Without the clouds obstructing the Sun, nor the plague doctors hounding their heels, the streets of this scenario were almost rustic and beautiful - in a filthy way.
Thanh Van grimaced as he and Kruger scuttled along the tight alleys, trying their best to evade the murky, suspicious puddles that pooled in the cracks of the roads.
A smell of urine stung their nostrils. Grimy, mossy stone walls of dilapidated houses brushed by their hands with their moist tentacles.
Thanh Van nearly gagged as he listened to their surroundings, the oppressing silence weighing on his nerves.
Ever since they had departed from the rest of the team, Kruger had been terribly quiet. While Kruger was not a talkative person, even this kind of silence made Thanh Van wary.
No doubt, he had raised a lot of suspicion among the players. Now, if they suspected he was a mole, he couldn't really blame them either.
For now, he had torn some fabric from the hem of his shirt, using it to cover his neck and the wound that was no longer there. He wouldn't want to cause any more suspicion as is.
Ah, but he really liked the role of a useless flower vase… What a waste.
Thanh Van followed the towering man, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Kruger had stopped at a corner, walking straight into the man's back. His nose nearly broke as it got close and personal with Kruger's spine.
"Are you ok?" Kruger's deep voice echoed in the quiet alley, icy gaze studying the beauty who was rubbing his reddened nose with a displeased pout.
"Try walking nose first into a wall," Thanh Van grumbled, letting out a breath of relief as the nose was still perfectly thin and straight.
"You are tougher than you look."
Thanh Van's fingers stilled over the bridge of his nose before he let his hand fall by his side. The green eyes clashed with the icy blue.
"How did you do it?" Kruger had moved his body, successfully blocking any path forward, his gaze pinning Thanh Van in his place.
"I already told you," Thanh Van shrugged nonchalantly, and for a moment there, it seemed like even the crooked stone houses around them were calling him out on his lie. "It was pure adrenaline."
"…" Kruger's brows crinkled in thought.
Adrenaline could give humans sudden inhuman strength in situations of great stress. Thanh Van just hoped Kruger would bite the bullet, or the man would become a gigantic pain in the ass.
Kruger's glare didn't waver, and as the seconds ticked by, Thanh Van felt a nervous sweat gathering over his back.
Then a sudden smile broke over the serious lips. "You are full of surprises."
"For a moment there, I thought you would call me the mole." Thanh Van breathed out, a playful smile on his lips.
"I don't judge without proof," Kruger said honourably before he turned the corner, leading the way forward blindly.
"Then," Thanh Van wondered as he scrambled after the man. "Do you think the system favours Kim Jihun?"
Kruger seemed to bristle at the mention of the man. There was a short silence before he said,
"It is best to not fuel unnecessary fear or hatred."
"So, you are suspicious of him?" Thanh Van smiled as the man didn't answer. Instead, he had stopped in his tracks.
Thanh Van peered over the man's shoulder.
They had finally reached the edge of the clearing. Mayor Jean's blood was still painted over the angel statue with brutal streaks of crimson. The water pouring from the angel statue's vase was disturbingly reddish, adding to the murky pool below.
Four humanoid plague doctors stood around the fountain, directing the scared villagers at a cane's length. The people stood in line and gathered their water from a small pipe jutting out of the wall on the other side of the clearing.
No killing intent detected. So that one plague doctor was still missing, Thanh Van let out a relieved sigh he didn't know he was holding in.
"The fountain was their main water source," Kruger mumbled. "The only other source of clean water must be wherever that pipe leads. These old distribution systems work with the source of water sitting on higher ground."
"Well, at least for now, as long as the villagers get clean water and stay in their homes, the risk of them getting infected is significantly smaller." Thanh Van hoped they didn't have to deal with that task too much.
If shit hit the fan, it would be a pain in the ass to single out a person who wouldn't be infected. With the current 12-hour window of dying from an infection, once one villager was infected, it would no doubt spread like wildfire.
They still had way over 24 hours left. They were walking on eggshells here.
The church bells chimed then, but Thanh Van couldn't tell the time of day.
"We cannot trust in the villagers here," Kruger whispered as they retreated into the alley and away from the plague doctors' sight. "The risks are too high."
"Then what should we do? The tasks were to identify patient 0 and protect the villagers." Thanh Van was sure he hadn't forgotten a detail along the way. Maybe they should kidnap one villager and tie them up somewhere out of sight.
"If the scenario introduction is to be trusted," Kruger said, turning a sharp corner. "There is one person who is uninfected."
"…" Thanh Van was speechless as he followed the man through the many twisting paths littered with broken stones that either jutted out or caved in to form tiny pits.
"Who could we clear?"
"There is one NPC that has not shown his face this entire time," Kruger said as he ushered Thanh Van between the narrow walls and out into the open.
Up ahead, ocean waves crashed into the shore. The salty breeze stung their skin as it brushed past them. They had reached the outskirts of the village, with hills of moulded green stretching towards the water.
"Who?" Thanh Van asked, squinting under the glaring Sun at the deathly serious sergeant.
"The archbishop."