Jasper stormed across the open space, followed by two men who looked more like tagalongs than allies. His posture was rigid, righteous, and loud. I could already feel Viktor shifting beside me, trying to see if Jasper would be a threat.
Wei Shen's gaze didn't move from the approaching trio. His tone remained calm.
"That one," he said, nodding toward the broad-shouldered man beside Jasper, "he's been here. Introduced himself earlier when his group arrived. Said he needed shelter for the night."
The man stepped forward—broad-shouldered, weathered, and holding himself like someone used to barking orders. His eyes swept over me like I was already an obstacle.
"Wei, are you having a secret meeting over here? Why wasn't I invited?" he said, fake bowing.
I thought he was a serious guy before he opened his mouth, which is throwing me off. That is probably intentional to see how I would react. I keep a straight face.
"And who are you?"
"I am the other leader currently staying in this shitty store, Marco Vasquez, and you must be Jasmine—who one of my… associates shouted loud at, even though goblins could attack anywhere." Marco glared at Jasper, but Jasper wasn't paying attention. Just focus on me. I guess he still doesn't have his priorities straight. Jasper should be focused on surviving. And where is Nadia, anyway?
I folded my arms. "And?"
Marco shrugged his shoulders, looking completely unbothered.
"Word's that you can help us. We saw you meet with Wei Shen and figured it was time we talked. No point pretending we're not all sleeping under the same roof now. We should all be on the same page."
Odd? Why would Marco think that? Sure, it might be better to be a bigger group, but even with my own people, I feel like I could level up faster on my own. I should probably level up by myself, but I don't want to leave Sol behind. I'll think about this later. For now, let's stay focused on the conversation.
Viktor crossed his arms. "So talk."
But before Marco could, Jasper opened his mouth like he'd been holding his breath.
"She's a killer!" he shouted, loud and theatrical. "This is Jasmine West! You all might not know this, but she is a dangerous assassin—number one on the world's most wanted list: Medusa. You should be worried and capture her before she kills all of us!"
The room didn't gasp. No one screamed. If anything, the silence that followed was laced with tired disappointment and annoyance.
One of Wei Shen's guards gave a low groan and turned away.
Another muttered, "Not this again," under his breath.
Viktor looked interested in everyone's reaction. Sure, it's unlikely anyone would believe Jasper's claims, but everyone was too calm.
Marco's expression twitched—somewhere between irritation and regret.
"You dragged us over here just for that?" Marco asked coldly.
"She's dangerous!" Jasper snapped. "You're all acting like it doesn't matter!"
Wei Shen finally spoke, voice cool and precise.
"It doesn't matter. If she's great, she could help us all fight against the goblins. Right now, I care more about food, weapons, and goblin routes than someone's past occupation."
"She could turn on us," Jasper insisted, looking around for support that wasn't there. "You're letting a murderer lead one of the three groups in this store!"
"No one let me do anything," I said flatly. "I earned my people's trust. And I've kept them alive."
"I doubt they willingly followed you. Nicole must have convinced the soldiers to tolerate you. She's so damn useless. She had one job—to take you in—and she couldn't even do that," he spat.
Marco stepped forward, interrupting.
"That's enough, Jasper. Do you know how many criminals are in Falkirk? Hell, everyone in our group except you and two others are criminals. If that's going to be a problem, then you can fuck off."
Jasper's head whipped toward him, surprised. "You're siding with her?"
"I'm siding with survival," Marco said. "She's not my concern unless she becomes one. What is my concern? The goblins, the psychos in the electronics wing, and the fact we're burning through supplies faster than we're replenishing."
Wei Shen nodded once. "Agreed. And frankly, I'd prefer not to waste this alliance potential on tantrums."
Jasper's face reddened, but the conversation had already moved past him.
I met his glare without blinking. "You're welcome to leave anytime."
He didn't respond. Just turned, huffed, and stormed off.
"Should we be worried about him?" Viktor asked.
"No," I said. "He's not the kind that does damage. Just the kind that makes noise."
Jasper's footsteps faded into the distance, and with him went most of the noise. I let out a slow breath, my shoulders dropping just slightly. Wei Shen said nothing, but I caught the faintest glance exchanged between him and one of his guards.
Before I could think more about the exchange Marco spoke.
"I didn't come here for drama," he said plainly. "I came because I need help."
I narrowed my eyes. "You don't seem like the type to ask for help."
He nodded once, conceding the point. "I'm not. But this isn't about me—it's for all of us."
Wei Shen stepped back slightly, folding his arms. Waiting to hear what Marco had to say.
Marco's jaw tightened. "My daughter was taken."
I looked at him, confused, and Wei Shen sighed helplessly. How was his daughter taken? Who would have time to kidnap someone while goblins were killing people? Unless his daughter was already kidnapped before the system happened. Nevertheless, this isn't my concern. Viktor bumped me and nodded toward Marco, wanting me to have him elaborate more on what happened.
"Taken?" I asked reluctantly.
"Goblins," he confirmed. "We'd found a half-barricaded toy store earlier—figured it might have something useful. We were moving slowly, staying quiet. She was in the back with one of my guards. We heard something—she checked it. And then… gone. We found blood and a torn sleeve by one of the maintenance tunnels."
Who looks for supplies in a toy store, and why was she in the back? I have so many questions and something feels off about his story.
Viktor said under his breath, "This could be a clue to our quest." No one but I heard him, and I nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"I don't know why goblins would take her instead of killing her, but I have to rescue her," Marco said with a determined look.
I glanced at Wei Shen, who didn't seem surprised. I guess Marco already asked him for help—but he either couldn't or wouldn't.
"You sure it was goblins?" I asked.
"She screamed," Marco said, voice hard. "I've heard a lot of screams in my life. That one was terror and pain. The same kind I heard throughout the day on the first floor. I would've gone myself to get her, but there's too many of them down there."
I didn't speak for a moment. I just looked at him—at the controlled rage behind his eyes, the way his fingers twitched like they wanted something to break. He shouldn't be planning an ambush against me. His daughter was taken just probably not the way he described it.
"I was already planning to track the disappearances," I said finally. "You're not the only one who's lost people. How many are on the first floor, and are they moving toward the second?"
One of Wei's men frowned. "What do you mean, 'disappearances'? How the hell would you know that?"
I exchanged a glance with Viktor, trying to decide if I should tell them about the quest. But there isn't any reason to hide it. It was easy getting the quest—so they all could find out pretty easily.
"I got a quest notification," I said plainly. "Right before we left Viktor's store. A system window popped up—objective, requirements, and progress. Similar to a video game."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Wei's daughter Lian blinked. "I'm sorry, a video game?"
Viktor stepped forward, calm and steady. "We don't know the full rules yet, but the system's real. It gives notifications. Tracks kills. Distributes loot. It even assigns quests depending on your situation."
Marco looked between us. "Are you telling me this apocalypse is just a video game?"
"Feels more like a divine punishment program with user interface overlays," Viktor muttered. "But yeah. Something like that."
I crossed my arms. "We're being watched. Judged. Scored. Whatever this is—it's testing us."
Wei's wife, Mei, sat down heavily on a half-crushed loveseat, with Wei walking over to comfort her. "This is insane…"
Viktor went on to explain what he told us in his store about the status windows. Everyone's face was filled with disbelief and confusion. No one said a word except Marco, who kept asking Viktor questions.
Marco went quiet for a long moment, processing the information we gave him.
Finally, he straightened. "Then if this is a game—or a test—my daughter's still a variable. Which means she can still be recovered."
Viktor gave a slow nod. "Exactly. And if this is a dungeon, the longer we wait, the higher the threat level. Goblins don't sit idle."
"I think about a hundred or two down on the first floor, Jasmine. I honestly don't know the exact number or if they're moving to the second. I tried to fight them, but after killing one, two more would appear. I need more people to help, so I asked Wei—since his daughter and wife could be in danger—but he's too much of a coward. I don't want your protection," he said. "And I'm not looking to join your group. But if you're going after them, I want in. My people will handle themselves."
"I'm not babysitting anyone," I warned.
"Don't need you to," he said. "I just want my daughter back. Or whatever's left of her."
The silence that followed was heavier than Jasper's shouting had ever been.
I turned slightly, glancing back at Viktor, who gave a small nod.
Marco turned to me. "We'll work with you. But we've got our priorities. We're not here to follow your orders."
I didn't smile, but my voice was steady. "I'm not asking you to follow. I'll tell you when we leave. 8 AM. If you're with us, be ready. If not, stay out of our way."
Marco nodded once and walked off to prep his team.
Then I looked at Wei Shen.
"I assume you're staying behind," I said.
He didn't argue. "My priority is my family. I've built this space into something defensible. Leaving it to chase goblins would put them at risk. I'll protect them. And this store."
"You do that," I said, exhaling. "But you're stalling. The only way any of us survives long-term is by getting stronger."
"My strength," he said evenly, "is knowing when to spend lives—and when to keep them."
We let the words hang for a beat. Neither of us budged.
Then Viktor clapped his hands once. "Alright. That's enough serious talk for one night. Jas—we need to eat. You're already on edge and it's not even midnight."
I nodded, rubbing my face with one hand. "You're right."
"Dinner and then rest," Viktor said. "Tomorrow's gonna be a bloodbath."