The abandoned factory rose from the gray plain like a tomb.
Brick walls stained with decades of rust. Windows shattered, empty as eye sockets. A smokestack leaned at a dangerous angle, ready to fall.
And somewhere inside, a blue crate glowed.
Alex studied the building through binoculars. "Eight survivors," he said. "System says they're inside."
"Waiting for us?" Sarah asked.
"Waiting for something."
Jade climbed onto the RV roof, broken rifle ready. "I count three on the ground floor. Two on the second. Three I can't see."
"Roof?"
"Maybe. Hard to tell."
Maya appeared at Alex's side, bow in hand. "I can go ahead. Scout."
"Too risky. Eight against one."
"I'm quiet."
"You're outnumbered."
Maya's jaw tightened. "Your mother trusted me."
"My mother trusted a lot of people. Some of them became Vera."
The archer flinched. But she didn't argue.
---
Cole walked up, revolver drawn. "We could wait them out."
"Wait them out?"
"Blue crate lasts four hours. They've got to leave sometime."
"And if they open it before we get there?"
"Then we move on."
Alex shook his head. "I'm tired of moving on."
He looked at his crew. Sarah. Jade. Maya. Cole. Danny and Riley in the RV.
Five fighters. Two non-combatants.
Against eight unknowns.
"We do it smart," he said. "Jade, you take the roof. Pick off anyone who tries to flank us. Maya, you take the east entrance. Quiet. Sarah, you're with me through the main door."
"And Cole?"
"Cole watches our backs."
The old trucker nodded. "Finally. A job I'm good at."
---
The factory smelled like oil and death.
Alex stepped through the main entrance, tire iron raised. Sarah followed, wrench in hand.
Dark. Too dark.
His eyes adjusted slowly.
Machinery. Conveyor belts. Crates stacked against the walls—not system crates, just old boxes, rotting.
And in the center of the floor, the blue glow.
"The crate," Sarah whispered.
"I see it."
"Where are the survivors?"
That was the question.
Alex moved forward. Slow. Careful.
A sound. Behind him.
He spun.
A figure dropped from the ceiling. Landed between him and Sarah. Knife flashing.
Alex swung the tire iron. The figure blocked—metal on metal—and kicked.
Alex went down.
"Alex!" Sarah swung her wrench. The figure dodged. Grabbed her arm. Twisted.
Sarah screamed.
Then—thwack—an arrow sprouted from the figure's shoulder.
Maya. From the east entrance.
The figure staggered. Alex scrambled up. Swung again. Connected with the knee.
Bone cracked.
The figure fell.
Alex stood over them, breathing hard. "Who sent you?"
The figure laughed. Blood in their mouth. "You're already dead, Chen. You just don't know it yet."
Then their eyes went blank.
Poison. Tooth capsule.
Professional, Alex thought. Not a random survivor.
---
"Two more coming from the west," Jade called over the radio. "Moving fast."
Alex grabbed Sarah's arm. "Up. Now."
They ran for the crate.
Eight seconds. Quick Hands.
The lock clicked.
```
[System: Rare Supply Crate (Blue) opened.]
Rewards:
– Medical Kit (Advanced) x2
– Fuel Canister x4 (+40% fuel)
– Skill Book: "Silent Movement" (Reduces footstep noise by 50%)
– RV Module: "Reinforced Tires" (Puncture-proof, requires Level 18)
– Credit: 300
```
Alex grabbed everything. The skill book was thin—pamphlet-sized.
He opened it.
```
[System: Skill learned – Silent Movement (Level 1)]
Effect: Footstep noise reduced by 50%.
```
"Useful," he muttered.
"Less useful if we're dead!" Sarah shouted.
Two figures burst through a side door. Guns raised.
Alex dove behind a conveyor belt. Bullets pinged off the metal.
Maya's bow sang. One figure fell.
Jade's rifle cracked. The other stumbled.
Then silence.
"Clear," Jade called.
Alex stood up. His heart was pounding.
Eight survivors. Two dead. Six still inside somewhere.
"We need to go," Sarah said.
"The crate's open. We got what we came for."
"Then let's leave."
Alex nodded. "Go. I'll cover you."
---
They ran for the exit.
Behind them, footsteps. Shouting.
"There!"
"Stop them!"
Alex turned. Fired? He didn't have a gun. Just a tire iron.
But Maya did.
Her arrow took the lead runner in the chest. He fell.
The others hesitated.
That was all the time they needed.
Alex burst through the main door. Sarah was already in the RV, engine running. Jade dropped from the roof, landed hard, rolled into the side door.
Cole's revolver cracked twice. Cover fire.
Then Alex was inside. The door slammed. Sarah hit the gas.
The RV lurched forward.
Bullets pinged off the reinforced chassis.
Then they were on the highway, tires screaming, engine roaring.
Behind them, the factory shrank to a dot.
Then disappeared.
---
Alex lay on the floor, gasping.
"Everyone alive?" Sarah asked.
"Here," Jade said.
"Here," Maya said.
"Still got all my fingers," Cole said from his motorcycle, somehow still beside them.
Danny's voice from the back: "I'm okay."
"Riley?"
A pause. Then: "I'm here."
Alex sat up. His arm was bleeding again. Same arm. Same spot.
I need to stop getting shot, he thought.
He pulled up his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 5
Credits: 325/600 to next level
```
Three hundred twenty-five. Two hundred seventy-five to Level 6.
"Getting there," he muttered.
"Getting where?" Sarah asked.
"Level six. Then seven. Then eight. Then nine. Then ten."
"And then?"
"Then I get my first Legendary Perk."
Sarah was quiet for a moment. Then: "What do you think it'll be?"
"I don't know. Something good. Something that'll help us survive."
"Something that'll help you find your mother."
Alex looked at her. "Yeah. That too."
---
They drove until sunset.
The factory was far behind them. No sign of pursuit. No Road Knights. No Vera.
Just road. Endless, gray, empty.
Alex sat on the roof of the RV, journal in hand, watching the stars.
Wrong stars, he thought. Wrong world. Wrong everything.
But his mother had been here. Had walked this road. Had faced whatever was waiting at Zero Mile.
And she'd survived.
So will I.
His system pinged.
```
[System: Common Supply Crate (White) detected]
Location: Shoulder, 0.2 miles ahead.
Survivors in area: 0.
```
He climbed down. Walked to the crate. Opened it.
Eight seconds.
```
[System: Common Supply Crate (White) opened.]
Rewards:
– MRE x1
– Water Bottle x1
– Credit: 50
```
Fifty credits.
He looked at his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 5
Credits: 375/600 to next level
```
Two hundred twenty-five to go.
Getting there, he thought. Slowly. But getting there.
He walked back to the RV.
Danny was sitting by the fire—a small one, just enough for cooking. Riley was beside him, teaching him something with a deck of cards.
"War," she said. "It's a kid's game. But it passes the time."
Danny nodded. Focused on his cards.
Alex sat down across from them.
"You play?" Riley asked.
"Not since I was a kid."
"Then it's time to learn again."
She dealt the cards.
For a few minutes, Alex forgot about the road. About Vera. About Zero Mile.
He just played cards.