Supplier and Survivor

Right after Mia got her side quest, collecting 10 roses with an unlimited time limit, Mia decided to leave for a moment to follow where Seth was going.

Seth's current objective was to arrive at the nearest merchant shop. The number of merchant shops in the city was only two, judging from the map that appeared on the screen of his system bracelet.

The location of the merchant shop wasn't so far from where Seth and Mia were currently standing. It only took them ten minutes to arrive, even though the place was inside a small road, similar to a country road.

The conditions in that place were much different compared to the previous place, the side quest post. This place felt so deserted, like a dead town. There was only one open shop with a dollar symbol displayed above their shop, indicating it was a merchant.

Seth stopped outside the shop, greeted by a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved black T-shirt, shabby trousers and grey-white hair.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" asked the man, welcoming the arrival of the two people, his first visitors, so to speak.

"There's something I'd like to buy," Seth replied.

"Before that, please insert your bracelets into that detector over there," said the man who owned the shop, indicating a circular device with a blue light visible around the inside of the circle.

Seth cleared his throat. He put his bracelet inside. A notification from the merchant store's computer showed that Seth was allowed to shop.

"You've passed the 30th level, huh? That's fast. Do you kill many people?" the man asked, squinting at Seth.

"I'm just defending myself from a horde of criminals. That's all," Seth replied, sighing softly.

"Even so, you know how to retrieve the status of a dead person. How do you know that?" the middle-aged man asked, growing suspicious.

Seth didn't answer. His right hand chose to pick up the menu list containing the items sold in the shop. Seth's eyes focused on two items that could greatly help him: the Lv. IV recovery potion and the Abbarent Shard.

"Don't you have a hoverbike?" Seth asked.

"Not every merchant has it. You can find merchants that sell it in big cities. Chicago is one of them," said the middle-aged man.

"Chicago, huh? Do I have to return just to get a hoverbike?" muttered Seth.

Mia, who had been confused, began to ask the most basic question: why were the electronics in that store turned on? While everywhere else was off.

"Excuse me. Why is your computer on? What about these lights? Weren't all the electronics ruined at the beginning of the alien invasion?" Mia asked.

Seth turned his head slowly, seeing the inquisitive expression on the girl's face. The merchant's man laughed aloud. He was also initially acting like that, both puzzled and amazed.

"I was expecting my visitors to ask that question," said the middle-aged man.

"Basically, all this stuff comes from aliens," the man replied, making Mia reflexively tilt her head.

"But this is electronic stuff. It must have its own electromagnetic field," Mia said.

"That's different, Mia," Seth said.

The man added to the merchant's explanation as he ordered a Lv. IV recovery potion and 20 pieces of Abbarent Shard to upgrade his handgun. The middle-aged man began processing Seth's transaction, walking towards the back of the store to pick up the items Seth wanted.

"The laser released at the beginning of the alien invasion only affected all electromagnetic devices on Earth. Things like this didn't exist before, so they won't be affected," Seth replied.

"But why didn't we get the same stuff as them?" asked Mia, curious.

"That guy, he signed up to be a supplier. Even though the world is in chaos, the economy still has to run. Among the other survivors, some chose the path of a merchant," Seth replied.

"An example is him. That guy is forever not allowed to join any floor or side duty. His only duty is to trade," Seth said.

"If he's caught red-handed joining in between, then the Skywatcher will come down and kill him," Seth said.

Mia nodded with her mouth open, forming a small 'o'. The girl fully understood Seth's simple explanation, proving that the Skywatchers were maniacs at killing humans and concerned about the human economy.

"So, what if he gets robbed?" asked Seth.

"The merchants can fight back with all their might. If they are killed and the goods are robbed, then the Skywatcher will hunt them down," Seth said.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," replied the middle-aged man, the shop owner.

Seth cleared his throat as he nodded slowly. He opened the recovery bottle and downed it in one gulp, while the cloth pouch containing twenty Abbarent Shards he kept for weapon upgrades when he reached level 60.

"Most of the merchants are old people because they think it would be hard to be competitive with young people in floor duty," Seth explained.

"That's why I joined as a Supplier," the middle-aged man replied.

"That totals to 250gp," said the middle-aged man, extending his hand to point at the circular detector that Seth had tried earlier.

Seth guided his right hand into the detector. The middle-aged man before Seth nodded slowly, seeing a notification pop up from his computer screen with the information that Seth had paid.

"Thank you for visiting. If you need anything, you know where I am, right?" the man asked, smiling happily after realizing he'd gotten one of his paying customers.

Seth nodded. The effects of the potion he drank were felt in his left hand. His left hand was no longer in pain and could move freely. Seth opened the cast wrapped around his left hand and swung the hand in all directions.

"What happened to your hand before?" Mia asked.

"It was broken when I was chased by the Skywatcher," Seth replied.

The two began to walk away from the place towards a flower shop. Mia knew where the flower shop was located. Seth let Mia walk first, as she knew the exact location better than Seth.

After about twenty minutes of walking, Seth and Mia finally arrived at the flower shop they were looking for. It seemed that some of the rooms in the store were still safely guarded. Mia began to walk in to look for 10 roses for her first side quest.

Seth seemed to be behind Mia, turning his head to the right and left with his right hand at the ready in the back pocket of his pants. It was already late at night, so visibility was reduced.

The man was worried about their impromptu attack on him or Mia. However, until the 30-minute wait, nothing bad happened as Seth had anticipated.

Mia came out carrying 10 bunches of roses. Seth asked her not to return there and chose to rest with him tonight.

"Going to the side quest post at night is too dangerous. We'll rest and resume tomorrow."