After clearing five isles, Shaw suddenly heard some noise from behind her. She quickly snapped around and found herself facing a bald man, as well as the barrels of his shotgun.

“Hmmm…” Shaw scoffed quietly. “So there is some validity to your story? How surprising.”

The man, the store owner, kept his shotgun trained on Shaw. He didn't look too well, and Shaw could see the blood on his face and the fear in his eyes. She could also see a small wet patch on his pants that was quite suspicious. His hands were trembling even as they held onto the shotgun. Even with his weapon, Shaw hardly took him as a threat.

His lips trembled a little and he stuttered as he tried to say something, but no word came out.

“What do you want?” Finally, when the man just stood there for a few seconds, Shaw raised her voice. “I would lower the weapon if I were you. Is this really the way to treat your savior?”

“I...I appreciate your help.” The bald man was finally able to form his words. “But this is my store! I will need you to put those things back!”

“Uh…” Shaw raised her eyebrows. “How about no?”

“What...what?”

“No. I said no.” Shaw threw her hands up. For someone being pointed at by a gun, she felt oddly confident. In reality, she was ready. Her eyes have never left the man’s finger on the trigger. The moment the man try to fire, her superior reflexes could help her get behind cover. After that, using the environment of the store, it wouldn’t take her more than a few seconds to cut the man’s head off. “But don’t worry about this. I won’t take everything. I promise.”

The shop owner was clearly not convinced, and for good reasons. He might not know about the Launch, but he could see that the world had just gone to hell. Monsters were popping up and people were dying. In fact, even he himself was almost killed. In a chaotic world, food became one of the most valuable assets. As far as the man was concerned, as long as he had food, he could trade them and get a lot in return from the starving survivors. Protection. Support. Even sex. After all, those starving would do anything for a piece of bread. As long as he owned the supply within this building, he could live better than he ever did.

He didn't see how the girl took care of the two knights. As far as he knew, the girl walked up to the two knights and stabbed them in the back. Just like that, two easy kills. If he knew what she was capable of, he would’ve completely reconsidered his options.

“I said...put them back.” He repeated and raised his shotgun even higher in an attempt to intimidate her. “Do it now, girl, or I swear to god I will shoot you!”

Shaw frowned. She could see the man was getting more and more anxious, which prompted her to make one last attempt to solve this peacefully. “I will leave more than enough food to last you a while. As for the rest...I saved your life. I’m sure it warrants some compensation…”

Unfortunately, it was her words that pushed the store owner off the edge. Shaw thought she was being reasonable, but from the owner’s perspective, this girl came into her store, got two easy kills by being lucky, proceeded to steal from him, and then had the audacity to talk to him like this! She promised to leave him some food! As if he should be grateful for that!

As rage filled his mind, the man pulled the trigger.

As soon as his finger started exerting the slightest pressure, Shaw noticed that, and she acted. She was so fast that she moved like a blur, and by the time the gunshot rang out, she had already dodged to the side. A wave of shells hit the wall behind her, accomplishing absolutely nothing.

The store owner squinted his eyes. What the hell did he just see? The girl...did she just dodge the shells? How? The owner did find out a little about the player mechanism, which was how he knew about the storage space, but he was still at level 0. He had no idea what high-level players were capable of.

His shotgun wasn’t as invincible as he thought. This realization terrified the owner, but it was too late to turn back now. Even before he could do anything else, he heard something from behind him. He turned around...and found himself staring at a Shaw that was way too close for comfort.

As soon as she dodged the shells, Shaw quickly circled around with superhuman speed. Within a few seconds, she was already behind the terrified owner. Before the man could raise his weapon, Shaw slashed with her Silver Sword and cut the shotgun cleanly in two.

She kicked the owner in the chest and sent him hitting the ground. Even now, She was still holding back a little. Otherwise, the man would’ve had a hole in his body already. Even so, the man was still groaning in pain as he lay there on the ground, injured and disarmed.

“Stay down.” Shaw instructed quietly before walking by the man and proceeding with her shopping spree. This time, there was no one to stop her.

In a few minutes, she had cleared out most of the store, including the room the owner had been hiding in, and filled up a large portion of her storage space. She got a lot of useful things, from food and water to energy drinks and coffee to frozen meat to eating utensils. After all, everything was free, so why not?

Just as she was about to head for the door, she saw that the owner had gotten back up already. He made his way to the exit and stared at Shaw with eyes of hatred. After seeing what Shaw was able to do, he didn't try to stop her by force. Instead, he tried talking to her.

“You can’t just leave me like this!” He cried out, still putting his hand over his chest where she kicked him. “You destroyed my gun, and now you’re going to steal everything from me! How am I going to survive now? You are a monster! A whore! When the police take care of this mess, I will have them arrest you and throw your ass in prison!”

Shaw raised her eyebrows. Threatening someone who just bested you with ease and spared you? It had been a while since she met someone so suicidal. Still, she looked forward to seeing how this would play out.

It seemed like the owner took her silence as a source of confidence as he continued. Maybe he thought she really felt bad for him. Maybe he thought she was afraid of law enforcement. Maybe he had already gone mad already due to all the horrors that have happened over the last hour. The things he did...they were far from the smartest.

“Look, you want my food? Fine. We can make a deal!” His eyes scanned Shaw from top to bottom. “Stay here. Stay here and protect me and I will give you anything you want. No? Fine...in that case,” His gaze landed on Shaw’s Silver Sword. “I am willing to give you some food in exchange for your sword, but you will have to put the rest of the things you took back! If you don’t, I will call the cops on you! This thievery will not be tolerated!”

That was when Shaw chuckled, and this made the man’s face even redder than it already was.

“So...let me get this straight. You want to use the things I’ve already taken to make deals with me? Do you have any idea how stupid this is?” The young woman snickered before slowly taking steps forward, forcing the man to back off in fear with every step taken. “Listen to me very carefully. We are in a different world now. We have been in a different world ever since those fucking monsters started showing up. Now, the law no longer means shit. The police no longer mean shit. The only thing that matters is our strength. If I want to, I can kill you right here and take everything you’ve got, and not a damn thing will happen to me! And if tomorrow, someone stronger defeats me, tortures and kills me and robs me of everything I’ve worked hard to earn, no one will avenge me either! This is our reality now! Welcome to the brave new world!”

Shaw could see the man’s face was red. Red with anger. With fear. He had realized the girl before him could and would kill him if she wanted to, and this thought terrified him. Finally, he was silent.

She took a small step back and gave the man one last smirk. She had to admit she got a little emotional with the speech. What she said was true, and she had seen countless atrocities committed where those that did horrible things never suffered for them. Rapes. Tortures. Murders. She had seen the victims, with their last dying breathe, beg for karma upon those that wronged them. It was pathetic.

Without a word, she turned and headed for the entrance.

The store owner didn't try to stop her. Just as she was about to make her way out of the store, Shaw suddenly stopped. Slowly, she turned around and stared at the bald man.

A few words left her lips.

“A brave new world indeed.”

Before the man could say anything else, she took a few steps forward and slashed her sword across his neck, beheading him in one swift stroke.