Slade's feelings were shaky despite the calm exterior he showed to the world, because only he knew what secrets the cities held. He had learned them during the election period for leaders, when he wiped out his city's population.
Just after he downed the first person, he saw the body disappear into the ground—which at the time was not so important to him, since he knew he would become leader after this and might gain control of it.
However, after the selection, he did not find any perk or even mention of what the thing might have been. Everything after that had been experimentation on his part: getting people banned, waiting for a death—which finally happened. It seemed the thing that had taken the population he wiped out was also taking the people who died outside.
Slade planned to get powerful as fast as possible—hence the points charged for entrance and all his tries at earning points. He knew he could earn more points since there were people planning to return to the city and pay them. But then City 05 happened, and the leader status was taken, throwing a wet blanket on his house of cards.
Now there was another danger: the last 100 after each month. According to the population of City 01, they might last only until the 10th month—that is, if no one died in combat with the beings outside the city. After that, traveling to another city might be the last hope of escaping the purge, and he knew it would be coming for them sooner or later.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olivia looked at Slade, who was wearing dull clothes with a blank expression but moving fast. She watched for another second and thought about what she should do to prevent the purge and make it out alive to New Haven.
There was a dangerous route of kills, and then there was the route of exploration. She happened to be leaning toward exploration—especially with her skills and wood element physique, which would work well for it.
She planned to travel alone so there would be no surprises, because she sensed danger. Maybe it was the physique, or maybe her mentality was changing and she was slowly becoming a bit paranoid about everything.
She could not give up on her life and was not ready to leave it in another person's hands. Sneaking out of the group, she made her way toward a desolate corner of the city—one of far too many, due to the large area and low population.
Looking at her Apocalypse Roulette and Apocalypse Store, she knew these were the things she could rely on, since they seemed built into her consciousness by some energy rather than planted by any being.
Looking at the points she had—earned from exploration and being the emotional leader of the now-disbanded group: 150 points. She could try a 2nd-level spin and then five 1st-level spins after that. She just needed to ration them well, and she would be ready to go.
Not waiting any longer, she started navigating the unfamiliar city, focusing on a bag and the items she would need—and those she could take.
While checking for sturdy protection in one of the areas of the city, she saw Slade also examining items. Not planning to meddle with him, she went to a corner to become inconspicuous. However, it had the opposite effect.
Slade made his way toward her. He had heard from the people who were the first to enter the city about Olivia—how the plain-looking girl had motivated people, how someone died (which he gathered from recent whispers), along with the thing that had happened with the body being taken under by the ground—exactly like what had happened during the cities' leader elections.
Slade sized her up, knowing he could eliminate her if she became a liability—a quick, silent end like during the leader elections. However she might have points from explorations. Recruiting her made strategic sense: shared resources against the looming purge, or even exploration, this was a win for him from every angle he could think, failing to think she might have got something from the roulette.
He straightened, throat raw from silence. A rough voice emerged, gravelly and unused: "Wanna team up?"