Chapter 11 - Attribute Connection

Despite only having one hand, Seth was able to do his doctor's job well. People were happy and relieved. The long queue outside the hospital began to decrease slowly until it was completely gone.

Cries of happiness filled almost every room in the place, without exception. The surviving city people were so happy that their loved ones were free from the death threat, something that motivated and relieved the fatigue of the hospital nurses and doctors.

Seth had to work until morning to complete the medical treatment of all of them until the sunlight burst through the windows of the room, giving at least a small hope for all of them to survive in the situation of aliens reigning on Earth.

The hospital hallway was bustling with city residents who had suffered minor injuries. They were not afraid or anxious about the risk of the next game the aliens would organize.

Seth walked with a nurse, a young woman with shoulder-length black hair and a nurse's outfit. The woman had accompanied Seth all night to treat the patients, so the interaction between the two was friendly and relaxed.

The black-haired man in the doctor's suit's walk was stopped when he noticed the people in the corridor, with bandages on their hands and heads, were walking closer to the emergency exit of the hospital.

The number was considerable and dominated by men. Seth squinted his eyes, curious about what they were about to do.

"Where are you all going?" asked Seth right after he stopped some of the men.

"Food stores and supermarkets. We'll gather the available food supplies to survive," replied a man with a dull face and shabby clothes with some holes.

He stepped away from Seth and returned to his small group. They had formed a small group right after the party feature opened. In order to form a party, each survivor had to tap their bracelet onto another person's bracelet.

"How many food ingredients does this hospital have?" asked Seth, curious.

"We have some canned and instant food. However, for vegetables and meat, it doesn't seem to hold out for long," replied the nurse. Seth knew her by the name Nancy.

"There is no refrigerator to keep raw ingredients. The best option is to eat them right away so they don't go to waste," Seth said.

"The staff at the cafeteria already know about it. They're probably calculating the amount of food for the people here," Nancy said.

Seth narrowed his eyes at that statement. The current limited amount of food would not be enough if it was distributed to all 450 patients in the hospital, including those who were being treated in the corridors.

The man was pretty sure the food in this hospital would run out within a few days after being distributed to everyone.

"Come with me," Seth said.

Nancy nodded. She raised her foot, tailing Seth, who was seen walking down the emergency stairs to reach the first floor, where the hospital cafeteria was located.

Seth passed by people from the first floor who were about to go upstairs. Seth's eyes widened as he watched them go up the stairs, holding a tray full of warm food.

"They're starting to serve food," Seth said.

The man started walking faster, in a hurry to reach the hospital cafeteria. A commotion ensued as people scrambled to grab the food on the buffet.

The canteen workers were overwhelmed by the number of people rushing to get their food. Seth couldn't let their greed continue; it could have a devastating effect on half the people in the hospital starving.

Seth, along with Nancy, began to calm them down, pushing the hunger-stricken and frightened residents with a firm attitude.

"Take that food away from the table!" groaned Seth, ordering the canteen workers to bring the food back inside and protect it.

"Listen to me!" said Seth, standing on the dining table to get the attention of all the starving people.

"I know we're in dire straits right now. Food supplies are running low, fears of uncertainty abound, and so on. But we cannot be this anarchic," Seth said.

"We just want to eat!" some people shouted, seemingly lost in thought and filled with a selfish desire to fulfil their own needs.

"This place won't be enough to feed you all. We will enforce food rations for everyone," Seth emphasized.

"You all will be registered. The hospital will make sure to distribute the food equally!" Seth continued.

"It's too long. We need it now!" complained one of the men.

"You selfish bastards! Did you ever think about the nurses and doctors who worked all night to treat your damn wounds?! Do they also demand food like you do?!" snapped Seth, the man starting to get angry as his words fell on deaf ears with the greedy men.

"If it comes to this, we'll have no choice but to kick you all out of here!" snapped Seth.

"There are more of us. We can kill you and take the food here!" groaned a man, feeling superior because many people were on their side.

Seth sighed softly, glaring at all the people before him who were now silent and no longer trying to get food. The cafeteria workers had already put it away and were safe from the mad rush before Seth.

Nancy walked over after she had gone to several places, trying to call the nurses and doctors in the hospital to help Seth push back the gluttons before the hospital cafeteria.

There were a total of 34 hospital staff standing behind Seth, ranging from nurses, canteen workers, and security guards to doctors. The situation became extremely tense between the two parties.

"I'm giving you a warning! Return, and we will organize food rations for everyone in this hospital!" Seth said sternly.

They didn't budge. Until Seth's mouth was foaming from talking, they wouldn't leave the cafeteria. They were afraid that if they left, the people who were with Seth would take advantage of this difficult situation.

"How do we know you won't steal our rations?!" a man moaned.

"I am the doctor of this hospital, and so are the people behind me. This place is where we work; we are the hosts here," Seth replied firmly.

"If you're still suspicious of us, you can leave this place and find your own food!" snapped Seth, disliking it when people questioned him.

"They're trying to take the food for themselves!" shouted a man.

The chaos was inevitable. The hungry and upset people began to push forward, trying to loot the hospital canteen for their own use.

Seth couldn't hold back the rage in his heart, even though he hadn't eaten any food since last night. Seth reached into the back pocket of his pants, took out the handgun he had gotten from the mystery box and shot a man through the stomach, shocking everyone without exception.

"AAAKH!"

Nancy walked over to the wounded man, realizing the wound in the man's abdomen was so severe that it caused massive, unstoppable bleeding.

"He's got the same weapon as Skywatcher," a man said.

The chaos settled down, the city's people began to retreat as Seth pointed the gun at them. Nancy and the other nurses gasped at Seth's demeanour, something they had never seen before.

"We're all in a fucked up state. If you think you're the only one who's suffering right now, you're completely wrong!" Seth said.

"We're all suffering, injured and losing our closest ones, not to mention problems like hunger and so on. However, we are trying to bear it in order to provide the best care to our patients!" groaned Seth.

"Think calmly and help us solve this problem," Seth replied.

They fell silent, whispered to each other, and then disbanded. The conditions were getting conducive, Seth re-holstered his handgun in the back pocket of his pants.

Seth walked up to the nurses and doctors. It seemed that they were a little afraid of Seth because the man had the same weapon as the Skywatchers.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt any of you," Seth said.

Nancy was still near the man Seth had shot, the man's face turning pale to death from unstoppable bleeding.

He crouched down near the man, holding the system bracelet attached to the man's left hand. Seth asked the cafeteria worker for a butcher knife, the worker handed it to him without question.

Seth accepted the butcher knife. He grasped it firmly and immediately cut off the dead man's left hand, shocking many people.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Nancy, both curious and frightened.

The man remained silent, unwilling to explain to Nancy what he was doing. The finger on his left hand seemed to touch the circle button, and he pressed the status transfer menu.

[Warning!]

[Initiating status transfer connection]

[Attribute transfer connection path opened]

[Waiting for sender]

A blue holographic notification screen appeared above Seth's bracelet, showing that the connection path was already open. All he had to do was press the same menu on the bracelet owned by the dead man.

Seth pressed the menu, and the process of sending statuses started. Seth could feel his body feel so light, with the holographic notification above his bracelet showing the number of statuses he received.

[Transmission complete]

[Attributes received: ]

[+1000xp]

[+500gp]

[Starts synchronizing with the receiver's attributes]

[Synchronization process completed]

[Level up!]

"What happened? Why did you level up?" asked Nancy, so confused.

Seth stood up straight again, his right hand that was originally holding the man's left hand, instantly threw the severed hand back into its owner's body.

"You'll find out later."