Gamer of the Dead

Book 2, Chapter 100, Epilogue 2:

12 miles to the east of the northern base, an abandoned building stood alone in an open field of car parking lots.

The place was filled with shuffling zombies except for the building itself. The first floor was barricaded by its previous occupants who then killed each other when the scarcity of food drove them mad.

The roar of a Suzuki bike cut through the silence and drove directly into the building. At the last moment, the driver steered the vehicle into a nearby car and parked his bike.

He took out his black helmet and surveyed the area around him, his intelligent eyes scanning for any danger. One or two of the zombies shuffled towards him, but he paid them no heed.

Instead, he touched the blue ring in his left hand and activated its invisibility magic. One veered away and lost interest, but the nearest one continued on. It was hungry, and it felt that it caught the whiffed of a possible raw flesh.

It lost its head for its trouble.

The man returned the bastard sword back behind him with a quick twirl of his hand. He wore jeans, designer boots, and a tight-fitting leather jacket that is fully zipped up and with a hoodie that covered his face. Unlike most of the other players in the world, the man is more comfortable by keeping his sword displayed on the outside. And so his bastard sword, after twirling it a bit expertly, returned back to the customized special holster harness attached behind him.

He walked towards the building and when he was near enough, climb the second-floor window and entered from there. He stopped and surveyed his surroundings, trying to check if there is any trap. Only then did he focus his gaze on the lone man sitting in the center. The second floor was a single room with no other wall divisions. It is also completely devoid of any other appliances except for the single chair where his contact sat patiently.

"So Elias," The man in the hoodie begun. "What is so important that you needed to drag me out of nowhere?"

"I formally request asylum and protection from your group."

That grabbed the man in the hoodie's attention. And then he laughed harshly. "I thought you bunch of fanatic crazies hated player types like me? What the fuck did you do to make the other crazies hate you enough that you are seeking asylum?"

Elias stared at the man with heavy dark eyes, and despite all his training, he just couldn't hide the hatred he harbors for the man's kind.

This man epitomizes everything he hated about the players with their self-centeredness and unproven arrogance, but this man is important. He and his "community" is taking over the northeastern part of Manila, and they are defending their territories against all comers with cold, ruthless precision. He knew he can help them if this man just gives him a chance to do so.

"My organization ceases to exist, after entangling with a third power that emerges from Illos' cluster of bases."

The man in the hoodie nodded slowly. He couldn't care less about the fate of those fanatic zealots, but any emerging military power in this apocalypse is a concern to his own organization. He knew the Kulasa brotherhood since they exchange information every now and then and also did a few tentative trading, mostly mineral deposit in exchange for caches of food.