213 New and Old People (1/2)

”How's your day sweetie?”

An aged gray-haired woman asked the little girl laying down on the mat while excitedly playing on her new tablet. It was a looted gadget and had some games installed in it. The Black Haven Scavengers literally loots everything that they could find resulting in treasures like these.

The children were the most affected by the rapid change in the environment. Playing games could decrease their boredom and makes them easier to handle during the day if you threaten to take back their games.

”It's fine?” Chloe answered with hesitation. ”Teacher Dyna taught me a lot about fighting and other stuff today. We tried practicing with the sword but we can't practice a lot because it's too exhausting. Granny Teresa, I'm more interested in the farm. Can I not attend class anymore?”

Grandma Teresa smiled warmly as she gazed affectionately at Chloe.

”You can't do that. Everything that Teacher Dyna teaches you would become useful when you grow up. You need to learn them, alright? Granny can't always watch over you. Can you promise me that?”

”Okay,” Chloe answered perfunctorily then rolled around the mat as she played with her game. She tapped on zombies and prevented them from crossing the finish line.

A loud bark sounded out which made the little girl delighted. Chloe quickly put the tablet down and got up. She ran towards Takaw coming in from the door and played tag with him.

—

”Dad, can you stop wasting our money on alcohol? If you continue to act like this, I'll stop giving you credits!” Angelica cried out loud as she placed her dad down on the sofa.

After declining the invitation to stay at Binangonan, the father and daughter duo quickly followed their original plan: they had to go back to their town as fast as possible.

Along the way, they noticed a small convoy with two vehicles headed in the same direction as them. Dominic felt that the group was up to no good when he saw a beautiful woman appear unwilling to be seated on that car. She was gazing outside the window forlornly as if thinking what future she would have.

The first thing that entered his mind was an abduction, which was further solidified after seeing the rough-looking bodyguards on the rear car following the main vehicle.

Although things were like that, it was a good opportunity to travel safely.

Dominic didn't let the opportunity pass by and sneakily tailed the group. They changed cars numerous times and he tried his best to look for functioning cars until he can't follow them anymore.

Unlike him who needs keys to start a car, those people only needed to hotwire a car and they're good to go.

Left with no other choice, the father and daughter duo spent their days cautiously moving forward only to be stopped by an unforgettable scene.

They watched from a distance as a man got slaughtered by a bandit group. Everything was taken from him even his body. Those people even cursed about getting unlucky for not gaining stats.

For the first time, they became frightened about the possibilities that they could encounter along their journey back home.

That's why they came back to Binangonan and lived their life 'normally'.

Angelica applied to become an Agent since she couldn't find any work by herself and she doesn't know anyone in the town. She had no hopes of finding a regular job since she was a botanist and had no battle oriented skills. Giant Rats were the only thing that she fought with and that mob only takes one hit to kill, as long as you hit and run, you would be safe.

Unexpectedly, she got accepted and even especially recruited to work for Black Haven exclusively. Her salary was 1000 Credits a day and more than enough for their daily needs.

Her father had succumbed to alcohol due to depression. He grieved not knowing whether his wife was dead or alive. Being weak and old even made it worse, which made him frequent the bars and spend his time drunk.

Angelica slapped her father's cheeks, trying to wake him up. ”Dad, can you move to your room? You're heavy...”

She stared at her father's downcast appearance and could only sigh as she went to the kitchen to search for towels. She came back after some time and wiped her father's face with a wet towel.

”Don't worry Dad, I'll concoct something that can ease the pain from your rheumatism. Then, you can work like before. Well, not really work but at least move around comfortably.”

After cleaning and wiping her father's face, she placed a blanket over his body and went back outside to procure more plants from the vegetable farmer.