Nine o'clock in the morning, that was the reading on the watch he got from the electronics section of the building. He needed something that could tell the time when he was out venturing. After all, smartphones no longer worked in this world. Though they could still power on if charged, at best they were just fancy flashlights or storage boxes for old pictures.
He was on the loading dock of the supermarket, Murata standing not far from him.
"Listen, if you pull that stunt up again, there won't be a second chance," Riku said in a threatening tone. His voice carried no hesitation—cold, sharp, like the steel he carried.
Murata lifted his palms slightly, a rare sign of surrender. "I won't be stupid. You're important for our survival after all. I won't do that thing again." He pointed toward the upper wall where one of the bullet cameras had been mounted just the day before. "I'll keep the door unlocked and watched from up there."
