At the office of the President, just after Vance left.
The President was by the window staring, specifically at the huge hole just below.
Knock! Knock!
"Father…"
A knock was heard from the door along with the voice of a young man.
"Come in," the President said while still staring at the window.
With the President's permission, the person behind the door came in.
It was a young man wearing a white long sleeve shirt and navy blue trousers. His height was similar to his father, the President. However, their facial expressions were completely different.
The President constantly had a frown on his face that made him unapproachable to anyone, while this young man had a relaxed and carefree expression.
He had black hair with a little facial hair and a well-shaped face. Basically, he was handsome.
The young man sat on the sofa and stared at the back of his father.
"What did you come here for?" the President grumpily said.
"Ah.. I wanted to ask, how did the discussion with Vance go?"
"It went well, incredibly well. Why didn't you tell me that you had an impressive friend like him? You should've invited him to our house at least once."
"Well, he did always top the class… By the way, will he really become the leader of this place?"
"Yes, that's why don't do anything that might offend him."
"Was he really the one who made that huge hole?"
"Listen, Chris. That man will be the one to lead us in this hell. If you want to survive, you have to stick to him, cling to him if necessary. Do you understand?"
The young man, whose name was Chris, was uncomfortable with the way his father acted. But he didn't have any choice but to agree.
"Yes.. father..."
***
3rd Floor, the cafeteria.
Sounds of utensils clashing against plates and people's noisy murmurs filled the whole room.
The cafeteria wasn't very spacious, as it was just a makeshift setup in a converted office room.
On one side, there was a table with two large cylindrical cooking pots over it.
Behind the table, there was a man wearing an apron, scooping rice from the left-side pot and soup from the right-side pot, then putting it in the bowl that was being held by a skinny and ragged man on the other side of the table.
The skinny man looked at the food that was placed in his bowl; a frown was on his face.
"Isn't this just gravel!? And the rice isn't even cooked properly! How can I eat this garbage!?"
The man in an apron looked at the skinny man menacingly.
"Garbage? That garbage is what keeps us alive even now! If you have complaints, then go outside and find a five-star restaurant or something, though I bet you'll just become a feast for those zombies!"
The two men in black suits also stared at the skinny man.
Seeing them, he turned around and walked away angrily.
"Damn it! Once my father is here, I'll..."
Vance watched the scene calmly.
These kinds of events weren't that uncommon in the previous timeline. In fact, this was even quite tame. I guess they behaved quietly after witnessing the First Wave.
"Next person, please!"
Hearing the voice of the man in an apron, Vance stepped forward and brought the bowl he was holding forward.
With each ladle in his hands, the man in an apron moved fast and simultaneously scooped rice and soup, then first poured the rice into the bowl followed by the soup.
"Next person, please."
"Thank you," Vance said before walking away.
"Uhh.. sure..."
The man in an apron was surprised. Ever since he was placed in distributing food, he had never even once received a word of gratitude.
"What a strange person."
***
While Vance was looking for a place to eat quietly, he spotted five familiar faces.
Likewise, the five also saw Vance and immediately urged him to come.
The five of them were sitting circularly in the very corner, each with a bowl of rice with soup.
"Vance! I'm glad you're safe. You suddenly left us out of nowhere!" Daniel laughingly said.
Vance awkwardly laughed. "Haha.. I'm sorry about that… I'm glad you guys safely reached this place."
"It's fine. We didn't even encounter a single zombie on the way here, strangely enough."
Zombies in a Zombie Wave have heightened senses of life force. With the crumpled life force in this place, they will start to prioritize this place first, ignoring the small life force. That was why they had an easier time getting here.
"That's right. I haven't introduced myself to you all yet. My name is Vance Nolan, I'm 18 years old."
Vance introduced himself, but strangely there was no response. He looked at them, and all of them had stunned expressions on their faces.
"What's wrong?"
"No, no, no, no, no. W-What do you mean what's wrong? You're only 18!? And yet you're capable of doing all of that!? You're 10 years younger than me!" Daniel suddenly had an outburst.
"I-I can't believe I was scared of a kid..." The burly man Jack murmured to himself.
"I-I can't believe I was drooling at a minor..." The blonde woman also murmured to herself.
The lady with glasses and the other lady were also quite surprised, but they didn't have the same reaction as the other three.
"Was it that surprising?"
"Of course it is!" Daniel shouted in frustration.
"Ah, it's my turn now, right? As some of you probably know, my name is Daniel Miller. I worked at a sales company. I am 28 years old."
"My name is Jack Adams. I am a Professional Boxing Trainer. Just come to me if you want to learn how to punch."
This time it was the blonde's turn. "As for me, my name is Olivia Anderson. I am currently jobless."
Everyone's thoughts: No, why do you sound like you are proud of that?
"Ahem.. My name is Evelyn Garcia. I worked at a gaming company."
The last one was a red-haired lady. She was quite tall; her baggy clothes didn't make it visible, but she obviously had perfect body proportions.
Teamed up with her fiery red hair and bright green eyes, it made her look like a goddess.
Vance stared at this lady for a while; for some reason, he found her extremely familiar.
The red-haired lady opened her mouth and introduced herself, "My name is Luna Frost. My work is..."
Shatter!
Before Luna, the red-haired lady, could continue what she was saying, a sharp, high-pitched sound of glass shattering interrupted her.
Luna Frost! That's the name of my...wife!