"Sorry to disappoint you man, but I'm as clueless as you." Faced with Damian's questioning, Jay smiled and replied calmly. Jay wasn't surprised by the question. In fact, he'd been expecting it. After all, he and the twins were clear outlier among the others survivors.
"But…"
"Honestly, I don't care whether you believe me or not. The only reason you think I am in on something is because I am adapting faster than you and I am using my brain," Jay said. He wasn't keen on wasting time arguing over something so trivial. "My advice is to do the same as me. The sooner the better."
"And what about Sylvi's matter?" Damian asked, seeming unwilling to drop the subject so easily. He knew a few things about Jay and could accept what he said about adapting.
But his behavior while handling Sylvi's matter was hard to understand. It made no sense for him to go that far for someone he barely knew. And Damian was sure it wasn't out of kindness. Jay wasn't that kind of selfish guy.
"Oh, the girl you were about to put on a witch trial? She is fine," Jay said, his gaze wandering among the survivors before finally stopping on Ian.
"I didn't jump to some conclusions like some of you because we are in a much different world. And in case some of you didn't notice yet, we all have something called a system now."
"Yeah," Damian mumbled as he called up the system interface and looked over it with a frown. He now regretted not playing more of those RPG in the past. If he had, it would be a lot easier for him to understand how this system thing was supposed to work.
"All right, you'll play later. Please, listen to me first," Jay said, bringing back Damian and the others survivors' attention to him.
"Let's make something clear, from now on, we are in a world that is completely different from whatever we are used to. I can't say to what extent it is. However, I hope each of you can keep a flexible mind and not rely blindly on any truth you may have believed in before. Anyway, think twice before doing anything, especially if you won't be the only one affected by your actions."
Jay scanned the faces of the survivors standing around him. He knew some of them couldn't get what he was talking about. After all, what were they supposed to do if they couldn't rely on the things they always relied on? They couldn't possibly live in constant paranoia. Still, he would rather warn them now and have a clear conscience later.
"For this once, I can close my eyes. But don't blame me for being ruthless if any of you ever pull this kind of bullshit again," he added, his gaze once again trailing toward Ian.
"I was just trying to protect everyone," Ian mumbled under his breath.
"Whatever. Just remember that things will only get more confusing once we go outside."
"Outside! Isn't this too dangerous?" a girl among the survivors exclaimed.
Jay looked silently toward the tunnel. Over there, the zombies were still relentless. The continuous and loud banging sound echoed through the corridor; a constant reminder of the threat close at hand. While the door was solid, it couldn't hold forever. Unless the zombie stopped, which Jay doubted, the door would eventually break. At that time…
"Do you think it is safe here?" Jay asked with a sigh.
"But... help will eventually come, right? We just need to wait a little," she stammered.
"Don't get your hopes up. I don't think there will be much left of us by the time your so-called help comes." Alex snorted.
"That is if they ever come," Jay said with a chuckle. The system had been clear; this was a global crisis. With how everything happened, it won't be an exaggeration to say that society as they knew it didn't exist anymore.
Right now, everyone was too busy saving their own skin to worry about rescuing someone else. Whether it was the military or the government, it will take them some time to give an efficient response. And, even if they did, he didn't think this place was a priority target.
Anyway, Jay didn't care as he wasn't about to sit back and leave his fate in someone else's hands.
"That's it for now. Take some time, rest, and figure out what you want to do next. You are free to do whatever you want. As long as you don't cause more trouble, it's fine," Jay concluded.
They had wasted enough time with all that talk. To be honest, he didn't care about what they were going to do. From the way he saw things, it was them who needed him. It was never the other way around. Whatever they chose to do hardly mattered to him.
"Wait! You can't just say that and go. Is there any place that is safe? No matter, how I think about it there will be danger everywhere." Damian stopped Jay from leaving.
"No, I don't think so," Jay replied. "But in case you've forgotten, the only things keeping the thousands of zombies in the arena from tearing us apart are a flimsy door and a pile of furniture. As far as I'm concerned, anywhere is better than here."
"You're right, but it still buys us some time. Why not take a moment to think things through?" Hendrick said from the side.
'Time,' Jay lowered his gaze, his jaw tightening. 'That's the one thing we don't have.'
This wasn't just about survival. Unlike the others survivors Jay was well aware that they couldn't afford to waste a single second.
Every second they spent cowering like rats only made survival less likely.
Out there, the monsters would continue to grow stronger. And unlike humans, they wouldn't stop to rest. If they didn't act now, if they failed to follow the trend, the gap between them and the monsters would only widen until they could do nothing but sit still and be slaughtered.
However, Jay didn't plan to share any of that knowledge with the survivors. He doubted they could take it as calmly as he did. Even he had to admit that he was worried.
"Yeah, I guess you can do that. But you can count me out," he said as he pushed Damian out of the way and left
"Damn," Damian cursed as he watched him leave.
"Do you think he is hiding something?" Hendrick asked.
"I doubt. He isn't easy to get along with but I don't see why he will lie to us." Damian shook his head.
"But you still asked him all those questions? Why?"
"You know Aegis Corporation?"
"Aegis? The security company? Who doesn't know them in this city? What does that have to do with him?"
"Well, he is their heir."
"Damn, I didn't know he was that rich."
"Yeah, the Williams keep a low profile. I only know because my cousin works for them."
"But that doesn't explain the fighting, and everything else, right?"
"They are a military family. I heard that their kids receive hellish training from the childhood. He is probably better than most special forces."
"Oh… I guess that explain a lot."
"Yes, and he was the most likely to know something about this whole situation."
"Seems he doesn't." Hendrick said with a sigh.
"Unfortunately. Still, that changes nothing to the fact that we should stick with them," Damian said with certainty.
"We'll see. For now, let's check the system interface."
"Yeah, let's do that."
****
"You could have been nicer with them," Alex said as he watched Jay sit in a chair.
"It was useless. I don't need them to be comfortable around me or give them the impression they have a choice. People tend to do stupid things when they are comfortable." Jay retorted once again picking the satellite phone and playing with it.
"Whatever. So, you're going to let them tag along with us?"
"I plan to take those who are willing to listen. As for the rest, they can do what they want."
"That's going to be troublesome."
"I know, but we can't just leave them behind like this. However, everything will depend on the situation outside."
"I see you already have a plan."
"Yes. Let's wait for Lexie and discuss it."
A few moments later, the creaking of the door echoed through the room, announcing Lexie's return.
"How are they holding up?" Alex asked.
"She's a little weak. But everything is fine otherwise," Lexie replied, picking a bottle of water and taking a few sips. "We should dress that wound later. It would be stupid if she dies from an infection."
"Good. I hope this ends well," Jay mumbled.
"Why are you saying that? I thought she was out of trouble," Alex asked, his brows furrowing.
"Theoretically, but we can't be sure. That bite should have killed her. Who know if something unexpected will happen now that she's going to survive," Lexie explained, her voice filled with uncertainty.
"So that's why you sent them away," Alex mumbled, a hint of realization in his eyes.
"Yes, that and to avoid further trouble." Jay replied.
While it was highly unlikely for something to go wrong, it never hurt to be cautious. Besides, after what had happened earlier, letting the two girls stay with the others survivors could easily lead to another conflict.
He didn't have the energy to deal with that kind of bullshit once again.
"Best of luck to them, then," Alex muttered, shaking his head. They had done all they could. Now, all that was left was to hope for the best. And truthfully, a positive outcome was in everyone's interest. If the bite could be resisted, it would mean a lot.
"Let's set that aside for now. We were talking about what we were going to do," Lexie reminded them. "Are we going to look for Sam and Jess?"
"I want to, but we can't rush," Jay said, shaking his head.
Lexie blinked, slightly surprised. "Oh? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Running off without enough information will only put us in more danger. If we aren't careful, we could waste precious time and still fail to find them," Jay explained.
His heart wanted nothing more than to find Sam and Jess, to make sure they were safe. But logic told him that rushing blindly wouldn't help anyone.
Silent, he stared at the red painted wall as if his eyes could pierce through them and look at the distant city.
Burning streets, frenzied crowds running in all directions, mad zombies pursuing them, their growls echoing like a call from the underworld. The sickening sound of flesh being torn apart and chewed on mixed with the pleas of humans being eaten alive. And all that under the helpless eyes of the few survivors, hiding in corners, hoping to disappear and wondering if it was all a nightmare.
That was probably the scene being played on the streets at the moment. If they weren't careful, moving through the streets now would be a death sentence. Without proper preparation, they'd only be throwing their lives away. He had to trust Sam and Jess and plan everything carefully before taking further actions.
"I know it's not an easy choice, but I'm sure things will work out," Lexie said, reaching out to squeeze Jay's hand.
If he had decided to look for them regardless of the consequences, neither Alex nor she would have stopped him. They would have followed, no questions asked. But she was relieved that he had kept his cool as it was much safer for everyone.
"You remember our plan for situations like this, right?"
Lexie's eyes widened slightly before she nodded. "I almost forgot. We're supposed to rendez-vous at the estate within a day, and only start searching if someone doesn't show up."
Jay nodded. "Exactly. We made those emergency plans for a reason. If we all start looking for each other without coordination, it'll turn into a disaster."
"So, we have one day to prepare," Alex noted.
"Right. First, we need to leave here. Then, we focus on getting stronger and gathering information," Jay said.
"That sounds good to me," Lexie agreed.
"When you say getting stronger, you mean leveling up, right?" Alex asked.
"Since the system is here, we might as well make the best use of it. Killing zombies not only clears the way, but it also makes us stronger. That's a win-win," Jay explained with a smile.
"I get it. Every bit of strength matters in our situation. But we can't exactly fight with these toothpicks," Alex said, playing with one of Lexie's knives.
"These toothpicks just saved your life." Lexie glowered.
"Right, sorry." Alex raised his hands in surrender then asked Jay, "You don't happen to have a stash of weapons nearby, do you?"
Jay smile widened. "Don't worry about that."