Perhaps because Emily was only Tier 1 and had more room to grow—or perhaps because of her unique physique—
after drinking the Strength Potion, her Strength increased by three points.
The downside was that she felt even more bloated than Claire.
At this rate, she probably wouldn’t even need lunch.
"Not bad."
"The results are pretty good."
"In that case, you two can have the rest of these potions."
With that, Ethan handed the remaining Strength Potions to the two women.
Of course, he had already taken one himself.
"You... still have this many?"
Claire and Emily stared at the potions in disbelief.
Only now did they realize Ethan hadn’t been saying empty words earlier when he’d claimed these potions weren’t particularly valuable to him.
He had simply been telling the truth.
"One more thing," Ethan reminded them.
"Only drink another bottle after you’re certain there aren’t any side effects."
"And preferably while I’m around."
"If anything goes wrong, I can still save you."
"We understand."
Claire and Emily smiled gratefully.
After everything Ethan had done for them, both of their Loyalty ratings climbed to 90.
At that level, they could truly be considered trusted confidantes.
After leaving them with enough food, water, and a few weapons for self-defense, Ethan opened the regional chat.
He shared Walter’s warning about the possibility of an approaching beast tide.
It had been too late the previous night, and he was afraid most Survivors had already gone to sleep and would miss the information.
Besides...
He wasn’t being altruistic.
The more Survivors remained alive in this dangerous world, the better it was for him.
At the very least, they could continue gathering resources for him to purchase through the Exchange.
As soon as Ethan’s message appeared, the regional chat exploded.
"What? A beast tide? Are we supposed to survive that?"
"He only said it’s a possibility. Didn’t you read the part where he told everyone to stay alert? Maybe he’s just being cautious."
In the regional chat, everyone was identified by a randomly assigned number rather than by the total number of Survivors.
"If there really is a beast tide, what are we supposed to do?"
"Seriously. I almost got killed trying to slaughter a chicken. If a beast tide comes, I might as well kill myself first."
"Honestly, this game has been pretty fair so far. It doesn’t seem designed to wipe us all out."
"If a beast tide happens during the beginner phase, it probably won’t be huge. It’ll likely be scaled to our limits."
"Yeah? But everyone’s progression is different. If it’s balanced around the strongest players, people like us are dead."
"Quit complaining. The only things we can do are get stronger, observe monsters, and share useful information."
"Makes sense."
Seeing that everyone had already begun discussing preparations, Ethan stopped paying attention to the chat.
Together with Natasha and Brutus, he headed once more toward the abandoned city.
Brutus’s intimidating aura drove away many monsters before they even got close.
That gave Ethan far more freedom to choose where to search, making scavenging much easier.
Even so, he never ventured into the city’s central district.
Something about that area gave him an unsettling feeling.
As if an unimaginably dangerous creature was lurking there.
It wasn’t an enemy he could handle yet.
Since the outskirts were already providing abundant loot, there was no reason to court death.
After gathering another decent haul...
Brutus suddenly turned his head toward a nearby street.
Following his reaction, Ethan and Natasha also heard the sounds of fighting.
The two humans and the saber-toothed tiger exchanged a glance.
Without speaking a single word, they silently moved toward the disturbance.
Not a single footstep gave them away.
Hiding inside a nearby building, Ethan cautiously peeked around the corner.
Three men dressed in modern clothing were searching the area.
The leader carried a handgun.
"Damn it!"
"I looked away for one second and that bitch escaped!"
"When I catch her..."
"I’m going to make her regret it."
"Not only did she escape," another man carrying a machete said.
"She even killed Fourth."
"That woman isn’t weak."
"So what if she’s skilled?"
The man wielding a long-handled axe snorted.
"Can her throwing knives beat the boss’s gun?"
In their minds...
Firearms were the ultimate weapons.
Even a simple handgun was enough to dominate any other Survivor.
"Keep looking."
"I shot her in the leg."
"She can’t have gotten far."
The leader tightened his grip on the pistol.
Listening to their conversation, Ethan pieced together the situation.
What he couldn’t tell yet...
Was whether they were hunting a native...
Or another Survivor.
Looking in the direction the three men were searching...
Ethan quickly spotted a young woman hiding behind an abandoned car.
Her lower leg had been bandaged.
But it was obvious the injury severely limited her mobility.
She clutched a single throwing knife.
Apparently...
It was the only one she had left.
Her pale face...
Her trembling body...
And the way her fingers gripped the knife...
All showed she was in terrible condition.
As the three men drew closer...
A resolute expression appeared on her face.
She looked ready to make one final desperate attack...
Or take her own life.
Ethan activated the Leader System’s Identification ability.
The information he received surprised him.
This time...
He could only see everyone’s name and Morality Rating.
Everything else was obscured, as though blocked by some invisible force.
"So the game still provides Survivors with a degree of hidden protection..."
"It’s just more subtle than I expected."
Although the information was limited...
It was more than enough.
The three men all had negative Morality Ratings.
The young woman had a score of 65.
And Ethan recognized her name immediately.
Lena Carter .
She was the Survivor who had been supplying him with purified soil.
He couldn’t let someone like her fall into the hands of those scumbags.
Having made his decision...
Ethan gave Natasha a silent look.
She immediately understood.
Taking the Silent Hunter from Ethan...
She aimed at the axe-wielding man’s head.
Then squeezed the trigger.
Thwip!
The man never even realized what had happened.
The bolt pierced straight through his skull.
He probably died before he even understood he was under attack.
"W-What happened?!"
"Who’s there?!"
The machete-wielding man watched his companion collapse.
What terrified him most...
Was that he had no idea who had fired the shot.
Thwip!
Another muffled twang echoed through the street.
The second man suffered the exact same fate.
A bolt punched through his head, killing him instantly.
"W-Who are you?!"
The last survivor was overcome with panic.
Only moments ago they had held every advantage.
Now...
He was the only one left alive.
He tightened his grip on the pistol.
As though the weapon were the only thing keeping him sane.
Pointing it wildly around him, he shouted in near hysteria,
"Whoever you are..."
"Come out!"
"We can work together!"
"I’ll even be your dog if you want!"
The only answer he received...
Was a flash of silver.
Even with a gun in his hand...
He couldn’t escape the same fate.
One bolt.
One headshot.
Dead.
Although those three men had been hunting her...
Witnessing all three die in the blink of an eye left Lena just as horrified.
Despair slowly spread across her face.
"So..."
"Am I destined to die here today anyway?"
Just as she laughed bitterly at herself...
A heavy thud sounded nearby.
Three familiar figures stepped into her line of sight.
Support us on P@tre0n and gain access to 100 Chapters in advance!
[email protected]/inkshield