"You're back," Clark said with his usual expressionless face as soon as I made my presence known by kicking the door open and slumping on the closest, tattered couch insight.

"I am," I replied with a shrug as I retrieved a bottle of water, immediately emptying it with a single gulp and throwing the empty bottle to the side.

"How was little Billy doing while I was away?" I asked as I began adjusting in my seat, trying to make myself comfortable.

"There is nothing little about that guy, especially his appetite, so I would appreciate it if you stopped calling him that," Clark replied with a scoff, breaking his neutral expression on this rare occasion and causing me to chuckle.

"He's been doing quite well, and he even seems to be over that Norman guy leaving or whatever happened to him," he added as he resumed his neutral expression.

"Have you been putting him to work?" I asked with a satisfied smile, smiling at the good news. "Yes, I had him help around in construction efforts around the area," Clark replied with a nod of his own.

"I see. Were there any trouble makers while I was away?" I asked while cracking my knuckles, smiling as I did. "No," Clark replied quickly with a shrug of his shoulder, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"I don't imagine anyone will be in the mood to make trouble if they see Billy carrying boulders tripe his size and punching down brick walls every day," Clark added with a resemblance of an amused smile on his expressionless face.

"Hahaha, that makes sense, I guess," I replied with a loud laugh as I got up, stretching my limbs. "Where is Billy right now, by the way?" I asked as I turned to look at Clark again.

"He should be a couple of streets away from here, helping with building some fortifications," Clark replied while pointing behind him with his thumb.

"Alright," I said as I turned to leave. "Oh, and if something comes up, then figure out yourself, and don't bother me for at least the next two days," I added without even bothering to turn around as I walked past Clark.

...

"There you are, Billy!" I exclaimed with a genuine smile as soon as I spotted the gigantic teen holding four rusted construction steel beams with one hand as he carried them over one shoulder, smiling with a goofy expression as he played with a wooden toy train with his other hand.

"Kaden!" Billy exclaimed back with a smile, throwing the steel beams to the side and causing the contestants working in the area to run frenziedly in all directions, trying to avoid the flying shafts.

The big oaf quickly reached, picking me up and engulfing me in a hug so tight, I had to use my aura armor to avoid my bones breaking. "Take it easy, or you'll break my bones, big guy," I remarked with twitching eyes, patting his shoulders.

"Little Billy is sorry!" Billy said with a sheepish smile as he put me down, awkwardly scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's alright. How have you been while I was away?" I asked with a smile, waving my hand dismissively.

"Little Billy was doing great! There's a lot of food, and everyone is super kind to little Billy!" he said with a cheerful smile, eagerly nodding his head in excitement.

"Little Billy still misses Norman, but Little Billy is super glad to be here!" he added while slapping his chest lightly, but his strength showed by the loud voice produced by the said light slaps.

"I see. That's very good," I said with a satisfied nod, genuinely relieved that big fool was having a good time here.

In truth, I've always had a soft spot for children, and Little Billy, despite his size, has the brain of a child, albeit an oversized hulking one that could easily crush people's bones.

However, I had no intention of baying him forever, and I will slowly teach him about how dark this world can be, as he needs to understand the world he's living in is not rainbows and sunshine, as most children imagine it.

But until that happens, there is no harm in spoiling the big oaf.

"Well, I'll be here, so if you need anything, then don't hesitate to come looking for me."

...

Almost two weeks have passed since I made my way back to the city's outskirts and met up with Billy and Clark, and things have been going smoothly so far as we already had decent fortifications built around a nice chunk of the area.

Clark had been recruiting newcomers who came to this area into his group of minions. And they, along with Clark's old minions from the hotel area who managed to reach this place, handled most of the fortification's building, with some assistance here and there by Billy, of course.

And even though I say fortifications, I'm using that word quite liberally, as it was nothing but a bunch of shabby walls we made from pieces of steel and bricks that Clark's group scavenged, but it will do for now.

I've also been thinking and planning for the future after the game as I suddenly found myself having too much free time on my hands and not finding anything better to do.

Am I getting ahead of myself? That may be the case as I might not even survive this damned game, but I didn't want to get out of this place only to find myself with no purpose, so it was finally time for me to set some goals for myself.

What do I want from this world life? I needed the same thing I've been chasing since my past life; meaning. But where can I find meaning in this world?

I had resorted to petty crime and drugs in my past life while searching for this ambiguous thing people call meaning. But I found none, eventually dying alone in some godforsaken third-rate restaurant, with no one to remember me.

However, this world is different, as things I deemed impossible in my old world seem like everyday occurrences in this one.

The only thing I could think of was gaining power, be it personal or political, for that matter, as whatever I decided to achieve in this world, I would need to have the capital to see it through to the end.

And the only place I could think of where I would be able to gain power as quickly as possible was the wasteland, as I had a rather deep understanding of it thanks to Kaden's memories of growing up there.

But more than a handful of actions have already established themselves there, making the task that much more difficult. I needed to gather some subordinates before trying to make a name for myself there.

And what better place to gather loyal subordinates than this game full of outcasts and losers with no prospects for the future who have who aren't devoted to another individual or organization already?

I have already established a reputation for myself in this hellish city, thanks to leading the efforts in taking down the undead king despite the truth being "slightly" different, but nobody needs to know that, right?

I already have Clark, who I can throw most of the miscellaneous work at without worrying he'll fuck it up, and Billy, who would prove to be a valuable enforcer despite my reluctance to use him in that manner.

I'm also hoping that I made a good enough impression on the game contestants who had "helped" me take down the undead king to get them on my side as well, especially the three that lasted to the very end; 82, 99 234.

The three of them were most definitely at least C- rated when it comes to strength, and recruiting them to my cause would be a tremendous boon.

I will have to find them in the next couple of days before the first stage ends to see if I can convince them to follow me after the OWR crashes the game.

And speaking of powerful contestants, I wonder what Demira and Flatliner are planning? I still find it strange that I didn't spot the two of them anywhere near the city's center.

Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Stink Bomb and Gamma hog since our last encounter, despite the latter's lack of effort in hiding the fact that they'll come for me again.

'Oh well, whatever. I'll deal with the two maniacs when they show up.' I shook my head as I made my way towards Clark.

"I'm heading out!" I remarked as soon as I found the expressionless man, supervising a group of his minions as they hauled supplies into the safe area.

"Do I need to know where?" Clark asked, still expressionless as ever as he adjusted his glasses while glancing at me.

"I'm out to do some recruitment"