Chapter 47 - The Tutorial Begins
One week later, Zach thought the tyrants back in the city would come and make trouble to their base, but it looked like it might not happen soon as many days had already passed and there was still no sign of them probably because they got lost or just they don't have any plans to confront them at all.
On the other hand, all the Rangers have also come back from their exploration outside the base and brought back an additional 200 survivors who had started adjusting to living in the base as they all felt strange and new to everything that was happening after seeing so many people living in harmony.
With that, what the Rangers had been doing for the few days was to train as they waited for further instructions. Their numbers have even grown as every captain has now a total of seventy people under them as more and more survivors have decided to join the group and swear their lives to protect the base.
Right now, the night was very peaceful and quiet as everyone was already in their respective houses resting as it was already late at night. Only the Rangers assigned to watch over the base were the ones who were still awake as they could be found in their respective watchtowers.
On the other hand, Zach could be found on one of the watchtowers alone as after meeting Simon many days ago, he has already decided to work at night. Though he wasn't concerned about a possible attack, he felt like it was better to be safe as he didn't know what the other party was capable of doing.
Time continues to pass, however, when the clock hits midnight, Zach's peaceful observation is suddenly broken as a person starts climbing the watchtower without prior notice. However, he didn't show any dissatisfaction on his face as he just waited to see who it was.
"Aren't you bored doing this all night alone?" Sophia asked after climbing the watchtower as she looked at Zach who was still focused on watching the situation outside the base with his binoculars. She knew about the news that the dead Simon had brought back after hearing it from the other Rangers, but she felt like Zach was too worried about it.
"I won't since you're already here. Can't sleep?" Zach replied with a little tease after hearing a familiar voice. He then just put down his binoculars as he looked at Sophia wanting to know why she was still up since it was already morning after seeing that she happened to arrive at exactly 12 A.M. in the morning.
"Yeah. I'm thinking about what will happen later." Sophia answered as she knew that today in the afternoon would be the promised time that the system had told them two months ago and it kept her unable to sleep as her mind wouldn't stop thinking about it.
"Do you want something to drink? Coffee, perhaps?" Zach offered after hearing what she just said since it was also one of the things that was making him worried though he didn't show it to others so they would not feel the same and make a big deal out of it since who knows if it was bad or not.
"No. I'm good." Sophia rejected it as it would only make her more awake. She then just walked closer beside Zach while looking at the peaceful night thinking that the quietness might help clear her mind from the things that make her awake.
Seeing Sophia, Zach then just remained silent as he took his binoculars once again and watched the situation outside. With that, both of them then just stayed in the watchtower until dawn seeing Sophia sleeping on a foam in the corner of the watchtower while Zach could be found drinking a warm coffee as he looked at the beautiful sun rising on the horizon.
Not before long, Sophia woke up peacefully and was curious about where was she before remembering what happened last night. She then just looked around and there she saw Zach on the corner which made her smile after learning that he really wasn't a person who would take advantage of the others.
"Good morning. I'll go down soon enough so I can still sleep and wake up before the next phase begins. Do you want to continue sleeping? I will tell the Rangers not to climb the watchtower if you want." Seeing Sophia finally up, Zach then said greeted her with a good morning.
"No. I'm good. I'll head down too to eat breakfast." Sophia replied with a smile before she got up and tidied up the place.
With that, Zach and Sophia then headed down as they parted ways seeing the former greeting his family first before immediately taking his body to bed while Sophia headed back to her room to have breakfast.
As time continued to pass by, more and more people woke up followed by the tension or excitement that was building all over the base since the time for the next phase was getting near. There's no work today so everyone could be found in or outside their houses as they interact with their neighbors.
Meanwhile, Ethan, Mike, Sophia, Carl, Isabelle, and Viktor could be found outside the base together with them were the Rangers under their supervisory after Zach had given them the order to gather together an hour before the next phase would begin. All of them were ready to what was about to come seeing them all carrying rifles in their hands as if they were heading to war or something.
When the remaining time was about thirty minutes, Zach then finally got out of his house after a few of hours sleep. He looked at the survivors outside seeing them greeting him so he did the same while he headed straight to the watchtower ready to face what the next phase would give them.
On top of the watchtower, Zach then just looked at the Rangers outside the wall who were looking at him from the ground. He looked at Ethan, Mike, Carl, Sophia, Viktor, and Isabelle and saw that they were also ready. With that, he then just looked at the time counting the remaining minutes before it began.
At exactly 3 P.M., everyone's hearts were beating loudly as it finally started after a familiar blue screen appeared right in front of each one of them which completely made them a little lost since it only had a simple sentence and nothing more.
[Commencing to Phase 2: Human Evolution.]
[Commencing Phase 2 Tutorial.]
[Begin transportation.]
Not long after that, screams and shouts then started echoing in the base as the survivors started disappearing one by one. Chaos and panic could be found on everyone's faces as they didn't know what was happening before it was their turn to disappear.
Meanwhile, Zach could be found very nervous upon seeing it happen not just to the survivors inside the base but also to the Rangers outside of the wall. Not knowing what was going on, he doubted if the survivors could listen and hear his voice due to the sudden commotion so he jumped down as he headed straight back to his family wanting to check their situation.
Arriving at the door, Zach immediately opened it and there he saw Jenny and the others sitting on the sofa which relieved him but when he was about to get closer to them, he suddenly saw Shiela disappearing followed by Rose and the children. Seeing this, he felt very scared as he ran towards Jenny.
However, that was when Zach suddenly felt blinded by a bright light and staggered on the ground trying to cover his eyes. A few moments after that, he then just adjusted himself, but he immediately went dumbfounded after seeing that he was no longer in the house anymore but in a completely unfamiliar place.
There could be found unfamiliar trees and grasses in the surroundings but what was strange was the fact that instead of the normal trees back on Earth, the ones in the area were very strange to him, and they were abnormally big, unlike the ones he used to see.
"What the fuck just happened and where am I?" Zach stood up and asked himself as he looked at his surroundings because aside from the strange trees around him, there were also scary-looking vines hanging in them. With that, he then just started calling if there was anyone around as he still didn't have any clue as to what had just happened.
[Welcome to Pluto Sanctuary.]
[Ding!!!]
[A mission has been issued.]
[Mission Title: Connected Worlds
Description: Find and occupy a shelter.
Duration: Until the tutorial ends.
Reward: Sanctuary Portal Totem
Penalty: None]
[A Side Mission has been issued.]
[Mission Title: Become a Resident
Description: Become a resident of a shelter.
Duration: Until the tutorial ends.
Reward: 5,000 Evolution Coins
Penalty: None]
[Tutorial Duration: 3 months and 25 days.]
[After the end of the tutorial, all the remaining survivors will be transported back to Earth. However, in the case that the survivor has become a resident of the shelter, he/she will be given the choice of whether to return back to where he/she came from or wait for the portal to be activated and go to where the portal is headed.]
Zach had a hard time processing what was happening however, one thing was clear and that is he was transported to another place or planet perhaps upon hearing the word Pluto but he knew that Pluto has long not part of the solar system which is strange. He then just read the mission again, but he gained nothing as he didn't even know what a shelter was and the fact that it had a time limit was quite concerning.
Calming himself down, Zach then just set aside the mission for now as there was something more important that he needed to do first and that was to find his family, especially Jenny who was pregnant with their child. He doesn't know if they were also transported here but the chances are high so he immediately looks to wherever direction his feet will go.
However, Zach suddenly heard a weird sound from a certain location. Looking at it intently wanting to see what it was, the passive Survival Line of the system suddenly appeared as a stream of red light flashed through his eyes which his body acted in response and there he saw a creature coming towards him.
Taking out the Glock 7 Pistol on his inventory, Zach immediately pulled the trigger after pointing it at the head of the creature. However, as if it didn't kill the creature, it pounced at him as he was thrown to the ground.
Dropping the pistol in his hands, Zach grabbed on what was supposed to be the shoulder of the creature and there he saw its appearance which surprised him from the fact that it looked like a fucking zombie seeing it struggling hard and wanting to bite him. Another thing is that the zombie was strong, and he needed to exert some of his strength to stop it.
"Fuck. It didn't die?" Zach said as he looked at the bullet that had been buried on its head but it seemed that it didn't penetrate deeper. With that, he then just kicked the zombie and he was surprised to see the zombie flying in the distance however, it immediately got up and ran towards him again with its mouth wide open ready to devour him.
…Bang…Bang...Bang..
Taking back the pistol on the ground, Zach immediately started firing but this time, he continued firing at its head before finally seeing it fall on the third bullet. With that, he then just walked closer to the zombie wanting to see just what it was but there he saw something shining in it.
"Did this drop after it died? Now, we are talking about something." Zach said after looking at the Evolution Coin that he just got from the zombie as if it was a fucking drop item just like in a game. He then was about to search for more before he heard rustling sounds again which alerted him.
Not long after that, three other zombies came running towards his location. Zach, however, already saw it coming as he pointed the pistol against them, pulled the trigger once again, and made them fall to the ground each taking four bullets in the head. And there it was again, three Evolution Coins had dropped but when he was about to pick them up, he heard a rustling sound once more, but this time, it was all over the place.
"S-Shit. They might have been attracted to the sound." Zach cursed as he used the power of the Super Survival System and saw that the place was indicated as 'Caution is Advice' upon seeing Orange colors everywhere. He then just thought that they might have been attracted to the sound, so he immediately put his guard up as he took out the Katana he had in his inventory instead thinking of finishing them as quietly as possible.
Six zombies appeared from which Zach swiftly cut the head of the one who got closer to him however, when he was about to do the same to the next one, the Katana suddenly broke. Seeing the zombie was about to pounce at him, his legs move in reflex and kick the zombie before pulling the trigger of the Glock 7 in his other hand once again.
Following that, Zach did the same with rest before finally having a breather after a minute of fighting. One thing he has observed is that the pistol he had with him brought a little damage to the zombies as he needed to shoot at their heads at least four times to kill one, on the other hand, using the Katana was more useful though it would break immediately the second time he used it.
"Shit. There were probably zombies coming here now. Let's find a place to hide first." Zach said thinking that the gunshots he did might have attracted more to his direction so after choosing which way to go, he immediately left the place while he traveled with caution thinking if other unknown dangers were present in the area.