The sky was just beginning to lighten when the Lucky Hunters departed the city.
The sky of the apocalypse had never been truly clear. No matter which direction one looked, a thin, mist-like gloom always hung on the horizon. Even when the sun rose, it was as if it were behind a veil of fine gauze, its light unable to truly touch a person's skin.
Paige Summers had grown accustomed to it.
But it was only after leaving the city that she realized the world outside was even colder and gloomier than within its walls.
For this trip out of the city, the Lucky Hunters had assembled a serious team—a ten-person lineup of Superpower Users, including the captain.
When they assembled, Sylvester Marshall introduced the other members to Paige Summers. The introductions were brief, of course—he only gave their names. The other members' attitudes were quite aloof. Most offered a casual greeting, while some didn't even bother to nod.
She knew that as a temp, she couldn't expect their trust, so she didn't let their coldness bother her.
The only thing that gave her pause was a subtle wave of malice she felt from a man named Quentin Carter during the introductions.
Paige Summers found the human heart to be a curious thing. A man she'd never met was harboring ill will toward her, yet Nola—who had been so unpleasant yesterday and was still shooting her dirty looks—prompted no such reaction from her.
Regardless, she secretly raised her guard against Quentin Carter.
The vehicle sped westward.
Inside the vehicle, the only sound was quiet breathing, aside from Sylvester Marshall occasionally whispering to the team member at the wheel. The SUV was clearly modified; its engine was more powerful and its interior more spacious. All the seats in the rear cabin had been torn out, replaced with handgrips mounted on the walls. Four people sat on each side, their backs against the vehicle's frame.
Once they were on board, no one spoke.
Some were polishing their weapons, while others simply sat with their eyes closed in silence.
Although she longed to study everyone carefully, she obviously couldn't do so. After a few quick glances, Paige Summers turned her gaze out the window.
For now, they were still in the wastelands on the outskirts of The Dead City. In the far distance, the faint curve of a mountain range was just barely visible.
Along the way, they spotted different kinds of animals tearing each other apart, as well as strangely shaped plants. However, the vehicle was moving so quickly that it avoided any effective attacks.
The vehicle's frame would occasionally shudder with a loud BANG—the impact of "cannonballs" launched by mutant plants. According to her boss, some plants used their fruit as projectiles. That stuff was highly corrosive; if it got on you, it would strip off a layer of skin, if it didn't kill you outright.
The Mutant Animals, on the other hand, were smarter.
After sizing up the situation, they seemed to prefer chasing the slower vehicles of other Hunting Parties, the ones with lower chassis. They even let out long howls from time to time, though it was unclear if they were announcing their claim to their own kind or trying to intimidate the humans inside.
As the vehicle traveled farther and farther from the city, until even the tall city walls were swallowed by the gloom behind them, the world Paige Summers saw began to change.
The animals grew larger. The ones they had first encountered were only about a meter long, but now they were easily two to three meters, standing at least waist-high. Their movements were more ferocious, their teeth sharper. A mere glimpse of a passing shadow was enough to make every muscle in Paige Summers's body clench.
The plants were no less formidable. Some grew tall enough to be level with the SUV, their long branches lashing through the air. They seemed ravenous, as if desperate to snatch any living creature and stuff it into the flower buds at their base to be digested completely.
Paige Summers quietly absorbed it all. This world, once something she had only read about in text descriptions online, was now unfurling before her eyes like a long painted scroll, growing more and more real.
These complex emotions only lasted a moment before she refocused on meticulously observing everything around her.
At the same time, her Artifact Making instincts kicked in, and she found herself unconsciously drafting designs in her mind.
'What kind of weapon would be best for this place?'
"Hey! Spacing out? Or... are you scared?" Nola nudged her, a smirk playing on her lips.
Paige Summers shook her head. "I'm just looking outside, trying to get a better sense of things out here."
Nola scoffed and muttered under her breath, "Such a fledgling."
Sensing that Nola's hostility had lessened, Paige Summers smiled and replied, "That's right, I'm a complete rookie. If I do anything wrong, I hope you'll give me some pointers, Ms. Nash."
Nola seemed a bit smug at that but still sounded gruff. "You're a handful." After a pause, she cast a seemingly casual glance at Paige Summers's hip. "What's that thing you're carrying?"
To be less conspicuous, Paige Summers had used the leather her boss gave her to fashion a holster for the Crossbow. A sturdy wooden clasp on the back clipped perfectly onto the belt of her combat uniform, and the tip was strapped to her thigh, making it convenient to draw and holster.