"The door is not locked."
There was nobody guarding the inn as Thanh Van fought for his pretty skin a moment before.
Curious, Thanh Van watched as the players huddled closer to the opening.
The miraculously unlocked door was too good to be true.
Either the system wanted to lure them out to slaughter them, or Kim Jihun had gotten rid of the lock for them. Judging by the situation, the missing plague doctors and tasks at hand… the system was definitely messing with them.
Thanh Van let out a small sigh as none of them dared to step outside, as if scared once they stepped over the threshold, they would be struck to death at once.
"We can't break quarantine," Hai Le said with little conviction. He licked his chapped lips, a low growl in his intestines urging the others to groan in response.
They were starving, thirsty, tired and scared out of their mind.
Well, except for Thanh Van. He certainly wouldn't die without food or water. The disease… A little itch over the back of Thanh Van's arm made him shudder, but he ignored it.
It was a given that he would be infected after that bastard Christof sawed at his throat with the same blade. What the little shit didn't know was that a little worm or two wouldn't kill Thanh Van.
But hell if it wasn't going to make his skin crawl and itch like a bitch!
Cursing silently to himself, Thanh Van glanced at the beefcake.
Kruger had stepped over the body as silently as a predator, now looming beside Thanh Van with a thoughtful frown.
"We can't stay here, but we also can't break quarantine-"
"The rules said nothing about breaking quarantine." Thanh Van said quietly.
Kruger turned to the beauty in contemplation. "We can break quarantine-"
"As long as we don't get caught." Thanh Van felt a small amount of bile climb up his throat. They were now even finishing each other's sentences.
Ugh.
That was disgustingly cliche.
Thanh Van bravely swallowed the sourness down, fluttering his lashes up at Kruger. "With the system giving us so many tasks, there is no way we can sit still in quarantine. That would be the end… for all of us."
The other players had been listening to the two converse.
"B-but what if we get caught?" One squeaked.
"Yeah, the plague doctors are too fast. There is no way we can outrun them-"
"Either way, we are as good as dead if we don't try." Thanh Van shrugged, his gaze dropping to his feet as if sad. "I… If I am infected, I don't have a choice, anyway."
"Ruan An is right," Kruger's voice boomed in the silence, his large arm patting Thanh Van on the shoulder. "We cannot be sure if all of us got infected. At this point, we can only try our best to survive the remaining two days and get these tasks solved as soon as possible."
The players shifted on their feet but didn't protest.
This seemed to boost Kruger's confidence. "I propose we go out in pairs. The first and most important mission is to find clean water, if you can, try to solve the tasks in pairs. We shall return to the inn before sunset. If any of you encounter a plague doctor, run straight back here to hide. As long as you get back to quarantine, we can hope that they won't punish us."
With the vague rules set by the system, Thanh Van wondered if they could hide in any building as long as they could successfully quarantine them from the rest of the villagers. If that was the case, as long as he broke into an empty house and locked the doors, the plague doctors would not get to them.
For now, he would keep it to himself. Thanh Van wasn't here to make friends.
"We should set out now." Seeing that the players were still hesitating, Kruger softened his voice. "Anybody who wants to stay, you are free to stay."
Thanh Van was quick on his feet, ready to sprint for freedom when Kruger said,
"I suppose the two of us are a pair."
Thanh Van froze, sighing in his heart.
"Seeing how we are the ones most likely infected by Christof."
"…" Thanh Van merely nodded, trying his hardest not to roll his eyes. This guy tried his hardest to come up with an excuse to tail him like a dog.
As Thanh Van stepped towards the door, the other players jumped out of his way as if burned by licking flames.
Good, stay out of his feet. Thanh Van shot them a quirked smile and stepped over the threshold and straight into the embrace of the midday sun.
He didn't get stabbed. That was progress.
Thanh Van took a moment to soak up the light, trying to get used to his surroundings. Back inside the inn, the other players stared at him with wide eyes, as if waiting for him to get maimed any minute now. But he merely stood there, tanning.
Only when the sergeant mowed his way out and stopped before Thanh Van did the green eyes flutter open, raking over the man.
Damn, they all looked like shit.
Dried blood clung to the hem of Kruger's trousers, with streaks of crimson on his white cotton shirt and even the side of his chin. The four o'clock shadow was sprouting weed, but despite all of this the man still could look quite ruggedly handsome, like the main hero of an apocalypse movie.
Thanh Van squinted his eyes under the blinding sun.
He supposed having this wall of muscle tag along was not that bad… If that pesky plague doctor went after him again, at least he could use Kruger as a temporary shield while he scrammed .
Thanh Van smiled sweetly at Kruger, the light wind ruffling his hair playfully.
Yeah, that wasn't so bad of an idea.
"Lead the way, sergeant."