All Chapters of Leveling up in Dystopia : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
54 chapters
Chapter 41 A Tempting Reward
The journey back to the hospital was made in a heavy, contemplative silence. Ayham and Shihab moved with a new urgency, the image of the flower seller's terror and Shareef's smug cruelty burned into their minds. They found Karam and Jalal in the recovery ward, the former practicing moving with his wrapped ribs, the latter looking stronger but still pale."If you feel better then we should go back." Shihab had said, his tone brooking no argument.Once they were back within the relative safety of their own hideout, the four of them, along with Jawad, gathered in the dimly lit command room. The hand-drawn map of the city was now joined by a crude sketch of the market plaza, hastily drawn by Ayham.Shihab recounted everything they had witnessed, the false negotiations, the calculated leading of the infected, the cold-blooded murder by proxy. He described Shareef and his lieutenants, naming the snake and his most venomous fangs: Saeed, Adham, Taymoor, and Sameer.A cold fury settled over
Chapter 42 The Cost Of Justice
The air in the abandoned textile factory they used as a staging ground was thick with the smell of oil and tension. Shihab’s plan was set, but a final piece was missing: confirmation. They needed to know the exact number of guards at the bank, the layout of the back office, and if there were any hidden surprises.“The plan is solid, but it’s built on what we’ve seen from the outside,” Jalal had argued, his head still bandaged but his mind sharp. “We need a look from the inside. We need one of them.”Their target was Sameer, the sharply dressed lieutenant. He was the most frequent courier, often traveling with only one bodyguard to deliver his “protection” offers.He was also considered the weakest link, more of a slick talker than a hardened fighter.They found their opportunity late in the afternoon. Sameer and his bodyguard were cutting through a derelict arcade to return to the market plaza. As they passed a shattered fountain, Ayham, hidden in the ceiling rafters, dropped a heavy
Chapter 43 The Weight of a Coin
There was no cheering, no celebration. The mood was grim and heavy, the air thick with the coppery scent of Karam’s blood and the bitter taste of an incomplete victory. They had the gang leaders, trussed up and imprisoned in a fortified storage room, but the image of Karam being shot, and the subsequent escape of the young lookout, cast a long, dark shadow over their success.“Just drive,” Shihab had growled at Jawad, who was behind the wheel of their remaining jeep. In the back, Ayham and Jalal supported a pale and silent Karam, a makeshift bandage already soaked through with crimson on his shoulder.The hospital, which had become a grimly familiar sanctuary, received them with weary efficiency. The same exhausted doctor from before examined Karam under the flickering light of a battery-powered lamp.“The bullet went through,” she announced, her voice flat with professional detachment. “It missed the major artery, by a miracle. But it’s a nasty wound. There’s significant tissue damag
Chapter 44 No Other Choice
The jeep rolled to a stop two blocks from Jumma Street, the engine’s rumble feeling obscenely loud in the suffocating silence. Peering through the grimy windshield, Shihab and Ayham saw the source of that silence. The district wasn’t just infected; it was a graveyard that had refused to stay buried.Hundreds of zombies moved in a slow, ceaseless tide through the narrow streets, a sea of grey flesh and hollow groans. There were so many of them that Ayham couldn't even count them. This wasn't a patrol; it was a stagnant, rotting reservoir of the dead, and Riham’s apartment building was an island in the center of it.“We can’t drive through that,” Shihab whispered, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “We’d be bogged down in seconds.”“We can’t leave them,” Ayham countered, his voice tight. His eyes were fixed on the fourth-floor balcony of number 14, as if the children would magically appear.For twenty minutes, Shihab tried. He navigated the perimeter, searching for a weak spot, a
Chapter 45 And Then They Disappeared
The silence Ayham stepped into was more unnerving than the fading roar of the horde. The street, so recently a churning river of death, was now a ghost town littered with the detritus of a fallen world. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic counter-rhythm to his ragged breathing. Every shadow in the doorways seemed to hold a lingering threat, every rustle of paper in the wind sounded like a dragging footstep.He moved like a phantom, sticking to the walls, his injured knee and hand throbbing with a sharp, insistent pain. The jump between the rooftops had been a desperate gamble. The surge of adrenaline as he’d sprinted and launched himself, the terrifying moment of weightlessness, and the brutal, joint-jarring impact on the adjacent roof—it had worked, but at a cost. His palms were scraped raw from breaking his fall, and his knee felt hot and swollen. But the children were close. He could feel it.He found the stairwell of their building and descended into darkness, the crowb
Chapter 46 A Prayer In The Dark
The silence in the empty apartment was a physical weight, crushing the air from Ayham’s lungs. He stood frozen, his mind refusing to process the void where Riham and Omar should have been.“Riham? Omar!” he had yelled, his voice cracking with a panic that spiraled into sheer terror. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the searing pain, and scanned the dusty floor of the hallway. That’s when he saw them: two sets of small, faint scuff marks leading out of the apartment door. But beside them, overlaying them, were larger, heavier boot prints.A trap.The realization hit him with the force of a sledgehammer. The desperate call. The perfectly timed horde. The clearing of the streets. It was all a stage, and he had walked right onto it. The children weren't just missing; they had been taken. Used as bait.He never heard the footsteps behind him. A sharp, blinding pain exploded at the base of his skull. The world dissolved into a shower of white sparks, and then into a deep, consuming blackn
Chapter 47 A Whisper In The Dark
The world was a jumble of nauseating motion and blinding pain. Ayham drifted in and out of consciousness, aware only of the rough shoulder digging into his stomach and the agony that flared with every step his captor took. He was hauled like a sack of grain, then unceremoniously dumped onto a cold, concrete floor. The impact sent a fresh shockwave through his ribs and his injured knee, and he cried out, the sound weak and pathetic in the darkness.A heavy door slammed shut, followed by the definitive thud of a bolt being thrown. He was alone. He was sure of it this time. The room was pitch black, smelling of damp earth and mildew. He tried to shift, to find a more comfortable position, but every small movement hurt. He lay there, breathing in ragged gasps, the full weight of his failure settling upon him.A long time passed. An hour? A day? He had no way of knowing. Then, a sound. Not from inside the room, but from the other side of the door. A faint, hesitant scratching. Then, a tiny
Chapter 48 The Location
The silence in the command room was a physical presence, thick with despair and the dust of a hundred failed plans. Shihab sat motionless, staring at the map of the city as if it were a personal insult. Every marked route, every red-circled danger zone, felt like a testament to his failure. Ayham was out there, bleeding, scared, or worse, and he was here, useless. The arguments of his team. Jawad’s cold logic, Karam’s pained pragmatism—faded into a dull hum. He was alone in his grief.It was then that the blue light flickered, not at the edge of his vision, but directly in front of him, demanding his attention.[New Systemic Quest Generated: A Test of Conviction][Objective: Confront the moral failure of the city's remaining authority. Locate Mayor Halim and deliver the following message: "To hide in your home while gangs run the streets is to be complicit in their evil. A badge in a drawer is a coward's choice."][Reward upon Completion: Ayham's Location.]Shihab’s breath caught in
Chapter 49 Out Of The Fire
The air in the Peace Seekers’ hideout was electric, Shihab stood before the map, his finger planted firmly on the auto garage on Commercial Street. The red dot in his mind was a beacon, a constant, pulsing reminder that his brother was within reach.“We will go tonight,” Shihab had said, his voice leaving no room for debate. “No more waiting.”The plan was simple, brutal, and relied on perfect timing. “Jawad, you’re our rock,” Shihab had directed. “You must find a perch opposite the main entrance. When I give the signal, you open fire. Not to kill everyone, but to make a hell of a noise. Draw every one of Qasim’s men to the front.”Jawad had simply nodded, already mentally calibrating the scope on his M4.“Jalal, you’re with him,” Shihab continued. “You'll provide close support, watch his back, and make sure no one flanks his position.”Jalal, his face still pale but his eyes sharp, had affirmed with a grim, “Understood.”“Karam, you’re with me,” Shihab said, turning to his friend, wh
Chapter 50 Dreamless Night
The battered jeep screeched to a halt inside the Peace Seekers' compound, its arrival met not with cheers, but with a surge of frantic activity. The triumphant return was a somber, medical emergency. Shihab practically fell out of the driver's side, his own body trembling with a delayed shock."He's in here! Karam's hurt too!" he yelled, his voice raw, as he wrenched open the back door.The sight of Ayham, unconscious, bruised, and caked in dried blood, sent a wave of gasps through those gathered. Hands reached in, carefully extracting him onto a waiting stretcher. He was frighteningly light, his body limp. Karam staggered out under his own power, but his face was a mask of pain. He clutched at his left shoulder, where a dark, ominous stain was rapidly spreading across the bandages, the old gunshot wound torn open during his brutal fight with the guard."Get them to the hospital. Now!" someone shouted.The journey to the fortified hospital was a blur of speed and silence. Shihab sat i