When that notification popped up in front of those who had hidden themselves away and they read the information, it felt as if their souls left their bodies and fell into hell. They became weak and helpless. They only had two days to kill monsters to survive.
The mission might look easy with E-rank as its difficulty, but it wasn't, after all. There were still children, disabled people, the sick, and even old people who had survived the apocalypse. There were also young and middle-aged people with weak wills. Worst of all, they hadn't even leveled up; they were still ordinary civilians who had survived the apocalypse.
In a place once known as Olukayode Street, its surroundings had been fenced with different kinds of cars, buses, trains, and the like. Within it were survivors who had formed their own faction; the people in it could be counted up to a thousand. There was heavy security patrol everywhere: one to stop infighting among them, and the other to kill on sight any monsters or mutated beasts they caught sight of.
Each and every one of them looked at the notification screen in front of them. Some laughed and felt relaxed because they had already passed the requirements, but as for the majority who hadn't passed the requirements, they began to feel uneasy as their lives were on the line again. An uproar began within the faction as those who hadn't reached the requirements wanted to get out and fight in order to survive the next two days.
Inside a room, some men and women sat next to one another at a long round table. It was a meeting, and the atmosphere was heavy and solemn. The one who seemed like the leader had his hands under his chin and his brow furrowed as he was in deep thought.
"If we don't stop this right now, we are going to have a huge problem later," a middle-aged man with a heavy potbelly said. He was the former SPD of the Akure Police Force before the apocalypse; his name was Ifalola Miracle.
"Mr. Miracle is right. If we don't start an action now, everything we created will fall apart," another middle-aged man with a deep voice and serious face said, Alayo, a former tax collector.
"We also need to give the ones who haven't killed up to five monsters chances to do so without letting them go," said a plump middle-aged woman with flat cheeks and slitted eyes, Samirat, a Muslim woman who once worked in the Akure Secretariat.
When she said this, others began to drop their own suggestions and opinions while denying each other's opinions. The leader looked at them arguing with one another in silence, then he turned and looked at the young woman who seemed to be in her early thirties and had been silent from the beginning, and asked:
"Sola, what do you think?" The leader, Akinde, asked the young lady whose name was Sola.
When the elders in the meeting saw the leader, Akinde, ask the youngest person in the room, they showed dissatisfaction but couldn't act on it. Akinde saw this, but he couldn't care less.
Sola cleared her throat and spoke loudly in respect for the elders in the meeting room, not like she needed to; after all, she was the third-strongest person in the faction.
"Every elder's opinions are correct. We need to help the people in our faction fulfill their mission. After all, the process of the mission wasn't indicated, but that individual must kill the monsters. So I suggest helping them: we put a skilled fighter among them to help them when they are in danger, so that they can become experts and level up at the same time. That way, we get fighters for future quests," she said professionally.
The elders nodded their heads in approval not because of what Sola said, but because, despite her being stronger than them, she showed them respect, which showed how good her upbringing was.
Akinde nodded and said, "That's a good idea, killing two birds with one stone. We truly need warriors for our future endeavours. Not only for future quests, but we are going to keep expanding our territory. This quest came at the right time."
"That's true, but we have few warriors compared to others. How are we going to do it?" Mr. Miracle voiced out a flaw in the plan.
"Simple, we divide them into teams and put two or three warriors among them to only help when it's crucial," Sola said with a smile. She turned to Akinde and continued, "Also, we can use this opportunity to help and recruit others."
"How so?" Akinde asked.
"There are bound to be people who are weak and too scared to fight. We can rescue them while completing the quest," she said.
"How are such useless people going to be warriors for us?" a stern man, who seemed to have a soldier's vibe around him, asked.
"You seem to have forgotten, in just a few days, that before this apocalypse everyone had their roles. Some are farmers, marketers, fishermen, and so on. We don't just need warriors to expand our territory; we need others who will take care of other necessary departments and systems to ensure our continuous survival," Sola explained.
The leader and the elders nodded, since Sola's words held truth in them. Just looking for warriors for quests only, without having the basic necessities of life, is leading themselves to dullness and starvation.
"That's a good plan, which every one of us must participate in," Akinde said.
"WHAT?!!" the entire elders shouted in unison.
"We are elders, and you are the leader! We can just not participate when we have people who will do the job for us," Mr. Miracle said fiercely, rallying the support of the other elders.
"That's true."
"We need to maintain our elder image."
Sola looked at them as if looking at clowns or fools. Do they think this world is still the former world? Nigeria and every other country has changed. Before, with both intelligence and connections, you could stand at the top hierarchy; but in this new world, only power can make you remain in your position or improve your position, she thought.
Akinde also looked at them as if they were clowns, which made the elders' faces burn with shame.
Although Akinde was the leader, he wasn't the strongest in the faction. There was one who stood at the top, but because she didn't have any leadership qualities, she refused to become the leader; still, everyone recognized her as the true leader, even Akinde.
"Then get ready to go down in position. Like you all said earlier, this faction doesn't need useless people," Akinde said coldly. Even Sola, who seemed to have respect for them earlier, no longer had that respect for them when they all showed such childish behaviour.
The elders all stood up and went out, each trying to form their own team with those who hadn't completed the quest mission.
Other factions also had their plans. Some went out to help others, while some… for their own entertainment.