***
Three days later.
From afar, Seth and Mia could see high-rise skyscrapers adorning their sight. The number of buildings still standing firmly reached hundreds; not a few were severely damaged.
Not only in Chicago, but Seth could also see a large black spaceship belonging to aliens constantly flying in the skies of New York, only hovering in place, not leaving for other places.
"What exactly are those aliens doing?" Mia asked.
"I don't know, but they're probably watching us," Seth explained.
"You said the floor quest would open in New York. However, I don't feel like I see anything there," said Mia, looking curious.
Seth remained silent. He drove his black hoverbike at a fast pace, gaining altitude to prevent himself from getting hit along the way.
During the trip from Chicago to New York, Seth always flew at a height equal to the 10th-floor building. It was quite easy for him. In addition to a clean path, he and Mia were safe from possible unexpected attacks from criminals.
The hoverbike Seth was riding stopped right at a bridge. He looked to the right and left. Trees and vines began to grow in every corner of the city. Slowly but surely, nature regained control of the earth's surface.
"Mia," Seth called out.
Mia turned her head quietly without speaking, showing her attentive face to Seth.
"I need you to open the floor quest menu on your system bracelet. Tell me what floor is currently unlocked," Seth said.
"Okay."
A blue holographic screen appeared above Mia's system bracelet right after the girl pressed the menu as Seth had instructed.
[Floor Information]
[Unlocked Floor: 5]
[Game Location: Prague, Czech Republic]
[Game Type: Landmark Control]
[Game Rules: Default]
[Note: Participants who have registered for the game are eligible for information about the game rules.]
"The fifth floor is unlocked," Mia said.
"Fifth floor, huh? It's still in Europe," Seth said, sighing softly.
"Is the Czech Republic in Europe?" Mia asked, having no idea where the country was located.
Seth didn't answer Mia's question. He preferred to continue on his way to the centre of New York City, passing several tall skyscrapers.
"We'll stay in the city for a while until the next floor is unlocked," Seth said.
Mia cleared her throat. Whatever Seth's destination was, she would follow him. Mia occasionally glanced downwards at the survivors, who seemed busy with their side quests. Some were doing it solo, some were in groups.
"There are a lot of survivors in this city compared to Chicago," Mia said.
"Maybe they know how to survive well," Seth replied.
Among the hundreds of skyscrapers, Seth decided to live in one of the high-rise buildings, which he guessed had as many as 50 floors. He parked his hoverbike not at the bottom but on the roof of the building.
"Is it safe to park the hoverbike here?" asked Mia, worried.
"I've set an alarm on this thing. If anyone touches it, the self-defence system will activate, and the hoverbike won't be usable until I deactivate it using my system bracelet," Seth replied.
"I don't understand what you're saying, but it seems like you're pretty confident storing the hoverbike here," Mia said.
She walked with Seth towards a door connecting the roof to the floor of the building below. Both of Mia's hands tried to grasp the doorknob, but the girl failed to open it.
"It seems to be locked from the inside," Mia said.
Seth walked over to Mia, his back to her with his right hand began to pull out a handgun from its holster, "Let me do it."
He pointed his favourite handgun at the two-iron door to create a hole that destroyed the key inside. The laser shot made no noise, perfect if Seth used it to infiltrate enemy territory.
But unfortunately, he wasn't at war. That day, he wanted to rest his sore and exhausted body from the long journey on the soft bed inside the five-star hotel.
Mia was the same. She didn't hesitate to show Seth her pampered side as an ordinary girl: bathing all day in the bathtub, eating delicious sweets, and sleeping all day on a king-size bed.
Again, the two rested in different rooms. However, their room doors faced each other on the top floor of the building. Seth took the room on the left, while Mia took the right.
The door opened and unlocked. He saw a spacious room with luxurious silver and gold furniture displayed prominently. However, one thing that caught Seth's attention was that two bags were stored in this room.
"Is there someone living here?" asked Seth, curious.
"What are you doing in my room?!" asked someone from the entrance, startled Seth.
The man reflexively pulled out a gun from the back pocket of his pants, pointing it at the two people who had just arrived in their bathrobes.
Both reflexively raised both hands, resigned to what was happening. They were a man and a woman, around 25, and there appeared to be rings on their fingers.
"Are you a couple?" asked Seth.
The man nodded. He explained that they had just married a few days ago, so you could say that today was their honeymoon.
Seth sighed softly, putting his gun back into the back pocket of his pants. The tense condition previously created in the room turned calm after the two people before Seth began to lower their hands.
"I'm sorry to bother you," Seth said.
"If you want to stay overnight, you can take the room at the front. As far as I remember, it's not occupied by anyone yet," the man replied, pointing at the door across from his room.
"Thank you, but I think I'll look for another room," Seth said,
The man walked past the two until his footsteps stopped when Mia came out of the room and softly called out to him. Seth turned his body around, looking at Mia with a flat expression.
"You can stay with me for a while," Mia replied.
"That girl is right. Only the room is empty; everything else is occupied," the man said.
Seth now had to fight between his logic and morals. He couldn't allow himself to share a room with Mia, especially after knowing Mia's body could attract any man who saw it.
But Seth also couldn't let him stay in another room with Mia on a different floor. It would only make it harder for him when something bad happened to Mia.
In the end, logic trumped morals. Seth would stay in the same room with Mia on the condition that Seth would sleep on the sofa, not an inch away from the bed.
Seth walked in and put his things on the floor in the corner of the room. Mia did the same.
The girl began walking towards the bathroom, removing all the clothes attached to her body. Seth was sitting on the sofa in the room and could only gulp with a blush written all over his face.
The sound of gurgling water filled the place, awakening the man's wild imagination of what Mia was doing in the room. However, Seth immediately dismissed those wild thoughts and focused on the world map he had bought yesterday.
He spread the map-wide, showing the major cities that had been circled with red markers. 55 major cities in the world hosted floor quests. One city doesn't do a floor quest twice, so you could say that this floor quest was a sightseeing tour of the world.
"Seventh floor, New York. It seems like in a few days, the seventh floor will be unlocked."