Jeff: ?!

“Hey. Relax. It’s OK.” Barry handed his tablet over. “Here. Take a look.”

Jeff blinked a few times. Raising a brow, Jeff put his hand onto Barry’s tablet.

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

Jeff took this glow-tier artifact out of the dude’s hands… without any resistance.

What could Jeff say. This guy sure had a big heart.

Taking a look, it’s still blank.

“Based off my experience, only the worthy can see the words presented by this tablet.”

“This is why I don’t worry about other people taking this from me.”

“So Jeff. What do you see?” Barry chuckled.

“Ohhh?” Jeff nodded. His expression turned serious. “I think I see something.”

Barry’s smile gradually faded away. Realizing his falling smile, Barry tried to maintain his smile.

Putting on a serious expression, Jeff cleared his throat.

“Sprinkle your steaks LIBERALLY with salt and pepper, on BOTH sides. “

“Then preheat your pan on MEDIUM. And then, brush half a spoon of oil.”

“I’m just joking.” Jeff smiled and returned the tablet.

“Hahaaaa…” Taking back his tablet, Barry pointed at Jeff. “You got me good there.”

“But you know how I got this tablet?”

“I’m listening.”

“Found it on the ground.”

Jeff raised a brow at the dude.

“The sanctuary didn’t spill any beans to you hunters eh?” Barry leaned over.

“What.” Barry shrugged at Liam. “It’s not like I signed a confidentiality agreement with the sanctuary.”

Liam: …

“No Liam. We are much more… chill and fun here. We even got free coffee and bean bags.” Barry winked at Jeff.

Jeff: … ‘Dude… You are trying too hard…’

“You play PUBG?” Barry turned to Jeff.

“Uhh… I know about it.”

“It’s the same for items. Just harder to find.” Barry whispered like it’s a secret. Even though there’s literally no one else around.

“Unlike the sanctuary, we are a much more knit community. Like a big family.” Barry continued. “As the treasurer and finance director, I have a say there.”

“So Jeff, if you come over, I can guarantee you a platoon leader position to start with. You’ll have 100 soldiers under your command.”

Jeff: … ‘Huh. Another job offer out the blue…’

“No need to give me a reply right now. Just so you know, the offer is always open to you.”

“And we are also flexible with the details. I’m the finance director after all. You know our place. So I’m here whenever you want to talk.”

“Alright. Thanks…” Jeff nodded.

“So. Everly.”

“Fuck off.”

“Alright.”

“So Liam. Wanna go fishing sometimes?”

…

Somehow, miraculously, Barry kept the conversation going for an hour straight.

Standing by the entrance of an abandoned mall, the group of four gathered around.

“Alright. I’ll go over the plan one last time.” Liam looked around with a serious expression.

Seeing a round of nods, Liam continued. “Based on intel from the scouts, the boss we are facing is an psychic type monster.”

“Boss size: about the size of a human. Description: Looks like a female vampire. Physical capabilities: C-Level movement speed and strength. Can be injured by firearms. High regeneration rates. Psychic abilities: mind control by sound. Wearing ear plugs can significantly reduce its effect. Equipment in possession: None detected. Spells: Likely no spell capabilities.”

“So Jeff.”

“I’m listening.”

“Your objective is to hold off this monster for 15 minutes, maximum. If things are smooth, we’ll be done with our retrieval task in 3 minutes. You do not need to eliminate this boss. You do not need to provide protection for us.”

“Understood.” Jeff nodded.

“Barry.” Liam turned his gaze.

“Yesss sir.”

“Just to confirm one last time. 7 meters high. Estimated 5 meters deep. 5 meters radius. You sure you can shrink it.”

“Not a problem.”

“Under 3 minutes.”

“For sure.”

“I will be providing detection information. Are we all clear? Good. Let’s move out.” One by one, Liam handed out orange foam earplugs.

Taking a deep breath, pulling open a camping lantern, Liam stepped past the broken doorway.

Turning on flashlights. Turning on head lamps. This group ventured into this mall.

Looking around, Jeff raised his brows. To be honest, this abandoned mall felt a little creepy.

Got two floors above ground level. Looking up, Jeff could see the glass ceilings. But in this fogged up weather, there’s barely any light entering this mall.

Shuttered glasses scattered on the floor. The air smelled a little stiff and stinky. The sound of footsteps echoed in this empty location.

Some rodents got scared by the light and scooted away.

“Barry. We got incoming.” Liam looked in one direction.

“Yep. I’ve got it boss.” The marble tablet in Barry’s hand started to brighten up with a milky-white glow.

Glowing runic characters suddenly pouring out of that tablet, forming a stream of light.

In a second, the ground beneath had been covered by a layer of milky-white light.

Flying sounds could be heard now. Looking ahead, Jeff could see a swarm of creatures quickly approaching.

Finally, a dome made of light erected from the ground, surrounding the squad.

Jeff caught a spark by his peripheral vision. Everly was equipped with a flamethrower now. By the looks of it, this girl was literally carrying an arsenal with her.

Looking back, Jeff could see that it’s a swarm of bats.

“Eat shit!” Wearing an ecstatic smile, the girl pulled the trigger.

A swirling pillar of flames rammed into that swarm of bats.

But most of the bats just slammed right into the dome of light.

Jeff looked at the stream of bats outside. This group was in the heart of the swarm now.

Non-stop knocking sound could be heard now. This place started to smell like charred chicken.

Looking down, the ground was peppered with knocked-over bats.

“WwwwooHOOOO!” Everly waved the pillar of flames around in the air.

In a moment, this space was cleared up. That swarm of bat was leaving, and not coming back.

Everly turned the flames to the bat covered ground. Going around 360 degrees, she poured flames onto these small creatures. Everly seemed to enjoy this job. “Hey. Better safe than sorry.”

Jeff looked at Liam and Barry with a raised brow, as if asking ‘Are you getting what am I getting?’

Better safe than sorry? Really? More like she just wanted to burn more stuff.

Barry responded with a shake of head, as if replying ‘Yeah, I know, but I’m not going to comment on it.’

Liam shrugged, as if saying ‘Yeah… But what can you do about it.’

Jeff: …

…

…

Further into the mall, in the darkness of the atrium, a pair of red glowing eyes opened up.

(“Atrium: a large open-air or skylight covered space surrounded by a building” – Wikipedia.)

(Atrium: Basically a large open space in a building, where one can see the ceiling from the bottom floor. Usually got elevators there. Yeah…)