《A Hard Game (Dropped)》 Beginning Beginning Von had planned himself a long and relaxing holiday. He looked forward to it for quite a long time now and had done all possible preparations. However.. nothing could''ve prepared him from the scene before him. Complexions of panic and fear spread towards every person as a sudden explosion invaded everyone''s ears. The cries of children followed, fueling the brewing panic inside the plane. All excitement was wiped away as a sudden change of pressure brang a feeling of nausea within everyone present. Von ignored the cries of fear and moved quickly. He fastened his seat belt and placed his arms on the chair in front.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. His lips arched down, much like the plane he was on. Everything went downhill before it even started. The plane he boarded was originally heading to China. However, in an instant it had changed its course to death''s gate. Not a single person had the chance to even grasp the entirety of the situation. No warnings or signs, it just happened out of nowhere. Von set his gaze through his window with a heavy heart. What he saw could only be described with on word. Chaos. The engine was on fire, the wings were bent beyond repair and the little chunks of metal still intact to the plane chipped away each passing second. The clouds scattered away from the wrecked aircraft as it''s trajectory slowly changed from an arc to a perfect vertical line towards earth. With his fingers on his hair and palm on his eye, Von sighed. Everything he had prepared for and looked forward to was instantly shattered like glass. In the end, it started with something he hadn''t expected.. Death. .. .. ... ... But.. It wasn''t the end Survival Von''s eyes softly fluttered open. He looked around dazedly, subconsciously trying to move his body. this focused him to one point, there was something wrong. Frustratingly, his body was unable to move without giving in to the tearing and aching pain. He gave up on that. Knowing that he wouldn''t be able to move for a while, Von investigated his surrounding. He knew everything was a mess even without looking but upon investigating closer, he felt dread as sharp and blunt heavy pieces of metal laid around him, any of those could have left him far worse than he was currently had it landed just a bit over to him. If not death. Pushing his broken luck to the back of his mind, Von recalled his memory to get a grasp on what had happened to get him in this situation. ''Plane crash...'' Scenes of the passengers screaming in horror as with the plane erratically arc to earth flashed through his mind. Von let out a steady breath, "I survived.." Von vocalized tiredly, that along with his had lid eyes and relaxed facial expression made one wonder whether or not Von actually realized how crazy of an achievement that was. In truth, Von was a person that got through life with a constant feeling of tiredness and sleepiness. Often causing him trouble with day to day life. Have you ever fell asleep while walking? Von did, daily. That was day to day life. Now compared to something like this.. It''s considered lucky that Von actually woke up rather than sleeping to death. With a better understanding of is situation, Von Focused his eyes further from his area, aside from the beautiful starry night, large red flames engulfed the broken head of the plane. The rest were the same, scattered pieces of metal along with a few chairs and bags. Von closed his eyes, he had to move. And while the temptation to sleep for a bit came to mind, Von knew that he had to take action. If he didn''t, forget about ''a little bit'', he''d be sleeping forever. He could feel it, the wounds in his body were screaming at him, if he didn''t get treated soon he would die in less than two days. Von suddenly flinched as waves of pain constantly moved through his body, just thinking of the wounds made him more conscious of how painful it is. Von took deep breaths, and lethargically opened his eyes. He grabbed a broken luggage pole next to him and supported himself. He needed something to do to distract himself from the pain. He had two goals: Temporarily treat his injuries and contact outside help. The first was to ensure that he would be able to make it through the second day while the second was to get himself out of here. Other needs such as food and drink can come after. ... Fortunately, Von had some luck with his first goal as he stumbled to a bag full of medical equipment. A doctor wasn''t really something Von took interest in, so he had none the slightest idea on what the equipment did, much less operate it. One thing he did know how to use though, was the rolls of band aid. Upon finding the roll, he had immediately applied it to areas in his body leaking of blood and possible injuries that might get worse. As the leaks were not at a critically dangerous point, he had a few rolls to spare just in case some areas might get worse by movement.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The second objective wasn''t as smooth as he had originally thought. Not because he couldn''t find any type of devices useful for communication, but because all of them lacked signals. He bought the cluster of devices to many locations and all failed to even get the lowest signal. Although he was disappointed at the lack of results, he had decided to bring the few smart phones with him, for backup flashlights. Because while he did find an actual flashlight from one of the luggage, the only thing lighting this place as of now was the dying flames far from him. It didn''t hurt to bring a few in this type of environment. That brang Von to his current situation. Food and water. At this point Von, had his eyes a tad short from closing as fatigue overpowered the recuperating pain. What he had to do before resting was to make sure his body had the sufficient supply to stabilize his conditions. Now, Von knew from the fact that the flames were still burning that the crash didn''t happen too far from the time he woke up. That meant food that possible passengers or the plane had would still be edible. All he had to do now was look for it through the mess of parts scattered around him. ... Chips, nuts, and a few boxes of food were all he could gather in one hour. This was more than enough to Von. He had quickly consumed through it until he was a bit short from full. A few may argue that he should save all he could but, Von knew that he had to recover from his injuries and have enough energy for the coming days. Due to lack on contact to anyone outside, Von knew that he was either far from any known civilization or there could be possible interference from the broken plane. He wasn''t sure. But he did know that it could take days or even months for possible scouts to find the plane. He had to maintain his condition then and do as much as he could. Even prepare to move if none came. Von would leave a big sign of his direction then. After that.. Well... Von left that for tomorrow. All his energy had been used through out the day. To think that he actually managed to stay focused and not fall asleep was a question to Von. As serious as this may be, Von had times where he had managed fall asleep during final exams of university. He had basically ignored the mood of the serious occasion as well as the mind pressing question from the exam. Though, Von still blamed the window next to him for producing such a vibrant breeze and a matching view. Sadly, his results didn''t accept proper reasoning. Everyone knew what he got that test.. Releasing a small smile from the memory, Von leaned his back to the sturdy jet engine behind him and closed his eyes for what he thought as the final time today... Von had missed one thing though, The engine behind him was still connected to the ''Auxiliary Power Unit'' although it wasn''t as powerful as the main battery that blew up during the landing, it was still enough to provide sufficient electrical charges to kill a person. In a scene of bizarre occurrences, charges of electrical currents began to seep out from the power unit and headed straight to Von. Von didn''t even get the chance to grasp what had just happened, only managing to jolt up in surprise before larger currents followed from the first. The charges lit up the surrounding in a flashing soft yet sharp blue light. With it came a loud torrent of electricity that filled the quite night. By the time it had ended, Von laid motionless onto the cold ground. Encompassing his body was the serene quietness of the night and and the soft light of the stars above. !_Sufficient supply provided_ Please wait... Booting now... City of Ruins The cold surface of the ground underneath Von registered on his mind as his dozy eyes opened. ''Sunrise..?'' The horizon gave off a vibrant orange hue as the clouds, skies and surface took in a similar color. Von picked himself up the ground and cleared the dirt he had accumulated during his sleep. His eyes turned toward the horizon, bringing a feeling of calmness. His irises unfocused as he recalled what had occurred last night Flashes of the night replayed in Von''s head. He had clearly got struck by multiple strong electrical current last night, so how is he sitting here alive and well? What made it stranger was that the currents last night seemed to have targeted him. It didn''t disperse in many direction, nor explode. Instead, it had accurately struck him. He also did not have anything on him that could have attracted it... Von''s eyebrows furrowed in concentration as trains of questions and thoughts bugged him throughout the morning. Yet no matter how hard he thought, there were just too many questions and too little answers. Von reverted to his usual tired expression as his eyes lazily drooped lower than normal. "... Oh well" Von had too many things that needed his attention to keep wasting his energy on the endless cycle of thoughts. He simply opted on staying away from those engines for now. ... It was time. Von had waited long enough for any possible rescuers since he had gotten here one week ago. Not a single one had passed by. He had also used his time to try and get any signal from higher locations of this area, but also had no success. He even found a few more phones to try with during that time. His supply of food and water also slowly declined. Not because he couldn''t find any, but because most food rotted during this time. Not to mention that many had been cracked and sent to the ground. This could also be the reason to why he noticed the numbers of bugs and insects increasing lately. Von secured a bag full of necessities for survival on his back. The food and water would last him enough for a week and if he tried, maybe two weeks. Von double checked everything on his bag. He didn''t want to regret anything later. Von wasn''t too excited, he would of preferred getting out of here and having lots rest, but it just seemed like that dream wasn''t gonna happen anytime soon.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Von left with a tired sigh. Hopefully it wouldn''t take long to find anything of resemblance to society. ... Von wiped his forehead as he gazed at an outline of a relatively large city not farm from him. ''It''s only been two days..'' While the results were seemed great at first, this was a bit too good. Roughly, Von could feel that he had at least traveled 100 km. Maybe more. And while that may seem like a large distance, he didn''t think it was out of the city''s range of detection. It was rare that nobody had actually noticed the large aircraft. Especially at this age where everyone was paranoid of missiles and nuclear bombs being launched by other countries. Von frowned, but kept walking. There was nothing he could do about it now. ...A choice he may regret later Not an hour later, Von had finally approached close enough to see everything about the city. "What..?" Von''s tiredness was immediately wiped away as the sight in front totally bewildered him. It was a disaster. A large one. The houses, roads, buildings, everything, was filled with blood as people seemed to mindlessly limp all over the place with with no clear direction. The tall buildings at the center of the city seemed to have been through something equally terrifying as many windows were broken as collapsed to other floors, as if it a large weight had been put through it. Von stared, dazed at the city''s state. "..." Von stopped, he could hear footsteps.. Von''s raced before rushing towards the building closest to him. Even though he didn''t know what happened to this place, he knew those people were no good signs. The blood scattered on their bodies just screamed ''danger!'' in his mind. He didn''t plan on getting close to any of them anytime soon. Just as Von was about to breath out in relief, a growl behind him notified him of another one. Von quickly turned.. Towards the person, it starred at him in hunger as it opened its mouth to take a bite of him. Milliseconds passed through Von''s eyes as he pushed his legs as hard as he can towards the opposite direction. However, it seemed to make no difference as its teeth got closer and closer. Von smelt its disgusting breath and felt its rough flesh. There was no way he could escape this. Its mouth quickly clamped close to Von''s neck as it''s rejoiced at the meal. However before it could take it''s first bite, a surge of power traveled through Von''s body as he was launched meters away from his position in an instant. [ Systems activated_ ] [ 62% of power supply used.. 38% remaining_ ] Von didn''t get any time to read the weird panel that had appeared in front of him as he was sent rolling away from the building uncontrollably. Fortunately, Von managed to get his grips back as he ignored the floating panel as his eyes focused much clearly on the his opponent. It was the same, bloody clothes and a broken mouth leaking of more blood. Von took a deep breath in, turned and... Ran away.. ... Von caught his breath inside an abandoned house. During his way here, he had encountered more of them and had come close to alerting it of his presence. It was lucky that he had not come close to larger groups as his stamina was not something even comparable to average. "Now.." Von gazed at the panel he had ignored. The text were arranged like scripts as a dark square framed the texts. Von closed his eyes and sighed tiredly... He knew where this was going to. System "What are you?" Von gazed at the panel, not expecting an answer. [ Host may call me System. System is a tool that may support host in countless situation. ] Von''s eyebrows raised. That was unexpected, it looked like this System was conscious enough to answer his questions. ''Script, maybe?'' Von figured Von stared at the panel once again, it was the only proof that showed that this system was real. "Okay, how exactly did i become the host?" [ The system was created by an infamous scientist from another universe. Due to circumstances, the system was forced into a portal and was incidentally sent to the current host. However, upon arrival the system once again transported host and the system to parallel universe, expending the emergency power supplies in the process ] Everything was explained by the system''s monotone voice Von couldn''t help but sigh, the week''s experience really felt surreal. It all seemed like it came out of a fantasy setting, but no matter how hard he pinched himself, this was undoubtedly reality. "... Then why was the plane transported as well?" Certainly, the lack of bodies could be explained. But he wondered why the plane was also brought along. [ Transporting doesn''t take energy, creating the portal does. This reason is why the system concluded to transporting the plane along with host ]Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Von nodded understandingly, so it wanted the power supply. "That makes sense.." [ Reminder! Currently, system is running on a backup supply! Mission has been created ] Along with this panel came another, [ ''Mission: Locate source of energy!'' The conversion will be handled the system Rewards: Higher function unlocked ] Von scanned through the panel, and paused to think ''If the system''s story is true and from what I''ve seen so far... I think it has the capabilities to secure my survival if i get it back to an optimum state'' "..." Von decided. His goal was to restore the system and find out what this disaster of a world he landed in had in store. ... Von searched through the surrounding of the shopping center up ahead. Although it was flooded with zombies, its sheer size told him that the center must have everything he needed. ''Since i''m at the outer layer of the city, it''ll take time to get to the center. I should prepare myself for the horde there'' Von thought, imagining how such a high density area may have fared with the apocalypse. Despite that huge possibility that it would be infested with millions of zombies, Von was set on going. If he can make it through this, he was sure to come back with the city''s power grid. Von shook his head and looked at the cluster of zombies ahead. Griping an empty can of soda tightly, Von thought, ''These zombies are a lot similar to what i read online, specially such an eye glaring weakness '' Von threw the can away from the shopping center. Producing a crisp ring through the quite area. Every zombies turned their heads towards the sound in sync, before rushing towards the can like maniacs Von smiled in victory, "Bye~" Von muttered before entering through the now-empty-entrance in caution. Rows of stores were lined up while the building stretched into the distance. Von paused, it looked like he was above an underground floor. He walked to the railing, And sighed, he was right. He could probably find everything he needed here. "This might be a little difficult" Von whispered to himself, blankly gazing at the zombies scattered everywhere If he made it out alive. Shopping Center Von''s heart felt heavier at each passing second as he gazed at the sheer amount of zombies within his view. For every ten meters of distance at least four zombies were idly wandering around under the faint light of the sun above the glass curved roof. Von breathed in and out consciously, trying to stay calm and composed lest he attracts the attention of the horde. His breathing became rhythmic as his sharp eyes flickered on all directions, searching for any possible pathways to a safe zone. Von''s eye lit up upon spotting a small empty clothes store up ahead. it looked like he had to some how get around the zombies on the pathway or rush though them. "Rush in or sneak in.." Von quietly contemplated his options Von ruled out on forcing his way in for obvious reasons. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.''It doesn''t look like there are other ways to get there.. And I don''t think the previous trick would be a wise choice either'' Von had already considered that not all zombies may just rely on ears, a few may actually have the ability to use other senses without a problem. If he were to attract such zombies here, it would undoubtedly alert the rest of the horde towards him. Even if there were no such zombie, a single mistake on his part may lead to the gathered horde to completely wipe him out. "I guess it''s time to use those.." Von gazed at the zombies blankly and whispered to himself. ... Von sighed tiredly after sneaking around and setting up every item required for the plan. He stared at the shopping center from afar after quickly confirming that everything was prepared. "10.. 9.. 8.. 7.." Von''s stare stayed as he begun to countdown from ten. The heads of every zombie snapped towards a certain direction as a sudden ding invaded the ears of every zombie within the shopping center after Von called out the final digit. The scattered horde around the shopping center started gathering towards the source of the sound until pushing and close contact became univatable. The crazed mobs eerily seized moving after the sound abruptly stopped. It looks like that the sound, from an alarm actually broke due to the hectic pushing of the horde. Von''s boorish eyes didn''t change. Suddenly, another series of sound came from another alarm not too far from the previous one. This kept repeating, each time getting closer to the exit until finally. They had gathered around a loud siren of a car far from the shopping center. Von didn''t let the chance out of his grasp and reached the entrance in an instant. He looked at the empty place from left to right upon entering without looking back. Equipment Von had a list of things he needed. First was clothing, he hadn''t had the chance to change his clothes since the plane crash after all. He may not be a girl but, he had his needs. Von had thoroughly searched the clothing shop and found the appropriate clothes for the upcoming storms. It included a comfortable black shirt, a long sleeved jacket that was too big for his size, highly elastic pants and a pair of boots with light metal plating. Von looked at the mirror and nodded. This was the best light weight combination he could get from the choices he had. He tidied his messy hair and set out again. This leads to the next thing Von needed, weapons. He''s been dealing with those zombie indirectly but he knew that direct confrontations can happen any time. Von smiled lightly as he spotted a cold weapon section inside a large market. He quietly browsed through the stock, hoping no left out zombies would notice him. After a bit of contemplation, Von picked three things, a standard combat knife, a slim machete closely resembling a katana and a pair of black gloves with metal plating that matched his boots. Von examined his choices and smiled. It felt light yet durable. He found it very suitable for him. Von picked up a random knife and threw it in the open. He crouched as the knife collided with the ground. A groan was heard followed by a series of steps. Von''s eye lit up "I knew it" Von exclaimed quietly. It seemed like he was gonna need to be careful as a few zombies may have stayed behind, just like the one in front of him.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Von waited to see if there were more and was relieved that it was the only one. He locked his eye on the zombie before launching himself as fast as he could with his slim machete in hand. His shot towards the zombie''s head like a whip and swiftly cut through it like water melon. Von breathed in as he put the machete back in its sheath. It was his first time killing a zombie by hand and also his first at wielding a weapon. If anyone were to witness the smoothness of Von''s action, they would probably argue otherwise, but it was the truth. He only visualized the movements from countless fantasies he read and was able to achieve his water-like calmness due to his familiarity towards these kind of situations in novels. Von''s eye moved away from the corpse and straight towards the exit. It seemed like these knowledge had come to use in this world. ... Von came out from the shopping center after acquiring some canned food and storing it inside a small backpack. He made sure to look around before heading out, after finding that the horde was still loiting around the vehicle, Von ran and arrived at a nearby car dealer. The place was relatively fine and didn''t have any zombies. At least from what he saw. Von chose to visit not just to get a vehicle, but to fulfill his first mission, locate an energy source. He had previously thought of getting it from the shopping center but had forgotten due to focusing on the zombies. "This place should have enough to boot up and power the system longer than last time" Von hoped that he would unlock a useful function from the system and was eager to finish the objective. Von found the electricity cables leading to the power storage of the building after a bit of searching. He wasn''t exactly sure on how to proceed so he asked the system. [ Connecting... ] [ Connection stabilized! Transferring energy now! Please place your palms in front of your body ] Von did as instructed and placed his palms open in front of him. Electricity from the power supply suddenly jumped towards his palm like lightning as a foreign feeling spread towards his body before travelling towards his head. [ Transfer complete! First battery core: 96% ] System upgrade Von resisted the urge to move throughout this process, afraid that he could interrupt something delicate. He finally breathed out in relief when the electricity shrieked until dissipating. Von stared at his hand in awe before exhaling as he moved his gaze at the panel he had missed. [ First battery core: 96% ] Question immediately rose in Von''s head upon reading the panel. "System, please tell me what a core is and how much there is" Von could guess what the core meant but decided to ask anyway. [ A core is used to store energy. There are currently one core present, host may upgrade this number with enough resources ] Von began to think. This much usage was too little. When the system saved him, he remembered that it had consumed more than fifty percent of usage alone. "When can I get a new core?" [ Requirement: 100% First battery core ] "Right.." Von shook his disappointment away and focused on what he got from his mission. [ The following features may be unlocked: Spacial space, Hardware tree, Shared energy ] [ Unlock now? ] Von read through the panels and clicked ''yes'' without hesitation. Another panel followed. The format was a lot similar to window''s command prompt as codes flashed through the screen faster than he could read. Luckily a hint was shown below. [ Implementing features. Please wait.. ]Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. [ Warning! Host may be subjected to pain due to reconstruction of the system ] Von had a bad premonition the instant he read the first words of the new panel. Not two second after reading this, Von felt a sudden jolt in his head which quickly surged to the rest of his body. He felt a painful sensation all over as electricity current flowed erratically inside his body. These experiences seemed to be related to the next panel as changes to his body was represented to a percentage by the system. Von''s eye couldn''t help but twitch at the crawling progress [ 1%...2%.....3% ] It rose very slowly. However, Von could do nothing but frown in pain. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe, he felt the sense of pain as a whole and... Looked at it blankly. There were no thoughts, only an indifferent yet serene stillness. A few minutes passed in this state until the percentage had reached a hundred. Von struggled to breath at the end of it, he felt completely tired as if the process had taken a large bite of his energy. Despite this, his sleepy eyes revealed a trace of joy. He asked the system on how to proceed which gave a new panel [ Simply say or think of ''menu'' and a list of tabs will open ] Von did as follow and got a list options [ Menu: Spacial space, Hardware tree, Shared energy ] Von''s fingers hovered on the panel and immediately reviewed each section. At the end, he was more than happy at what he got. Spatial space was as he expected. It gave him something akin to a pocket that can be used to store just about anything. What was nice about it besides being absolutely overpowed was that it preserved anything that was inside by halting time. Useful for survival. The Hardware tree didn''t lack in quality compared to the spacial space. It was a progressive upgrading tool that developed the system into specialities. For example, he could dedicate his time to upgrading his energy supplies and it would eventually branch of to energy efficiency, amount, and absorption rate. However this, didn''t limit other options. It simply requires energy from the cores, given the sufficient amount, you can build just about every possible trees. "So much potential.." Von''s eyes sparkled as he gazed at the number of trees he could build. However, that wasn''t the only one with many possibilities. Shared energy is exactly as it says, he could now manually use the stored energy from the cores as his own through the newly constructed circuit frame on his body. This allows him to manipulate the energy as he wished. Whether that be strengthening, reinforcing use of techniques or projection. However while the system''s description did say a lot of positive things about each section, all of it didn''t come without a prize. He needed energy. A lot more than what he has now. A Small Mistake Without Von''s realization, the sun had disappeared from the sky during the upgrade. He looked far ahead, towards a set of buildings, they were much larger than the ones around him and displayed signs of light. He was looking at the center. Von then realized something. He knew that the breakout hadn''t happened too far from he he arrived, so there shouldn''t be too much casualties just yet. That meant more survivors, and while he hasn''t had the chance to encounter anyone, it meant that it was possible that they could be depleting the power plant by the use of necessities. Not to mention the things people may have left to it''s own during the breakout. "I need to hurry.." Von said to the to himself seriously. The more time he wasted, the less energy he gained from the power plant. Although the skies was covered in nothing but darkness, it couldn''t hide a sharp glint of light reflecting from Von''s eyes. "I need to set up the final preparations" Von sighed and started moving. Von got up in after a night''s rest at a small house next to the car dealer. He was lucky to find that the shower was in perfect condition and set out feeling refreshed. "What i need now is a vehicle" Von was standing inside the car dealer once again and was contemplating on what to get. He thought of getting a motorcycle but crossed it out due to it''d deafening engine. Using that would be suicidal. He wondered around for a bit and found a map-poster nearby for tourists and highlighted the path towards the city, Shanghai. That was another thing he had found out. This world actually closely resembles earth to the point that it had the same basic geography, popular landmarks and names. That was very welcomed to Von though, the little knowledge he had prepared about Shanghai for his holiday may just be useful. Von decided to go with a car as the roads seemed clear enough to drive through. It was also quite desolated as the road was mainly for traveling. He should be able to cover enough distance without encountering a heavy amount of zombie or a traffic of ditched cars. He mounted a bike in the backseat, just in case he needed it when he had to abandon the car and put his bag in the front seat. He ripped off the map from the wall and placed in inside the car before leaving. ... The trip was as quite and peaceful as he imagined. There were a bunch of towns he had to pass through but most of his time was spent looking at grass,trees and farms. It was also a bit funny to see animals like cows and horses eating grass like usual in such a crisis. Maybe it was because he hadn''t had the time to properly ingest the changes but he found the ride relatively peaceful. He just played some songs saved on the phones from the plane crash and sat alone for the whole day, thinking to himself. He found himself wanting to sleep on many occasions but motivated himself by thinking of the power plant''s level drooping each second. It was a few miles after he had reached the highway towards the entrance of Shanghai that he had to either abandon the car, find away around or drive off-course. Driving off-course wasn''t an option. This was because the entrance he was on was on a highway levitated at-least four floors above earth. Getting around it was also out of the idea as other entrances are too far from where he was.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He either had to go through the highway with his bike or somehow make it down and find another car. "I should maybe try out the new function, Shared Energy" Von truly was lacking time. The rush of power plants depleting forced him to leave quickly, not giving himself enough time to practically familiarize himself with the new functions. He did browse through the hardware tree, store a few things like clothes inside his spatial space and play around with the shared energy during the day but that was about it. Von got out of his car, stored his bag and bike inside the spacial space and walked towards the sideline of the highway. "It''s really high.." Down below was a series of old buildings closely constructed next to each other and a long walkway separating the land from the sea across. He was probably in a traditional part of the city. What was probably the most eye-catching and heart shaking thing he saw was the zombies numbering in the thousands, at least. Ignoring the zombies, What caught Von''s attention after was the power lines interconnected with each other. "I can probably use that to charge the first core if I end up depleting more than I should.." Well, that is if it was working. One broken line could could end up destroying many after all. Von looked around for a safe area to land, the buildings below were too small and crowded for a clear landing, a small mistake may lead him crushing his bones and head around the buildings. Oh, and let''s not mention the zombies too. After a short search, he found a basketball court surrounded by tall fences, complete void of zombies inside. It was below the highway, a bit over fifteen miles from where he was. It wasn''t that hard to see that far out as the road was perfectly straight. Von took out his bike and started pedaling towards the it. Luckily, the highway didn''t seem to have too much zombies, this was most likely due to public panic attracting the infected, leading the zombies away. Von yawned and smiled, "The wind is soo relaxing.." Von''s eyelids closed for a second, he really was exhausted. He may not have realized it but, the past events really has taken a toll on him. Especially adapting to it. And so he couldn''t help it anymore, he closed his eyes and.. fell completely asleep. However, this relaxing sleep didn''t seem to last more than a few seconds as his bike steered out of his control. Bang! Von''s hairs stood. He jolted up and looked around with hazy eyes. His brain started reactivating and began to process his senses as fast as he could. Then he heard it. The screeching alarms of at-least three cars unreservingly attracting the attention of something very dangerous, zombies. Von began to hear a number of groans increasing each second. Von''s heart pumped heavily as zombies from below started climbing the bridge using each other as ladders. Von''s head stopped, then ran at light speed he forced his heavy body to move, but it wouldn''t. It was the shrilly screams of zombies that spilled his mind with cold water. He didn''t wait for the next wake up call- no, death''s call to move. He ran without looking back at all. The zombies started running after him as new ones climbed the highway up ahead. Von steeled whatever was left of his mind and pulled out his machete, he wavered for a second as the zombies behind and in front of him inched closer. But his body completely ignored his fears and kept running full speed. Just as he was about to collide with the zombies, he swung his machete back and slashed his path clear of zombies. He felt the foreign energy flow through his arm and legs as blood tainted the air. [50% Remaining] Von Slashed and slashed with his life on the line, desperately holding it as much as he could. His arm and legs started burning but he didn''t notice. He kept slashing, cutting everything that blocked his path. [20% Remaining] His sword started cracking as his limbs started scorching from the pain. Yet he kept going, not slowing down in the slightest. [10% Remaining!] The percentage turned red in warning as it decreased steadily. But Von didn''t stop. His eyes flashed towards the basketball court and with a final burst of power he pulled back his sword, crouched and pushed off the ground as hard as he could. His sword cut through the horde with ease. He felt the arms of the zombies brush his back before jumping one final time off the highway. Encounter Inside an arcade building, the sound of rhythmic breaths reverberated as loud pounding bangs were heard from a metal wall. The door separated an outdoor basketball area full of zombies from the building. Von ignored the zombies outside after confirming that that they couldn''t break through the door. He took deep breaths as he felt his body ache from the his unrestrained use of energy. He had probably torn a few muscles after putting his body through such an immense flow of power. He also felt his wire-frame burn after transferring large surges of it in a short period of time. It was similar to electronic devices. His body was the hardware and the energy was electricity. Supplying the hardware with constant voltage will cause it to overheat and damage the hardware, that is if it doesn''t have a fan. Luckily he was made of flesh so the only side effect was pain. However pain was pain and there was a limit to how much a person could take before completely succumbing to the request of of sleep. "I don''t have much time.." Von grit his teeth as his eyebrows lowered in effort. Collapsing on the floor would only give him more pain the next morning, as someone who sleeps more than fifteen hours a day daily, he knew the troubles of stiff sleeping postures. He needed something soft. So he looked around the arcade, his eye passing through the darkly lit room. The only thing that really illuminated this place was the moonlight coming from the windows on the front. The zombies there didn''t seem to have noticed the noise behind him so he was safe for now.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Walking limply, Von marveled at the arcade stands around him. It looked like that even classic games like Pac-man and modern rhythmic games had a big impact in this world. "I wonder if this arcade still has access to the energy services" He had noticed that his core''s supply has crossed the ten percent mark and hoped that he could at least gather fifty percent. That is, after his wire-frame cools down. He would only collapse if he did it now. After walking around for a bit, he came across to what looked like a master room. The door was also made of metal and was extremely tough. He tried to open the door but was unable to. Von contemplated whether or not he should break through it but decided against it. Doing that would require energy from the core as he felt like his body would shut down from one push up. Using energy was also not practical. Like he had said, his wire-frame was under intense pain right now, applying more energy would only make him collapse on the floor. Not to mention that his supplies were extremely low right now. As Von was thinking of a way around the door, he saw a tiny figure behind the window of the door stare at him. The figure was that of a small boy. The boy''s face and hair were a mess as it was covered with dirt. Yet the boy didn''t mind his appearance and stared at Von with blank eyes. Von also gave a blank look, albeit a more tiredful one. The boy spoke first, "Why are you here" The boy said bluntly, less of a question and more of a demand. "To rest" Von was also blunt, he was really tired. .... The two stayed silent, each not knowing what the other was thinking. The boy glanced down, "There''s a floor right there" He said as if it were the most obvious thing Von looked past him, "There''s a bed there" He countered back ... Silence once again. Von sighed, he was just too tired "Can you at least give me a blanket?" Von asked .... The boy looked at him for a few more seconds before stepping back. He came back with a spare pillow and blanket before opening the door and closing it quickly after tossing it towards Von. "Thanks.." Von said with a weak smile before collapsing towards the pillow and sheets. Ku Triel Von stretched his back and limbs with a yawn. He looked towards the door tiredly, realizing what happened last night. He wondered whether the boy had some kind of caregiver. It was worrying for a boy that looked no more than seven to be alone after all. Especially with zombies walking and growling everywhere. Von shook his from the thought for now and stood up. He took out his bag and ate a can of food from his backpack. He thought of giving some to the boy but quietly shook his head after seeing him sleeping peacefully. Von sat on a nearby table after finishing his food and took out his map. There were more than twenty major power plants around Shanghai alone, each capable of storing at least a million worth of car batteries. With that much supplies.. he was sure to form his second core, if not third. He started marking the location and path of the closest power plants. Each location wasn''t that far off with each other and was at most, a two hour drive. As he was thinking of possible dangers he may encounter on the path, Von heard something not to far off from him. He raised his eyebrows after spotting the boy staring at the empty can of food through the door. He waved his hand awkwardly and got the boy''s attention. Although the boy tried to neutralize his expression, Von didn''t fail to notice the boy''s intense craving for food. "Want some?" The words were like heaven to the boy''s ear. He stiffly nodded. After smiling at the boy''s meek response, Von took out a few more canned food from his bag. "Here" He reached his hand out. The boy hesitated for a second before opening the door and rushing towards him. ....... "So.. What''s your name?" Von asked. Eating was always a good time to ask question after all. "Ku Triel.." The boy, now Ku said sidedly. Preferring more on eating the food in front of him. "Are you alone?" Ku paused for a second, his food falling out of his spoon. His eye shone from a build of tears before nodding softly. "I see" Von expected something akin to this reaction. He knew asking further about the topic would be insensitive right now and replied with a gentle tone.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Von let the silence seep in for a second before asking one final question. "Will you need the power supply?" "No..?" Ku looked at him weirdly after wiping his eyes quietly. Though, he ignored it after indulging himself on the food again. Von only smiled slowly. "I''ll be back" ..... [Energy core: 76%] After going through the same process again, Von was left with a decent amount of energy. This time he was also more collected during the process. Now a second passed after the process until he was hit with this panel. [Self healing skill available!] This was something he was pleasantly surprised to find. Although he had an idea to what this meant and was exited, Von went through the details of the skills slowly and found that it was as he expected. It was as self explanatory as he thought. What the skill does was accelerates the speed of which the body heals itself through the consumption of energy. Von was eager to get rid of the pain from yesterday and was able to execute the skill after simply thinking of using it. [Calculating energy required...] [Energy required: 15%] After waiting for a few second, the previous panel changed into the results. He was then prompted whether to continue on, to which he accepted. Although Von expected to feel something, he still couldn''t help but be surprised as a feeling of warmth spread towards his torn muscles. Von stretched like a cat after the skill was done healing his body. He felt a lot more better now and swore that he felt a bit stronger. He walked back to Ku and found that he had finished the cans single-handedly. "Did you enjoy the food?" Von asked with a bit more spirit than usual. Ku looked at him with a blank look Von was used getting accustomed to seeing. Though, Von couldn''t help but laugh as Ku looked way too comical with food left over around his mouth. Ku looked a bit annoyed but more confuse. This reminded Von, "When have you last cleaned yourself?" ...... Although Von was lazy, he was always serious towards his hygiene. Not for other people''s sake but for his. That was why he always had a pair of soup as well as other necessities despite the current state of the world. Right now, he had given provided Ku with his some basic washing products and was currently waiting for him outside the shower. Von had been curious on how Ku had lived during these days and had searched through the arcade when Ku was preparing to clean himself. He found out that Ku had eaten through at least a few days worth of food to keep himself alive. Despite the constant sound of the shower water, a feeling of silence enveloped the two. Von sighed and asked a question towards Ku "So..What are you gonna do now that you don''t have a source of food?" The sound of the shower was the only thing heard for a few second before a soft voice replied "Find food.." Silence once again. Von wasn''t an idiot, from the way Ku had devoured three canned food, he knew that he had been starving for at least two days. And that wasn''t surprising once you think of the amount of zombies outside the arcade. Luckily, the water on the building was fine and accessible. Von closed his eyes in thought. If he left Ku here, he was likely starve to death. And while he didn''t consider himself to be a nice person, he did adore kids secretly. That and the fact that he had been lacking in company for past days. A weird mixture of tiredness and worry formed on Von''s face. He always did have a soft spot for kids. "Do you want to come with me?" Run! Ku walked towards Von with a questioning look. Von released a lazy sigh and tossed him a towel along with a pair of clothes. "You will die here" Von stated blankly. Von knew what would have happened to Ku had he never found him, he would''ve died. He just feared that leaving him here would only have delayed his death. Ku looked down sadly, it wasn''t like he didn''t know that. He didn''t have a choice. Looking for food would require him to go through the zombies outside. He had tried to sneak around, but ended up running back after a few zombies noticed him along the way. Ku eventually gave up after noticing that the zombies was tracing the sounds towards the arcade. That ultimately led him to where he was now. Von noticed the helpless look Ku was giving out and was just about to say something when a sudden bang interrupted the two. Von frowned as Ku naturally went behind him with the same expression. A ferocious roar reverted through the arcade towards their ears as the ground below shook aggressively. The earth rumbling intensified each second as Von prepared himself for the worst. More rumbling and deep howls assaulted their ears to the point that Von thought it couldn''t get any worse. However this illusion was shattered as a loud sound comparable to an explosion burst from the front arcade. Von turned his head towards the location of the sound and found something that froze his brain. Thick layers of walls from the arcade was cracked the point that he could see the other side through tiny holes as a web of cracks stretched towards the the floor and roof. Von felt himself shiver. The other side of the broken wall revealed a wide and towering figure. The figure had the head of a normal zombie but had a body that bulged with muscles. Its large hands supported its comparatively small legs. Following behind it was the horde outside, attracted by cries of the large zombie - Tank. The mutilated face of the tank turned towards the two and gave out a thundering roar. The vibrations were so intense that everything from the arcade started falling out. Von watched it dig through the ground, plunging out a small bed size of concrete below it.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Von''s eyes widened, as a feeling of dread took over his body. He saw the tank''s muscles tense as it pulled it''s bulging arms back. He turned towards a knee weakened Ku and ran towards corner with his hand on him as fast as he could. The concrete from the large zombie''s hand was launched and headed towards Von and Ku. Von saw the concrete move in slow motion. He scanned the distance between the corner and the speed of the concrete with panic fueling his brain. ''I''m not gonna make it..!'' With this realization, Von guided energy towards the muscles of his legs without reserve. Woosh! An after-image was left behind as Von suddenly found himself behind the corner. His bones trembled in pressure but ignored it and steeled his body. He was forced to slide as he couldn''t even out the large force he exerted. With the support of friction, he came to a wobbly stop a few meters away from the corner. Ku supported his quivering form despite showing clear signs of fear. Von took a deep breath and supplied his body with constant amount of energy small enough to last him a few minutes. Von felt the rumbling increase again. He didn''t have time. He didn''t think he could defeat the tank while protecting Ku. Even if he did the horde behind it would take advantage of their weakened state. Escape! They needed to get away from the zombies. Especially the tank. Von carried Ku over his back and told him to hold tightly just as his eyes caught a glimpse of the tank approaching the corner. Without any more words, he ran. He maneuvered himself through the arcade stands with agility and eventually found himself in front of the entrance with the tank and it''s horde following behind closely. It didn''t avoid the stands but actually forced its way through it. The stands did get close from hitting him but luckily, Ku had alerted him of the danger and guided him away from it. Ku and Von looked through the entrance and found that the outside was empty. They had all gathered behind the tank. With no signs of danger ahead, Von proceeded without dropping his agility as the horde kept gaining towards them. Von did as much as he could from keeping this small distance from decreasing but knew that he wouldn''t last long. "Look for a car!" Von shouted despite the ringing pain of his body as he scanned the area ahead himself. Seconds passed with Von narrowly escaping zombies thrown at him from the large zombie. His heart was beating strongly both from the physical extortion and the danger behind him but he endured through it. It was Ku''s next words that brang a small relief to him. "Found one!" Ku pointed and shouted through the chaos. Von followed his fingers and found a car not too far ahead. The appearance of the car went through Von''s brain, only noticing that a key was peacefully hanging from the keyhole of the car. Joy fueled Von''s legs. Preparing himself to go faster, he channeled an excessive amount of energy to his legs and felt himself go even faster, leaving the horde behind in exchange with pain and his energy reserves. A bubble of hope formed inside the duo''s heart as they approached the car ahead quickly. Their hope rose so high only.. to be popped They heard another series of roars and rumbling. But it wan''t from behind.. it was from the front. Ku and Von stared at an identical tank not too far from the car with terror. "Shit.." Escape Von and Ku froze, eyes trembling at the large figure ahead. It''s upper body was covered with bulging muscles comparable to the tank behind them except it had a pair of legs with matching muscles. Von''s head raced in thoughts despite the deafening steps the tank ahead took. His eyes scanned the area before shaking his head in dismissed the idea of rushing towards the car wholeheartedly. He glanced towards the other tank... before shaking his head with the same expression. There was no way he could just pass through the horde without preparing himself to get absolutely demolished.. Von let out a soft breath as his eyes turned towards a set of four floored building to his left. It didn''t have roads but instead had large pedestrians. It was a street market. The market showed signs of fresh ingredient such as sea food and fruits but without the fresh part. In it''s place was rotten meat, fish and fruits scattered around like a tsunami had passed by. But that wasn''t what caught Von''s eyes. The pedestrian was wide, but not too wide to let a horde run freely. More than that, it''s design were full of sharps that a person not familiar to these parts may get lost within the first few turns. Normally, a place like this would be infested with a scary amount of zombies but, they all seemed to have gathered behind the muscular tanks. This was perfect. Von didn''t waste anymore time and quickly ran inside the mini-maze. Ku seemed to realize Von''s idea as he gave no signs of complaint or question, instead tightening his grip on Von. They took notice of the horde relentlessly trailing they''re position with grim faces. The horde seemed to disregard pain and health as they pushed each other, some falling and getting trampled by others. As for the tanks.. well, they were literal tanks. They just smacked the normal zombies around with their muscular hands like flies and was catching up to them despite their large frames.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Von only gave a calm but serious face as the horde closed the distance after abruptly blocking the flow of energy to his legs. Ku had closed his eyes, hanging tightly to Von''s body as they came to a sharp deceleration. This proved to be effective as the made the turn ahead safely, unlike the horde behind them The zombies was not expecting for Von to suddenly turn. A few went zooming away from the turn while others violently smashed towards the buildings. The two tanks in particular shook the building to the point that Ku and Von thought it would collapse. Von felt his reserves dropping to a critical state. He estimated that he had less than five minutes before completely eating all his reserves. With a the constant pressure behind him, Von pushed out more energy towards his legs and felt his speed rise dramatically. He would lose in an endurance game, he had to muster all he can and lose the horde before his stamina falls. Ku''s mouth opened in amazement as he felt the wind hit his face. Much like hanging his head outside the window while driving in a highway. Besides the sudden increase of speed, the pace was insane. He couldn''t even compare it with a few athlete runners he had seen from television. "Wow.." Von focused on regulating his speed and missed Ku''s amazement. He maneuvered through the change in directions swiftly, cutting off the flow of energy just before the turn and kicking off towards the turn with a burst of perfectly timed energy before going full speed again. Slowly, the distance from the horde became larger and larger until they completely lost them. Ku tightened his right hand to get Von attention and informed him with caution and a small relief. Von only nodded as he felt his legs burn in pain now that the constant pressure of getting eaten was gone. He closed off the flow of energy, saving what ever was left of his reserves and opting to use his body''s physical capabilities alone. Although it was hard, he pressed on until he came across a building of rent-able rooms. He channeled a tiny amount of energy towards his ears and suddenly heard everything within a fifty meter radius around him. He focused solely on the building and found that although it had a few zombies inside the rooms and halls, it was relatively safe. Von put Ku down to the ground as he felt his body nag him of how tired it felt while his brain flooded him a feeling of numbness. "I need some rest, so we''re stopping by to sleep" Von said quietly, still feeling the grim atmosphere flow through his body. Ku could only nod himself as he wasn''t any faring better. He was a child after all. They''re morning started off with such an intense chase. It was only fair that they got their afternoon nap. A Quite Day Von and Ku had set out right as the sun started rising, afraid that zombies may start gathering back towards the outdoor market. Their morning were basically spent walking and peeking through corners and roads cautiously. Although it got tiring fast, they managed to avoid a few groups of zombies by walking around while killing the lone zombies through a little stealth. Luckily, the nearby power plant was a safe distance away from the city, situated around a quite town made up of fields of grass and crops. The climate and environment of the town has made the place beneficial for a solar powered power station. The days were filled with unresting heat from the sun, even throughout winter. Solar power was the most reliable power plant from what he knew. If he remembered right, Nuclear and Coal powered power stations require a great deal of labor maintenance towards their fuel, Wind has a maintenance heavy requirement towards their grid systems, Hydro is similar to Wind and Solar has similarities with hydro and wind except it''s easier to manage. Although his knowledge towards power stations weren''t something regarded as profound, he still knew enough to know the best choices. In his eyes, Nuclear and Coal was out of his choices. Without the constant labor for fuel, it was bound to shut down within the first few days. Hydro and Wind was second after Solar, just because the grid was harder to maintain, doesn''t mean it wasn''t gathering energy. He just had to work around it. Finally, Solar. It was his best choice because they were the least vulnerable to the environmental processes. They were simple to set up and maintain. Even though it had the same weakness as Hydro and Wind, that alone was enough to make a difference. On the other hand, Wind turbines were just too big and high to fix and moderate alone while Hydro had too many machines to manage alone. Solar was the clear choice here. On another note, it''s location also allowed them to travel through the quite and isolated roads with a vehicle. ...... Finishing his 100th review of his circumstances, Von glanced at Ku''s sleeping face calmly. At first, Ku had been confused by his weird destination but a brief demonstration and information of his wire-frames was enough to convince him.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. It certainly explained his inhuman moments of physical capabilities and although Ku was a bit skeptical, they nearly got killed by something that was as equally unbelievable. After showcasing a few of his capabilities, Ku had gone up to him and quietly asked if he could become stronger. Von was quite troubled by this, he didn''t know if he could provide Ku with a wire-frame, much less teach him how to manipulate electrical energies. But after thinking about it for a while, he decided to find a way. Ku too weak, even against single zombies. That was something to work upon. Von sighed and decided now would be the time to ask some questions. "System, can another wire-frame be transplanted for another person?" Von asked through is mind. [Positive. One core is required. The process will involve a Core and Wire-frame transplantation. Transplantation will be limited to one core. To achieve more than one Core requires surveillance of system, i.e. Not possible.] Von perked at the reply and focused on the last sentence. One core was very limiting, and this was coming from first hand experiences. Von was just about to lump back to his seat when a possibility came to his head. "Is the quality of the core fixed?" Von asked, his interest flamed once more. [Negative. The rank of Core may vary and be modified] Von nodded seriously. Although one core was limiting, there was nothing he could do but wait until he could acquire something of greater quality. For now, he may as well transplant the first core to Ku after he got his second core. Ku would need it much more than him then. Von moved away from the subject for now. He had been meaning to ask a question since he first got his hands on the system. Von''s face took a melancholy look, his eyes wondering through the scenery of the moving car. "Will it be possible to leave this.. dimension?" Von asked hesitantly, not quite used to the concept. [Fully possible. Options are limitless, the number of galaxies are so big that most you may know may exist out of pure chance] [However, energy consumption may differ as searching for a specific world may be easy or difficult depending on it''s location] The system''s monochrome voice sounded out without pause. Von quietly raised his eyebrow at this. It was basically saying that space is so large that it may contain universes and worlds that was fiction to him. He kind of felt small after hearing that. But what could he do? Besides, being small wasn''t exactly something bad. "What is the minimum energy required to activate the search?" Von asked, his cloudy eyes gazing through the passing trees. [Specific searches may vary. The current search system is a purely chance-based as it blindly spreads it''s sensors in a 360 degrees circle] Von''s eyes flickered towards the horizon, where a cluster of buildings could be seen. He smiled, his mind occupied by the system''s sentence. It looked like he may need to invest towards this scouting system. Town Von gazed at the zombies scattered all around the road. They''ve been travelling for half a day now and was closing up on the town ahead. Von expected to meet a few wandering zombies at this range, and they did. Except they were dead with holes filling their bodies. Upon closer inspection, Von found that the holes were made from bullets. This town was his first destination as it powered the first solar system he would take energy from. He expected it to go fine, as much as the town full of possibly zombies can be, it still was far from what you call ''populated''. Suspicion grew inside Von. The damages were clearly done by people. Normally, a person would be hopeful for a possible society prepared for this new world but, if there was something he had learned through his life it would be that people can be more destructive than nature. Von scanned the town ahead with caution, his energy concentrated on his eyes allowing for enhanced eyesight. He frowned when he found nothing, was he overthinking? "No, it''s still to early to conclude" Von muttered under his breath. The town was large, and he was only looking at the surface. Von decided to wait it out. Von shook Ku''s shoulders gently until he woke up. He felt a bit troubled for waking him up since it was obvious he hadn''t gotten a proper sleep this past week, but they needed to walk from this point on. "..Hmm..?" Ku looked around dazedly as he yawned with a stretch. An image of a lazy cat suddenly appeared inside Von''s mind. He dismissed it and spoke to him after he seemed conscious enough. "From this point on we''ll be travelling on foot" Von explained. Ku rubbed his eyes for a few second to process what he had just said before understanding why and responded with a small ''ok''. Von went inside the car for the final time to store their things inside his dimensional space. He threw Ku a jacket before enclosing his body with one himself. ..... A smooth sound vibrated through the air, a ''swoosh'' following after as if the very air itself was cut. The sound came from a sharp machete. It came with the same sound as heads flew under the clouds. The machete cut through many infected with a steady and terrifying rhythm. The wielder of the machete moved smoothly, as if every movement was well thought out and calculated.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Behind!" A unusually casual shout warned the figure, who turned around calmly and shifted his weight to the right with his left leg. His right leg followed, balancing the force and directing it towards his arms by lowering his knee. The machete came towards the neck of the infected and exited out from the waist in a diagonal movement. Despite crimson blood dripping from the machete, the material of the weapon flashed under a single ray of light passing from the thick clouds above. The figure took a breath and cleaned his blade of blood with a swing. His legs unbent and walked to the other person. "Thanks for that, Ku" The figure, Von thanked with a lazy smile. Ku gave a small nod as he climbed on Von''s back after putting his sword away without reserve. Von could only shake his head and start walking towards the town. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, they were still a distance away from the town. Von''s eyes lingered on the cloudy skies. His mouth opened and suddenly called out to Ku. ".. Ku?" Sensing the serious tone, Ku lifted his head and looked at the side of Von''s face. "Yes?" Ku muttered quietly in a mature yet childish manner. Von thought about how he had found Ku, alone and left to die in time. He wondered.. If he had anyone he wanted to meet back with. Despite the short time he had spent with Ku, he did find his company pleasing. "Is there anyone you want to look for?" But he knew there maybe someone Ku wanted to reunite with. While he was reluctant on leaving Ku to other''s hands he knew that he would find a way to leave this world later. He didn''t wanna take Ku with him if he had someone waiting for him. Silence enveloped the two. Maybe he had asked to soon? Just as Von was about to tell Ku to dismiss what he had said, he felt a drip of warmth on his neck. Von looked back dumbfounded. ''I rushed it..'' Von thought, his mouth slightly hanging. Von was about to continue on dismissing his question but paused once again. ''..It''s too late to go back now'' Von''s eyes focused. He took a deep breath and turned his head towards Ku. Von felt guilt upon laying his eye on Ku.. He may have not meant harm with his actions but he did proceed with it without thinking through Ku''s situation more thoroughly. Now that he looked back, it was obvious Ku was not ok. He felt so stupid. Von closed his eye for a second and washed away the heavy feeling in his heart. Ku didn''t need an idiot right now. His hand laid on Ku''s head. Ku froze before stiffly lifting his head to look at Von through his teary eyes. "I''m sorry.. but i won''t take back my question.. I''ll wait until you''re ready.." Von radiated a sense stillness. It wasn''t the usual lazy one but a stillness that came from care and attention. Ku couldn''t help but pause and stare at the figure standing much stronger than the person who beat a number of zombies with his machete alone. He pushed wiped his tears with his sleeves as he felt the hectic emotions rushing through his head dissipate, an unknown feeling invading him as he felt tranquility overpower all other emotions. He didn''t know if it were his lack of sleep or the current situation but he felt himself get lighter as his eyes slowly closed. Ku could only manage a weak nod before collapsing to sleep. Von only rubbed his head softer as he muttered "Rest for now.."