At this moment, aside from their own RV, three more RVs had appeared in the parking lot at some point.
Each of them occupied a separate parking space, maintaining the minimum safe distance required by the system.
Within the parking lot’s safe zone, the system prohibited attacks between players, and the RVs themselves were protected by the system.
Without an invitation, no one could enter another player’s vehicle.
However, the atmosphere in the open space between the three RVs was far from peaceful.
Two RVs were parked on the left.
In front of them stood four men, split into two groups, though they were now standing quite close together.
One pair was muscular, holding steel rods and machetes, while the other pair was a little thinner and carried homemade spears.
The metal tips of the spears gleamed coldly under the sunset.
Judging from their positions, these two groups had clearly formed some kind of temporary alliance, and all four pairs of eyes were fixed on the other side of the parking lot.
Their gazes were aimed at an RV parked on the right.
In front of that RV stood a man and a woman.
The man looked around thirty, with a fresh wound running from his brow bone down to his jaw.
The blood had not been fully wiped clean.
He shielded the woman behind him, gripping a wooden stick tightly.
One end of the stick had already snapped, leaving an uneven break that clearly showed it had been through a fight.
The woman hiding behind him was pale.
There was a dark-red bloodstain on the sleeve of her left arm.
There were about twenty meters between the two sides.
The parking lot’s safe-zone rules turned that distance into an invisible barrier.
Even though the four men on the left were holding weapons, they could not cross that space and harm the man and woman.
But by the same logic, that couple could not hide inside the parking lot forever either.
“You’ve already found the parking lot, so what’s the point of hiding in here?” Among the four men on the left, the muscular man holding the steel rod shouted at the top of his voice.
His voice echoed through the empty parking lot.
“Supplies are found inside the resource zone.
If you’ve got the guts, go out and fight for them.
Hiding in the safe zone like turtles won’t save you forever.
How many days can you keep hiding?
Food and water will run out sooner or later!” The man and woman did not respond.
The man only tightened his grip on the wooden stick and continued silently standing in front of the woman.
The woman lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, whether from injury or fear.
“That cut on your face isn’t shallow.” The man with the machete beside the muscular thug sneered, his tone carrying a strange, mocking edge.
“A zombie scratched you, didn’t it?
Who knows whether that wound will get infected?
What if you turn by tomorrow morning?
What’s the woman behind you supposed to do then?
Why not let her come over to our side?
We’ll take care of her for you.” “Shut up.” The man finally spoke.
His voice was hoarse but steady.
“This wound on my face was cut by a piece of metal, not scratched by a zombie.
Even if our supplies run out, we won’t beg you for anything.” “Oh, still acting tough, huh?” The muscular man snorted, then swept his gaze around the parking lot before landing on the RV behind the man and woman.
“Your RV looks pretty nice.
You must’ve found quite a lot of stuff, right?
We’re all survivors here, so helping each other out isn’t too much to ask, is it?
We won’t ask for much.
Just hand over half the supplies in your warehouse.
From now on, if we run into you in the resource zone, we’ll have your backs.” The man did not answer.
He simply stood there like a silent wall.
The tall, skinny man hiding behind the thug spat impatiently and was just about to throw out another threat when he suddenly noticed movement near the parking lot entrance from the corner of his eye.
“Someone’s here.” Everyone turned toward the parking lot entrance at the same time.
Hakuba Shiro and Marikawa Shizuka walked into the parking lot side by side.
Shiro walked in front, carrying a baseball bat stained with zombie blood in one hand.
In his other hand, he held the purified scepter and the entrenching shovel they had brought back from the Town Office.
Shizuka followed beside him, hugging a box of food.
Her golden hair stood out especially clearly in the dusk, and although her face still showed a little fatigue, her steps were light and her expression calm.
Their equipment could not be called excellent, but the bloodstains on Shiro made every player present quietly move a little farther away.
The parking lot instantly fell silent.
The four men’s gazes swept back and forth over the purified scepter in Shiro’s hand.
Their eyes shifted from scrutiny to wariness.
That weapon looked far better than anything they had.
On top of that, Shiro was covered in blood, and no one knew whether it belonged to humans or zombies.
After the Physique bonuses, his body had also grown much more solid.
Right now, he looked full of pressure.
The muscular man with the steel rod was the first to react.
He pulled his mouth into a smile, and his tone became far more restrained than before.
“Yo, another group.
Friend, what should we call you?” Shiro did not answer immediately.
His calm gaze swept over everyone present.
It paused for a second on the four men to the left, then moved to the wounded man and woman on the right.
The situation in the parking lot was obvious at a glance.
The two groups on the left had formed a four-man alliance, while the two-person group on the right was clearly at a disadvantage.
As for himself and Shizuka, they had just returned and happened to be caught in the middle.
“Sensei, are you tired?” Shiro ignored the muscular man’s greeting and turned his head to ask Shizuka beside him.
“I’m okay.
Just a little thirsty.” Shizuka answered naturally, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere in the parking lot.
She tilted her head and spoke in a slightly dazed tone.
“Let’s boil some water when we get back.
I also want to try the carrots we just dug up.” Just like that, the two ignored everyone’s stares and walked straight toward their RV.
“Hey, friend.” The muscular man’s voice came from behind them.
This time, there was a trace of displeasure in it.
“I’m talking to you.” Only then did Shiro stop.
He turned around, his gaze landing on the man’s face.
He did not speak.
He simply looked at him quietly, his eyes calm as a mirror.
The muscular man felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze.
A brat who looked like he was only high-school age—what right did he have to look at him like that?
But when he caught the cold glint in Shiro’s eyes, the words that had reached his mouth were swallowed back down.
“Nothing much.” The muscular man forced the smile back onto his face.
“Just thought I’d remind you, since your gear looks pretty good.
Zombies aren’t the only things in the resource zone.
Make one more friend, gain one more path, right?” Shiro looked at the man without saying anything.
Several seconds passed.
Only when the muscular man began feeling a chill crawl over his whole body did Shiro finally turn around and continue walking toward his RV.
Shizuka followed behind him.
After a few steps, she looked back again.
Her gaze passed over the four men and landed on the injured man and woman.
The bloodstain on the woman’s sleeve was especially glaring in the dusk.
“Shiro-kun.” Shizuka gently tugged on Shiro’s sleeve.
“What is it?” “That woman’s wound… it doesn’t look like a zombie bite.
It looks more like she fell or got scraped by something.
But the wound on that man’s face is deep.
If it isn’t treated, it might get infected.” Shizuka’s voice was very low.
Shiro fell silent for two seconds, then continued walking while lowering his voice as well.
“We’ll talk after we get back inside.” The two returned to their RV.
Shiro opened the door and let Shizuka go in first.
Before closing the door, he glanced across the parking lot one last time.
The four men seemed to have temporarily lost interest in continuing to pressure the pair because of the newcomers.
They gathered together and began discussing something in low voices.
Meanwhile, the man and woman on the right were still standing in front of their RV, and the man had yet to lower his wooden stick.
Shiro closed the door, shutting the outside world behind them.