Four Heads are Better than One

Just as I thought, Garuda was used to the layout of the hardware zone. Without much difficulty, we found the things we would need. Tarps, wood beams, plyboards, and a lot more.

Of course, we can't use normal carts to carry the heavy lumber and plyboard, so we "borrowed" the small forklift reserved for bringing in new supplies. We had a little trouble with how we couldn't fit through the hallways with the items placed horizontally across the forklift's forks, so we just tied them to the left and right sides.

Who's driving the forklift? No, not me. It was Garuda. Really, I'm not sure who's more manly here. After that, we went around the employee entrance and then straight toward the underground parking lot, all while bringing the forklift with us.

One round trip took us an hour!

After that, we took a short lunch break, eating the potatoes that Heartu brought along with the food and drinks that Garuda "procured" from the Pine Mall's department store.

Just like that, our work progressed quite well.

With me handling the manual labor for Garuda, her driving the forklift on several roundtrips, and Heartu and Charles sealing off the entrances, we finally managed to complete our objective.

"Finally!" I sighed, slumping down to the ground while heaving a sigh of relief. "With this, we've completely eliminated all other entrances! All that's left is that big ramp..."

For that one, we prepared sandbags. Of course, it was procured from the second floor too. How convenient.

Although we were already tired, we began working immediately. From the bottom of the ramp, we began piling up the sandbags. This was repetitive, manual, and literally hard labor, so only the three guys were working. It's not really because we feel Garuda can't lift sandbags, but rather because we'd get distracted by the sight of her sweaty appearance if she participated.

The piling of sandbags, including the procurement of more, took us a lot of time. It was almost midnight when we finally finished, making sure that there were no gaps.

"With this, we can finally rest assured." Charles sighed, sitting on the hood of his car.

Now, we just wait until the invasion starts and pray that this location is safe from monsters.

I turned to look at the chat, and it was a lot quieter than usual. The number of viewers has already jumped to over 10,000; that's about half of all my viewers usually. As expected, everyone must be busy trying to survive in their own way too.

*BEEEEP!*

A short sound echoed from our phones. The alarm, marking midnight, echoed in the quiet parking lot. The space here was dark, with only a few lights here and there, so it was a little bit hard to see all the corners. However, if "something" did come, then we could immediately see it.

A minute passed, going to five minutes, but nothing happened. This is already breaking my record. After all, I died practically right as the monster invasion began twice, and once right after getting the system.

"It's too quiet..." Garuda whispered in a quiet voice. "Is it because everyone's trying to run away from the city?"

I lightly nodded, not daring to turn my head away from the direction I was looking at. "Possible, since practically everyone was trying to run away at the same time. Even though anywhere they go is still the same."

"Hey, hey, bros, look at the chat. Someone sent a short video!" When Heartu's excited voice echoed from behind, I also turned to look at my phone.

The video snippet was short, barely fifteen seconds, but the content was something that brought us hope. "It's the military! They're able to take down the monsters!"

For some reason, they're still using their guns, though. Even though their bullets weren't even denting the enemies. Still, with the combined effort of two ability users, one manipulating water and one turning everything she touched to ice, the giant monster in the shape of a wolf fell under their offensive.

"Yes! So the monsters really could be killed!" I cheered, feeling relieved.

After all, if destroying enemies isn't possible, then I'd be stuck in a death and resurrection loop for all eternity. With just the ability to revive, it's impossible for me to survive for long, after all.

"Oh, another tidbit! Apparently, defeating monsters will allow one to level up!"

"...!"

Level up!

I quickly pulled up my display, seeing the glaring "1" on the level section. "I can increase my level if I kill a monster?!"

After the chat was clarified, apparently, defeating monsters gives out experience. And those who participated in the battle will gain experience depending on their contribution. It was biased, however, since only the ones who dealt proper damage could gain a share of the experience.

Meaning those with support skills alone could not level up. Not now, not ever. And me...

"F*ck," I cursed.

I'd probably be stuck at level 1 too, since I can't inflict damage on monsters. Honestly, can't you give me even a little bit of hope?

*Clack!*

"...!"

A short noise echoed from ahead, causing me to quickly become alert. I squinted my eyes, staring toward the dark spots of the parking lot. "Did you hear that...?" I asked, just in case.

"We did..." Garuda answered quickly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful."

*Gulp!*

Although nervous, we can't check it out. I walked forward, toward where the sound came, with a flashlight in my hand pointed forward.

*Tap... Tap!*

With careful steps, I turned to the blind corner and... saw a rat pulling an empty can.

"Haaaaa... It's just a f*cking rat! You surprised me, you vermin!" I kicked random debris from near my foot toward the rat, sending the can and rat flying toward the other side.

*SNAP!* *Gobble!*

And in a flash, "something" grabbed the rat and swallowed it whole.

"..."

I saw it clearly, so I can't even say that it was just my imagination. The wall of the parking lot... suddenly grew a mouth and ate the rat!

I gently backed off, trying not to make sudden movements. As I did, the "thing" that was pretending to be part of the wall suddenly walked away from it, walking forward until it was finally under the light.

It looked like a bipedal chameleon, about three meters tall, with round eyes popping out of their sockets. It had a large build, enough that I could tell at a glance that it was impossible to outrun it. After making sure it was in the middle of the lit area, I shouted out loud.

"NOW!"

At that instant, Charles undid his invisibility while slashing a knife against the monster's neck. However, the knife wasn't even able to scratch its skin!

Charles jumped back, muttering to himself with a wry smile, "As expected!"

"Move! My turn!" This time, it was Garuda's attack that came.

With a small firestarter in her hand, she lit a small ember, controlling it, and using the paint thinner as fuel, she created a larger flame! "Please work...!"

With the flame in her hands, she condensed them into a small area before firing it forward, like a flamethrower!

*SCREEEE!*

The chameleon-like monster roared in pain as its body burned. It tried to approach Garuda, but she kept taking a step back, making sure that the distance between them remained the same.

"DIE!"

With a fierce shout, she turned the flames even hotter. The monster was burned to death in moments, leaving nothing but a charred corpse.

"We did it... We did it!" I, no, we cheered in joy. We managed to kill a monster!