Keep Calm

An infinity of questions and assumptions started forming in Jacob's mind like a hurricane as he entered a clothing store with Usagi.

The introduction to this world recommended, "[This world tells the story of Arisu, Karibe, and Chota, a group of friends who find themselves in an abandoned Tokyo after a mysterious event. To survive, the boys must compete in dangerous games, with the type and difficulty determined by cards.

The numbers indicate the level of difficulty, and the symbols refer to the themes. For example, diamonds focus on wit, clubs on teamwork, spades on physical combat, and hearts on psychological challenges.

After surviving their first game, players receive 'visas' that are extended the more they compete. If these cards expire, contestants are executed by red lasers shot from the sky...]"

Visas to survive and games of different themes along with their respective difficulty? That was the least of it; he would eventually discover more, but there were many other things that caught his attention.

Have all the people disappeared?

What can be seen in the surroundings at a glance?

Looking around the store, it was a simple clothing store decorated in the same way as when there were still people. There were no signs that people had been in this place, so the assumption now was that there was a reduced number of people in this city.

While looking around, Jacob discovered something on top of a display case: a tape recorder with a credit card embedded in the slot.

Noticing this curious detail, Jacob walked slowly and took the tape recorder, then removed the credit card to examine it.

Deducing that the credit card is embedded in this device for payment purposes, the world should be the same as moments before all humans disappeared, based on that assumption.

So, this new knowledge that Jacob discovered a few moments ago was true according to his assumptions. At this moment, he focused solely on connecting the information together to find answers that would get him closer to the truth.

Therefore, all this information would play an active role in making a decision. Jacob knew that very few were aware of the power of deductive intelligence. In fact, deductive intelligence can help people reason if used correctly.

Consequently, Jacob used his deductive reasoning to gain an advantage in perceiving this reality. From what he discovered with the things around him, sheer coincidence witnesses many facts that cannot be seen at first glance. But this happens because life is a vast chain, and Jacob was not in a hurry about this situation.

Walking through the store, Jacob and Usagi didn't find anything else that provided extra information about this situation. There was nothing; Jacob's keen eyes examined every detail in the store, and there was absolutely nothing else that indicated what had exactly happened.

"If people have disappeared, as evident, we need to consider other factors for now." Jacob, who had a clear mind, picked up a black sports outfit in his size and entered a fitting room.

Usagi, who was silently surveying the store, also thought in the same way as Jacob. Looking at her own clothes, they were not at all suitable for walking long distances. So when she saw Jacob casually picking clothes, Usagi made the same decision and started looking for suitable attire for herself.

In this situation, the important thing is to be comfortable, and obviously, the clothes they were wearing were not suitable for moving long distances. So, in this situation, they wouldn't care about anything else but ensuring their own safety.

"I see, this situation has awakened an instinct for knowledge and survival like I've never felt before," murmured Jacob as he started undressing.

This is not an illusion; it is the real world that has undergone significant changes that no one understands yet.

It's nothing like a situation that has happened before. While considering something like aliens, this situation could be easily resolved, but that was not his way of thinking.

He, a person well-prepared for this type of situation, can obviously face all these intriguing events happening around him. There was a whole city to be explored and examined by his eyes, so now he knew what he had to do.

But considering the extent to which things have developed, this world that should be the same as before he lost consciousness should have all the things that were present before, with people roaming every corner of this city.

An infinity of questions and assumptions started to form in Jacob's mind like a hurricane as he entered a clothing store with Usagi.

Recommended introduction to this world, it said: "[This world tells the story of Arisu, Karibe, and Chota, a group of friends who find themselves in an abandoned Tokyo after a mysterious event. To survive, the boys must compete in dangerous games, the type and difficulty of which are determined by cards.

The numbers indicate the level of difficulty, and the symbols refer to the theme. For example, diamonds focus on wit, clubs on teamwork, spades on physical combat, and hearts on psychological challenges.

After surviving their first game, the players receive "visas," which are extended the more they compete; if these cards expire, the contestants are executed by red lasers shot from the sky..."

Visas to survive and games with different themes and corresponding difficulties? That was the least of it; he would eventually find out, but there were many more things that caught his attention.

Have all the people disappeared?

What can be seen in the surroundings at first glance?

Looking around the store, it was a simple clothing store, likely decorated the same way as when there were still people. There were no signs that people had been in this place, so the assumption now was that there were only a few people left in this city.

While looking around, Jacob discovered something on top of a display case—a tape recorder with a credit card inserted into the slot.

Noticing this curious detail, Jacob walked slowly and picked up the tape recorder, then took out the credit card to examine it.

Realizing that the credit card was inserted into this device for payment, the world should be the same as it was moments before all the humans disappeared, based on that assumption.

Thus, the new knowledge Jacob discovered a few moments ago aligned with his assumptions. At this moment, he focused solely on connecting the information to find answers that would bring him closer to the truth.

Therefore, all this information would play an active role in making a decision. Jacob knew that very few people were aware of the power of deductive intelligence. In fact, deductive intelligence could help people reason if used correctly.

Jacob, consequently, used his deductive reasoning to gain an advantage in perceiving this reality. From what he discovered in his surroundings, mere coincidence bore witness to many things that could not be seen at first glance. However, this happened because life is a great chain, and Jacob was not in a hurry in this situation.

Walking through the store, Jacob and Usagi did not find anything else that provided additional information about this situation. Nothing. Jacob's keen eyes examined every detail in the store, and there was absolutely nothing else that could indicate what had exactly happened.

"If people have disappeared, as it is evident, we must consider other factors for now." Jacob, who had a clear mind, picked up a set of black sportswear in his size and entered a fitting room.

Usagi, who had been silently observing the store, also thought the same way as Jacob. Looking at her own clothes, she realized they were not suitable for walking long distances. So when she saw Jacob casually picking out clothes, Usagi made the same decision and started to look for suitable clothes for herself.

In this situation, comfort was important, and obviously, the clothes they were currently wearing were not suitable for extensive movement. Therefore, their primary concern was ensuring their own safety.

"I see, this situation has awakened an instinct for knowledge and survival like never before." Jacob murmured as he started to undress.

This was not an illusion; it was the real world that had undergone significant changes that no one yet understood.

It was nothing like a situation that had occurred before. While he considered possibilities such as aliens, that kind of thinking would not be productive. He, a person well-prepared for this type of situation, would undoubtedly face these intriguing events happening around him. There was a whole city to be explored and examined through his eyes, so he now knew what he had to do.

But considering how far things had developed, this world, which should be the same as before he lost consciousness, should have all the things that were present when people were roaming every corner of this city.

"Somebody apparently had the same idea as me..." Murmured Jacob before approaching and carefully inspecting what had been taken from the store. They weren't significant items, at most a shotgun with a few cartridges and nothing more.

"How long ago was someone here?" Usagi was slightly relieved to see traces indicating that someone else had been in this place. It was obvious after seeing the mess in the store and how things were taken without considering the damage.

Jacob, who had expected this, didn't waste any more time and approached a broken display case, picking up a Remington 870 shotgun, a pump-action one. Although this shotgun was used for hunting, it was much better than the other options in this place. It served not only for personal defense but also for hunting.

Weighing a little over three kilograms, Jacob held it and inspected it familiarly. It wasn't his first time handling a firearm, after all.

"This shotgun is a twelve gauge, its tubular magazine can hold no more than eight cartridges. This weapon has many variations and it will serve us to protect ourselves from whatever wants to harm us." Jacob didn't look at Usagi's expression as he handed her the shotgun while he took another one of the same model.

"I don't know how to use firearms..." Usagi made a strange expression as she held the shotgun.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to use it. Although if we stick together, there won't be a need for you to use it. It could be useful for personal defense later on." Jacob said with an ironic smile.

In this situation, where the future is uncertain, it wouldn't hurt to learn all the knowledge necessary to stay alive. Although Jacob usually focused more on the present than the future, he wanted to impart knowledge that Usagi might not know.

While searching for cartridges, Jacob also took the liberty of selecting two Merkel Helix rifles, which were among the best field rifles available in that gun store.

"Find four cases to store these weapons for now while I look for the cartridges." Jacob said without looking at Usagi.

Knowing that there were people with weapons in this desolate city, Jacob didn't waste time and quickly returned with four boxes of ammunition, two for the shotguns and two for the rifles. Although the rifle could only hold three bullets, it was better than nothing in their current situation.

Usagi, on her part, wasted no time and also found some flashlights, knives, and some holsters to carry them on their bodies. She knew that there was no electricity, so having those tools would make it easier for them to spend the night.

After storing the rifles in their backpacks, Jacob handed one to Usagi for her to carry and slung one on his back along with the other backpacks they already had.

"Are you confused?"

"Huh?"

"Usagi, I can't deny that our situation is very confusing, and I don't know much more than you do. But you must understand that in order to discover what is happening and, in turn, ensure our safety, it would be good for you to learn how to use these weapons for personal defense."

Jacob didn't want to explain much about the situation. It's not that he cared about Usagi's safety in any other situation, but now she was his companion and the only person he could consider trustworthy. If he were to encounter another person now, it would be anything but trustworthy.

In this situation, where it was difficult to trust others, Jacob had no choice but to trust Usagi and hope for the best from her.

"Do you really think this is necessary?" Usagi asked, pointing to the shotguns and rifles in the backpacks.

"Truth is, they're useful, but I'd prefer not to have to use them if I'm honest with you."

"Were you a hunter or something similar?" Usagi asked with a calm look, wanting to get to know this person a little more since they would be spending an indefinite amount of time together.

Although she was reluctant to familiarize herself with others, she had no choice but to take the initiative to get to know her companion, who until now had acted very clearly about what they had to do and not do. He was very intelligent.

"Well, I'm from the CIA and I was in this place to solve a problem involving our two governments, but I guess that's not important now." As he said this, Jacob took out two pistol holsters and attached one to his leg while the other to his waist.

Jacob didn't want to be indifferent either. He wanted to establish a connection where both parties would benefit. Who knows what will happen in the future, right? In a situation like this, it would be good to try to work with a partner who wasn't dramatic at all. If it were another woman, she would probably be crying about what would happen tomorrow.

This girl, who apparently was much older than her avatar, seemed to have the same thoughts and didn't need to be told things twice. Jacob thought that it wouldn't be dramatic at all to move with Usagi.

"Usagi, my behavior and way of thinking may be hard to understand. I usually don't form connections with friend circles that don't understand me. But in this situation, I have to say that it's better to be together than alone. Do you want to move forward with me or take a different path?"

As Jacob said this, he extended his hand and showed a sincere expression. It was clear that this situation was new and had sparked a strong desire for knowledge within him. He hoped to see at least some of that in Usagi.

Usagi, who had mostly understood Jacob's way of thinking and intentions, didn't mind and nodded. "Let's join forces and find out what happened. I'm not good at relating to people either."

Jacob, seeing Usagi's extended hand, nodded and shook it. "Then we should now look for food and, at the same time, find more clues along the way."

"I think the same."