A warm fire blazed in the hearth. A woman stood on her tiptoes, adjusting clothes on a rack, while a young man in a baggy new flannel shirt mopped the floor. At a table by the window, two people sat like lovers, gazing at the street outside. One of the n who had brought him here approached the counter, poured himself a beer, and began to sip it slowly.
This peaceful scene felt jarringly out of place in the current royal city, but the man desperately wanted to believe it was all real...
Just then, York, who was standing beside him, clapped him on the shoulder.
— Welco to the shelter, friend.
It took the man nad Webb a mont to process what was happening. When he did, he stood frozen in stunned disbelief, like soone who had just won the jackpot but couldn't believe his luck.
He had been searching for other survivors for a long ti without success. Though he had encountered a few individuals, or even entire groups, who claid to be human, Webb never dared to trust them. He always found a reason to convince himself that they were just anomalies in disguise, trying to trick him.
It wasn't a matter of keen observation. It was simply that after discovering his own wife was an anomaly, he had lost the ability to trust anyone.
And now... Webb had imagined survivors to be more like rats, huddled together in cold basents. But this scene touched his weary, numb soul.
"I've been captured, there's nowhere to run," he told himself, trying to stay calm.
Moreover, as a newcor, he was given the right to choose a set of clothes and have a snack, free of charge. He wasn't interested in the first offer, but he devoured the second with greed, deciding that even if it were poison, he would accept his fate.
Gemini Reid understood his turmoil. This damned Paradise had destroyed all trust between people, leaving them as re playthings for the anomalies. If he hadn't t Lu Li a little earlier, Gemini wasn't sure he would have believed him now, either.
Webb's conflicting feelings—hope that this was real and a subconscious doubt—were soon dispelled by Lu Li and Anna. They burst out into the street and dragged a figure into the shop. York, thinking it was a new survivor, had already started forward to greet them when he saw Anna sever the creature's limbs while Lu Li vaporized it with his spirit gun.
— Right, and here I thought we had a new one... — York muttered, heading off to grab a sack.
That was what finally convinced Webb that the survivors were telling the truth.
Such unconditional trust was more valuable than anything else right now.
York and Reid carried the body into the alley to feed the "horses." When they returned, Webb approached Gemini Reid, wanting to be useful. He expressed his concern: would there be enough food and water?
— We should conserve our supplies, — Webb said to Gemini Reid, who was finishing his beer.
Gemini Reid set down his mug. — Lu Li says Paradise won't last much longer. The rules will change soon, or the ga will end.
Behind this good news lay a cruel truth: there were too few people left for the "ga" to continue.
The signs were already there: no new survivors had appeared on the streets for a long ti. Only anomalies, anomalies, and more anomalies.
The optimistic view was that after the first few hours, the legitimate humans had chosen to hide themselves away. The pessimistic view was that there were almost no survivors left in the city.
Dong!
The grandfather clock in the corner chid with a deep, muffled toll.
It was already two o'clock.
Four hours until dawn. But would the dawn bring an end to this nightmare?
They didn't know. But those who had already died would never see another sunrise.
Perhaps they wouldn't either.
The clock had only struck twice, but the echo of its chis lingered in their hearts for a long ti.
Ten minutes later, Lu Li abandoned their waiting tactic. — There are four survivors at Shutes University. I'm going to try and get them out, if they're still alive.
— Should I go with you? — York asked, leaning against the counter.
— Just
and Anna.
The shelter was left in Gemini Reid's care. As an exorcist, he knew what to do.
— Take care.
The survivors watched as Lu Li and Anna departed. Gemini Reid hung a "Closed" sign on the door, locked it, and returned to the fireplace.
After Lu Li and Anna left, a silence fell over the shop. Even the usually lively York was quiet, only glancing at the clock from ti to ti.
Emma was the most nervous of all. To calm herself, she began to clean, but she only ended up dropping things.
— What's wrong with you? — Ivo wondered. Emma looked terrified.
The question made Emma flinch and clutch the mop handle tighter. An internal struggle played out across her face as the gazes of Gemini Reid and the others fell upon her.
— I'm sorry, I deceived you all... — Emma lowered her head guiltily. — The truth is... I'm from another group of survivors.
York and the others gasped, while Gemini Reid simply frowned. — Why are you telling us this only now?
Lu Li and Anna had just left... Was it a coincidence, or part of a plan?
Though he had no doubt that Emma was human.
Emma stared at the floor. — At first, I lied to Mr. Lu Li and Ms. Anna, and after I started to trust you, I was too afraid to confess...
— What's the situation with your group? — Gemini Reid asked.
A shelter in a church, two dozen survivors, and a shortage of food and water. That was the other group's predicant. Emma was one of those sent out for provisions, which was why her backpack was stuffed with canned goods.
— My brother is there, I have to go back... Will you co with ? Or let
leave for a little while, just to warn them at the church...
Gemini Reid weighed the risks and chose the safer option. — That's not my decision to make. It's better if you stay here until Lu Li gets back.
But just then, a slow knock ca from the door, followed by a cry from outside. — ...Help! Sobody, help us!
In the last alley before Shutes University, a woman was waving from behind a low backyard fence.
Lu Li glanced up at the inverted city—there was no one behind the fence there—and nodded to Anna. The woman was human.
— What happened?
— Are... are you people? — The woman, whose shouts had attracted Lu Li and Anna, was already regretting her impulsive cry.
— If we weren't, we would have attacked by now, — Anna replied. Lu Li showed her his badge. — Exorcist Lu Li.
— An exorcist... — The woman hesitated for a mont, then spoke in a rush. — I'm human too!
— I know, — Lu Li nodded.
— We're a group of survivors... but a monster got in among us! It's in there killing people right now, I was the only one who escaped... I'm begging you... — The woman covered her face with her hands, sobbing as if overwheld by panic and terror.
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