Shaw, Baron, and the messenger were all players, so it didn't take them long to reach the Target where the stalemate was.

In front of the Target was Peter and three other players. They all had their weapons in their hands in a defensive stance. Standing in front of them was a teenager who was around Shaw’s own age. He was another Warrior, as shown by the Silver Sword he was holding onto. It was one against four, but he looked a lot more casual and confident compared to Peter and his men. He didn't seem concerned at all even as Shaw and Baron arrived.

“Shaw?” Once Peter and the others saw Shaw arriving, they felt a lot more relieved. As long as Shaw was here, everything would be fine. They witnessed her put an end to a level 7 knight. This player might be powerful, but there was no way he was at level 7.

Peter walked up to Shaw and whispered into her ears.

“I exchanged a few blows with him and he got the upper hand. He is good. At least level 5.”

Unlike with the NPCs, players couldn’t see the level or attribute of other players.

Shaw nodded without replying. To be honest, she was quite interested. Her group had six level 5 players, but that was because of her. If she didn't intervene, almost everyone in her group would still be hiding in the precinct. This particular young man made his way to level 5 all by himself. He was truly talented.

In other words, he could be a valuable asset. Unsurprisingly, Shaw decided to try to recruit him to her cause.

She stepped forward and put herself between her players and the young man. Unlike everyone else around her, she wasn’t holding her weapon in her hand. It was a gesture of peace that she hoped would lower the hostility between her people and this potential asset. At the same time, if this young man tried anything stupid, she knew she could react in time.

“Hello there. My name is Shaw.” She started. When the young man simply glanced at her and didn't say anything, she continued. “My people and I are from a local police precinct. We are sent here to collect some supplies for the survivors back in the precinct. I apologize for any misunderstanding between you and my people.”

Shaw could feel the young man scanning her from top to bottom. Examining her. Assessing her. The young man gave off an arrogant feeling, but he was no fool. He saw how Peter and the other players reacted to Shaw, and he had reason to suspect she was even stronger than the Warrior he just fought. In that case, pissing her off would be a stupid thing to do.

Finally, he nodded and replied.

“Apology accepted.” He raised his hand and pointed at the store behind him. “But this store and everything inside is mine. If you want to find supplies, go somewhere else.”

Shaw turned and glanced at the Target. Honestly, she didn't care about what was inside. For the common survivors, food and supply were beyond difficult to find, but for high-level players who could cut down most NPCs in the wild, it was just a matter of time and patience. There were always more places to loot. It would be foolish to take on a talented level 5 player and risk their lives for that.

Still, the young woman was a little…confused. All players could put inanimate objects within their personal storage spaces, so supposedly, this young man could just carry everything in the store with him and go wherever he wanted. Why was he held up here?

With those questions in mind, she turned back to the young man, who clearly tensed up when he saw Shaw look into the store.

“Of course.” She promised him. “This store and everything inside is yours. I can promise you that neither I nor any of my people will try to take them.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

In reality, the issue of property rights in the apocalypse was as straightforward as everything else. These rights didn't exist if one party was vastly stronger than the other. After all, what could those stolen from do? Take the thieves to court? Only in situations like this, where both parties had reason for caution, would these rights be respected.

“Perfect.” The young man was obviously relieved. “In that case, I wish you the best of luck at other locations.”

He clearly wanted an end to this conversation, but Shaw wasn’t ready for that just yet. She really wanted to recruit this young man into her service, and not just because of his level. She could give anyone exp and levels, but what was really important was the combat instincts and experience. This young man clearly had plenty of both, and that was what made him special.

“Actually.” Shaw said while pointing at the distinct direction of the precinct. “If you would like, you can come with us back to our precinct. I mean…we are human beings, after all. We are social creatures, and we are more likely to survive if we stick together.”

Before the young man could refuse, she added to her offer.

“We only have a handful of players at your caliber in the precinct, so if you join us, I can assure you that you will be well respected by our people.” When the young man still looked concerned, Shaw added something else. “We are also planning to come out and engage the NPCs in groups every day. This way, we can look out for each other while leveling up. I mean…that has got to be safer and more efficient than going out there alone, right?”

At this point, she had made a lot of very tempting promises, but disappointedly, the young man still shook his head.

“I appreciate the offer, Ms. Shaw, but I’ll have to pass.” He gave her the most polite smile he could muster.

The young woman nodded. Fair enough. Perhaps the young man was suspicious of her words or intentions. She didn't mind it at all. In fact, being paranoid was a very good quality in this day and age. Those who trusted people that they just met had a tendency to meet horrific ends. Perhaps the young man would decide to join her after some time.

“Very well. In that case, I wish you the best of luck.” She nodded at the young man before turning to Peter and the others. “Let’s go. Steer clear of this shop…”

Just as Shaw was about to depart and the young man took a breath of relief, a voice suddenly called out from within the Target. As soon as the voice came out, the smile on the young man froze, and he started trembling in fear.

“Help! Please help us!”

Shaw snapped back around, and before she could say anything, the young man who had been talking to her suddenly raised his Silver Sword and launched himself at her. His blade went right for her throat. It was the Charge ability available to the Warrior career, but the superior reflexes of the young man made this ability much more deadly.

Neither Peter nor the other players could respond in time. That aspect alone showed that this young man was much stronger than both Peter and Baron. If he started the duel with Peter with this ability, Peter might have fallen already.

Shaw had to admit she was a little surprised. Just a little. Luckily, her attributes were much higher than this young man. She was at level 7, after all.

The Silver Shield formed in her hand, which she quickly raised in front of her head. The sword clashed with the shield. As soon as his initial strike was blocked, the young man, instead of pulling back and regrouping, pushed the attack. His blade hacked down on Shaw’s defenses again and again as he tried to break through with sheer force and ferocity.

Shaw held her shield up for a few seconds and assessed the young man’s strength and speed. After hitting the shield a dozen times at full strength and achieving nothing, the young man’s arms were a little exhausted, and his strikes slowed down.

Shaw seized that opportunity. As another hack from the young man was coming down on her, she suddenly lowered her shield and raised her own blade to match the strike. Following the sound of blades clashing, Shaw’s Silver Sword knocked the young man’s Silver Sword out of his hand.

Before the young man could do anything, Shaw raised her shield and charged into him, knocking him to the ground.

The young man struggled to get back up, but Shaw’s blows were hard, and they certainly hurt him. Two players behind Peter quickly made their way to the young man and put their blades to his neck. The young man was stronger than the players, but unarmed and injured, there was only so much he could do.

As the dust settled, Shaw turned to the direction where the voice came from and found herself looking at a teenage girl in a t-shirt obviously too big for her. She frowned and turned back to the young man, who was looking at her with a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes. The polite look on his face was nowhere to be seen.

“Well, well, well…” Shaw whispered to herself. “What do we have here?”