"Your best shot is the Avery-Niels Medical Center," Angela proposed. "But if it's anything like what we've seen so far, be ready. It won't be simple."
It was the only place where they could find everything she needed.
"That's pretty far. It's all the way to the south gate," Jay commented. Their current location was much closer to the north gate.
"How about you don't go at all?" Alex cut in, frowning. The idea of his sister and Jay traveling so far didn't sit well with him. It would be extremely dangerous. The first trip to the library had nearly cost him his life. The second one had brought down another person. There was no doubt this would be even riskier.
"The doc said I could recover on my own. There's no need to take that kind of risk."
"She also said it would take time," Lexie countered, folding her arms. "The kind of time we don't have."
"Not to mention possible sequelae," Jay added. "You don't want permanent damage. We have to try."
Alex tried to sit up. "You're the one always talking about the magic of the system. So why not just wait? Something…"
"Stop!" Jay, Lexie, and Angela reached out at once to keep him from moving.
"Damn it," Alex muttered, laying back onto the table. "I know there's a chance I won't heal properly, but we'll find another solution. Later. Something less dangerous."
Jay and Lexie exchanged a glance. He had a point. But Lexie didn't seem fully convinced.
"How long are you planning to wait like this?" she asked, eyes narrowing. "What if your magic fix is harder to find?"
"Sis…"
"This isn't about how dangerous it is," she continued. "If we back off every time something's risky, we won't get anything done."
"That's enough. You need to rest." Jay stepped in, ending the discussion.
Alex opened his mouth to argue, saw the look in their eyes, and closed it again. He didn't like it, but he wasn't going to change their minds.
We could've avoided all this.
"Don't worry, we will be careful."
"Just… don't rush into things recklessly," Alex added before closing his eyes.
"He's right," Angela chimed in. "Take your time and prepare properly. His life isn't in danger for now."
"We get it," Jay replied with a smile.
"All right. I'll go check on that other guy."
"Okay." Jay watched her leave, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
"She's pretty easy to get along with," Lexie noted. She felt somewhat grateful toward Angela. Things would've been far more difficult without her.
"She's also ambitious."
"Hehe. That's the kind you like, right?" Lexie teased.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I don't mind using her if she has the ability to back up her ambition."
"I'd say she does. Besides, it's not a bad idea to start gathering capable allies now. It'll help in the long run."
"That's true. Let's grab something to eat and head upstairs."
There were plenty of snacks and food supplies stocked in the lounge. Jay wasn't sure how much the others had taken before leaving, but there should be enough to last them a while.
After grabbing some supplies from Damian, he and Lexie made their way upstairs.
Once seated, Lexie didn't waste time.
"How are we going to handle this run?" she asked. "Last time, we were running for our lives. This time, we're walking straight into trouble. That's a whole different game."
Jay nodded. "We need to be smart about it."
"You think we're strong enough?" she added. "Level four isn't bad, but I'd rather have a few more levels under my belt."
"It'll be difficult if we just hunt zombies. It is not worth the energy. I killed a level-two earlier. I barely got one percent XP. We'd have to wipe out a horde just to make real progress."
"Ugh, it'd be so much easier if we could see their levels," Lexie groaned. Jay was right. It wasn't the time to pick a big fight.
"There's no easy fix for that. If the system doesn't provide a solution, we'll just have to figure it out ourselves."
"Hey! What if we track down the remaining wasps?" Lexie suggested. "They're high-level, right? We could rake in a good amount of XP if we hunt them."
"Airborne enemies with ranged attacks? That's too risky. And if we're aiming to level up, we can't rely on our guns. The system barely rewards XP when we use them."
Jay took a peek at his event log.
{Killed Bullet Wasp (Ordinary, Lv4). +20 XP.}
{Killed Bullet Wasp (Ordinary, Lv5). +25 XP.}
"They were our best chance." Lexie chewed angrily through an energy bar. "It really sucks the system nerfed our guns."
The wasps' levels had ranged between three and five. If not for the XP penalties, they could've made significant progress toward level five. Unfortunately, the system seemed to penalize the use of hot weapons. Thanks to that, they had received far less experience from those kills than expected.
"It makes sense when you think about it. The system rewards XP based on the difficulty of the fight."
Lexie frowned. "And guns lower the difficulty."
"Exactly. It gives you power way above your level. Even if it takes some skill, it's still an outside boost. Nerfing the XP is probably the system's way of keeping things balanced."
"Still sucks," she repeated.
Jay chuckled. "Imagine someone dropping a nuke on a city. Without lifting a finger, they'd shoot straight to level 100. That doesn't sound fair either."
"That's fair." Lexie rolled her eyes.
To Jay, the logic was clear. The system probably didn't want people becoming strong just by relying on external tools. It won't probably deny their use, but it won't allow them to be overly dependent on them.
"Besides, it's a good thing. Guns won't be useful for long. If people rely on them too much now, it'll be a problem in the long run." The wasps, for example, had been too fast for any average person to shoot. And it wasn't going to get better.
"That's what I was saying," Lexie nodded. "We landed those kills because of our skills."
"They still made up for our lack of damage."
"Sure," Lexie agreed. "Until we run out of ammo. I am almost through my first mag."
"We'll just have to use them as sparingly as we can."
"Got it. Anyway, since we're close to level five, we should just push through and hit it."
"Agreed. Level five unlocks a bonus from my athlete skill. That alone is worth the effort."
"Plus, we can secure the area while we're at it," Lexie added, eyes sharp.
"Fair point." Jay's gaze turned distant. "Do you think they're safe?" he asked, his thoughts drifting toward Jess and Sam. So much had happened in the last hour, and despite his confidence in them, the doubt gnawed at him.
"I don't know," Lexie admitted softly. "But you have to believe in them."
Her feelings were complicated. She understood Jay. After witnessing what was happening outside, he was probably itching to go look for his sister and Sam. But with Alex still recovering, he had no choice but to wait.
"I'll never forgive myself if something happens to them," Jay muttered.
"Jay…" Lexie hesitated. She didn't know what to say. Telling him to rush off was reckless, but asking him to wait felt equally wrong.
"I should've skipped that stupid game and gone to the resort with Sam. Things would've been so much easier. You'd be there, and Alex wouldn't be injured. It would have been easier to look for Jess."
"Don't talk like that. No one could've predicted this."
"I know." Jay had a bitter smile on his face. He felt he should have taken everything more seriously.
"Everything is going to be fine." Lexie hesitated for a second, then pulled him into a hug.
"Thanks." Jay didn't resist, and hugged her back. Foe a moment, he let himself go. Just long enough to feel the warmth of her soft body against his and the quiet reassurance she offered.
***
Meanwhile, on the ground floor.
"He's dead," Angela announced, withdrawing her fingers from the man's cold wrist. The silence that followed was heavy. The wasp venom had worked faster than she expected. She'd known it was strong but not this lethal. He hadn't even lasted an hour.
The survivors looked at the cold corpse, horror in their eyes.
A quiet sob broke the silence. It was soft at first, then louder, rising into gut-wrenching cries. A girl had curled up in a corner, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably.
Was it fear? Panic? Despair? It didn't matter. Everyone in the room could relate.
The helplessness and sheer vulnerability they felt was suffocating.
Angela knelt beside the girl, gently wrapping her arms around her. "Shh… It's okay. You're safe now."
"Sob… We're all going to die… sob," the girl choked out.
"No. There's still hope. Don't let fear get the better of you," Angela whispered.
"My parents…" she gasped between sobs. "They died… in front of me. My father… he killed my mother."
The girl collapsed against Angela, who held her tightly. Her voice trembled, but she kept her composure. "I'm so sorry… It'll be okay. You're safe now," she comforted, even as tears welled up in her own eyes.
Her uncle's face flashed before her eyes. He died alone. And she would not even have the chance to bury him.
Beside them, Louisa and Sylvi wept silently. They could understand the girl. Her pain felt all too familiar.
"Is it even worth living in a world like this?" someone muttered.
"It is," Louisa said, wiping her tears with a shaky breath. "We have to keep moving on. For those who left. They would have given everything to have the chance we have."
"She's right," Damian added. "At least we have the choice. Many people didn't have that opportunity."
Back upstairs…
Jay and Lexie stood quietly, watching the scene unfold.
"They are figuring it out," Lexie whispered.
"They don't have a choice. None of us do."
In such a hostile world, only those with enough resolve would be able to survive. There were no shortcuts. Those who lacked the will would soon be left behind.
Eventually, the sobbing ceased. The exhausted girl slumped into sleep, her cries fading into silence.
With a quiet sigh, Angela helped lay her down, then turned to look at Jay and Lexie.
The two exchanged a glance and gave her a small nod before walking downstairs.
"Sorry. I couldn't do anything." Angela looked at them, eyes still red.
"Don't worry. No one blames you," Jay replied with a shake of his head. She wasn't a magical healer, at least not yet. He never expected her to bring the man back from the brink of death.
"Thanks," Angela murmured, grateful for his understanding. "So… when are we leaving?"
"We? How?" Jay asked, his eyebrows raised.