Following Zero's instructions, Jaeha lifted the sleeping woman onto his back, while Taegeuk did the same with the fainted woman Noah had been caring for. Once the path to the door was clear, Zero approached Noah, who was standing and brushing off his shirt.

"Your name is Noah, correct?" Zero spoke casually.

Noah was a little startled by Zero's approach but immediately answered, "Yes, that's me."

"Hmm..." Zero seemed to think for a moment before continuing. "I want you to lead in front, while the two of you," he gestured to Jaeha and Taegeuk, "Stay in the middle. I'll follow at the back."

Upon hearing this, Noah voiced his concern about his position. "Shouldn't I be in the middle? I'm seventeen years old. A kid like me shouldn't lead in front," he said, his voice trembling, perhaps due to the recent events making him feel scared.

Jaeha and Taegeuk exchanged looks before turning their attention back to Zero, waiting for his decision. The windows were caked with dirt, making it difficult to tell if it was already dark outside.

Understanding Noah's concern, Zero moved closer and pinched his cheek, surprising Noah, who let out an "ouch" as he rubbed his cheek.

"What are you doing? That hurts, you know," Noah said, rubbing his cheek.

"I just felt like it," Zero replied, pointing towards the fainted woman that Taegeuk was carrying on his back. "You've done well taking care of her. I think you are the most suited to lead from the front. The other two are more vulnerable, which is why I asked you to be in that position."

He continued, "Don't worry, I've dealt with most of the obstacles in this building. Even if there are some left, I'll protect you."

Zero smiled at Noah, but Noah still didn't fully trust him. Everyone was watching, especially his idol, Mister Pro-Gamer Yoon Jaeha.

Noah took a deep breath, gathering his courage. He couldn't appear scared and weak in front of his idol. "Alright, I'll take the lead. You're not lying, right? There are no dog-headed monsters outside?" he asked, seeking reassurance.

Zero nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

With everyone ready to move, Zero gave instructions to Noah. They walked towards the corridor where Zero had appeared and took the stairs down, passing by the monster corpse that Zero had slain. The blood had turned dark and smelled foul, like that of a human corpse.

They descended the narrow stairs to the first floor. Upon stepping onto it, they saw many more monster corpses. Noah was startled at first but quickly put his hand over his mouth to stifle any noise.

Seeing this, Jaeha and Taegeuk instinctively looked back at Zero, who seemed carefree, as if this were nothing new to him.

Zero looked ahead, where Jaeha and Taegeuk were staring at him as they walked. He smiled at them, but his smile made Jaeha and Taegeuk feel uneasy. They had no idea what Zero was thinking. To them, Zero was more dangerous than the monsters they had encountered before.

As they continued walking, they saw an orange light from the entrance. Noah walked outside the building, followed by the rest of them.

Outside, they were greeted by a bright orange sky, its color beautiful. However, their surroundings quickly caught their attention.

In front of the building, there were many rusted vehicles, with weeds covering the road, growing everywhere in what appeared to be a ruined city.

Following Zero's instructions, they walked forward. Zero instructed Noah to keep walking straight. As they left the abandoned factory building, they found themselves on a massive road, seemingly the main road of a big city.

They continued walking, the surrounding area eerily quiet, the breeze carrying the faint smell of charred debris and decay.

As Zero had promised, there were no monsters outside, and the sun's light still lingered, casting an orange hue over the ruined city. The remnants of tall buildings could be seen, indicating that this city had once been a bustling urban and commercial zone.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, Noah, Jaeha, and Taegeuk began to feel tired. Their minds were filled with questions about where Zero was leading them.

Everyone was lost in thought until Zero spoke up. "We're almost there. Do you see those big oak trees?" he asked, pointing ahead.

"That's our destination."

Everyone looks at where Zero is pointing his hand. Not far from their location, they saw a huge forest in the middle of the city.

He continued, "That huge forest is called Eden. It's the only safe place from the mutated monsters. Once you reach the perimeter of the forest, you'll see for yourself what kind of place it is and find the answers to the questions you have."

Everyone nodded, and they continued walking forward. Noah felt relieved, quickening his pace.

With a sense of relief, Noah walked faster. But then, they heard a whooshing sound, as if something were moving rapidly.

Zero, sensing danger approaching from behind, grabbed his blade with his left hand and looked toward the sky. He knew what was coming.

Stolen story; please report.

As he saw a dot moving rapidly in the sky, he shouted to everyone, "Everyone, duck!"

Jaeha and Taegeuk reflexively ducked, but Noah, still walking and humming, didn't notice.

Zero rushed towards Noah and pushed him down, then swung his blade. The noise from the sky became deafening.

In an instant, a huge shadow struck Zero, throwing him against a nearby building, while the shadow itself struck the building beside him.

Though Zero managed to slash at the shadow, he emerged from the building with blood flowing from his head, a wound on his stomach, and another on his left hand.

Not only that, the wounds were severe. They had no idea what had attacked them, except for Zero.

Seeing this, Noah rushed toward Zero to help him, feeling terrible and blaming himself. "I'm so sorry, Mister Zero. I'm very sorry," he said in a trembling voice, his tone becoming more formal.

He instinctively tore his shirt into three pieces and gently applied pressure to Zero's wounds. He used his shirt as a makeshift bandage to cover the wounds temporarily, making sure not to wrap it too tightly to avoid cutting off circulation.

After providing temporary aid, Noah assisted Zero in walking, lifting Zero's right arm to his neck to support him as they continued their walk.

The huge shadow had left a massive hole in the building, resembling the size of a small car. They had no idea what it was, but it was clear that whatever had wounded Zero was more of a threat than the dog-headed monster.

As soon as they stepped into the place called Eden, a strange, loud sound rang in their ears.

At that moment, Zero told Noah to free him, then walked to the front and spoke. "Welcome to Eden, dear players. I'm the administrator of Eden, Zero. I'll be at your assistance."

He introduced himself again, but this time, the introduction felt more like a programmed response.

Ignoring his wounds, Zero bowed towards them. A screen resembling a game window popped up in front of their faces.

Looking at his window showing his profile information, Jaeha then looked at Zero, and a pop-up window appeared in front of him, displaying Zero's profile information:

[Profile Information:

Name: Zero

Lvl: ???

Age: 229 Years Old

Gender: Male

Occupation: Administrator of Eden.

Attributes: ???

You cannot see this character's attributes.

Affection: 20

This character has a positive impression of you.]

He then looked at Taegeuk and Noah. While Taegeuk looked confused, staring at nothing in front of him, Noah looked at Jaeha with an understanding look. In his head, Noah thought, "It seems Mister Pro-Gamer Yoon Jaeha thinks the same thing as me."

Noah seemed to forget what he had done before upon learning what had unfolded. His mouth was ready to call Jaeha by his lame nickname, but Jaeha quickly covered Noah's mouth with his hand and told him to behave.

Jaeha was still confused, but he slowly understood his situation. He was familiar with this kind of setting, and the window screen also presented information in a way he could understand.

The occupation he had was named "player," while the man named Zero was his "administrator." He was sure this meant that Zero was what was called an NPC.

Jaeha was deep in thought, but then Zero's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I'm sure some of the questions you had are finally answered. For now, let's get moving inside. I also need to treat my wounds."

Zero now walked in front of them, leading them deeper inside the forest. The sounds of chirping birds could be heard, along with the sound of water, as if they were near a river.

The oak trees surrounding the area were so dense that only a faint light could reach the ground.

In the middle of a wide space in front of them was a campfire, still lit as if someone had just made it. They also saw a huge pot on top of the campfire, tied to an adjustable arm with a hook that held the pot securely in place above the flames.

On the other side of the campfire, Jaeha saw a huge white mansion. It had a garden with many types of flowers blooming.

As they arrived at the location of the campfire, they heard the sounds of children coming from the direction of the mansion.

They saw two boys who resembled each other running towards them. The boy with the small shovel was running while seeming to say, "Boss, welcome home!" The other boy followed, carrying a small white bucket in his hands.

The boys greeted not them, but Zero. Seeing Zero's condition up close, the boys panicked. The boy with the small shovel threw it aside, and they looked very worried about Zero, which made everyone feel bad.

Noah felt even more guilty as they looked at Zero and the kids. The kids seemed to be taking Zero to the white mansion. But then, Zero spoke as he looked at them.

"You guys too. Welcome home! It's finally worth it to wait for your arrival."

His voice was calm as Zero patted the boy with the shovel, telling him that he was okay and not to worry about him.

Zero then looked at the boy with the white bucket and signaled to him with his finger. The boy nodded and approached them with the white bucket.

He brought them a white lily. As the boy offered them the white lily, Zero spoke to them, "Dinner will be ready soon. If you saw the pot on the campfire, you could take as much as you want. These kids are the ones who made it."

He continued, "I'll meet you guys later after tending to my wounds."

Zero looked at the kids and said, "Helio (referring to the shovel kid), Elio (referring to the white bucket kid), please give our guests a warm welcome. They are the people I've been waiting for so long. Please befriend them, okay?"

The kids nodded at Zero. Then, Zero left the scene, heading towards the white mansion, leaving them at the campfire area.

For some reason, Jaeha felt something strange as he looked at Zero's back. It resembled someone from his past.

He brushed it off before gently setting the woman down from his back. Taegeuk laid down the office woman near a huge stone, while Noah seemed to be communicating with Elio, the kid with the white bucket.

The smell coming from the pot seemed to have a unique fragrance. Just what kind of dinner had these infants made? It wasn't just Jaeha; everyone seemed to be looking forward to it.