By sunset, we reached the city limits after killing some zombies that blocked our path.
Outside the city limits, I see that small camps have been set up, with small tents bearing the logo of the "Black Star" guild. I immediately put away the gloves I got from one of the limbs of an aspiring hunter, as that aspiring hunter was a member of the "Black Star" guild.
I look around and see a building with cracked walls, the rest is rubble. We approach the building and inside there are zombie guts everywhere.
"Someone's playing around," I think.
I walk around the edges and find a two-story building that looks like it might hold up a little. Even though its walls are stained and have some cracks.
We go inside, and there are zombie guts everywhere. We go up to the second floor, and it's the same.
-What do we do? This looks like the work of the "Black Star" gang. They do that when they want to take half of the survivors' cores.
-Nothing. Just throw your backpack on the ground, sit on it, and lean against the wall to rest. -I tell Watson. In the end, I'm already covered in the remains of the zombies I killed.
After we eat in the nauseating environment, I lean against the wall to sleep.
-Hello! Hello!
I wake up, the clouds are dispersing, and the sky is dark and clear.
-What time is it? -I ask Watson.
-It's 6:14 p.m. -he replies.
He looks downstairs, where a woman's voice can be heard, and I exclaim:
-You can come up.
The girl with the luscious breasts from Squad Z whom I scared survived.
"This woman must be very lucky or willing to do anything," I think, and then I ask her:
"What's going on?"
-Hello, you're here again. -she says, and I look at her quizzically. She continues: -Captain Ryan Cranz of the Black Star guild wants to know why you're not joining the camp outside Area 4.
-Tell him I'm hunting zombies. -I reply quickly and calmly.
She looks at Watson, and he shakes his head.
"I'm proud of you, Watson," I joke a little in my mind.
-Captain Ryan is a D+ rank candidate, and he's violent towards those who don't do what he wants. -she warns me.
-Wait, what kind of job does that jerk have? -I ask her.
-He's a warrior. -she replies and remains silent.
-Sit in a corner if you don't want to come back at night. -I tell her.
She walks to a corner and stands leaning against the wall.
After a few hours, she sits down on the floor and falls asleep.
While she sleeps, I load two bullets into Scarlet Rose.
"Three bullets. It's three bullets," I repeat to myself in my mind.
Dawn breaks, and deep within the city, the fluctuation of fear increases and begins to spread.
I load two more bullets into Scarlet Rose.
"That's five bullets. Five bullets," I repeat to myself again.
I feel that something is about to happen. The system wouldn't give such an easy mission.
I keep my senses sharp to make sure nothing happens.
The trucks should come tomorrow. I just have to wait, and I'll successfully complete the main mission.
-Guys, I'm leaving. -said the woman with luscious breasts.
I just nod, and she goes down the stairs and walks away.
-Why do you think the hunter Lila is here? -I ask Watson. He's from this world and must have at least a slight idea.
-She must have killed someone to receive punishment and come on this mission, because hunters only voluntarily participate in missions ranked C and above because they are the most lucrative. You said that there is likely to be a door and that there is a possibility that she will go to places with irregularities...
Watson stops and looks at me, surely thinking he's saying too much, so I say:
-Go on, I'm listening.
Watson nods and continues:
-If she goes to areas with irregularities, she's most likely after the opportunities that doors generate when they close. It is said that in the past there were hunters who reached S rank with the artifacts or rewards that a door granted when closed.
"Wow, she's risking her life to be powerful. If she achieves her dreams, I'll have to move to a city where the Babel guild doesn't have a headquarters," I think, and then I sense new fluctuations in the ruined city.
The minutes pass, then the hours.
"It's started," I murmur.
Just after 1 p.m., the fluctuation turns into an explosion.
"Watson. I think the door is broken. We must remain silent. As much as possible," I say.
Watson nods.
In the distance, inside Area 4, we hear explosions, screams, and cries.
The frequency of intermediate-level monsters, which are not typical for Area 4, is due to the fact that when a door is about to break, monsters and supernatural beings approach to obtain cores and demonic energy that allow them to become stronger. And this gate, I suspect, is related to some kind of zombie apocalypse.
Several minutes pass and part of the fear approaches the city limits. I suspect that the 1-skull zombies are ignored by some monsters seeking 2- or 3-skull cores.
We hear footsteps outside the building we are in, but the smell inside will prevent the zombies from detecting us.
So we remain silent and move as little as possible.
Outside the city, we begin to hear bangs, screams, explosions, and moans.
Once again, I take out the black gloves with metal knuckles. I begin to stretch as quietly as possible.
The small camp held out for just over an hour. But I feel like three-skull zombies are approaching the small camp, about eight of them to be exact.
In the end, they will most likely end up using the weak as bait.
Good or bad habits always come to the fore in times of crisis.