Shaw watched with her arms folded as Emily claimed her first real kill, although under circumstances where she had no choice.

Emily must have spent a full minute going through the interface and choosing a career. The other survivors, as well as the two other officers, watched in confusion as she scrolled through the options they couldn’t see and made selections they knew nothing about. Many of them clearly wanted to keep going right away, but they didn't dare interrupt Emily, and leaving alone was a death sentence.

By the time Emily was finished, like Shaw, she had a Silver Sword in her hand. Just like from Shaw’s previous life, Emily chose the Warrior career once again. Shaw suspected if she didn't intervene, the young officer would follow her set path and become a Valkyrie once again. Of course, following that thought, maybe she would meet her death once again as well.

When their eyes landed on the weapon she was holding onto, many survivors quickly connected the dots. Shaw wasn’t lying when she said killing these monsters without using firearms granted them additional levels. Some survivors ignored this idea and proceeded as usual, but others quickly considered their options. In a world that had descended into chaos, power was more valuable than anything else.

“You have accepted the Devil’s gift! Your soul is doomed! You will suffer in Hell for all of eternity!” The old woman whispered once again.

Shaw glanced at the old woman. As surprising as that sounded, a part of her pitied her. It was likely that the old woman had some notion of what was going on, but she just couldn’t accept it. She held onto God and faith with blind ferocity because the truth was too harsh for her to handle. She had to believe in God and Heaven. Otherwise, she would be forced to admit that she lived in a world where karma didn't exist. Where the monsters wouldn’t be punished and the good people wouldn’t be rewarded. A world where she would never meet her friends and families and everyone she cared about ever again.

It was a protection mechanism...and one that could maybe protect her sanity. But faith could only protect her mind and not her body, and sooner or later, she would die. Her body would rot or be devoured, and that would be the end of her existence.

She had no value. The furious young officer who was walking toward Shaw, on the other hand, did.

Emily wasn’t happy. Everyone could see it. No one would be smiling after getting hit by a goblin in the face. Even now, Emily’s face was covered in blood. Hidden behind the blood were at least a few wounds that left scars that wouldn’t disappear for a while. She wasn’t disfigured, but her face was still scarred. For many women, this would make them scream in utter terror.

Emily wasn’t screaming, but she was still far from happy, especially since she knew that Shaw did this on purpose.

“What was that?” She demanded furiously.

Shaw shrugged. She had no intention of denying it. “I set you onto the path of superhuman powers. You’re welcome.”

To Emily’s surprise, Shaw raised her left hand and touched one of the wounds on the officer’s cheeks. The officer grimaced for a second before suddenly pulling back.

“Stop it!”

“Don’t worry. The wounds will heal soon. There will be scars, not that scars will be rare in the future even for players like us. Now, if you will...” Shaw turned and gestured at the road. “We still have a trip to take. The more time we waste here, the more time the NPCs will have to respawn. We should go. Now.”

Emily bit her lips. She knew what Shaw did was good for her, especially after choosing her career, getting the additional attribute points, and feeling the cold steel of the Silver Sword in her grip. She could feel the power flowing through her body. She was stronger and faster, and already, the sharp pain on her cheeks was starting to disappear. She should thank Shaw, but she still couldn’t get over how straightforward her method was. Couldn’t she have warned her first before literally chucking a monster at her face?

Still, she controlled herself and refrained from a meaningless conflict that could get everyone around them killed. With a small nod, she returned to her position and the trip continued.

As the group continued its journey and the NPCs once again started attacking the survivors, Shaw returned to her path of carnage. From time to time, she would steal glances at the rest of the survivors, and she was quite satisfied to see that Emily had returned her handgun to its holster and had been fighting the monsters with her new melee weapon.

Equally surprising was the fact that two other survivors also picked up make-shift weapons they found at the side of the road and started striking down the monsters that were lucky enough to reach the group. One of them was the man in the suit that came into conflict with an officer back in the McDonald’s. The other was a young man in his early twenties. They both killed a few low-level monsters and unlocked their own paths to power.

The businessman, after glancing at the weapons Shaw and Emily were holding onto, chose the Warrior career as well. He was smart. He knew that he had no experience in fighting, and it was better to choose a career where he could get help from others who were more experienced. The Warrior career seemed basic, but it also sounded a lot more reliable than the other options.

The younger boy didn't put that much thought into this. He chose the Mythical career, likely because he thought it would give him the power to breathe fire or fly. Instead, it turned out that he had neither an ability nor a weapon. The attribute points he got were still useful, but he wouldn’t be cutting through anything anytime soon.

If Shaw knew what he chose, she would’ve laughed. The Mythical career was an interesting case. It had a lot of potentials, but unlike the Warrior or the Soldier class, it didn't have a stable upgrade path to follow. It was also really difficult to work with early on. If the Mythical survived to the later levels, they would be a deadly force, capable of dueling most other careers and emerging victorious, but early on…

Shaw had met a Mythical who could turn into a dragon. Another one who could devour entire armies at will and consume their essence for himself. However, for every Mythical that made it, a thousand died early on, unarmed and without the initial free abilities to work with.

Shaw continued to be the head of the spear. Most of the monsters, and all of the high-level ones, were intercepted by her. This saved the players behind her from dying horribly, but it also made sure she would get the most exp. Of course, she couldn’t cover every direction, and from time to time, one or more monsters would take the survivors from the side or from behind. That was when the other players in the group intervened. As monster after monster fell by their blade, their level started climbing.

The other two officers have stopped shooting as well, partially to save bullets and partially because they realized the importance of levels. After all, in a few short minutes, they watched as Emily went from a weaker female officer to a combatant who was clearly faster and stronger than humanly possible. They saw the appeal of power, and they too wanted a piece of this pie.

As they watched the players around them fight, more and more survivors started picking up arms against the NPCs. Of course, leveling up had its price, and soon, casualties started to appear.

One of the survivors seeking her first kill was lept onto by a pack of some sort of hound. Before any of the players could do anything, the hounds dug their teeth into the woman’s neck and ended her journey.

One of the trolls smashed its club over the Mythical teenage boy's head. The young man’s head cracked like an egg as his skull broke under the immense strength. Following the sound of bones cracking, the poor soul was turned into a puddle of blood and flesh. It turned out that he wouldn’t realize his potentials after all.

Another new player, a Sorcerer, waved his White Staff and sent fireball after fireball into the troll’s side. All it did was anger the beast enough for it to swipe its club right into the poor Sorcerer. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

The survivors screamed and ran in utter fear. Just as Shaw was about to move to the end of the column and take care of this mild inconvenience, Emily, the brave Valkyrie that she was, raised her sword and charged into battle against the troll.

Perhaps it was because of her background as a police officer, Emily got a grasp of techniques in fighting very quickly. Much like when Shaw first faced the troll in the hallway, Emily used her superior speed and danced around the beast, cutting into its body with every move. The troll screeched and thrashed, all to no avail. Finally, the beast collapsed, just in time for Emily to slit its throat and collect another sweet stream of exp.

Fair enough.

Suddenly, as Shaw beheaded another skeleton and crushed its bones under her shoes, she heard some noise from behind. After scanning the surroundings to make sure they wouldn’t be jumped in the near future, she turned back to the crowd.

“What is going on here?”

The source of the noise was a young girl who couldn’t be more than ten years old. Shaw frowned when she noticed the young girl on the ground, clutching onto her right ankle in pain. There were some tears in her eyes.

“What is happening here?” Shaw repeated.

‘My ankle. I twisted my ankle!”

The young girl cried out in pain. A part of her was expecting some words of comfort, but instead of that, all Shaw did was ask a few very direct questions. Comforting people was never her thing.

“Can you walk?”

“What...what?”

“I said, can you walk?” Shaw repeated. She never raised her voice, but just a few words alone were enough to intimidate the girl enough to form an answer.

“No...no. My ankle hurts too much! I…”

Shaw frowned and turned to the other survivors. “Where is her family?”

For a while, no one answered. Just as Shaw’s brows darkened, the young girl finally answered her question.

“My grandpa was with me, but I couldn't find him. I...I just don’t know where he is.”

“I see.” Shaw nodded. She turned to the others again. This time, she had a few instructions to give. “In that case, some of you will need to carry her.”

Somewhat unsurprisingly, as she glanced across their faces, almost all of the survivors diverted their eyes and looked away. They were no fools. Even if they could carry the girl, doing so would slow them down. Even with Shaw and all the emerging players, they weren’t nearly safe or protected. Three people have already died, and no one wanted to be the fourth.

The little girl whimpered. A few of the survivors around her turned and looked away in shame, but none of them volunteered themselves to help.

Before Shaw could say anything else, Emily suddenly took a step forward.

“I will carry her.”