As the young man was seized, Shaw turned to the teenage girl, who slowly made her way up to Shaw and the players. Even as she walked, the teenager was stealing glances at the young man on the ground. It was clear not only was she terrified of him, but she also absolutely hated him.

The young man growled at the teenage girl, but before he could even finish, one of the players standing beside him kicked him in the guts and turned his intimidating growl into a pained groan.

Neither Shaw nor Peter stopped or criticized the player.

As the young woman reached Shaw, she couldn’t help but admit she was a little impressed by her. She witnessed Shaw take down the monster with absolute ease, but only now did she get to see how young Shaw was. In fact, Shaw couldn’t be any older than she herself. This realization made the young woman stutter a little, but she quickly forced herself to talk to Shaw with the calmest voice she could muster.

“Ah…hi.” She gulped. “Are you guys police?”

“No, but we work with the police. Kind of…” Shaw rested a comforting hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You are safe now. We will protect you. Now, what happened here?” She turned and glanced at the young man on the ground. “Who is he?”

The girl bit her lips before telling her story.

Her name was Sara. Like Shaw, she was a high school student, with her school being right next to the mall. When the monsters started popping up out of thin air, she and a group of friends fled the school. With nowhere to go and danger everywhere, one of the students suggested heading for the malls so they could hide out in a location with plenty of food and supply. Whether that was a good idea was debatable, but the students, with their logic destroyed by utter horror, all decided to go along with this idea.

On the way to the mall, a lot of people died. The student who came up with this brilliant plan was one of the first victims. Ultimately, only five students were alive when they reached the Target, and they barricaded themselves within the store where there was enough food to last them until help arrived, or so they expected.

Unfortunately, while they were somewhat protected from the NPCs, they quickly realized the NPCs weren’t the only source of danger. Sometimes, their fellow humans could be as much, if not more, of a threat.

The young man’s name was Randy. Even before the Launch, he was seen as an outcast by his classmates. He would frequently get into fights with other boys for stupid reasons, and being disciplined for going against teachers or faculty members was a common occurrence. No one liked him, and he knew it.

When the monsters started popping up, Randy reacted a lot better than his classmates. He was able to harness his violent urges against the monsters, and it worked. His level climbed while the monsters fell to his blade one by one. It was likely that without his help, none of the students would survive their journey to the Target.

In the end, there were only five students left, and three of them were girls. Randy was a level 5 Warrior, and the other boy was a level 3 Mutant.

When the adrenaline passed and darkness consumed the building, Randy started having some…dark thoughts. He believed that, perhaps rightfully so, he was the only reason these girls were still alive. If it wasn’t for him, they would’ve been torn to pieces by now. He was a hero. He saved them, and he deserved to be rewarded for it. It was only fair.

It should come as no surprise that the girls were disgusted by what Randy was demanding from them. Sara, in particular, said a few choice words to him. That was when Randy snapped. Years of repressed urges and anger exploded into the open. Since the girls wouldn’t give him what he wanted, he decided to take it by force.

When the level 3 Mutant tried to stop him, Randy struck first and mercilessly cut him to pieces before he could even use his abilities.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

For the next few hours, Randy had the best time of his life. He did whatever he wanted to his victims, raping, torturing, and humiliating them however he wished. He even forced them to strip down and took away their clothes. For a while, he considered this to be heaven, and he hoped it would last forever. Just he and three girls, together for all of eternity.

Due to Shaw’s intervention, eternity lasted less than 20 hours.

When Peter and his players reached the Target, Randy was terrified. He considered straight-up killing them all, but he could hear that there were more of them, and even if just one of them got away, things would become dangerous for him. So he tried his best to turn them away without shedding blood, and it almost worked.

Shaw was good, but she wasn’t omniscient. She didn't know what was going on with the young man, and she was about to leave him alone when Sara stopped her. Randy, realizing his actions would soon be revealed, tried to do what he did best and strike first. In his experience, the first one to attack usually won. Unfortunately for him, Shaw wasn’t that unsuspecting tier 3 Mutant. She was a hardened veteran, and she was ready.

By trying to warn Shaw of what was happening, Sara was taking a significant risk herself. If Randy managed to silence the visitors or if the visitors didn't want to intervene, then her fate would be dire. Most likely, she would be tortured to death slowly and painfully by a furious Randy. Sara knew this, but she also knew she couldn’t take the torture anymore. She would rather take her chances now than accept the fate of being a slave forever.

Luckily for her, her gamble paid off.

By the time Sara finished, Shaw was silent. She wasn’t surprised by the fact that a player decided to use his power and authority to rape defenseless women. Honestly, things like this were way too common, but she still felt a sense of anger from the bottom of her heart. At the same time, it was disappointing how quickly Randy changed. Within a few hours, the lawless nature of the apocalypse had already gotten to him. Sure, he sounded like he was always a person of questionable quality, but still…

Around her, the other players who heard the story looked terrified as well. Peter was clearly disgusted. The messenger player lowered his head and sighed. One of the men guarding Randy kicked him in the guts once more.

She turned to Peter and pointed at the Target, and the man quickly led his players into the store to collect the supplies as well as rescue the two girls still inside. As they departed, Shaw turned and stared into Sara’s eyes.

“He tortured you and your friends. Would you like to return the favor?”

“I…” Sara dodged Shaw’s eyes, and Shaw waited patiently. She saw Sara turn and look at Randy with hatred in his eyes. The young man panicked and started cursing, hoping it would intimidate Sara once again. The only thing it did was help Sara make up her mind.

“Yes. Yes I would.”

“Very well.” Shaw handed her Silver Sword to the young woman. She tilted her head at the two guards, who took a step back. Randy bit his lips before suddenly leaping into the air, but before he could do anything, Shaw raised her arm and shot an acidic spider web into his left leg.

The young man screamed and collapsed. The web couldn’t burn through his body cleanly, but the pain alone still rid him of any will to fight.

Sara’s hands were shaking as she watched her tormentors scream in agony, but it wasn’t enough to change her mind. Slowly, she walked up to Randy and jammed her sword into his body. She started with his right leg and slowly worked her way up.

The screams were sharp and chilling.

As Sara was working on Randy, Baron slowly walked up to Shaw and whispered into her ear.

“Is this really wise, Shaw?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Baron paused and organized his words. “Look, I know this Randy has done terrible things, and he tried to kill you, but he is a level 5 player. And not an average one, either. In fact, if he joins us, he may be the strongest player in our team…except for you, of course.”

Shaw raised her eyebrows. “So you are saying I should’ve tried to recruit him?”

“I am simply saying he is a very valuable asset, regardless of his personality or what he did.” Baron insisted. “We could’ve pressed him into our service if we promised to let him live. As long as you maintain your dominant position, which I’m sure you will, he will have no choice but to serve you. Either way, he will be more valuable than this…” He pointed at Sara. “this level 0 girl.

Shaw didn't say anything, and Baron quickly covered his bases.

“I just think it is unwise to trade him for her. That is all. Of course, Shaw, I am sure you have your plans and concerns, so this is nothing more than a piece of advice. Nothing more.”