[Your group has murdered the owner of three simple apartments...].
Marlen ignored the useless message. She was the only one still conscious. Miriam and Adam were on the ground and continued to bleed, although they did not appear to be in critical condition. Even Rony had been affected and lay broken near them both.
After checking that her sister was okay and removing her mask for a breath of fresh air, Marlen approached Adam and checked to make sure he was alive. Just as she was about to approach Rony to see what was wrong with it, someone opened the door.
—Rony, are you all right?
Terry, who was sweating like he had just run a marathon, came to Rony's side and ignored everyone else, then carried it in his arms and left the room.
Marlen's mouth dropped open and shook her head as Terry left the room. She looked for Adam's backpack in the garden and extracted from it the health potions he had kept and gave them to him.
Soon, they awoke very hungry and completely exhausted.
—Well, that was a close call. What kind of monster was that?
—That was close. We're not dead of pure luck, I don't think I can take any more of this.
Miriam was hysterical, so Marlen walked over to her and gave Adam a scolding look.
Adam sighed, he was now hungry and tired. He wondered how many days the food in his house would last him at this rate. He got up and, out of sheer curiosity, approached the mushroom carcass.
It turned out that it was not what it looked like. It was a tiny zombie with an inflated head like a mushroom. Moreover, the lower part of its body had developed a series of roots that had immobilized it against the ground, which explained why it had not fled at the time.
[Zombie Spore Spreeder].
The zombie threw a blue crystal and a gas mask, which would have been especially useful for the fight, but now it was all over. Adam could only think that the next fight against one of them would be easier.
"I'll take the crystal and the mask as a reward for killing the zombie. Also, I hope you will allow me to choose anything I want from the packages you find. Otherwise, you can keep the apartments if you want."
Adam accepted Marlen's deal and immediately received a message from the system.
[The ownership of the three apartments has been given to Adam Rega by approval of his group].
Then, all the still living inhabitants of the building received a new message.
[Congratulations on having ended the hostile presences in your building. The system has determined that Adam Rega has contributed the most to this achievement, so he is granted ownership of the building. Services have been upgraded, but are still limited].
[Congratulations, the building you have cleaned is part of the first wave of safe havens for humanity in this new era. No other safe haven of the same species can appear in the nearby territory. Nearby properties and locations that have been secured from hostile presences will join the shelter and become part of the territory. As the refuge expands, the owner will be able to access more options, such as building defenses, establishing a governance system and setting up a System Shop].
[The first step is to select a name for the new shelter. When you are ready, indicate the one you want].
[Small building, 4 floors, with 12 apartments].
[Owner: Adam Rega].
[Status: safe haven].
[Race: human].
[The appearance of safe havens will be limited to the first week of the simulation. Then the second phase will begin and more information will be given to everyone on Earth].
With the interesting message came a wealth of information about the property. Adam felt a slight, fleeting headache. On the other hand, the most interesting part of the message was the one that talked about a second phase in the simulation. Also, it seemed that the building had become a safe haven of sorts, so now he could relax.
However, he immediately remembered the parking lot and the superblock just ahead, and thought about how many enemies he still needed to eliminate to consider them safe. The figure worried him.
I'll never be able to relax will I? Thought Adam, a bit overwhelmed with his self-imposed burden. He didn't even know why he was doing this. It would have been so much easier to stay at home and take care of his business, just like it would be easier to stay in his building now. But he had decided to go out and face unknown creatures again and again, even if he had to risk his life. Worst of all, he wasn't seriously thinking of stopping.
"Well, I guess you're now the head of the shelter or something like that. I'm actually glad. If someone like Tracel had gotten the property, I would have grabbed my sister and left instantly."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence, but we'd better get something to eat, I'm sure Miriam is as hungry as I am."
However, just as they exited the apartment, they ran into Krieg, who was helping his dog Darry down the stairs.
"I'm glad you took care of the smoke, boy. But I want you to know that I don't care in the least that you own the building, if you mess with my apartment I won't hesitate to throw Darry at you.
"I understand Mr. Krieg, but I need to eat something before I starve to death."
For the next half hour, he and Miriam ate and rested until they felt as good as new. While eating, Adam decided to try to contact his sister and parents again. However, it was not possible. Finally, in a bit of a bad mood, Adam headed off to talk to Terry to find out what had happened with Rony.
But as he left his apartment, he was intercepted in the driveway by the Marriz children. Tarin immediately apologized to him for refusing to help, while his older brother, Tracel, watched silently.
Adam accepted the apology, but did not stay long, as he suspected that Tracel did not have intentions as pure as his brother.
Once at Terry's apartment, Adam knocked on the door and waited. He was opened by an exhausted Terry who looked at him angrily.
"How is Rony? " It was the only thing he could think to ask.
"Fine, but it was close. I didn't expect the smoke to affect his internal structure, which corrupted Rony's main program. To get it to fire I had to apply several patches at a speed I still can't believe. I barely got those three shots off before the system collapsed."
"I'm glad you were able to fix it. I think without Rony and your help we'd all be dead."
"Of that I'm sure, I expect a good reward."
After those words, Terry closed the door. But Adam was relieved that his voice no longer sounded so hostile. He supposed he should give it some time.
As he walked back to his apartment, he ran into Tracel, Tarin and Jane. The latter two tried to avoid his gaze, but Tracel held it steady until he turned to Adam.
"We've heard that you're the new owner of the building, but I think I can speak for everyone when I say that if you try to kick us out of our apartments you'll be in trouble."
"Whoa! Relax Tracel, according to the information the System gave me, the ownership of each apartment is still individual. So there is nothing I can do to take your apartment away from you, unless you give up ownership voluntarily."
"Why should I trust you? You could be lying to make us homeless when it suits you best. It's no secret that you don't like me."
After going through all he had gone through to get security for the building, Adam felt very angry at being questioned by a group who had preferred to lock themselves in their homes.
"Well what more do you want, I risked my life to fight these damn zombies in this damn building. While you were locked up like a turtle in your apartment. Besides, I seem to recall that I wasn't the one who got fired from his job for embezzlement, so I think I'm more trustworthy than scum like you."
Jane and Tarin watched him open-mouthed, while Tracel turned red with anger. Adam, normally, was a calm person who didn't mess with anyone and avoided trouble at all costs. They had never seen him react that way until now.
Before Tracel could respond, Adam pushed him out of the way and hopped up the stairs to his apartment.
As Tracel turned to follow him, he was stopped by another voice.
"He's right, you know. I understand why you decided to stay at home, but if you or your father had acquired ownership of this place, I would have run off with my sister. Adam is much more reliable."
Marlen's cold voice made Tracel pause. Jane and Tarin looked at each other and, unseen by Tracel, nodded.
"Ha! Even I agree with her, boy, so don't keep bothering me."
Krieg's voice was heard from the second floor, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Tracel looked at Jane and her brother, but they both looked away. Without any support, he swallowed his dignity and returned home. Where he made sure his mother was okay and thought about what his next step would be.
Tarin and Jane approached Marlen.
"I know I got carried away with Tracel's words, but do you really think there won't be any trouble? I can't help but think about what would happen if Adam kicked us out of our homes."
Marlen sighed. Just when she was planning to rest for a while, now she had to deal with this.
"Adam just wants to survive, Jane. He didn't even know he would become the owner of the building. Besides, if you're so afraid of being kicked out, then you should help with our security. The zombies have become very strong in just one day, so if you keep hiding in your house, you will end up dying when a zombie we can't stop arrives. This goes for you too Tarin. Also, try to stay away from Tracel, his temper will only bring trouble."
Without another word, Marlen headed back to her apartment, while Jane and Tarin looked at each other not knowing what to do.