Chapter 20: Gear Up
Now that the four of them had finished changing their clothes, they started looting all the marked items within the studio, including all the regular clothes without any kind of cold resistance.
"Do we need to take these plain shirts as well?"
"Yes, take them all."
After that, Alan moved to a few other rooms to grab all the marked items available as per his memory. Vicky, the girl, was still following him, trying everything she could to lend a hand, but seeing Alan swiftly moving around the rooms as if he knew the place made her bedazzled.
The group had successfully collected some more items, all stored within Daniel's bag.
[Jumper x 3]
[Shirts x 6]
[Chocolate Bar x 2]
[Bottled Water x 2]
[Liquor Bottle x 3]
####
[Name: Chocolates]
[Type: Consumable]
[Rarity: Common]
[Attributes: 10 HP and 35% stamina generation in 15 minutes]
[Effects: Decrease hunger]
[Able to Bring Outside the Game: Yes]
[Remarks: It's highly addictive]
####
[Name: Liquor Bottle]
[Type: Consumable]
[Rarity: Common]
[Attributes: 20% stamina generation in 15 minutes]
[Effects: Heat status and Disorientation in 15 minutes]
[Able to Bring Outside the Game: Yes]
[Remarks: Don't drink and drive… fighting is OK]
They also managed to find another weapon.
[Name: Sledge Hammer]
[Type: Weapon]
[Rarity: Common]
[Attributes: Damage: 10-20]
[Effects: None]
[Equipment Rating: 12]
[Able to Bring Outside the Game: No]
[Remarks: Break them all down]
[Name: Spear]
[Type: Weapon]
[Rarity: Common]
[Attributes: Damage: 12-18]
[Effects: None]
[Equipment Rating: 12]
[Able to Bring Outside the Game: No]
[Remarks: Swing it, Thrust it, or Throw it at your target]
Alan gave the Spear to Daniel, while the sledgehammer was given to Milo, as no one else could hold it properly because of the weight. As for the chocolate, one of the most effective stamina boosters he had, Alan put it in his pocket.
He also took a few unmarked items that he might use later: Toolbox, Duct tape, Ropes, Hairspray, and Salt. He also found a drum of gasoline.
There was one other special item they found, one of the main reasons Alan had visited this place.
Alan found it where he had last seen it, hidden within the building's security room, inside the locker that he had to break into with his strength.
[Broken Radio]
[Type: Quest Item]
This curved a little smile on his face as he saw the quest item.
Meanwhile, the unconscious man had regained consciousness and found himself in a disconcerting situation.
"Where... What are you doing to me?" he exclaimed, his panic evident.
Startled by his sudden awakening, the man noticed the wires tightly constricting his hands.
"What... Get me off these things... What are you doing? Let me go!" he demanded, struggling against his restraints.
"You're a killer; we should have left you frozen outside," Luis, emboldened by the man's captivity, asserted, his voice filled with contempt.
Realizing the severity of his predicament, the once fierce man unexpectedly shifted to pleading.
"Please I didn't mean to kill the guy… he really should have just shared with us some of the loot.."
"And when he refuses, you stab him... que cabron!"
"No.. no.. it was an accident… you see he… tripped and fell on my knife… it's the truth."
All were baffled by the excuses. None in the room believed a word he said.
"Please... Please... let Smiley go… I'll be good."
Alan approached the skinny man and said, "Just shut up, you are coming with us now"
"Why are you taking me too? Just let me go!"
Everyone was surprised that Alan would take the man with him, but for the moment, Alan had no plan to share his reasons. He even gave one of the jumpers for him to wear, which made the skinny man even more anxious.
Because they were now wearing warmer clothing, they were in far better condition to withstand the cold weather than before. With the man's hand still strangled with wire, all six of them vacated the apartment together into the snowy streets
As the temperature continued to fall and the snow outside grew heavier and thicker, the number of faint figures on the street dwindled swiftly until there was nothing but snow at this particular time.
Following the increase in the snowfall intensity was a sharp decrease in the clarity of visibility. With an environment that only allowed one to barely see up to five meters ahead, the group could hardly see any other people in the vicinity.
There was actually a sight of a military group running through the snowfall, however, Alan has no plan to get in touch with them right now as he has his own plan.
Moments later, as the group gazed towards the barely lit street amid snow, a notification came like a reminder.
[4 hours left to survive]
[Updating current players]
[Players still in the game - 6,890]
Alan could only sigh when he saw the notification showing the remaining players.
Considering the last remaining number of players, there were over 1000 players who died in the last three hours. Despite appearing cold-hearted, a thousand was actually quite an acceptable number considering the similar number of people who died in the first 15 minutes of the game.
Unfortunately, the situation would only continue to go downhill for the players from now on. The cold would only get worse, especially in its final hour.
Alan recalled that only a little close to 3,000 players survived this round the last time he played it.
Paused by the sudden notification, Alan and the others quickly continued walking until they finally reached the New York Public Library once again.
When they stepped inside the massive building, their eyes were immediately welcomed by the sight of one hundred civilians huddling together in groups. Their lips were chapped while their bodies seemed to be shivering, even with the blankets and the burning fireplace.
Bill who chose to stay in the library were also in the same perilous situation. Hence when they noticed Alan's group return, a hopeful look instantly made its way to his face.
Seeing these people being tormented by terrible pain, Vicky turned her attention back to Alan and said, "So how are we going to save these people?"