I wake up; I am even more motivated this morning. I rush to the cafeteria to get a huge breakfast. While I eat, someone interrupts me; that’s Chloe. “Sorry to bother, can you come to the HQ after that?” she asks. I reflect on how she consistently comes at the worst moment and how they named that open space their HQ: “Sure, I’ll be there.”

I finish my fruit salad, run through my apps for a few minutes, then head for the Bureau’s HQ. They are all gathered around a table in a middle of a meeting. The president, Ethan, sees me: “Hey Joshua, come sit with us.” I sit on one of the empty chairs; all the Bureau’s members are looking at me. Intimidated by this crowd, I don’t say a word. Ethan explains to me: “As Chloe probably told you, we’re mounting an expedition.” I look at Chloe, and she adds: “We need to know what’s up there, and since you know the terrain, we need you on the team.” My last moments on the second floor were traumatizing, so I am not excited by their idea. I explain to them that the mobs up there are not joking and will probably kick our asses. Ethan tries to convince me: “We have found weapons at the mall; if we come prepared, things will be different.” Even if I don’t believe we could face the black knight, I figure that going with them could be a good opportunity to explore the second floor. I tell them that I will come but that we should avoid the Knight at all cost. After elaborating on a basic plan, we decide to meet at the mall this afternoon to pick up some gear. They insist on the expedition being tomorrow. They’ve probably been out of discoveries for a while.

I leave the reunion early and go to the gym. I think about the expedition while trying to empty my inner pool. I spend the rest of the morning doing exercise. After that, I take a quick shower and head for the cafeteria. My friends are there, so I sit with them. I tell them about the expedition, and they get pretty excited about it. After a few minutes of reflection, Jack surprises everyone: “I want to come with you.” I notice the determination in his look, but I proceed to warn him about the creatures up there. I also mention how wolf bites are painful. That doesn’t scare him: “I was thinking about that reward they talk about the presentation; I am curious about what’s up there.” Since we could use an extra hand, I tell him to come with me to the mall after lunch. We then change the subject and finish eating.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

After that, Jack and I leave the group to join the others at the mall. We meet the whole crew; Derek, Ashley, and two other guys from the Bureau. Derek bugs me about Jack, but I manage to convince him, saying we will need his skills. Jack got some hunter skills that could be useful. We proceed to enter the mall, and I discover the place. It looks like a regular mall except with very few people. It seems that you can find almost anything except firearms. Every store has one or more robot cashiers. We enter a camping / outdoors boutique. I calculated earlier that a budget of 200 credits would be reasonable. I pick a cool backpack for around 50 bucks. I pick up a wood-cutting ax and a hunting knife, the best weapon available aside from a crossbow that cost about 200 credits. I also pick up a good flashlight and some camping utilities. The Bureau’s members mutualized themselves and bought the crossbow; they also shared their food provision. I decided to get my own food, in case we get separated. Jack bought almost the same things as me. Once I am done shopping, I leave the group and head to my room. Here I open the window and train my magic for the rest of the day. I eat a prepared meal that I bought at the mall and go to sleep early.