A tiny Lu Zhang stood before his parents with a smile on his face, ready to embark on his first day of school. He tugged on the uncomfortable uniform's edge, the white shirt and brown pants sitting snugly against his body.
"No matter what happens, Xiao Zhang, we will be proud of you," said his father, usually as strict with others as he was with himself.
He was drinking tea, dressed in his prim and proper work suit as he read a newspaper.
His mother was a blur of motion as she quickly put his lunch into his bag, while pacifying his crying little sister in her arms.
"Have fun over there, okay? We'll be waiting for you when you get back. And little Chunxia here too."
She was still in her flowing blue night dress despite having woken up before everyone else.
"Yeah..."
"I'll be back."
Lu Zhang walked out of the door with a smile.
Yet, he paused before fully stepping out of the house.
'Don't look back.'
'Please don't look back.'
He didn't understand why he had that thought.
[Don't look back.]
A strange blue screen popped up in front of him.
Lu Zhang looked over his shoulder at his happy family.
He only caught a brief glimpse. A flash of blood and flesh arose, before a green scythe covered his eyes.
A giant mantis stood behind him, covering his eyes as it chittered in its alien tongue.
"Don't look back."
Lu Zhang's eyes snapped open.
For a while, he remained still, letting the mixture of emotions churning in his chest drain away before he got out of bed.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily as he yawned. He hadn't slept properly in a while. The mild rumbling in his stomach also informed him he hadn't eaten well either.
'At least the showers and taps worked.'
Even those were not truly sustainable yet. Not until located where the reservoirs got their water from, and could ensure it wasn't contaminated by monsters.
'So much to think about...'
With the help of an old electrician, they identified that most things involving electricity had experienced failure. Even attempts to fix them ended in vain.
Lu Zhang pulled on a new T-shirt for the day, before he stepped out into the sunlight.
Covering his eyes from the morning glare, Lu Zhang looked at the people already out and about. Over the past few days, they had formed a system of patrols around the furthest perimeter where the scale still held influence. All creatures that were spotted were noted down carefully and examined at the end of the day.
However, every time they fixed one issue, another one popped up in its place. Lu Zhang entered the building they had unofficially designated as their main base of operations.
Draped over a table was the corpse of a freshly hunted monster that looked like a hideously warped chicken.
"What a nice start to my day," Lu Zhang said sarcastically as he walked up to the desk. "I suppose this means you didn't find any other solution to the food issue?"
Elena greeted him as she stood up, offering him a seat, "Good morning, sir."
Lu Zhang took the offered seat as he returned her greeting. She remained standing behind him.
Su Yao spoke up from her seat, "Those of us with higher Endurance stats seemed to feel the effects of hunger much later than the lower level people. Without crop yields available at the moment, this is our only option."
"The pre-packaged foods are almost finished too. People are hungry."
The warped carcass drew his gaze. He studied it silently for a while. "Alright. I guess we can't put this off any more."
Arthur asked from across the table, "Who's going to be the first to try it though? What if it does end up being poisonous, or has some sort of crazy mana enhanced virus?"
"We'll deal with it," Su Yao said, but her fingers tightened against the table. "No matter what happens."
"Yeah, and what happens if it kills him in six hours?" Arthur argued back.
"We just need confirmation. Nothing more."
'Deal with it huh? Cool way of saying we're gambling with someone's life.' Lu Zhang thought idly. His job was to kill monsters and level up. He left the management aspect to those who cared for it.
"I'll try it." He put forward, but was instantly shot down by Su Yao.
"Absolutely not," Su Yao said abruptly. "You are the strongest person we have. You are needed in top shape, no matter what."
"Everyone else in this room can be sacrificed but you."
The cold declaration made the rest of the people look at her with a strange glint in their eyes, but none of them could refute her. Without Lu Zhang's frontal combat power, none of them would have made it this far.
"Who else do you have in mind? Dajian?" Lu Zhang asked, making the glasses-wearing man jolt at the mention of his name.
Su Yao thought over it for a moment, but sighed, "Dajian is also an important fighter for us. Besides, with his high Endurance, he might be able to withstand some things the normal people can't. It's not a proper indicator."
"We need to test it on a regular member, not above Level 4."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We managed to secure these few pieces of meat from one of the houses. We need your help to... test if they are good for distribution among the older people. Flavour and quality." Elena said to the middle aged man with a straight face.
Diminishing the risks from possible death to a mere bad meal, Elena convinced him to eat the pieces of monster meat placed before him.
He began with the first piece, cooked by Su Yao's [Inferno] skill. Taste was not a primary concern for them in the first place.
The older man grimaced, but did not show any adverse effects.
Elena ignored his remarks on the taste, having him eat the next piece, cooked over regular flames.
There were concerns about slow acting issues, but they generally agreed that if he exhibited any adverse symptoms at all, none of these would be distributed until further experimentation was done.
The testing continued, with different meats and preparatory methods.
Late into the evening, Elena walked into the meeting room with a solemn face.
"Well?" Arthur asked. "How is he?"
Elena held a pause, making the former soldier anxious.
"The testing was..."
"...a success!"
"Mr Morales had no immediate adverse reactions to the Maligno Pollo meat."
Su Yao let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "That's good."
Lu Zhang stood, "Well, problem solved. I'm leaving to go level up a bit more."
Su Yao watched him leave silently.
'Something's off...'
'But what?'
Something about Lu Zhang seemed different to Su Yao. The only one who knew the truth of his actions was Lu Zhang himself.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Name: Lu Zhang]
[Level: 12]
[Strength: 38]
[Speed: 73]
[Intelligence: 40]
[Endurance: 39]
[Stat Points: 30]
[Mana: 400/400]
[Skills: Inspect lv 7, Empty Fang Lv 8, Sky Walk Lv 2, Mandate Lv 1, Devour Lv 6]