They found a terrible storm on the high seas.

Dealing with the chaos of water, wind, and thunder was challenging. Shen decreased his speed even before the winds made the waves tall because hitting the raindrops while running as fast as a bullet was uncomfortable to Alicia. They didn't pierce her skin because they weren't actual bullets, but she complained about the constant pain.

She was okay with hitting them half as fast as a bullet. That was still fast enough that they didn't take too long to leave the storm. Shen spent considerable stamina and qi to create one tunnel after another in the enormous waves. Those tunnels weren't always perfect either, and the length of the waves had the water falling over them as they went through.

The water destroyed the maps no matter how much Alicia tried to protect the backpack, but at least nothing worse happened.

The first time Shen had considered running to Italy, he had memorized the position of the stars and what they meant for his journey. He was sure they were still going the right way. Even if they weren't, they would arrive somewhere sooner or later.

Shen felt Alicia slapping his shoulder and slowed down below the speed of sound to hear her speak.

"Yes?" Shen said as he kept running.

"I need to talk," she said.

"Go ahead," he agreed.

She kept silent for a while. Then, she said, "I feel like I'm in a weird nightmare. The President of the United States was murdered in front of me. I mean, it's not the first time a President gets murdered, but still, I feel terrible."

Shen elected to not answer that. He had nothing useful to add.

"I wish I could call my therapist," she continued. "Do you think she'll do a consultation over the internet?"

"Maybe," Shen replied, though he had no idea.

Alicia kept talking about her feelings, then changed into superficial things. She had found a way to keep herself warm without spending too much willpower, and it made her comfortable enough to swap her focus to talking.

Shen didn't mind. Running for hours wasn't the most fun activity, though it helped him get more out of his D agility. He still had a lot to improve to make the most out of that stat.

When they saw land far ahead, she finally asked the question he wished she wouldn't. "Could you have saved her?"

"Probably," he replied sincerely.

Silence befell them for a long while. "I wish you had," Alicia whispered.

Shen had nothing to say to that. He wouldn't apologize because he didn't regret it. They just had to agree to disagree.

Or so he thought until they finally reached dry land.

The beach was very short, filled with rocks, and surrounded by grass and green hills. Alicia asked to stand for a few moments, and as soon as she left her seat, she asked, "Why didn't you help?"

Shen sighed and explained his outlook on things to her; how he would protect the powerless, but not those who should have the power to defend themselves. How he had been disrespected.

Alicia didn't get it. "So you just let someone get murdered in front of you?" She sounded very disappointed, sad rather than angry.

"It was an internal dispute among people of another clan," Shen tried to explain in another manner. "It's not up to me to interfere in the internal affairs of other people. I would've protected the President against the Void, maybe against a foreigner attack, but not against what I identified as one of her own people. She was supposed to have ways to protect herself."

"She had no ways, she was defenseless, and you watched it happen."

"Yes," Shen said remorselessly. "She was in one of the better-protected places of her nation, and it was still invaded. She failed to either foresee the possibility or prepare for it and paid the price." He shook his head. "I was there by happenstance, and expecting my goodwill for free is irrational at best. A family of dragons can't expect a phoenix to light their candles. A leader can't depend on someone they have been treating poorly to save their lives."

"She was human, Shen!" Alicia yelled. "Human! Like you and me! A real person of flesh and bones, not some concept like 'leader!' And you let her die because she wasn't over-polite to you?!"

Shen frowned, not appreciating being yelled at. "You're not just a human, Alicia," he said with a level voice. "You're a Pioneer. That comes with privileges, responsibilities, and expectations. The leader of a nation is supposed to lead that nation to survive the Void, Alicia. You fought the Void Spawn, you know what that means.

"If a President can't keep her own position, how can you trust her to guide millions of innocent people in such a crisis? The US destroyed some of their own cities because they couldn't maintain control. Wake up, Alicia. The world changed, and if you want to be a key player in this new reality, you have to be good enough. If you're not ready, give up. But don't expect random people to save you out of their kind heart. I'll save the weak, but not those who put themselves in dangerous positions without being ready for that.

"Remember what we were taught in the tutorial, to exist is to exclude others. People will want your position. We were taught that, and any leader who doesn't understand that isn't fit to be a leader at all."

"So she deserved to die for her ignorance?" she lowered her voice, sounding even more hurt than before. "Should I die if someone comes to kill me?"

"It's not about deserving it; it's about accepting the consequences of your position and choices. But no, you should not. Besides being a Pioneer, you're also my friend, another title that makes you more than any random human. I'll protect you to the best of my ability. Your former President made bad choices that put her in a disadvantageous position when her enemies came for her. I dislike politics, but I understand the benefits of having the right connections. She cut hers with me."

Alicia hugged herself. "If it's all about politics, what about saving her for the benefits it could've brought you?"

"I saw no benefit to doing that," he said simply.

"So you let her die because it wasn't fucking profitable enough?!"

Shen was getting tired of the same arguments. "Honor and power were the pillars that kept my homeworld standing for a very long time. Honor without power will let you die a good death but not protect your people. Power without honor will lead to anarchy. Both are needed for a functioning society, especially in important positions. I believe that with all my heart.

"Your leaders invited me to a training facility then denied my entry when I showed concern for my safety. They gave me a smartphone but limited my access to information when using it." Shen had thought about it, and unless the US had the power to kill or silence any conspiracy theorist, a targeted operation against him was the only possibility. "They invited and brought me to the White House, then had me waiting for fifteen minutes. I wasn't thanked even once for dealing with the Sorcerer King for them. The PR stunt to protect me was later revealed to be an excuse to legitimize military abuses elsewhere.

"I was subtly offended every step of the way until now, Alicia. I was merciful in ignoring it because I would leave the country soon enough, but my honor wouldn't let me use my power to protect someone who repeatedly offended me."

Alicia hugged herself more tightly. "You could've shown more honor by saving the President anyway."

"If people can offend my honor repeatedly and bear no consequences for it, if they can offend me and have me come at their beck and call, then my honor is worth nothing. I am worth nothing. No one will respect you if even you don't."

She turned her face away from him. "Basic human decency and sympathy should be worth more than your misguided honor."

Shen shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't believe it, and my power is mine to do with it as I see fit. Remember our conversation about your body being yours? I don't expect you to agree with everything I do, but I do expect you to respect decisions that are mine to make."

"So I should just shut the fuck up and accept everything you do like a little bitch?"

"Of course not. You're my friend. We can talk about anything, including decisions you disagree with. But I resent being yelled at like I'm a child."

She muttered, "Sorry," after a while, and Shen suppressed a sigh. He had expected their cultural differences to get easier to deal with as time passed, but that wasn't the case.

"Can we continue?" he asked, already turning his back to her.

"Actually, I would rather you princess carried me," she said with a flushed face. "It sucks not seeing where we're going, and hugging your neck hurts my arms."

Shen felt a bit frustrated. Alicia had complained so much in Canada, and it had been an enormous stroke of luck to find a chair and some rope on the streets. They had had no money to buy them, just as they didn't have any now. Alicia had left her wallet in his penthouse, and most of her tutorial items were back in the training facility. Only her E+ weapon, a ring that turned invisible, was still with her.

Still, he understood her point. They got rid of the things, and he grabbed her. Only then did he realize how her wet white T-shirt clung to her body—the storm hadn't happened too long ago. It made him uncomfortable, but the training he had gone through helped him not let that affect him—much.

Things became much easier when she hugged his backpack, partially covering herself.

Carrying her like that had no disadvantages other than how awkward it was to hold his spears, but she had been very vocal against it back in the US. Now, she looked more comfortable despite being upset at him. She was so hard to understand sometimes.

Either way, the sun was right in the skies. He turned Southwest and started running. He planned to get to the opposite side of the country, then follow the coast until they found a city.

Midway through, Shen and Alicia got a system message.

Decree Issued

Uh, hi, fellow humans? Maiden speaking.

It has come to my attention that humanity is one step away from destroying itself.

As such, I have decided to ban the use of the following non-magic weaponry:

- Nuclear weapons

- Biological weapons

- Chemical weapons

- Any explosive with a yield of more than a 1,000 pounds of TNT

Anyone who orders their production, produces them, orders their use, or uses them will become an enemy of the Alliance. A Bounty will be automatically generated for their summary execution. The weight of the infraction will be calculated based on the potential life loss that such weapons can bring.

Many will love to hunt these criminals for the AP, so don't become one.

Even so, I couldn't trust just this fear, so I used the very precious Management Points to have the system intervene directly. Any nuclear weapon you attempt to use will be immediately deactivated. Unfortunately, I don't have enough points to deactivate the other weapons. By the way, I was told to hide any weaknesses, but I want to be transparent in my decisions, which is why I'm telling you everything.

I have also asked the system to create a Racial Bounty to have you destroy all illicit weapons. All humans are automatically in on the Bounty. Don't worry about the radar that will appear on your vision. I also used Management Points to have all illegal weaponry marked on the radar. The radar will disappear after the last weapon is destroyed or I change or rescind this Decree.

The system, through the Bounty, will also give you knowledge on how to destroy any weapon safely once you get close enough.

Unfortunately, there won't be much AP gain for destroying most non-nuclear weapons, but do it for the greater good, everyone.

Please, let's focus on the true enemy: the Void.

Stop killing each other.

-- Marzia Martino, the Human Maiden

Shen checked the new radar at the top right corner of his vision. It was an ugly green circle. He managed to zoom in and out by willing it and saw that the radar only indicated land, sea, and country boundaries, nothing else. It should still help him get to Italy, which was great.

There were shining dots of different colors everywhere. Shen knew what their colors meant at a glance; the system probably used the translation function to push the meaning to his mind.

Red meant nuclear weapons, orange was for biological ones, yellow for chemical, and white for powerful explosives.

Shen had memorized all countries with nuclear weapons out of a sense of self-preservation, so he was surprised to see two red dots in Iceland, one on the East and another on the West. Moreover, it had three biological dots, one chemical dot, and multiple dots for powerful explosives.

Shen thought about the Decree and concluded it was a good thing. The world order had already changed with the arrival of the Alliance, yet people had been having a lot of trouble adapting. That would shake things up and slap them with reality.

But the most important thing of this all was the fifty white dots and ten red dots at the ocean, coming his way from the general direction of the US at a breakneck speed.

"Oh, fuck," Alicia said.