"H-How do you know they won't kill us?" asked Laura.
"I just think if we don't threaten them, they won't take our lives," Seth replied.
Explosions were happening everywhere, even from where Seth and Laura were taking shelter; they could hear the explosions filling the sound in the city. Circular alien planes were flying back and forth; hundreds of them seemed to be unleashing attacks on the city soldiers.
The difference in weaponry between the human soldiers and the aliens was obvious. They unleash plasma laser strikes that can destroy anything, even walls.
Not only the weapons they wielded but also the artillery and tanks malfunctioned. The reason is one, because of the electromagnetic laser fire that hit Chicago and the surrounding cities.
The gamma rays released trapped electrons in the Earth's gravity, triggering electromagnetic reactions in the ICs of every technology. In the end, the electrons destroyed the ICs and made all forms of technology unusable.
Seth continued to look up at the top of the stadium, where the alien fighters were no longer firing lasers at various places. Seth could breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed like the battle against the city army was over in Chicago.
"Looks like the city army has been completely defeated," Seth said, looking so relaxed amidst the frightened and anxious people.
Seth's attitude annoyed a large, burly man with a bald head. He stood up and walked over to the man. Unexpectedly, he slammed into Seth's unprepared stomach with his fist.
"AKH!"
"Stop your nonsense! How can you be so relaxed about this messed-up situation?!" the bald man moaned.
Seth slumped over, both hands clutching his stomach, which was in pain from the man's punch. Laura gasped. She walked over to Seth and pushed the bald man away from her lover.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Did he kill one of your family?" asked Laura, annoyed.
"You're his friend, right? Aren't you suspicious of his relaxed attitude?!" snapped the bald man.
"He's my boyfriend. I don't suspect him. In fact, I trust him!" said Laura.
"If you want to beat him up again, beat me up first!" snapped the woman, shouting loudly as she slapped her left cheek, signaling the man before her to beat her up as well.
Seth walked over to Laura, preventing the woman from going any further. She continued to defend Seth, but Seth asked Laura to calm down. His physique wasn't as strong as when he hadn't done the time loop, so the crushing blow felt so painful on his body.
"That's called survival instinct. Would you fight or run away if you faced a cobra?" Seth asked.
"I would fight it because it's the best option," replied the bald man, speaking in a high-pitched tone.
"Then what if you get bitten? Can you save yourself from the snake's venom?" asked Seth.
"Running away sometimes isn't a bad choice, especially after seeing that your opponent is someone hard to beat," said Seth.
"Not showing any sign of threat to them is a survival instinct," said Laura.
Not only Seth and Laura said so, but the people who took part in the rescue in the middle of the field were of the same opinion. They all witnessed two different moments at the time: when people fought the aliens and died, and when people didn't fight back and survived.
"For now, what's more important is to keep us all safe. Don't be so cool about fighting them that you get yourself killed!" said Seth.
"Tch!"
"I'll walk away from a bunch of cowards like you!" snapped the bald man. Feeling unsupported, he chose to leave the place.
Seth smiled with a grin; he suspected the man's selfish attitude would harm him later. He was still standing, supported by Laura, directed by the man to sit with the people who managed to escape with him.
"Now, what should we do?" asked a middle-aged woman, coming with her younger brother and two children.
All eyes were on Seth, as they thought he was the one who deserved to accompany them after what he had shown earlier. The total number of people in the place was about 24, 19 adults and the rest children.
From what Seth remembered, the day the aliens invaded was the most chaotic day in Earth's history. Explosions and the sound of screams of agony continued to echo all over the place on the planet, the soldiers trying to defeat the invading aliens.
Seth was silent, looking right and left precisely at this stadium area. The most important thing to do was to find food supplies; this soccer stadium must have a canteen where food could be taken.
"We can't go back to our homes. Outside the stadium has become a battlefield between humans and aliens. This place is the best place for us to take shelter," Seth said.
"Make some small groups, go through this place quietly and unarmed. Your task is to collect food supplies inside or around the stadium," Seth explained.
"Each group should consist of three people, one man in each. If you accidentally encounter the aliens, don't try to fight them!" Seth emphasized.
"If the aliens try to check you out with their eyes, you must remain silent, and no one should make any sudden movements," Seth continued.
"Is my explanation understandable?" asked Seth.
The people before him began to nod. According to what Seth had explained, they independently began to form small groups. Laura was still beside Seth, looking worried, when she saw her lover groaning softly from the dizziness in his head and the bruises on his stomach.
"Akh."
"Do I need to go get some medicine around the stadium?" asked Laura, showing concern.
"There's no need. I can hold this," Seth said.
"We'll try to find you some medicine. You stay here to look after the kids," said a man dressed in a black office suit, leading a group of two young women students.
"I hope you can find it," Laura said.
"Leave it to me."
The small groups began to spread out to different places around the stadium. They found the cafeteria and many shops selling food and medicine. They had to break into doors and cupboards to get the supplies.
Seth was still in the center of the field, with Laura looking busy taking care of the children there. As time passed quickly, people started coming in from the five entrances of the stadium. They came with large bags of food.
Night fell, day and night were almost no different. Seth knew it was getting late by the time on his watch; it was already 7 p.m.
Luckily for all of them, one of the groups got a stove, which could be used for cooking or just making warm water. All the paper and plastic waste was collected and burned to keep the people warm.
"If the soldiers die, will we die too?" asked a young woman working as a secretary in a company.
"I ... don't know," Seth said.
Seth knew that Earth's people could continue to live by playing a mad game. However, if Seth told them now, they would suspect that Seth was part of this invasion.
"We must continue to work together so that we can all be protected," said a man. Seth nodded in agreement.
Just as they were gathered looking at the flames in their midst, a loud sound rang out in the sky, like a suspenseful orchestral song.
Everyone spontaneously raised their heads, looking up at the sky where it was still the same, a starless dark black.
Seth's two eyes saw flickers of red light descending from the sky. There were so many of them, reaching thousands. The flashing red light was a drone carrying a special black box.
"What is that?" asked a man, seeing the red flickers descending towards those in the center of the stadium.
"Stay alert, don't go near it yet," said Seth, pretending not to know.
The crowd began to walk away, leaving the center area where they expected it to descend. Three drones started dropping special boxes for those in that place until there were 24 total.
"What are those boxes?" a woman asked.
"Are the aliens giving us food or something?" asked another woman.
Seth walked boldly towards one of the black boxes close to him. He opened the box easily, making the people around him turn curious.
As Seth suspected, the box contained a system bracelet that would keep the user trapped in the aliens' mad game. However, if they refused to wear it, the three drones above them would instantly shoot hot lasers into the person's body until they were hollowed out and killed.
"A bracelet?" asked Laura, confused.
Seth put the bracelet on his right hand, as a blue holographic panel appeared from the bracelet with Latin characters.
[Body temperature detected]
[Requires fingerprint authentication]
Everyone was still unwilling to put the bracelet on, waiting to see what would happen to Seth after putting it on and placing his fingerprints on the bracelet screen.
Seth immediately placed his thumb on the screen of the bracelet. It looked like the system on the bracelet was processing something. It didn't take long, just a few seconds, faster than a human's fast computer.
[Fingerprint detected]
[Player Identity]
[Name: Seth Murphy]
[Age: 24]
[Occupation: Doctor]
A pop-up notification appeared above the bracelet, surprising many people. Soon after, nothing bad happened to Seth.
"It looks like this thing is safe for us," Seth said.
After hearing that explanation, the people around Seth started putting on their bracelets individually. A similar notification appeared from there, creating a blue light that instantly brightened the dim place.
"Why did they give us these bracelets?" asked Laura, curious.
"I don't know," Seth replied.
Among all of them, there was only one person who was reluctant to wear the bracelet. The woman suspected the bracelet was a trap that would keep humans enslaved.
A countdown appeared on the bracelet screen. When the countdown was over, one of the three drones that had been hovering over the stadium began firing red-hot lasers at the one person not wearing the bracelet, piercing his head through to his left leg.
He died in a pool of blood on the stadium grass, shocking everyone.
"W-What the hell happened to her?" asked Laura.
A pop-up notification appeared again for the umpteenth time. Instead of displaying the user's identity, it displayed the game's name.
[Welcome to The Realms of Tentative]
[There are 100 floors to conquer. Be the first to save The Earth]