The gates closed shut behind them as the members of the hunting party walked out of the safety of the camp.
Seven figures stood in the morning light, armed and armored like soldiers preparing for war. Which, they were apparently.
Everyone was wearing a set of different gears, and all were armed with different weapons too. Except Ishiki of course, who had nothing to wear and looked painfully out of the picture.
'Damn it! Where did they get those armors and weapons? Sure there were none in the city as far as I know.'
The group walked through the large main road and took a sharp turn, they were on the same way from where Ishiki and Kaori came running from last night.
After about 500 meters the road split up in three, the right was however completely blocked by a large fallen building, so the party divided into two groups.
One group with a tall, large man, who wore heavy plating across his chest and shoulders, a massive hammer strapped to his back.
A woman, carrying dual short swords, wearing a light armor that was built for speed. And leading them stood the charming man, from yesterday's meeting, whatever his name was. He had a confident smirk, and wore a reinforced leather armor.
Ishiki couldn't help but feel a little uneasy around him.
The three of them went down the left road, leaving Ishiki standing awkwardly with Kaori and two others he hadn't been introduced to—A beautiful girl with long black hair, tied down in braid, and a young man roughly his age with an easy smile that suggested he'd somehow maintained optimism through the apocalypse.
The girl and the young man stood close together, moving in unconscious sync, finishing each other's sentences when Kaori asked them to check their supplies.
Definitely a couple.
'Great. I'm third-wheeling in apocalypse.'
They moved through the ruins, picking their way over rubble and around collapsed buildings. The sun climbed higher, painting everything in harsh light that made the destruction look even more brutal.
After about twenty minutes of walking, Ishiki's curiosity finally overcame his desire to stay quiet. "So what exactly are we hunting for?"
Kaori glanced back at him, expression unreadable. "Daily necessities, clothes, food, medical supplies. Or anything useful."
Ishiki scowled. "So we're just... salvaging? That's it? You could've called it 'Salvaging party' and been more honest."
The couple exchanged amused looks.
Kaori looked at him and shrugged. "Would you have preferred hunting party meant hunting Xenons? Tell me if you have a death wish, I will do it swiftly."
He glared at her and maintained some distance. 'Damned woman!'
But another question nagged at him. He looked at Kaori's armor. The couple wore similar gear, clearly purpose-built for combat.
"Where did you all get these armors? And the weapons?"
Kaori raised an eyebrow. "The system. Everyone gets a basic armor set and weapon of choice after completing their trial. Didn't you—" She paused, reading his expression.
A smile smile forming itself on her face and then broke into a laughter. "Don't tell me. You didn't get one."
"Screw the system." he cursed. 'Crap, I feel like I got scammed. This is so unfair.'
Then he glanced at Kaori, who was laughing so hard that her voice rang out in the empty streets.
"Hey! why are you laughing so loud? Isn't it dangerous?" Ishiki asked, incredulous.
"It's relatively safe during the day." She gestured at the empty ruins around them. "Xenons can't come out in sunlight. They're all hiding in basements and sewers until dark. maybe you will find a few in shades but very rare. So yeah, I can laugh."
The young man from the couple spoke up for the first time in a friendly voice. "I'm Kenji, by the way. And this is my girlfriend, Akari." He gestured to the beautiful woman, who offered Ishiki a small smile.
He scratched the back of his head, and then said in a slow hesitant voice. "Hi... I am Ishiki."
'Why is this fool telling that to me? to make me jealous? ahh... i certainly am not.'
The boy coughed and then added. "There's another reason we're out here."
Kaori's sighed and then continued moving forward. "The main reason for these day runs is finding people who have lived through the great fall and also Players."
"Players like you come back every day, and most aren't strong enough to make it to camp on their own." She met his eyes. "We have to find them before the Xenons do."
'Oh.' Ishiki processed that, feeling slightly guilty for his earlier annoyance. 'That is actually less pathetic.'
Then another thought struck him—one that made a smile tug at his lips despite himself.
'Wait. If people return naked like I did, that means there are...'
His expression must have changed, because Kaori's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What are you cooking in that dirty brain of yours?"
"Nothing!" Ishiki said quickly. "I wasn't thinking about anything!"
But even as he spoke, that familiar wrongness started building. The same sensation from yesterday's meeting. His brain started acting strangely, his vision started to blur at the edges.
'No... What the fuck!'
Pressure built behind his skull like someone was inflating a balloon inside his head. The compulsion to speak grew overwhelming and irresistible.
His lungs burned and he fell to the ground heaving, then even after a lot of resistance the words forced themselves out:
"There would be female players coming back too."
Silence.
WHAM.
Kaori's fist crashed into the top of his skull. "Hopeless pervert," she hissed, already walking away. "I don't know why, but you were the only one roaming naked."
Kenji and Akari stared at him with expressions that clearly spelled out their judgment. Pervert. Definitely pervert.
Ishiki wanted to die. Just drop dead right there and save everyone the trouble.
'Why? Why does this keep happening? I need to control my thoughts.'
They walked in uncomfortable silence after that, with Ishiki trailing several meters behind like a scolded dog.
Eventually they reached a familiar location—the same clothing store where Ishiki had grabbed his current outfit yesterday. The windows were already broken, racks overturned, but plenty of inventory remained scattered across the floor.
"Grab what you can carry," Kaori instructed, pointedly not looking at him. "Take anything you can."
They spent the next thirty minutes filling empty bags with clothes—shirts, pants, jackets, anything that could keep people warm and protected. It was mundane work but very important.
***
About three hours later, they stood in front of a massive shopping mall, in the upper sector.
The mall had somehow remained partially intact. Judging by the faint hum of electricity Ishiki could hear as they approached, this mall still had some electricity reserves.
"This is the jackpot," Kenji said, grinning. "Mall freezers are still running. Preserved food, medicine and what not."
They entered through shattered automatic doors that hung uselessly from their tracks.
Inside, the mall was a surreal sight. Half the lights still worked, casting everything in harsh fluorescent glow. Stores stood abandoned but intact. Escalators frozen mid-motion. A food court with tables still set for meals that never got finished.
It was like stepping into a tomb of the world that used to be.
"Spread out," Kaori ordered. "But stay within shouting distance. Grab anything edible or medical. We've got about two hours before we need to head back."
Ishiki wandered through the mall in a daze, bag in hand, picking up canned goods and packaged food that hadn't spoiled. The normalcy felt wrong—like the world had just paused mid-breath and never resumed.
He passed a corpse, and as he looked at it with pity, he noticed something glinting in its hand.
A key.
Ishiki's eyes glinted. 'Goddamnit... that key.'
It was specifically, a key to his favorite car. He hasn't seen it actually but on web it was sleek and beautiful.
It would be very advantageous to have a car, if it hasn't become a pancake under some building.
But then again, where would he drive it? The roads were broken, littered with debris and bodies and the remains of civilization.
He sighed. He got the keys, but there is no place to drive it now. Wasn't this unfair.
He pocketed the key anyway. A memento of stupid dreams from a world that didn't exist anymore.
'At least I'll always have the key to my dream car. That's something, right?'
With a barely suppressed grin, he went to the meeting point in the lobby of the mall.
And suddenly, every single light in the mall went out.
The hum of freezers died. The faint electrical buzz stopped. And then—mechanical grinding sounds echoed through the building as security shutters began deploying.
'Crap!' Ishiki paled.
Heavy metal barriers slammed down over every entrance, every exit and every window. Systematically sealing them inside. Within seconds, the mall was engulfed in absolute darkness.