The sun rose high into the sky. The blue expanse seemed to shun clouds at this moment, unblocked sun's rays having uninhibited reign in beating heat down into the earth.

Across the city, scared survivors watched the sun rays reflect off the menacing carapaces of the man-eating monsters roaming the streets, sniffing about like stray dogs for their next meal.

Their blood-stained mandibles seemed ever sharper as they glistened in the sunlight.

Weeds sprouted up through cracks in the sidewalks, the only spots of natural green among the grey ruin. Overturned vehicles lay lifeless, metallic corpses being reclaimed by rust.

The hollow groan of the bitter wind moaned through gaping holes where windows once stood.

Each derelict tower loomed ominously, no longer havens but tombs haunted by nameless dangers.

Nowhere was safe anymore.

A mere two weeks had passed, but the scarred city seemed to have endured several years of neglect.

Screams and gunshots echoed in the far distance.

A white-haired man leisurely jumped from building to building, trailing behind a group of women, shouting at them at times.

"Firecracker, who taught you how to kick? Aren't you supposed to be an athlete? Rose, if you're going to focus on using your thorns instead of your blood energy, then keep a distance. Army chick knows how to support from a dista— Doctor! That level of injury is not worthy of a heal mid-battle, for fuck's sake!"

Sighing for the umpteenth time that very afternoon, O'Brien looked ahead, spotting three largely intact residential complexes. The buildings housed survivors from the entire residential street.

They had united under three leaders and used those three buildings as their camp. The basements were intact and deep enough underground. Those buildings also had thick steel doors. It was not a bad choice for shelter.

Seeing that they were almost there, and with no enemies about, he decided to give them another lesson. "Stop and rest here. Never look forward to resting at your destination; always rest before so you'd be up for ambushes and such."

The ladies all breathed a sigh of relief and wearily dropped to sit down, like rheumatic elderly women.

O'Brien nodded and played with a card in his hand. It stored and depicted his metallic blue RV.

He faced the southeast direction. Sensing a horde of bugs, he jumped up several broken buildings to a higher vantage point.

"Wow."

The horde of Sickle Beetles was close to a thousand bugs strong.

"The upcoming queen beetle sure is rising fast. At this pace, she might use the monarch method to advance another quality. If she keeps up with that momentum, she just might take the next step in a few weeks,” he marveled, realizing she was already a Blue Stone grade. He scoffed. “Monsters sure have it easy."

In the New World, strength only gained by years of development and growth could be shortened with proper nutrition and strategy.

This was part of the reason monsters were stronger than humans who had to take the step-by-step approach.

"I should probably take her out soon before she does something crazy, like becoming an actual Queen-level monarch creature."

A True Queen however could produce offspring endlessly at set intervals, eventually forming a kingdom of thousands or even millions, eliminating predators in their environment as their bodies and individual power adapted to the strength and growth of their colony.

Seeing the eerie creatures surrounding their larger would-be queen, O'Brien felt a pang of threat.

*

"Are you not going to intervene?" Jules asked, watching O'Brien snack on nutty chocolate behind them.

"Yeah, that's what I said, wasn't I?” he asked nonchalantly, chewing loudly and making Roya's jaw tick from the habit. “I'll start and take what they have to exchange, then you can give your allocated rations and medicine to them."

“Sounds fair enough,” said Lea, hoping to end the conversation there before Jules would manage to push his buttons.

"Oh, another thing,” he remembered. “I doubt you’re that stupid, but if you give them more of my stuff than I told you to, or tell them something they aren't supposed to know, then I'll kill them all myself. Except the babies I'll dump them onto to some other group who may die at any moment, leave their fate in the hands of god."

Their silence whispered sharply. They had underestimated his heartlessness.

They had indeed planned on trying to sneak as much food as possible to the survivors since O'Brien had a surplus and didn't need them, but they underestimated his miserliness. He had even kept them eating bagged and canned goods while he ate fresh meals of meat, except for his favorite Rose, of course.

They underestimated his selfishness and ruthlessness.

"S-surely, you don't mean that, do you, O'Brien?" Rose couldn't help but stutter.

"Are you crazy? Why would you say something so cruel?!" Jules demanded, balling her fists in anger.

Lea had her jaw agape, while Roya was expressionless and silent. Her worry that O'Brien was up to no good didn't seem far-fetched anymore. They had momentarily forgotten who they were dealing with, just because he offered to help.

O'Brien scoffed, unfazed by their reactions. “I’m not their savior and what's mine is mine, I've repeatedly told you how valuable information is and if you use the information I gave you so cheaply then I'll be very pissed.”

"It's not like you'd need all that!" Jules barked in exasperation. “You're stronger than any of us, so it's not like it was that hard for you. Most of those people are just ordinary —”

"See what I've been saying?” he pointed out with his chocolate bar. “The sense of entitlement over someone else's property baffles me.”

Jules gritted her teeth. “This has nothing to do with entitlement. You don't have human decency; you're just a monster!”

“Consider me a monster, then,” he shrugged, flicking his tongue over his canine. “Anyone who gets in my way is an enemy. Anyone who steals from me deserves to die. I won't kill you all this time, but they… They are a completely different story.” Holding her gaze, he added. “Just test me."

Noticing the killing intent soaked in his calm golden eyes, Lea placed her hand on Jules's shoulder to stop her from further aggravating the situation.

"So… It's fine, as long as we don't cross the line, right?" Roya asked, level-headed as always.

"Sure. Hell, if you want to pamper them, you can do it yourself. I'll train you all a bit for Rose's sake to survive the New World as we agreed, but that's how far my benevolence goes. We'll head to the spots, you decide what to do with the food in there, whatever."

O'Brien looked up to the summoned bird that had switched with his wolf, scouting the area from above.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Fierce Grinning Wolf and Blue-Spotted Bird were two common Ash Grey summons. O'Brien had many comrades who had once possessed them, showing off to everyone, so he was well aware of how to use them. They were relatively economical, but at this stage without their activation materials, their uses were limited.

After their uncomfortable rest was over, the women subconsciously walked farther ahead of him as soon as they got back on the road.

The rest of the short journey was done in uneasy silence.

Even Rose the mediator was silent. In the past two weeks, O'Brien had made it clear that although he favored her, he wasn't going to change for her at all.

*

The group made their way to the entrance of the main building.

"Wh-who are you?" A shaky voice asked, seeing their ragged and blood-stained appearance.

"Oh, no need to be afraid,” Lea stepped forward with a friendly smile and a gentle voice. “We came to exchange food with you. Your leaders, Gianni, Kevlar, and Otto, spoke with us before."

Seeing the pretty blonde smile at him, the man wavered a bit and opened the door. He heard the leaders mention going out to ask for food from someone. They were the ones who cleaned out the food in all the nearby areas.

The man kept looking over them once they entered, as if to wonder where the food was. His gaze paused on Lea for a while, but seeing the other women, he couldn't help but steal a few more glances.

Even with ugly and dirty blood-stained clothes, their beauty could not be concealed. For some reason, the pretty women caused him to further let down his guard. What was the worst they could do?

But then a man with overflowing white hair and a skin tinged with grey walked in after them. He didn’t say anything, but his brooding golden eyes stirred something uneasy within him, an aura that announced wariness.

He gulped but sent word of their arrival, leading them to the basement where everyone gathered. They were low on supplies and he wasn’t going to let his feelings delay anything.

Sounds of subdued conversations echoed as the group of five stepped in. Before they could even look around, a man holding his small daughter's hands approached them with his haggard wife. The lady refused to lift her gaze from the floor.

"Ah, you're here. Could it be...?" Gianni asked ripe with anticipation. It was clear what he was conveying; 'Did you come to bring food?'

When he looked behind them and saw them carrying nothing but weapons, he was visibly deflated. If not for the situation raging outside the walls, he would have even switched to suspecting their intentions of bringing weapons in.

"Ah, our group is whithering away,” he groaned dramatically, heaving an exaggerated sigh while holding his daughter to his chest. “My daughter barely has enough to eat. Some children haven't eaten in days. Many are dying. Some of us gathered the courage to find food outside, despite those monsters, but we saw everywhere was cleaned out and some notes had been left.”

The ladies listened silently, glancing at O’Brien—who they still kept their distance from, by the way.

“That was you all right?” Gianni pressed. “Not that I'm blaming you or anything. It's just…you are only five people. We have over two hundred here with many helpless women and children. Surely, you didn't have to take everything.” His voice further thickened, wavering with emotion for his theatrics. “Now we are left with nothing."

Of course, the display touched the soft-hearted woman covered in a thorny embrace. Rose opened her mouth to speak, but O'Brien beat her to it.

"You should have contact with the rest of the survivors in the region to help you, yeah?” he hissed before brushing it aside dismissively. “Spare me the crocodile tears and go call them. Tell them we're here and can commence the exchange."

"Ah, but young sir —" Gianni, only a middle-aged man, was once again about to use his age and family as leverage. He was experienced in the ways of the world and knew just how effective such tactics were against women and youths, but he didn't expect to meet a walking brick wall.

"Ho?" O'Brien lightly exclaimed, his golden pupils elongating into slits as his Ash Grey essence boiled over, the pressure a prehistoric beast emanated like waves from his body.

Gianni immediately felt like he was in the presence of a vengeful deity and his knees went weak, causing him to grab his wife’s shoulder for support. Even O’Brien's group felt the energy ripple across the space.

"W-we'll contact them,” Gianni stammered, stepping back. “Th-they were actually expecting a call from us si-since you left our address as your main point of contact."

He initially wanted to squeeze as many supplies as they could from O'Brien before contacting the other groups but clearly, his plans had died before they could bear fruit.

O'Brien saw the aggregated gazes of the crowd, scouring them warily with a light tinge of anticipation. He flicked his first storage ring on his left ring finger and summoned a tall pile of food and medicine, then he used another card that spat out some canned goods, instant ramen, microwave foods, and some common medicine in a much smaller pile.

He sat on the taller piles that were several feet high, making himself at home in the center of it all. He then summoned a few mini freezers with fresh meat, out in the open for all to see, before he summoned his wolf to stand guard, causing anyone near to quickly stand back.

Gianni let out a wonderous scoff. He was blatantly tempting them.

"How did he do that?"

"They just appeared out of nowhere!"

"That wolf too. It's huge."

"Is it magic?"

"Maybe. It’s those cards. No wonder he's collecting them. I saw him use one for that pile of food and the wolf, clear as day!"

"I have one, but it just lays there no matter what I do to it."

"Me too."

Sure enough, as he laid back against his loot, groups cautiously began to approach his women after chattering amongst themselves for a while.

Gianni went to get the others, but he nudged his wife and handed her their daughter before leaving. Soon, the other groups from the buildings directly adjacent entered, headed by two men who approached the women with large smiles.

"Ah, you're here,” The elegantly dressed man said. He had neatly combed hair, a slightly stocky frame, and a curled mustache. "Truly an impressive thing you did. We checked every store and supermarket ten blocks from here. They were all empty." The passive-aggressive tone and his choice of words conveyed his stance, but he buttered it up. “It would be a pleasure to exchange things with you.”

"Indeed,” his older and shorter companion loudly added with unhidden contempt. “You selfishly hoarded everything to yourselves. Do you not have a conscience? Are you so greedy you have to take everything that others need more than you do?" He had one chipped tooth and was balding in several areas. His gold watch and suit displayed his previous position of wealth. He stepped closer to Rose as if to intimidate her.

Grrrr…

Hearing a low thundering growl, he hiccuped and backed away, seeing the wolf glare directly at him while sending his warning.

“Careful, Otto…” his elegant companion warned, his eyes also drawn to the agitated wolf.

"I understand your predicament,” Lea attempted to explain. “We didn't want to do so as well. It's just circumstances..."

"What circumstances?” The short man spun to her immediately. “That you're a bunch of greedy bitches?!"

"Please. We don't want any harm to come to you as well,” Lea pleaded, meaning her last statement intently, as there was no telling what the currently calm O’Brien could do in the next second. “We'll help as much as we can."

A few feet away, another conversation unfolded.

"How has it been these past few weeks? Any deaths?" Rose asked Gianni's wife, bending down to caress her little daughter who was scared of them.

"Uh- No,” the wife responded. “We went out to search for food a few times, but only a dozen or so people were injured; they managed to make it back alive. A few of them are recovering —” Holding her tongue, she glanced away and quickly said, “Well, actually they are doing quite badly. They are not eating well, so their wounds...aren't healing.”

While Rose tried to catch the quick switch, the woman grabbed her hand, holding her sky-blue gaze with her trembling brown ones. “They don't have enough anti-biotics. So, if you could…" She glanced suggestively at O'Brien sprawled out on his food throne. She had seen him in action. She knew how scary he was. Rose was her only hope.

In fact, their group did have some medicine and even weapons on hand, otherwise they wouldn't have dared to go out. But she remembered her husband's earlier urgings.

‘We need the food and supplies. Whatever it takes. Exaggerate. Exaggerate and beg,’ he had said.

For their daughter!

The man was scary, but the women were not. Start from the women!

She continued her pleas to Rose's discomfort.

Jules went over to the onlookers to see how they were doing, but Roya warily held her gun, looking around.

All three women in conversations eventually had the same question posed to them.

How do those cards work?

To which the women could only fake a laugh, remembering O'Brien's earlier threat. Perhaps, they might have slipped up and revealed a bit if he had not said anything, but his ruthless threat was like a guillotine above their necks.

Several hours later, seven groups of men and women entered the basement. Two individuals were particularly eye-catching.

A thin beanpole-like man was dressed luxuriously, surrounded by armed men. A fat man wearing rings on all his fingers walked in after them. The other groups entering avoided these two like the plague.

Sensing their energy, O’Brien lifted his brow at them.

These two were unmistakeably Blessed Ones.