**(Jin's POV)**
After getting enough sleep to refresh my mind, I woke up to some noise from downstairs.
I looked around the room for a moment, a habit I hadn't noticed I had, then at the dilapidated bed I had been sleeping on.
I might not need more than two hours of sleep with my upgraded body, but I still maintained at least six hours to keep my mind healthy.
There's no point in leaving this place if I go insane…
The Resistance's headquarters was a fairly large mansion, but it was still dilapidated as it was in this hell. I thought this city had been built hundreds of years ago, then this giant tree suddenly lifted it into the sky, depriving it of light forever like a violent curse.
The wall paint had peeled off long ago, and the smell of mold lingered even with the windows open.
The carpet was also torn, giving me a clear view of the rotting wood underneath. 'The stench of rotting wood will drive me mad soon…'
I sighed as I descended to the first floor via the cement and tile stairs, oddly still intact after all this time.
I wanted to brush my teeth, but there was no trace of toothpaste here, and even water was extremely rare.
I saw Gilbert, the leader of the group, and Lyra, the Archer, discussing something at a distant table covered with papers and pens.
Elara the poet stood beside them, silently observing. Although his name might suggest otherwise, he was male and could be of great use when he started moving.
It had been almost two months since I joined this group, and we still had two more months before the mission began, determining our future by ourselves...
I felt a bit of anxiety gnawing at my heart, but I didn't show it to those around me at all. Anxiety was like a disease that spread quickly among people, potentially ruining everything.
I passed Asher, who was the group's Tank. He was lifting weights he had found somewhere, training while sitting on one of the dilapidated chairs.
The weight didn't seem to matter to him; it looked more like he was playing rather than training. I didn't blame him since entertainment was almost nonexistent here.
I entered the kitchen and grabbed one of the canned goods on the counter. It had expired 360 years ago, but it still tasted better than black oil.
My body was resistant to bacteria, so eating it now was like eating it when it was fresh, though the taste was unfortunately not the same...
I still had to eat something every now and then; that part of my body hadn't changed much...
I returned to the main hall where the other core members were and looked out the window, specifically at the street.
The closer you got to the Black Ink Hotel, the less aggressive and insane the puppets became. You could see them now walking through the streets to and from the hotel.
After working for more than 20 hours, most of them wanted to consume oil and rest in a random house for a while.
About 200 meters from the hotel, surveillance decreased significantly, and no one was around to stop the chaos, so many puppets fought to steal or seize the oil supplies from others.
For the Resistance group, fortunately, there was no need for us to work all the time, as Gilbert somehow took the best job among the puppets.
For the puppet society leaders, Gilbert was the puppet who hunted travelers outside the tree with a 100% success rate and was completely loyal and satisfactory.
After each mission, he received oil stocks enough for ten people at once, and he performed several missions monthly.
Because of him, I never worked in the mines or colonies of the puppet society even once, as the oil stock came to me ready. Of course, this was in exchange for fighting to the death for them in two months…
I wasn't going to submit to this society anyway, so the deal was a win for both sides in my view. I'd rather rebel without having to work than rebel while working…
Without noticing, or maybe because I didn't pay much attention to my surroundings, I found that Lyra was now standing beside me, looking out the window with me.
"Pathetic, isn't it?" she spoke in a quiet tone, the annoyance and melancholy clear in her voice.
I looked at her oddly and nodded.
We had talked many times before, and I knew some of her past too.
"But if you were in their place, what would you do to change things? They didn't come here strong like you, Gilbert, and Asher, and they didn't start from the upper floor and rise through the ranks there like Elara and me. So, they have no place in the Resistance."
Hmm?! That was information I didn't know.
I thought all members of the Resistance came from the outside world as people who had already achieved rank A, but it turned out they rose from the upper floor.
If that was true… what about Cassian?
"Although some of the weaker ones are somewhat involved with us, Gilbert can't supply them with oil stocks like us, so working under these conditions isn't optional." Lyra continued, clearly having a somewhat unique perspective on this place.
"How did you come here from the upper island, and what was it like?" I asked what was on my mind. If what she said was true, Cassian might be wandering the streets here. His combat art would benefit us greatly, especially if he gave it to Gilbert.
"Honestly, I prefer this place much more. I was terrified on the upper island when I heard about the hell of this tree and that I would be thrown into it soon. But it seems better than I expected."
If this place was considered good compared to the upper island, I couldn't imagine what Cassian was going through up there… For someone like him to end up there was truly pitiful...
"Maybe it's because you don't have to work at the hotel. How could this place be better than anything else?" I found it illogical for Lyra to talk about it like this when she hadn't experienced this place fully yet. I had no right to say anything since I hadn't either, but that was the truth.
"You know.. I was a beautiful girl once.."I regretted it a little when I noticed her expression change drastically. I knew she was angry without even looking at her. "No matter how hard the work is, no matter how close I come to death here, there's nothing worse than the continuous humiliation up there, especially for a woman like me..."
Lyra's voice trembled as she spoke. She had always been calm and cheerful with me over the past two months. Seeing her like this shocked me.
Before I could apologize, She continued.
"After being consumed and humiliated for many years, manipulated by their insidious addictive methods, the person in charge of me beat me daily. One day, the damage was too severe, and I had fractures in my lower jaw..."
She pointed to her teeth as she spoke. They were all strangely damaged and irreparable.
"I couldn't eat anything for several weeks. I was provided with many healing resources that could also raise my level, but such damage that reduced my attractiveness led to me being discarded..."
I didn't dare look at her anymore. I continued scanning the street with my eyes, thinking deeply about my memories with her before this conversation.
Lyra never ate in front of anyone else, often covering the lower part of her face with either a piece of cloth or the palm of her hand.
Sometimes a clicking sound came from her mouth, and she would suddenly stop talking and leave...
I tried to find a way to change the subject, but she spoke before I could.
"Actually, the system in this place is very good. Whoever thought of it is definitely a genius... a sadistic genius." Surprising words from Lyra, a woman who had faced most of the horrors of this place.
"If we ignore them breaking about twenty laws, I agree with you..." I tried to lighten the mood, but it was very difficult, especially for someone as socially awkward as me.
I really didn't know how to handle my current situation. I had become more open since joining the Resistance, but I still lacked a lot of social experience.
"Tell me, Jin, what were you like before you came to this island?"
I sighed, finally a change in topic.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. I used to get paid to stir up some trouble, a dangerous mission led me here."
I felt Lyra's sideways glance analyzing me, but I did nothing.
"A rank A+ assassin with high combat experience, the second strongest person in the group. Just a troublemaker?"
I tilted my head a bit and laughed.
"An outlaw troublemaker. I ended up joining my enemies in the end, just a long meaningless story." I said more than I should have, maybe a bad idea, but I didn't regret it.
"Sounds like an interesting story. I look forward to hearing it tonight with the others."
She put her hand on my shoulder and returned to discussing some things with Gilbert. I didn't move and kept watching the street from the window.
What should I do?