Zed couldn't quite find the words to describe the expression on Adrian's face as they leave. However, Adrian's worries seemed to have grown heavier.
"Kid, don't be too upset. If you see any strange illusions... emmm...Lucy again, remember to come find us," Adrian said, seemingly touching his sword, though Zed couldn't quite recall if he actually had.
"Creating a new group of power is always exhausting, but it's worth it in the end."
Zed told the girl who next to him. Somehow, as long as Lucy was around, the world seemed a little less dangerous.
"Shall we take a walk around?"
Zed offered, extending his hand to her.
She took it, and he felt their connection grow stronger. Even though Lucy had spoken less since they left office, he sensed that their bond transcended language. Sometimes, mere exchange of glances could convey their understanding of one another.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the jungle, two pairs of eyes watched the young man leave.
Their face turned to extreme fear when Zed reached out into the seemingly empty air. If that alone wasn't enough to frighten Adrian, who had a sword, the fact that the surrounding flora and fauna experienced real, physical changes surely did.
Even the breath of the lord who had established the entire DR sanctuary seemed to pause for a moment.
Adrian hoped that the inexplicable sense of danger wasn't directed at Zed. He didn't want to cage such a talented Awakened, at least not before Zed showed any real signs of destruction. The boy had already been through enough.
"Oh...God, it's toxic...Did you see that! What do you think?"
Adrian suddenly asked, facing the cloaked figure beside him.
After a few moments of silence, a clear, cold female voice answered:
"Find a way to keep him with us. We can use him as our calling card."
"Calling card?" Adrian asked, "Why a calling card?"
The woman spoke slowly, seems carefully considering each word, but when her sentence came together, it sent a chill down Adrian's spine.
"Because I can't see through him."
Adrian found it hard to believe that this woman couldn't understand Zed. He was confident in his own abilities since Awakening, which had been amplified far beyond that of 2,000 brutes. Yet, even so, he didn't think he could compare to this woman, who had provided nearly all of the spores for the first batch of people in the sanctuary.
It was thanks to her help that they could supply resources to the civilians and receive healing and reinforcement during battles. Even the first spore Adrian used had come from her. The management of DR was relatively flat, with the woman's intentions guiding their actions as long as they followed certain principles. The Awakened had initially wanted to call her their queen, but she had insisted on being called a "Witch" instead.
Yes, her demeanor was like that of a mysterious witch. Adrian had never seen her face, but he had seen her use her spells. As he pondered, the woman spoke again.
"I can't see through him, which means our enemies can't either. There are a few strange forces near the sanctuary now, seemingly infected but armed with weapons. I can't produce many spores every day."
"We need someone to trade in the big cities."
"Your mean..." Adrian's eyes began to shine.
"Let the risk be borne by the big cities. As far as I know, most of the places that take commissions there are anonymous." She didn't seem to hear the agreement in Adrian's voice, only expressing her own stance as a leader.
"Let him go first. If he loses control in the city... there will be someone to control him."
"Alright, I'll talk to him."
******
Zed wandered around the camp, fascinated by the newly established refuge. He hadn't been able to see the growth of the DR refuge before, instead struggling to survive with smaller shelters for food. It wasn't until the second year after the catastrophe that he finally started accumulating his own Spore savings.
He patted his empty pockets and shook his head with a sigh.
"Still so poor..."
With Lucy by his side, Zed traversed the entire camp and eventually entered an adult shope.
*Ding*
The doorbell chimed.
Behind the counter, a woman in her thirties with red wavy hair and heavy smoky makeup was polishing a stick. It took Zed nearly half a minute to properly discern her gaze.
"Why you Stand at there. Come in, please."
Her eyes held a touch of mystery.
"Thank you."
Zed knew she must also be an Awakened.
"I'm looking for something versatile, capable of tying things up—something sturdy and reliable," Zed mused, with hand stroking his chin.
The woman approached him, and only when she stepped out from behind the counter did Zed notice her revealing tight leather outfit. The curve traced by the garment across her breasts seemed to serve as the perfect ads for this shop.
A well formed milf.
Zed silently observed Lucy, worried she would have that kind of dangerous smile on her face. In fact, he could already see her clenching her fists, seemingly confused as to why Zed brought them here.
She appeared uneasy, tugging at Zed's clothes, wanting to leave.
"What are you looking at?" the store owner asked, leaning in close to Zed and blinking her red eyes, which shimmered with an odd allure.
Zed stared back, holding his breath.
"Nothing, do you have what I need here?"
The woman continued to stare at Zed, trying to read any changes in his face or detect any signs of burning desire. However, the young man seemed entirely unfazed, his clear eyes showing no hint of change.
"Alright, if you're here for ropes, I do have them," she said, taking two steps back and turning to the stock shelves, leaving Zed with her suggestive shape.
"But let me make this clear, this shop is just a front. If you're looking for something to tie people up with, you'll need proper authorization according to DR refuge policy. At the very least..."
She paused.
"You need to be of legal age for those toys."
Zed shrugged, not feeling offended.
He was about six feet tall and had a slightly built body, which he had gained after Awakening. He felt himself growing stronger every day, but his face appeared quite young. He thought it was sort of nice to look youthful.
Shortly, the owner dragged a metal chain out of a storage room, her face already slick with sweat.
"What are you staring at? Is this chain for me?"
Zed stepped forward to lend a hand.
As the entire iron chain was pulled out, Zed found it to be longer than he had anticipated. Nevertheless, it was sturdy enough to not only bind a person but even restrain some small B-class monsters with ease.
"All right, you twisted kid, as you can see, it's an enhanced one, with traditional magic material and new spore...how do you plan on hauling this away?"
The shopkeeper, a woman with her hands on her hips, asked.
Zed hesitated.
"Don't you have any packaging spores here?"
"packaging spores?"
The woman looked at Zed as if he were a diot and continued, "I have no idea what are you talking?"
Zed slapped his forehead, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
He had suddenly realized that packaging spores had not yet been invented yet. In fact, human society hadn't even figured out how to use spores correctly at this point.
Only the radio spores gave some simple connection between camp. The number he used to call DR has already changed to radio now.
However, this wouldn't last long. Companies in major cities were already forming research groups to crack the underlying logic of spores.
Then would come the market takeover, price wars, monopolies...
But for now, none of that had started.
"Thank you and...sorry, but I might not need this for the time being."
Instead of feeling down, Zed seemed pleased. He suddenly realized the significance of the vast gap in information.
"Actually, I have no way to move this, but since I reserved it, ummm...you mentioned magic material right? I can give you this..."
Saying, he broke his pinky and snapped it off.
"Here, you could tell me how it worked when we catch up next."
Zed grinned and ran off.
"Hey, what's your problem?!" The woman yelled. Once she had calmed down, she flipped over the finger and examined it closely.
"Another strange one..."
She muttered, returning to her counter to store the finger safely.
When Zed emerged from another hidden corner store, he nodded with a relaxed smile.
"Information on a small monster hideout for a handgun, plenty of bullets, and a hidden spore..."
He mused, looked at his finger.
In less than an hour, his finger had fully recovered
"I should move faster. Right now, the whole map is uncharted for survivors, but every day, people are exploring regardless paying the price with their lives."
Zed thought as he checked and loaded the bullets into the magazine.
"But that's okay. I have plenty of time. In fact, there's so much that can change in three years, but..." Zed sighed, feeling frustrated by the limitations of small shelters.
"Anyway, I was lucky to find a hidden spore."
"Zed!"
As the young man turned around, he saw Adrian waving at him with a smile.
"Do you have time for a drink?"