Under Lawson's personal escort, the mother and child arrived at the camp safely, the harrowing ordeal finally behind them.
The sanctuary, named "Rickman," appeared somewhat makeshift from the outside, its perimeter walls crudely assembled from salvaged metal plates. However, the interior was organized with military precision—a clear sign that the management possessed a strategic mind.
The guards caught sight of Anna and her son returning unharmed and erupted into thunderous cheers. One guard, in particular, bellowed with a volume that threatened to blow the roof off the nearby tents:
"Big Brother Rickman! Anna and the kid are back! Everyone's safe!!!"
Before the echoes died down, an even more powerful roar erupted from deep within the camp:
"Fantastic!!! I'm coming!!!"
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. To an outsider, it felt as though a high-level behemoth was launching a full-scale charge.
Lawson focused his gaze. That iconic spiked blonde hair, the massive frame of a black bear, and those muscles rippling with explosive power… That familiar voice and overwhelming presence caused Lawson's eyes to redden instantly.
"Uncle Rickman! You… you're actually alive! This is incredible!!!"
"L-Little Law?! You brat, you're safe too!"
Rickman sprinted toward him like a collapsing mountain. His thick, boulder-like hands showed no mercy, patting Lawson down all over to confirm he wasn't a hallucination. Once satisfied, he let out a boisterous laugh.
"I say, Little Law, why's your muscle mass shrinking? You've clearly skipped training! Hasn't Dodge been 'whipping' you into shape lately?"
Lawson gave a helpless smile, playing along with the banter. "Dodge is too busy training new disciples these days. He hasn't got the time to whip me anymore."
"Hah! Good to know that kid is alright." Rickman waved a massive hand, his laugh ringing out across the camp. "I wasn't worried about his life, just whether those muscles of his went soft from laziness!"
Then, Rickman turned toward the guards and residents, shouting at the top of his lungs with a hero's bravado:
"Listen up, everyone! This handsome fella in white is an old friend of mine! Go to the warehouse and bring out our best canned food—and don't be stingy with the bottled water! Give him the royal treatment! Come on, Little Law, let's get inside and catch up!"
Without giving Lawson a chance to refuse, Rickman's iron-grip arms clamped around his shoulders, half-dragging and half-carrying him toward the command center (a temporary structure) in the heart of the camp.
Though Lawson was struggling to catch his breath under the crushing embrace, the familiar, rugged strength of his uncle finally allowed his tightly wound nerves to relax.
In the middle of camp, men were silently repairing gear by the dim light of small fires. The wounded lay on canvases spread over the cold concrete, moaning in pain. Amidst this heavy atmosphere, a few ragged children, barely ten years old, ran over with curious eyes. They stared at Lawson's clean, stylish white coat as if he were an alien.
"Uncle Rickman! This big brother's coat looks so warm! I want one too!"
A little girl stepped forward, timidly touching the hem of the coat. Rickman's rugged face instantly melted. He let out a booming laugh, hoisting the girl onto his thick shoulder.
"My dear, this coat is too long. It'll trip you up! When you grow up, Uncle will make you a better one by hand, okay?"
"Yay! Uncle Rickman is the best!" The girl's innocent laughter echoed through the ruins—the only sign of life in this hell.
"Uncle is being biased! I want one too!" The other children protested in high-pitched voices.
"Alright, alright! Everyone gets one! I promise!" Rickman's hearty laughter cut through the gloom.
Watching this, a wave of warmth washed over Lawson. "Uncle, you really are a 'Gentle Giant.' If you gave half that tenderness to Dodge, the kid wouldn't be so restless."
"Hmph! That brat?" Rickman smirked, his voice a mix of fatherly pride and frustration. "That boy's heart is as fragile as glass. Sometimes I wonder if I raised a son or a muscular little girl."
"Pffft—hahahaha!" Lawson couldn't hold it back. "Dodge... fragile heart? That's the most magical contrast I've ever heard!"
As the laughter faded, Rickman's expression turned somber. "Jokes aside, Law. What happened to the world? I was just unloading a shipment at the fitness center when everything went... insane."
Lawson stopped smiling. He explained the fusion of reality and the game, and the armored warriors fighting the Shadow Shifters. Rickman listened, his cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth. He couldn't wrap his head around how a "youngster's game" had become the arbiter of life and death.
"Linking armor, huh..." Rickman mused.
"Wait, Uncle, I've been wondering." Lawson looked around at the survivors. "You don't have armor. How did you learn to use these high-tech weapons dropped by the Shadow Shifters?"
"Oh, that." Rickman took a final drag of his cigarette. "We had help from a 'Black Shadow.' We were cornered by a group of those cannons, just waiting to die, when a warrior in pitch-black armor appeared. She moved like a blur, slaughtering the monsters in the blink of an eye. She left behind a pile of these weapons and flashbangs."
Lawson's brow furrowed. "Black armor? I don't have that model in my team. What happened next?"
"After saving us, she disengaged her armor right in front of us. She was a girl with long black hair, about your age. She stayed just long enough to teach us how to use the Volt-Sniper cannons. Without her, we'd be monster food."
"A girl with long black hair... is there a ninth warrior outside the roster?" Lawson's expression turned solemn. "Where is she now?"
"She left a while ago." Rickman looked toward the core of the fitness center ruins, his eyes filled with awe. "She said she was going to hunt down something called a 'Shadow General'... Law, I've never seen eyes like hers. It wasn't just courage. It was a raw, bone-deep hatred—as if she wanted to tear that General apart and grind its bones into dust."
"Debt-collecting from a Shadow General...?" Lawson breathed in sharply. "What a brave, terrifying girl. It's a pity I missed her. I'd love to see who this black warrior outside the guide's list really is."