(Punishment Zone)
The city was practically ruined, with different levels of damage scattered randomly, scaling from some damaged walls, to buildings completely turned to dust.
The business center with its large skyscrapers had been almost completely leveled, leaving a few lonely buildings amid large spaces of rubble. The residential area, on the other hand, was more fortunate, although many high-rise buildings had been destroyed in various circumstances; most of the apartment buildings were still habitable.
...
With the sun setting, a strange pair was walking towards the old area of the residential area, the man wore a baggy blue polo shirt, with jeans of a similar color, giving the appearance of an easy-going person. forget. And although the environment where they walked seemed to come out of a horror movie or apocalyptic novel, the man walked very at ease, while observing his companion.
The woman was not that small, just a little below average; but her tender face and soft body gave the idea of a small creature. Although his sportswear was completely soaked, and he was sweating from every pore on his body; he did not let go of the rope that was dragging the monsters. If someone wanted to define this scene, it would be a clear example of a person melting away from overwork.
Robert: -- Come on, do your best, there's only about three blocks to go. -- He encouraged him maliciously.
The little miss just snorted. Although she was dressed in sportswear, she was not a daily gym-goer or a huge fan of some strenuous sport. The only exercises he did were for his appearance, every time he got depressed for some reason. I would go around the park a few times and go through countless strange diets that the internet recommends. That was the maximum physical effort he had made in the past, it was impossible to crawl five monsters twice his size, for so long; but in this world, as long as the STAT of initiative exists, you will always have energy, no matter how tired you are or how many parts of your body are missing, while you are still alive, you will be able to move. Coupled with his improved stats he was able to drag all that weight away, yet his muscles and bones were crying; And the pain-filled bunny started to turn evil.
Ann: -- Idiot! -- she whispered while grinding his teeth.
Robert just kept laughing as they made their way to the building where they lived.
With the facade of a strange bright pink color, which in some inexplicable way did not attract attention. The old building had eight floors and a basement, with two apartments for each floor. With the exception of the rubble-strewn first floor, the other floors were fully habitable.
Upon arrival, they entered through a door to the left of the building, which led them to the basement through which they accessed the stairs inside the building, because the main entrance was completely destroyed.
Once all the corpses entered the basement, Robert took the rope and stored everything in his inventory.
Ann: -- (#Absolute silence #) -- Her eyes were completely dry. / No no no no. / He mentally shook his head. / I'm not surprised at all; I've seen this fat evil liar master scam a lot of people and he never ran out of inventory space… he just wanted to piss me off. Poor me! / The bunny started the regret routine again, and while he wailed he remembered something, and immediately he was happy again. / At least I got that drink. / On the way back they did not stop their march, with the sole exception of avoiding more fights, and in those moments of rest Robert gave him a drink to rehydrate. / When he gave me the first drink I thought he just wanted to bother me in another way, but… it's so sweet and refreshing. / The little lady with her sweet-loving tongue, had always detested rehydration drinks with their medicine flavor, but that drink with a faint ice cream flavor and a refreshing sensation running down her throat, had managed to make the sulking rabbit smile. / That cheeky and stingy master didn't want to give me the drink every time; but I made him do it (# vain smile #) / when Robert was reluctant to give him more drinks, the lady had chased him with her gaze insistently until he gave in. Although he ordered her to drink it whole to rehydrate, the smiling bunny had secretly stored a small stock of drinks in his inventory. She wasn't going to give them back no matter how hard his butt was whipped; he declared firmly in his mind.
Robert: -- (#Funny smile #) -- Robert watched the little lady take short sips of one of the drinks he had given her. / It's easy to make this woman happy / he smiled -- Let's go up -- he said, then they began to go up to the eighth floor where they both lived.
Each floor of the building had the two apartments on each side, with the staircase in the middle and a small balcony that allowed to see the exterior of the building, directly in front of the stairs.
On the balcony of the third floor a small figure looked anxiously towards the deadly silent streets ... When he heard the sound of the stairs he turned around while holding a knife pointed forward very tightly, in his eyes there was only fear. Robert, Ann, and the girl standing on the balcony looked at each other; there was no need for words, no gestures, no explanation, everyone understood what was happening: the girl was waiting for her parents or guardians who had not yet returned, who probably will not return. Not a single sound came from the girl's stomach, but they also knew that she was hungry. His hands were tightly gripping the sharp knife pointed forward, threateningly, but it looked like he was going to break down in tears.
There was not a single word, but everything was easy to understand.
Ann took one of the drinks from her inventory and offered it to the girl, she looked at it suspiciously, after verifying that it was the same as Ann was drinking, she took the bottle and went to her apartment, without showing it for a single time his back, the knife still pointed at strangers. With her eyes full of fear, she closed the door without saying a word.
The silly scene above, before entering the building, in an instant became a deathly silent scene, dark, as if someone had stolen the light. Even Robert, who was generally not sympathetic, took a bitter gulp of his own saliva and said absolutely nothing. An unspoken understanding of something really unpleasant.
The current world was not a game as the fools claimed, not at least for those who lived here, it did not matter the inventory, nor the statistics, nor the missions, nor how many stories were told; none of that mattered. In this cruel world, even the smallest children will find no mercy, be it for monsters or even more monstrous people, tragedy has plagued this world countless times and for so long. For the weak, it was just a shitty game.
In these three days that they were together, Robert had seen the little bunny make a lot of strange gestures, from fear, to accepting his imaginary punishment with resignation; but this face was different, it didn't look like a defeated rabbit with floppy ears, now it was just a dead person walking. Robert felt that at any moment the young lady would hide in a corner and start crying and never get up again. Robert was not going to allow this state of mind to continue. He was not an evil person as his look suggested, nor a benevolent person who would sacrifice himself for unknown people; He was just one more person in this world. So he must regain his old spirit, or things may end badly, and create a different story ...
The steps were slow as they climbed, very slow, much slower than when Ann dragged a group of monsters through a ruined city. Robert thought for a moment what to say, but he had never comforted someone, so without a better idea, he just remains the same.
Robert: -- ... Right, I was wondering what the punishment area is like, since I've never been there --
Ann: -- huh? -- his response was much more lethargic; and contrary to what would be expected of the trembling bunny, his eyes were not full of tears, or full of sadness, they were only completely dry, like a corpse exposed to the sun, like the accumulation of a cruel life.
Robert: -- You didn't tell me you were there -- Robert ignored everything and continued. -- I wanted to have prior knowledge about that place, to be prepared and that ... --
Ann: -- ... eh ... mmm (what are you thinking about?) ... of course -- during the moment he began to think, his eyes dull they began to show a more direct and simple fear. / He doesn't seem to be lying ... True, the master is very skilled, he may never have been defeated, and not many people want to talk about those experiences ... /
Robert: -- Is there a problem? -- he asked.
Ann: -- No… no, it's just not something I like to remember; But I can tell you: --
As they went up the stairs the little lady waved her arms in a lot of gestures, trying to explain what the place they called was like: the punishment area.
In today's world, which many confuse with a game, as an obvious rule in all games, death did not exist, the few exceptions to that rule were secrets that were almost impossible to obtain, for the rest of the world "dying" was not the end . Each time a player was "defeated" they could resurrect, after going through a punishment, a penalty to their statistics and the reset of all development of their body and / or skills. Then try again.
The little lady spoke with a lot of fuss and gestures, all the events that happened before she was sent to the punishment area, while she flapped like a chattering bird, trying to count every detail, but in no coherent order. It was like when a dumb friend tries to tell you a movie to encourage you to watch it, but you only hear a bunch of bad spoilers. Robert tried to put the most infuriating expression he could on his face, a really hideous face, but he was olympically ignored by the young lady who kept talking non-stop.
When he approached to tell about the punishment area, not only his eyes, but his entire body began to show slight tremors, fear shone in his eyes, but it was a fear different from the previous one, that fear of a defeated soul, which He believes that dying now and rotting is the best option, not that fear, but now showed a simpler fear, the one that helps to get away from something that causes you pain, the basic mechanism of living beings to protect themselves from danger. Although the fear he felt now was of a lesser scale, the bunny was undoubtedly beginning to shudder at his memories.
Ann: --… I've only been to the punishment area once, but I could see the next two areas. -- she said with a small voice.
-- When I woke up, my arms were tied to an immense chain that stretched to the sky ... it was very big, it seemed to be connected to the dark gray clouds ... I was hanging, only tied to my arms for twelve hours ... it was very painful, I felt like my arms were tearing at… but I guess seeing what happened in the other areas was scarier. -- Her steps stopped completely on the stairs of the seventh floor, her body was shaking strongly, she hugged herself and began to make a small ball.
Robert: -- I see a psychological attack ... --
Robert looked at the little bunny, but did not say anything to comfort her.
Ann: -- Umu ... as she was hanging several meters above the ground I could easily observe the other two areas, no, that was the objective actually ... -- she deduced -- in the next area the punished were handcuffed to a stake in the ground, in a place similar to a desert, without water or food for three days ... for three days they let them dry in the sun ... --
Robert: -- That is certainly terrifying -- he interrupted with a silly laugh.
Ann: -- Do not worry master, in your first time you will go to the area where I was. --
Robert: -- HA HA HA, I see -- / I didn't mean it for that / he thought as he patted his stomach.
Ann: -- As the master is very brave, it sure isn't a big deal, but I'm not that brave… -- As she spoke her voice was disappearing at the end.
Robert: -- No, no, no, nou. You are wrong, it really scares me, just being the next one to be vaccinated is very scary, imagine seeing that your next punishment is to be dried like fish ... and even worse, without food! It's not something I want to try . Absolutely not --
Perhaps it is because of his sarcastic gestures that he showed all the time, or because of the lightness and little credibility of his words, for all this the little bunny had never trusted the words spoken by his new teacher, who, along with those wicked eyes, he always seemed to have an evil plan in mind, or some practical joke to alleviate his boredom, that was what he thought these three days. But maybe he always told the truth, the bunny thought, it was just that he didn't care, that's why his words lacked weight, for him it made no sense to lie, there was no reason to do so. At least she believed he was serious now, even if nothing showed it.
Robert: --… In the modern era they take offense in pain over small insignificant things, these punishments must have seriously traumatized them, (#sarcastic smile #) that is why even clumsy zombies can destroy humanity (#strong mocking laugh #) -- while Robert scoffed, they continued up to the eighth floor. -- So don't worry chibi, we're both ninety percent whiny, only masochists and idiots like pain, so it's okay to be scared. -- He consoled her, although without a doubt, he did not notice.
By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, all the conversation had stopped. Ann's expression was much more relaxed. Even a little bit, he had managed to free himself from the heavy atmosphere. After telling his story, his fears seemed a little smaller ...
Robert: -- I already sent you the resources you need, rest, after I review some things I will tell you what we are going to do next. --
Ann: -- Umu -- She just nodded, but unlike the past she didn't show any emotion.
The little bunny had always been an easy person to read, an innocent, clumsy person, the kind that is easy to fool; what he thought always showed on his face. But now she looked like an expert poker player, her pretty brown eyes were staring at Robert, but you couldn't read anything in them, which is what they meant, Rober couldn't guess…
Ann felt a small drop of gratitude. If this were a dating game, it would appear: "+1 Affection."
They looked at each other for a few seconds, until it started to get awkward, then they each turned to their apartment, and said goodbye like good neighbors.