After killing the mantis, the trio quickly made their way out of the forest and soon arrived at the plaza.
But even here, there was no relief.
Just like every other place, Aubrey Plaza had become a graveyard.
Benches were overturned. Dried blood painted the paving stones. Bags, phones, and shoes left behind mid-flight lay scattered across the square.
There was no sign of life.
Only mangled corpses scattered across the ground and the occasional zombie wandering aimlessly.
Fortunately, there were barely a dozen of them, nowhere near enough to pose a threat.
The trio slowed. Some of the zombies close by were already running toward them.
Without a word, Lexie set down the mantis' blade and stepped forward. Meanwhile, Jay stayed with Alex to protect him.
"Careful," Jay said, watching her move ahead. "You never know if a Fehl is hiding among them."
"I know," she replied calmly.
Two knives flashed through the air.
Thud. Thud.
Two zombies dropped, each with a blade buried cleanly in its skull.
Lexie didn't stop. Smooth and efficient, she shuttled around the zombies. One by one, they collapsed around her.
"Looks angry," Jay muttered, watching as she ducked beneath the last zombie's outstretched arms, swept its legs out from under it, and brought her shovel down hard on its skull.
Crack.
"Figured she would be," Alex said as Lexie stepped over the twitching corpse, wiping a few drops of blood from her cheek.
At least, there were no surprises this time. No Fehl. No ambush.
"All clear," Lexie said. Without further ado, the trio walked toward the massive stone building across the plaza.
It was one of the few structures of its kind on campus, and even now, its grand stone façade remained an imposing sight. As they climbed the wide steps, their eyes were drawn to the towering wooden doors, above which the Latin inscription Scientia potentia est was carved.
Knowledge is power.
Jay felt the words couldn't be more appropriate. In a world now driven by chaos and filled with unknowns, knowledge would be their best weapon.
"Stay here," he told Alex, helping him sit against a nearby pillar. "We'll check the inside and come back."
"Hmm." Alex looked down at the ground, jaw clenched. Being treated like dead weight sucked.
Lexie pushed open the heavy doors and stepped inside.
The first thing she saw wasn't the rows of towering bookshelves or the vast expanse of study space. It was the corpse sprawled on the ground near the entrance, its arm outstretched toward the door, as if clawing for escape in its final moments.
Lexie frowned, turned her eyes away, and scanned the area.
A handful of zombies still wandered the first floor. Silent, she darted forward, her figure turning into a blur as she dispatched them with clean, ruthless efficiency.
Meanwhile, Jay approached a zombified librarian trapped inside a cubicle near the entrance.
Her body bumped into the desk, over and over, like she was stuck in a bug.
With a quiet sigh, Jay stepped forward, drew a knife, and drove it cleanly into her skull, ending her misery.
"Done," Lexie's voice called from behind as Jay gently laid the corpse down on the desk.
"You knew her?" she asked.
"Yes," Jay replied quietly. "An old friend of my father. She came to work here after retiring."
"I'm sorry."
Jay shook his head. "Don't be. Let's check upstairs."
Besides a few scattered zombies, the upper floor offered something they hadn't expected. Survivors.
Jay's axe split open the skull of a lunging zombie. As its body crumpled to the floor, he spotted movement behind a collapsed bookshelf in the corner. Three figures huddled together.
"You all right?" Jay asked, lowering his weapon slightly.
The trio stared at him, wide-eyed. They looked like students. Bruised, dirty, but alive. Luckier than most.
"Who are you?" a girl asked with suspicion.
"Really?" Lexie snorted and turned away. She'd rather check on her brother than deal with those guys.
Jay gave a tired smile. "You can come out. It's safe now."
Then he followed after Lexie, leaving the decision to them.
Behind the shelf, the survivors hesitated.
"What do you think? Should we trust them?" a thin guy asked.
"They don't look like they're lying," the first girl said. "Besides, they came up here. If they made it past the zombies, it means it really is safe now."
"They look scary too," added a girl with glasses, clutching her knees.
"We can't stay here forever," the first girl said and stood up.
Back on the first floor, Lexie and Jay had already helped Alex inside and were now carefully inspecting his injury.
"This thing didn't miss you," Jay muttered, pulling back the blood-soaked cloth to reveal Alex's shredded forearm.
The wound was deep, jagged, and still bleeding despite their earlier efforts.
Lexie's expression darkened. "We need Angela," she said gloomily.
If they weren't careful, this could leave her brother crippled, and now was not the time for that.
"You're right." Jay nodded. "Give me a sec, I'll grab my stuff."
He turned and walked toward a door tucked into the corner of the library, pushing it open.
A wave of stale and dusty air hit him immediately.
Unbothered, he moved with purpose toward the far corner of the room. There, he pushed aside a stack of dusty books and uncovered a long-forgotten storage box.
The lid creaked as he opened it, revealing piles of yellowed papers and brittle registers. So far, everything looked exactly as it should.
But that was just the first layer.
Jay pulled them out, revealing the false bottom beneath.
Jay pressed on a small recessed point. With a click, a thin panel lifted, revealing a digital code lock. Without hesitation, he typed in the code.
The lock clicked.
"Still there," he muttered, smiling as the hidden compartment opened to reveal what he was looking for. His untouched stash.
He grabbed the metal box, shut the lid behind him, and returned to the main hall without another word.
Jay reentered the main hall, dragging the metal box behind him.
He found Lexie mid-conversation with the newly found survivors. The chestnut-haired girl was crouched beside Alex, examining his bloodied arm with a tight frown.
"What did he fight to end up like this?" she asked, her fingers hovering just above the torn flesh. "This doesn't look like something a zombie would do."
Lexie gave a cold smile and nodded toward the two severed mantis blades lying on the floor. "Let's just say the world's gotten even less friendly."
The girl followed her gaze. Her breath stilled the moment she saw the weapons still faintly gleaming with blood. The others noticed too. A chill ran down their spine as they wondered what kind of creatures they could have belonged to. No doubt they would have died if they had met it.
"You're back," Lexie said, eyeing the metal box Jay set down beside him.
"Yeah," he replied, wiping his hands. "What's she doing?"
"Says she's a nursing student. Wanted to help."
"Can we trust you?"
"Yes, I can at least clean the wound," the girl said.
"Perfect." Jay gave a quick nod of approval. He popped the lid on the box, pulled out a compact first aid kit, and handed it to the girl. "Here. This should help."
"Thank you," she said, taking the kit and immediately beginning to tend to Alex's injury with focus.
Jay nodded again and turned to the contents of the box. He began sorting through the gear inside. Soon, under the shocked eyes of the survivors, various well-maintained weapons were lined neatly on the table.
"Were you planning to fight a war in here?" Lexie quipped, picking up a SpectraSig P226. With practiced ease, she gave it a quick inspection: safety, aim, grip, and ammo.
Jay smirked. "After my dad died, things got tense. We needed to be ready for anything."
Lexie nodded, her expression darkening slightly. "Those were rough times." She set the pistol down, picked up a suppressed Vortex VX-15 assault rifle, and fiddled with it. She looked through the holosight and nodded with satisfaction.
Jay holstered a suppressed Vanguard M11 on one thigh, strapped a combat knife to the other, and slung a Ripper R15 shotgun across his back.
With his gear strapped on, he felt a renewed sense of confidence.
There weren't many creatures out there that could take a shotgun slug to the face and keep moving.
Still, he knew better than to get complacent.
Ammo was limited; there were only two spare magazines for each weapon. In the grand scheme of things, that would barely make a splash. Besides, the monsters they faced weren't exactly conventional targets, and it was hard to say how much threat their firearms could pose.
"Save the bullets. Only for the things that matter," he reminded himself.
Then, exhaling slowly, he checked his event log.
{….}
{Killed Mutated Mantid (Rare, Lv6). +65 XP. Bonus +240 XP} xp 70%
{Achievement completed (Terra, Ilys). First kill of the mutated mantid. Level + 1}
{Congratulations. Level +1. You are now Level 4. HP+ 10. SP +10. +9 AP.}
{Mandatory quest updated. Check!}
{….}
'Interesting,' he looked at the log with narrowed eyes. 'So, someone killed a Fehl before us.'
Jay thought they were already doing pretty well. But it was also true that you couldn't underestimate the potential of humans.
'Other are making progress too. We'll have to do better if we want to grab those achievements.'
With a shake of his head, he pushed that aside and checked the updated quest.
[Mandatory quest: Updated!]
You have proved yourself more than capable of surviving.
Now it is time to challenge yourself and show your brethren the way forward.
Hunter: Kill as many monsters as possible (3/…)Beacon: Rescue and protect survivors (17/…)???
Rewards: Based on overall performance
Good luck!]
'So, it's watching us." Jay looked at the ceiling.
"You saw the updated quest?" he asked Lexie.
"Yeah." Lexie nodded. "Looks like we are doing something right."
"Now I'm curious about the reward it's going to grant us."
"We'll see."
"Hmm," Jay nodded and called up his system panel. After the last level-up, he felt that he could add more points. And he did just that.
Once he was done, he looked at his increased attributes with satisfaction and closed the panel.
"I'm ready," Lexie said as she slung the rifle over her shoulder and looked at Jay.
"We're heading out," Jay said, walking over and handing Alex the P226. Chloe had just finished tending to his wound, and he looked a little better.
"All right," Alex muttered, gripping the pistol with his good hand. "Be careful out there."
Jay gave him a brief nod. He could tell Alex hated being left behind, but there was no choice.
"Don't worry," Lexie said, offering a reassuring nod before turning to the chestnut-haired girl. "What's your name?"
"Chloe," the girl replied quickly.
Lexie stepped closer, eyes sharp. "I'm leaving my brother in your care. Make sure nothing happens while I'm gone."
Chloe swallowed hard and nodded. "Y-yes, I understand."
"Good." Lexie turned away without another word.
Jay gave Alex a last look. "We'll be back soon," he said, then followed Lexie out.
Outside, they moved quickly, cutting through the plaza. Within moments, they stood again at the edge of the forest.
"We're going through here again?" Jay asked.
"There's no point changing the route now," Lexie replied with a roll of her eyes. "At least we know what might be waiting this time."
Jay nodded. "Fair enough."
Throwing caution to the wind, the two moved at full speed, their figures turning into blurs as they tore through the forest.
Soon, they passed the spot where the mantis had fallen. Its corpse was still there, untouched. They didn't stop. No time to waste.
Within minutes, they reached the forest's edge near the arena, dispatched a wandering zombie, and reentered the building the same way they had left.
"Jay? Lexie?" Damien's eyes widened as the two fully armed figures stepped into the lounge. His gaze darted behind them.
"You're back? Where's Alex?"
"We'll talk later," Jay said. "Where's Angela?"
"She's with Louisa and Sylvi," Damien answered.
"All right. Call her."
Damian left and quickly returned with Angela, Louisa and Sylvi. "Jay, you are back. Is everything all right?"
"Not really." Jay replied without hesitation. "Then I need you to come with us."
Angela's brow furrowed. "Why? Where's Alex? Why are you injured like that?"
Jay let out a sigh and quickly recounted what happened after they left. As they listened, the survivors grew pale. The reality outside was even worse than they had imagined.
"Long story short, my brother is injured, and we need your help," Lexie said flatly.
"Wait, what about us?" Damien stepped forward. "You said we'd all leave together."
"We'll take her with us now and come back for you," Lexie replied, her tone firm.
"That's not what we agreed on," Damien protested, clearly displeased.
"Sorry. Plans changed," Jay said with a shake of his head. "You'll have to wait."
Damian didn't look happy but said nothing.
"All right, let's move," Jay said, turning toward the exit.
Angela looked at them quietly.
She hesitated for a second, then spoke. "I'm not going."
The room froze.
Jay stopped and turned back slowly. His expression turned cold. "What did you say?"
Angela met his gaze without flinching. "I can't go with you."