"We seem to be running out of options," my father sighed, resigned to our current predicament. "We'll have to start searching for a new vehicle."

As we walked down the street, a thought suddenly crossed my mind - the system messaging service I had recently acquired. With a sense of urgency, I sent a message to Christine, asking if she had spotted any suitable vehicles nearby.

*[Ding]*

*[A notification pops up]*

*[It's from Christine, responding negatively]*

Without skipping a beat, I replied, emphasizing that even a bike would suffice.

Father noticed my momentary pause and asked, "What's wrong? Why have you stopped walking?"

I raised my head from the screen and replied, "Nothing, I'm just messaging Christine to see if she's seen any vehicles in the vicinity."

My father, now approaching me, inquired, "And what did she say?"

"She initially said no," I answered.

"That's a shame," my father exclaimed, with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Let's not lose hope just yet. I asked her if she's seen ANY vehicle, even a bike would do. We could always siphon some fuel from it," I suggested.

*[Ding]*

*[Another notification appears]*

"Did she reply?" my father inquired.

"Yes, she's saying 'What about the bike we had at home?'," I responded, reading her message.

"We had a bike?" my father asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what she's referring to. Let me ask her," I replied.

"What bike?" I messaged Christine.

*[Ding]*

"The bike we had at home? The one you and Uncle moved a couple of days ago," came her response.

"The one that made a lot of noise," she added.

And then it hit me - the bike we acquired after 'eliminating' that man on the first day of this chaos. We had to relocate it to another house due to lack of space in our own.

After conveying Christine's reference to the motorcycle to my dad, he informed me that the bike could serve our purpose. He suggested draining the fuel from it and transferring it to our car or, alternatively, searching for other sources of fuel.

On our journey back home, we accessed the gas tank of the bike and began siphoning the fuel into a plastic container. However, we soon realized that it would be a challenge to transport the heavy container, so we ceased the siphoning process and opted to ride the bike back to the car. We successfully transferred all the fuel and left the bike in a nearby residence.

This task consumed approximately thirty minutes of our time. Eventually, we arrived at the street leading to the monster stronghold. We cautiously made our way through the street and reached the gate of the base.

"We have arrived," my father announced, "How shall we breach the gate?" he asked as he saw Khush's attempted climb.

"What are you doing?" father questioned as Khush reached the top of the gate.

"I am attempting to climb over the gate, dad," Khush responded.

"You could have at least asked for assistance. What if you were to fall? The gate stands at a height of eight to nine feet," my father cautioned, holding the gate to prevent Khush from falling.

"I didn't think I needed help since this seems to be our only means of entry into the base," Khush argued as he struggled to climb down.

[Thud]

"Are you alright?" father inquired as I jumped from the gate.

[Clang] [creak]

"It seems safe, father. Let's begin our search for any valuable items and supplies," Khush announced, opening the gate.