Chapter 72: Nightfall

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to Host for killing off 1 enemy.]

[Dispensing rewards now:]

[10x bottles of water.]

[All items are stored in your storage space now.]

[Current status: 191/100]

[Day 1 of 1 for SSS Level Shadow Plane.]

Alex was glad that he was getting closer to the number of kills required to keep the Shadow Plane ability.

But he wasn’t too anxious about getting to it anytime soon.

They would have to get as close to the southern piers later and he figured that they would encounter some other mutated beasts or enemies along the way.

However, it was best to be done under the cover of the night, so they had some hours to spare for the time being.

Alex glanced at his friends and said, "Take a rest and have something to eat first.

"We will start to clear the bodies and fortify this building and wait for the night.

"Then, we will try and get to the southern piers to see what the quarantine area is all about."

Riley and the others nodded and gave out a sigh of relief.

"I’m already starving." Terry pulled a chair from one of the meeting rooms and sat comfortably in it.

Riley shook his head at him and said, "You’ve not done much for the day, and yet you are already hungry."

"What? I was behind you covering your ass all this while and this is what I get from you." Terry shook his head at Riley and shrugged.

Brian rolled his eyes at them and he glanced over at Alex.

Alex took out some of the MRE ration packs and handed the ration packs over to his friends.

It was most convenient for them to consume the ration packs out in the field.

By now, they’ve known which selection from the ration packs is the most delicious and they unanimously liked the beef stew that was available.

And it was what Alex had given them.

They enjoyed their meal by the window while looking out into the distance, ignoring the mess that they’ve just created while fighting the suit man.

It was a welcome respite for the day so far and they got to work after having a good rest.

Brian went around the building, using his ability to take care of the decomposing bodies and turn them into ashes.

While he was doing this, Terry went to the entrances and strategic points of the building to fortify and enclose them with his ability to create and change the form of metal.

Alex went up to the rooftop to try and have a better view of the route to the southern piers.

From the vantage point on top, he could see that the route to the southern piers would require them to go across several streets and a huge grass field.

He frowned at what he saw since they were all perfect areas for mutated beasts or people to hide.

But it was also perfect for him to use his Shadow Plane ability.

Alex took note of the points that he had to be aware of and he glanced further out at the southern piers.

Even with his enhanced sight as a SSS Level Awakened, he could barely see what was going on due to the distance.

There were civilian and military vehicles streaming in and out of the area.

The whole area was heavily guarded with what seemed to be like armed soldiers in uniform.

He dropped the idea of using Brian’s drone to survey the area when he saw drones swarming into the air from the ground.

It seemed to him that the best way into the quarantine area would be using his Shadow Plane ability.

Alex went back down from the rooftop to join his friends.

They were done with their work and they were chatting about something that made Terry blush.

Riley and Brian were teasing Terry about Patricia, and Terry was trying hard to find words to refute them.

He let them be and sat quietly beside them.

This was how it had always been, even before the apocalypse.

Alex listened to them while he pondered on his next steps.

Mostly, he thought about what he should do if the quarantine area was what the pamphlet had said.

The lure of safety, food and water was enticing to anyone.

Even though he doubted it, there was still a little part of him that hoped for it to be true.

But right now, with so many lives at stake, he wouldn’t make the decision easily unless he had confirmation that it was indeed true. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Time passed by quickly with him in his thoughts and his friends’ banter in the background.

When Alex glanced out of the windows, it was already evening.

Everything was painted in an amber glow by the sun’s rays outside the building.

They could start to move now.

Alex turned around to his friends and said, "Time for work."

They gave out a groan but stood up from the comfortable chairs at the same time.

"We should bring some of these back. They sure are much more comfortable than the chairs in our dorm room." Terry twirled the chair that he had sat on earlier and said.

Alex rolled his eyes at him and he swept his hand across the chairs.

In an instant, the chairs were gone after being stored in his storage space.

"I will take the lead later." Alex said to them and they nodded.

He briefed them on the most likely ambush points on the route and what they should do.

His plan was to make use of his Shadow Plane ability to go stealth and strike without warning, while Riley and the other two will cover his back to prevent an ambush from behind or a flank on him from the side.

With everything settled, they got to the ground floor and left the building.

Alex took the lead and he turned into the street that led to the southern piers.

It wasn’t too long for them to reach the first crucial point.

The street had two rows of buildings next to it with dark alleys between the buildings.