WHEN A BOOK BECOMES THE STRONGEST WEAPON

4. The Survivors

Shaden stared at the man who looked delighted, believing that his life would be saved just by holding the key. Meanwhile, Leah kept glancing at him, as if asking why Shaden remained silent when the man took his key.

“Can’t we just kick that guy out now?” Leah whispered.

Shaden shook his head. “If we kick him, the key might get thrown somewhere, and it’ll take more time to find it. So let him open the door first.”

Just as Shaden said, even though she was clearly annoyed seeing her boss laughing while unlocking the door in front of them, Leah restrained herself for the sake of not messing up the mission.

Shaden also remained calm, keeping an eye on the surroundings in case one of the man's teammates suddenly showed up to attack.

“Did all your teammates die?” Shaden asked.

The man clicked his tongue. “Those people were nothing but useless fools. How could they expect to survive in this ruined world if they couldn’t even protect themselves from those disgusting bats? I only needed their names listed on this mission because I couldn’t have done it alone.”

Click

The sound of the door unlocking made the man overjoyed. Shaden had anticipated his attempt to shut the door from the inside to keep them out, so he kicked him hard enough to send him sprawling.

“Leah!” Shaden shouted. At the same moment, Leah dashed in and quickly shut the door from the inside.

“Open it! Open the door! I’m the one who opened it, you thieves!”

The sound of banging continued outside. Meanwhile, Shaden began searching for the item he needed.

“He’s so noisy! Can’t we just kill him already?”

“We don’t have much time,” Shaden replied. He rummaged through the Department Head’s drawers, looking for something worth more than $10,000.

But all they found in the room were a phone on the floor, some documents, and a bankbook whose balance didn’t even reach $10,000. For a Department Head, that amount seemed suspiciously low. The other accounts must be hidden elsewhere.

“Did you find it?” Leah asked, starting to panic.

Just like the man at the door, who had begun pleading and begging for mercy, asking Leah and Shaden to let him in.

“I’m begging you! Just this once! I won’t do anything, I swear I’ll be good for the rest of my life!”

Shaden kicked aside the office chair in his way and noticed an uneven surface on the floor. Without a doubt, that must be it.

He pulled up the carpet covering it and found a small hatch underneath. Shaden struck it with his staff several times until a broken alarm sound went off. Leah quickly came over.

“Move!” she said. With one powerful strike, she smashed the hidden space, revealing a large wooden box beneath. Shaden opened it and found a collection of papers—one glance was enough to tell they were worth well over a million dollars. Stocks and bank accounts with enormous value. Was this a slush fund?

“Wow! You found it! We’re saved!” Leah exclaimed in excitement.

Shaden felt the same. He sat down unconsciously, letting out a sigh of relief. At least their lives would survive through this second mission. Though Shaden knew, in the third mission, not everyone would make it—even those with strong abilities. Because survival would require something else entirely.

“Should we go meet Judy and Ely now?” Shaden asked.

*

A horrifying sight unfolded as one by one, people exploded like balloons filled with compressed gas. They were the ones who failed the mission—but surprisingly, many had survived.

Ely cried, explaining how just seconds before the mission ended, a giant snake had burst into the room she and Judy were hiding in. They nearly died—until the creature suddenly vanished when time ran out.

“I-I thought maybe Shaden already knew about it and deliberately set us up to die since we weren’t as useful as Leah. I’m sorry, Shad! I was so scared I ended up blaming you.”

Shaden offered a faint smile and nodded. He couldn’t blame Ely for thinking that when her life had been on the line. Maybe he would’ve thought the same in her position.

“You don’t know that we also faced annoying obstacles. How could we betray you?” said Leah.

“I know! I only thought that way because I was about to die from that snake.”

What truly shocked Shaden was that Leah’s boss had also survived the second mission, even though he was clearly standing outside the Department Head’s room at the critical moment. It seemed impossible he could have found a valuable item in such a short amount of time.

What exactly had he found at the last second?

“How is that trash still alive?”

Leah voiced the same question as she noticed her superior’s presence.

“Who are you talking about? Dany?” Judy asked.

Apparently, Dany was the “trash” Leah referred to.

“Who else could I mean? He followed us and almost stole the treasure Shaden found, yet somehow he managed to find a valuable item just in time?”

Something was strange about that man, and Shaden found himself unable to stop watching him. Before, he had seemed like any typical selfish man who’d sacrifice others without hesitation. But now, his gaze appeared sharper and more dangerous.

“Wow! Have you all checked the rewards we got?” Ely suddenly cheered.

Shaden was a bit surprised at her sudden mood shift from terrified to excited. But it was true—the rewards this time were enough to help them survive the third mission.

“5000 coins and one gold item. Isn’t that great for the resistance mission? I got an axe,” said Judy.

Then Ely added, “I got a glass-steel rope.”

“That’s a very useful item,” Shaden praised, making Ely beam.

The glass-steel rope was a long steel cord coated in fine glass shards. If swung at an enemy, it could leave deep, serious wounds. It was perfect for hunting.

“What about me? I only got this...” Leah said, sounding unenthusiastic as she showed the hammer she had received.

She seemed to think her item wasn’t as useful as what Ely and Judy had gotten.

“You don’t know how useful it’ll be until you try it. Everything has its moment,” Shaden replied honestly.

But from Leah’s faint smile, it seemed she took his words as mere consolation.

Shaden felt unsure. He had never really tried to comfort anyone before—or rather, never had the chance. Ever since his father was imprisoned, he had lived alone, ostracized.

“Leah, the world is already ruined, and we have to do whatever it takes to survive. Even the scarf you’re wearing could become a weapon.”

Hearing that, Leah glanced down at her scarf and smiled faintly.

“This morning, I chose this scarf hoping it would lift my spirits until I got home from work, since I always had to hold back at the office even when dealing with a boss like Dany. I... never thought I’d end up wearing it while fighting rats and bats—and even a disgusting centipede.” Leah laughed while touching the scarf. Blood stained it and parts of her clothes. “But out of everything, the most disgusting thing is that man over there,” she said, pointing at Dany, sitting alone in the center of the room.

Perhaps the survivors had begun to realize that Dany wasn’t someone they could rely on, even in despair. But his calm demeanor was so suspicious that it unsettled Shaden.

“No one expected this city to fall apart in less than a day. I’m sure many still hope this is just a nightmare and will curse when they wake up. Unfortunately, this isn’t a dream—and things will only get harder, more terrifying than what we’ve seen so far. I might even become like Dany, sacrificing others just to survive alone.”

As he said that, Shaden looked straight at Leah. He only wanted her to know that he wouldn’t always be responsible for others’ lives. Perhaps, from now on, he would pretend not to know Leah, Ely, and Judy if their lives were in danger at the same time as his. He braced himself for Leah to look at him with the same disgust she had for Dany—but instead, she smiled.

“Come to think of it, everyone probably would do the same in a desperate situation, right? I’d likely do that too. But... I’m not trying to corner him—it’s just that he did those things long before all this happened. So I...”

“I understand. And I also hate people who think they’re above everyone else,” Shaden sighed softly. “Things will get harder from now on, so we have to use everything we have—even the smallest things. The weapon you have will be really useful. So save it for the right time.”

Not long after, a message announcing the third mission appeared before their eyes.

**