It had been about an hour since I created the plasma rifle. How did I know? Well, I had conjured a wristwatch shortly after that to keep track of time. Since I had no way of knowing the exact hour, I judged it by the position of the sun and decided it was around two in the afternoon.
That realization brought up a new concern—if this place was already dangerous during the day, wouldn't it be infinitely worse at night? The thought sent a fresh wave of urgency through me, almost as intense as when I faced off against the first monster. Speaking of which, I'd started calling that abomination Handsy. Creative, right?
Aside from the watch, I had also created a high-end smartphone for a variety of reasons: keeping track of days, taking notes, snapping photos, and most importantly, trying to contact someone. Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed when I found no Wi-Fi networks in range. Since I didn't even know where I was, creating a SIM card for a carrier's network wasn't an option either. So, my brilliant plan ended in failure.
I briefly considered other methods of communication, but the risks seemed to outweigh the benefits. For now, I resigned myself to the fact that I was utterly alone in this twisted, empty world. While I had yet to explore the city I had found myself in properly, I could tell by the lack of noise - noise that definitely should be present in such an urban environment - that there was little hope in finding fellows.
That is, until an idea struck me—why not create a companion? Something like a character from a game or movie. Long story short: I tried and failed. Depressed by the result, I continued my exploration of the hotel, checking room after room in search of anything remotely like the coin. Or better yet, a clue about where I was and how I got here.
Aside from that, I was contemplating about quite a lot of things internally. One of which being a solution to my loneliness. See, I'd always been a social person. The thought of going without human interaction for an extended period felt like its own kind of torture. That was probably why I kept talking to myself—to fill the silence.
Eventually, I decided on a new objective: find someone—anyone—in this eerie place. I knew the odds weren't great, but hey, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Before committing to the search, though, I needed to secure a proper shelter. As fancy as the hotel was, it wasn't practical. I needed somewhere secure, preferably with one main entrance and an emergency exit, in case things went south. The problem was, where could I find such a place? This was an urban area, not a fortified base.
Minutes stretched into an hour as I searched the hotel. Finally, I concluded there was nothing worthwhile left inside. Stepping out onto the street, I noted the sun dipping lower on the horizon.
"Better hurry," I muttered, scanning the surroundings.
The road was lined with parked vehicles, eerily still in a way that felt unnatural. I was used to bustling city streets teeming with life, so the sight of empty roads and abandoned cars gave me an uneasy feeling.
While I could've just conjured a car, I decided to hijack one instead—it felt faster and more practical. Well, that's what I told myself. In any case, a white Honda Accord caught my eye. Using the trusty "master-pick" tool, I unlocked it effortlessly, with no alarm sounding as a result of the hijack.
Settling into the driver's seat, I tossed my backpack onto the passenger side and muttered, "Time to see what this city has to offer."
As I started the car, I noticed the fuel gauge sitting a little above half. It seemed like enough for now, but my anxious self wasn't convinced. Better safe than sorry, right? I turned off the car, got out, and conjured a jerry can filled with high-octane fuel. After topping off the tank, I hopped back in, started the car, and drove off into the silent streets.
The plasma rifle sat beside my backpack, within easy reach in case of sudden danger. With no other drivers around, I ignored traffic laws entirely, speeding down the empty roads. My eyes darted back and forth, taking everything to be seen into account.
As I explored, I mentally mapped key locations: restaurants, hotels, commercial buildings, parks, malls, warehouses, and stores. My confidence in my visual memory reassured me—I could find my way back to any of these places if needed.
Eventually, I found what I was looking for: a medium-sized warehouse filled with metal products. It wasn't perfect, but it had potential. After examining the structure, I sealed off all the weak points I could identify, including the main entrance.
Once the warehouse was secure, I began cleaning it out. By "cleaning," I mean I conjured another weapon from the sci-fi game—a device called the atomizer. True to its name, the atomizer disintegrated anything its concentrated energy beam touched, making short work of the clutter inside.
I had a lot of ideas in mind as I continued the clean-up process. Thanks to the games I had played and the movies I had watched, I had quite a lot of ideas about what to fill the place with.