NEW INFORMATION

Tyger and I approached the pair, our steps crunching against broken gravel in time with one another - cold night air biting across my exposed skin. It must be because of this tension that it's too chilly than a moment ago. My eyes were fixed on those two strangers. Their metal arm guards were kinda shining under the flashlight that we were holding.

The way they were walking in sync, they weren't your regular Joe. I can just tell from their walking posture and the way they were holding their rifles. If they do decide to shoot at point blank, things could go either way... Well, that's only if I didn't have my inventory. The moment things go wrong, I'll open the inventory before us and the bullets that would come for us will get stuck in the inventory space. Then we'll finish them off easily. Wait! Since none can see it, why not keep it open before me?!

I opened the inventory as we finally stopped in the middle of the road.

The men stopped a few steps from us. One of them, a tall guy with a scruffy beard and a scar running down his cheek, raised a hand in what was probably supposed to be a friendly gesture. His companion, shorter but stockier, kept his finger inching towards the trigger of his rifle.

"Howdy. Nice to see other survivors out here," The tall one called out, his voice carrying a false cheeriness that immediately set off alarm bells. "Didn't mean to startle you. We saw your fire and thought we might see if we could join you."

I smiled, "We aren't looking for company. Move along. There is nothing here for you."

"Don't be like that, buddy," The taller one continued, still smiling. "We ain't looking for trouble. Just trying to be friendly."

The other one spoke, "Come on now, no need to be rude. We're just a couple of guys looking for a place to rest. Maybe share a drink, trade some supplies. We got ammo and all. Maybe we could exchange them for food and fuel?"

Tyger narrowed her eyes, "We don't have anything to spare. So, you better move along."

Scarface gritted his teeth, "Look, we saw you people celebrating. You got enough food to throw away a feast. Stop being a dick and just share some of it, will ya?"

Tyger and I glanced at each other. I sighed and looked back at them, "Yeah, got enough to throw a feast, but only for my people. But not some random strangers trying to act over-smart and intruding on our peaceful night. So, please leave." I said with a smile.

The tall man glanced back at his group, who were watching intently from beside their vehicles. He turned back to us, his smile now completely gone. "Now, that's not very neighborly, is it? How about we come over, and we can discuss this like civilized people?"

"We already discussed enough. Now get lost." Tyger spat.

Scarface squinted at me, "You seem like a smart kid. I suggest you think this through before your friend gets herself into trouble."

I could see his hand inching toward his gun, and my heart rate spiked. "I said, keep moving," I repeated, my voice low and threatening. "This is your last warning." For a tense moment, no one moved. The night seemed to hold its breath, the only sound the distant crackling of our dying bonfire. I could feel Tyger's tension beside me, her finger hovering over the trigger.

Finally, Scarface stepped back, raising both hands in a placating gesture. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a twist, kid. We'll leave you alone."

He motioned for the others to get back in the cars, then gave me one last glare and said, "A friendly warning. Don't go that way if you want to live. Kentucky is swarming with mutated spiders and their King. They are tough as hell. Later, don't say, I didn't warn you."

"The rumors of Zombie Spiderman are true, isn't it? You saw him?" I asked.

Scarface scoffed, "Zombie Spiderman? Not even close, kid. The thing we saw... Well, you better pray you don't meet it." With that, he turned and walked back to the car.

****

Ping!

New Mission: Kill Zombie Spiderman and gain his power. The target can be found in Kentucky.

Reward: Gain Spiderman's power

***Chain Quest***

New Mission: Gather information before going in blindly to increase chances of survival

Reward: Spiderman's tech lab's location

****

Damn it! As much as I would have liked to not deal with them, the new mission popped up at this exact moment this guy mentioned that... A coincidence? Maybe not. This guy might know more.

"6 medic pack and you tell us all the details," I yelled.

Scarface paused and looked back, "What?!"

"Medic packs for info. Take it or leave it." I crossed my arms.

Tyger nudged me, "Are you out of your mind?"

"We need info. He has the info. A fair deal," I whispered.

Scarface pondered for a bit, "Medic packs, you aren't trying to pull one on me, are you? No sane person would hand over such precious stuff so easily."

"Does it matter who is sane and who isn't? You give me info and I give you 6 medic packs. Then, we go our own way," I said.

Scarface shared a look with his buddies and nodded. Then, he came to me and we did the trade. Medic packs for info. He marked the danger points on the map that he brought with him and also marked some important locations that might come in handy to take a breather. Then, he marked a somewhat safe route out of Kentucky to the next highway and warned us about the possibility of zombie hoards, but as far as he knows, there weren't any mutated zombies on that route to the highway.

As for the monster he encountered there last month, it was a giant humanoid spider. His upper body is a human but with six legs growing out from his lower back, venomous fangs, super speed, and strength that made him strong enough to plow through steel doors and walls like it was made of paper. And to make things worse, there were giant spiders crawling all over the city, so he told us to stick to the safe route that he marked. He lost half his team while trying to run away, so, right now, he's looking to expand his group.

****

***Chain Quest***

New Mission: Gather information before going in blindly to increase chances of survival [Completed]

Reward: Spiderman's tech lab's location [Marked on the map]

****

Well, at least he wasn't lying. It's rare to see someone giving real info in this world. Maybe, we started off a bad start. Well, anyway. A deal is a deal.

As for how he got the info, he showed us the drone footage that they capture daily to make sure those spiders don't come out of their den. A perfect survival tactic.

A drone. I want a drone. I mean, I need one for surveillance.

"If I were to guess, you must got drones for sale, right?" Ange spoke before I could ask.

Scarface smirked, "Oh yeah. Got drones for sale alright. We got some nice stuff that you may like. But they ain't cheap."

She glanced at me.

I walked over to the truck where we kept our food. I took out five frozen bundles of meat wrapped in plastic bags and placed them on the ground before Scarface. "You like deer meat? Three drones for this bundle. Deal?"

Scarface eyed the meat hungrily, "Kid, you drive a hard bargain." He rubbed his beard for a moment before nodding. "Add three beer bottles, and we got a deal."

I reached into the cooler and tossed three cans of beer at Scarface, who caught them deftly with one hand. He whistled appreciatively before nodding again. "Well, canned beer is good too... Alright, deal." After that, he sends that short guy to bring in the goods. That shorty returned after fifteen minutes with the drones.

I checked them properly, then we shook hands, and they drove off without looking back once.

"What if he's lying?" Tyger asked as we watched the headlights disappear down the road. "You aren't just going to believe what he said without even questioning, right? That footage could be from months ago for all we know."

"Let's just say my mutation allows me to detect truth... Sometimes that is," I replied as we turned back towards the bonfire.

"Sometimes?!"

"Now you are a lie detector?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Not exactly. But that guy wasn't lying. You'll see. Besides, even if he lied, so what? If we fail to get through, we'll just level Kentucky to the ground with our new weapons," I said confidently. "Then we will come back to finish them. As simple as that."

Ange and Tyger looked at each other, then back at me, "Well. Ahem! As long as I get to pull the trigger." Tyger grinned.

I chuckled, "Well, go wild for all I care. As long as you don't blow up yourself." I stood up and stretched my arms.

Jace and his team also returned after scouting the area. They didn't find any suspicious movement around us. Ange took another look around with her sniper rifle, but things looked safe for now. So, we decided to take a little rest for now...