"Mom, that hurts!"
Ashley gasped, reflexively letting go. Her daughter massaged her wrists, sidestepping away from her. Though it broke her heart, she also understood she was in the wrong.
"Yes, this place is safe." Vincent gestured for everyone to go inside while looking around. "But we have to be mindful of our noise level. If you aren't using your phones, it's better to turn them off."
"How will we get news about the military, then?" Ashley paused, taking a step back.
Talia waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry. The Gilroys are part of the military."
"Garret's just the Head of Biomedical Research. Don't patronize him," Angel instantly commented.
But that was enough to convince Ashley.
Everyone went inside. Two rooms were now being kept warm, and Daniel became the person to explain to the new arrivals what the world had turned into—including turning them into players by whacking the corpse of the Revenant.
Actually, they had confirmed before the internet died that you only had to interact with the system somehow. A poke would have sufficed.
But Daniel had a grudge.
In the meantime, Angel dragged Vincent to the kitchen. As the head cook, she quickly noticed the lack of food.
"With this many people, we only have four days' worth of food. We can stretch it to five if I add chips into account, but we won't have optimal energy to fight."
Vincent listened to Angel's report before closing his eyes, thinking. Then he looked toward the entrance.
"Have you cooked with goose meat before?"
Angel's breath hitched, her eyes twinkling as she nodded excitedly.
Vincent pursed his lips, deciding not to question which meal it was.
They quickly gathered some tools and bags and headed outside, planning to bring back a bag of meat while they had the cover of night.
But just as they neared the location, they found all three bodies gone.
"What…! Where did it go?" Angel almost yelled in frustration.
Vincent took out his gun, scanning the surroundings. "Let's go back."
Once inside, they met up with Daniel in the master's bedroom. The rest had gone to sleep, as it was deep into the night.
"Where did you guys go? Talia chose a witch, so now she can slow down enemies. Though she'll have to keep an eye on them for the spell to remain effective."
-----------------------------------
Chilling Slow | 300 mana | 6 seconds cooldown
-> Ice Attribute
-> Requires constant line of sight
-> Slows target's speed for 1 min
-> Weak to fire and lightning
-----------------------------------
Vincent frowned. "The geese bodies are gone. Each carcass should be about 20 kg. There's no way anyone could have moved them in ten minutes."
"Woah! Could it be another player?"
"Did you guys see a basic skill for dimensional storage?"
The siblings pondered, but after a while, they shook their heads.
"Then it's either the monsters or the system. Since we still have four days, we can wait and see for a day or two. I'd rather not get ambushed by something capable of carrying all those bodies."
There were no objections.
While they waited for the days to pass, Vincent and Daniel checked the dusty library for information about the cell towers. But other than encyclopedias mentioning their history, they failed to find out how they were made or how they worked.
If they wanted to fix one, they could only attempt to bring Daniel there and hope his skill would work.
They peacefully kept to themselves, yet the game had other plans.
On the second day of waiting, at noon, a loud roar sent tremors up to 10 km away, making the entire mansion tremble. Loose objects fell, some windows cracked, and a localized announcement was sent.
[Warning: You have entered the zone of a territorial boss. Please proceed with caution or turn back to preserve your lives.]
-----------------------------------
Frost Troll's Zone
-> 25% decreased in temperature
-> 25% increased wind strength
-> All elementals in the area have shifted to ice
-> Periodic blizzards
-----------------------------------
The change was instant. A biting cold slammed into them so hard that the system registered it as pain, deducting everyone's HP by 1.
Hastily, Vincent told everyone to gather in the master's bedroom, letting all the heating focus in the room. But it was clearly struggling, stuck at 15°C.
"Make room. Let Angel make a campfire."
In less than ten minutes, a small bonfire structure was created in the middle of an open cemented space, far from anything that could catch fire. After Angel used her skill, the biting chill instantly disappeared, warmth finally seeping into their clothes.
The heater was also no longer struggling, keeping the temperature at about 23°C.
That solved the cold, but there was still a frost troll roaming the city—and a food shortage they couldn't ignore.
"It's going to be a five-minute drive or a twenty-minute walk to Walmart from here," Vincent stated. "We don't need a lot. We just have to get in and out in ten minutes without running into the troll. Then we can wait for Garret's arrival."
"It's so dangerous out there! Why do you seek death when it's safer here?" Ashley hugged her child, her refusal to go out evident on her face.
"Don't worry, ma'am." Daniel mustered a bright smile. "You only need to wait here. We're the ones going out."
"That 'we' surely doesn't include us, right?" Xavier frowned.
"Yes, of course! You got fed for free, and now you're refusing to contribute?" Talia ignored how Ashley jolted and turned to Angel. "I have Slow. You'll need me if we run into the boss."
Angel agreed with her logic but still turned to Vincent, waiting for his final verdict.
"Then we leave tomorrow once the blizzard is over."
Once that was set, Vincent focused on leveling up his skill, succeeding after half an hour. That changed his mana cost to 80 and shelflife to 3 hours, and Vincent welcomed it.
Bringing his maximum number of bullets to 23—a good number, Vincent thought.
The next day, everyone except the mother, child, and Xavier prepared to leave for a supply run. Xavier had convincingly stated that Ashley and her child needed protection, so he was going to stay.
Talia rolled her eyes in response. "Do whatever you want."
The team was bundled up warmly—winter coats, pants, boots, gloves, and hats all in place. Talia borrowed from Angel, and Vincent had always kept his own closet in Daniel's room.
When they finished rechecking for the third time, they left.
The wind howled slightly, snow piled up past their waists, and a thick fog moved with the wind, swirling above their heads.
They chose to walk, treading quietly instead of using the truck. Besides the noise it would bring, the roads didn't look manageable now that daily maintenance had halted.
It would take them an extra ten minutes to reach their destination. The snow made it difficult, and the random, distorted animal noises echoing in the distance occasionally made them pause in fear.
Walmart's doors were open, its glass shattered into pieces. The store was a mess, with some snow having entered the premises. There were obvious signs of looting, but it wasn't empty.
Vincent nodded to the group, and everyone split up, grabbing whatever food and drink they could find.
Vincent was in the dried goods section when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.
He froze before carefully placing the jerky down and taking out his gun.
His footsteps were silent, his breathing soft. His finger wasn't on the trigger, but his muscles were taut.
Right as he swerved into the next aisle, he raised his gun.
"Don't—don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
A haggard-looking middle-aged man raised his hands in surrender. His clothes were damaged, but they looked too old for the current outbreak to be the cause. He was obviously homeless.
"Stay quiet. Why are you here alone?" Vincent lowered his gun, but his guard stayed up.
"I—I got separated. My—my group d-died two days ago to migrating shadow crows…" The man's eyes darted around, a bead of sweat visible—freezing in the cold.
Vincent saw his gaze flick to the side, and his heart lurched.
A chill ran down his spine as he felt the wind behind him shift. He ducked, raising an arm over his head to shield himself from the blow.
Thud!
Pain shot through his arm, but his head was safe. Sharply turning, he aimed for his unknown assailant's legs—but he hesitated.
In all his life, his bullets had never even grazed a human before.
The bat came down on him again, and Vincent managed to block it, sacrificing his arm once more.
His arm trembled from the impact, the pain reminding him of where he was.
Bang!
"Aargh!!"
The assailant's bat fell to the floor as he stumbled back, clutching his knee. A hole had appeared in his foot, and the shadows from the bullet lingered, keeping it from bleeding.
He collapsed, and his ally snapped out of his shock. Muddled and terrified, he rushed at Vincent, screaming with his hand raised.
Bang!
Another shot—to his foot.