“W-What did you just say?” asked Lex, her face tense.

“The people infected with the crystal disease seem to be recovering, and it’s not just here but all over the world. We’ve received reports from many other cities with similar cases. It’s wonderful news, but once the information spread, everyone lost their minds—especially the awakened. They don’t care about protocol anymore, demanding to be let in and out of the city without going through the identification process. I understand many have family members who were affected, but still, to ju—” the soldier was cut off.

“Check me in,” Lex interrupted coldly.

“W-What? I’m sorry, Awakened Lex, but I can’t do that. You need to wait in line; otherwise, the other awakened might act up even more,” the soldier stuttered.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” said Lex, a hint of threat in her voice.

“Y-Yes, sorry. Please follow me,” said the soldier, clearly scared.

The group began following the soldier, but Adam was lost in his thoughts. So my guess was right after all. It seems like everyone who survived the tutorial is back. At least I don’t need to worry about this group anymore. But the question is, should I follow them into the city or not? If I do, I can enter the city faster, but I might also run into that bastard, which isn’t a good thing at my current level. He might be back to level 1 too, but he’s got his awakened sister. On the other hand, if I stay here, it might take me a while to get in, but at least I won’t need to deal with any headaches.

“Hey, Mike, come on, let’s go,” said LinLin in a happy tone, interrupting his thoughts. The group turned and looked at Adam; the apprehension and hostility once in their eyes were nowhere to be found—at least from most of them. One still looked at him with anger, but it was mixed with a bit of shame this time.

Will you look at that? It’s funny, really, trying to act nice once they found out I wasn’t lying, Adam thought, then said aloud, “Who, me? Why should I follow you?”

The group looked at him with confusion in their eyes.

“Why are you all looking at me like that? Ah, maybe you want the crazy guy to entertain you more, or maybe you still want to kill me. But come on, I was telling the truth. At least keep your word,” Adam remarked sarcastically.

The whole group, displeased with his words, looked at him with dead eyes.

“Hey, come on now, man. You’re taking this too far. Yes, we might have wronged you, but we still saved your life. There’s no need for you to act like this,” said Roy a hint of displeasure in his voice.

“Forget about him, guys. He might not be crazy, but he’s definitely an asshole. Let’s just leave him here and go,” Shroom grumbled.

“You ungrateful bastard, we should have left you in the monster nest to die,” Rika snapped.

“Enough. I don’t have time for this. Let’s go,” Lex ordered, then turned to follow the soldier.

The group, listening to Lex, gave Adam a nasty look before turning and following behind her. Well, this is for the best. There's no sense in being on good terms with people you might need to kill at some point. It only leads to soapy drama. After all, she is still Toreen's sister.

Watching the group leave, Adam felt a strong urge to tell Lex his real name and ask her to say hi to her brother for him. He could almost imagine the horrified look on that bastard's face when he realized his sister had been hanging out with the guy who killed most of his friends. But he decided against it. He didn't know how long he was going to stay in the city, and drawing attention to himself was the last thing he needed.

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After the group passed the checkpoint and entered the city, Adam finally felt like he could move and began to make his way toward the checkpoint himself. After waiting in a long line and struggling with the surging crowd, he finally reached the checkpoint and caught the attention of one of the soldiers.

"Hi sir, can you please help me get into the city?" Adam asked.

The soldier, not looking up, responded, "Full name and rank?"

Adam debated whether to give his real name. He considered lying but decided against it. This was the government, after all. If he provided false information and they found out, things could get complicated. Besides, with the players just returning to Earth, he doubted they’d immediately start searching for him. "My name is Adam Vlahos. As for rank, I'm not really an awakened; I’m actually one of the lost."

The soldier, now showing some interest, looked up at Adam. "Are you serious? How and why did you end up outside the city?"

"Yes, unfortunately. As for how and why, I wasn’t actually in the city to begin with. When I woke up, I found myself in a ruined city filled with monsters, about a two-hour drive from here. Luckily, a group of awakened found me and brought me here, but they just left me alone afterward," Adam explained, giving a brief version of his story.

"Damn, I don’t know whether to call you lucky or cursed—waking up after five years only to find yourself surrounded by monsters. But congratulations on surviving the monsters and on your recovery, I guess. Under normal circumstances, I’d offer you a drink and we could chat about what happened to you. But as you can see, with you guys returning, we’ve got a lot of work on our hands, and I can’t let you pass through this gate. It’s only meant for the awakened," he explained, pointing in the distance. "See that gate over there? That’s the civilian entrance. It’s rare for regulars to leave the city, so it shouldn’t be as busy. It might take a while since your case is quite unique, but I’m sure they’ll take care of you."

Adam thanked the soldier and headed toward the other gate. This one was nearly empty, with only two soldiers stationed at it. He approached them and recounted his story. Initially skeptical, the soldiers began questioning him. After a round of inquiries, one of them stepped into an office while the other continued to interrogate Adam.

After what felt like an eternity, the soldier returned, accompanied by a striking woman with long golden hair, dressed in a military uniform. She walked up to Adam, extended her hand, and said with a warm, reassuring tone, “Hello, Mr. Adam. I’m Sergeant Faith. I’ll assist you in obtaining an identification certificate. Given that the lost have been presumed dead, it’s important that we register you properly and help you find your family, if they’re still alive. Please, follow me.”

Feeling a sense of relief, Adam followed Faith through the gate and into the city. On the other side, a sleek, well-maintained car awaited them. Faith opened the door for Adam and gestured for him to get in before slipping into the seat beside him. As the car began to move, Faith maintained a pleasant conversation with Adam. She asked about his feelings, how he had managed to get into the city, and the awakened who had rescued him. Despite her warm demeanor and the careful attention, she showed him, Adam remained on edge. He knew from experience that when someone treats you too kindly, there’s often a hidden agenda.

And sure enough, her next words confirmed his suspicion. “You know, Adam, I couldn’t believe it when some of the lost told us about what you experienced in that world—especially with the system and leveling up like a video game character. One of the guys even mentioned he got a rare second advancement class, which is apparently as strong as a B-ranked awakened. Can you believe that? With that kind of power, you’re basically a celebrity. I wish I had that strength; life would be so different. Everyone would respect you and give you whatever you wanted. By the way, Adam, what was your level when you were there? I bet you were incredibly strong, right?”

It took everything in Adam not to laugh. So this was the true motive behind all the kindness and care. He should have suspected it the moment Faith introduced herself as a sergeant. Why else would they send a high-ranking, attractive officer to meet someone like him? They clearly wanted to gauge his strength for some reason, and if he had to guess it’s likely so they can recruit him. After all, what else the army would want.

But that's not important now. What matters is how much they know about him. Most likely, they don’t know much; otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent a mere sergeant to meet him. And the information they have couldn’t have come from a really powerful person either, because none of those individuals would ever give up their advantages, and information is the biggest advantage for people in their situation. That leaves the low-leveled players, but damn, those retards who go and spill everything they know just hours after they wake up? It’s like they have no survival instinct at all. It doesn’t matter though; the only thing those people know about him is his title and his first name, which is a common one. So, the information they have is not enough for Faith and her people to link the unassuming Adam to the high-level players they heard about.

Now, that being said, how much should I reveal about myself?