Inside was a complete set of exquisitely crafted gold artifacts, each piece gleaming faintly even in the dim light.
She was about to start collecting the pieces here too, when a loud noise made her turn around.
Suzy’s pupils contracted instantly.
At the far end of the corridor stood a tall, gaunt man. A crossbow was already braced in his hands, its string still quivering, waiting for a release. A cruel grin stretched across his face.
"Well, what do we have here?"
"Suzy!"
In that mont, the world seed to have turned into so sort of bizarre movie scene. There were shouts, loud footsteps, curses, and... a familiar voice, getting closer and closer, yet she couldn’t understand who it belonged to.
And then...
Thud!
Suddenly, clarity returned, and Suzy’s eyes turned wide with fright.
Thomas. Thomas Kim was standing right before her, his eyes wide as if he had just seen sothing horrifying.
"Got him!" The man grinned, and sohow, Suzy instantly realized what had happened.
Thomas had been shot with an arrow.
A mix of voices echoed through the hall, and Suzy instantly recognized one of them. It was that girl she had saved not so long ago!
"Stop!" Gloria lunged forward as if she’d lost all sense of caution, slamming into the man with both hands. "What are you doing? They’re not them!"
The man staggered back a step, his grin faltering, confusion flashing across his features. "Huh?"
Gloria didn’t waste another second on him.
She spun around and ran toward Suzy, her face drained of all color the mont her eyes fell on the arrow embedded deep in Thomas’s back.
"Miss... I’m sorry... I—I’ll help you..."
Her voice trembled violently, each word barely holding together.
Suzy didn’t answer. All her attention was on Thomas.
She supported him carefully, lowering him against the cold wall as his strength gave out beneath her hands.
Dark blood was already spreading across his clothes, seeping steadily and pooling beneath him.
"Does it hurt? How do you feel?" she asked, her voice tight, controlled—but her hands betrayed her, shaking as she fumbled through her dical kit she took out of his backpack.
There was too much blood.
Far too much.
The wound had to be severe—worse still because he had taken the shot for her.
A cold weight settled in her chest, tightening with every passing second. Anxiety clawed upward, sharp and suffocating, as the reality of the situation began to sink in.
In contrast, the injured man remained calm.
His face was pale, but he didn’t even frown.
Compared to what he’d endured before, this was nothing.
But when he saw the worry in her eyes, the "I’m fine" he’d been about to say changed.
"...It hurts a little," he said.
Suzy pressed her lips together, hands trembling as she opened the kit.
Seeing her like this, he softened his tone. "I’ll be okay. It’s just a minor injury."
"A minor injury wouldn’t bleed this much!" she shot back. "Don’t move. I’ll handle it."
The crude arrow was still embedded in his back, blood steadily flowing.
For the first ti, Suzy felt completely at a loss.
"Pull it out," he reminded her.
She took a deep breath, gripping the shaft. "I’m pulling it."
"Mm."
Gritting her teeth, she yanked the wooden arrow free.
Fortunately, it was roughly made—no barbs, no complications.
"Got it!"
The mont it ca out, warm liquid splashed onto her face.
Through it all, he didn’t even groan—his body only jerked slightly.
She didn’t bother wiping it away.
She had to disinfect the wound. Apply dicine, too.
The solution she used had been diluted with spring water.
Rembering its effects steadied her nerves a little.
Finally, she wrapped the wound.
By the ti she finished, she was drenched in sweat.
"...Done," she said, exhaling heavily.
"Thank you."
"I should be thanking you," Suzy said, looking at him steadily, emotions complicated. "Thomas... thank you."
If not for him, that arrow would’ve hit her.
"Rest for a bit. I’ll talk to her." She gestured toward Gloria.
"Alright."
Gloria had been waiting nearby the whole ti. The girl looked deeply conflicted. After all, it was her group that had injured him.
"I’m sorry, Miss... I didn’t know it was you. I thought it was them... You know..."
They moved aside to a quieter corner.
Before Suzy could even ask, Gloria hurriedly began explaining.
"Don’t panic," Suzy said gently. "It was a misunderstanding. No one ant for this to happen."
She couldn’t bring herself to bla the girl. After all, Gloria hadn’t been the one to shoot.
"Gloria... how did you end up here?" Suzy asked. "And what were you doing?"
She rembered her clearly—the girl she had helped not long ago. Hadn’t she been sent to live with her grandparents?
What happened?
At the question, Gloria’s eyes dimd instantly.
Still, she didn’t hide it. Taking a breath, she began explaining.
After Suzy left, she had spent so quiet, warm days with her grandparents. But with more mouths to feed, supplies dwindled faster.
As the eldest, she took it upon herself to search for food.
At first, she went with her grandfather. But he was old. Strong in spirit, but not in body. They found little.
Then one day, after venturing farther than usual, they returned... To blood.
Her grandmother. Her younger siblings... Were all dead.
Soone had broken in.
Her grandmother had fought back—but she couldn’t win. The children... had no chance.
The ho that had once been warm was filled with blood and silence.
After that, only Gloria and her grandfather remained.
Not long after, the grief consud him. During one trip outside, he died as well.
And just like that, she was alone.
Since then, she had survived by scavenging.
She avoided most danger. Until she t Curtis and the others.
She had saved them by chance. They were college students, survivors who had escaped together. They ford a small group—and accepted her without hesitation.
Through them, she learned the truth.
There were groups out there.
Organized.
Violent.
They raided hos, stole supplies, and if they didn’t get what they wanted, they killed.
Lives ant nothing to them.
So victims... were taken hostage. What followed didn’t need to be said.
Curtis’s group had suffered at their hands too. That was why they stayed together.
They found strength in numbers.
Now, they were hiding in the mall.
Watching.
Surviving.
And waiting for that group to co find them too.
"I’m really sorry..." Gloria’s eyes brimd with tears as she repeated, "I thought they had co back... I didn’t know it was you..."
"They’ve co here before. They even took Victor’s younger brother. Victor was the one who shot... that guy just now, so he..."
"I understand," Suzy said softly. "You don’t have to keep apologizing."
Gloria pressed her lips together, silent now, her eyes still red.
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