    "Yes!" Every soldier answered.


    After a short briefing on what they need and what they don''t, everyone dispersed to different directions. Several soldiers were tasked to stand guard around the park to stop any survivors from getting close without being sighted.


    Well, they had to be really good if they escaped the search of soldiers with an average level of 11.


    That''s right, most soldiers of the First Army had already passed level 10. The lightning tribtion at level 10 was also easily conquered with zero casualties thanks to Jun''s discovery about energy and stat distribution.


    The information became an open-secret in the army. It''s not a secret, but not everyone needs to know about it.


    After sessfully passing the lightning tribtion, their bodies were strengthened and became more powerful. The overall muscle durability, stamina consumption. Everything! From fitness to health, it all received an improvement.


    That''s also the reason they could easily clear horde waves now. With their tiered equipment, they''re currently unstoppable.


    The most important part of choosing to stay at the za over anywhere else was its safe zone and the teleport feature.


    "It''s surprising to see the park statue still in good condition. Is there no Evolved Carriers here?" Jun questioned the reality of things.


    Often not, Teleport statues get destroyed during a town defense. It was extremely rare to see them standing with no powerful factions defending nearby.


    "Please stop!" a sharp voice was heard as a young man jumped down from a lush tree.


    Every soldier nearby became flustered since they didn''t feel the man''s presence until he decided to show himself.


    Panicked, everyone ran towards the man and surrounded him. Metallic swords with sharp edges reflecting the sunlight paired with dull ck oval shields trapped the man inside.


    Although surprised, everyone''s reaction speed was quick and the man didn''t have a chance to escape. In the first ce, he didn''t even n to escape. That bit should be pretty obvious since he decided to show himself.


    Jun stared at the man in interest.


    Was he a scout? Did he use invisibility? How did he get too close? I''m pretty sure the park was empty. My soldiers would have noticed him if he was nearby.


    With no possible answer in mind, Jun decided to ask the person himself.


    "I''m Jun, this is King. What is your name?"


    "My name is Erick Gapay."


    "Did you use invisibility?"


    "No, sir."


    "Then, how did you get close without being seen?"


    The question seemed to be hard to answer as the man had to take a few seconds before giving a reply. Still, the man answered truthfully from his expression.


    "I have a skill called Camouge. It allows me to blend with the surroundings as long as I move slowly."


    Hearing a probable answer, Jun decided that the man can be trusted and waved his hand. The soldiers slowly back off and eased their aggressive stance. Even so, they remained alert as they watched every move the man made.


    "Why did you stop me? Do you know what I was gonna do?" Jun asked with interest. He was just collecting the teleport rune, so he could teleport here in the future. What was the problem with it?


    Erick appeared troubled whether to answer the question truthfully or not. In the end, he had no choice but to give an appropriate answer.


    "Only the fighters can use the statue, the Musang family specifically."


    "Oh, are they tyrants? They lord over this part of the town, or is it the whole town?"


    Erick quickly shook his head after noticing that Jun was getting the wrong impression.


    "They''re good people! The Musang''s saved us all. Everyone was alive thanks to their family."


    "Everyone?"


    "Well... not everyone. Only a few thousands."


    King and the nearby soldiers perked up. Jun became more interested in the family he was hearing. He produced a foldable wooden table and several chairs to have a good chat with the man.


    "So, why did you really tried to stop me?"


    Erick wasn''t lying and he wasn''t thinking of fighting. Jun can see that through the colored-name above his head. The young man was just anxious about something but he can''t get a whiff of what it was about.


    Sensing that he can''t dodge the question, Erick finally gave the real reason.


    He was the person assigned to stop others from essing the Teleport Statue. The Musang family were the only people allowed to use the teleport statue simply because no one knows how to repair the statue''s durability.


    Everyone was busy surviving that they can''t think of researching and relearning the changes in the new world.


    "Aren''t you afraid that we''ll kill you?"


    Jun posed with his stoic face. His expression was sinister with a smile that''s slightly raised from one side.


    "Death? Isn''t that the better option with how things are going now? I''m not afraid to die. I''m worried about the people that would be left behind."


    Jun raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders nonchntly. "Fair enough. Tell me everything about the Musang family, then I''ll teach you how to repair the Teleport Statue."


    It took some time and a few sweet words to convince Erick to spill the information out, but it was al worth it.


    The Musang family was a military family from generation to generation. As long as you were born male, you were destined to enter military school. Male children were thought early about the proper mindset that an individual must have.


    Its founding father established itself during the first World War, continued by the next generation until now. Most of the retired family members stay near the private vi close to Daranak Falls.


    With the family''s background, having an armament of guns was an easy affair. The old veterans believe that helping the citizens were the top priority while the young men of the family were filled with vigor, resulting in saving five thousand vulnerable citizens.


    The area around Daranak Falls has be a refuge area, housing thousands of people, safely protected withyers of stockade.

 Chapter 313: Greenhorn Director

    Chapter 313: Greenhorn Director


    After a peaceful exchange of information, Erick tried repairing the Teleport statue and bounced away in joy. He set aside his duty to stop anyone from using the statue and ran towards the mountains.


    He needs to get this information over to the basecamp. With this knowledge, everyone should be able to use the Teleport statue.


    To be honest, he wasn''t sure if he could get out of there alive. He onlyplied with Jun''s request because he was surrounded and his camouge skill was eating away his energy. It would only take several minutes before he runs out of juice and be exposed.


    With that in mind, he decided to show himself to at least get on the other group''s good side. The information regarding portal repair was worth leaving his post. Besides, who would try to enter the za at this time? Those bandits and exiled groups won''t dare to do anything presumptuous upon seeing the equipment of that group.


    Jun watched Erick ran away towards the north-eastern direction. He wasn''t familiar with the ce, so he just assumed that the north-east leads to Daranak Falls, where the survivor camp is located.


    Right then, several gunshots echoed in the distance. Everyone who had their wireless earphones equipped on their left ears heard a casual voice reporting the situation.


    "This is the Scout Team. Alpha Team encountered a group of armed bandits. They''re currently pinned down at the intersection between J Street and K Street. If there''s any group nearby, please respond and go help. Be warned, the bandits have rifles and their numbers are currently unknown."


    Surprisingly, no one from the stationed guard at the park appeared troubled. They retained their casual focused expression as they became more alert, keenly eyeing the surrounding.


    It wasn''t their job to respond to reinforcement calls, and they were thought about that. The responders would be those who are nearby and they would give confirmation whether they can help, so as to not get everyone to waste time.


    A few secondster, two groups confirmed that they would go, and the wireless earphones returned to its tranquil state.


    Currently, every wireless earphone was a treasure for the First Army. It was given to them for free, but any charging would have to be done on their own energy.


    The wireless earphone was very useful for quick and shortmunication but easily drains when used for a long time. Additionally, wireless earphones have fragile durability. If it got hit by a carrier, it would easily get destroyed and repair was currently impossible.


    On average, wireless earphones couldst for a month of continuous use. Most of the time, they get destroyed due to damage from energy charging and usage. Still, it was a great item that they could never find anywhere.


    "How are you doing? We never had the chance to talk freely for some time now." Jun questioned King as they enjoyed the bright rays of the sun in the middle of the park.


    The rustling of the tree leaves all over the ce happened at the same moment creating a weird sensation.


    "Fine, I guess?" King replied without confidence. He was promoted to such a high position skipping several processes. However, he was trying his best to own up to it since he had to make sure that Jun would never regret his decision.


    "It''s good that you believe in protecting the people, but not everyone is worth saving. I just want to tell you that before you experienced it and only regret itter."


    King became confused as to what Jun was trying to say. When he wanted to think about the deeper meaning behind his words, a lively crowd slowly arrived and headed towards them.


    The Alpha Team went back with maddened expressions while leading a bunch of badly injured people towards the park. Several soldiers from the First Army had blood on their body and could only be carried by their teammates.


    Upon arriving, the injured soldiers were settled down on a patch of grass and continued to be patched with healing salves. They would have to rest until the wounds regenerate, and even if they could move, they would have to be treated by a specialized healer (doctor&nurse) to see whether they have damaged muscle.


    The team leader stood straight upon arriving in front of the pic table.


    "Rank 4 Alpha Team Leader, Jhong, reporting. We grew careless since there weren''t monsters around and got ambushed by bandits. Three people were heavily injured due to my negligence to uphold proper mentality during operations. I am willing to take responsibility!" he apologized and bowed his head.


    King was disheartened after hearing that several people were fatally injured. Ever since forming the First Army, this was the worst case that happened.


    Was it their overconfidence? Probably.


    Due to the gears and loads of sturdy equipment on their bodies, everyone felt like they would never be defeated in battle. What they didn''t realize was their armor and weapons were another cause of trouble, due to how pleasing and practical it appears.


    What would happen in the future if they continue to have this mindset?


    King dejectedly leaned backward and slumped his body. Just then, he noticed that Jun hasn''t given a reply and raised his head to look at him.


    ''Why are you looking at me?'' King pondered to himself after seeing Jun staring at him. Secondster, he realized what Jun wanted to say.


    ''Is this what you mean from earlier? This couldn''t be it, right? What do you want me to do with him then?!''


    The Alpha team leader was tensed like an arrow strung upon the bowstring, he didn''t dare move nor raise his head even after a long time.


    Sensing King''s iprehension, Jun had to step up and deal with the aftermath.


    ''Do I really need to teach you about people management? You should at least learn that on your own!''


    The first thing that you need to do after an event like this was to raise everyone''s morale!

 Chapter 314: Condemnation

    Chapter 314: Condemnation


    Jun stood up and patted the man''s shoulder twice. "It''s fine. No one died, so it''s fine. You learn from your mistakes, and I''m sure you''ll never let something like this happen ever again."


    Jhong trembled in his ce. He was ready to get demoted, or worse punished, for not being cautious enough. He wasn''t expecting Jun''s warm words.


    "Yes! I will never let something like this happen again!"


    Filled with admiration and respect, Jhong retreated back to his team. His team members gave him encouraging smiles as their bonds be stronger. In the future, the Alpha Team would be the squad where the elite gathered. It will be the most powerful and durable attack force for the First Army.


    King watched the scene unfold with realization. The words spoken to him earlier weren''t meant literally.


    Not everyone was worth saving.


    It meant that there are people that can''t be saved, while the other half needs to be saved. It was such a simple realization, but unless spoken to you, one would never understand!


    The Alpha Team Leader messed up and caused his group to be ambushed. Normally, carelessness should lead to punishment, however, it was also the first mistake that the armymitted. All the achievements they piled up outweigh that single mistake.


    And so they were left unscathed to help raise morale.


    Then, if the carrot has been given, shouldn''t it be the time for the stick?


    After consoling the dispirited team leader, Jun headed towards the kneeling prisoners.


    Crimson aura outlined his body as he used several skills at the same time. Regr aura together with Threaten allowed for a good scaring tactic to those who were weaker than him.


    "Everyone will answer a series of questions. If anyone of you passed the test, they will gain the right to rehabilitation. That means you get the chance to live but under the surveince of my army. Are there any questions?"


    Jun tried to sound civilize as far as he could, so to not scare these people. However, bandits were like wild animals that pay no heed to rules.


    "Coward. Ptui!"


    One of the captured bandits spat at Jun''s feet. He was probably aiming higher but the spit only reached so far.


    "If you''re so confident, why not fight me one on one?! I think I can bash that pretty face of yours to the ground with one hand."


    Swoosh. Stter!


    Bumuth''s Warhammer crushed the man''s head and sttered blood and mucus in the surrounding.


    Gasps and exmations resounded from the captured bandits as they lowered their heads to make their presence unnoticeable. Their leader was killed before he could even do anything.


    Jun only killed the man because he felt some strange energy that entered his aura range. The bandit leader was using a charm skill and he didn''t appreciate being targetted by unknown skills.


    The bandit leader wanted to sweet-talk Jun into fighting him, and nowhere in his ns did he ever thought that he would get killed before the skill could even affect Jun.


    Jun retrieved the Warhammer, causing the headless body to slowly fall forward. With a thud, blood flowed out from the disfigured neck, covering the ground with blood.


    "I''ll take that as a no."


    Jun looked around and searched for Jhong. After seeing him in the corner, he waved at him toe forward and positioned him at the back of the captured bandits.


    "The person behind you has the skill to detect lies. You can try to lie, but it won''t change anything."


    With lowered heads, the captured bandits could only grit their teeth and nce knowingly at each other.


    Jun started. "Have you raped anyone?"


    No one answered.


    "Have you eaten anyone?"


    "No..."


    Everyone answered weakly.


    "Why?"


    "What do you mean why?" one of them asked. "Are you sick in the head?"


    As if agreed, the remaining bandits jeered at him except for the youngest one who was still a teenager.


    Right then, that same teenager opened his mouth and let the cat out of the bag.


    "They''ve raped every woman and children they encountered."


    The bandits turned to him in surprise.


    "What are you saying?"


    "Lies. All lies!"


    The teenager continued. "The person behind me can tell whether I''m lying or not. I''m sick of what you guys are doing. You''re my friends, and yet... Children? You guys disgust me."


    As if reaching their limit, the bandit beside him punched him square in the face.


    The teenager fell to the side and was shoved to the ground by the other bandit.


    "Is that how you see us?! We let you stay with us, and you look at us like that!? Ungrateful bastard!"


    Soon, the rest of the bandits joined and kicked the teenager begrudgingly. At the same time, they heard a strong promation behind them.


    Jun had the Warhammer in front of him and used to support him. He was like an elderly man who was watching little kids bullying the odd-one.


    "ck Haven condemns rape and cannibalsm. Listen! Every soldier of the First Army has to kill such individuals without mercy.


    "No matter the reason, ck Haven territories must not be corrupted by these kinds of people!"


    The soldiers guarding the area who weren''t understanding what was happening earlier finally figured things out.


    Some of them were indifferent while most soldiers with family resonated with Jun, especially those who still had a sister, a daughter, and a wife.


    For them, their loved one''s safety would be their top priority. Anyone who could be a potential danger should be eradicated from the face of the world.


    The bandits turned to Jun and scoffed. They forcefully broke the straps on their hands and performed several arm-stretching as if preparing for battle.


    The straps weren''t that effective to evolved humans and everyone knows that. It was just there for the show.


    The reason why the bandits didn''t break free earlier was due to the numerous weapons pointing at them. Nothing much change from the earlier scenario, but this time, they were sentenced to death by a single promation. If they don''t make a move now, it was guaranteed death.


    The first thing they did was to charge forward to Jun. He killed their leader in cold blood and they want vengeance.


    They were caught due to being outnumbered. These bandits thought that the First Army doesn''t own guns and only owns melee weapons.


    Naturally, the First Army have guns. But they were limited in numbers and only team leaders were assigned one.


    Another reason why the First Army doesn''t use a gun is because of the formed habit they made during their training. It was much easier to move in closebat using melee weapons rather than using guns. Besides, guns attract more enemies to the area and are considered taboo in scavenging operations.


    No one moved after seeing the bandits charge at their leader. For a moment, they even felt concerned for these poor souls.


    Strangely enough, the bandits grabbed different decorations on their body like a sledgehammer pendant, a bracelet with a miniature knife, and a straight earring like a rod.


    After a bright radiance, the miniature items grew in size and be wieldable weapons.

 Chapter 315: Testing Defense

    Chapter 315: Testing Defense


    Jun watched as different kinds of melee weapons grew out of nowhere. Several bandits held steel rods while a few had knives and thest one had a sledgehammer.


    From their movements, it could be assumed that they have used this surprise attack a couple of times, and actually obtained great results.


    Unfortunately, this wasn''t like any other day.


    With a single wave of the Warhammer, three fast runners were instantly decimated to the side removing them from the ensuing fight.


    The knife-wielders noticed that Jun wasn''t all-talk and decided to use their knives as projectiles. The attacks hit the target but didn''t do much damage to Jun.


    First of all,mon knives were very weak. Even Hunter ws were having a hard time scratching Jun''s skin, how can a basic kitchen knifepare to that of the evolved?


    The steel rod users pummeled him from the sides while preemptively dodging for any counter-attacks.


    After receiving a series of attacks, Jun felt quite satisfied.


    So basic weapons are useless to me now? That''s great news.


    If I continue adding points to power and endurance, will there be a time that gunshot could barely scratch me? There''s only one way to find out...


    In addition to keeping themunity safe, Jun had an agenda in killing these kinds of people. It was to get the free points from the quest to kill other people. Free points were good and he also cleanses his territory''s neighborhood.


    Two birds in one stone.


    Completed Stranger Trouble(Repeat)!


    You have sessfully killed 10 people.


    Gained +2 stat points.


    Jun ignored the familiar message and continued killing the bandits.


    Even though he doesn''t like killing other people, getting free points was nothing to look down. There were only limited ways to get stat points, by leveling up, which gives 2 stat points, or by killing pure people, those who were never bitten by carriers, which transfers 10% of the total stats to the killer.However, pure people were much rarer than food these days. Even Jun who was the leader of a strong group had been bitten several times while fighting to survive.


    Another way was to chance upon treasured herbs or items that could increase a stat point upon usage, which is rare and had restrictions on how they can be absorbed.


    That only leaves leveling up as the only reliable source of stat points.


    The side quest for killing people was a blessing in disguise. He can keep everyone safe by eliminating dangers while gaining more benefits for himself.


    Upon killing the rest of the bandits, the sole survivor stood still in his ce. It was the muscr guy wielding the sledgehammer. He had a crooked nose with strange piercing hanging on the nostrils.


    The man cowered and slowly backed off. "We don''t have to do this. You can let me go, and you''ll never hear from me again."


    "I don''t trust strangers with lots of lives in the line. Especially if they''re trigger happy survivors like you." Jun replied as he dashed forward in quick strides while wielding the Warhammer as if he was only carrying a wooden stick.


    The bandit clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and counter-attacked. Unfortunately, he didn''t evenst a single blow as his hand erupted from the force that traveled from his weapon and coursed through his body. He spat blood as he fell to the ground filled with grievances.


    Just to be sure that the other party had no weird tricks on his sleeves, Jun used Empower on this attack, which seemed overkill but it was for safety.


    Overall, this battle was just to test his resilience and power over other survivors. Although the other party didn''t use much of their skills, Jun could only assume that they were support-types since one of them tried to charm him earlier. Charm only works on those with lower charm stats, and Jun should be way above their leagues resulting in no effects whatsoever.


    Jun used Rob on the bandits and made sure that everything was looted. The scouting team mostly looted everything and only left materials on the bandits'' inventory due to storage problems.


    After confirming that nothing of importance was left on the bandits'' bodies, Jun crushed the man''s head by dropping the sledgehammer, causing quenching sounds to spread.


    Everyone was used to bashing carrier heads, but seeing a recent human get squashed like that, new recruits turned away and started calling crows.


    When Jun was about to loot the body in front of him, a rigid voice came from the side.


    "Did you really have to kill them?"


    Jun turned and saw a young woman filled with innocence staring straight at him. She had a small face and fair skin, while her eyes were round and big like they were taken from a rabbit. Despite being in the apocalypse, she appears neat and clean as if she has never wandered the apocalypse at all.


    Contradictory to her innocence, she appeared charmingly wearing a tank top mostly used by women when going into the gym. Her ponytail wave with the wind as the ce turned soothing with her appearance.


    Until a notification appeared in front of Jun.


    Charm skill detected. Stat check... Attract skill failed. The skill has rebounded and the user is temporarily attracted to you.


    Jun frowned. Why is everyone so quick to press the trigger? Does the apocalypse really turn everyone into an opportunist who needs to grab at every possible advantage they could take?


    Possibly.


    And I would do so too.


    Without hesitation, Jun shed a smile.


    Every soldier in the vicinity frowned and cowered at the expression. It was like getting used to a strict boss then suddenly see him smile. Everyone felt like something bad was going to happen and they don''t want to be a part of it.


    "Hey, are you new here? What''s your name?"


    Jun stepped forward towards the girl, but a man a few years older than her stood in front and blocked the way.


    "I''m sorry about that. My little sister must have done something stupid again."

 Chapter 316: People are Idiots

    Chapter 316: People are Idiots


    "Erick, take her back. The rest will stay with me to gather supplies." the older brother said before facing Jun. The survivors around him were tensed but tried their best to remain calm, despite being surrounded.


    "I''m called Edson, the youngest son of the current head of the Musang Family. May I ask whether you will stay after getting the things that you need?"


    Jun grinned with contempt. "It''s either you''re family thinks I''m an idiot, or you''re just an idiot."


    "What do you mean? We were sent here to verify whether Erick''s information was true. I''m just asking you some things along the way."


    Jun sighed. "I hate clueless uncultured guys like you the most. People who were sheltered from a young age and know nothing of the real world. Or you''re probably a cunning one pretending to be an idiot."


    "No matter the case, no one leaves here until I say so."


    "Surround them!"


    The rxed atmosphere immediately disappeared with his shout. The fighters from both groups took out their weapons and stood at equal distances with each other.


    "What are you doing?! Are you mad!? You are at the territory of the Musang Family!"


    Junughed.


    "You probably think that the world runs around you? Let me teach you some lesson you''ll never forget."


    With a snap of his fingers, several soldiers from the First Army dashed forward and captured most of the other group''s fighters. Even Edson didn''t escape their hands and was pushed down to the ground.


    King sequentially sent out orders and the whole event became organized. From disarming the group to checking their inventories for deadly weapons.


    Still, the First Army remained civilized and did not steal anything, yet.


    Jun watched the man named Edson il on the ground. After getting bored with the repeating curse words that he was hearing, he turned to an empty space near the statue and red at a single spot.


    "This is getting boring. Aren''t you going toe out? Or do you have grudges with this man, and would like to see him suffer? Should an arm do it?"


    Jun walked forward with the ax-end of the Warhammer facing forward.


    Momentster, a silhouette vaguely appeared on the statue as the invisibility skill disappeared.


    A slightly older man around 25 or so appeared. He had a slim build enough for traversing the wastnd safely. Deep in his eyes, he was calcting how he was noticed and what actions he needs to take next.


    Several secondster, the man finally spoke. "If you have anything you''re looking for, the Musang family would help you."


    Jun didn''t easily let go of his advantage, "I''m pretty sure that you know the current n. That woman tried to charm me with a unique skill, and I''m not happy with it. That idiot is also brain-dead, and I''m wondering whether he was a legitimate son.


    "The Musang family isn''t very good at giving a warm wee to those who treated them well? Do you have anything to say about it?"


    "We apologize for this blunder. It''s just that a lot of bandits have appeared recently, and we''re having troubles with them."


    Something doesn''t feel, right.


    Why do I have this feeling?


    "Do we look like bandits to you?"


    The man almost agreed, thinking that they were better armed thanmon bandits. However, he barely stopped himself before he got everyone into deeper trouble.


    "I heard from Erick that you''re looking for filtering equipment. We can help you get the equipment to make up for our mistakes. Additionally, we would like to trade more information from you, and we will pay with sacks of rice."


    Hearing the other party offer sacks of rice made him feel better about the situation. In the end, he doesn''t want to create enemies everywhere he goes. A few friends that could help is better than nothing.


    However, Jun won''t take their actions without making them pay for the consequences. "I will take everything from their inventories, including yours. If you have any objections, call awyer."


    Jun waited for the man to answer back but it didn''t happen. The man just nodded his head and epted their fate peacefully.


    Hearing the conversation from start to finish, the fighters from the survivor base didn''t resist the robbery.


    The First Army took only dangerous things and left unneeded materials. Since they were not enemies, they only took a portion of the group''s foodstuff.


    After the inspection, the soldiers pulled the people back to their feet and herded them to the side.


    On the distant building, a group of people was crowding on the balcony. Four sniper rifles were currently aimed at the park, and they could kill anyone once given permission to do so.


    The group of experienced snipers waited for the signal that has yet toe. They watched as their members got robbed of their equipment, and could only wait.


    "Why isn''t the leader giving the orders to shoot?! We could easily take them out! Especially that braggart with a big weapon!"


    "Shut up and focus. If the time everes, we can''t miss any of our shots, or everyone there would likely die." the oldest of the bunch said.


    Afterward, the man returned to his scopes only to see the aforementioned braggart staring at him. A smile slowly formed on the braggart''s face and he mouthed a series of words that made every sniper looking at him raise their body hairs in terror.


    ''I found you.''


    Jun had an annoying face. The younger snipers felt irritated and pulled the trigger.


    "BANGGG!!!"


    The loud gunshots echoed far and wide, and yet the target easily dodged the bullets by minuscule movements.


    "No!" the man who was supposed to be the leader shouted after hearing the gunshots. He turned to the building where the shots came from and immediately saw the balcony where the snipers are hiding.


    He raised his hand as high as possible and gave the order for a ceasefire. Afterward, he turned to Jun, and hurriedly exined, "That was a mistake. I don''t know what just happened but that''s not part of the n."

 Chapter 317: The "Real" Edson Musang

    Chapter 317: The "Real" Edson Musang


    "Would you like to tell me what the n is?" Jun said while grabbing the man''s neck and positioning correctly, so he could be safe. With the current trajectory, the man would be shot first if the snipers tried to do something.


    Instead of answering, the man raised his hand with the same signal from before. In his roughened breathe, he squeezed a few words out. "I''m telling them to stop firing. If you release me, I canmunicate better with them."


    "You don''t need to do that. My men can take care of something like this with ease."


    At the same moment, a report came in from the wireless earphone. The sound wasn''t explosively loud but it was enough for the two of them to hear it.


    "The scouting group has located the snipers at XXX building. Groups that are near the location are requested to provide reinforcement and surround the area."


    Upon hearing the voice from the earphone, the man sighed dejectedly and proceeded to do another set of hand signals. Minutester, the news of capture resounded and five people were brought towards the park.


    This new batch of people was already stripped of their weapons and any other dangerous items from their inventory. They politely stood next to their leader while gauging the surrounding.


    Jun released the man from his grasp and thetter took a few steps back to fix himself. Afterward, he politely asked Jun for his understanding.


    "We''re off to a rough start, but I hope you understand. Seeing a well-armed group as big as yours, the people in charge of our camp doesn''t believe that you''re just here in search of equipment."


    "We are sent here to assess whether we can trust you or not."


    Jun scoffed. "So, what''s the verdict, mister?"


    The man answered. "I think we can trust you."


    "Are you sure about that?" Jun said as he whipped out a revolver., and pointed it on the man''s forehead.


    The man''s subordinates were about to jump Jun, yet with a single wave of his hand, they remained on their spots unmoving.


    "Although you killed several people, those deaths were justified in your ways. We don''t care about how you wish to run yourmunity, and we would never interfere. Just like you, we run our own rules in our basecamp, and we would do anything to keep it safe."


    Jun shrugged his shoulders nonchntly. "I guess you''re right. By the way, we''ll keep half of the sniper rifles that you have, and I''m not asking."


    "Also, I heard you guys want to trade information? Do you have anything worth trading?"


    "We have a lot of things. I''m the one who should be asking whether you have enough worthy information to sell us." the man said.


    Jun chuckled. "As the man who led the joint rescue operation of the nation''s president, I believe I have wondrous things you would like to know."


    After seeing the confused expression of the man, slowly turning into shock, Jun shed a business smile that meant he was ready to take advantage of others.


    The man saw his smile but ignored it while extending his hand. "I''m Edson. Edson Musang, the youngest of the Musang siblings, assigned to defend the Outer Section of the basecamp."


    Time passed and the trade was finished ordingly. However, to make the others suffer, Jun forced the trade to be made under the scorching sun. It was simply to annoy the other party since he was unaffected by the current heat due to his high endurance.


    The first Edson was a fake actor to see what action Jun would take upon learning of their origin. if he were to kidnap or take the man as his hostage, the group would immediately bebeled as bad people.


    The woman who had the attract skill was just another actress and the two weren''t connected by blood. The skill was used mainly to get most of the answers they want from Jun, but with the skill failing to do its job, the group was forced to do another n.


    The snipers were Teleport Guardians that Erick could call upon when people don''t listen to his warnings. They have been watching the group since the start and were only awaiting orders from Edson.


    Since the leader ordered them to get caught, they had no choice but to follow. It was this young man''s guts that allowed them to survive, so why not follow him until the end?


    Edson had a hard time bargaining with Jun since the man was not interested in weapons. First of all, Jun already looted half of their weaponry, and taking the rest seems useless. There are not enough bullets to go around, and having more guns only allows them to deplete faster. One bullet fired is one bullet lost.


    In the end, Edson had to resort to trading the rare items they have in the camp. Most of the items Jun traded for were strange unidentified seeds.


    Upon learning that Jun was interested in umon items, Edson offered to trade a lot of these seeds together with the unique materials they got after killing wild mutated animals. Atst, the selection was finished upon trading the material remains of wild mutated animals.


    Edson wanted to exchange a lot of information, so Jun made him list it on a piece of paper. He would put a check on the things that he wants to answer and leave the rest unanswered.


    Afterward, he calcted the number of materials it costs and asked Edson to gather it first. Once the materials arrived, he would start answering the selected questions.


    Edson didn''t waste time and called for the fake Edson toe forward. However, Jun proposed that Erick shall be the one sent back for retrieving the items.


    Why? Just because.


    Edson agreed with Jun and sent Erick back.


    Instead of running back like earlier, Erick disappeared in a radiant sh. Jun immediately realized something after the event.


    The forest survivor camp had an essible teleport portal!

 Chapter 318: Another Trading Partner

    Chapter 318: Another Trading Partner


    "You have a lord?"


    Jun''s question attracted a series of serious gaze around the area. The fighters, the snipers, and Edson himself were shocked to hear him speak about it.


    Only a few people were selected to be a lord, and anyone who bes a lord was unique to their own professions.


    For Jun to know what a lord means, there are only a few reasons avable; he encountered one or he is one himself!


    Edson already took many side trips and he chose to be direct this time. "My grandfather is a lord. He retired from military service and happened to create a safe territory where zombies can''t respawn in."


    "Oh..." Jun didn''t speak much about the topic since it was quite sensitive.


    The lord reigns over a territory and from his experience, lords can kill other lords for their territories. It would be dangerous the more people knows about your status unless everyone was loyal to you. Having strangers get this knowledge could be really troublesome.


    Jun didn''t know what to do. He doesn''t understand what Edson was doing, revealing such important information to him. Or is the information even true?


    As if sensing Jun''s doubts, Edson spoke up.


    "We just want an ally. Most of the survivors on the next town have already adjusted to this world. They fight for every resources they need and would kill anyone who gets in their way."


    "That''s also one of the reasons why we moved out of the town center. Most of the people lurking around here are vultures. I don''t rmend staying for long."


    Jun listened attentively. The way he understood it, the town south of here was filled with ughter and there are more bad people lurking this town.


    Is the sidequest his luck or a curse?


    Several minutes passed and Erick returned at the za with a blinding light. He narrated how joyous everyone was of contributing on repairing the Teleport Portal at the forest camp. With the ability to repair the portal in their hands, everyone should be able to freely use it now.


    Erick brought several unidentified seeds with varying colors. Next, heid several materials on the ground.


    Jun doesn''t really know much about beastiary and crafting, however, people back at home love to thinker with stuff. He would leave everything to them and just do what he does best; asserting dominance and fighting.


    Still, he picked a few seeds and asked Edson about them.


    Edson honestly replied, "I don''t know anything about them. To be honest, barely anyone from the camp knows what they are. They just drop from mutated squirrels and we can''t grow them."


    "So, they''re trash?"


    "Well, they''re not treasures. Besides, you''re the one who wanted strange stuffs."


    Jun shrugged. "Fair enough. So, let''s see. What do you want me to answer first?"


    The entire afternoon was used up in this exchange.


    Most of Edson''s questions were about the outside world, the current affairs, and the state of the nation. Apparently, they have cut offmunications with the outside world since they don''t have much electricity inside the forest. The generators they found uses a lot of gas for fuel and it isn''t efficient to always keep it on.


    Jun narrated the catastrophic events that happened and described in great detail the towns and cities he passed by. He tried his best to speak factual and neutral while describing the state of the province.


    In general, it was a mess. A lot of people died and restoring civilization should still be far in the future. Unless the government takes the initiative, there was no chance to rally everyone under a single banner.


    People were born free and raised to want more. It was the sad reality about life. The moment a child wanted something, they would learn that they need something else to get it. It was ingrained the moment we entered society and no one else could change it until a reset.


    Could this be a great social reset? Or a lucky way for opportunistic b*stards to rule the world?


    After getting the answers he wanted about the outside world, Edson chose to trade for new world information. As a possible neighbor, Jun wanted this forest survivor camp to survive.


    He gave them the basic booklet containing information about the new world. The skills, the levels, developments, etc. The Forest Survivor Camp would serve as a neutral wall that would filter good and bad people before they could enter ck Haven territory. Whether they like it or not, they would be forced to deal with hordes due to their location, so ck Haven doesn''t have to deal with them.


    To wee a great cooperation between the two survivor groups, Jun allowed trade to happen between ck Haven and the Forest Basecamp. Traders have to either apply for a visa or be a resident through citizenship. Thetter was unlikely, so visa should be the way to go.


    Jun can already see Evo''s scrounge face as work piled over his desk.


    ''Let''s hope he''s not doing anything important these days...''


    Back at ck Havenpound...


    Evo ran back and forth breathing roughly as he waterered rows after rows of nts with green budding sprouts. All of a sudden, he felt strange, so he looked around but didn''t see anyone.


    After confirming that it was probably nothing. he continued sprinkling water for another round.


    Jun bade farewell with Edson''s group after both parties were satisfied with their gains.


    For Edson''s group, catching up with the outside world and gaining new knowledge would be extremely beneficial. It could even rapidly increase the development of the Forest Basecamp. There were tons of people there, and not everyone has leveled up. Some of the civilians were rescued on the first few days, and refrained from getting close with any zombies due to fear of turning into one.


    Jun took several swords and throwing bone spears and handed them to Edson. "Take this. You can use this to hunt game and kill carriers. Consider this as free samples of products you could trade with us. Just remember that I want umon items, okay?"


    "I''ll keep that in mind, Sir Jun. I hope that I''ll be able to visit your town as soon as possible."


    The two leaders didn''t speak much detail about their town, but both of them know that they were striving. With no particr danger in the way, betrayal and deceptions shouldn''te in their way.

 Chapter 319: The Old Generation

    Chapter 319: The Old Generation


    "Aren''t we losing out on this trade?" King said as he stood beside Jun.


    Instead of answering his question, Jun raised a thin booklet that wasmon in ck Haven.


    "See this booklet? Everything that we get off trading this is considered a profit. Besides, we didn''t lose out. We actually gained a lot in this trade."


    Jun tossed a cloth bag to King, which startled the man.


    King clumsily caught the cloth bag before looking at Jun. "What is this?"


    "They are new breeds of seed that we don''t have. I managed to identify three seeds and we can raise them as crops. We just need exclusive farmers, since Old Felipe already has tons of work to do."


    King peeked inside the cloth bag and saw seven different colors of seeds.


    Jun exined. "The red small seeds are called Bloody Wheat. This wheat can be substituted for rice and could give adequate energy regeneration. It also provides substantial amounts of a number ofponents that are beneficial for health..."


    Sensing that King was eyeing him strangely, Jun stopped overly exining and gave short exnations.


    "The red small seeds are Bloody Wheat, a rice substitute. They speed up stamina recovery upon consumption. When too many are consumed, the Berserk side-effect could be activated."


    "The small grainy-brown seeds are Healing Parsley seeds. They have health regeneration properties. We can probably use it as a vegetable or alchemy ingredient when needed."


    "The small orange seeds are called Glow x seeds. As the name states, once the nt flowers, it would glow in the dark. There''s nothing much from its description. Maybe my skill level isn''t enough to dig for more information."


    "As for the rest of the seeds, I don''t know what they are. Hand everything to Old Felipeter for identification, and ask him to prepare a report on what kind of seeds they are.


    Jun ignored King for the rest of the afternoon and King didn''t know what he did wrong.


    Before the warm sun disappeared on the west, the First Army has gathered back at the central za. During this whole afternoon, encounters with strangers were endless and filled with tension.


    Not all strangers were hostile, but that doesn''t mean they could take them back to ck Haven. They were strangers a moment ago, and its better to remain that way for the time being.


    Jun realized a lot of holes in the current implemented government. After going back, he had tp tackle those issues with several people.


    First of all was the influx of survivors.


    Seeing that people finally adjusted to the new world, people would now be free to go anywhere they wanted to. Without the IDSystem from the past, it was impossible to keep track of everyone and their identities. Besides, killing in the new world was as natural as breathing.


    Jun doesn''t disdain killing. What he hates are the vile acts that happens in the dark. Unless they can make something to identify people with their current crimes, it would be disastrous to recruit new people into the group.


    The impending crisis over hostile individuals had to be improved. The First Army can''t wait to get shot upon before reacting. They need to train exceptional individuals into proper leaders who could act correctly at the right time.


    New military departments must also be created to dividebor. Everything must be set in ce while the army was still small to adjust things easier.


    The haul for today was worth the travel. The expedition group gathered more than 30 filtering equipment after sweeping all the buildings in the town center.


    With this, they could convert and provide 10 filters per town, allowing for clean and healthy drinking water. Currently, most of the scavenged water filters in their corresponding towns were already looted. These sets of water filters would be distributed to highly popted towns, so there would be enough drinking water for all the towns under ck Haven.


    The expedition group returned back to Binangonan withrge water tanks on their shoulders. These water tanks were 2 meters tall and 1 meter wide. It was part of the water filtering equipment and they just want to bring back everything that they could.


    During the return trip, they had to apply energy coating, so the item wouldn''t be left behind after teleportation.


    Jun went back to his room in thepound after settling some matters with Evo. He had to make sure that his friend would be informed about the future direction he was nning to take, so the man could take proper measures along the way.


    It was blind trust among friends, and it''s been going on for years.


    After taking his jacket off, Jun produced a clean bottle of water from his inventory. He took several gulps as he walked towards the wooden cab with a y pot on top of it.


    There was nothing to be seen except for dirt, and yet Jun gazed at the dirt pot with a bit of longing. He drank another mouthful before pouring the rest of the water towards the pot.


    "What did you get?" An old man hastily asked after seeing his grandson appeared from the Teleport Portal.


    "A lot. Mostly new information. I also got this weapons as extra gifts. Overall, I think they''re good people." Edson reported.


    The old man appeared unhappy about the things disyed in front of him. "Did you be soft again? I told you to get as many benefits you could take. Oh dear lord, when will you guys learn that this world has always been for strong people. Is this the attitude what your father taught you? Just wait until he gets back, I''ll give that soft-hearted brat a little beating!"


    "You''re already old enough to see what''s right for you and this family! You should follow the footsteps of your brothers!"


    The old man calmed down after some time, then ate the vegetables in front of him. After munching on the food, he took a few seconds to think of something to ask his grandson.


    "Do they know what those seeds are?"


    "I don''t think they know..." Edson answered.


    "You think? Did you not ask them?"


    "I-I couldn''t ask. The man just nced at the seeds with curiosity,then stored them away. From his expression, he knows nothing about the seeds."


    The old man didn''t pursue the matter anymore. Those seeds were a bit strange. They dropped from mutated forest animals as loot but they don''t grow even after being nted for weeks.


    At first, they though it was natural, but the other seeds they got from the town were already showing sprouts when they were nted at the same time.


    At longst, they could only give up on nting them and use them as ''rare'' materials for trading. Finding a strange person who wants strange seeds was their great fortune.


    The old man drank his water contentedly before standing up to bring the dishes to the kitchen.


    On the forested area, a wide clearing was made with dozens of tree huts all over the ce. At the center of them all, an eye-catching modern vi radiated with bright lights illuminating the area.


    Only selected people could get close to the vi, and most of them were the regr caretakers even before the apocalypse. The vi was a restricted property that only family members are allowed to enter.

 Chapter 320: Street Kid

    Chapter 320: Street Kid


    Morning came and the glorious rays of the sun appeared on the mountainous east. It hasn''t turned bright and the sky still had darkness looming all over thend, but the town has already turned alive and bustling.


    Stalls were everywhere selling fast food as the new day came out. Private groups were going out hunting whilebor groups were on the way to their respective jobs.


    A child who hasn''t reached teenagehood stood atop a wooden stool to elevate himself from the crowd of adults.


    The child''s name was Roby, a kid that grew up from the streets and has learned the way of the streets. Due to poor living conditions, he was forced to learn to struggle for daily survival even before the apocalypse. He had no distinctive features except for he was small and skinny.


    "Gather round, gather round!" he shouted briskly trying to raise his voice and attract more people. Even though he already had arge following, a few more people wouldn''t hurt. More people means more chances of earning.


    Yes, chances.


    Roby was an information scrapper. As a child with limited strength, he could only rely on several things to survive. And what is it other than what he does best? Gossip.


    There are already a lot of information brokers who had more expertise in that field, and he had no chance if he entered that business.


    As a kid, adults often give him odd jobs that allow him to move around the town. With that as the base, he was able to hear various rumors from different groups with different levels of importance.


    Some of the adults started to get impatient. "Roby, when are we going to start?! We don''t have the whole morning!"


    "Ey, Mr. Davis is on rush again?" Roby chuckled to ease the atmosphere then pped his hands to catch everyone''s attention. "Hello, everyone. I know that your time is valuable and every second is important, so I will go directly to the point."


    "For this morning, I have several important news for you."


    "ck Haven needs more people for creating a defensive wall around the towns found in its territories. A lot of jobs will open up; construction, logger, quarryman, and generalbor. It''s arge scale operation in preparation for future town defense. This news is likely to happen around this week, and I heard it from the principal auntie from ck Haven itself."


    "The next topic is a bit shocking, and I don''t care if some of you don''t believe it. The President has been rescued and is nning to head north with the military. From what I heard, he offered to take anyone who wants toe with him towards the northern part of the country. I think our leaders already know about this but aren''t trying to stop it."


    "And where did you get that information?" someonemented filled with suspicion.


    "From an uncle soldier. After they returned from a mission, a close uncle advised me to go north together with the old government, so I can live a more fitting life, but I don''t believe that it''s better over there. They could barely rescue the President, so why go there? That''s just my personal opinion and please don''t let it cloud your judgment." Roby bowed, then continued with his job.


    After several hot topics, the crowd dispersed and threw various items on the piece of cloth on the ground. They were misceneous materials that dropped after killing mutated animals and mobs.


    This is Roby''s way of earning money. He could have earned more if he were to sell such high-quality information, unfortunately, adults don''t buy from children, they only pity them. If he were to sell these pieces of information, there''s a high chance that he would never get paid and only taken advantage of every time. At least with this setup, the adults can stroke their ego by saying that they helped a troubled child.


    Roby jumped down from his stool and collected his earnings. After seeing the amount of loot, he felt that the crowd today was quite generous! Most probably, the information he had today greatly affected the gifts he received.


    As he unpacked his setup, the stool and the cloth, three teenagers walked brusquely towards him. At one nce, anyone would know that they weren''t here for something good.


    Roby quickly put everything in his inventory and walked in the other direction.


    However, he wasn''t fast enough and a rough hand clutched his soft thin arm.


    "Hey, hey, don''t rush. We''re not here to do anything bad." said the man who had hair that looked like a birdnest. His eyes were round and sunken as if he didn''t get enough sleep for the night.


    "Don''t you remember us anymore? We tradedst time, right? We saw that you have some items to sell, so we came to help you get rid of it." the man grinned innocently as if satisfied with his choice of words.


    Of course, Roby remembered them. They were goons who try to scam the weak of their items. Thest time they met, they bought his items at half of the market price. Although Roby earned some money, he would have earned more if he sold it directly to the marketce!


    Since food no longer poses a great problem for everyone, survival has be thest thing they had to worry about. What everyone strives to next is to be stronger, and to do that, they need various types of equipment.


    If one joins a private group or be an agent, earning money was an easy predicament. The tough part was to stay alive. Most people retire after experiencing a difficult battle and turn to safer jobs, which causes a lot of downtimes and fooling around.


    The three goons surrounded Roby. Although it was still dark, people could still see them. However, not knowing the context, no one meddled between the group. Everyone just passed by like it was none of their business.


    At that moment of hopelessness, a soft voice came from the side. "Can you guys scram to the side? I have some business with Roby."

 Chapter 321: Spying on the Leader

    Chapter 321: Spying on the Leader


    The trio became displeased after hearing someone interrupting their business. However, upon raising their heads, they trembled in terror as they gazed upon an angelic girl with a mutated dog sitting behind her.


    The woman was a known streetwalker. She had a beautiful face and the sexiest proportioned body one could find in this town. Unfortunately, she doesn''t ept guests and only chooses men that fit her requirements.


    ck long hair, fair skin, and proportioned body. The perfect dream woman every man wanted!


    Even if one had the strength to force her into bed, they would never survive the onught that woulde from her pet dog. They would be mutted, mercilessly. Those who tried were never found again.


    What was she doing here? Is she interested in this kid? But this brat probably can''t even get it up!


    Although the three wanted to jump forward and ravish her, the stinky breath and the dangling tongue of the mutated dog discouraged them from doing anything lewd.


    As the three goons scuttled away, the woman extended her hand forward. "I''m Lynnana. I was listening from the side earlier and I heard something interesting from your report. Are you interested in doing a long term job for me?"


    What''s happening? I don''t understand what''s going on?!


    If she just wanted to request a job, why would she ask me to follow her? Am I going to get killed? Were the rumors true? B-but, I''m still a kid!


    Of course, Roby knew who Lynnana after running around town doing odd jobs. Most aunties always told him to watch out for women like her when he grows up. They would drain you off your savings before you even realize it.


    In general, she had a very bad reputation with other women while being lusted by numerous men. Roby never thought of adult things until it appeared itself before him.


    He nervously followed behind Lynnana, and due to the height difference, he could only watch her butt swerve from side to side.


    Roby hastily shook his head. It had no effect!


    After trying his best not to stare at her butt, he noticed that the butt stopped swerving and actually turned to the side. He breathed a sigh of relief before realizing that Lynnana was actually staring at him.


    "What are you waiting for? Go in."


    Roby turned his head and saw the entrance to a dimly lit store, "I-I..."


    With his fate under the mercy of someone else, he entered the store dejectedly.


    He escaped danger only to fall into much greater danger.


    Roby, ''I don''t have enough savings... will she kill me afterward or should I tell her now?''


    After entering the store, Roby noticed several tables and chairs with no other people in sight.


    Lynnana entered then shouted at the kitchen door. "Two orders of regr noodles. Please add more meat."


    When reality struck him, Roby felt ashamed of himself. He was thinking about various naughty things only for the other person to bring him to a noodle shop.


    It was her fault! She didn''t rify anything and just dragged me elsewhere! If she exined at least where we''re going, then I wouldn''t have assumed anything.


    Lynnana knew what Roby was thinking after sensing his sneaky nces towards her. However, she considers it a natural reaction of men towards women, so she didn''t take offense.


    First of all, she wants his help, so letting him take a few nces should be to her advantage.


    Several minutester, two bowls of steaming hot noodles were served in front of them. There were vegetables and meat stacked on the side, while the noddles gathered on the other. The old grandma delivered the bowls with a tray and left without bothering them.


    "Let''s eat first before we discuss business," Lynnana said while encouraging Roby to eat.


    Roby nodded bashfully before taking the spoon by the side. He took a spoonful of broth and blew on them to cool them off. After taking his first sip, he found out that the broth travels smoothly in his throat. The longing for delicious food he never knew he had, resurfaced.


    Roby was immersed in the food in front of him that by the time he finished them all, then he only noticed that there was someone else on the other side of the table.


    Roby yfully scratched his ears. "I''m sorry about that. It''s been a long time when I got to eat something delicious." Roby had been eating rationed fish from the market. It was the cheapest foodstuff he could get that provides the best value.


    The two greeted each other casually before getting to the main topic.


    Lynnana ced several items on the table. "This is a modified watch. Only a limited amount was released to the public and this is very expensive. This is a numbered ount card, I''ll regrly transfer money to this card every week. This is my ount number and forum ID."


    "W-wait, wait! Please slow down. I don''t understand what you''re trying to say. Before anything else, can you exin what you want me to do?"


    Roby became suspicious after seeing the items on the table. If those items were really expensive, what kind of job would he need to do to earn them?


    Everything was suspicious!


    Knowing that she got overexcited and failed to inform the request details, Lynnana calmed down and exined her request. "I want you to continue doing your job, and gather information for me. I want every information you could get about Jun Reyes."


    Jun Reyes? Why does the name sound familiar?


    "You specialize in discreet information gathering, right? You don''t have to actively collect information. I just want rumors of him, where he''s at, what is he doing. You just need to tell me those kinds of information."


    "As for the reason, you don''t have to know. And you don''t have any choice about this matter."


    Roby knew how serious she was from how thin the slit of her eyes was. He didn''t even have the courage to reject in fright of getting killed immediately.


    Deep in his mind, Roby was startled upon realizing what the request was all about.


    "Isn''t this just spying?! Wait... Jun Reyes..! I''m going to spy on Boss Jun?! I''m dead!"


    At the kitchen, the old grandma continued to knead the flour into sizeable shapes before chopping them into noodles.


    "Ahh, youth. The things you would do for love. I was foolish when I was younger, my little husband got away after I got a little confident that he would never run away again."


    The grandma sharpened two knives against each other. "I''ll have to teach him the basics once I find him again. I hope my request on the board getspleted someday."

 Chapter 322: The Divide

    Chapter 322: The Divide


    As the rumor about the President''s rescue spread, the National Police finally took action and verified the matter. Some were swayed to go back to the old government while others were adamant to stay.


    In the end, the people who wanted to join the old government were the minority who couldn''t adapt to the new world. They longed for the old system where they could just follow the government for a safe, boring life filled with a veil of obscure sense of protection that barely separates the evil from good.


    ck Haven already prepared their stance against the event. The Guild (above organization) would not stop anyone from leaving, however, their citizenship and rights would be revoked stopping their usage of all Guild facilities.


    For the survivors who were already used to hunting and trading resources within the guild, switching sides was never an option. In before, they were living a poor lifecking with everything. Now that they be stronger, they are literally feeling on top of the world.


    Some even loved the neutral-grayness of ck Haven. As long as you don''t go overboard, ck Haven wouldn''t stop whatever shady business you were doing.


    Inside the meeting room of the town hall, Chief Paolo Cas had a grim expression on his face after his subordinate ryed shocking news.


    ck Haven wanted the National Police out of the territory.


    Jun initially paid no attention regarding the open-spy sitting at the center of the main town for ck Haven. The stronghold city up north was a mess with a lot of dictating powers trying to pull the strings from the dark. It would be impossible for them to be a threat unless they be united.


    And that time was about toe.


    The President has been rescued, and even if some group of people with different interests tried their best to fight over authority, the general public would still follow the President. With the President at the steering wheel, setting the direction for everyone, it would take no time for the old government to catch up.


    With unityes strength and division brings weakness. Simply, even the weak, unorganized group would be strong after they be united.


    And the first thing that ck Haven needs to prevent is the outward flow of information. They can''t afford leaks to research advancements, and the overall situation of the territory. If the enemy doesn''t know any information, they can''t make future ns and the status quo would be maintained.


    As for future spies? He could just easily make Rene add a use to the contract that if you''re a spy, you would dance around naked once you signed the contract. Those who tried their luck would be caught dancing on the spot and would immediately be detained to undergo interrogation.


    And if you don''t sign the contract after reading the use? You would appear suspicious and would still undergo interrogation. If you''re clean and nothing was found against you, you would be free to go. However, if caught trying to escape due to the use, that person would be sent for some fun time.


    Survivors who only wanted shelter, a safe ce where they could live would have no problems and qualms about most of the use. Only people with different intentions would frown upon it.


    Of course, the National Police doesn''t know his reasoning for booting them out. Even if they know, they have no choice but to move out.


    Currently, the National Police had 600 survivors, not including themselves. Half of them were nonbatants while the other half works their asses for various needed supplies.


    Paolo Cas understands deeply how the stronghold works. Thebatants would surely be weed with open arms, quickly fitting in. However, the other half would surely have a hard time adjusting and fitting in with the stronghold.


    Although he didn''t stay for long at that ce, he knew it wasn''t as friendly towards the weak and innocent. Bringing these people would result in harsher situations.


    Paolo Cas doesn''t know what to do. He knew he can''t oppose ck Haven''s will, or they would be annihted on their spot without being able to fight back. In terms of equipment alone, ck Haven already monopolized all the top tier materials while the First Army had second-hand top-grade equipment. Even with unprecedented kind of luck, it would be impossible for them to win.


    Left with no choice, Paolo Cas finally gave orders to his subordinate waiting in front of him.


    "Inform everyone that we''re leaving. We are going towards Antipolo where the President currently stays and join with their expedition to go up north."


    "What about the reason? People would ask why were leaving. Should I tell them about ck Haven kicking us out?" the officer replied trying to remain calm as much as possible. They were once gloriousw enforcement officers, and yet here they are, having to walk on their toes as a new boss in town directs his gaze upon them.


    "ck Haven isn''t kicking us out, carve that in your mind! We''re moving out on our own to reunite with the old government. We won''t stop anyone from staying, but make sure that everyone in the volunteer group joins us. They''re great power that can help with the expedition to the north."


    "I understand." the officer saluted and walked out of the door.


    Even though he was alone in the room, Paolo Cas couldn''t help but search the dark corners and only calmed down after making sure there was no one else here.


    Just as he leaned back on his chair, the door suddenly opened.


    He nced at the open door but found no one there.


    He frowned, "Is anyone there?"


    BANG!


    The door was shut tight as if someone was having a bad day.


    All the hairs on his body stood up. For a brief moment, he saw a familiar silhouette staring at him. Deep inside him, he felt like he knew who it was, and yet he decided to not pursue the matter. All that matters was he was still breathing, alive.


    "Kukuku. Are you saying that you''re always watching? Hahaha!!!"


    Paolo Cas clenched his fist so tight that blood almost stopped flowing on his hands. He helplessly leaned back, then his eyes wandered exhaustedly on the letter on top of his table.

 Chapter 323: Regret is in the End

    Chapter 323: Regret is in the End


    The next day...


    The First Army gathered at the ck Haven Compound as they watched arge volume of survivors parading on the streets. There were old and young people walking on the usually empty roads. They were the civilians under the protection of the National Police.


    The main reason they were here was to make sure that the National Police wouldn''t do anything stupid, and would peacefully leave.


    Due to the low number ofbatants the National Police had, they didn''t prioritize getting transportation vehicles. They only had several jeepneys enough to amodate a bit more than 100 people.


    Most of the civilians were forced to walk since they have no other options. If they were to stay in ck Haven, it was guaranteed that they would live a hard life and might even starve to death. They were too used to freeloading that they never thought of working for their own survival.


    Every survivor learned of the National Police''s decision to join the old government yesterday. It was the hottest topic even until night time.


    And for such a crucial decision to be made, a lot of people believed that Chief Paolo Cas knew some inside information. Dozens of people who were initially undecided joined the caravan and left for new opportunities.


    Even though the roads were safe, the National Police still made a show of force in escorting all the civilians by walking at the side. Uniformed officers armed with high caliber rifles stood at equal distances marched together with the crowd. They stood on the outer perimeter of the caravan to stand more.


    There were random moments when wandering carriers would pop out of the buildings and they would be taken care of immediately.


    Overall, the civilians were satisfied with what they see. For the first time, they felt safer and the future appeared brighter.


    Jun watched calmly as arge group of blue dots slowly move on the territory map. The map was being updated in real-time, and the blue dots were dragging up on the screen. These blue dots were the people who chose to leave ck Haven.


    He tapped a random blue dot and a series of basic information appeared; the name, the age, and the gender of the person he clicked.


    He tapped the screen once more and a sub-menu emerged from the side. With no hesitation, he tapped on the ''expel''option, causing the window to automatically close after themand was executed. Then, he tapped on another random blue dot and repeated his actions.


    On the train of people marching off towards the distance, several confused shouts started to resound.


    "I got kicked out of ck Haven!"


    "What is this? What is happening?"


    "No, no! My extra buffs!"


    As more people received the notification that they got expelled from ck Haven, the more shockedints rose in the air. The undecided individuals from earlier instantly regretted their decisions and pulled themselves out of the crowd. Without wasting any time, they started running towards the ck Haven Compound.


    The First Army had already dispersed after seeing the National Police move out earlier. Only a selected few remained to do their newly assigned jobs.


    The first batch of expelled survivors arrived. Most of them were men with good physical attributes which resulted in a faster running speed.


    The group grew scared upon seeing ten armed soldiers donned with swords and shields, standing around ck Haven Compound. Even without touching the equipment, they immediately knew that they were outmatched if they started to fight.


    After reaching the entrance, one expelled survivor gathered enough courage to speak with the customer service representative at the front-most booth.


    "Hello, I''m James. May I speak with Boss Jun?"


    The woman smiled softly, yet the words that came out of her mouth were harsh.


    "Boss Jun is busy and has no time to meet with just anyone. Is there anything else that I can help you with?"


    For a second, the man didn''t know what to reply until he remembered the reason why he came running back here.


    "I-I''m a neer here. I heard great things about this ce and I want to apply for citizenship!"


    "Are you? With all due respect, I think I have seen you around before. Do you have an IDCard with you?"


    "I... I don''t have one yet!"


    "Sir, are you saying you don''t have an ount card, which is used for every transaction in ck Haven?"


    The woman frowned and nced at the side, alerting the soldiers that some trouble had arrived.


    Sensing her nce, the soldiers walked towards the man. "We would like to ask you some questions. Please follow us to the side, so other people can use the service."


    The man felt his throat clogged with saliva before he could think of anything, the soldiers gave him a stern warning.


    "Not cooperating would allow us to arrest you. This is for the safety of ck Haven citizens and we hope that you cooperate." the soldier respectfully said, then added, "This way please."


    The man was escorted by two soldiers to the tent by the side. Although no loud shouts were heard, everyone knew that the man was being interrogated.


    The next person on the line contemted whether to step forward or not. Usually, the customer service booth appeared carefree and rxing, but today it appeared a bit more menacing.


    In the end, the man walked forward and greeted thedy.


    After seeing the fate of the first person who tried his luck by lying, the man chose to be honest with his words.


    "I... I got expelled from ck Haven. How do I regain my citizenship?"


    The man lowered his head as he uttered those words. He felt ashamed asking the question, but he needed to know the answer.


    Thedy smiled and exined the information that he needed. Apparently, she was already informed that this will happen and was already taught how to respond.


    "Since you were expelled, you need to wait for three months before you could reapply for citizenship. There are ways to hasten the process and I can discuss them with you during the seminar. Are you interested in the information?"


    Life returned to the man''s face after hearing the exnation. "Yes, I want to know!"


    "Then please hand over your old IDCard. All expelled citizens automatically had their bank ounts frozen and I need to reactivate it so you could use its basic functions."


    The man became surprised hearing that a single uninformed decision he made caused a lot of repercussions; three months of waiting time, a frozen bank ount, and no ess to certain facilities.


    For these three months, life would surely be harder for him. In exchange, he learned that he should stop being undecisive and always stick to his choice.


    After kicking everyone from the territory citizen list, Jun popped a sweetened corn nut into his mouth. Evo made several batches of them, and they only differed in crunchiness and taste.


    The whole event has already been nned the moment Jun epted the request to rescue the President. Every scenario was nned out and the needed response was already in ce. The only thing he needed to wait for was the opportunity to see which group of people were loyal and who were not.


    Today, he learned that The Frontier was actually someone who doesn''t want to go back to the old government while small groups were prone to bing undecided. In the future, he should get acquainted with them more often.

 Chapter 324: The Great Walls

    Chapter 324: The Great Walls


    After the stories about the expelled citizens spread in the territory, all the survivors in ck Haven realized that the Guild leader wasn''t someone you could take advantage of. Even more, he wasn''t as kind and nonchnt like how he usually acts.


    ck Haven was neutral territory. It wasn''t a ce where only good or bad people gather. The rules it established for everyone was fair and reasonable, albeit siding with those with strength. Still, strong survivors were people who worked hard for themselves. In a sense, ck Haven promotes actively improving yourself.


    The National Police left with most of its citizens but dozens from the Volunteer group changed their minds after getting expelled. They thought they could retain their rights to use ck Haven facilities even after they left but unfortunately, they weren''t allowed to do so.


    Due to the hundreds of people wanting their citizenship back, the area in front of the ck Haven Compound became too crowded. Nevertheless, no one left their line nor jumped lines.


    One of the reasons why everyone remained civil even though they were bitter was the armored soldiers stationed at the entrance, clearing any bad ideas from everyone''s mind. Anyone who caused trouble would be sent to a tent for a chat, before getting tossed to the back of the line.


    After everything was done, the seminar finally started. There were two options if one wanted to hasten their application process. They could work as manualbor for ck Haven, or work as a security officer.


    If you choose the first option, you are expected to do logging, quarrying, or construction jobs. Compared to the first option, the second option was a lot more rxed, but might be boring or risky depending on the individual; that is working as a border patrol.


    As border patrols in charge of territory security, they would be tasked to clean wandering carriers while interviewing random survivors they meet on the way.


    ck Haven had four towns under its territory; Binangonan, Angono, Cardona, and Morong. Considering the number of survivors, everyone could actually live in a single town, but that would lead to several problems. They can''t leave adjacent towns empty due to the Red Portals that constantly spawn random carriers. Most importantly, different towns had different resources they could farm. It would be a waste not to take advantage of them!


    Although a lot of undecided survivors returned, the National Police group continued its march forward unaffected. Everyone from that party has already decided to move out by the time they heard the notice yesterday. For them, ck Haven was a ce not for the meek.


    Time passed by and the official announcements for current events appeared in the forum. Overall, there were three big projects coupled with a few minor ones.


    The Great Wall Project was announced as the top priority, followed by the Army Expansion, and Province Sweep.


    The Great Wall Project was the construction of the stone barricades Jun copied from the Antipolo Stronghold. The towns under ckHaven would all be surrounded by twoyers of barricades that would further be strengthened and modified, so everyone can safely defend themselves from the top of the wall.


    The main goal of the project was to ensure and increase the defender''s safety while stalling the carriers charging towards the town. With the high-ground advantage of the patrols, shooting the enemies with bows and crossbows would be an easy task.


    This would also help in defending against Evolved Hunters. In the new world, everything has set durability with walls and defensive items having a higher amount than daily life items. Even if elemental carriers appeared, it would take some time before the barricade gets destroyed. Also, due to its height, it could fend off Destroyers and Hunters from jumping over. Still, carriers could still climb up if things piled up against the wall, so clearing and looting the dead bodies could be a problem.


    For all the towns to be surrounded by walls, a lot of materials would be needed, especially stone. Thankfully, they have a mine that can be worked upon. They might even find other resources while mining for stone!


    Although the mine was shut down in the past, it doesn''t affect the result for this project since it wasn''t closed down due to itsck of minerals. The only reason it was shut down was due to environmental safety and preservation passed by thew. However, there are currently nows now, and who cares about something like that when you''re life is on the line?


    Together with the details and information about the project, ck Haven would provide a simple training session for those who were interested to ensure work efficiency. Of course, the training session would be held inside the mines and the training could be considered as freebor.


    And because the quarrying would be done inside the mine, which is a dungeon, a good number of fighters would be needed to be mobilized due to the sheer volume the mobs would respawn. Commonly, a single survivor would respawn five cave rats per minute. Even though they only need one strike each, their attacks are annoying and they could interfere with the quarrying work.


    The mine can amodate up to three hundred people working inside the mines simultaneously and that would summon thousands of cave rats every minute. With that said, only 200 people can work as miners while 100 would be the dungeon cleaners. All the work regarding permissions and dungeon time allotment was already finished and agreed by the ruling parties.


    During these few weeks, while the project was ongoing, the ruling factions unanimously agreed that dungeon ownerships would be temporarily waived since building the defensive walls would greatly help with their survival.


    No one felt irked about it since they could still enter the dungeons by applying as defenders during the project time. It would even benefit them since they keep the mob loots while earning contribution points paid by ck Haven.

 Chapter 325: Projects, Projects, Projects!

    Chapter 325: Projects, Projects, Projects!


    The next project after the Great Wall Project is the Army Expansion. The expansion would be divided into three steps and mostly benefits the survivor. The steps were department selection, admission, and finally live training.


    The first step which was department selection would give interested survivors the ability to choose which department they want to join.


    Currently, there are three proposed departments for military operations; the garrison department, the monitoring department, and the trainee department.


    The garrison department is the protector of the territory. They guard the Red Portals against any threat thates from it. They are tasked mostly with protecting the territory while also defending the borders and aren''t required to clear the surrounding areas.


    The monitoring department is the investigators of the territory. Although ck Haven is a neutral territory, it doesn''t allow open-killings and too much disharmony. It still retains a sense of bnce where strength ys a role in everything.


    The monitoring department is the office staff of the army structure. They handle all the relevant work and are perfect for survivors that don''t like fighting and only want to do civil work.


    Lastly, the trainee department.


    The trainee department handles all the vigorous survivors who want some adventure in their life. The department trains all the future reserve officers and would bear a lot of soldiers that would join the army.


    The three departments have differing base sries and it was only logical since they have different jobs. The highest-paid of them all was the garrison department since they were in constant threat due to the Red Portals. They receive 1500CP a day together with various insurance and two days off to rx.


    Followed by the trainee department that earns 1000CP a day with their only goal is improving their ability to gain the chance to enter the main army. Most of the training was group formations, self-discipline, and physical training. Survivors who failed toplete the training would be given the chance to be recycled into the garrison department. It is their choice whether to leave or take the offer.


    As for the monitoring department, they earn 500CP a day enough for buying essentials every day. If they ever wanted more money, they could do other things during their free time. In the first ce, there would not be much paperwork with mostly basic investigations as they patrol the territory.


    The First Army operates separately from the three departments, but these departments work for the First Army. If anyone wants to join the First Army, they must join the trainee department and pass the set conditions before getting admitted.


    After everyone chose the respective departments that they thought suit best for them, they would have to give basic information for the admission. The admission won''t take long as it was mainly making things official.


    Lastly, after they got epted to their departments, they would be trained on what jobs they had to do.


    Overall, the army expansion was a golden opportunity for a lot of survivors who haven''t joined or solidified their stance with other factions. On the other hand, ck Haven will continue to solidify its position in the town, while private groups could only follow their ground rules if they want to stay here.


    Every survivor in ck Haven knows that if they wanted more money, then they had to chance upon jobs that came from the ck Haven Guild. The Guild pays generous rewards to jobs they give out, unlike missions that came from other survivors who were stingy and wants to save money for the same job.


    And thest major project, Province Sweep.


    Province Sweep is arge scale operation with the goal to clear the whole province of threats. The targets for the operation were aggressive mutated animals, all abominations, and evolved carriers that managed to hide or escape the surveince of the First Army.


    Survivors would be treated as mercenaries and would be paid ordingly. Although ck Haven doesn''t force the survivors to give the loot to them, they have imposed buying-priority to unique and rare items before they could try to sell it to other groups.


    The Province Sweep would be executed in theing weekend, and every fighter was invited to further increase the safety of the province.


    ck Haven doesn''t expect a lot of people toe, but having a few extra hands would still hasten their progress.


    As for the minor projects, they were mostly specialized jobs, together with skilled workers for other projects. For example, ck Haven is looking for people who have experience in any random crafts or people who know how to operate certain heavy-equipments.


    The Guild wants a diverse poption of skilled survivors to stay in town. With skilled survivors in town, they would easily attract wandering survivors to consider living in the area. With more strong individuals residing in the town, the safer the territory would be.


    Back at Cardona Training Camp, a teen with ck hair continuously received pressure from the waterfall falling on his head. He had no expression as he meditated serenely.


    All of a sudden, the water stoppeding and Adrian opened his eyes. The waterfall wasn''t a waterfall. It was a simple shower system fabricated from basic materials that can be found anywhere in the town.


    He was seated due to fatigue after training for the whole day. As a member of the Elite group, he only needs to do difficult jobs and had a lot of free time. Currently, he was undergoing swordsmanship training under a Japanese samurai.


    Adrian can''t speak thenguage but thanks to trantion apps, they could barelymunicate. At first, the man didn''t want to train him, however, they got tired of eating fish and Adrian took advantage of that by offering various goods.


    After getting to know each other, he learned that the two brothers weren''t nning to stay for long and wants to go back to their country. However, as a gift for amodating them, the man promised to teach Adrian for some time. Whether he learns or not would be up to him.

 Chapter 326: Sword Art Not Found

    Chapter 326: Sword Art Not Found


    Am I doing something wrong?


    When will he teach me other moves?


    We just practiced swinging the whole day!


    Adrian changed into a new set of clothes before going out of the shower. Although the inte hase back in the time being, the electrical power to run essential things in town didn''t.


    The makeshift shower rooms were constructed for reserved trainees after a hard day''s work. It only offers basic hygiene as soap and shampoo are hard toe by. The water system was also equipped with a filtering system to make sure that the trainees don''t get contaminated with unknown diseases.


    Right after arriving at the courtyard, Adrian immediately noticed someone waiting for him, chatting with reserved trainees.


    Upon seeing Adriane out of the area where the showers were built, She bade farewell with the trainees and waved her hand excitedly at him.


    With a bright smile on her face, she asked, "How''s your training? I heard this is yourst day. Did you learn anything useful?"


    Adrian frowned after hearing that this was hisst day of training. "What do you mean?"


    "I mean did you learn any fancy swish, swoosh things. You know, sword strikes or something."


    "That''s not what I meant... And I didn''t learn anything like that. I''m still practicing basic swings and the master never taught me anything else. By the way, why did you think that this is thest day of my training?"


    At first, She thought Adrian was joking, but upon noticing his serious expression, she finally answered. "I met your teacher on the way here. He was leaving with his younger brother. Did he not say farewell to you?"


    "No... I didn''t even know they were leaving today." Adrian''s brows furrowed. "Let''s go. If we can hurry, we might able to say our farewells with them."


    Adrian felt disappointed. Though no promises were made, he was expecting to learn at least a move or two, so he could feel proud of himself, and yet the reality was not that good.


    Most of the things he learned from his teacher were the proper form when swinging, and additional advice and techniques on how and when to attack and to defend. As for any fancy techniques or footsteps, there was nothing.


    It didn''t take much time for the two to catch up since they were running instead of walking. Adrian saw his teacher exining something in a foreignnguage to the reserve trainees guarding the Red Portal.


    His teacher was getting anxious as themunication barrier worsened. Despite that, the man continuously tried to exin that he and his younger brother were leaving through the Red Portal.


    The trainees didn''t know what to do since they can''t understand each other. Thankfully, one of them saw Adrian and called out to him.


    "Sir Adrian!"


    Adrian saw the helpless look of the trainees and smiled at them.


    "I''ll take care of my teacher. You guys go back to your posts," said Adrian before turning to his teacher. The two looked at each other without looking away before his teacher shyly scratched the back of his head. The man looked to the side as if he was searching for a good excuse about the situation.


    Unexpectedly, he didn''t need to speak at all since Adrian already opened his heart out. "Thank you so much for teaching me for the past few days. I know I might not be a good student, but I''ll further hone my skills, so when the dayes that we meet again, you can be proud of me."


    His teacher stared at him sternly as if processing what he was trying to say. Momentster, he beamed a bright smile and responded using his foreignnguage, making the conversation a bitical.


    At the end of his teacher''s reply, he was even patted on the shoulders as if something was passed onto him, or he was just being encouraged.


    After a talk of nonsense, his teacher bade farewell and entered the Red Portal holding hands with his brother.


    For others, it would appear unmanly but for those with knowledge, physical contact during Teleports would allow groups to travel together.


    Adrian taught his teacher that information during one of their break times as a way of gratitude for teaching him.


    After the two bodies vanished from the Red Portal, Adrian felt that today has been a really tiring day. The training continued until he can''t swing anymore, he was able to get back into shape after a short rest and shower.


    Although he had an enhanced body, he still sumbs to what his body was ustomed to do.


    Eating three meals a day, and on time.


    Adrian turned to face She. "Has Mike finished cooking dinner?"


    She pouted after hearing his question. "Can we eat out tonight? Get some fresh air, new sceneries. Although eating at home feels nice, it is also good to show yourself around people. Besides, it''s our special day today, so I want some alone time with you..."


    Adrian blushed upon hearing her request.


    ''So, it''s that time of the month.''


    When he first entered this rtionship, he never expected what he was putting himself into. He only learned about some of her hobbies and interest during the short time they were together.


    First of all, She likes to appreciate every little thing that happens to them. She loves celebrating the mandatory monthsary each couple had to go through every month.


    Her reasoning?


    It was much meaningful now since they could die at any given point in time.


    And of course, Adrian agrees with that. This was the apocalypse and he doesn''t know when the good things will stoping, so he had to prepare and be strong for the near future.


    "So what do you want to eat? Do you have anything in mind?"


    She hugged his arm and sweetly whispered, "I know a quiet ce where we can enjoy ourselves. The food there is really good!"


    Just after she finished speaking, the Red Portal suddenly started to glow.

 Chapter 327: Monster Rush

    Chapter 327: Monster Rush


    For a short moment, Adrian thought that his teacher forgot something and returned to fetch his things. However, the person that appeared from the Red Portal sniffed the air once before growling at the nearby crowd.


    The reserved trainees as if used to such events immediately went into formation. Calm and organized orders resounded in the area as numerous carriers streamed out of the Red Portal.


    The sh of light continued until Adrian finally understood what was happening.


    It was a monster rush.


    Adrian faced She and kissed her forehead. "Since we''re already here, let''s help out a bit."


    She loosened her hug and red at the horde of carriers continuously appearing from the Red Portal. "Might as well exercise, right? I''m getting bored with teaching basic first-aid skills all day."


    When there are no missions for the Elite team, She acts as one of the instructors in ck Haven Academy. Her central subject was first-aid and healing, while she sometimes offers lessons on how someone could act better as support.


    If people can be craftsmen by repeatedly producing items, medical personnel would surely appear after repeated studies, right? Although not guaranteed, as long as there is a chance, people would willingly try it. Besides, there are no risks in studying and the survivor only benefits by learning practical life-saving skills that would be useful in the future.


    She whipped out a gorgeous ck spear from her inventory. It was the Tier 3 Spear crafted personally by Old John from the bones of a Rank 3 Destroyer. After several spins as if a majorette performing a series of baton twirl, she ended the showcase with a hard dash, running forward.


    Adrian has been living with her ever since they got together, yet he still can''t get used to the aggressive change when ites to fighting.


    Nevertheless, he still finds her cute whatever she does. Even the wild swinging and severing of the enemy''s head shows her charm to the world.


    This monster rush had at least 100 ckened carriersing out. After the first month in the apocalypse, most regr carriers have evolved into a new version, Their skin color changed to ck and has be much resilient. Still, they retained the iconic dark cracks around their eyes and the inability to speak.


    Adrian followed after her and made sure that nothing could attack her from behind. He didn''t even have to unsheath his katana and only bludgeoned most of the enemy''s away, weaving and dodging every basic attack sent to him. They were just helping and the negligible amount of experience could help the trainees better.


    Or so he thought.


    Amidst the shouts of order and ughter, two hunters at the back of the horde focused on the two of them as if sensing that they were the most troublesome of the bunch. This was the only time that Adrian had to use his weapon.


    As he pushed the tip of the katana out, he remembered one of the lessons taught to him by his teacher.


    A drawn sword is the deadliest, and also the weakest. Once the sword is pulled out from its sheath, one must fullymit itself to strike. The katana isn''t the most durable sword and it often leads to breaking if not used correctly.


    A sheathed sword and a drawn sword are the difference between offense and defense. As someone who trains in the way of the sword, one must know how to protect his own sword.


    As the Hunters lunged at them, Adrian pushed the hilt outwards with his thumb and lowered his body, making a dashing-leap stance.


    Due to his natural skill as a thief, actively observing the surrounding has be as natural as breathing to him. He waited for the opportune moment to strike.


    Although the time didn''t slow down, he was able to follow their trajectory thanks to his heightened speed stat.


    With a forceful leap followed by a swift diagonal sh and a horizontal strike, Adrian managed to breeze through the air andnd a few meters away from his original spot.


    Two bodies fell to the ground, causing soft thuds. Secondster, their heads detached from their bodies as dark blood trickled out from their necks.


    And tomit to the way of the sword, after drawing the sword from its sheath, one must fully open itself to the offensive.


    He didn''t know what his teacher meant by offense, and his understanding of the sword was low. The only thing he knew was that katanas don''t break easily when coated with his energy.


    After unsheathing the sword, Adrian weaved around the horde easily thinning their numbers down. All the basic strokes taught to him were utilized and he even learned that he could use the sheath for defense when he gets surrounded.


    His teacher didn''t teach him any foot techniques because there wasn''t enough time. Besides, with the enhanced bodily senses, Adrian doesn''t need to be taught about footsteps since he could already do it on his own. His extreme speed allowed him to be a blur in the eyes of the carriers. Before the enemy''s attacks couldnd, he was already wreaking havoc somewhere else.


    It took less than 10 minutes to clear the whole monster rush, and Adrian killed almost half of the enemy. In his frenzied ughter, he didn''t even notice that the fight has ended until there was no enemy around him.


    At this time, all of the trainees felt awe after witnessing the shocking ughter. One of the reasons why Adrian almost took half of the enemy numbers was due to the trainees slightly retreating afraid of getting on his way. If they were identally cleaved by a single attack, they all believe that they could die.


    Adrian exuded the aura for ughter as his eyes savagely looked around the area. His increased heartbeat produced unusual amounts of excitement that made him long for more.


    Thankfully, someone was here to calm him down.


    A soft sensation came from his back and a pair of arms hugged him from behind.


    "Hey, are we eating now? I''m kinda hungry, you know?" She asked while yfully biting his back.


    At first, his instincts told him to turn around, but after feeling the warm sensation and hearing the familiar voice from behind, he managed to calm himself down.


    He turned and pinched She''s cheeks. "Let''s go. I feel famished now after that bit of exercise."


    She pouted, making her face look weird.


    Seeing her cutesy face, Adrianughed heartily before walking forward. "Where are we going actually? Are you sure they serve clean food?"


    "Un." She nodded her head cheerfully. "I found out about a shop run by a grandma who makes delicious handmade noodles. Not many people know about the shop, or was dissuaded by the service..."


    "Why, is the service bad?"


    "Well, she reduces the amount of noodles if she doesn''t like you..."


    "Eh?" Adrian was dumbfounded after learning that such an autistic shop owner existed. If it was in the old days, that shop would never customers and be constantly harassed by bullies.


    At that thought, he realized one problem with the shop. How could the shop remain in operation when anyone is free to rob them?

 Chapter 328: Two Sides of the Coin

    Chapter 328: Two Sides of the Coin


    In the shroud of the dark night, Jun continued to hunt for evolved carriers on the outskirts of Man, the capital city. He was alone and didn''t bring anyone with him to get the most out of this trip.


    With his current abilities, there were almost zero possibilities that he could die unless he was ganged by several unique survivors or high-ranked carriers. Even in a situation where he gets cornered, he could just run away by climbing up a high ce and teleporting back to town.


    Standing at the top of the edge of a building searching for his next target, his smartwatch notified him that a new message arrived. With a simple nce, he saw that it was from ke Shu, the leader of the underground information group, Newsroom.


    Since there were no targets to be found, he decided to open the message. It was a report of the unusual things happening in Antipolo City.


    After the president was rescued, Rodriguez Duforte immediately ordered the army to start nning on how to move to the north. He made several adjustments to survivor welfare, which immediately raised the people''s appreciation of him. Except for the few people who continuously rejects the motion for moving to the north, his return as the nation''s president has been smooth.


    The country is at the risk of peril and the president officially announced that the whole country is under martialw.


    The military that finally had its Commander in Chief back could finally bear its fangs to those officials who had personal interests in mind even when the country was in crisis. Those who submitted their renewed allegiance were forgiven and demoted while those who tried to feign ignorance were stripped of their powers and still forced to obey orders.


    Additionally, the survivors that came from ck Haven were being used for propaganda by the government. These people spread dark rumors about how ck Haven was run and how dangerous it was for civilians. They were doing it willingly as if they held a grudge against the territory.


    After getting the gist of the message, Jun sent ke Shu a reply. It was the actions the Newsroom has to do in order to help ck Haven over the situation.


    Jun didn''t look down on the other group. It was natural for them to use every resource they have to raise morale. With survivors telling horror stories to scare the poption, there was nothing else he could do but y the same game.


    Jun doesn''t know who gave the other to spread such stories, yet he can''t remain passive and wait for the territory''s reputation to plummet down. Since the other group resorted to such an underhanded method, they should expect to be hit back with the same degree in return.


    Since they want to strengthen their image to get the backing of civilian survivors, I''ll dly y and take the other side of the coin!


    "Spread rumors about how beneficial ck Haven is to those who are already strong. Try to leak information about the avable goods, but don''t give too many. Just enough to entice lone elites toe over. Most importantly, they are free to do whatever they want in ck Haven as long as they don''t go overboard. We are neutral territory, not good, not bad. Try your best to get as many elites as you can. Even if they''re not elites as long as they have the courage to fight, they would be stronger after joining ck Haven."


    Upon sending his response, Jun resumed his hunt.


    Back at the Stronghold, Antipolo City...


    ke Shu has read the message countless times and pondered the next actions that he should take.


    During the time he was invited to join ck Haven, he and his group were amodated properly. Hunting equipment and supplies were sent to aid them to get a stable footing in the city. He even made a separate department for selling trinkets and goods that came from ck Haven, earning them a lot of money and reputation.


    Even then, he could still be considered as someone who kept standing on the fence and was forced to make a decision now.


    In the past, all he had to do was gather relevant information and report it back. It was an easy task and most of the time, some other jobs from other politicians ovepped together causing him to save more time.


    However, Jun''s request meant that he finally had to choose sides. The time hase whether to support the man who had been helping them survive or side with the old government slowly rebuilding itself from the ground.


    After pondering for some time over the matter, he smiled and contemted within.


    "I want power and I want stability.


    "The old government can give stability as long as you work for them, however, they want strict control over most workforce and want to know everything. Unless we work under them, it was impossible to be one of the leading powers.


    "The only option was to fully ally with ck Haven for a better future. I can consider other local jobs as our cover, and to ease the government''s focus on us."


    With a decision in mind, ke Shu called his trusted aid into the room and exined his decision. After everyone absorbed the changes, they started nning on how to perfectly execute the order.


    First, they had to spread rumors about the benefits ck Haven gives to strong individuals. Followed by soft informational opportunities about jobs avable in the territory like farming, fishing, and hunting.


    The reason why the recent survivors left was that they couldn''t adjust to the physicalbor and wanted to rely on the government for easier jobs. Through their clouded minds, they never imagined that office jobs and rxing jobs would be far gone and could only be seen in the past. Even if there are avabilities, they need strong connections since there are lots ofpetition around.


    The Newsroom worked itself tirelessly through the evening spreading good information around. They provided alcohol for people to get drunk while sneaking in such rumors.


    The night was cold quiet and a fight started without anyone knowing.

 Chapter 329: Choosing Sides

    Chapter 329: Choosing Sides


    Seven people gathered in a room with a dark expression on their faces. Two of them were seated near a small table at the center of the room, while the rest stood around them. Every one of them was skinny and appeared to have experienced a lot of things in life.


    "Brother Rodel, we can''t survive if this continues! Our savings are starting to run dry and if we don''t get any work, there''s a chance that we will be forced to our old ways." said a scrawny man to the person on the other side of the table.


    Karl fumed upon hearing his best buddy''s choice of words. "We''re not going back to those days! We know full well what happens to people in that job. They either get imprisoned when caught or killed when they resisted arrest. It could rake us some quick bucks but too troublesome to operate."


    There are only limited things that could bring quick cash, and most of them are illegal in nature. Sale of unregistered firearms, drugs, and underground services.


    The seven people inside the room have known each other for a long time. After years of nning, they were able to overtake the syndicate they were in, and after experiencing the ups and downs of life, decided to turn over a new leaf.


    Well, if they were going, to be honest, they got caught by the government and forced to help catch other big criminal groups in exchange for a lighter sentence. In the end, they agreed and only had to pay the fines for getting involved with illegal drugs.


    ''Besides, we don''t have any connections in the local powers.''


    Even if they want to delve back to illegal trade, they at least need a connection with some local power. However, the prime executioner of people doing illegal drugs, the president, has finally returned. It would be far riskier to do drug trades with that person in charge, especially now thatmunications have been destroyed and that man could focus solely within this area.


    "If we just apologize to Mr. Leo, there''s a chance that he would lift the ban for assigning jobs to us." said his best buddy Joris.


    "We won''t lower our heads to him!" Rodel responded. "Everyone here knows that it was his men who started the fight!"


    "That''s right! And we all know that he knows that too. What he wants is not the truth, but something that could give him a better reputation. Just think about how much money we''re losing out every day!"


    Leo was their district''s jobmissioner. Anything regarding earning money mostlyes from him. From collecting resources, escort missions, and local expeditions. Everything involves around him since he had family connections with some people in the local government.


    Since the start of the apocalypse, the power to determine whether people get jobs caused the man''s ego to inte. He views reputation and face as one of the determining factors whether some group could get a job or not. He calls it, only ''good'' people should be prioritized for a job.


    Their group was experienced with the way of the world. They know how to fight, they can get their hands dirty, and most of all, they''re good at talking. In the smallmunity, their group''s name and prestige resounded loudly everywhere. Their past left behind, everyone thought that they could finally enjoy life in theing future.


    Until they encountered a group of familiar people while reporting the sess of the town expedition given to them.


    The familiar faces were members of the criminal organization that they betrayed. Upon facing each other, a heated tension between groups immediately erupted. Still, as the leader of the group and having turned into a new person, Rodel tried to fix the situation as civilized as possible.


    Unfortunately, the other side was intent on getting back at them and a fight immediately ensued. The other group was no match to them and got easily overpowered. What they didn''t expect was they were loyal dogs of Mr. Leo, the jobmissioner.


    Infuriated by the sight of his underlings badly beaten on the ground, Leo identified them as misfits who would cause trouble anywhere and banned them from the job center. They were given no chance to exin and despite having witnesses in the area, no one stepped forward to help them.


    Bathing in injustice, they took the reward money and skimped on the items they submitted. Though it wouldn''t matter much, getting back a little made them feel good a little.


    Expedition jobs were always dangerous and offer high payouts. Jobs like these often have arge survivor count recruited by the government for scavenging resources. Groups who ept expedition jobs have to defend everyone while escorting them back and forth until everyone''s inventory runs out of space to fill.


    Rodel pondered over the options avable beforeing up with an answer. "No, we will not apologize."


    Joris frowned and was very close to shouting profanities, so he could instill some logic with his best friend''s brain. However, after knowing each other for so long, he knew there''s another part he wasn''t aware of, so he asked, "What''s your n then?"


    "Have you heard of the rumors about ck Haven?" said Rodel inquiringly.


    "Yeah, what of it? You''re not thinking of going into a shabby town, right?"


    Hearing his friend''s answer, Rodel discerned that Joris only heard of the old rumors about the ce. In his mind, he was even asking whether this friend of his was dead asleepst night or was busy ying with some streetwalker he found on the street.


    "Seems like you only heard of the bad rumors about them. There''s another set of rumors spreading around the city, and if they were true, it might be the opportunity that we have been looking for."


    Joris asked in confusion. "What opportunity?"


    "A ce where only strength matters and has only basicws toply."


    Joris pondered about the matter. "I don''t know brother. I want the best for the group and you know that. If we move to anothermunity, we have to adjust to new people, new power struggles. I... I..."


    "That''s fine." Rodel smiled at him, then nced towards their friends surrounding them. "The two of us have differing views on the matter. We are now entering to open voting."


    "Those who want to kneel and apologize to scumbags, please raise your hand."


    No one raised their hands.


    "Those in favor of moving to ck Haven territory, please stand up."


    Rodel groaned before slowly standing from his seat. The people who were already standing up grinned and shook their heads at the shamelessness of their leader.


    Joris scoffed before a smirk naturally formed on his face. He looked up at Rodel, and said, "You''re a duck, you know that, right?"


    Rodelughed heartily before expressing a naughty grin. "Shall we y with scumbags before we leave this hellhole?"


    Joris smiled evilly and responded. "Yeah, let''s do that. I''m itching to bash someone''s face specifically."


    The next day, a jobmissioner was found beaten up together with hisckeys. Despite getting pummeled on a high-traffic road, no witnesses testified about the event. No one could even identify the group who attacked the official despite the close-knitmunity of the stronghold.


    In the next few days, the stronghold city experienced a slight decline in its poption. It should have been great news, but the people leaving were strong individuals and small parties with a good reputation. These groups could be seen rushing towards the south as if escaping from a gue. In all honesty, they were just scared of getting stopped by patrols and held back for investigation.


    Only when arge number has left did the district''s governor learned of the rumor that spread which attracted powerful individuals to abandon ship and jump into a new one.


    The governor in charge felt his neck itching for some reason as he started to think of the answers he needed to give to his higher ups.

 Chapter 330: Second Tribulation

    Chapter 330: Second Tribtion


    It was midday and Jun was eating lunch and is still hunting monsters alone.


    Several days have passed and his hunt continued hunting without worrying about ck Haven. He constantly received updates from Evo about the surge of new survivorsing from the north. The recruitment n he devised seeded and it was better than he expected.


    Almost two thousand new survivors havee to ck Haven of their own ord. Considering the developments, the National Police''s departure actuallyted him more than a thousand promising survivors.


    These survivors aren''t wishy-washy and have chosen his territory despite the rumors. That could only mean they are strong individuals, or they just think they are. Nevertheless, he gained a lot of new possible citizens that could help in further securing the area.


    The sess of the recruitment drive lies heavily on two factors; the bad rumors that came from the survivors that left ck Haven, and the unfair treatment these survivors received from the old government. Without those factors, these people wouldn''t leave in a hurry and choose a new ce to live.


    It took a lot of time for these people to earn a ce in themunity and with them venturing into another territory, their futures would be uncertain.


    The bad rumors about ck Haven''s neutrality enticed certain groups of people toe over. On the other hand, people who don''t like the expedition to the north finally found somewhere to stay.


    Though the Stronghold City wouldn''t bepletely abandoned, its overall defensive power would decline steeply as if begging the people to question its safety.


    Overall, the old government didn''t like the sudden event and people at the top were investigating the matter.


    ke Shu already reported most of the events in the city and promised to stay loyal to ck Haven. The only thing he requested is constant support in terms of supplies and technology, so his organization can thrive in the midst of hostile territory.


    Of course, Jun wouldn''t discount him and would give appropriate support. However, if the man wanted excellent gears and top-secret information, he needs to sign a contract with Jun swearing fealty to ck Haven and its people.


    While checking thetest updates from his smartwatch, Jun felt a sharp feelinging from behind and immediately jumped to the side.


    Screech!!!


    A Hunter tried to ambush him, thinking he wasn''t paying attention to his surroundings. Unfortunately for the Hunter, he always uses Detection when he needs to do something. When the hunter''s movement was detected by the skill, it was the time when he felt the hostile intenting from behind.


    "Oi, you should have run when I decided not to kill you earlier. Now I have to kill you for trying to kill me. Tsk." Jun clicked his tongue and leaped forward. His empty hand from earlier suddenly held a Warhammer that easily sent the skinny hunter to the ground. Its body even rebounded from the force before getting pummeled in its chest finally killing it.


    The energy remaining from its body seeped out and transformed into EXP that entered Jun''s body, causing an event that Jun was trying to dy.


    [You have leveled up!]


    That''s right. He was on the verge of leveling up and he wanted to prepare himself before advancing to the next pit stop, level 20.


    His stats were already way ahead of everyone but he just wants to do it in a safe ce, probably somece nearby to thepound. If he could document or have other people witness the tribtion, maybe they could get a betterprehension of what to do in the future.


    However, things often don''t go the way you want them to go.


    [Sessfully reached the second bottleneck. Your lightning tribtion is on its way. Please rx and calmly wait for its energy to gather.]


    "Wait, what?!" Jun widened his eyes in surprise.


    The first time he experienced the lightning tribtion, he was on top of a building in Angono just reaching level 10. The noise and energy overflow caused the nearby carriers to flock to his location, making him a very rare treasure trapped in one ce. If he didn''t have unique items with him at that time, getting out of that ce could have been really troublesome.


    The bright skies started to darken above his area as thunder slowly rumbled in the clouds. In the horizon, there were patches of blue skies, making these single patches of dark clouds extremely unusual.


    It didn''t take long for the first lightning to strike down and he was prepared for it. However, the apanying thunder caused a lot of hidden carriers in the area to be alert. Some ambitious ones even willingly searched for the ce where the sound wasing from.


    Jun wasn''t scared of the tribtion. With his stats alone, he could guarantee his safety unless outside forces tried to join the fun.


    And that is what''s happening now.


    The lightning tribtion continued to strike him while he tried his best to climb to a higher ce. At least he could easily escape as long as he had the high ground.


    Jun ran across the street and agilely climbed the nearest house he saw. He used his enhanced leg muscles to jump a few meters into the air and grab the railings of the second floor''s balcony. From there, he catapulted himself into the roof and gave himself the height advantage. If carriers want to reach him, they either had to see him first or smell him.


    He focused deeply trying to absorb every lightning essence that entered his body. Refining his bones and muscles might be something natural during tribtion, but he wants to take one step ahead and willingly refine the energy himself. With additional help, he might receive more benefits.


    Jun didn''t forget to look around the surrounding as the tribtion tested his body. Hordes of ck regr carriers can be heard roaming around. The evolved carriers made sure that their presence was known as they bellowed at each other as ifmunicating.

 Chapter 331: Consecutive Upgrades!

    Chapter 331: Consecutive Upgrades!


    [You have sessfully passed your lightning tribtion.]


    [Physical body resistance has been increased. Spiritual sense started to develop. Energy pool increased.]


    [Natural health and energy regeneration increased.]


    He ced the newly gained two stat points into his charm stat, finally getting all of his stats above 30. His power and speed stat increased due to absorbing relevant essence stones, gained from killing evolved carriers. He also found out that Elemental carriers had certain chances to drop corresponding essence stones. The fire elemental can drop power essence, while the earth elemental can drop endurance essence stones. In regards to this, the water elemental has to drop somewhere between the wits essence stone or the charm essence stone.


    [Jun Reyes][Profession - Thug][Level - 20]


    [Health - 2,100][Energy - 610]


    [Title - Thug Life III]


    [Power - 105][Endurance - 49][Speed - 66][Wits - 35][Cunning - 30][Charm - 30]


    [Stat Points - 0]


    [Trait]


    -[Brave] [Iron Guts] [Strong]


    [Skills]


    -[Threaten - (Custom)]


    -[Rob - (Custom)]


    -[Execute - Lv.4]


    -[Melee Weapon Mastery - Lv.4]


    -[Blueprint - Lv.Max]


    -[Howling Rage - (Custom)]


    -[Sprint -(Custom)]


    -[Time Perse - Lv.Max]


    -[Water Stride - Lv.Max]


    -[Enhanced Sight - Lv.Max]


    -[Reinforce Lv. Max]


    -[Empower Lv. Max]


    -[Aura (Death) Lv. Max]


    -[destorm - Lv. Max]


    -[Detection - Lv. Max]


    -[Block - Lv. Max]


    -[Limit Break!]


    A lot of things have changed to his character screen and even some of his skills had evolved during this short month.


    Since he had a monopoly over various essence stones, his stats appeared over the top causing him confidence that he never experienced before. This is also why he dares to hunt solo knowing that barely anything in the wild could pin him down if he wanted to escape.


    Even the lightning tribtion which was on its second power only caused 900 true damage to him. It''s his second tribtion and the true damage dealt him raised by 20 points every strike. That is 20, 40, 60, up to 180. With his 2,100 Health, the tribtion failed to even bring his health to half.


    To maximize the absorption of lightning essence, he didn''t coat his body with energy allowing the pure lightning energy to travel inside him. Right now, he was still feeling numb and sore while smelling like a lump of burnt uncooked meat.


    As for the Limit Break! skill, he dared not to tamper too much into it since he finally got the hang of his skills now. He decided to only y with its options once he got a higher energy pool or when the situation calls for it.


    Limit Break had wonderous effects but has a ring w. The changes made to the skill can''t be downgraded. And Jun epted it as natural since it would be strange if skills trained to a certain level would suddenly be weaker than its current level. Just imagine having a level 3 offensive skill with 200 damage suddenly dealing 100 damage like it was just level 1.


    By the time he learned of that defect, he already had the custom skills in ce and decided not to mess with it anymore.


    Besides the two obvious changes, his title has also upgraded into something actually worth being happy of. The title Thug Life has upgraded three times and now gives him 100XP daily instead of 10XP daily at level 1. Even though it''s not much, free food is always wee.


    After the dark clouds dissipated, Jun finally felt the surrounding area roaring with hordes. It was like a sea of voices echoing on a hill repeatedly. The lightning tribtion caused the dispersed evolved carriers from the capital to once againe back into the vicinity.


    During the initial phase where there were still hundreds and thousands of living people trying to survive and run for their lives, these carriers were pushed to the outskirts of the city to chase after them. It is also one of the reasons why the central capital was empty.


    As for why there were not many lightning tribtions in the province? Who in their right minds would have the guts to go and search for trouble by themselves? Everyone was busy avoiding fights or anything that could attract attention to them. Besides the military who gets mob exp evenly distributed to them, only cultists or strange individuals had the chance to do some farming.


    For most civilians, one encounter with an evolved carrier would spell immediate doom. It was especially so for survivors in the cities. There was arge poption for carriers to easily evolve even when there''spetition around. In a sense, towns and barrios became the safest ce during the initial phase due to their small poption. They had more time to adjust while things happened.


    At that thought, Jun couldn''t help but think about the lone survivors inside the city. He could feel their presence in the area but haven''t seen them directly.


    They could be considered hardcore survivors right? Do they believe being alone is the way to go? Or is there a reason why they don''t join a group?


    As he pondered over the numerous possibility, he felt something inside him fluctuate. All of a sudden, an electric shock instantaneously spread out to his whole body. It felt like goosebumpsbined with weak shocks from a lie detector machine. Seconds went on and the tingling sensation came to a halt with a notification popping up.


    [Awakened ability upgraded! Time Perse energy usage has been reduced by 50%. 1 per second ] 0.5 per second. An additional option has been added to Time Perse.]


    [Time Lapse option added. While inside Time Perse, you can choose to allow enemy movement as if watching a timepse. With a ratio of 1:3, this skill will drain the target''s energy while also spending your energy.]


    [Your body has been refined!]


    [After absorbing substantial lightning energy, your body has slightly adjusted to the lightning attribute. Your body has be lighter and nimbler.]


    After the shock therapy, Jun could feel the various changes in his body. The whirling energy inside his stomach, the newly strengthened bones of his body, and the heightened senses to feel the surroundings.


    Jun opened his eyes apanied by sparks of ck lightning. Deep within his eyes was the gift given to him for witnessing the change of the world.

 Chapter 332: Territory Shop, Profession Development

    Chapter 332: Territory Shop, Profession Development


    Jun decided that it was time to leave the city since he already achieved what he wanted. Besides, he can''t casually hunt anymore since the area be riddled with Rank 2 and Rank 3 Evolved carriers after the hordes got attracted to his lightning tribtion.


    He teleported straight to the Faction Base at the Binangonan Northern ins and went straight to the conference room.


    While absorbing the energy earlier, he noticed that the prayer has reached an exorbitant amount after getting neglected for days.


    Though he already unlocked the Territory Overview a couple of days ago, one of the features it had appeared attractive to him.


    The basic features of the territory overview were the citizen list, dungeons, and building management. The attractive feature to him was the Shop section. However, the shop was not selling items like how other system shops do. Instead, it only offers various buffs and bonuses that can be exchanged with prayers from the territory overview.


    Currently, Jun had control over two territories in ck Haven. Binangonan, his main territory and Angono, the one he took over from Marcus, the Swindler. Cardona and Morong were standalone towns with no Lord, and is only upied due to their resources.


    The faction altar still had around 12,400 Prayers amassed daily offerings after the 10,000 Prayers required were deducted from unlocking the Territory Overview.


    Due to the number of citizens, he easily amassed a great amount of prayers from the daily offerings. Even if he doesn''t promote the faction altar, the survivors would still willingly flock to receive its blessing. Having additional buffs was better than nothing!


    There were limited options on what items he could trade for and he scrutinized them carefully, so he could select what the territory needs best.


    He bought a Tier 2 Profession Buff for 10,000 Prayers thatsts for 3 days. It increases experience gain in the selected profession, making switching professions easier while amplifying their outputs. There are still 2,400 Prayers remaining and he can''t buy anything else from the Shop. The next cheapest item was the Tier 1 Buffs, which costs at least 5,000 Prayers.


    The difference between the Tiers were simple. The higher the tier goes, the longer the time the buff would be avable while also giving a higher efficiency and productivity.


    A regr civilian who had an unemployed profession could easily be a farmer with the help of the buff. If it needed him to weed and nt crops on hectares ofnd, then with the buff he could finish the job easier. Weeding would be faster as if the grass don''t stick to the ground, and the soil could be tilled casually and yet still be healthy. Once the harvesting periodes, there would be an obvious increase in yield and the soil can still be reused without working on it again.


    The same goes for other professions.


    Survivors who want to be craftsman would gain the profession faster with less work. Making items would be easier and much prone to having good stats during the crafting. Clothes, leather armors, iron tools, everything!


    Jun chose the buff because he wanted to hasten the development of the town. With more skilled workers, the more products the town could produce. The more products the town produce, the more items they could trade. And having items to trade, Jun could better control themunity. The more Contribution Points settled in everyone''s lives, the more ck Haven''s services would be essential.


    With this buff, the neers would feel that they made the right choice of choosing sides. At the same time, he could flex the benefits of staying in ck Haven.


    That day, every registered citizen received the buff and happily enjoyed their day. The still unemployed searched for suitable mentors to learn professions.


    Errol Rivera, the one of the few offensive professions in the town received hundreds of request from the citizens. The profession Hunter doesn''t only sound cool, it actually gives one a sense of dignity. Survivors had already adjusted to the new world. They rte professions to old role ying games and Hunters were basic characters which had safety and power.


    Errol tried telling them that his skill set wasn''t what they thought but people still urged him to give some lessons. In the end, he agreed to their request and would held sessions when there are no missions for the Elite Unit. Though there was no definite schedule, people still weed the news and joined the trainings.


    The information scrapper, Roby, even received countless requests from survivors to have them notified whenever Errol would be conducting lessons.


    After getting things done, Jun went upstairs and entered one of the idle rooms. He ns to get some sleep while passively earning EXP at the same time, Besides, the Well-rested buff disappeared after the lightning tribtion, so he need to get a new one.


    [Congrattions! Fifty students you taught have sessfully gained understanding of the subject. You unlocked the Profession, Teacher-in-Training. Would you like to change your profession?]


    Due to the sudden event, Dyna answered empty-mindedly. "Y-yes."


    Ding.


    A crisp sound resounded in her ears.


    [Sessfully changed professions! As a teacher-in-training, your lessons would now be much easier to understand, allowing students to absorb knowledge efficiently. There''s also a substantial increase in reading speed, memory capacity, and memory processing.]


    Dyna stared dumbfounded on thin air. The children and young teens seated in front of her waved at her, to catch her attention.


    "Teacher Dyna, are you okay? Is there something wrong?" one of the older kids asked worried about why their teacher suddenly started acting strangely out of nowhere.


    "I... No, I''m alright. Thanks for asking though." Dyna answered with a smile.


    Sheq quietly opened her characted sheet and noticed that some of her skills had changed. The profession specific fish vendor skills had disappeared reced by a passive skill Knowledge Impartation, and an active skill, Corporal Punishment.


    Knowledge Impartation is a passive skill which helps in teaching various information to the other party. The user''s voice has a slim chance to be understood immediately after a single utterance. It woulde as an enlightenment to the student, which readily allows them to use the knowledge.


    If the Knowledge Impartation happened while teaching a skill, the other party would immediately grasp the core concept of the skill and use it.


    The moreplicated the knowledge, the lower the chance of activating the skill.

 Chapter 333: Teaching is the Way

    Chapter 333: Teaching is the Way


    Dyna continued her lessons about energy usage and skill generation.


    Every skill is generated using the same format. Imagine the intent and gather energy wherever it is needed. The sprint skill was the very basic skill avable to the public and it only needs you to think of running faster while gathering energy on your feet. This series of actions would result in skill generation into activation.


    Most of her students haven''t grasped the basic energy sensing and even further away from energy forming. It was understandable since they were still in their childhood with no work experience. They have no professions, making them skillless. And without skills, it was hard to feel the energy coursing through one''s body,


    There was nothing she could do, but repeat the lessons every day and demonstrate how she manually gathers and forms energy.


    To absorb a low-tier essence shard, she ced the item on her palm and started with the intent. After thinking of absorbing the essence inside the shard, she gathered a small amount of energy in her palm, creating a white sphere the size of a ping-pong ball. The prompt appeared in front of her and the shard was consumed, giving her the hideous 1XP.


    Of course, the students didn''t see the notification but only saw the shard vanish after it touched the white ball.


    "So, does anyone want to try creating their energy ball?" Dyna asked optimistically. She just became a teacher in profession! Of course, she would be hyped to see how her skills work.


    Several of the young teens stepped forward and tried their best to generate the small energy sphere, but luck wasn''t on their side.


    The ss ended with no one being sessful in their attempts.


    One of the young teensmented dejectedly as they left the ssroom. "We appreciate the lessons, Miss Dyna. However, I don''t think we can learn skills without feeling how energy works first. We understand how the process works in our heads, but our bodies don''t know how to do it. Maybe, we just need to work hard in getting a profession before studying the basics."


    "Don''t be so quick to give up. There are no shortcuts to studying. It''s just an hour a day, I''m sure you guys can fit that into your schedule." Dyna encouraged the bunch before waving goodbye.


    After everyone was gone, Dyna fell into deep thought.


    Was there really no way for non-profession survivors to learn energy control without feeling it? If that''s the case, how would children of the future survive? It''s impossible to give them a workload as a child... That would be a bit...


    Even as she tried to deny the thought, it was the only usible thing that entered her mind. For the survival of the young ones, should they use childbor? There are good choices avable like gardening or personal assistant, it would still require manualbor which should be difficult for them.


    She opened her character screen and reviewed the changes that happened. Until a little detail entered her mind, causing a smile to appear on her face.


    She reached for her smartwatch and video called Bernard.


    "Hey, you have a copy of the citizen master list for ck Haven, right? No, no. I''m not doing anything bad. I just want to meet some people. Alright, thank you!"


    After ending the call, a new message arrived with an attached file. Bernard had a follow message saying, "You didn''t get it from me."


    Dyna sent a heart emoji before tapping on the file. It downloaded and transferred to her hologram. She operated the screen and opened the file.


    After pressing some keys, the document started searching for the word [teacher], allowing three results to appear. She investigated their profiles and found out that one has been expelled from the territory, while the other two still remains in ck Haven.


    Both of them were female, one was a high school teacher enlisted in the First Army, while the other works for the Frontier as caretaker of the young ones.


    What Dyna realized earlier was that she was only a Teacher-in-training. It was understandable that her skills were a bit weakened and inefficient. If she wanted to be a teacher, she must first learn how to be one. The profession only opened to her due to the daily lessons she was conducting. Another part was the number of students trying their best to control energy.


    Although there are other instructors teaching other skill subjects in the Academy, they had other jobs unlike her. Most of them go out and hunt and it is impossible for them to switch to bing a teacher.


    The confirmation from the system told that fifty students had already grasped basic knowledge but still can''t produce energy. The natural state of the body usually doesn''t allow active control of energy which is a casual thing now. Even if the mind knows, the body can''t.


    If she bes a full-fledged teacher, there are chances that her skills would improve and she could found a way to have children learn energy control without getting a job.


    That afternoon, she ran around the town trying to make contact with the teacher from the Frontier. Since the First Army regrly goes out to train, she might as well use the afternoon to get close with the other teacher.


    She would try to learn as much as possible to be a responsible teacher and a future principal for the ck Haven territory.


    The care center teacher agreed to meet with her.


    While waiting for the allotted time, a random thought shed in her mind. Most of the time, the two generated skills were something deeply rted to the profession. However, survivors with the same profession can have differing skills.


    Then, why did she get these two skills especially the active one?


    While thinking of possible answers, she blushed and pushed the matter to the back of her head. She felt her cheeks heating up and fanned herself with her hand to cool down.

 Chapter 334: First Trade with the Military

    Chapter 334: First Trade with the Military


    Angono, 9 AM.


    Jun tapped the table with his finger in a rxing rhythm. It was early in the morning and he was seated in front of Corwin, who had a huge smile on his face.


    The old man was up to something but kept his mouth shut.


    He didn''t like that.


    They were inside the Conference Room in the Faction Hall in Angono. They were the only person found inside and nobody was speaking.


    Just before things could get any more awkward between them, a knock came from the door followed by Mia Logro''s voice. "Breakfast is ready."


    "Bring them here," Jun answered.


    The double doors swung open and carts of food rolled in. Mia Logro with some crew entered the room. The food was served immediately and the carts were brought out with swift motions.


    "I apologize for thiscking meal. I was in a rush to prepare them, so I beg your understanding." Mia Logro exined in anguish with his head down. "If there is anything you need, please just say so. I''ll be right outside."


    After ensuring that they have no other requirements, Mia Logro retreated from the room.


    Jun stared at the exquisite food served on the table. it was filled with meat and vegetables. Every type of food needed to get optimum energy regeneration output was ced in front of him.


    ''I actually found someone useful!''


    Jun picked up his utensils and tried out the meat. It was tender!


    Despite being told that the food was cooked in a rush, everything tasted exactly the same as thest time he ate from Mia''s buffet. The served dishes probably tastes slightly evenbetter!


    The two ate their breakfastvishly before discussing the reason for Corwin''s visit. With a simple greeting, the conversation began and the tone for the meeting was set by Jun.


    Jun said. "If you don''t speak of what I want to hear, then I will drag you out of that door, and toss you back to your escort."


    Hearing the fierce wee, Corwin could not help but shake his head. "You''re still the same hot-blooded young man from before. Nothing changed even after rising into power."


    Jun red at Corwin for getting sidetracked, and the old man finally loosened up. In the first ce, it was his fault for keeping his mouth shut and only promising to speak after getting a proper meal.


    The two have faced each other half an hour ago, but due to breakfast conditions, the whole meeting was dyed.


    Old Corwin knew that he had to speak quickly before he got dragged and thrown back to his group. There was nothing wrong with getting bullied by someone stronger than you, but being seen when someone younger than you bullies you, makes it embarrassing.


    Corwin initiated the conversation with the information that Jun was waiting for. "There are several people already dead on your list. A few still haven''t reestablished contact with headquarters and we don''t know whether they are still alive. The ''Mayor'' stated that he can''t give more information than that. The rest of the information you requested is kept in the new government archives."


    Jun remained silent and stared at Corwin.


    Corwin knew that Jun wasn''t satisfied with his answer, unfortunately, he was powerless and had no control over the matter. "In the end, we''re still just allies. We can''t give you absolute information about our officers and their current location. Though they made bad decisions, they have the skill and manpower to save a lot of people during this time. The ''Mayor'' sends his gratitude for your understanding."


    Jun sighed. "What else can I do? Kill you and your little group to set an example? That wouldn''t even reach his ears, and would just probably seen as casualty numbers. I''ve got the items you wanted. Do you have the materials that I want?"


    "Of course. Isn''t that why you allowed our buses to enter this town?" Corwin replied with a smirk. "As promised, we brought tons of gravel and other construction materials. Wood logs, cement, andbor equipment."


    Another man''s trash is another person''s treasure.


    "We can''t give more ammunition but considering the help you have given the government, the ''Mayor'' allowed 10% of the stronghold''s ammo to be used as an exchange material. In return, he expects that you will shine some goodwill and increase the overall value of our products."


    "Un. I''m not that stingy when ites to my trade partners. However, I expect more quality materials from your side in the future. You realize that I''m only taking this deal because it''s urgent, right?" Jun answered.


    "I know," Corwin responded, then continued his report. "Monster drops were added to the material list just like how you wanted. We are willing to trade 20,000 essence shard for this deal."


    "Just essence shards? What about other monster drops?"


    Corwin shook his head. "I treat you as my benefactor, so I''ll tell you this one. The higher-ups did not like the idea of trading such a limited resource. Having them agree with trading the essence shard was already a miracle in itself.


    "Currently, items with visible benefits were being collected by the top echelon. These unique items are being used as premium currency in the government circle.


    "Even my sry has turned into this essence stones." Corwin suddenly chuckled. "Don''t you think its funny? I work on the frontlines and gather these stones, but I have to remit them to the government. Afterward, they use the same stones to pay me as my sry. Hahahaha! What a crazy world."


    "Oh? That''s the worst, you could just use them and they''ll never know." Jun hinted, then jokingly added, "Want to switch sides now?"


    Corwin dryughed, then slowly became serene. "Nah, I still believe in the Old Republic. The people need my help and I want to be of service to our country. Don''t you want to help our country?"


    The two stared at each other.


    Ever since the conversation started, they have been testing each other''s boundaries. They were extremely careful with their words and often underwent the process of give and take.


    In a negotiation, you can''t get everything that you want. You must weigh things that were important to get the maximum value.


    Both parties knew their alliance was real and they could rely on each other as long as they have the same goal. To help the people.


    Jun fetched a ss of water from the side and stared at the clear liquid inside it. The drinking water supplied to the whole town was from the filtering equipment they managed to salvage in the past few days. Though the origin water came from theke, there was no sign of soil or dirt inside.


    Jun drank the ss of water in several gulps and it did not taste or smell fishy at all.


    "The equipment you want is at the gymnasium. You can discuss how many equipments you want to buy with Bernard. He will also evaluate the price of your goods and give you a business ount card. If you have any other questions, you can ask him directly. I''m sure he will answer your questions dly."


    Corwin coughed with his hand next to his mouth. "The exchange rate?"


    "I''ll put a word in. See youter."

 Chapter 335: Province Sweep Project

    Chapter 335: Province Sweep Project


    It was early in the morning and the sun hasn''t risen up from the east.


    Jun stood at the entrance of a convenience store, sipping his coffee from a paper cup. The surrounding area was calm and for the first time, he saw silhouettes of birds peacefully flying together, not trying to get a piece of him.


    On the road ahead of him, a huge number of sword-bearing soldiers remained standing in formation. They wore identical uniforms and had the ck Haven insignia on their left chest. Beside the insignia, a small ck patch with an iron sword, striking through the written words, First, was attached. It is the new patch for the First Army handcrafted by an experienced tailor, and her daughters.


    Actually, Jun personally saved the tailor during the first month of the apocalypse. She was the mother with two children, luckily surviving the initial apocalypse. She stayed with Alday Ruan in the Frontier after falling out with the National Police.


    At first, no one really needed her services, but after the rat hides were harvested and used for making leather armor, her expertise became essential, and was promoted to the Frontier''s valued members.


    Although working for the Frontier, she still had the freedom to takemissions from other people. In the first ce, the Frontier was built to help people be stronger and stand on their own. Keeping her by their side just meant that they could her safe from getting bullied and have priority over other factions in town.


    On the back of the First Army were the mercenaries and volunteers who came to join the Province Sweep Project. The project would start from Taytay heading down to Angono, Binangonan, Cardona, then Morong. After arriving at Morong, the First Army would split in half and head in different directions.


    The first half would go north and clear the towns and barrios there, while the other would continue heading east to Baras and Tanay.


    The project is expected tost two to three days depending on the clearing speed of the survivors.


    After seeing the rays of light slowly rising up, Jun finished his coffee and crumpled the paper cup, and threw it at a toppled trash bin.


    With an energy-infused voice, he shouted, "The time hase! The Province Sweep Project is now operational. Stick with your designated groups and follow themands given to you properly. Team Leaders are expected to lead their members safely during this whole sweep."


    "Alright, that''s all. Let''s fucking go!"


    Jun raised his Warhammer and pointed to the front.


    "Wahh!"


    "Let''s go!"


    The First Army shouted as they jogged towards their destinations. They marched forward and the people behind followed. Small groups of five or more people would split from the group and enter houses. Buildings with more floors would have two or three groups enter to clear them.


    From the above view, the national road served as the connecting point and the streets and alleyways were branches. The survivors were like ants splitting at every section to cover every ce possible.


    Along with their sweeping operation, they met hidden survivors and their safehouse. They ignored such discoveries and continued the operation. To be safe, several people had to stand guard and make sure that these random survivors wouldn''t affect the clearing. The First Army personnel would exin about the sweep to ease the survivor''s vignce toward them.


    This only happened in Taytay since ck Haven wasn''t rooted in the area. The survivors here were still reluctant to trust other survivors due to their experience in other towns.


    When the army felt confident, they even dared to clear buildings with a buddy system to hasten the progress. Having two people clear houses was risky yet effective. Buildings need more people but it doesn''t matter.


    During the early morning, the biggest threat to the clearing groups was ckened regr carriers. With their current skills and stats, plus their equipment, they easily killed these threats.


    If everything went as expected, they could speedrun three or four towns in one day since they were basically killing the leftover scraps. They didn''t even hide their presence and openly created noise during the operation.


    The mercenaries and volunteers knew that ck Haven was the great power in town, but afterparing the skills and equipment they have with one of the soldiers, they felt envious and even doubted themselves.


    ck Haven soldiers were fearless and would tackle any kind of situation. Every one of them knew and trust each other.


    One of the civilians asked a First Army soldier. "You might die if you keep running ahead like that. Aren''t you afraid of getting surrounded?"


    The soldier''s answer shocked the outsiders that followed his lead.


    "Why would I ever get surrounded? I have my buddy with me."


    "Eyy~ you''re making me blush." the soldier''s partner brofisted his shoulder, then turned to the outsiders with a stern face. "No homo."


    "Hahaha! Why do you have to exin every time? Come on, we need to speed up a bit. If we''re thest group to return at the meetup point, I''ll tie you upside down on the mutated anthill."


    "Why are you bullying me again! I haven''t don''t anything yet!"


    As the two soldiers entered the building, the outsiders realized that the First Army soldiers only dared to charge ahead because they knew there would be others who would defend their backs. The bond between each soldier was developed through real life and death situations.


    Some of the outsiders who first believed that joining ck Haven''s army was a bad option were now second-guessing about their future careers. Going around solo was fine, but even with a trusted crew, one could still meet the end with just one unlucky encounter.


    The prospect of getting trained while owning better gear started to appear in everyone''s head. The Province Sweep Project has not even ended, yet some people were already thinking of enlisting for the army.


    People had different goals in life, but everyone had something inmon.


    They always want the best for themselves.

 Chapter 336: Caught Red-handed

    Chapter 336: Caught Red-handed


    "Hahaha! Really, he said that? That is the funniest thing I''ve ever heard this week. Ow, tears areing out of my eyes." ke Shu wiped the corner of his eyes afterughing his ass out.


    Inside the usually empty house, two high-ranking officers together with a government official sat opposite him. Outside the alleyway, dozens of military soldiers stood every meter away from each other eyeing the people passing by.


    The man opposite him blew smoke to the side and sat straight after coughing a few times. "This is top quality? This tastes like shit."


    The man dissed the homemade cigar and flicked it away. It bounced against the wall and dropped on the floor still lit up.


    The cigar was one of the products sold by the Newsroom, handcrafted by one of their members who know the basics. They have limited supply and every piece was a luxury good.


    People from the Newsroom didn''t appreciate the rude attitude of the officer but ke Shu repeatedly warned them not to make any rash moves.


    "I say, Brother Leo. you can''t trust everything that you hear out here. Just like how I operate on money, other people could also work under the same rules. What if your informants were hired by someone who doesn''t like you and wants to kick you from your position? They could easily feed you wrong information and when you make wrong decisions, it would cause you to fall out with the higher-ups. We''ve been partners since the beginning, so I won''t betray you and you know that, right?" ke Shu said.


    Leo nodded. "I agree with that. However, the fact still remained that your people spread rumors which caused a lot of strong survivors to leave the stronghold.


    "And the people above didn''t like that, which put me in a bad position."


    "W-well, I didn''t know that you want people to stay here. When someone came to me for a job, I take it. I have people to feed, so I need money to continueing in." ke said.


    "I understand that you''re keeping these people alive, but I have my own matters to attend to," Leo replied, then stared at him. "I can''t just turn a blind eye to this or people won''t be pleased."


    ke understood he can''t get out of this predicament unscathed, so he decided to reduce the losses. "Is there anything that I can do to, you know, tten the curve of our noble friendship?"


    Leo grinned as if waiting for him to say that.


    ke immediately felt like he fell into a trap, but could do nothing but wait for the trap master to show himself.


    Leo said. "Recently, I''ve been hearing that you discovered how to make useful things. The magical salves in general. The government is interested in buying the recipes and we guarantee that we won''t sell or distribute the products to the public. The price isn''t a problem, nor does the price only equate to money. We can offer you official posts in the government and you can serve the public while getting various benefits rted to work."


    ke Shu didn''t know what to do. The offers were very attractive if he was someone without ambitions, but the salves were made from ck Haven and were just transferred to him through Faction Storage. He doesn''t know how to make them, and the other party would never believe him even if he exined that.


    Noticing ke''s troubled expression, Leo thought that he was trying to y hard to get and decided to add some encouragement. "Our soldiers will transition to meleebat training and the military expects some casualties. These healing salves could help hasten the recovery period which could result in faster training."


    "Do you know how injuries work in this new world? You get a scratch, it''s fine, you can lick it off and it will heal on its own. You get tagged, bit, or wed, that''s a different matter, my boy. The ratio ofbatant to medical personnel was 1000:1. Most of them were even nurses who know nothing about surgery and only has basic healing skills. These nurses can''t be everywhere. They need to regenerate energy too whenever they deplete out."


    "I understand."ke agreed. "Let me ask the person who crafts them whether she wants to trade."


    "Oh?" Leo suddenly became interested in the topic. "How about you bring me to her and I''ll do the talking? I have to offer more if she can provide better things."


    ke smiled. "I understand that you mean good, but she doesn''t trust a lot of people right now. Especially, how the weak were being taken advantage of by everyone. She''s only doing business with me because I have a reputable name, and I hope to keep my name shining like a knight in white armor even if just for her. I hope you understand."


    ke Shu slightly lowered his head to end the conversation.


    Leo was forced to ept the conversation result since he would appear like someone impatient and has no manners if he tried to pursue the topic further. He stood up and got ready to leave.


    "You know where to look for me. I want an answer before the day ends. Goodbye, my friend. Let''s not do anything detrimental to each other in the future, okay?"


    Leo left together with the two high-ranking officers. The soldiers soon disappeared from sight and the alleyway returned to its peaceful days.


    ke muttered softly, "Yeah, let''s do that, my ass."


    After all the soldiers left their hideout, the atmosphere remained gloomy. The key personnel of the group was in the room while the members secured the nearby area.


    Mhiya spoke up. "What do you n to do? Are we really going to help them?"


    As the vice-president of the group, she was privileged to top-secret information. She knows that the products they sell weren''t made by them and were actually supplied by ck Haven.


    She also knows that ke wants to umte goodwill from Jun and was working hard in gathering top-secret information about the government ns.


    ke answered. "This is not something I can decide freely, so I will first get into contact with Jun. Everything will depend on his instructions."

 Chapter 337: Blackout

    Chapter 337: ckout


    In the evening, a familiar man appeared outside of a brightly lit mansion. The guards standing guard at the front gate stopped him from walking any further.


    "Please stop right there and state your reason for being here."


    "I''m ke Shu, Mr. Leo is expecting me."


    Hearing the name, the guards rxed and let him in.


    "Please hand over your weapons on the front door. The butler will take care of them for you."


    At the front door, an old man pointed into a pushcart by his side. Since he was already briefed at the front gate, he was indifferent about the confiscation, but still asked, "Everything?"


    The old butler nodded, then added, "If you are found in possession of any kind of weapon, you would be brought into court and sentenced to jail time."


    "Un. Alright." ke started cing his items that could be tagged as weapons on the pushcart. A short sword, throwing knives, hand ax, pickax. and a bunch of random sharp objects.


    Most of the items were made by novice craftsmen. They were sturdy and durable butcks in quality, which became rejected goods in ck Haven. The majority of items shipped here were defective products ording to Head Craftsman, John.


    After cing thest item down, ke turned to the butler and asked, "Are you going to guide me, or do I just go on my own?"


    The old butler stared at the influx of items filling the pushcart before reacting to ke. "You can head over to the main hall on the right. The master is waiting for you."


    ke followed the instructions and entered the main hall. It was a grandiose living room filled with luxurious furniture.


    A ragtag group of survivors eyed him the moment he entered through the door. In the distance, Leo was speaking with someone at the table and only saw him when he was close by.


    "Finally! It''s about time. I thought you forgot about your promise. I was about to send people to fetch you if you were dyed for a few more minutes."


    Leo ended his conversation with the frail-looking man and sent him away. "Pleasee forward. You can sit here if you want," he said while pointing to the chair opposite him.


    ke didn''t reject the offer and sat down. Whether Leo was just being courteous or not, talking while seated was way better than standing up.


    ke started. "I spoke with the person and she made it clear that she doesn''t want to join the military or the government. I tried convincing her that it would be beneficial for her, but she prefers the peace and quiet she currently has."


    Leo frowned but was quick to put a smile on his face. "I appreciate you trying to warm her up for us, but I think it would be much better if you just bring us to her. Maybe she needs proofs or some sort of guarantee before she believed that we need her. She''s a valuable asset and must be under government protection!"


    ke scowled. "The streets have be far more dangerous than the wild. In the wilderness, the only problem was survival. But inside these walls, there are thousands of people. They are hungry, scared.


    "My people trust me because I always keep my word, that no matter what, they will be safe, and they will have food to eat.


    "I promised the ''valuable asset'' not to disclose her location. I know that you''re a magnanimous person and understand how important promises to other people are. Please let me keep my honor."


    ke lowered his head as he asked for the official''s understanding.


    Leo looked around and saw his hired thugs in a corner of the room. Though they seem to be not listening, he knew that this bunch has various people skills. One of them could have an eavesdropping skill, which greatly enhances radius hearing.


    Flustered, he coughed and yed his magnanimous role. "Of course, I understand. It''s easy to break someone''s trust in you but it''s hard to gain them back. But I can''t report to the higher-ups empty-handed. So, what do you have for me?"


    Listening to the kind response from the other party, ke couldn''t help but raise a triumphant smile on his face. He kept his head slightly bowed down to make sure that his expression couldn''t be seen. If he gets caught this far into the act, it would be impossible to get out of here alive.


    After the official visit earlier, he immediately contacted Jun and asked for his input. He was just a spy, not a heavenly general to solve all of the emperor''s problems!


    The n was simple. Gain the trust of the government by giving basic salve recipes and getting material benefits in return.


    The story they cooked up was that the salve maker doesn''t trust people with too much power. Instead, she would cooperate with them in researching new recipes, which would be a shared-ownership uponpletion.


    ke Shu knew that Leo ordered some of his people to disguise and follow every man he had who went traveling around the city.


    The goal was ringly obvious, to tail and find the salve maker. Unfortunately, no matter how much manpower he designates in tailing his people, they would never find the person they were looking for.


    "Thank you." he raised his head with a serene expression that gradually turned to gratitude. "She knew that this will happen and prepared appropriate recipes in return. She gave two recipes for me to exchange with you; one for healing wounds, the other for cleansing skin.


    "By the way, she said that if the government wants a share of her research, you guys need to supply her with the resources. She expects the government to give her monster drops and other materials in exchange for a copy of the recipes she makes. I told her that''s nuts and the government would never take such a losing deal but she said that it''s also fine if you''re not interested."


    ke stopped, but Leo could only stare at him not knowing what to say.


    Seeing that the other party was speechless, he continued with the next agenda, getting out alive. He slowly raised his hand, and said, "May I know what currency will you use to trade for these recipes? She prefers materials over money, but money is also fine."


    "What a stingy man. I don''t believe he only had this amount on him. He probably thought that I won''t dare oppose him in the future, that''s why he''s treating me like this."


    ke walked away from Leo''s mansion. The guards could only eye him from the distance wondering what words he was muttering.


    On his hand were stacks of food stamps worth thirty thousand coupons. Even if someone spends extravagantly every day, they would have enough coupons for a year. That is if food prices didn''t increase.


    Just as he turned the corner, a soft chuckle suddenly escaped his mouth. "Pfft, shitheads. Let''s see how you can use those recipes without a botanist crafting them. Hahaha!"


    ke continued walking after stashing the coupons in his storage. Their group was once again neutral with the government and could operate openly in the city.


    If the big man came looking for him once more, he could just say that he was just a middleman and didn''t know that crafting salves needs a botanist. Everything was foolproof!


    He felt that this was such a fine evening as he watched the starry sky.


    With this achievement, he could finally say that he has fully joined the ranks of ck Haven. There was no going back!


    While on his way back home, he thought of something good. Jun always tells him that information was power and the one who holds important information holds immeasurable power.


    Finally, he understood what that meant! The sensation, the feeling of tricking somebody and having them out of the loop while still grateful to you.


    Exhiliration!


    With a smile, ke thought of a great idea. Creating a group of elites, selected from the elites inside his group.


    From the former Newsroom that gathers and sells information to its customers, they would now be a power that customers needed.


    A group that''s sole purpose is to control information. Create false information from real information, dy information, block and deny certain groups of information, grant ess to information.


    Anytime, anywhere.


    ckout.

 Chapter 338: Capturing Bandit Bases

    Chapter 338: Capturing Bandit Bases


    It was thest day of the Province Sweep Project and everything has gone well for everyone. The individuals and small factions that joined the operation finally experienced fighting in unchartered territory.


    Baras and Teresa proved quite the experience for everyone. Especially, the dangers that came from other survivors themselves.


    Not everyone was born evil, it''s just the allure of getting rich without working hard that''s guing most of the surviving people.


    When the deprived survivors learned that stealing from people weaker than them was a faster way to get geared, a huge number of survivors turned into banditry.


    Now that everyone was busy to fend for themselves, no one cares about clearing ouws that only ambush the weak. As long as I''m strong, they won''t touch me.


    The government once tried to round these groups up, but only found ''scavengers'' roaming the town. Without enough proof, it was impossible to detain the people.


    These bandits also relied on the fact that bodies disappear after getting looted. If they kill every witness, no one would know of the deed they have just done.


    Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong group to mess with today. These bandits tried to ambush the scout unit and were easily rounded up in a matter of minutes.


    The main body of the First Army arrived together with other survivors. Jun frowned upon seeing a group of survivors kneeling in the middle of the road. There were nine adult men stripped to the skin and all of them were malnourished.


    A familiar face walked towards him from the leading team. "Rank 4 Alpha Team Leader, Jhong, reporting. These people ambushed us with the intent to kill. What should we do with them?"


    Instead of an answer, Jun posed his own question while observing the surrounding. "Who led the scout mission to Baras?"


    Jhong answered immediately. "Director King took half of the Scout Team and several of my men with him. He informed me that they would rile up the crowd, so everyone could get to cleaning when they arrive."


    Jun nodded. "Take charge of the operation. Don''t dy just because of this, I''ll handle this problem, just leave a few people behind for me to give orders."


    "Un. Please take care."


    Jhong turned and faced the people watching over the bandits. He pointed to five people, and said, "You guys stay behind here. Everyone else, continue the operation and lead everyone safely. Move, let''s go, let''s go, let''s go!"


    The five selected soldiers remained and stayed behind the kneeling survivors. The rest spread out in different directions while random groups followed after them.


    Now that a bandit group already tried to ambush them, they had to be extra cautious with their movements or there would be casualties in their ranks.


    After seeing the crowd disperse, Jun walked closer to the group. "There''s really no easy way to say this, but I''ll be honest with you. I''m going to kill all of you and you''re free to resist. The rule of thend has changed and I''m sure you guys know that. As people who make a living from killing other people, you should be prepared to die yourself. Are there any objections?"


    The answer he received wasn''t what he was expecting.


    "Help us..." the timid of them all muttered as he continued to shrink as if frightened.


    Jun became interested after hearing such a strange response. "What do you mean? I don''t understand what you''re trying to say, so can you borate further? What kind of help do you expect when you guys are killing people?"


    "Don''t..." one of the captured survivors shook his head to stop his friend.


    "I have to do this. We have to beg so they can help us." the timid survivor said, then nced at Jun.


    Seeing that he wasn''t making any move yet, the man exhaled. "We aren''t bandits like how you thought of us. We are just a regr band of survivors forced into bad circumstances. Our women were kidnapped by bandits and we need money to pay the ransom. It just happened that your people are geared and so attractive that we unwittingly ambushed them. I''m sorry, please spare us!"


    "We''re sorry! Please spare us!" chimed the others.


    "Puhahaha!" Jun clutched his stomach and wipe the tear about to fall from his eyes. "That''s a nice story you got there. Unfortunately, I don''t take targeting my people kindly. But on the other hand, you have an amusing story and there''s a lot of time to spend."


    The timid man frowned, not understanding what he was trying to say.


    Jun sighed, then rified himself. "You have until the town gets cleared to verify your story and lead me to this bandit''s base. If anyone of you dares to make any strange movements, I won''t hesitate to kill. Understood?"


    "That''s also an order for you guys." Jun turned to his soldiers. "You don''t have to kill them but just disable them."


    After rifying things, Jun rushed them to get up and made the timid man lead the way. The timid man often looked back at him as if wondering what kind of fucked up situation he got himself in.


    Several streetster, they arrived at a building that has four floors. They overtook several sweeping groups since they weren''t heading inside the buildings they passed by.


    "Is this the ce?" Jun asked curiously staring at the building in front of him. It was already old and renovations were in ce. It''s apparently under construction when the apocalypse happened. Such a good ce to turn into a hideout with enough materials to barricade and defend the ce.


    "...yes." answered the timid man.


    "We haven''t entered yet and you''re already losing confidence? Come on, man. Don''t be like that."


    Everyone felt chills on their skin, but they didn''t know why it happened. The chills they felt was Jun''s Detection, spreading out on the radius area.


    He stretched his arms out and performed a few warmup exercises before uttering, "I need to set up a detective unit. I''m actually having trouble telling lies and whatnot."


    Jun eyed the people sneakily staring at him from the window, then casually entered the front door.


    "Watch over them. I''ll be back in a minute."

 Chapter 339: Death Squad

    Chapter 339: Death Squad


    Jun entered the building and found trash littered on each floor. If he didn''t saw the people on the top floor, he would have believed that the ce was empty.


    He calmly climbs up the stairs without bothering to investigate the specific floors. It''s just a whim of his to tour the town and entertain the timid man.


    Jun entered the top floor and met a scantily dressed young woman waiting for him in the hallway. After he got closer, the woman motioned for him to enter a certain room.


    "The boss man is waiting for you on the other side of the room. I suggesting empty-handed because the boss man doesn''t like seeing weapons in his presence."


    Jun nced at her then entered the room.


    The room he entered was a wide-open space decorated in summer. A mustached teenager was half-naked seated on the other side of the room. Several women lie unmoving on the ground with erotic expressions on their faces.


    ''Oh? It seems like there''s a small chance he wasn''t lying.''


    "It''s rare to see feisty people around these parts. Did your boss know about this? I paid a hefty amount to y around this area and I don''t appreciate getting interrupted." said the young man as he fondled the two women beside him.


    "Oh, you don''t have to worry, I don''t think you''ll be staying here for long." Jun waved his hand hastily to calm the other party. "I''m nning to use this town as a trade route for my territory and I expect you to move out soon. But before you leave, I have several questions that I would like you to answer."


    The man scoffed and smiled at him. "Since you barged into my ce, don''t expect getting out alive. Kill him!"


    The space distorted and survivors appeared from both the left and right side of the hall. Several transparent sheets fluttered in the air, failing towards the floor. The empty ce suddenly became packed.


    "Kill him!"


    "Gahaha!"


    "Stupid brat! Come meet your daddy!"


    Jun remained calm despite the situation. The moment he stepped inside the room, he already saw their cheap attempt at setting up an ambush. No one can escape Detection unless they have a counter skill or were already dead. He could only shake his head after watching them act like fools. He thought they were nning something grand but their only n seemed to be a direct confrontation.


    "You''re quite impatient. Don''t you want to hear what I want to say?"


    Jun ducked, then weaved across people disabling them with one strike to vital areas. A chop to the back of the neck and a punch to the gut usually takes anyone down considering his high power stat.


    Some of the survivors started using their core skills to stop his advance. One grisly looking uncle cursed at him, causing sudden irritation to rise towards that person. The effect onlysted for a split second and Jun was able to control his feelings again. The next person was a muscled brute who charged at him with hands glowing with brown radiance, It was an instant-lock grapple skill that could crush the target when caught.


    Jun didn''t try to dodge and only used Empower x1 to match the attack. Before the brute could grab him, his body arched backward, ready to vomit air.


    After that short fight, Jun was already standing in front of the boss man. He walked forward and said, "You should have listened first. I could have given you a better offer. Unfortunately, the offer is withdrawn and your group will be ced on the lowest rank."


    The boss man grinned when Jun stood in front of him. "Hahahaha! You''re kinda funny, but I hate your guts. If you kneel now and beg for forgiveness, I won''t kill you and just sell you as a ve."


    Jun smiled, then startedughing too. "Hahaha, we actually have the same idea. I just have a much better n. You see, getting ves didn''t work out well for me. After thinking for some time, killing all the bad guys isn''t a good idea. Using them as resources is the best idea!"


    The boss man frowned. "Hey, hey, are you an idiot? What''s the difference between what I said and what you said? Nevermind, I''m Chou, you are?"


    The boss man named Chou stretched his hand forward. He acted as if he didn''t give the order to kill Jun a few seconds earlier.


    Jun knew the other party was nning something, yet he still shook his hand.


    The moment their hands touched, Chou grinned widely and started using his core skill, Massage. Rxing energy flowed from his hand and circted on Jun''s hand.


    Jun could feel the conflicting warm and cold sensation from the massage. It was like a heavenly massage like no other.


    Chouughed and almost keeled over. After several seconds, he finally stopped and slowed down. "Ahh, that was easy. Did that feel good? Now kneel. Kiss my feet, sucker."


    He knew that victory was his since his massage skill hasn''t failed him even once. Everyone that he used that skill on became enchanted and longed for more. The human body receives muscle damage and deep fatigue that rest cannot ovee. That''s why when the body experiences a new type of soothing energy, caressing the body, one would fall into addiction.


    "Woah, calm down. I know we hate each other but let''s watch ournguage, okay? By the way, thanks for the massage. I think I''ll call you often once you join my new army."


    Chou frowned, confused at the current situation.


    "Don''t worry, all your friends will join that army. It''s not established yet and you guys are the core members together with some private guards of mine. You''ll be tasked with important missions and sent to dangerous ces, but don''t worry. I will train all of you and provide proper equipment for each individual."


    "You will be my private attack force, ready to die following my orders."


    Jun leaned his elbow on Chou''s shoulder like they were best buddies. "Wee to the Death Squad."

 Chapter 340: Increased Population

    Chapter 340: Increased Poption


    The Province Sweep Project was a huge sess. ck Haven was able to cleanse every corner of its territory from monsters and survivors alike.


    The First Army yed a crucial role in leading the battles while survivors provided the auxiliary support needed. For every soldier. three to four survivors followed.


    The ck Haven territories have be fully cleared of initial carriers. The only threats they have to take care of were the summoned creatures during town invasion, monsters at various dungeons, and threats that came from the Red Portal.


    The Red Portal was bing more active as time goes by. More unique monsters that probably came from other wild dungeons started to appear. Survivors were also another source of the problem.


    Most of the time, the survivors that appear from the Red Portal would only stay for a day to rest and get their feet back on the ground after running away from something, usually, evolved carriers and monsters.


    The Garrison would take care of them first through an interview if they were cooperative, and interrogation if they were not. After scrutinizing everything, the survivors would then be passed down to the Monitoring Department.


    The Monitoring Department is the one responsible for the surveince, and protection of these strangers. Their ''well-being'' should be taken off properly. Usually, survivors would be ced in a mansion together for easier monitoring. The monitoring system is currently new and the department is doing its best to adjust to the dangers of the new world.


    Back at ck Havenpound...


    Inside the meeting room at the back office, each department head started their reports.


    Bernard started. "There''s been a huge increase in territory poption in the past few days and they still continue to increase. We have more than ten thousand new peopleing in these few days. Most of the new people answered on their citizenship application form that they heard good rumors about this ce, ck Haven.


    "Although most of the people seem neutral-bad and some had evil intentions, we couldn''t be more than happy to have more people. The more citizens we got, the faster the economy would flourish. The faster the economy flourished, the more the territory would improve, which would invite more people to travel here. It''s a repeating cycle of profits!"


    Jun could understand why this is happening since he had a hand in this matter.


    When the coin was flipped and the survivors saw the two sides of the coin, they were able to judge for themselves what side would be better for them. After days and nights of contemtion, a huge group of survivors finally decided toe and jump over the fence to enter ck Haven.


    It was inevitable after the news regarding the Province Sweep Project was released to the public.


    ck Haven just cleansed the whole province of carriers with close to zero casualties. Can the government do that? What were they doing while it was happening? Probably having their meetings and tea parties.


    That''s what most salty poor people would think. No buts, it''s guaranteed. Even those who were in the know started to doubt whether staying with the government was a good choice.


    While the government was still nning on how to proceed with its Northern Expedition, another power has already purified the province.


    The people weren''t blind and can choose freely where to go. Every day, survivors would ept simple jobs from the officials of their district, then head out and never return. It was a simple trick to get out without having to worry that the guards would stop them.


    Even if the authorities wanted to stop these people to leave, they at least need to give a proper reason or they''ll suffer huge criticism. Citizens are fickle-minded individuals that always want the best for themselves.


    Bernard continued his report. He already recruited selected individuals with unique abilities into the Agent Program. These selected individuals would be employed under ck Haven and they would fulfill the orders received by ck Haven. A few of the unique professionals was a dentist and a midwife. Unfortunately, they still haven''t found a boat builder.


    Next was Gina. Her report was swift and steady, finally improving from her past reports. "I don''t know much about economy, but I still know something about supply and demand. A huge number of people arrive and the already small amount of goods we have would not be enough to satiate their needs. There is more demand than supply, which means we can raise our prices by a small margin. This wouldn''t affect most people and the smart traders were already doing this."


    Jun nodded. "Limit the amount each person can buy from the shop. Impose certain rules. Make sure that one group can''t monopolize every resource. It''s alright if they started some small fights as long as it doesn''t get too big that the public is affected. Have Monitors patrolling each street. You can also decide what actions you should take based on the situation. Just stick with making them fight, but don''t interfere directly."


    "Un," Gina responded. Only when Jun moved on to Dyna did she managed to calm herself. She prepared for this meeting and was happy with the results.


    Next was Dyna, who eagerly and excitedly reported her findings.


    "I found a way how children could gain skills!"


    Everyone in the room adjusted their seats and perked their ears, ready to listen. Jun motioned for Dyna to continue.


    "By teaching!" she answered excitedly. "Teachers have different education levels and there are different skills for every teacher. The higher the education, the more powerful the skill. The higher the skill level, the higher the efficiency of the skill. I gained this insight after interviewing a kindergarten teacher and a high school teacher. Together with my own experiences, I can say that there is a high chance of this being true!


    "For example, I found a kindergarten teacher that can grant the temporary use of a skill. A child can experience how to use Sprint even before they even leveled up! However, a high school teacher can grant temporary ess and even allow the student to keep the skill if they were able to use it perfectly on the first try."


    Bernard and Gina didn''t know what was great about that? Even though all of them were opposed to childbor and assisting children to kill carriers, usually spoonfed, once they grow up they would still be able to learn such skills. What''s the fuss about?


    On the other hand, Jun found the important keywords from her sentences. There are different education levels for teachers and every teacher has a different skill. Even if they have different skills, the skill essence remains which is imparting knowledge to its students!


    A high school teacher can grant temporary skill usage to a student and has a chance to permanent ess to the skill if they sessfully mastered it on the first try. That''s just a high school teacher! What about a college teacher?!


    If he gathers enough teachers, he could easily increase the training speed and skill gain of the entire army!


    "Although there are advantages in implementing this, I also discovered a few problems."

 Chapter 341: With the Rain, Comes the Storm

    Chapter 341: With the Rain, Comes the Storm


    Dyna continued: "There are obvious problems regarding this. If we want teachers to teach, they must know what they are teaching. As a teacher, you can''t teach something that you don''t know. And that falls to one topic, if you want to implement this, we have to provide the teachers materials to teach."


    Jun contemted the matter. If he wants to increase the training speed and skill gain of his soldiers, then he needs the extra boost that teachers could make. However, there are not enough teachers and even if there are many teachers in the neers, he wouldn''t be sure if they were loyal to ck Haven.


    "Set practical training aside for now. Focus on creating a n on how to make things work. We want loyalty more than anything, so I think it''s better if you train new teachers from scratch. With all the new knowledge and overflowing information, I don''t think we need to rely too much on academic knowledge from the past. Recruit local survivors since they were the most attached to this ce, then train them. Give them basic skills to master, then let them teach in practice sses to switch to a teaching profession."


    Dyna wrote keywords down on her notepad after receiving the series of instructions. Though she heard them clearly, having a visual note was better for someone who tends to forget things.


    The meeting ended and everyone went back to their posts.


    Time passes easily when everything was peaceful. Everyone has adjusted to the threats from before and now that there were no threats around, the average survivor''s life returned to normal.


    Working, getting paid, eat food, have fun, and sleep.


    In the Fishpond Dungeon


    9 AM


    "Keep it steady! They''reing up!" shouted a young fisherman as he walked freely on the surface of the water. He was one of the civilians that applied for the fisherman job after the recruitment drive. He was very happy and even felt that it was the greatest decision he made in his life.


    He was satisfied with his work.


    Under the water, a huge school of fish was trapped inside a sturdy made from dried rat tails. The tails were processed into thin strips and further processed into thick strands before crafted intos. The material was rubbery and extremely durable.


    Due to giant rats'' ability to use energized tail attacks, fishings crafted from rat tails allow energy to efficiently travel freely from it, allowing the fisherman to increase the strength and resistance of the strands. No fish could escape the once they were caught.


    The fishermen expertly led his group to pull the loaded with fishes into the fishing boat. Everyone rejoiced after another sessful haul.


    "Finally we''re done!" said one fisherman as he exhaustedly plopped down. "Is everyone back here? Can we go home now? It''s consideredte if we go past nine in the morning right?"


    "Thest group is still spawning fishes on the outskirts of the dungeon. It''s probably theirst run too. Should we go ahead of them? The fish traders are probably already angry but what can we do? The fishes were getting faster and we can''t risk casualties for working faster." said the elder of the group.


    Just as before the group decided whether to leave or not, the rain started to pour down.


    Everyone looked up and enjoyed getting a free bath.


    The elder looked into the distance and noticed the water level near the dungeon suddenly bing strange. A small hole became sunken as the water around it started to circle around it.


    The elder''s eye bulged after watching the small sunken hole grew bigger every few seconds, Instantly, he knew that something was going on.


    "Start the boat! Head for the docks, immediately!" the elder bellowed which shocked the group, before jumping into the water.


    "Captain Rofi!" one of the fishermen called.


    When everyone ran to the side and searched for their captain, they finally noticed the irregrities on the distance.


    There was something strange events in the dungeon!


    "Lead everyone back to the docks and inform the Town Manager of the event. I''ll go follow the Captain!" the second in charge patted a man''s back and jumped into the water.


    The official positions were given to those who were strong. The Captain and the vice were the strongest in the group which made operations easy and smooth. Without strong people, fishing would be hell.


    The Captain would always be bait while the vice will be the protector. Any fishing from another direction would be killed by him. The crewmembers would then wait for the opportune time to swoop in with the after the Captain gathered all the fishes in one whole bulk. Due to this, they learned how to trust each other from experience.


    The crewmembers moved in unison after receiving the order. They knew that they were not skilled enough for underwater battles. The tons of fishes were the priority together with the boat. They only have a limited number of boats that could haul fish and every lost one means a great loss to the overall fish industry.


    Andok caught up to Rofi when the elder slowed down. The two can''t talk underwater and only performed simple hand gestures after seeing the situation.


    The fishermen were getting chased by a milkfish the size of a dump truck. Everyone was having a hard time dodging due to its huge body giving it instantaneous movement with every p of its tail.


    It was like a lion toying with its prey after catching it near its home. The fishermen could dodge the burst attacks, but they can''t escape.


    One of them almost got his feet chewed up but were luckily able to move it on thest second. Unfortunately, he opened his mouth from shock and drunk a lot of water.


    Rofi and Andok jumped into the fray and produced harpoons from their inventory. They shot the eyes of the giant milkfish to deter it from attacking further.The harpoons struck its eye but failed to pierce through the frontyer.


    Still, the Giant Milkfish dove deeper to evade further attacks, which gave enough time for Rofi to fetch the drowning fishermen.


    Most new fishermen only learned water walking skills, if they passed the initial phase, then they could apply for underwater breathing skills.


    Once they surfaced, Rofi hurriedly woke the man up.


    After several ps, the man opened his eyes and started vomiting water out.


    Rofi grabbed hold of him."Go back and call the Pioneers. We''ll try to hold out as long as possible."

 Chapter 342: Wild Dungeon Boss: Giant Milkfish

    Chapter 342: Wild Dungeon Boss: Giant Milkfish


    Rofi swam back down and helped the other fishermen who were having troubles. After several trades, only four people were left behind, trying to stall the Giant Milkfish.


    The Giant Milkfish had the usual appearance of its kind. Except for its humungous size, there was nothing else that appeared formidable. Until a harpoon sessfully pierced through one of its front fins.


    The Giant Milkfish turned wild and swam away.


    Everyone became happy knowing that no one died, then the other captain signaled for all of them to go up.


    Pwuah!


    Four heads popped up and everyone started picking themselves up and finally standing stably on solid water. The slow downpour from earlier has now be a torrent. The spiral waves from earlier have disappeared but the water remained in turmoil. Waves after waves of water struck them, causing them to move with the water, but no one seemed to mind.


    Rofi said. "We still keep to our current hand signals; attack, defend, stall, retreat. To be honest, I don''t think we can kill it. We don''t have the proper gear and we don''t specialize in underwater battles. Still, we can try to nick a few of this bastard''s scales before help arrives."


    The other captain spoke. "My crew just got on our boat and your crew must have already reached the docks and is already reporting about this matter. We just need to stall for some time until my crew gets halfway before we retreat. At that time, it doesn''t matter if help arrives since we can escape on our own."


    "So we stall?" Andok said.


    Everyone agreed and they all plunged back into the water as if the previous solid water they were standing on disappeared.


    Rofi scanned the area but couldn''t see through the dark water. The bad weather denied them the light that was crucial to seeing underwater.


    All four of them were currently blind and can only see several meters around them. They were prone to an ambush that could result in death if they weren''t paying attention.


    Their heartbeats started to quicken sensing the impending doom. The waves, the movements of the water, they could feel it. They know that the Giant Milkfish was circling around them but couldn''t pinpoint its current location due to its speed.


    Scared and anxious, Rofi suddenly started to scatter his energy on the area around him to further increase his visibility. He closed his eyes to get a better sense of which direction the waves wereing.


    The ripples of water were means that pping of the Giant Milkfish''s tail. With its current speed, It is not absurd to say that every p would cause it to move a few meters forward. Every wave that hits the energy field further solidified his understanding.


    Then, the understanding caused him to discern something.


    If waves hit his energy field with the same rhythm, then the enemy is keeping the same distance. When the waves reach him faster, then the enemy was closing in, and if the waves were taking longer to strike his energy field, then it should be retreating.


    With this realization, a festive re rung beside his ears, and a sudden notification appeared in front of him.


    [Sonar skill generated. Would you like to learn it?]


    Rofi stared shocked at the notification, then rejoiced deeply inside him.


    "I gained a skill!"


    Though already old, Rofi regrly watches over the current trend and what''s profitable in the town. One of the jobs that could earn an individual a hefty amount of money was through developing a skill and sharing it with ck Haven.


    Skill developers would get monthly allowances and various benefits and discounts on the whole territory facilities. This group of people would be treated as VIPs depending on how useful their skills were.


    He used the skill to see its effect.


    Sonar was activated and an invisible shockwave made of an imaginary white line spread out in all directions. The first objects struck were his teammates and they suddenly became enveloped with a white outline. In the distance, the Giant Milkfish was outlined in the same white lines, slowly creeping up to them. Every time they moved, their images would be updated like some low-budget animation.


    Rofi couldn''t see any of their features but their heights and width were enough to tell who was who. He smiled and thought, "This seems pretty useful! If I register this, I probably don''t need to work everagain."


    While feeling awesome about himself, he suddenly saw the Giant Milkfish dashing towards them. The three people next to him noticed the wild movements of the water, but couldn''t pinpoint the exact location. Since he was the only one who could see, he pulled out the harpoon and shot at the iing monster.


    Though blinded, the three were still able to hear the familiar harpoon shot. They weren''t promoted to their current positions because they knew someone from the top. They were standing on their spot because they worked hard for it!


    The three simultaneously fired their harpoons in the general direction of the first harpoon. They have no guarantees that it will hit, but doing something was better than nothing.


    Several secondster, another set of wild waves struck them. Everyone formed a smile thinking they struck the Giant Milkfish sessfully, but Rofi who can see everything wasn''t happy.


    The harpoons barely grazed the scales of the Giant Milkfish and only infuriated it. Now, it was charging at them with its mouth open. It was trying to suck all of them as food!


    Rofi signaled for a retreat which confused everyone. Weren''t they winning? Why retreat now?


    Their indecisiveness and inexperience about the matter allowed the threat to appear before them.


    Andok stared at the monstrous eyes that appeared in front of him and felt an incredulously strong suction force from its open mouth. When the others were able to grab him, half of his legs was already sucked in and his legs were now getting nibbled on.


    He couldn''t help but gasp from the extreme paining from his lower body. His bones were getting crushed as the Giant Milkfish continued to nibble his legs. A series of air bubbles appeared together with his gasp as a bit of water entered his throat.


    No one was able to shout, but they all stared at the enormous ck eyes of the Giant Milkfish.


    Rofi didn''t waste any more time and loaded another harpoon. After reloading, he quickly fired at the Giant Milkfish''s eyes in close proximity.


    Since it was closer and received less resistance, it managed to cause a red dot to appear on the monster''s eye. Unfortunately, this action caused the Giant Milkfish to bite down and swim away.


    Another set of air bubbles appeared after Andok got half of his legs chewed up. Blood seeped out from his thighs that had missing knees and feet.


    Rofi shouted in anguish, causing water to enter his mouth, but only air bubbles appeared. He felt aggrieved after seeing someone became disabled due to his actions. Though no voice came out, everyone could see the meaning from the emotion in his eyes. "I''m sorry, I tried helping but things turned much worse."

 Chapter 343: Pioneers

    Chapter 343: Pioneers


    Each finger has a name and its own uses.


    For the new generation of fishermen, they have simple codes since they can''t speak underwater.


    One finger means attack until there is nothing to kill. Two means defend until you die. Three means to be passive-aggressive to stall for time.


    And four fingers which currently held up by Rofi is the order to retreat. His wrinkly hand trembled as he gave the order while eyeing the giant outline from the distance.


    The Giant Milkfish swam to a safe distance before turning back and slowly creeping towards them. However, it was twice as fast as before since it was already angry.


    Though Rofi seemed to be getting reckless, the other captain trusted him. He was the only one who was able to react in time, so pouring trust in him was the only thing they could do.


    Andok already passed out and it was their duty to bring him back to the town alive.


    Rofi red at the white outline as he reloaded the harpoon. On the other side, the Giant Milkfish stared at him, then suddenly dashed towards him after realizing that it was the one that injured its eye,


    Rofi watched the sonar movements of the Giant Milkfish and even appreciated its beauty. It was such a charming sight to behold if the lines weren''t a giant monster trying to kill him.


    He aimed, fired, then dodged to the side.


    Everything was done in a second due to how quick the Giant Milkfish swam. It turns out that it was just regrly swimming earlier and now that it was enraged, it was finally giving its all.


    The Giant Milkfish swam away and turn to target him properly. In return, Rofi prepared a Tier 2 iron Dagger to retaliate. He chanced upon the item from the auction. It only had a quarter of its durability which caused its price to plummet down. Even then, daggers were already priced cheaply since there were swords and spears avable in the market. Having a longer reach meant an increased safety for individuals.


    This simple iron dagger was his most expensive item. It was hisst resort especially reserved for times like this.


    The Giant Milkfish slowly swam forward until it reached a certain distance. With a single p of its tail, it suddenly flew forward and appeared next to him.


    Already used to its antics, Rofi was able to dodge its bite attack by performing a somersault underwater. He used the water walking skill to step on water and stabbed the dagger on the Giant Milkfish''s body.


    The dagger sunk deep and created a long wound as the creature moved away. The already dark water turned red but it wasn''t a hindrance to him since he could still see the giant outline in the distance.


    He waited for the Giant Milkfish to charge at him, but it took several seconds to idle from a distance. By the time he realized something was wrong, the giant creature was already charging at him fully healed. The long wound from its side was already gone!


    Seeing the Giant Milkfish appear next to him, he couldn''t help belittling it. "You''re using the same attack? Then have another one of mine!"


    Rofi performed another somersault andnded at the Giant Milkfish''s body. That was supposed to be what happened, but his feetnded on nothing but water.


    The Giant Milkfish didn''t stop to attack him and actually just swam past him!


    Several secondster, the giant creature charged once more. It learned the proper reaction to every attack Rofi had, turning the battle of endurance that he would never win. He was doomed to lose!


    His energy slowly depleted as the time passed by until he finally reached the danger zone, thest ten percent of his energy.


    As neers to the territory, they weren''t treated badly. Just like how everyone heard of ck Haven, the ce for the strong, everyone adhered to it. They chose to be here, no one forced them to be here.


    When he got employed as a fisherman and promoted to captain, he now has several skills more than others. They were casual skills that have no real damage and couldn''t turn events.


    Still, he didn''t give up as he coated his iron dagger with energy. Since there was no chance that he could escape, he might as well risk his life to take it down with him.


    p, swoosh.


    The Giant Milkfish appeared next to him again. Instead of dodging like he usually does, he gathered more force on his arm and aimed at the giant creature''s gills.


    After the consecutive exchange, he was able to determine that its gills were one of its weaknesses. If he could stab through the gills and damage the body from the inside, it would be his victory. A simple nudge to the brain would end the battle and he might even survive!


    The Giant Milkfish was momentarily confused when he didn''t dodge but continued to chomp on him. He heard numerous bones crack inside him, and felt power leaving his body. However, he continued to stab the creature''s flesh until the dagger finally pierced deep enough to cause some damage.


    Even when the biting grip grew stronger, making him spat blood, Rofi didn''t stop and endlessly stabbed through the gill.


    Only after trying countless times did he realize that he couldn''t win. His arm was too short and doesn''t have enough power to push the dagger deeper into the Giant Milkfish''s head.


    Knowing that he was guaranteed to die, he sliced downward with all of his remaining strength,causing a huge gush to appear on the Giant Milkfish''s gills.


    This injury caused the creature to bellow in pain, releasing him and at the same time causing an underwater shockwave. To those who weren''t sea-creatures, they could only hear an anguished scream, but all the fish nearby heard differently.


    All the school of fishes watching in the distance rushed forward to help. They cannot swim around the Giant Milkfish since they could be eaten as food. However, they were now allowed toe closer without the risk of getting eaten. The Giant Milkfish promised that it would share the body equally with those who help kill this man.


    Instinctively, the small fishes became excited with the prospect of eating such body filled life. The earlier empty space suddenly was teeming with fishes!


    On his moment of solitude, Rofi heard a reprimanding voice from the water.


    "Aigoo, are you really a captain? Why did you not lure the boss monster out of the dungeon? Wait, can we lure boss monsters out of wild dungeons? Probably, since the barriers were already out." said the voice from the water.


    Rofi looked around but found no one. He used Sonar and still found no one.


    "Am I hallucinating? Am I bing stupid?"


    Just when he was sure he had turned crazy, the voice came back and spoke again.


    "Still, you did a great job surviving this long. In the future, you could be someone prominent. Hahaha!"


    Boom!!!


    Something crashed in front of him, but Rofi couldn''t see anything as air bubbles blocked his vision. When the bubbles cleared, an old man was staring at him with an apologetic smile on his face.


    "Sorry for beingte. Aspensation, I''ll give you half the earnings from all the small fishes."


    Those were thest words Rofi heard and he passed out.

 Chapter 344: Registering Skills for Money

    Chapter 344: Registering Skills for Money


    Gilbert pulled his hand out from the Giant Milkfish''s eye. He used Empower and Sharpen on his hand to pierce through the creature''s eyes. The creature already stopped moving the moment his hand entered its head. It is due to the brain getting squashed from the punch.


    Gilbert likes to call this attack Torpedo since it hits like one. He swims from afar and charges at top speed with Empower and Sharpen. Anything hit by his punch was guaranteed dead as long as the attack hits.


    Thanks to Rofi''s struggle, the Giant Milkfish waste to react and was killed in a single strike.


    "Someone pick him up. Get him treated immediately, he''s heavily injured, so be careful handling him." Gilbert said and his thought was transmitted underwater. "Everyone else, take care of the small ones."


    A group of fishermen finally appeared in the distance. Two of them dove deeper to fetch Rofi while the others continued ahead to face the school of fishes.


    Rofi was carefully brought to the surface, and in a matter of minutes, the whole schools of fishes were dealt with. The dead milkfishes started to float up and were stashed in everyone''s inventory.


    The veteran fishermen were part of the Pioneers, a smallmunity established by the original settlers from ck Haven, the citizens, the middle ss, and some of the higher-ups. It was a private group with strong individual and political powers.


    Only Gilbert could speak underwater due to the water elemental book he learned. With nothing to do, he was able to research and improve the things that he needed for daily fights. Transmit thoughts through water was one of them. It was very efficient at has a very cheap energy cost.


    After the casual ughter, Gilbert grabbed the Giant Milkfish by its mouth and dragged it as he swam forward. "Let''s go back and review the events onnd. It''s not fun when I''m the only one talking."


    Rofi woke up and saw a white ceiling above him. He tried to move but a jolt of pain erupted in his body.


    "Please don''t try to move. Your body just got operated on and Mister Noel said that a proper rest would help you recover faster."


    He turned his head and saw a nurse tending to another person on the adjacent bed. It was a familiar person and someone that caused tears toe out of his eyes.


    Andoky peacefully on the bed. The nket covering him couldn''t hide the fact that he had missing legs.


    The nurse didn''t saw him since she was fixing things by the side, and so he asked, "How is he?"


    The nurse finished cing the dextrose and turned to him. "This patient got injured after encountering a boss monster in the middle of theke. He''s beaten badly but with healing skills, he was able to recover back to normal. Still, the damage was done and the body experienced it. He''ll probably wake up after some time, but it would take a few days depending on his stats."


    After the nurse gave an exnation, she pushed her cart next to his bed. She asked a couple of questions and wrote his answers on her notebook.


    "Alright, I think you can be released in the afternoon considering your already in good condition. However, if you want to stay to get some more rest, it''s entirely possible,"


    Rofi watched the nurse leave the room with her cart, then turned to Andok and stared at his empty legs. If he didn''t agitate the giant creature, if he could have killed it immediately, Andok would still have his legs.


    He stood up and exited the door. In his mind, he was burning with the desire to be stronger. At the same time, he promised to find something that could help Andok with his situation.


    Rofi submitted an application to register his newly learned skill and received a notification to head over to ck Havenpound.


    When he arrived at the front desk and stated his business, a separate agent took him and brought him inside. He was brought to a back office and the ce was far from what he imagined. The ce was clean and presentable but the grandiose of entering a powerful faction left him disappointed.


    He was told to take a seat and answer a digital form while he waits for someone toe over. Snacks were served on the table and the agent left.


    The digital form was a simple questionnaire asking him the name of the skill and what it does. If it asked him how it worked, he would have immediately left since it was akin to stealing credit before even paying. That would be a total scam!


    If Rofi casually thought he was getting rich when he learned the skill, he now wanted every bit of money he could get out of this deal. Registering the skill would give him several benefits like royalties for every time it was viewed and bought by other survivors. His goal has changed from living a good life to bing stronger. He would gather enough CP to buy items and equipment that would make himself stronger.


    He already waited half an hour and no one has checked on him. If it wasn''t for the online auction, he would be so bored waiting alone. He used the idle time to search for things that could heal, grow, or strengthen the body.


    Registering skills was a cumbersome process with great rewards. That means a lot of people would try to ckmail and steal skills from hardworking individuals who made them.


    That''s also one of the reasons why no one has yet to meet him.


    Currently, Evo was doing background checks about Rofi, and when he found nothing suspicious, he evaluated the skill.


    The skill was an excellent underwater detection skill. However, it still had a ring w attached to it. It only works underwater.


    Rofi received an email from ck Haven congratting him for sessfully registering the skill. Attached was the terms and conditions for registering the skills.


    He skipped most of the useless details and searched for the amount he received. On the middle part of the file, a ring 40,000 CP rests in ce together with various reasons for only receiving this amount.


    He would receive 40,000 CP a month for the rest of his life. In return, any future skills he develops shall be registered under ck Haven. Prices could stack, and adjustments could be made if the individual stopped producing skills.

 Chapter 345: Moving Out From Your Parents House

    Chapter 345: Moving Out From Your Parent''s House


    After the Province Sweep Project, a noticeable increase in army enlistment urred. The survivors that joined the expedition weighed the benefits and happily joined the army. Word of mouth was a powerful thing. With everything that the survivors witnessed, more people learned about the great opportunity to enlist in the army.


    However, there are people who are against the idea. The already strong individuals think that it''s better to go make your own group and gear up from there, which is in fact true if people are willing to take the risk.


    Currently, the strong people were divided into two groups, one group advocates being your own boss while the other focuses on stability and taking it slow. No matter what, they''re still contributing and that''s what matters.


    With the increased number of recruits in training, the military training area had to be moved somewhere spacious. And where else was a good fit other than the Northern ins beside the Faction Base? Training next to ck Haven base would raise the sense of belonging of every soldier. Even if it was only formation practice, basic battle training, and battle tactics, it could be an effective tool for making the soldiers a bit more loyal to the faction.


    At the moment, there are more than a thousand people enlisting for the army. This would greatly bolster the military strength of ck Haven even if they all don''t apply to the Training Department.


    In the ck Haven Marketce, a new type of bone sword appeared. A bone scimitar made from the bones of a Giant Milkfish.


    The news about the boss monster appearing in the fishpond dungeon has already spread in town for a few days, which created hype around the items created from it.


    Its bones were durable and has natural agility to them, allowing any weapons crafted from it to be swift and light. On the other hand, the scales were too brittle and can''t be turned into armor, so the Head Craftsman John decided to turn them into throwing discs.


    The fish scales were inherently light and have sharp edges. It was not too tough and can easily be sharpened. After deciding the most useful shape and with a little sharpening, the throwing discs were born.


    The throwing discs have their edges sharpened while having small holes to insert the finger and grab on. The ideal usage would be basic energy coating, durability, or sharpen, depending on the situation.


    It was also discovered that the edible portions from boss monsters tend to give extra stats upon consumption. It was a guaranteed extra stats instead of the percent chance when consuming other kinds of meat.


    Half of the Giant Milkfish''s meat was sent to ck Haven while the other remained in the marketce for the people to buy. The lowest price on one kilo of Giant Milkfish''s meat was sold at 2000CP and no one argued about the pricing. It was even turned into a sudden auction due to rich factions arriving at the sce and wanted a piece of the treasure.


    Not everyone has ess to these kinds of treasures and finding one is a hard endeavor.


    Normally, anyone could fight a random carrier and was guaranteed an essence stone to be used for increasing the stats. However, there was nowhere they could find any carriers in the whole territory. If they want to hunt more monsters, they have to venture out further, increasing the risks they have to take.


    Everyone realized the dangers toote and regretted noting to clearing events. Now, half of the poption don''t have the required battle experience and the stats to hunt on their own on the outskirts of the territory. If they want to improve, they need to work or join a group and take everything slowly. Unless they find a natural treasure like herbs and fruits, or a ce that has turned sacred with various buffs.


    Still,ters who wanted to improve themselves still had the chance to catch up. They just have to grind a lot inside the dungeons. However, that would take longer since tamed dungeons were regted and have set rules for who can enter them. Even with the disappearance of the National Police. it only meant a slight increase in public entrance time.


    With the newly discovered boss monster benefits, the dungeons returned to bing the most frequented ce in the territory. ck Haven has already imed the Wild Dungeons from Angono and Cardona, causing the Frontier to make a decisive choice to move out and head over to Taytay, a neutral ce with no owner.


    To make sure that there were no misunderstandings, The Frontier made sure that their intentions were clear. They are still citizens of ck Haven and just want to make a base of their own. Their old base in BInangonan would still be upied and would be their agency, housing their representatives when there are important events.


    Though they tried to showcase their goodwill, everyone knows that they were after the Wild Dungeon: Treant Forest over there. Though most of the loot was durable sticks and barks, that was only from regr monsters and the boss still hasn''t been killed. If they could find out how the boss monster spawns and what loot it gives, they could easily finally seal and establish themselves as another great power in the territory. Their members wouldn''t view joining them as a way to improve but would rather feel a sense of dignity in itself.


    The Frontier''s action caused a lot of smaller factions to n about their future. They started their small strategies on how to recruit more people and the benefits they could give.


    The Great Expansion hase and things will start to speed up with the advent of theing new era.


    Jun paid no mind about the happenings and watched everything unfold with a smile. He doesn''t need pig teammates, and having people take initiative is a very good thing to have.


    He was not scared that someone would take over since they don''t have enough resources to do so. Maybe, in the near future? But would he allow one group to prosper too much than the other?


    He controls everything in his territory starting from supply and demand. And everything has a supply and demand.


    Hunting missions specifically.

 Chapter 346: Insect Problems

    Chapter 346: Insect Problems


    Small parties could be seen entering and exiting the bridge connecting the capital and the stronghold. These small parties were survivor citizens of ck Haven doing hunting and scavenging quests. The most lucrative job on the mission board was hunting followed by scavenging and those jobs can always be packaged together for a huge profit.


    Every survivor needs to scavenge and search for materials they need and they always need to fight for them. Fighting has be essential if you want to get anything done. Even the farmers started to be wary of nature after the usually disregarded small insects became troublesome.


    Recently, all kinds of bugs started to annoy the farmers. Small bugs started to appear and dyed their work, causing them to think of ways to stop them. Normally, farmers could ignore them when they were small, but with their sudden growth, farmers have to clear their surroundings before working. For example, a farmer got attacked by a five-inches tall mantis after he cleared a section of the farming field. The mantis thought it was getting attacked and started fighting back, only running away when it knew it couldn''t win the battle.


    Still, they were only smaller threats since newly hatched snakes have be so big they''re about the size of an average man''s arm.


    Without the greater threat of carriers and the beneficial foods known as monsters, small critters don''t have anything to fear anymore and insects don''t have anything to prey upon.


    Reports about mosquito attacks became more frequent as days passed. Together with all the other problems, farmers were forced to rally towards the Labor Union and request for help.


    Dyna massaged Bernard''s forehead as the man leaned back on his swivel chair with a hanging shoulder. He kept his eyes closed as he enjoyed the soothing physical activity he was under. In front of him, aload of paperwork was on the table and one couldn''t tell if the left pile or the right pile was the finished work since they had basically the same height.


    "The first time after I visit your office, you look like your about to blow your head off." Dyna chuckled as she continued massaging his head. She continued, "How''s it going? Is it that bad?"


    Bernard finally opened his eyes. "I can''t think of how to solve the farm problems. I tried sending agents to clear the threats, but they can''t do anything about the insects. At most, the farmers don''t have to worry about snakes after the gents sessfully cleared the farm fields of snake nests."


    As the person in charge of Human Resource, he was the person approached by the Labor Union about the farmers'' problems. The Labor Union was something he made for citizens to apply for work and he was directly connected with its management. Even if he wanted to shove all responsibilities to the current Union Head, he still needs to do something to solve the situation since everyone was on the same board. Rice grains have slowly run out and even the inner circle could only cook a kilo of rice in a single day. It was a serious problem for amunity that heavily relies on rice for daily meals!


    "Why are you sending agents to kill insects? Shouldn''t you be using pesticides or something? I''m pretty sure that people don''t organize manhunts when dealing with insects even before the apocalypse." said Dyna.


    "But don''t you think it wouldn''t work? The insects probably got enhanced bodies too. They might just get agitated if we spray them with pesticide."


    "Well... I don''t think I can really give any other suggestions. Why not ask for help?"


    "And who can I ask? The farmers don''t want to deal with this matter and they''re already the ''expert'' on this field." Bernard answered almost half giving up.


    Dyna nodded. "Those old dudes might be the expert in terms of farming knowledge, but that''s also the reason why they don''t want to deal with this problem. If the insects were regr insects who don''t fight back. they would probably happily deal with it. Since that wasn''t the case, then we could just look for outsider''s help."


    Bernard stared filled with curiosity. "So who do we ask? Do you know some people?"


    "I don''t know anyone specifically, but ck Haven has a lot of people now, right? We''re almost reaching twenty thousand people and the numbers are still increasing. There should at least be one person with a crazy idea to help solve the situation. It''s better to let other people solve the problems for you. Problems that can be solved with money, shouldn''t make you frown. Go post a job on the mission board."


    "That... seems a great idea. Thank you, honey!"


    Bernard caressed the wrinkled hand massaging his forehead, then started fiddling with his ount card.


    With his admin privileges, he easily posted the mission with golden frames at the top of the mission board. Everyone browsing missions, no matter what page they were on, could see the resplendent striking job post.


    While writing the job post, Bernard started thinking of how he could attract a lot of people with a huge desire to improve and to help. He tried his best to cater the post to young and adventurous individuals.


    [Insect Problems by Bernard]


    [Our farmers encountered their most difficult adversary and we need your help! Insect swarms have appeared all over our farming fields and we can''t deal with them every time theye back. We need a permanent solution!


    Every unique suggestion would be paid 100CP. The suggestion that helps get rid of the problem would receive 5,000CP.


    The post didn''t take time to gain poprity and the effects were immediate. Survivors were even surprised to learn that ament section has been added as one of the features of the mission board.


    Comments started to fill in and the top likedment under the job post was an astronaut meme. "There''s ament section? Always has been."


    After searching for the mission board updates in the territory forum, they found out that the feature has been out for two days. Not many people read updates and the few people who did, don''t think thatmenting would help when epting jobs.


    This was the first time thatmenting about a job post has be useful, which caused the current situation.


    As for how Bernard knew about the feature? He was one of those people who read updates in the forums! It was only natural, right? He was someone from the inside and supporting each other spiritually should be as natural as breathing air.


    Asments started to pile in, Bernard had a tough time keeping up every time the page reloaded.


    Submitting an idea was easy and on top of that, you could earn CP for every unique idea! Who wouldn''t be attracted to such free money?


    Roby, who usually spends time running errands for everyone, was racking his brain for ideas. He was one of the first few who noticed the job post since he had nothing to do. Ever since getting sponsored, he didn''t have to work as hard as before and could take some breaks.


    Even old people were glued to their ount cards, suggesting various ideas on how to solve the problem.


    Bernard could onlyugh watching the event unfold.


    Dyna continued to seep her tea by his side as she watched the situation on her own ount card. "Wanna eat dinner? Mike has probably finished cooking."


    With an awkward grin, Bernard epted the offer. "Let''s go! Eating hot food is always better for our health. Just let me send an SOS before we go."


    Bernard opened a group chat and sent a message. It was a private group with skilled individuals he hired in the past few weeks. He exined the situation and asked for help with data checking, together with all the requirements he needs.


    After that, he stood up and did a few stretches before linking arms with Dyna. "Do you want to stop by somewhere today?"


    Dyna shook her head and slightly leaned on him. "We started training new teachers today and it was exhausting. I''m a bit tired today and all I want is to lie down and get some massage."


    Bernard smiled. "Alright, I''ll give you a massageter."


    As for the job post, ideas kepting nonstop and every time the page refreshed hundreds ofments were added.


    The mostmon suggestion was using pesticides. It was the simplest and tested solution when dealing with insects. The next was to kill them manually, followed by hunting them with electronic bug swatters, which then resulted in people getting back ideas of killing them by scent sprays and repent. In the end, the old people came in and suggested smoking them out with incense using stronger materials.


    Some suggestions were unrealistic and outright crazy. To cite an example, someone suggested using fishings to capture them since the insects have berger. The idea was too impractical since insects could run away before they could even close the and it requires too much manpower. The other one suggested they should try to talk with them and negotiate their terms to leave the farnds alone. It was probably a trollment, but every unique idea gets paid for.


    When the survivors learned that they could just spout nonsense, everyone started to hop on board. A few minutester, thement section was turned off and no one was able toment anymore. Still, a lot of people earned free money in a short amount of time.

 Chapter 347: Land Reform

    Chapter 347: Land Reform


    "We werete to the party, but we still manage to snag some quick money from that," Rodel smirked after stretching his hand out while seated on the sofa.


    The group of friends has finally found a ce to settle down.


    Joris nced at him and shook his head. "If you didn''t make it too obvious, we could have kept going for at least an hour. We''ll be rich by then!"


    Rodel replied, "It''s bound to happen soon and we already got enough. Let''s not be greedy and get caught under the radar. We''re already doing fine as it is, and there''s no reason for making things harder for us in the future."


    "Is that why you''re getting chummy with those hallway monitors?" Joris chuckled.


    The Monitoring Department finally had something to do after the influx of people arrived. They were even outnumbered with the sudden increase in poption making them extremely busy for the past few days. At these crucial times, anyone who causes trouble would surely be etched to the back of their times as troublemakers.


    "Hey, we need to get a good image if we want to start doing business here. We will rest for now and observe how things work here. I want everyone to blend in and get close to a lot of important people. If we want to be established here, we need connections. The first thing we have to do is continue to gather information. Only after we have enough information on our hands will we decide which path to take."


    After switching sides, Rodel found out that ck Haven had various wonders in its territory. There was a lot of new information and research about new things were still ongoing.


    It was the golden opportunity to be known and a lot of small groups were already making names for themselves. The Tomb Raiders, Explorers, and other specific party names. Their names could easily tell what that group specializes in, so clients could easily find them.


    As for their group name? It would be decided after their information gathering. Rodel ns to postpone it for a few more days, and find the niche that no one has discovered yet, or one that isn''t too popted.


    After the brief interruption due to the golden job post, everyone dispersed to hang out on their own while socializing with other people.


    A few hourster, newnd reform was announced to the public, which caused a hugemotion in the whole territory.


    Jun stood in front of the Teleport Statue together with a dozen ck-armored soldiers. The soldiers wore familiar white poker-faced masks which made the original citizens remember the Saviors, a group of people that suddenly vanished without leaving a trace.


    Jun personally announced that ck Haven is iming all the unimednds inside its territory. Allndowners muste and present papers to prove ownership of theirnd. If they don''t have papers, they won''t even be entertained.


    No one was able to say anything in front of Jun. The people could only re at him as he stood at the center of the za, waiting for any violent reactions.


    The people who tried rebelling and create discord were immediately revoked of their citizenship and tossed out of the za by the Saviors. No one even pitied them since everyone wasn''t dumb enough to see through things.


    The troublemakers were the neers who thought highly of themselves and think that the world orbits around them. Arrogant toxic bastards who barely survived living in the government support. These people didn''t experience the purge when survivors tried to retaliate due to the National Police''s agenda and got decisively kicked out of ck Haven.


    "I''m not forcing anyone to agree with me. If you don''t like it here, you are free to leave. Landowners have until lunch tomorrow to submit their papers. Any time past that is invalid."


    Jun wasn''t known to be a kind leader, but everyone knows he was extremely honest with his words and always keeps his promises. If he says something, then he will definitely do it. The people were also afraid that they would be used as another example to threaten others.


    Time and time again, the man has already proven himself that he can protect this town alone even if there are fewer people residing in it.


    After making sure that everyone understood what was going on, Jun continued to exin the second part of thend reform.


    "The first ten thousand settlers will be given a piece ofnd to own. The rest would be given the chance to buynd to own. Every new citizen after that will have to buynd or rent housing if they want to stay in the territory."


    "If you have any questions, you can ask now."


    Jun waited but no one dared to speak.


    "That would be all. There will be a much detailed post in the forum if anyone wants to review the details."


    Jun turned and left after relieving his guards from their duty. He teleported to the Northern ins to rest at the Idle Room.


    Currently, he hunts at night since the enemies were weaker at that time, and sleeps in the morning to get some rest. In the afternoon, he spends time with his family if they were at thepound and catches up with friends while idling and watching over the territory. This was also the time when he ns most works together with Evo. Once a week, everyone with high positions would meet at the Conference Room back at the faction base for weekly reports.


    After Jun disappeared, the ck-armored soldiers also started to teleport away. These ck soldiers were the reinstated Death Squad made from captured enemies.


    They are the berserk spears that only had one purpose in life, to kill every target they have and remain victorious over any battle! On the other hand, the army will be the shield to protect the citizens from any looming threats in the territory.


    After the long break, Nik and his group finally came back to the front lines. No more were the days where they bored to death idling around. No more were the days where they just follow Jun around, making sure he was safe.


    Even if it was dirty, even if it was dangerous, they finally felt alive again. They themselves didn''t know that they were already broken. That they were already longing for battle the moment they held their swords.


    Rodel watched the scene from the distance, hiding behind people to make sure that he doesn''t get any special attention. He muttered, "What a great leader."


    Several people turned and frowned at him.


    He smiled knowing they don''t understand what he meant and decided to exin himself. "There are different kinds of leaders and he knows what he wants to be. Do you guys know what it is?"


    "A vicious one?"


    "A greedy one?"


    Rodel made a troubled face. "I''m not sure if you should be saying your thoughts out here in the open, but that''s not it." Instead of answering directly, Rodel gave them some food for thought. "Has anyone here have the experience of leading a group before?"


    Seeing that no one answered, he continued. "The hardest part of leading a group was to actually lead people. And for people to follow you, there are numerous factors and he does it smoothly. I won''t exin everything to you guys, but in my personal preference, a leader must always have a clear mind and has a vision for the future."


    "Do you know why he''s iming thends now? Because he was sure that there were no threats and life would be much stable. People would care more about their daily lives more than anything. I won''t talk much but I hope you learned something. Goodbye, friends."


    Rodel bade farewell and escaped from the gathering crowd. He wanted to get a good image, but not lose the whole advantage he had.


    After hearing the announcement, Rodel instantly had an epiphany.


    Real Estate!


    ck Haven doesn''t only offer housing andnd, but security and protection overall. Together with the sense of belonging, everyone would surely try to buy their ownnd inside the territory.


    In the past, he wanted to delve into the real estate industry but never had the chance to do so. The Syndicate held too much of a lease on him and he couldn''t do any side projects that would only benefit him. Even if he sneakily seeded, the risk of getting found out was too high.


    With real estate, he could make as many houses as he wants and live off the tenant''s rent alone!


    He checked the forum for the detailed post and suddenly stopped walking after spotting something ominous on the post.


    Only verified ounts can buynds and each ount card was only entitled to a fifty square meter ofnd.


    His hopes and dreams of owning a huge amount ofnd were quickly dashed to oblivion before it could even form.

 Chapter 348: "Magic?"

    Chapter 348: "Magic?"


    In the next few days, a lot of huge events happened, creating a lot of topics for the citizens to talk about. The hottest was the government''s Northern Expedition finally taking ce.


    Spearheaded by the military and the good guys, an army of volunteer survivors willing to take risks for the general public, everything happened ording to their n. A n that almost took a week to form with only several keypoints finalized.


    The hundreds of thousands of people traveled on the national highway despite the guaranteed chance of encountering hordes. There were other options like traversing the outskirts of the wild forests and vast fields, but the President was another good guy.


    All the initial military nning was overthrown and was changed to amodate the civilians. All kinds of vehicles that can be used for transportation were gathered. The young and injured were prioritized. The old and women had to walk together with all the other adults, and there was no exception.


    Garbage trucks were used as the vanguards to ran over anything that blocked their path. Only when they get near a town or city would they have to be careful about the surroundings and scout first before having to clear the whole town.


    The national army made sure that every capable adult, men or women, were utilized to the best of their capabilities. All logistics were shouldered by the women and the old while the fighting must be done by men and a volunteer job for women. They can fight if they want or contribute more by cooking and other chores.


    Inventory weight has great importance whether people could walk far or not. Even a gram of extra weight over the survivor''s limit would make them feel sluggish, so proper logistic distribution was important.


    The current n was to reach the far north using the national roads and resorting to branch roads if it was impossible to move forward.


    The reason given by the officials was to n ahead and capture morend for farming. The northern portion of the country has been a great ce in terms of producing food, which is one of the important things in maintaining a workingmunity.


    As for the real reason why the government wants to move up north? Only the president knows.


    The estimated time of travel would be five days if everything went smoothly and six days if something went wrong. Along the way, they would scavenge everything they could and saving everyone that they could.


    Everyone willingly followed the president due to his speech the day before the departure.


    "Just like you I''m also a human being. I have a family, a wife, a son. Yet here I am fulfilling my duty. I could turn around and go back home, search for my family, but I know for a fact. they won''t be happy if I left all of you to your fates.


    "Trust me. Follow mymands. Let me help you! I beg you! I just want to save you too."


    At that time, the mothers tightened their grasp on their young children as they cried. Even the men couldn''t help but feel emotional due to guilt. They''ve been ming the government for everything and yet they haven''t considered their well-being.


    For once, the people started to resonate with the president. They asked for forgiveness and promised that they would work hard and followmands.


    Jun received two great news that day and one that''s not so good.


    ckout started tugging their webs and managed to gather important information even before it went public. The good news was the government''s departure to the northern part of the country and the promotion of a close friend, bing the person in charge of the Antipolo Stronghold.


    After showing great strategical ability in terms of defense, together with a close-knit rtion with Jun, the leader of the opposing faction, President Rodriguez promoted Corwin Homes to Major General, the same rank as his ssmate, friend, and rival, Paul Celestine.


    A lot of high ranking officers tried to dissuade President Rodriguez since Corwin could switch sides due to being too close with the opposing leader.


    However, President Rodriguez simply shut them up with his reason. "Why are you so pessimistic? Don''t we have advantages too? We can get information from them too, and we could trade more. Everyone here needs to face the bitter truth. Unless the government can sustain everything that the civilians need, we need our only ally''s help. We''re still building walls while they''re already developing things. We''re behind by manpower and technology, and unless anyone of you can magically produce infinite amounts of bullets, we have to tone the aggression down."


    That topic ended with no one able to bring it up again, sealing Corwin''s position as the new Mayor of the Antipolo Stronghold.


    ckout ears learned of the news directly from the old man''s mouth when he was drunk from sess, bragging every few seconds by himself.


    And the bad news? They lost sight of the VIP they were supposed to tail all the time. Jun personally ordered this job and ke Shu ced great weight over the matter. When he heard about the news, he immediately gathered the elite people tailing her to find out what''s going on.


    ording to his subordinates, she entered a military-only zone and never came out even when the day of the Northern Expedition started. They couldn''t follow her inside nor stick around for too long to investigate since the facility was heavily guarded with armed soldiers and was forced to watch the gates from a distance.


    Jun couldn''t do anything about the matter and only epted the fact that she''s gone. He wished that President Rodriguez was honest with the information he told him and moved on with his day. Still, from time to time, he couldn''t help but check his smartwatch for any message.


    With the government''s body leaving the stronghold, only small limbs were left and they won''t even count aspetitors in terms of technology and fighting prowess.


    ck Haven could easily take over the ce if he wanted to do so, but he won''t. What''s the point? ckout would be bored to death with nothing to do around.


    On the other hand, some developments were being made at Taytay.


    After days of exploration, The Frontier finally uncovered several things about the forest dungeon. The treants had a guaranteed chance to drop a tree bark and a good chance to drop branches every time it was killed. The bigger the treant, the higher the quality of the dropped loot.


    The biggest treant seen was fifteen meters while the biggest one killed was five meters.


    Everything was due to the disparity in the overall attack and defense. The treant had average attack damage, average attack speed, but extremely durable defense. To make matters worse, all of its basic attacks could be considered AoE since branches sticking out from its log arms could send anyone flying with a simple graze. Together with a passive ability to regenerate over time, it became very troublesome to hunt treants.


    Thankfully, it had a ring weakness and everyone thought of it on day one of fighting.


    Fire damage.


    Molotovs crafted from gasoline and empty bottles were thrown at the treants to weaken them and it was extremely effective. Any damage the treant receives during its burning time would be doubled, decreasing the time they have to hack at it.


    Unfortunately, thebatants were also affected by the burning fire and can''t fight fully. The treants body would be scorched in mes and to attack would mean getting closer, allowing the treant to attack in return. The gasoline could spill and fly around, turning anyone unlucky into a crisp dish. Though not fatal, it was extremely annoying for the Frontier.


    Treants had the natural ability to deflect projectiles weaker than their armor. Considering the current grade of arrows, every arrow can be seen as an investment that will never be earned back.


    What''s interesting was a battle chef who happened to y with a branch suddenly felt an urge to use energy while ying with the stick.


    With a wave to the left and to the right like a magician waving his baton, the branch sucked his energy and gathered it at the tip of the branch. The chef felt a bad omen seeing the orange light gathering at the end of the stick, and pointed at an empty space.


    He decisively cut the supply of energy, thinking he would pass out if things kept going, and saw a bright star fly into a nearby tree. The tree got enveloped by the bright orange lights and started creaking as it fell to the side.


    To the people watching by the side, they just witnessed something remarkable and remained frozen for a good few seconds. When they recovered, they hurriedly surrounded the man only to notice that he was suffering from energy exhaustion.


    Energy exhaustion was different from energy depletion. The term was made after several people started to feel weak due to a suddenrge consumption of energy. Anything that consumes half of the total energy is guaranteed to cause energy exhaustion. Aside from the weakened state, energy recovery would be halved until a few hours pass.


    Still, the party members just gave him enough space and continued pestering him.


    "How did you do it? Did you learn a skill?"


    "Is that fireball? I promise it looked like one! Just look at the tree over there. It''s probably burnt all the way inside. it already looks like charcoal!"


    Before the man could entertain any questions, someone from the Frontier dungeon management group came running fully armed with the current best armor avable to the public. "What happened here? Are you alright, sir? Why don''t I take you to the clinic, so we can properly look at your situation."


    The man raised his hand and a few people behind him stepped forward to carry the exhausted man. Then, he faced the crowd. "Due to the incident, we will temporarily close the dungeon. Please go back for now and wait until further notice."

 Chapter 349: New Weapon

    Chapter 349: New Weapon


    The treant''s branch became the hottest topic that day. The Frontier tried to control the information outflow but they failed since they werete to inform that the event would be kept as a secret from the others.


    They couldn''t me anyone since news travels so fast today through the use of forums. With a few taps and a swift hand speed, anyone could share anything in just a few seconds.


    Posts regarding the events attracted a lot of interested parties including ck Haven. A magic wand has appeared and it doesn''t only open a new source of power but also opens a lot of room for new possibilities. Possibilities that could further branch out to even greater things.


    At the moment, the faction higherups of the Frontier were gathered in the meeting room of their newly imed building. It was not the biggest building in the town and only has four floors, but it was spacious enough to house most of the core members. Another reason for choosing the building was its positioning. The cemetery dungeon can be seen from the south while the Treant dungeon was two streets away from it. If they look out from the window, anyone could easily view the entrance of the forest dungeon.


    Alday Ruan picked the treant branch from the table and started transferring energy to the item. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and barely managed to create a small ball of light on the tip of the stick.


    Unlike the fireball with its red-orange color, Alday Ruan''s energy ball was white and almost transparent in nature. Before the energy ball grew to the size of a fist, he sent it flying towards a shield warrior standing by the side.


    Gener Guevarra prepared and readied his shield. His bulky body appeared threatening equipped with full heavy armor. As the battlefieldmander of the Frontier, he chose to be someone who focuses on defense and protecting his subordinates. Currently, they were doing an experiment about the Treant branch inside the meeting room.


    The shield made contact with the energy ball and created a light sizzling sound. On the shield, several other scratch marks can be seen which shows this is not the first time it received such an attack.


    The shield warrior returned to his previous position after determining that it was safe to move.


    Alday Ruan said. "How is it? I increased the output and the attack should prate through your defense, right?"


    The shield warrior checked his stats, then nodded his head. "That''s right, this attack finally managed to deal some damage. However, considering the charging time of the attack, the focus needed to create the spell, and the amount of energy needed to use it, I deem it unfit for battle."


    An analysising from Gener Guevarra has a lot of weight since he had more experience in terms of battles. The seven people in the room took turns ncing at each other.


    Alday Ruan stared at the wonder boy who caused all of thismotion. The self-proimed battle chef, Romel Cooper.


    From his own words, a battle chef is a chef that provides hearty meals that also give buffs to people who consume them. An indirect supporting role that has an average attack and defensive power.


    Romel looked left and right, squirming from his seat at the end of the table. This is the first time he got surrounded by influential people and received this kind of attention.


    "I-I didn''t really do anything special. I just tried pouring energy into it and the branch started sucking my energy. If I didn''t stop the energy flow, I might have fallen unconscious due to energy depletion backsh."


    Alday Ruan smiled and assured him. "I believe you and we appreciate youing over to help us investigate the matter. You can leave for now and we''ll call you if we have any other questions."


    After the two thanked each other, a guard escorted Romel out of the room.


    When the door closed, the people in the room suddenly became excited.


    Marichu spoke. "If my observation is right, then it all boils down to elemental affinity. Not many people have an affinity with a certain element and most of us just have regr jobs. Romel was a restaurant chef before and remained as a chefter on. We can assume that that is one of the reasons why he was able to create a ''fireball''. As to why Leader only managed to create a small energy ball, that means he isn''t fit to be a magician at all."


    No one disagreed about the word ''magician'' being brought up, but Alday felt bitter hearing that he''s not qualified to be one. Although he doesn''t have an interest in bing one, getting one extra path to rely on was still better than nothing.


    "If that''s really the case, then I''ll gather all the possible candidates we have as soon as possible. Having an army of magicians would raise our standing in the territory and we could even stand side-by-side with ck Haven." Melchor Galvez said.


    As the Chief Guardian and Head Recruitment Officer of the Frontier, he always held grudges with ck Haven. All the neers will have to enter ''citizenship'' if they want to stay and unlock the full potential when residing in ck Haven. This caused a lot of neers to be glued and conned by the evil schemes called benefits all around the territory.


    Recently, ck Haven even disclosed the Calvary Sacred Ground, which can give free experience points as long as you have enough strength to reach the first resting area. Furthermore, they made it ''public property'' under ck Haven and all citizens are wee to enter.


    Don''t forget that the second resting area has a flower field that blooms and rewards anyone who reached that pit stop. Aside from the beautiful view from the top of the hill, anyone on the Calvary Hill can receive several hours of passive experience gains if someone managed to reach the top and activate the monolith.


    It''s impossible for people to have time every day and there are probably not enough people to activate the monolith, right?


    Wrong!


    The ce became one of the training sites for the army! The enhanced gravity became a limit testing and physical exercise for the recruits. They would train in the early morning and leave after one of them activated the monolith.


    It was tantly telling everyone that they can help everyone level up without fighting!


    It was a new idea that became quickly unpopr for people who haven''t level up since it could impede their initial growth. Gaining a profession and additional skills could spell someone''s future in the apocalypse and carelessly leveling up while idling was never a good option!


    Another reason that really pisses him off was the talents left after the initial citizenship registration.


    There were no unique talents left!


    After the citizenship registration, all unique individuals were already poached by ck Haven.


    Melchor couldn''t help but smirk. For the first time, he would be able to gather and train an advanced unit that has never been seen before!


    ''Just you wait old fool. Everything can''t be solved with just money. I''ll erase that smirk of your face and thrash you down.''


    "Since this is an important matter, I won''t waste any time." Melchor said and stood up. "I''ll go ahead and gather every prospect we have and bring them to the empty lot outside."


    Old man Melchor didn''t wait for any response and went out of the room.


    Though no one knew how he will pick people exactly, it wasn''t their job so they won''t pay much attention to it.


    Gener Guevarra ced his hand gently on the table, but his heavy armor caused the table to rattle, which gathered everyone''s attention. "As I''ve said, I think it''s quite inefficient when used on the battlefield. Unless every survivor Melchor finds is someone like Romel, then it''s not worth it. I rmend pouring funds into fire weaponry research. I heard the Cheif cksmith can embed elemental orbs in equipment, why can''t we do so too?"


    The most iconic equipment with an elemental orb embedded onto it was the Skull Crusher owned by the ck Haven''s leader. It was a widely known weapon due to its grandiose fiery disy whenever the core orb was activated. Jun would have showy effects around him every time that he swings the bone hammer.


    Everyone gave the matter some brief thought and slowly, their eyes started to widen. All the people in the room except Gener had a sudden realization on what to do.


    "Gener, you''re a genius!" Alday Ruan eximed.


    Gener frowned not knowing what the sudden excitement was about. Everyone suddenly turned rowdy after he said something logical?


    Crisanto Simon couldn''t stop his hand from trembling. "We''re gonna be rich! Why have we never thought of this before?"


    Gener, "No, seriously. Someone tell me what''s going on!"

 Chapter 350: Pity Card Activated!

    Chapter 350: Pity Card Activated!


    Alday Ruan calmed himself and restarted the meeting. "Marichu, how are the craftsmen members doing? Are they any good? Do we have thetest status updates from them?"


    Marichu took a bunch of papers from her inventory and ced them on the table. She already read this once, but having them out will make sure she doesn''tmit any basic mistake.


    Out of eleven craftsmen in training, one has advanced to junior craftsman, three have be apprentice craftsmen while the rest remained novice craftsmen. The most promising was a neer hat joined a week ago and has already reached the apprentice rank."


    Alday nodded. "Call all of them back and brief them about the situation. Coordinate with Crisanto and gather all the materials needed for crafting before the craftsmen returned. I want to see ''wands'' in the next few days."


    "All of them? Won''t calling them all back cause suspicion?" Marichu frowned.


    "What suspicion? Everyone already knows about the treant branch! We are already lucky that no crazy group has tried to barge in and try their luck with us. Of course, we can crush any group that tries to do so, and that will remain facts. There''s a bigger problem we have to face other than that."


    Just as he finished speaking, the door swung open and a frantic guard reported, "Reporting! A department head of ck Haven wants to speak with the leader."


    "Speaking of the devil," muttered Alday.


    The soldier continued, fear evident on his face. "Also, Sir Melchor started teasing her when they met."


    "That manchild! Why is he acting like this?" Alday massaged his forehead, before turning to Gener. "Make sure the old man doesn''t make anything stupid. As long as we don''t do anything too badly, ck Haven would have no reason to deal with us."


    Alday Ruan stood up and stared at everyone. "Alright, everyone, get moving! I''ll fight the devil as long as I could, and I want finished products as soon as possible."


    Gina waited around five minutes before someone approached her. It was a grumpy old man that mocked and teased her. The garrison unit she had as escorts were about to get pissed off when the old man was grabbed by a muscr guy and carried away.


    Afterward, a beautiful secretary walked up to her and brought her to a room on the second floor. She left the guards in the hallway and entered the room. From the door, she saw a grown man seated on the far end of the table, staring back at her.


    She realized who the man was after recognizing his features. A small figure that emits leadership and energy. Their gazes met and the man smiled.


    "Sorry for taking so long to amodate you. We were having an important meeting earlier and I had to see through that we finish it."


    "It''s alright, I didn''t wait for long. Besides, I was able to rx and enjoy the surrounding scenery, met some unique people too."


    After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gina sat down and rposed herself.


    "I''m Gina, the Department Head of ck Haven Trade and Commerce. I''m pretty sure you already know why I''m here today, so I''ll go straight to the point. I want to buy materials from you, specifically the treant branch,"


    Gina was having a calm day browsing the forums when she stumbled on the post about the treant branch. The moment sheid eyes on the post, she instantly realized that she absolutely needed to procure that item. She informed Evo about her n and got several escorts along the way. The selected members of the garrison were delighted being able to strut around, following a high ranking official.


    Gina already thought of several rebuttals in case Alday Ruan tried to keep the resources to themselves. She would reason that dungeon resources cannot be monopolized. Just imagine ck Haven hoarding all the fishes in the Fishpond dungeon, and only selling whenever they like. The whole territory would literally be taken hostage if that were to happen!


    Even ck Haven was sharing resources! Why would you think that you can do that?


    Prepared with an answer, she calmly waited for the rejection.


    "Sure, we can sell you some. We''ve been indirect allies for some time already and small favors like these are peanuts." Alday responded.


    Wait, somethings wrong! This isn''t on the script that I practiced! Why are you acting so docile?!


    Due to being poor and working on minimum wage, Gina''s confidence wasn''t as high as her position. That''s also one reason why many people loved working under her. The marketce and other staff were working positively since they were following a humble leader.


    She viewed this procurement with a lot of importance and on the highest difficulty, simply because the other party was another powerhouse. However, she has forgotten one thing while she was making her n. She was from ck Haven and a department head at that!


    It took Alday Ruan several minutes of nning before he decided to meet Gina. In those few minutes of strategizing, he realized that he couldn''t do anything to resist whatever kind of request ck Haven had.


    Everything ended in battle power! ck Haven was too powerful and could easily crush them if it viewed them as an eyesore. The best that he could do was act like he was the best ally while getting benefits in return.


    He expected Gina to request dungeon ess but thetter only wanted resources! It was a great dealpared to what he was nning.


    Realizing that the other party wasn''t that shrewd, he began to wind up his own n. "The Frontier is happy that we were able to help you. Also, we could go further and allow ck Haven to enter a few hours a day in the Forest Dungeon."


    Gina got surprised. "Eh? Why?"


    "Of course, it''s not for free! The scariest thing nowadays were free things. Please consider this offer as a gift. Recently, we tried to upgrade our gears with elemental orbs, but they always fail. We already wasted a lot of resources and were thinking of buying information from the Virtual Library. Unfortunately, we didn''t have enough reputation to view advanced information."


    "So you want me to help you search for the method to embedding ?" Gina frowned. "I''m sorry but I won''t help you."


    "Miss Gina, please hold on a second. It''s not like we weren''t nning to pay. We are willing to pay a premium price! Please understand, gathering reputation for the Virtual Library is hard. We just want to survive too..."


    Alday tried his best to appear as pitiful as possible since he can''t take the aggressive path. He was just trying to wiggle his way to a shortcut instead of waiting another week to gather enough reputation grinding missions every day.


    As for the reason why no one is delving into info-sharing, the Virtual Library Terms and Conditions states that one cannot share or divulge anything above certain tiers. Anything on Level 3 and below was public domain and can be shared with a limited number of people. This feature allows groups to funnel all the reputation on one individual for everypleted mission.


    Gina was weak to pleading. Despite being in such a high position, she never had to be cruel and instead underwent the same road of having to kneel down, and beg others.


    She turned around and faced Alday. Her neatlybed hair tied into a meat bun plugged with a simple ck clip remained steady despite her sudden turn. Crystal-clear eyes gazed forward without a moment of aversion.


    "My answer is no, and I''m also ready to pay the premium price. Please include several dozens of treant barks. You can send the price list to the marketce or I can send someone directly." Gina turned around and stopped at the door. "It''s nice meeting you Mister Alday. Your acting sucks though. You need a better haggler for the job."


    The door closed and a chuckle suddenly came from the side of the room. Monica appeared from nowhere and ced her arms on her husband''s neck. "You went too emotional suddenly. It''s pretty cringy to watch. Want me to teach you about haggling?"


    "Get off me." Alday Ruan pouted and sat on his chair. "Was I too obvious?"


    "You were like a desperate trader trying to get rid of radiated goods. Hahaha! Well, from the avable we have on her, she grew up poor and started working at the flea market at a young age. She might have no idea when you started talking, but as time goes on, bits and pieces of your intentions became clear."


    Monica sighed. "Am I really the only fool that fell for your tricks?"


    Alday pouted even more. "Tch. I''m going out! Is Crisanto still around? All my nning went to waste!"


    Alday Ruan personally went to ck Haven Trade and Commerce Office to settle the matter. He brought extra gifts to ease the situation and hope that everything would be settled.


    As someone running a business, Gina knew when to y hard and act softly. She epted the gifts and called what happened earlier a misunderstanding. Owners and customers must always be friendly towards each other, or they''ll both lose out!


    In a house several streets away, Paterno continued adjusting the channel selector of the radio. Sometimes he would hear music, sometimes he would stumble on people calling for help. After things settled down, he moved out and lived alone.


    In this world, only the cheerful voice of the little angel makes him remember the old world.


    "Grandpa, I brought you some food. Mister Mike told me he doesn''t know how to cook banana bread, but he''ll try to learn if he had some time." Judy said.


    "Thank you. How''s your studying, you learn any new skills?"


    Judy giggled instead of answering and ran out of the house. "I just want to y~"

 Chapter 351: Higher Control

    Chapter 351: Higher Control


    Ever since the National Police left, ck Haven started upying all the emptied buildings. All the official works were now done on the municipal building. The customer service section, the public mission board, the territory clinic, all services were moved to the municipal building.


    These services were essential to everyone''s daily lives. The municipal building was the appropriate ce for such services since the building was built to house arge number of people at the same time, unlike the parking lot that feels confined and poor. The service there was literally garage-level.


    Once the parking lot was emptied,thepound finally achieved peace for a long time. There were no rowdy crowd, or peopleughing and yelling indiscriminately. The people inside were able to rx their minds, knowing that intruders would nevere again.


    Tatang Robin had nothing to do when the ce became empty. He just socialized and drunk until he can''t move anymore.


    In the Northern ins...


    Evo gathered all Research & Development members outside the newly built building. The building would be the new ce where they would conduct research. The ce has two floors; the first floor was a huge working space and at the same time a warehouse. The above floor was an office area converted to a residential area for the researcher''s amodations.


    The R&D Department was made of hardcore loyalists of ck Haven and the first few people who became citizens. Still, to make sure things don''t go haywire, all employees were given the choice to sign a contract. All of the selected individuals signed willingly and if someone didn''t want to sign the contract, Evo was nning on kicking them out of the team.


    In a matter of hours, ck Haven R&D Department also came up with the same results the Frontier had. The only difference was they were able to go deeper into the matter since they were doing research full time.


    Their findings were simple and logical.


    Elemental magic cannot be used out by just anyone. A survivor must have an initial understanding of the particr element before they could even try wielding it. Fire element mostlyes from survivors that had fire-rted skills. A good example was people that can increase the heat of an object, control external fire, and even tamper with a room or body temperature. It just won''t be avable for everyone.


    After continued research, they were able to unlock the water element using some fishermen as test volunteers.


    Gilbert who already had basic control over water easily performed various tricks and offensive maneuvers on the test dummy. He was able to easily use skills like water prison and tidal wave since he was already practicing these basic skills even before the magic wands appeared. He also learned two new skills after using the magic wand, the water bomb, and the water spray.


    The water bomb was the cheapest skill that one can use. It''s like the energy ball non-elementals could use and fireball for fire-elementals. The skill doesn''t have high attack damage and offers no other debuff except for soaking the target with water.


    The water spray was the second spell he was able to learn. The spell was simr to a firefighter using a hose to bombard fire. It was a continuous spray of water with powerful pushing force. The target would have a hard time walking after getting targeted by the water spray.


    Unfortunately, like any other skill, the stronger the skill''s effect bes, the higher the energy usage will be.


    After Gilbert''s tests came out excellent, the researchers and test volunteers eagerly continued the tests. However, the following fishermen showed subpar results, and some couldn''t even use the water element and only gathered non-elemental energy.


    After the experiment, the researchers thanked the fishermen, and the fishermen left disappointed with themselves.


    Everyone gathered at the meeting table, a dozen meters away from the experiment space. The meeting room was a simple area and only had chairs and tables situated on the other end of the warehouse. Due to the inventory system, there was really no need to ce cabs to store important papers and research materials. All results were directly written on the virtual library unreachable by other survivors.


    Evo sighed and sat down. "What do you all think? Let''s hear it out."


    "Based on the data we collected, I''m afraid to say that we can''t rely on the Project: Magician. Survivors don''t have enough energy to continuously cast spells when fighting on the battlefield. If they make a simple calction error such as using too much energy, they could easily pass out in the middle of a battle." said one of the researchers.


    "I agree with that. Also, I noticed that individuals that have practiced corresponding elemental energy have an easier time using the same energy. It matches our earlier conjecture. The higher the affinity you have with a certain element, the higher the chance of you being able to wield its powers."


    The researchers fell into an excited outburst as they mored about the things they noticed earlier.


    Overall, Evo was able to round up everything they learned into two important factors, higher control, and repeated practice.


    Survivors who have higher energy control can wield more outstanding skills and people who repeat and practice certain actions would gain higher control. The two were essential and both can only be obtained if one had perseverance. From the avable information, the first survivor who was able to wield great power using the magic wands was a battle chef.


    Upon further consideration, battle chefs were people that require heightened control over the fire. It''s already proven that each ingredient must be cooked to perfection in order to obtain the best results. Due to this, battle chefs train hard in controlling and maintaining the temperature of their fires. A simple training that they do daily without having to force themselves into. It was an effective and efficient way to improve oneself.


    With this discovery, Evo was forced to ept that not everyone will have the chance to be ''mages''. Still, he can''t just give up after knowing that there''s a boulder blocking the way forward. He stared at the treant branch on the table and slowly widened his eyes as his gazended on the tip of the stick.


    If a magic wand can''t do the trick, then upgrade to something better!


    He became excited as he sent John a message. "Hey, do you have some free time? You might want to have some free time because I have something that you''ll be interested in."


    "I want you to make me a magical staff."


    Back at the top floor of the marketce, the workshop where dozens of craftsmen lives suddenly be boisterous. All craftsmen watched in awe as a fire orb stuck to a wrinkled stick like it was maized to it.


    Head Craftsman John exined. "This skill is called Embed. You can learn the skill after you reach the junior craftsman rank or adequate energy control with the same level. If you try to do it below that threshold, there''s a high chance that the equipment or material will get destroyed."


    "Even if I want to let some of you try this procedure, I can''t spare any orbs right now because elemental monsters are very rare. In the future though, if you managed to join a good faction, or whether you stay here, I''ll request some resources when the inventory bes a bit better."


    Old John didn''t teach his students how to learn the skill and only showed them how the skills work. In this way, his students could try to figure out and learn for themselves instead of getting spoonfed all the time.


    After his niece''s death, Old John thought to spend his time in seclusion and help the group as far as he could. He was already an old man, what things could he still do except give hisst breath to the future inhabitants of this world.


    Old John was already used to embedding orbs into equipment and made easy work of the five treant branches sent to him, turning them into magical staffs as requested. In less than a quarter of an hour, he was able to make two fire staff, one water staff, and two earth staff. If it weren''t for the embedding process having a high energy consumption, he could have finished the work in less than five minutes.


    Some of the smart students tried their best to assimte all the information they received and remained rooted on the spot. They are using their creative thinking to process each and every step avable and recreate every moment inside their head.


    When peopleck something, they start to be resourceful and creative.


    Jonard, a young teen who was considered a genius by all the students under Head Craftsman John, suddenly walked towards a workbench.


    He ced a low-grade iron sword on the table and reproduced what he saw earlier. On his hand was a Low-tier Powerstone, and he slowly inched closer towards the hilt of the sword.


    He could feel his energy draining like he feeding a hungry ck hole. A red ripple traveled the sword as his energy got consumers and everything stopped when the ripplepletely traveled the entirety of the sword. He felt a sudden suction and the hilt and Powerstone connected.


    The embedding was sessful and the essence power stone became the pummel of the iron sword. The red stone perfectly matched the hilt and gave life to the nd white sword.


    Everyone stared in awe at the sudden disy.


    Old John smiled proudly and said, "Of course, you can all just do that too."

 Chapter 352: Reputation Level

    Chapter 352: Reputation Level


    With the magical staff, any non-elemental can wield elemental powers as long as they hold the weapon. The staff acts as a converter and any energy that passes through it would be changed into the element of the orb embedded into it.


    On the same note, Jonard''s little experiment paved a new road to material embedding. Power stones and speed stones could now be used to further enhance any equipment as long as it was able to take the brunt of the embedding process. Some of the equipment used to embed mid and high-tier stones was destroyed due to overload.


    Everyone was reminded of an important rule of crafting that day, high quality materials need high-quality equipment. It would be impossible to enhance a low-quality item using high-quality materials since its durability wouldn''t be able tost the whole embedding process.


    That day, almost every trainee returned to their organizations excitedly. They learned a lot of unexpected techniques and the Head Craftsman taught them everything without bias.


    Back at the Frontier, Alday Ruan and the higher-ups watched their apprentices work despite just having returned from ck Haven. These young apprentices didn''t waste any time and immediately started experimenting on various equipment using essence stones.


    The workshop reserved for the craftsmen became filled with mor as more and more equipment got destroyed. Less equipment broke as time passed.


    These young apprentices weren''t god-like geniuses that could seed on their first try, but they were able to rise up and achieve the apprentice rank title due to their perseverance. Every one of them started out in a different profession then became novice craftsmen. After crafting hundreds of items they became familiar with how the profession works.


    As long as you continue to pursue what''s in front of you, you will one day be able to reach it.


    ng!


    "I did it!" shouted a young man, then hopped around in ce. The moronic grin along with the excitement in his eyes gave his ssmates the hope that they could do it too!


    Once someone finally learned the skill, it wouldn''t take long for others to follow. Every craftsmen apprentice danced in joy when everyone was able to learn the embedding skill, and sessfully implement the task.


    Still, they didn''t rush when the organization officials offered them to embed elemental orbs. The Head Craftsman exined to them that the higher the material''s quality is, the more energy the material will consume. With their current state, everything would surely result in failure.


    The oldest apprentice craftsman exined the situation, and they were given some time to take a break and rx, then they will continue their work tomorrow.


    Alday Ruan stared nkly. "I didn''t even have to beg."


    Monica hugged him from behind. "It''s alright, you almost made meugh. It was so funny watching you try so hard."


    Alday Ruan softly pinched his wife''s thin arm.


    Monica chuckled. "Ouchie ~ It hurts daddy. Please stop."


    Feeling embarrassed, he released her arm. "Let''s go. We need to amodate our promising craftsmen. They''re our only hope in keeping up and getting ahead of other factions."


    "Best make them happy, right?" Monica removed her hands and followed after her husband.


    Once the magical staff was created, Evo realized they don''t need to train people to be mages. With the current development of ''magic'', it was too unproductive to train soldiers in that area. Close quarterbat was still the best method when dealing with enemies.


    With that thought in mind, he categorized the information around mid-grade priority in the Virtual Library. Any individual with Reputation Level 5 and above would be able to ess that information.


    And Roby, the errand boy; just happened to reach Reputation Level 5.


    ck Haven was a ce not for the weak. People still have basic respect for one another, but not for the weak. Still, you have to watch your actions since everyone has a connection with someone, and that someone might be stronger than you.


    After his encounter with Lynnana, Roby was tagged as untouchable in town. Unless you have a death wish and want to get chewed up by a mutated dog, most bad guys stay away from him.


    Some jealous dick heads envied him for sleeping with the town tramp and decided to target him. Torture would be impossible, so the next best thing would be some soft physical punishments. Usually, they would just scam him out of missions, but he doesn''t pay much attention to any of it.


    Every day, he would spend his time doing small chores for other people. He started paying attention to the names of the job posters, and the job description itself.


    There are two ways to earn reputation points. Either work for ck Haven for daily points or ept jobs from the mission board. A ck Haven agent isn''t strictly confined to the building. They get paid less, but they have the freedom to do what they want. They also have the ability to work on other projects with other people. ck Haven only reserves the right to be prioritized when they want something done.


    When he first started, he would get bullied. So he decided to only ept unknown transactions and missions virtually through the ount card. He only meets in person with people he had worked with in the past.


    He eventually became the first citizen to reach Reputation Level 5 by doing smaller jobs.


    Unfortunately, Roby remained oblivious to what his reputation level could even do. He was never interested in the Virtual Library. Even when it was first introduced as a skill library.


    Why would he want to browse a library when he doesn''t even want to fight?! He just wants to survive, somehow!


    "What do I do with this?" Roby pondered in confusion as he sipped on his mango juice, feeling invigorated.


    He sat on one of the benches in the za and watched people passing by. Each one has a different reason for living and different destinations. His goal was to only survive.


    The za was illuminated by the energized streetlights produced by ck Haven. Some would try to steal the lights, but they would be caught immediately before they could even run away. No one knows how they were produced and everyone knows ites from ck Haven.


    Despite being converted to energy-power instead of electricity, the lights still shine just as bright as they did before. Their radiance lit up the entire ce leaving no areas of darkness.


    It was a magical sight that never failed to amuse him.


    Will I be strong one day and be able to make something amazing too?


    Now that he got a sponsor that gives him money weekly, he began to splurge on things that he normally wouldn''t.


    In just one day, he had already spent 100CP on snacks alone! His lunch and dinner weren''t even ounted for yet! Life has be so luxurious!


    In the past, he would be happy if he could buy lunch and dinner below 100CP, and yet he was starting to be a shopaholic.


    ''I should save money or start a business. If things continue this way, I''ll be broke and useless if Miss Lynnana stopped funding me!''


    Just as that thought crossed his mind, Roby was reminded of his current reputation level. He still doesn''t know anything about it, so he decided to investigate it in the forums.


    After doing a simple search, he found a guide that teaches everything he needs to know about reputation points. The further he read, the wider his eyes became.


    "I-Isn''t having a high reputation level important then?!" Roby stuttered and almost drowned in the mango juice when he realized how important reputation levels actually are.


    As someone who deals with information, being able to view high tier information could make him rich! Getting a potential buyer would be a problem. He was still a target of jealous admirers, and if strong people found out that he had ess to high-quality information he would be kidnapped.


    He doesn''t even know whether Lynnana would really protect him! A lot of people think that they are in some sort of rtionship and that she is into little boys, but the truth is that she''s actually a possessive stalker!


    He didn''t have to dig around to hard to find out that Lynnana actually confessed to Boss Jun that she wanted to bear his babies. Once she was rejected, she toned down some and only requested to have sex and receive daily insemination.


    She''s crazy!


    Rumors say she bes stronger every time she has sex. A lot of interested survivors dated her, but they neversted. He doesn''t believe that!


    Those people probably died in a dark alley somewhere!


    Every time that they identally meet, he could feel that she was slowly getting stronger. He could feel a terrifying dark aura around her, and it''s growing stronger every day.


    "Wait a minute... since we''re already working together, I might as well sell information to her!"

 Chapter 353: Finding Family

    Chapter 353: Finding ''Family''


    The Great Wall Project has been flourishing steadily. After setting the ghost images for the Great Wall around the outer perimeter of the towns, Jun let theborers fill the required materials on their own and left them to their jobs.


    He started to focus on the neighboring capital city that was teeming with threats. The citizens capable of fighting in the frontlines have already epted daily quests to kill carriers in the city. With the current threat level, each expedition had to have around fifty fighters in order to hunt safely.


    Jun let the others fight the easy battles and hunted evolved carriers on his own. Things were much better and easier this way. He doesn''t have to worry about others while fighting with his all.


    On the other hand, the ck Haven Elites would always act as the spearhead for every operation, keeping everyone safe and maintaining momentum.


    Sometimes, he would look back and gaze at the people fighting the hordes behind him. All the familiar and new faces were giving their all with every charge they did. Still, he could only feel emptiness, watching everyone trying so hard to fight and protect the people they love.


    Among the familiar faces who were fighting, one face who always had a smile on his face was missing.


    Edward left two days ago to search for his family and asked for a temporary vacation. After not receiving any news about his family from General Corwin, he decided that it was best to take action himself. Together with his blind follower, he joined the Northern Expedition in search of his family.


    Jun dodged another Hunter lunged and started another sh with a pack of Rank 2 Hunters. If he leveled up the proper way and had the same stats as everyone, he would have already be shredded meat with the organized quick attacks of the enemies.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t like the others.


    With the help of the improved Time Perse, he was able to use the skill for a longer time. The energy reduction cost per second became a great help and a great synergy for his newly obtained skill Time Lapse.


    He consumes 0.5 energy per second every time he moves inside the stopped time. Inside the zone, everyone''s consciousness was retained but anyone with a lower energy level than the user cannot move.


    Normally, he doesn''t have to use Time Lapse when fighting evolved carriers since they have higher energy levels than him. However, some Hunters turned out to be experienced killers and don''t want to waste energy. Those were the times that he needed to use such skills.


    Time Lapse was a great skill for wasting an opponent''s energy, especially if they were human. With all the treasures he already ate, he doesn''t believe that there would be any other person who had a higher energy pool than him.


    After dodging a couple of times, Jun was able to find the right moment to counter-attack and started killing the pack of Hunters.


    Thest Hunter sensed that it couldn''t win and decided to run away in the opposite direction. After shing and dodging, Jun and the carriers actually changed sides. The Hunter didn''t notice someone from behind the horde paying attention to it.


    Jun wanted to chase after it but saw a fireball struck the Hunter directly on its face. The Hunter''s face became charcoal as the skin and flesh were heavily burned.


    On the other side of the horde, Lynnana rode her pet dog while sending fireballs using a fire staff. Regr carriers can''t do anything with her advance, and the evolved carriers that came from other directions were being ughtered before they could evene closer.


    Lynnana started chugging on all kinds of refreshments to keep her energy regeneration high. She shed a yful smirk at Jun, then winked at him. Afterward, she tapped the neck of her pet dog and the two continued clearing the horde.


    "Family... Mother... I know that you''re already capable of surviving on your own. Should I even look for you?" Jun looked up to the clear sky. "Do you even want me to look for you?"


    The Northern Expedition was already halfway on their journey and except for the rapid consumption of rations, there have been no problems so far.


    Even if there are wicked groups who wanted to mess with them, they have to consider fighting a group of hundreds of thousands of people. No matter how brave they were, it was impossible to win that kind of battle!


    The greatest threat they had was food, followed by wild mutated animals. Unlike humans, mutated animals didn''t care for their safety and charge wildly, causing chaos all around the marching civilians.


    The north was mainly farnd and hadrge distances between cities. It was one reason for the government choosing to risk and move here. They were hoping to gather all kind of animals and be able to breed them, while also secluding themselves from the millions of poption in crowded cities.


    Hidden inside the marching group, one young man with slightly grown hair looked left and right, searching for something in the sea of people. A man around histe twenties, wearing sunsses, followed casually behind him.


    It was Edward and Matt in the middle of the marching people. Edward didn''t waste any time after arriving and immediately started searching for his family. Every time that the caravan stopped to let the people rest, he would double his efforts in searching.


    For two days, he continued searching without resting. The darkyer under his eyes continued to grow and he had no ns to stop,


    There were moments that he doubted whether he already passed them and just didn''t notice them due to not paying attention.


    There were times that he wanted to shout just to attract everyone''s attention, hopefully chancing to locate his family. Still, he kept his reason and slowly swept forward.


    Matt Rojan just kept following Edward obediently, without saying a word. He was blind and could only see the surrounding two meters around him. He could increase the range of vision, but that would upset the bnce he achieved with energy consumption and regeneration. Though he was blind and his world is filled with darkness, he knew for a fact that his savior was in a much darker ce than him.


    As a lone man even before the start, he didn''t have to worry about anything. His feelings were already sorted out, and anything thates after could easily be dealt with.


    During their stay here, there were already several mugging attempts against him, but they all failed. No matter how many people tried to gang up on him, he always manages to escape and even injure some of the assants.


    This caused them toe under the radar of the military. Edward exined his reason for being here, and they were let off with a warning. Even then, a soldier was ced on their part of the caravan to prevent any simr situations to ur.


    The caravan stopped moving and the survivors on the front became boisterous.


    "Why are we stopping? Another fight with a horde again?"


    "It''s because we''re passing another major city. There are probably several groups of refugees going to be added to the total numbers."


    "Then what about our food?"


    Hearing the situation take a strange turn, the designated soldier immediately came to patch things up. "Everyone, please rest for now while the situation is being dealt with. After the army clears all the enemies in front, we would be moving again. Every stamina you could gather back can help us move faster."


    "Hey, look! What''s that?!"


    In the distance, a pack of rabid dogs appeared and watched the caravan. With visual confirmation alone, their numbers could easily reach a minimum of fifteen and a maximum of twenty.


    After several seconds, one of the askals barked, and the others beside it wildly dashed forward, creating small dust clouds in their wake.


    The rabid dogs weren''t fully corrupted but were showing signs of mutation. Their slightlyrge build, together with the malnourished, yet agile bodies were obvious signs of mutation enhancements.


    "It looks like they''re charging right over here!"


    "Or they are just excited about seeing humans again?"


    "Mister Soldier Guy, do something! Call some backup! Are we just going to wait whether they are friendly or not?!"


    The soldier didn''t know what to do. The government''s n to fortify the front and only distribute a small number of defensive forces on the middle and the back has turned to bite their ass. Everything worked out so well, but their luck onlysted until the third day.


    If there was anything that the survivors learned by now, it was that fighting animals were far riskier than fighting carriers. Carriers have a lot of weakness and have predictable attacks, unlike animals who often rages when getting backed into a corner or when about to be killed.


    When fighting wild animals, a golden rule was understood. Kill them as fast as possible!


    The soldier walked out to the outskirts of the caravan and radioed for backup. He checked the number of bullets he had and gulped upon noticing that his current magazine wasn''t even full. He searched his inventory for another magazine and found another one that is also half full.


    "Fuck me." The soldier cursed and sighed, before kneeling and posturing to snipe the targets. "Please slow down, please stop... I don''t want to shoot you guys. Believe me, I have far better uses with my bullets than using them to you guys."


    The dogs were still 300m away but everyone was already holding their breaths, waiting for the indiscriminate shooting from the soldier.

 Chapter 354: The Meritorious Officer

    Chapter 354: The Meritorious Officer


    The askals suddenly stopped after reaching the 200m mark. At this distance, it was possible to shoot them, but the soldier kept his finger off the trigger to make sure that he doesn''t make any mistakes.


    Like all animals, dogs protect their own territory. Seeing that arge group of people came nearby, the pack of askals was just probably on a scouting mission. At least, that''s what he would like to think for himself.


    Unfortunately, not every soldier was like him. After noticing that the targets were not in motion. the requested backup from nearby quadrants started shooting at the targets.


    The pack of askals was caught off guard and were slow to react, causing several casualties. The wails and cries of pain echoed in the field together with hails of bullets.


    The soldier lowered his rifle since his support wasn''t needed anymore. As soldiers with skills rted to aiming, a 200m distance have be a piece of cake for them. Though there were chances of missing, a higher number of bullets were guaranteed to hit the targets.


    Watching the dust in the distance settle down, he witnessed something that frightened the shit out of him.


    A lone askal managed to survive and slowly stood up on its feet. It looked up and howled into the sky filled with sorrow. Its body was riddled with swollen marks, but there were no open wounds. The strengthened hide increased its resilience, allowing it to survive. Most of the blood on its body was from the dead pack members killed from the sides.


    Once it finished mourning its dead pack, it started dashing forward. With its transformed body, every step was a meter, and each second covers more than 10m.


    Everyone could see vengeance in its eye after its pack where it belonged and survived for months was ruthlessly killed. It didn''t even bother dodging and charged at the nearest group near him.


    The soldier hurriedly raised his lowered rifle. "I didn''t kill your friends! Why charge here!!!"


    He activated his skills, Body Mass, and Calm Breaths, for easier shooting. With the skills, the chance of sessfully hitting the target greatly increased. Body Mass helps automatically target the center mass of the target while Calm Breaths slow his breathing, allowing for minimal body movements converting to higher uracy.


    He burst fired and used every bullet at maximum efficiency. The other soldiers on adjacent quadrants also continued firing until their magazines ran out of bullets.


    When the rifle made clicking sounds, he hurriedly tried to reload the other half magazine but saw the area around him became shadowed. He knew that the shadow wasn''t from clouds, so he didn''t even dare raise his head.


    ng! ng!


    Sounds of metal shing could be heard. Droplets of saliva fell in front of him and bubbled on the ground.


    Filled with confusion, he slowly raised his head and stared dumbfoundedly at the huge ethereal pir stuck on the mouth of the transformed dog.


    Now that he was next to the rabid dog, he could finallypare his size to his. He was kneeling yet he could only reach up to the dog''s knees.


    His gaze met with the enraged dog, which caused the already violent animal to rage stronger.


    "Rawr! Roar!"


    It tried several times to bite him, but it couldn''t move a single inch from its position.


    Only now did he notice the ethereal ropes binding every limb of the askal. The body was caged by yellow energy and the head was trapped in ce, unable to move further.


    Footsteps echoed, followed by an anxious yell. "What are you waiting for!? Hit it! Don''t kill it though!"


    The soldier turned and saw a young man with both hands raised, arms trembling.


    "A-alright!" he faced forward, only to see someone charge forward and leap high. It was the gruff man, who always appeared poor.


    With a single leap, he was able to jump higher than one meter. After reaching his peak momentum, the man performed a roundhouse kick to the enraged askals head, causing it to whimper and fall unconscious.


    The attack seemed simple, but for knowledgeable individuals, it''s an attack enhanced by energy.Even the jump had an energy surgebined with it, increasing momentum and leaping power.


    Unlike Empower that consumes a lot of skill, the surge of energy only needs a one-time consumption to increase overall power by a small amount.


    The enraged askal fell unconscious and its transformation was undone. It returned back to its smaller self, a regr-sized german shepherd.


    Edward ran forward and fetched the unconscious german shepherd. Like every other animal, parts of its skin were already corrupted and its fur had empty patches of ck skin.


    He used healing salves and applied them to the swollen parts of its body before reaching out near its forehead. The head portion was riddled with red marks since it took the brunt of the assault.


    "What are you doing?" said the soldier.


    "I don''t think you''re blind, but just to make matters clear, I''m saving it."


    Edward didn''t turn around since he was still applying the salve, but after finishing, he stood up and surveyed the surrounding.


    Now that the rabid dog was unconscious, he could see several people eyeing the treasure in front of them. Pure breed dogs that can transform were treasures that a lot of people would fight for. They were strong creatures that could help and increase the survival of anyone by several-fold. If they could grab it and tame it, they would never have to rely on other people again for survival.


    Edward wasn''t new to this.


    The apocalypse has taught him a lot of things.


    If you want something, then fight for it.


    Sensing everyone''s intentions, Edward casually said, "I im ownership of this dog, and anyone who wants it can step forward now."


    Hearing the provocation, several buff dudes made their way closer and shoved others out of the way.


    Seeing that someone was actually going to try their luck, the crowd retreated and a small circle was naturally formed.


    The moment they entered the circle, a long rectangle appeared in front of them and spikes appeared, stabbing the sides of their necks.


    Everyone was shocked and terrified by the sudden turn of events. The challengers haven''t even done anything but the other party has already attacked. It was a bit underhanded but no one dared to talk smack.


    Edward could create shields in the 10m area around him. With his Freeform control, he could create any shape of energy to be utilized depending on the situation.


    The matter ended with civilian challengers instantly losing the will to fight. The military stepped forward just in time for another round.


    "We can''t allow you to take the dog, but we won''t take it forcefully from you. We will trade some gears for it and they''re top-quality equipment that will increase the chance of your survival."


    Edward scoffed. "Seeing how you guys treat animals, no matter how much you guys offer, I would never trade with you."


    "That''s really bad then. Pleasee with us for a moment. Maybe our boss can convince you." the soldier tried to act tough and showed his gun.


    Unfortunately, Edward wasn''t fazed. He could easily escape from here whenever he wanted. Unless the main force of the army came back here, there would be no chance he would be held up by several armed soldiers.


    Still, he decided to cause trouble because things were taking too long. His parents could be suffering somewhere in this huge caravan and here he was, ying around.


    He picked the unconscious dog using energy ropes and embraced it. If it woke up, he could easily confine it in a small energy box.


    Matt followed behind Edward and was stopped by another soldier. The soldier shook his head indicating that he wasn''t invited. He smirked then patted the man''s soldier. With a simple shove, the soldier was sent stumbling away.


    Infuriated, the soldier pulled out his sidearm and aimed forward. "Put your hands in the air and kneel on the ground."


    Matt nned to ignore him, but said, "If I were you, I''ll focus on the more important matters. Those dogs could turn any moment now, and even if they don''t, other mutations might get attracted to their bodies."


    He waved goodbye and jogged to catch up to Edward''s group.


    Along the way, they were able to see the dead bodies still not looted by the military,ying sprawled on the ground.


    After advancing more to the front, they finally reached themanding officer assigned of protecting the civilians.


    Themanding officer stared dumbfoundedly at Edward, and he could only do the same.


    "Well, well, well. What a surprise, meeting each other like this? I mean, to be honest, we really never talked much, but for starters, I''m the new Commanding Officer in charge of keeping the civilians safe. Paolo Cas at your service."


    Edward was shocked but easily adjusted to the situation. It was normal for someone meritorious like Paolo Cas to be offered a position in the government. It would be weird if he doesn''t get rewarded after all his hard work.

 Chapter 355: The Old Tiger and Old Fox

    Chapter 355: The Old Tiger and Old Fox


    "To be honest, nothing has really changed. I''m just assigned to babysit more people and had more subordinates to order around. Aside from that, I have no other powers and can''t even affect the decision-making process of the higher-ups." Meritorious


    Paolo Cas continued giving orders for volunteers to loot the dead bodies. He didn''t like chopping already dead people into pieces, so he strictly told everyone to manually loot them.


    Edward watched everything whileparing little bits from the past. "You either be the snake''s head or the phoenix''s tail. You always need to make a choice and that was your choice."


    "Yeah, back in Binangonan, no one would dare order me around, only he could do that. "


    The two remained silent until the unconscious dog on Edward''s arm started to squirm. It still remained unconscious and is only starting to show signs of waking up.


    "I was informed that someone caught the dog, and it didn''t surprise me when I saw it was you. With your power, you could easily subdue anyone if you wanted to. The military is having a hard time adjusting to close-quarterbat and still relies on firearms when things get heated up. Since you don''t need the protection of a pure dog, it would be a blessing for the government if you could sell us that dog."


    Edward stared at the battlefield kilometers ahead of them. Instead of answering the question, he decided to pose his own question. "How does the military deal with evolved carriers?"


    "Does answering affect whether you''ll trade the dog?"


    "Not really." Edward shrugged.


    Paolo Cas stared at Edward for a few seconds, before saying, "Anti-material rifles. We only have a few of them, and every shot fired was a bullet wasted.


    "We will run out of all kinds of bullets in the future and production is still a faraway dream.


    "We don''t have the proper experts, and relearning everything will take some time. Even if we managed to train some people, we have to gather all the equipment and materials in order to make a stable supply chain while maximizingbor."


    "I can trade the dog but I have several conditions. I want you to be the owner of the dog, no one else gets to bring it around. Feed it proper food instead of carrier meat. Monster meats are good choices as long as they are not corrupted. Also, I want help in searching with my family.


    "Jun already asked someone from the government to search, but I haven''t received any results. I can''t wait for long and I want it done fast. They might be suffering right now, while I live here peacefully."


    "Last but not least, if you can''t tame the dog during my stay here, I''ll be taking it back to ck Haven."


    Paolo Cas finally smiled after having not smiled for a long time. It wasn''t because he finally convinced Edward to trade, but simply due to the reason why Edward wants to trade.


    He was looking for his family!


    With this knowledge, he could use it to try and persuade Edward to switch sides. If they could find his family and treat them well before handing them back, Edward''s view of the government might change. If he sessfully convinced a powerful person to join the military ranks, he could easily be promoted to a much valuable position!


    "I want to agree immediately, but please let me consult some higher-ups first. I don''t see any problems with most of your conditions, but having a pure dog belong solely to me would be hard to stomach by some military officers."


    "If it helps, tell them I won''t trade unless you own the dog."


    Paolo Cas was shocked and slowly nodded his head. "I''ll keep that in mind. While waiting for the results, why don''t you stay in one of our tents? It will take at least half an hour before the fighting finishes and getting some rest is probably something you need."


    Edward wanted to refuse since he nned to continue searching the area, but Matt answered before he could decline.


    "We''ll dly take your offer. He really needs some rest."


    Edward turned slightly surprised and stared in confusion at Matt.


    Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Matt simply said. "Get some sleep. You haven''t slept for 46 hours. You don''t want your family to worry about you when they see you, right? Or is that what you want?"


    Paolo Cas saw Edward giving up resistance and called the soldiers that escorted the two earlier. "Take them to my tent. You don''t need to put them under surveince. Make sure they have everything they need and let them feel like they''re at their own home."


    After giving his orders, Paolo Cas bade farewell and made his way to the frontlines, summoning a bicycle from a gachaball.


    Edward got surprised, seeing Paolo Cas use a product of ck Haven.


    "What''s with that face? It''s useful so I bought one. I was once a VIP so I''m privileged to limited items, you know?" Paolo Cas shook his head and pedaled forward.


    At the operation tent found in the frontline, several generals gathered in the room. A few generals were here for strategizing, logistics, and leading the army.


    Once Paolo Cas finished narrating the previous events and the conditions to trade for the dog, he sunk back to his chair and waited for the result.


    The most senior general in the tent mmed his fist on the table. His name literally meant a hero, Bayani Guillermo. The lines of wrinkles on his forehead signifies how long he has been working for the military, while the dark circles under his eyes were proof of his dedication to working in the front line.


    "Do you even need toe here for something as simple as that?! You should have detained him and took the pure breed from him! It''s as easy as that!"


    Paolo Cas lowered his head. "I don''t have the power to do that. ording to the reports, he could freely wield energy and make them materialize in solid form. Besides, if we touch him, we also have to fight the power behind him."


    "Are you implying that we can''t win?" General Bayani red at him, then spat mockingly, "Coward!"


    "Anyone dies as long as they get shot through their head! We can easily send hundreds of snipers around ck Haven and easily kill them all if we ever wanted!"


    The tent became silent due to his wrathful voice until a calm soothing voice resounded.


    "And you think I will agree to that?"


    President Duforte watched the meeting from the side and red at the General.


    The reason for not being seated along the table was to give other Generals more seating space. If more Generals could brainstorm and n the strategy, the safer the citizens'' journey would be. As someone who graduated fromw school, he always leaves the important matter to the experts since he doesn''t know much about fighting.


    General Bayani bit his lower lip and trembled as he calmed down. "I apologize for being unable to control my temper. I hope everyone understands that leading battles in the frontline brings out unnecessary aggressiveness from anyone."


    Henderson Perez, one of the leading Generals known for his tactical genius spoke. "Still, we can''t do everything that he wants. He probably expects that we won''t give in to everything and is ready topromise on some of his conditions.


    "Since he was adamant that you must own the dog, then we can only agree that you will own the dog. However, the military will call you asionally whenever needed.


    "Regarding its diet, we can''t promise anything since we aren''t well off. In a few days, we would be practically starving. We don''t have enough time to care whether the dog''s food was corrupted or not.


    "As for the request for searching for his family, we can dy for a few weeks since there are lots of people here and we don''t have enough manpower. If he asks about citizen registration, you could just say that not everyone has registered with us. New peoplee every day and take their time to register as citizens due to long queues. During the few weeks of his stay, try your best to recruit him. For this to seed, everyone must act civilized and not do anything stupid."


    General Bayani clenched his hand, not daring to look up. He could feel several heated gazesing his way.


    "That''s my take on it. If anyone has a better idea, then feel free to add up or change anything."


    No one spoke and the matter was easily finished.


    Just before Paolo Cas left the tent, General Bayani stood up and suggested something.


    Everyone agreed and they sent Paolo on his way.


    Back at Commanding Officer Paolo Cas'' tent...


    Edward slept like a log on the foldable bed. Despite the foam being ufortable, he immediately fell asleep the moment his bodyy on the bed.


    Normally, he doesn''t need to take much sleep, but due to habits and mental fatigue, he sumbed to sleep.


    Matt Rojan remained seated at the entrance of the tent. Anyone who wants to enter inside has to go through him. This will keep people with evil intentions away while being able to train.


    While waiting for the results, he didn''t simply idle and actually trained with energy control. It was the only thing he does every day and every night. The higher his control of energy, the more agile he could be when moving around.


    Currently, he already managed to stop using a full circle of visual aura and sessfully switched to a much efficient visual aura. He only uses a constant one-meter radius visual aura to see his immediate surrounding,bined with a ten-meter long and one-foot wide visual aura. With his current level of control, he was able to make a visual radar which he can fully control.


    He uses the long sensor to scout and investigates his surrounding while the short vision for moving around, making sure he doesn''t trip on something. His blindness was practically cured and he could see better than ever.


    It doesn''t matter if it''s crowded, he could see everyone that the long sensor passes through. It was like shining a shlight on a dark forest and having a top view.


    His currentyout has the optimal consumption and he can keep it for twenty-four hours. He can even use other skills while doing so and doesn''t fear running out of energy since he only needs 40 energy points to use his own version of the visual aura.


    Higher control doesn''t only mean more skills can be activated at the same time. Excellent control over energy ensures energy loss would be kept to the minimum when it leaves the body. This is also the reason why the skill cost was so low while having great utility.


    Being blind actually helped him gain higher control over energy since he had to rely on it to see!

 Chapter 356: Visitors from the South

    Chapter 356: Visitors from the South


    The Great Walls protected was finished in a matter of days. They stood erect and regr carriers and Hunters would have a hard time climbing the walls. The wooden gates were the only weak point of the walls and unless they were able to innovate how to make a movable solid iron gate, it would remain that way.


    The garrison members have the task of defending the territory from all threats. They guard the Cemetery Dungeons and make sure the summoned carriers'' numbers are low. so no dungeon breaks ur.


    Aside from that, other members were permanently stationed at the Red Portals to guard against invasion attacks and wee random strangers,


    Additionally, they regrly visit the outskirts of the territory to make sure that no bandits would live off the territory.


    Being a garrison soldier was a tough job, but it was the easiest path for owning high-quality equipment. Since garrison soldiers were prone to battle, the management supplied them with quality equipment to make sure they survive any encounter.


    Strangers whoe and go were awestruck with their attire and weapons giving the boring job a sense of pride.


    At the eastern part of the territory, on one of the garrison''s routine checks, they suddenly encountered a group of survivors wearing casual modern clothing and big enough to fight a small horde.


    They could easily pass off as raiders if it weren''t for their innocent appearance, together with the rifles hanging on their shoulders and pistols attached on their sides.


    Anyone who has survived for this long cannot be innocent. Either they killed someone or helped in killing someone. These people appeared like a friendly group of churchgoers armed to the teeth.


    "Please stop where you''re at and introduce yourselves."


    The garrison unit spread out and stood in formation. The shieldbearers in front and the bow-users at the back. Shieldbearers have different main-hand weapons depending on their tastes. Some had swords while others hand spears.


    "Woah, woah, calm down little chicks. Why get excited when we''re here to trade? My name is Jay Herrera, the leader of the Golden Piglets. Wee from the south and we brought goods with us."


    "How would I know that they don''t like people from our town, eh?" said Jay to his members as they were locked inside a building for observation. Officers from the Monitoring Department surrounded the building, watching over them.


    The moment he finished introducing himself, the garrison soldiers turned more anxious and became extra aggressive. They were asked questions and the more answers he gave, the more difficult the situation became.


    After getting ced in observation, he found out that towns and cities on the southeast were rumored to be filled with survivors leaning toward ughter. The orders were to detain and investigate any group or individualing from that direction.


    Since he was from the ce, he could guarantee that it was a winner takes all in most cities, but there were a few exceptions. Unfortunately, it was not his town.


    Still, through cunning and innocent face, he managed to build trust and sessfully established a trading band. Taking advantage of people and hoarding resources made him rose to be an independent power.


    In times of famine, anyone who has the food was the lord. In times of poverty, whoever gives out the most money was the saint. There are different kinds of power and they could be easily grasped if you have the correct mindset. And he found his calling at that time, a friendly loan shark that everyone could go to, until the time that they can''t pay back anymore.


    People who were conned were put into service and be his goons. After epting their fates and finding that working for him was a better way of life, they fully conformed to their roles in the new society. Several people tired of ughter also joined him and now his group had eighteen people. These are the only people who survived after every battle and each had skills different from the other.


    "It looks like this is really the ce that old man told us. Every fighter is geared with excellent equipment and rules were already set in ce for citizens to follow. If we can get to partner with them then we will be rich in no time! The south would be ours!"


    A muscr guy grabbed the man''s neck from behind and pulled him back to reality. "It''s now ''we'', my friend. Please be careful with your words since unlike most people, some of our members don''t like getting associated with useless people like us."


    Currently, more than half of their current numbers were volunteers who renounced killing. It means they were veteran fighters who hate useless people who failed to even protect themselves. Survivors who can''t guarantee food on the table and were forced to submit after failing to meet their payment period.


    The useless baggage could be counted in one hand and mostly used for extra storage and misceneous work.


    Jay ignored his subordinates most of the time and tried his best to gather as much information as he could.


    He managed to find out that the soldiers that they met on the outskirts of the town were different from the ones guarding outside the building.


    In the distance, the citizens could be seen casually walking around with no worries on their faces. There were no signs of issuesmonly found in the outside world. It was as if the walls separated these people from the threat and grim reality outside.


    The more he saw, the heavier his jealousy bes. His face turned dark and he started biting his lower lip, nning something in his head.


    Several soldiers came by and introduced themselves as people from the Monitor Department. They were in charge of weing neers and doing basic checks.


    Igme Brooks gathered everyone to the center of the room and made them sit on the floor.


    "I''m Igme Brooks, the officer who will conduct filter checks to see if everyone can gain temporary ess to the town. I want everyone to cooperate fully, so we could conclude this quickly.


    "Raise your hand if you havemitted these actions and we will give you an opportunity to turn around. If you don''t raise your hands, and we found proof that you lied, we are authorized to hunt you down."


    Igme coughed and started the filtering.


    "For starters, raise your hand if you have killed other survivors before."


    The Golden Piglet members frowned upon hearing such a question. Still, the core members raised their hands, while a few timid individuals kept their hands down confused at the situation.


    Igme repeated the question once more and gave others the chance to reconsider their answers.


    When everything was set, he moved on to the next question.


    "Raise your hands if you raped anyone before. Any sort of forceful intercourse, as long as the other party isn''t willing."


    This time, the topic was too personal and a core member of the group decided to question the officer. "What is this? I thought the interrogation already ended earlier? Heh, will you kill me if I did really raped someone in the past?"


    Igme stared at him and nodded his head. "Yes. Usually, I would kill you right now, but I don''t want any blood on my hands today, that''s also one reason why I''m giving opportunities today.


    "Our territory condemns vicious sexual acts such as rape, while advocates fighting for resources. Killing isn''t frowned upon in the territory since it''s a skill needed for survival. It''s just that you have to be careful about who you touch since they may have powerful people behind them."


    "Consider us giving face to your backers. We aren''t scared of them, but making unnecessary enemies out of nowhere has never been one of ck Haven''s priorities."


    "And please don''t speak like that while in the territory. Some hardcore veterans might just kill you on the spot if they hear you speak like that. Let''s continue..."


    After rounds of filtering, the liars were kicked out of the territory while their friends who passed the assessment were allowed a temporary stay in Morong.


    Though liars were already rampant in the territory, being able to cleanse neers, especially dangerous ones, will always be a good thing.


    Jay told them to find a safe ce for now, and they''ll meet in the evening.


    Igme introduced the basic rules to Jay''s group, followed by the currency used in the territory. The new currency isn''t avable to temporary visitors since granting them ess to vast amounts of information would be detrimental to ck Haven. Once they register for citizenship and sign the binding contract, that would be the only time they would be allowed to gain a personal ount card.


    Just like how every newbie needs to exchange goods for obtaining their first ount cards, temporary visitors can only use items to trade.


    When everything was settled, Igme assigned several surveince monitors to watch them.

 Chapter 357: Radio Signals

    Chapter 357: Radio Signals


    Jay tried several times to have his group spread out but was stopped every time. Left with no choice, he led his group around and found the supermarket.


    "Use the items you have with you and buy useful things. We want weapons, armor, essories, anything unique. I''ll take care of food and healing, I heard they have good stuff around here and I hope they don''t disappoint."


    Before anyone could move from their spot, a surveince monitor stepped forward and said, "I already told you multiple times that you can''t split up."


    "Bro, I know that you need to keep the act up, bute on! We''re inside the market, inside the square! Where are we going to run? You guys can stand at every corner and you could see us from miles away."


    The surveince monitor pondered over the matter.


    The square wasn''t that big and there were not many stalls. Most people who want to earn big money sell their goods either at the Auction House or at the Marketce. Selling at those ces could earn double or triple depending on the quality and the number of interested buyers.


    The stall owners here were merchants who were trying to make a name by wholesaling. They buy goods directly from producers and sell them with a slight margin. They rely on daily necessities and forced habits hidden inside everyone''s body.


    Due to ck Haven''s monopoly on a lot of things, some of the citizens submitted several proposals to get things bnced. Merchant groups could now be registered in the Trade and Commerce Department for operating licenses.


    "Alright, but don''t try anything. You go by two''s and a monitor will follow each group."


    "Thank you, that will speed up our shopping."


    The Golden Piglet members did as they were told and spread out to cover more ground. They shopped and found stalls to their liking and bought several second-hand equipments.


    Not knowing the real market price of things, the two sides benefitted from one another.


    Jay focused on acquiring healing salves since medicine was the most expensive goods he could profit by reselling. Food was the second option, but not as important since huge factions from other cities had a monopoly over food. The market would be for small groups that have little purchasing power.


    To his surprise, he encountered a problem while wanting to buy tons of fish. The stall owner wasn''t willing to sell a bulk of his stocks to him, so he had to invest more money just to convince the owner.


    After giving a soft-bribe of several essence stones, the stall owner felt his sincerity and even granted his request to personally pick the goods himself. For the owner, fishes were fishes, it doesn''t matter if thetter chooses a fat one or a skinny one.


    Once done picking, he requested for the goods to be delivered directly to the eatern gate after getting packed into gray stic sacks. He even jokingly said that he would take everything else aspensation if they were packed in other sacks.


    Since Jay was still having a tour of the ce, the stall owner agreed for the little favor. He felt strange about him jesting about the sacks, but the thought of getting a recurring client if things went well brought him to cloud nine to nitpick on the client''s attitude.


    Jay bought two hundred fifty milk fishes and paid dozens of essence stones for this trade. The stall owner benefitted a lot and instead of feeling scammed, he had a satisfied smile on his face.


    There was nothing much to explore in the town and further exploration of other towns was prohibited. However, during this short trip, they were able to gather information through chatting with other people.


    The territory was a blessing for the people and considered the safest ce in the whole region. The government moved to the north headed somewhere safer. The next town has a dungeon that can give an infinite amount of food.


    With this knowledge in mind, everyone readily left the territory.


    On the east gate, a young man was waiting impatiently for Jay to arrive. Once the group approached near, the annoyance in the man''s face disappeared and turned into a warm smile.


    The young man took two pink stic sacks from his inventory, andy them down on the ground. "Here are your orders. Thank you for trading with us."


    Jay kept silent, then sighed. "I really like gray colors though."


    The young man became confused as to what he was talking about.


    "Tch. Let''s leave this ce." Jay took the sacks of fishes and led everyone out of the gate filled with disappointment.


    The surveince monitor transferred them to the garrison soldiers and moved on with their day.


    The garrison unit escorted them out of the territory and waited until the Golden Piglets were out of sight before returning to town.


    Everyone kept their distance from Jay since he was having a foul mood. Unbeknownst to everyone, despite the disappointment he was showing, he was actually ted deep within.


    "As expected of people, they don''t pay attention to small details! Hahaha!"


    In his inventory, two pink sacksy next to three gray sacks of fishes.


    On the other hand, the stall owner was idling on the stall when he saw a slight radiance from the side. He turned to investigate and found out that the tub of fishes next to him suddenly disappeared.


    He started shouting, causing amotion in the peaceful marketce.


    "Thief, thief! Someone stole from me! There''s a thief with invisibility!"


    The man requested help from the nearby monitors, but it was already toote and the thief couldn''t be found after searching the nearby area.


    The stall owner couldn''t me anyone since it was amon rule to protect yourself and your belongings when in ck Haven. He started to sweat when the idea of reporting the matter to the boss entered his head.


    Igme learned of the story and joined the hunt since he was the Head Monitor of this town. Showing that he was doing his work would help him get a higher position.


    One of themunity milestones of ck Haven has finally been achieved.


    Restoring the power of cell towers all over the region.


    It was one of the top requested wishes that the citizens have. After converting a lot of gas generators into energy-types, restoring powers to various cell towers became a walk in the park. People just have to maintain a daily recharge to make sure that the towers continue to work.


    Since it was a request from the people, incentives were not given out, and recharging the generators is considered volunteer work.


    Still, getting the cell towers to work wasn''t what the people expected. It didn''t give them the inte they were expecting and only allowed signals to be strengthened. Even calls couldn''t go through since other ces don''t have signals and the receiver couldn''t receive the call.


    The project was deemed a failure, but it helped open another source of entertainment for the people. Radio programs.


    Radio still works and the reactivated cell towers managed to catch the signaling from a radio studio in the capital city. A lone channel continued operating despite the situation to help alleviate stress and give hope to people who were listening.


    In his own words, "I don''t know if people are still listening, but I''ll continue operating as long as I''m alive."


    The DJ was a lone man trapped in his apartment studio and can''t get out of the capital. He doesn''t reveal his real name and only uses his stage name, FattyGen. Instead of risking his life leaving the city, he chose to continue running the station.


    His regr routine was to scavenge early in the morning and return before high noones. Thanks to his skills, which he wasn''t willing to divulge, he was able to navigate through the city.


    As time passed by, he met survivors and learned that he actually had listeners. These people relied on his encouragement to keep moving forward and survive these harsh times.


    Every afternoon, he would narrate various stories and established a fanbase. Survivors would leave written stories of their adventure and requests for help at his doorstep, together with a little bit of supplies.


    Though he repeatedly told his listeners not to do that, he was obviously ted receiving food supplies.


    The channel immediately became popr in the territory since it spoke one thing that everyone wanted to hear; hope.


    Hope was something taken by everyone by an invisible hand that no one sees. The dread and ughter presented to everyone dull everyone''s sense of hope for the future.


    Learning that other people were struggling to survive in other ces, everyone was reminded that they weren''t the only ones fighting for their life. Everyone was the same and giving up would never end well for anyone.


    With the emergence of the radio channel, a sudden surge in gadget usage urred. The demand for recharging stations suddenly spiked up.


    Survivors near the cell towers took advantage of the generators and charged their electronics there. It didn''t take long for the information to spread and everyone learned that gadgets don''t get damaged if they were charged using generators.


    Since generators at cell towers weremunity property, it became quickly popted with people wanting to charge them. With more people charging, the faster the energy gets consumed.


    Generators suddenly became a hotmodity and individuals who own a private generator suddenly found themselves in the center of a troublesome problem.


    Generators were getting stolen left and right!


    In times of unknowingness, pubs and eateries that have radios became popr and gained more customers. People would gather at these ces in the afternoon to listen to the same person, recounting stories that happened today.

 Chapter 358: Mysterious Phenomenon

    Chapter 358: Mysterious Phenomenon


    Since the initial n to re-establish a connection with the nearby regions failed, Evo devised a new n to utilize the cell towers. Once he made a n, he asked Bernard to fetch the right people for the job.


    Bernard hasn''t found a permanent way to deal with the pest problems in the farm field, but a new order came around. When he received the n, he sighed in relief since it could be easily done.


    Experts inmunication technology rejoiced when they were invited by ck Haven for a meeting. Everyone knew what they were called for, but waited until things were confirmed before rejoicing.


    When Bernard revealed the n, the experts rejoiced inside and ced their best foot forward toply with every request he had.


    The project didn''t take long to n since creating your own radio station is basically just two things: a transmitter to create the signal, and an antenna to broadcast it.


    The only problemy on the signal privacy since other people could stumble upon it, which would be solved by the experts on their own. Until they get the proper equipment, they would have to adjust to other methods.


    Bernard offered each of them a position on the radio station, which would be expanded as amunicationwork in the future. Their only goal right now is to make several channels that can be privatized to make sure no one can listen in.


    Bernard coordinated with Gina to buy materials and vacate several buildings to be turned into themunication station. She needs to convince the owners to sell their buildings and provide a new ce for them to live.


    Transmitters were something that many people didn''t paid attention to when looting. The only choice they had was to post a job post with generous rewards. The stronger the transmitter, the more generous the reward would be.


    The job post was initially viewed as another quick money by other survivors, but the smart, observant ones easily dug through the heart of the matter.


    The higher-ups want a radio of their own!


    But why?


    They tried to convince themselves for that reason but still felt something strange about it. In the end, they could only give up since they don''t have much proof.


    Maybe they just want a better signal? What kind of power doesn''t want their own radio to listen and rx to?


    With the high rewards for the job, transmitters arrived at ck Haven in less than an hour. People who were hunting and scavenging received the news and hurriedly went back to im their rewards. The radio station became operational once everything was put in ce. The experts just have to make a few tweaks on the privacy and security of the radio frequency.


    The Monitoring Department benefited the most when the cell towers were fixed. With the addition of private channels on the radio station, immediate wide-areamunication bes possible. Small radios were given to Team Leaders asmunication practice. When more radios were found in the future, rank, and files could get a chance to own one. If recruits couldn''t wait, they can own one and immediately apply for connection.


    The private channel was mainly for monitoring duties and establishing surveince security all over the territory. In terms of long-rangemunication, the forum was still the best way to contact people in another town. It doesn''t cause money and could be used by anyone. The only problem with it was the dy in reading the message. With the radios, a faster response could be seen once emergency situations erupt.


    Mobile phones that had built-in radio applications became one of the priority items for the ck Haven Scavengers. Although it was ordered to be top secret, it couldn''t be helped if a few people leaked the information.


    Night.


    The town monitors were having a st ying with the radios. Though it was called ying, they were actually radioing back and forth asking for each other''s situation. The Cardona Monitoring Branch was one of the first batches to receive the radios.


    Since the town was the main producer of food in the territory, it was natural for it to be heavily guarded with regr soldiers and reserved soldiers alike.


    "This is HQ. Are you guys sleeping? Why are you guys not answering!? How dare you guys sleep on duty. If a scourge of mosquitoes entered the town, I''ll hang your heads!"


    The officer let go of the button and waited for a reply. However, only the sound of crickets repeatedly rung in the air.


    "Wow," he eximed. "I can''t believe these guys. Are they really ignoring me now? Just because they get higher grades than me... Tch."


    In the army, the more capable you are, the closer you are to the front lines. If you get assigned to an office job, you are not expected to fight and could only support everyone from behind. No one openly discriminates about office workers, but the pride of being able to join the battlefield would never be overridden.


    The officer drank his hot coffee and yed with his hands. "This sucks. I thought it would be the best if I could work safely, but this really sucks. Should I apply for a re-evaluation?"


    Just as the officer wasmenting in loneliness, the radio buzzed to life.


    "zzlk. Hey, why did you guys suddenly turned quiet. Hello? Can anyone hear me?"


    The officer frowned. "Is this bastard ying with me? You feigning ignorance now? It''s toote to repent. I''ll make sure to get his name and have him reported for sleeping while on duty."


    The officer was about to speak on the radio when replies suddenly starteding in.


    "Hey, I thought I wrecked my radio on the first day I got it. Oh thank you, Lord, this would have cost a lot right now."


    "Aside from the idle talk, what just happened? Does anyone know?"


    The officer got dumbstruck upon hearing the series of inquiries. He only regained consciousness after the other soldiers started shouting at him.


    "Hey, HQ! Are you okay?"


    "Answer us!"

 Chapter 359: Unfortunate Head Monitor

    Chapter 359: Unfortunate Head Monitor


    The next day, the Monitors noticed that several containers of fishes have gone missing.


    The only thing they could think about was themunication disturbancest night. However, they couldn''t find anyone suspicious in the area.


    Starting then, the security around the warehouse facilities became stricter. At day, only the familiar faces coulde and go while new people had to go under stricter vetting and often times gets denied entry.


    The warehouses weren''t only owned by ck Haven since some of them were bought by trade partners of trusted families all over the territory.


    Ever since the unification of the four towns, families who have strong business minds, who were trusted and helped in the initial stage and remation, were allowed to partner with ck Haven.


    Families who specialize in poultry and other livestock were supported for a much-diversified foodwork. They were given corresponding mutated animals to breed and grow their farms.


    Themonly found chickens and pigs have received an advantageous upgrade. Their vitalities got stronger and the fertility rate increased while shockingly reducing the pregnancy time.


    Normally, a well-fed hen would produce more or less 250 eggs per year while a well-fed sow could produce 2-10 piglets per pregnancy.


    However, ording to the respected families, the mutated hens startedying eggs after 10days of getting pregnant, which usually takes 21days, while the mutated sow started birthing piglets after one month and one week of pregnancy. All the experiences they previously had as experts were overturned!


    Furthermore, every animal continued undergoing a growth period. The grown pigs also had more power and could destroy pigsty fences when they be hot-headed, which caused some casualties on the farmer''s side. Just like every animal, after tasting nirvana, they wanted to do it more. Unlike the pigs, the roosters were docile but tend to peck unfamiliar people''s heads whoe close to their henhouse. They guard their homes with full vignce to strangers.


    Since the farmers were unsure of what to do, they consulted ck Haven for instructions.


    And help was sent immediately.


    ck Haven recruits were temporarily sent over to take care of the alpha pigs and financial help was provided for better and sturdy construction of breeding bases. The money is expected to be used to improving the welfare of the animals.


    Several days passed, the theft of fish barrels continued. Takaw gotmissioned as a guard dog. Yet still, fish barrels continued to magically disappear. It became an urgent matter for the First Army since they never caught a whiff of the criminal.


    Furthermore, everything would happen when themunication disturbance urs. It was like the thief mocking everyone guarding the warehouse.


    That night, Evo came by and installed cameras inside and outside the warehouses.


    Everyone guarded as if their life depended on it. Rumors about the event were starting to spread and if they couldn''t still catch the thief, the honor of the army could get stained.


    The Head Monitor stared at the screens in front of him, waiting for any suspicious movements. The milkfish has a small chance of giving a small permanent boost on Speed stat. For that same reason, people still ate it even when they grow tired of it.


    Though you need to eat a considerable portion before getting that slight increase, an increase can still separate you from other people and make you stronger.


    The disheveled hair, the dark shadows under his eyes. The Monitor could only watch sternly since this was the first day that the CCTV cameras were installed.


    The cameras could see invisible users and could easily catch them. They tried assigning guards with ''true sight'' skills but they still failed. Skills use energy and if you run out of energy, you pass out.


    It was impossible to continuously use the skill which the thief took advantage of.


    They ced guards inside but the stench of fish was overwhelming and decided that guarding all the entrances should be fine.


    Anxious, he suddenly saw a shadowy figure appear on the edge of the screen. It was inside the warehouse. The warehouse was filled with fish barrels and only the center aisle could be used as a pathway.


    He inched closer and grabbed the radio by the side while tapping his thighs,


    Anytime now, he would know whether it''s the thief or just his eyes ying tricks on him.


    Then something unexpected appeared.


    Takaw wandered aimlessly, then yawned. He sniffed the air and suddenly started growing. He transformed to his overgrown form noiselessly and bit a fish barrel, swallowing everything in one sweep. His tail wagged excitedly as if thrilled about the vors exploding through his mouth.


    The Head Monitor clutched his head and started chuckling. Now that he thinks about it, Takaw oftenes here every day. It was also for that reason that he insisted Takaw should be a guard dog for tonight.


    "So it wasn''t a thief... Well, in a sense, but he''s the Big Boss''s pet, so there should be no issues, right?"


    He grabbed his radio and made his way to the warehouse while announcing the conclusion to his subordinates.


    It was all a ruse. It was impossible to catch a thief when there''s none in the first ce. The thief that they were looking for was the friendly neighborhood dog thates and goes wherever he pleases.


    The moment the officer stepped out of the office, a silhouette appeared from the corner of the screen. From the front entrance camera, it could be seen that silhouette passed by the door guards but wasn''t noticed, since they were busy discussing how Takaw was actually the one they were searching for.


    Takaw watched the figure walked to the back of the barrel piles, and shook his tail. Once he realized that he got ignored, he snorted and made his way out of the warehouse as he transformed back to his smaller self.


    A cute little munchkin that would hop around, chasing blood-sucking mosquitoes.


    The next day, the same thing urred again and the Head Monitor resigned to take responsibility for a false report that imed that there was no thief.


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