"There's so much food here!" Aurora exclaimed with a shining gaze as she pointed at the boxes filled with all sorts of packed food and daily necessities.
The others were also pleasantly surprised and they immediately crowded over the boxes and grabbed packets of biscuits and bottles of water.
Only one person managed to remain calm under the temptation of food. It was Kent.
He looked around the storage room, inspecting every corner with a stern gaze. His eyes momentarily stopped at some folded boxes stacked on top of each other to form some sort of bedding. 'The items outside the storage were intentionally placed there to prevent someone from getting in. There's only one bedding here, which means that only one person is staying in this place.' Kent adjusted his glasses after reaching this conclusion.
"Hey, Kent! What are you doing over there?" James stared at him curiously, wondering what he was doing.
Kent looked at him and beckoned to him with his fingers. "Come here and look at this." He said while pointing at the bedding he saw.
James put down the items in his hands and walked up to him. "What's up?" He asked with a puzzled look.
"Look at that."
James followed the direction he was pointing and saw the piled-up folded boxes. "Some folded boxes? What about it?" He scratched his head in confusion.
"Someone used that as a bedding," Kent said with a serious voice.
Hearing this, James furrowed his eyebrows.
"The items that blocked the entrance must have been put there by that person. He probably didn't want anyone to discover this storage room. What would happen if that person comes back and realizes that his place is taken away from him?" Kent added.
James' eyes widened. "No way! This is a supermarket! How could he claim this place as his own?" He thought that it was ridiculous.
Kent sighed and shook his head, feeling slightly disappointed by his naivety. "James, look at how the world has become. Monsters roam around this ruined world and it's very difficult to find supplies. Do you think someone will care about that?"
"T-That is…" James was stumped by his words.
"The world has changed and the laws that we humans had built up for generations are already meaningless in this kind of situation."
James quivered at his words. He knew that Kent was right. Everything changed after the Dark Meteor hit the planet.
Human technology is no longer usable and it was like they were back to the stone ages.
Thinking about this, James stared intently at Kent. "What should we do?"
Kent pushed up his glasses and replied. "It depends on what kind of person they are. If we can negotiate with them, then we'll try to befriend them. However…if that person is a threat to our group, then we must use every means necessary to ensure everyone's safety!"
James was a bit scared by how he worded his response. "You mean to say that we have to…"
"That's right. If we need to eliminate them, then we must do it without hesitation." Kent's voice was cold.
James' heart almost jumped out of his chest when he heard those cruel words. He couldn't bring himself to agree with Kent and this made him stuck into a dilemma.
Seeing his hesitation, Kent grabbed his shoulders and said with a cold voice. "James, everyone thinks of you as the core of the group! Your decisions will determine the lives of everyone!"
"Hey, what's going on here?" Phillip, with his hands in his pocket, walked up to them with a quizzical look.
Kent released James and pushed him aside before he walked away.
"Hey-" Phillip grabbed Kent's arm, but the latter swatted his hand and brushed past his shoulder.
"You f*cking rude bastard! Come back here!" Phillip was about to rush at him, but a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and prevented him from taking another step.
"Don't bother him." James shook his head with a sigh.
"You…" Phillip was still irritated.
"Just leave him be. It's all my fault anyway…" James patted his shoulder and went back to the group.
Phillip stared at his back, feeling slightly annoyed. "Hmph!" He snorted while cursing in his heart.
…
"Did something happen?" Celine asked while looking at James and Kent. She noticed the awkward atmosphere between them.
"It's nothing…" James smiled at her in response, while Kent didn't say anything.
"Don't lie to me. I know something is wrong with you two. What happened?" Celine stared at them while raising an eyebrow.
Before he could answer, they suddenly heard a series of loud banging on the door.
Everyone stood up with alarmed faces while staring nervously at the door.
Celine grabbed her sword and looked at Aurora. "Stand behind me."
Aurora meekly nodded her head.
"It's him," Kent muttered as he grabbed the bat he found in the convenience store.
James' eyes narrowed at his words.
While everyone was anxiously staring at the door, it was slowly pushed open and revealed a person wearing a dreadful-looking black armor.
"Who are you?!" James shouted at the man.
"You should leave! This place has already been taken by us!"Phillip shouted with his arms crossed.
The man's face was barely discernible since their source of light was only the flickering flames of the candles.
The person didn't say anything and stepped inside the storage room.
"I'm warning you! Don't come any closer!" James yelled as he opened his palm, revealing a ball of flame the size of a tennis ball.
"You left me there to die and you even want to take my home? The youths these days are so ungrateful…" A scornful voice echoed across the room.
The man took another step and his face became clearer.
"Hold on… You are?" James was shocked when he saw the man's face.
Phillip who was about to attack also stopped in his tracks. "It's you!"