Once Kael had his bag secured with all of the items he could carry, he took an extra moment to test the weight on his shoulders. The strap dug into his collarbone just enough to be uncomfortable, but not enough to slow him down. Inside it were the few things he trusted with his life now: the crowbar, its metal edge dulled from use but still reliable; the sledgehammer, familiar in weight and balance; and two small bottles of gasoline sloshing faintly whenever he shifted, a dangerous comfort resting against his spine. He fastened the bag tightly behind his back, tugged the strap once more to make sure it wouldn't slip, and then fell into step behind John.
The two of them moved with care, threading their way beneath collapsed building facades where concrete hung overhead like broken teeth. Dust coated every surface, turning the air thick and stale, and each step sent a faint crunch echoing beneath their boots. John walked slightly ahead, his posture tense, shoulders hunched as if expecting something to lunge at him from any direction. Every few steps, he glanced over his shoulder, eyes scanning shadows and alley mouths, measuring distance and movement. Kael followed more loosely, his gaze flicking down to the Super Mini-Map every now and then, watching the colored dots pulse faintly against the gray outline of the city.
"You're not used to this, are you?" John said quietly, his voice barely louder than the scrape of rubble beneath his boots.
Kael looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked, lowering his own voice to match John's tone, instinctively keeping the conversation subdued.
"You're too carefree," John replied without slowing down. "You gotta watch your back. Check corners. Look behind you. See if you're being followed." He paused briefly, casting another glance over his shoulder. "I'm giving you tips here because you'll find yourself dead real quick if you don't survey your surroundings."
Kael exhaled softly through his nose. "Ah, I see," he said, then added, almost casually, "though remember, I'm using my nose." He sniffed the air once, then again, exaggerating the motion just enough to sell the point.
John snorted under his breath. "As much as I appreciate you having that good of a nose," he said, "aren't you only able to sniff out monsters?"
The question lingered longer than it should have.
Kael felt it immediately, the subtle edge beneath the words. That wasn't curiosity. That was probing.
"Yeah," Kael answered after a short pause, keeping his expression neutral. "What about it though?"
"That's how you'll die," John said bluntly. "If you rely on it too much."
Kael already knew that.
"I see," Kael replied, nodding as if the thought was new to him. He began glancing behind them every few steps, careful not to overdo it.
They moved on in silence for a while, the city pressing in around them. Soon, the street narrowed, blocked entirely by a building that had toppled forward in a catastrophic collapse, its upper floors pancaked into a jagged slope of concrete and twisted steel.
John stopped. "From here onward, you gotta stick close to me," he said. He lifted a hand and pointed. "You see this building here?"
"Yeah?" Kael answered, already following his gaze.
"Well need to climb on top of the rubble, then go up there," John said, pointing higher.
Kael's eyes settled on the structure John indicated, and his breath caught slightly.
Among the chaos of collapsed buildings, one structure stood unnervingly intact. A tall, black building rose from the rubble like a monolith, its walls unmarred, its windows pristine. Not a single pane of glass was cracked or shattered. While everything around it lay broken and ruined, this building stood untouched, almost defiant. Every entrance to its first floor was buried under thousands of tons of debris, and the lowest windows were far too high to reach without specialized equipment. Not to mention even if tried to squint your eyes you wouldn't be able to see anything past those windows.
And worse still, one of the surrounding buildings had clearly collapsed directly onto it, yet not a single one of those windows had broken.
Kael didn't need a system notification to know something was wrong.
"That… doesn't sit right," Kael said slowly.
"How come?" John asked.
"That building stands out too much," Kael replied. "You really think we'll be the only ones heading there?"
John let out a short, humorless laugh. "I'm pretty sure we will. Because that building's crawling with monsters."
"And you expect the two of us to fight our way there?" Kael frowned.
"I'm not that foolish," John said. "Neither is anyone else who's seen it. The basement looks like a spawn point. Or at least a monster layer. A static dungeon, maybe." He lowered his voice. "But the hidden piece isn't down there. It's upstairs. Problem is, we gotta pass through the underground parking lot first."
Kael stopped walking. "Wait. How do you even know there's a hidden piece there if you haven't been inside?"
"I don't," John admitted. "But I'm damn sure there is." He tapped the side of his nose. "As for the puzzle I told you about, it's bypassing the monsters without waking them. That's where your nose comes in."
Kael considered it. "The monsters act like a barrier," he said. "For anyone too weak to push through. Still, even if I can smell them, if there's a hundred…"
"I found a ventilation hatch yesterday," John cut in. "We climb through that, reach the first floor, and move up from there."
Kael studied the building once more, then nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?"
John smirked. "Good. At least you're not a wuss." He turned. "I'll go first. Stay close." He paused, then added quietly, "Also… we've probably been spotted."
Kael didn't even need to look around. He already knew. Three figures. Hidden behind windows and doorframes. Watching. His mini-map had already given him all the information he needed.
"Then let's hurry," Kael said. "Once we're behind the rubble, they won't see where we're heading."
John nodded, and they climbed.