Chapter 17: Their Respective Strength

The stars twinkled in the sky, casting a serene, almost magical glow over Harper Town. Shawn and Linley shared a moment of silence, both lost in their thoughts, until Linley finally broke it.

"You... Have you received any news about her lately? Any idea what happened to her after that?"

Shawn sighed and shook his head. "I don't. I've stopped looking for news about her after that incident. I guess... It's for the best."

Linley looked at Shawn deeply and asked him, "Aren't you worried for her with all this chaos happening? She might be in danger, for all you know. Don't you want to know if she's alright? "

"With her intelligence and ability, she'll definitely be alright. That girl can subdue this great villain, Shawn, after all."

Chuckling, Linley stands up, intending to go to bed.

"Go to sleep, you rascal. It might get pretty hectic tomorrow, so we should take all the rest that we can," Linley said.

Shawn simply nodded at his words. He looked at the horizon, his thoughts hidden from everyone else.

Linley looked back at Shawn, who was still staring at nothingness. "It looks like you're still worried after all. Voicing out your concern once in a while wouldn't hurt," he muttered to himself before heading inside.

**********

The first light in the morning shone, casting a long shadow in Harper Town. Shawn's group woke up and shared a meal together.

"It looks like we also need to start hoarding food quickly. I don't want to just eat processed food all the time, you know," Troy said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although the food they have in store might still last them for a few days, starting to hoard food would be the right thing to do. It was only the third day of the apocalypse, and there were still plenty of resources available.

"If we can't really find available food here, then hunting mutant beasts is also a good option. I once ate a mutant rabbit, and it tasted so good," Shawn said, reminiscing about the taste of that delicious dish.

"Oh yeah. That might work. It's just that we need to make sure that the meat is edible first. We still didn't know if there were any side effects from eating mutant meat. Definitely, not all mutant beasts will have edible meat. Some of them will definitely be poisonous or worse." The always wary Linley warned them again.

"Indeed, I hope we have something we can use to assess their edibility," Troy mentioned.

Their group discussed some more about this issue and finished their meal. After that, they began to make preparations for their departure. Once they finished all their arrangements, they gathered up in the room and rounded up, forming a circle.

"Now, before we proceed on our journey to the clinic, I think that it's good for us to know what's the specialty and strength of one another. That way, everybody will know what our estimated strength is. This will also improve our teamwork for the battle. Sounds good? " Linley said, forming a thumbs-up gesture in both of his hands.

"Yeah."

"No problem."

"All goods."

Shortly, everybody gives their approval, with Linley being the first to speak.

"Currently, I'm Level 15 equipped with three items. I also have a Fireball skill, which allows me to bombard opponents with fire. My Fireball skill is definitely stronger compared to its indicated level. I should be able to cast tens of them before I run out of origin energy. Taking out monsters around Level 20 shouldn't be a problem."

With that, Linley gives somewhat, thorough details about him. Following him, the other members of the group tell what their abilities and strengths are, with the exception of Lily and Aunt Vivian.

"I'm Level 14, also equipped with three items. My skill is called Metal Clad, which temporarily boosts my defense. Monsters at Level 20 shouldn't be a problem for me, too." Troy was the second in line to inform the others about his strength.

"I didn't expect you to be a masochist. Are you trying to be a meat shield or a punching bag? When I think about it, it seems like you really like getting beaten out in the past," Linley commented on Troy. The latter is always the target of everyone's jokes.

Everyone chortles, imagining Troy as a turtle who can only defend and not retaliate.

Next, Ella mentioned her abilities with a blushing and ashamed look on her face. The blushing caused some redness to appear in her cheeks, causing her to look adorable.

"I, I'm currently at Level 5 with just one item. I don't have a skill yet, and I can only handle some weak zombies. I'm so-sorry that I can't help much. But I'll definitely do my best to assist everyone," Ella said in a slightly shaking voice.

Hearing her apology, the others can't help but comfort her with a hurried voice.

"There is no need to say sorry. As a woman, it's already good that you have the courage to face those zombies. You don't need to compare yourself with us brute men," Troy said.

"Indeed, indeed. You can just follow us at the back and take care of Lily and my mother. Leave the fighting to us three." Linley followed.

Shawn just didn't say anything and gave her a thumbs up.

Ella can feel their reassurance and good intentions, moving her emotions a little bit. She looked down, noticing her daughter hugging him by the waist.

"It's alright, Mom. Big Brother Shawn is very, very strong. He'll definitely protect all of us," Lily said, also comforting her mother.

When they heard her words, everyone looked at Shawn, looking forward to his strength.

Just like everyone else, Ella looked over at Shawn, also curious about him. Ella's eyes radiated a mixture of curiosity, interest, and gratitude. She was truly thankful to this young man in front of her—the one who allowed her to safely reunite with her daughter. He traveled a long distance and confronted strong mutant beasts just so as to help her and her daughter.

"Don't look at me like that. You're sort of pressuring me. Let me think for a moment, okay? " Shawn said exasperatedly.

With that, he started counting how many items he has right now. He thought for a moment before saying, "I'm level 19, with six items equipped on me. I have two skills, and I can basically deal with those creatures who haven't evolved yet."

After he finished speaking, Shawn could feel their gazes still lingering on him. They seemed to be waiting for him to continue.

Shawn couldn't stop himself from asking. "What? Is there something wrong? "

As if irritated by his ignorance, Ella chided him and said, "Is that it? You're not going to continue? Isn't that a bit too short? Tell us more! "

Linley and Troy agreed with her, with the former even pointing his finger to Lily and her mother, Aunt Vivian.

"Look, even Lily and Mother are curious and find it too short. Don't leave us hanging, man."

Once again, everyone agreed with his words, nodding in unison.

Speechless by their insistence, Shawn just shook his head. "I won't tell you more. You just have to leave the strongest monsters to me. I'll leave the rest to all of you."

Seeing his firm intention of not mentioning anything else, the others could only leave it aside. They can only satisfy their curiosity later, when they are on their way to the clinic, since they will certainly fight.

"With all that said, we still need to do two things before we go to the clinic." Shawn's eyes were sparkling, full of suspense and anticipation.

Puzzled, Linley asked Shawn, "What two things?"

"Well, it's…"

*****

In the clinic.

Inside a room on the second floor, a handful of hospital beds and small cabinets were stacked in front of the door. Several people were arguing with each other, though their voices were lowered and hushed.

"Don't be fucking stupid! We can't open that door, or otherwise those loathsome zombies outside will kill all of us. You better behave yourself! "A man wearing a nurse outfit said.

"Then, do you want to starve ourselves to death here? We haven't eaten anything for the last two days. If I were going to die at the end of the day, then I want to die with a full stomach." An obese man replied to the male nurse. The man appeared to weigh at least 150 kilograms, ready to risk his life for food.

"It's a much safer choice if we just wait for rescue. The police and the government would surely save us from this shithole," another nurse said, this time a female one.

"Rescue us? Are you delusional? "The obese man countered while switching his pointed finger between the two of them. "Those officials might need saving themselves, and you think that they can rescue us? Even if they do have that ability, they definitely wouldn't choose some remote town to save first. We're all on our own now, and no one will definitely be able to help us."

Hearing his words, the other people in the room were tongue-tied and became completely quiet. They also realize that the chances of them being rescued are slim, almost null.

The male nurse, seeing their state, took a deep breath and tried to reason with them logically. "Look, I know you're all hungry and scared. But opening that door gives us a free ticket to hell. Those zombies wouldn't leave us alone and ignore our existence. If we stay quiet and hidden, then we might still have a chance to survive. Maybe there's still someone out there who can help us out, but we need to be patient. Breaking that barricade will simply be suicide."

The female nurse chimed in; her voice is softer compared to that of her colleague. "We need to properly ration what we have left. Search the room again for anything we might have missed. But please, do not open that door. Our best choice is to stay put and wait for help, or at least until we come up with a better plan."

The obese man looked torn but didn't give his reply; he just lowered his head and remained silent.

Since the main complainant didn't say anything, the others just tacitly agreed with the two nurses.

Finally resolving this issue, the two nurses looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. The male nurse looked around the room, and when he found that no one was looking, he drew closer to the female nurse and whispered.

"Isn't Ella in town right now? Maybe she could ask for some help and lead them here."

"She's indeed in town right now. But we still didn't know what her condition was. I just hope that she remembers us if she has the chance to save us," the female nurse whispered back.

The two grew quiet, silently thinking about what kind of fate might befall them. They just hope that it will be a fortunate one.