The Apocalypse's Safe Zone Minimarket

Chapter 3: The First Guest

"Two..." the system’s mechanical voice echoed coldly inside Arman's mind.

"Wait! Hold on! Stop counting!" Arman screamed, pointing his tactical flashlight toward the shattered glass doors.

Through the bright white beam, the red mist outside parted. Arman squinted, his eyes widening as he recognized the figure clawing frantically at the invisible golden wall.

"Wait a minute," Arman gasped, his voice cracking. "That's not a woman! That's... Mr. Bambang? Why is your voice so high?"

"Arman! Oh my god, Arman, is that you in there?" Mr. Bambang shrieked. His voice was pitched in an octave of sheer terror that indeed sounded like a dying banshee. "Help me, son! Please! Something is wrong with the stray dogs! They've gone mad! They're eating people!"

Behind the older man, three horrific shapes surged out of the crimson fog. They looked like feral street dogs, but their skin was peeled back to reveal raw, pulsing muscle. Their jaws had split horizontally into fleshy, multi-fanged mandibles, dripping with black, viscous saliva.

"Warning," the system chimed inside Arman’s head. "Target identified: Bambang Sutejo, age fifty-six. Status: Non-hostile regular customer. Threat level behind target: Three Stage 1 Mutated Canines. Time remaining: One second."

"If I open the shield, those things will slip inside and tear me to pieces!" Arman cried out, his knuckles turning white around his flashlight. "System, is there any way to just open a tiny gap? Like, just enough to drag him in?"

"Recalculating," the system replied smoothly. "A localized, partial opening is possible. However, a manual bypass carries a forty percent risk of a boundary breach. Please note: Performing a successful rescue will trigger a Karma Reward. Estimated reward: Fifteen Karma Points."

"Karma Points?" Arman muttered, backing up a step. "What the hell is that? Can I buy food with it? Can I use it to survive?"

"Karma Points are a premium system currency awarded for acts of selfless rescue," the system explained. "They can be exchanged for immediate environmental upgrades, energy restoration, and advanced safe zone utilities."

"Help! Please! They're right behind me!" Mr. Bambang wept, slamming his palms against the invisible barrier. "I can't breathe, Arman! My legs are giving out!"

"Alright, fine! Open a gap!" Arman yelled, steeling himself. "Mr. Bambang! Listen to me! When I tell you to grab my hand, you pull yourself inward as hard as you can!"

"Grab your hand?" Mr. Bambang sobbed, looking around wildly. "There's a wall here! I'm touching a literal wall of glass, but there's nothing there! How do I get past it?"

"Just trust me!" Arman shouted. He closed his eyes for a split second, visualizing the heavy tool he had received earlier. "Crowbar!"

Pop.

A solid, cold steel crowbar materialized directly into his left hand.

"Oh, what the hell was that?" Mr. Bambang screamed, his jaw dropping. "Did you just summon a weapon out of thin air? Are you a wizard, Arman?"

"I’m a convenience store clerk who wants to keep living!" Arman yelled back, bracing his boots against the slick floor. "System, open the gap now!"

"Bypass initiated," the system announced. "Partial barrier deactivated for exactly three seconds. Three... two..."

The golden light near the entrance rippled like water.

"Now! Grab my hand!" Arman roared, lunging forward and reaching past the broken frame of the sliding doors.

Mr. Bambang scrambled forward, but his foot caught on a jagged piece of the shattered aluminum door frame. "I'm falling! Arman, I'm falling!"

"I've got you! Don't let go!" Arman grunted, wrapping his fingers tightly around the older man's dusty shirt collar. "Get up, Mr. Bambang! Seriously, you need to lose some weight!"

Behind them, one of the mutated canines lunged, its split jaw snapping shut mere centimeters from Mr. Bambang’s trailing leg. The rancid stench of decay and sulfur washed over them.

"Get away from him, you freak!" Arman screamed.

He swung the reinforced steel crowbar with all the desperate strength he could muster.

Clang!

The heavy metal bar slammed directly into the side of the lead beast's mutated skull. The creature let out a wet, gurgling yelp and recoiled, its black, tar-like blood splattering across the concrete pavement.

"Holy shit!" Arman gasped, his arms vibrating from the sheer force of the impact. "That actually hurt it!"

"Warning," the system alerted him. "The remaining two hostiles are preparing to spring. Barrier re-engagement in one second."

"No, you don't!" Arman grunted, digging his heels into the tiled floor. He hauled Mr. Bambang inward with a frantic, chest-heaving pull. "Get in here!"

"My back! Oh, my lower back is gone!" Mr. Bambang groaned as he slid awkwardly across the floorboards.

Slam!

Arman dragged the older man fully inside the threshold just as the other two beasts leaped forward.

"System, close the shield! Close it now!" Arman roared.

"Re-engaging Golden Sanctuary Shield," the system said.

Bzzzzzt!

The golden barrier snapped back into existence with a low hum. The two leaping beasts slammed headfirst into the invisible dome. Instantly, a brilliant flash of golden light flared, and the mutated dogs dissolved into a cloud of glittering, harmless dust that scattered into the night wind.

"Haa... haa..." Arman collapsed backward onto the floor, his lungs burning as he stared up at the dark ceiling. "Did... did we actually make it?"

"Are we dead?" Mr. Bambang whimpered, curling into a tight ball on the floor and clutching his chest. "Is this the afterlife, Arman? Why does the afterlife smell like expired instant noodles and bleach?"

"No, Mr. Bambang, you're still in the store," Arman panted, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "And you still owe me ten thousand rupiah for those cigarettes you put on your tab last week."

Mr. Bambang let out a long, trembling sob, burying his face in his hands. "Oh, thank God. If you're still asking for money, then I'm definitely still alive."

"Ding!" the system’s cheerful chime echoed clearly in Arman’s mind. "Rescue successful. First formal 'Good Deed' registered under the Savior Protocol."

"Awesome," Arman muttered, a small grin forming in the dark. "Now tell me I got those points."

"Calculating Karma Reward," the system announced. "Host Arman Pradana has successfully rescued a civilian under high-threat conditions. You have received fifteen Karma Points."

"Yes!" Arman pumped his fist in the air. "Fifteen points! That's more than enough, right?"

"Indeed," the system replied. "Your current balance is fifteen Karma Points."

Mr. Bambang slowly sat up, rubbing his aching hip as he stared at Arman in the beam of the flashlight. "Arman... who are you talking to? And what was that golden light? Did you... did you just turn those demon dogs into fairy dust?"

"It's a long story, Mr. Bambang," Arman sighed, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "Just... stay right there. Don't move."

"My heart is going to burst," the older man groaned, leaning heavily against a display shelf. "First the sky turns red, then my neighbor’s cat grows to the size of a motorcycle, and now you’re casting magic spells? What is happening to Jakarta?"

"The world is ending, Mr. Bambang," Arman said quietly, shining his light toward the shattered entrance. The red fog outside was swirling lazily, but it couldn't penetrate the invisible golden dome. "But at least we're safe inside this store."

"Safe?" Mr. Bambang looked around the pitch-black aisles. "Arman, it's freezing, the power is out, and there are monsters literally vaporizing on your doorstep. How is this safe?"

"It's safer than being out there," Arman countered.

He stood up, resting the crowbar against the checkout counter. "System, now that I have these Karma Points, can we do something about the environment? It’s pitch black, and my flashlight battery isn't going to last forever."

"Ding!" the system chimed immediately. "Good deed recognized. Power grid upgrade available for Safe Zone 04. Cost: Ten Karma Points. Would you like to purchase the Solar-Cosmic Generator?"

Arman grinned through the darkness. "Oh, you bet I do. Turn the lights on."