I wake up; I am even more motivated this morning. I rush to the cafeteria to get a huge breakfast. While I eat, someone interrupts me; that’s Chloe. “Sorry to bother, can you come to the HQ after that?” she asks. I reflect on how she consistently comes at the worst moment and how they named that open space their HQ: “Sure, I’ll be there.”

I finish my fruit salad, run through my apps for a few minutes, then head for the Bureau’s HQ. They are all gathered around a table in a middle of a meeting. The president, Ethan, sees me: “Hey Joshua, come sit with us.” I sit on one of the empty chairs; all the Bureau’s members are looking at me. Intimidated by this crowd, I don’t say a word. Ethan explains to me: “As Chloe probably told you, we’re mounting an expedition.” I look at Chloe, and she adds: “We need to know what’s up there, and since you know the terrain, we need you on the team.” My last moments on the second floor were traumatizing, so I am not excited by their idea. I explain to them that the mobs up there are not joking and will probably kick our asses. Ethan tries to convince me: “We have found weapons at the mall; if we come prepared, things will be different.” Even if I don’t believe we could face the black knight, I figure that going with them could be a good opportunity to explore the second floor. I tell them that I will come but that we should avoid the Knight at all cost. After elaborating on a basic plan, we decide to meet at the mall this afternoon to pick up some gear. They insist on the expedition being tomorrow. They’ve probably been out of discoveries for a while.

I leave the reunion early and go to the gym. I think about the expedition while trying to empty my inner pool. I spend the rest of the morning doing exercise. After that, I take a quick shower and head for the cafeteria. My friends are there, so I sit with them. I tell them about the expedition, and they get pretty excited about it. After a few minutes of reflection, Jack surprises everyone: “I want to come with you.” I notice the determination in his look, but I proceed to warn him about the creatures up there. I also mention how wolf bites are painful. That doesn’t scare him: “I was thinking about that reward they talk about the presentation; I am curious about what’s up there.” Since we could use an extra hand, I tell him to come with me to the mall after lunch. We then change the subject and finish eating.

After that, Jack and I leave the group to join the others at the mall. We meet the whole crew; Derek, Ashley, and two other guys from the Bureau. Derek bugs me about Jack, but I manage to convince him, saying we will need his skills. Jack got some hunter skills that could be useful. We proceed to enter the mall, and I discover the place. It looks like a regular mall except with very few people. It seems that you can find almost anything except firearms. Every store has one or more robot cashiers. We enter a camping / outdoors boutique. I calculated earlier that a budget of 200 credits would be reasonable. I pick a cool backpack for around 50 bucks. I pick up a wood-cutting ax and a hunting knife, the best weapon available aside from a crossbow that cost about 200 credits. I also pick up a good flashlight and some camping utilities. The Bureau’s members mutualized themselves and bought the crossbow; they also shared their food provision. I decided to get my own food, in case we get separated. Jack bought almost the same things as me. Once I am done shopping, I leave the group and head to my room. Here I open the window and train my magic for the rest of the day. I eat a prepared meal that I bought at the mall and go to sleep early.