"We are here from the Social Welfare Committee. We are here to collect resources that can help more people survive. Please open the door," the voice came from outside as the knocking on the door intensified.
Soon, the knocking turned into banging. "If you have resources, please don't be selfish and donate some of them. And if you don't have any, then we can give you some to help you survive. Please open the door for us!"
Elias didn't have to think much about the identity of the people outside. They were the same people who had just beaten up an old man, robbing him of whatever little food he had. As for sharing food with the needy, one would have to be a fool to believe that.
Despite that, Elias walked to the door and opened it for the outsiders. In any case, the door wasn't sturdy enough to last long if they tried to break it.
As soon as he opened the door, the people pushed him aside and barged inside as if it were their home. They didn't even ask Elias if he had any spare food and simply started searching for whatever they could find.
"There is nothing here?" The group soon returned after searching all over the place. All they found was a corpse in the kitchen that seemed to belong to a person who had starved to death.
After returning, all of them surrounded Elias. They could see Elias's weird clothes which didn't have even a speck of dust.
Even though he was a child, he looked wealthy just from his clothes alone. But more importantly, he didn't seem as if he had been starved for even a day.
"Where did you hide your food?" one of them asked, pointing a hockey stick at Elias's face, who simply looked at them as if they were fools.
Even a wind blast couldn't break his bones. Did they really think a mere hockey stick was going to hurt him? Even more foolish was their greed when the world was going to die in seven days.
"There is no food." Elias raised his hands as if showing that he was empty-handed.
"Do you think we are fools? You don't look like someone who has been starving. You are in even better condition than us! You must be hiding a lot of food!" The bearded man glared at Elias, grabbing him by the collar. "If you want to live, tell us about the hiding place!"
He didn't seem to have any sympathy for a child. Even if it was a child who stood between him and food, he was willing to do anything.
He tried to raise Elias in the air by his collar, but even as his muscles bulged, he wasn't able to lift Elias higher. It was as if Elias weighed hundreds of kilograms.
He didn't understand how the child could be this heavy. Just what had he been eating? In the end, the man simply gave up on trying to raise Elias. Even if the situation was confusing, he didn't think much about it.
"Why are you even talking to that child? Just break a few limbs, and he'll answer us like a parrot," another man said, pushing the bearded man aside. "There is no point in wasting time."
He raised the hockey stick and said, "Kid, if you want to blame anyone, blame your own stupidity for not realizing that the world has changed! It's a world ruled by strong predators like us! You should be grateful that I'm willing to teach you a lesson."
He swung his hockey stick at Elias's arm, as if trying to break it while ensuring he didn't die before answering. However, before the stick could connect, Elias caught it.
"You're right about the rule of the strong," Elias said, letting out a sigh. "But you seem to be living under a misconception. You were never a predator."
The man tried to pull the hockey stick back, attempting to free it from Elias. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't retrieve it. Instead, Elias snatched the stick.
The man looked in disbelief. How was the child able to snatch the stick from him when he couldn't even resist? There was something extremely wrong about the child.
"Are your muscles just for show? You can't even beat up a child?" another bulky man laughed heartily, looking at the scene.
He pushed the man aside, clenching his fist to punch Elias in the stomach. However, once again, he seemed slow in Elias's eyes.
Elias moved the hockey stick, slamming it into the man's face. The impact was so strong that the stick broke into hundreds of pieces on first contact, and the man was sent flying.
Elias looked at the broken hockey stick. Only a small part of it remained in his hand, which he tossed aside.
Meanwhile, the men watched the bulky man fly like a toy. He slammed against the window. The window shattered from the impact, and the man fell out of the apartment building.
Almost everyone there was in disbelief. What had they just seen? Many even wondered if they were dreaming, subconsciously stepping back from Elias. The chilling winds that were rushing in from the broken windows, made them realize that this was not a dream.
Elias didn't approach them. He walked past them, toward the exit.
Watching him leave, many sighed in relief. Although they didn't understand why this boy was so strong, they didn't want to fight him.
They had already lost all their courage. The others who had arrived with physical weapons like chains and sticks, hid them behind their backs, not wanting to give Elias any ideas.
They were relieved to watch Elias leave, but their faces fell when they saw him stop before the door. He held the door and slowly closed it from the inside before turning around.
Many of the men gulped heavily, having an extremely bad feeling about this.
In other parts of the world, the situation was even worse, especially with Rey Esterin. He was like a beast let loose in the world.