The storage room was colder than Jin expected.
The moment the door shut behind them, the noise from the station dulled into a distant murmur, leaving only the low hum of old fluorescent lights and the faint metallic smell clinging to the cramped room. Dust coated the shelves in thin layers, disturbed only where equipment had already been picked through. Most of the space was packed tight with stacked riot shields, emergency medical kits, spare uniforms, and sealed supply crates.
No guns, at least, none they could access.
Jin's eyes swept over the room carefully anyway, searching for something useful hidden among the clutter, but the locked steel cages near the back made it obvious where the firearms were being kept.
Ryu really wasn't taking chances.
Jin exhaled slowly through his nose.
He understood the logic behind it, but it still left a bitter feeling in his chest. Right now, his greatest weakness wasn't monsters or other survivors.
It was the fact that he was unarmed.
The broken pipe that had carried him through everything so far was gone, shattered during the fight with the prison girl. Ever since then, the absence of weight in his hands had been bothering him more than he wanted to admit.
His skill meant nothing if he didn't have something to use it on.
Echo leaned against one of the shelves nearby, arms crossed loosely over his chest, while he glanced around the room.
"You see anything good?" he asked.
Jin didn't answer immediately.
He stepped deeper into the room instead, boots scraping lightly against the concrete floor as his eyes moved from shelf to shelf.
Joon followed behind him, quieter than usual, studying the scattered gear with narrowed eyes.
"There's gotta be something in here," he muttered.
Jin's gaze stopped near the back wall.
An open crate sat half-shoved beneath a shelf, filled with black riot batons stacked unevenly.
He walked over and crouched slightly, reaching inside.
The baton was heavier than he expected when he lifted it free; it wasn't heavy enough to slow him down, but it certainly was dense. Built to crack bones without breaking apart.
He turned it once in his hand.
The balance felt strange compared to the pipe but after some time it felt more controlled in his grip.
Echo pushed himself off the shelf and wandered closer.
"That it?" he asked.
Jin adjusted his grip, testing the weight again.
"…Guess so."
Joon frowned slightly.
"You think your skill'll work with that?"
Jin hesitated.
That question had already been sitting in the back of his head.
The pipe had been simple. A weapon in the most primitive sense possible. Same with the knife from earlier.
But this baton felt different somehow.
More specialized, perhaps?
His fingers tightened slightly around the handle.
"I'll find out," he muttered.
Silence settled for a moment after that.
Because all of them understood the same thing without needing to say it aloud.
None of them knew if what they had was enough anymore.
Jin stepped back, giving himself a little space.
The baton rolled once in his palm before he steadied it again.
Before relying on the skill, he wanted to know something.
Could he stop himself from using his skill? If so, how bad was he without it?
Jin inhaled slowly as he thought hard about not using his skill.
Then he tried to swing the baton.
The baton cut through the air awkwardly, his wrist stiff, his footing uneven. There was force behind it, sure, but no control. No rhythm. The weight dragged slightly at the end of the strike, pulling his balance off-center.
Jin frowned, then tried again.
This time, he adjusted his stance first.
The second swing looked better.
It still felt a bit unnatural to him.
His shoulders were too tense. His grip too tight.
It felt less like using a weapon and more like trying to force one into obeying him.
Jin lowered the baton slightly, irritation creeping into his chest.
"…Damn."
Echo snorted quietly from behind him.
"Kinda thought you'd look cooler doing that."
Jin shot him a flat look.
Joon stepped closer, watching the baton carefully.
"You've never actually trained with weapons before, have you?"
Jin shook his head once.
"Not really."
That answer alone explained everything.
Echo rubbed the side of his neck.
"But with the pipe, though…" he muttered.
Jin looked back down at the baton in his hand.
"It wasn't the pipe," he said quietly.
"It was the skill."
Without it?
He was just another exhausted survivor swinging metal around and hoping for the best.
Jin exhaled, then, slowly, he focused on using his skill again.
The moment his grip tightened with intent, the familiar shift happened instantly.
The weight balanced itself naturally. His posture adjusted without conscious thought. Tiny details in his stance shifted automatically until everything aligned perfectly.
Jin swung again.
This time, the baton sliced cleanly through the air.
Smooth and fast without a bit of wasted movement.
The difference was immediate enough that even Echo straightened slightly.
"Okay, now thats what I was expecting you to do at first," he muttered.
Joon's eyes narrowed a little.
"You move completely differently."
Jin didn't answer right away.
Because the improvement wasn't satisfying.
If anything, it made him more uncomfortable.
He rolled the baton once more in his hand, watching how naturally it moved now.
The skill didn't make him stronger.
It didn't magically turn him into a fighter.
It simply allowed him to use a weapon at its maximum efficiency.
Which meant one ugly truth still remained.
Without the skill, he was helpless.
Jin's jaw tightened.
He had survived so far because the system handed him something absurdly useful. But if he ever lost access to it somehow, if he got caught without a weapon, if something disrupted his ability, he'd fall apart instantly.
Joon seemed to notice the look on his face.
"Something bothering you?"
Jin lowered the baton slowly.
"…I need to learn how to actually fight."
Joon nodded almost immediately.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I've been thinking the same thing, I was kind of happy when Ryu said he'd train us."
Echo stretched his arms over his head with a groan.
"Well, at least you look like you know what you're doing now."
Jin glanced at him.
"That's not really the point."
Echo shrugged.
"Maybe not, but fake confidence is still confidence."
Jin shook his head faintly, though the corner of his mouth twitched for half a second before disappearing again.
Before anyone could continue, the storage room door creaked open.
An officer stepped inside.
"Ryu wants everyone in the main hall."
The tone alone made the room feel heavier.
Joon immediately pushed himself off the shelf.
"Guess it's time."
Echo sighed loudly.
"Man, I really hate when people say things like that."
Jin adjusted the baton against his side before following them out.
But halfway to the door, something made him pause.
Echo had gone quiet.
Jin glanced back.
Echo was staring at the floor, expression tighter than before.
"You good?"
Echo didn't answer immediately.
Then he laughed softly under his breath.
"…I was trying not to think about it."
Jin frowned.
"Think about what?"
Echo finally looked up.
"The timer."
Jin's grip tightened around the baton.
Yeah...
That...
Nobody had wanted to say it out loud, but every single person in the station had been thinking the same thing.
The first twenty-four hours were almost over.
And nobody knew what would happen after that.
Joon rubbed a hand over his face.
"We should go."
None of them argued.
Together, they stepped out of the storage room and headed toward the main hall.
The atmosphere hit Jin immediately.
It felt heavy and oppressive.
The survivors scattered around the room were quieter than ever, conversations reduced to whispers and nervous glances. Some sat gripping weapons tightly in their laps while others stared blankly ahead like they were waiting for a verdict.
Nobody looked comfortable.
Nobody looked ready.
Jin's eyes flicked instinctively toward the timer hovering faintly in his vision.
00:15:47
Fifteen minutes.
That was it.
Echo exhaled slowly beside him.
"…Feels like waiting for a damn execution."
Nobody answered.
Because it really did feel that way.
Jin moved toward an open section near the back wall and sat down, resting the baton across his knees.
The silence in the room felt louder than any panic he'd heard before.
Some people paced.
Others sat completely still.
One woman clutched a bloodstained jacket tightly against her chest, as if letting go of it would destroy her.
A man nearby kept bouncing his leg uncontrollably while staring at the floor.
Even the officers looked tense now.
Jin looked back at the timer.
00:09:31
Nine minutes.
He swallowed slowly.
They had survived monsters, humans, and collapsing buildings, but surviving never actually felt like winning.
His fingers tightened around the baton.
Most people here weren't fighters.
They were students, office workers, and parents. Completely normal people dragged into something impossible.
Would the system even allow them to return to normal after all of this?
Or was this only the beginning of whatever it truly wanted from them?
Jin didn't know.
And somehow that uncertainty felt worse than the monsters did.
Echo suddenly let out a short laugh beside him.
"Seriously feels like we're waiting for a bomb to go off."
Nobody replied.
The timer continued ticking downward.
00:04:58
The hall somehow felt even quieter now.
Every movement stood out, every breath and every shift of fabric.
Then heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Ryu stepped into the room.
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Eyes turned toward him automatically, but he said nothing; it seems even he was nervous about what would happen.
Jin straightened slightly without meaning to.
And above them all...
The final countdown continued.