Chương 49: Paint This Place

Jack sat beneath the canopies as the sky grew darker. His eyes moved to the six camping lights hanging overhead, and he frowned.

"We've been so busy, I completely forgot about those." The lights had been left on since the tents were first set up. With everything that had happened afterward, no one had remembered to take them down for charging.

"Vane, could you take the lights down and charge them inside?" Jack asked.

"Once it gets dark, we won't be able to do much out here without them." Vane looked up. All six lights had already run out of power.

"All right." He took them down and carried them into the store. While Susan prepared dinner, Jack stopped Vane on his way back outside.

"One more thing. Bring out a few two-person tents from the storeroom."

"Aren't we waiting until Elias and the others arrive before setting them up?"

"We don't know when they'll get here, and the rest of you still need somewhere to sleep tonight," Jack said.

"Put up enough for the people here. Once everyone arrives, we can decide how to arrange the tents." Vane went to the storeroom and soon returned with several two-person tents. After dinner, he and Mort began setting them up while Susan and Ray helped. By the time they finished, night had fallen. Jack was tired by then, so Vane helped him back into the store and onto the folding cot. The others had been busy all day as well. They soon retired to their tents, and the area outside the store fell quiet.

Nothing happened during the night. Day Six in the wasteland. By the time Jack woke up, he could already hear the others working outside. He stayed on the cot and tested his arms first. When nothing felt wrong, he pushed himself up with both hands. The movement pulled at the wounds across his chest. They still hurt, but the pain was bearable. Jack smiled in satisfaction.

"I'm healing pretty fast." He glanced down at the bandages around his chest. Could this be a special benefit of being transported to another world? In novels, protagonists who ended up in another world either became stronger or healed much faster than normal. Maybe his body had changed in some way he hadn't discovered yet. The system spoke in his mind.

"Human, stop entertaining such unrealistic thoughts." Jack's smile froze.

"If you want to improve your physical condition, exercise," the system said bluntly.

"I do not provide such useless abilities." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Jack pursed his lips.

"If you can't do it, just say so. I didn't even ask. There's no need to rush into making excuses."

"Human, such a simple attempt to provoke me will not work." Jack was speechless. He was about to argue when the door opened and Susan came inside. The moment she saw him sitting up, she hurried over.

"Didn't I tell you not to move around? What if your wounds reopen?" Jack gave her an awkward smile. Susan ignored him and checked the bandages. There was no fresh blood, and some of the worry left her face.

"How do you feel?"

"It still hurts, but it's much better than yesterday."

"That's good. You should recover before long." She reminded Jack not to move around again before leaving the store. Jack remained on the folding cot and looked outside through the glass doors and windows. Mort was already making the first batch of bricks for the day. He worked quickly and soon finished one with fairly even edges. Vane carried each finished brick to an open area and arranged them as Mort instructed. Nearby, Cass used the remote control to operate the excavator, dumping fresh clay beside Mort.

Ray had brought out the wooden basin from the bathroom so Mort could mix the clay more easily. After leaving the store, Susan picked up the hose and continued filling the large pit. Everyone was busy with something. Jack watched them from inside until they suddenly stopped and looked in the same direction. He immediately tensed. Had another mutant beast appeared? Or more raiders? He still hadn't recovered from yesterday. If he had to go through another attack today, he might really die here.

Jack struggled to his feet and held on to the glass window as he made his way toward the door. Before he reached it, Cass called out from outside.

"It's Elias and the others!" Jack let out a breath. At least it wasn't an enemy. Ray noticed him by the door and quickly came over.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

"I thought something had happened," Jack said.

"Help me outside so I can take a look."

"Be careful." Ray supported him as they left the store. Elias and Reed soon arrived with three others. An older woman, a broad-built man, and a young girl followed behind them, each carrying as much as they could. The moment the girl saw Vane, she hurried toward him. A small smile appeared on Vane's face as he took the things from her arms. Elias was about to speak when he noticed the bandages around Jack's chest.

"You're hurt?" The other three immediately looked at Jack.

"What happened?" Elias asked.

"A Crag Lynx showed up yesterday." Jack gave them a brief account of what had happened.

"It's dead now, and my injuries aren't too serious." Elias's face darkened at the mention of the Crag Lynx.

"We can talk about that later," Jack said, quickly changing the subject.

"Why don't you introduce everyone first?" Elias turned to the older woman beside him.

"This is Marg. The man with her is Thomas, and the little girl is Ava, Vane's daughter." Jack greeted all three of them before turning back to Elias.

"Get everyone settled first. There are more tents in the storeroom, so take as many as you need. If anything else is missing, just let me know."

"You should go back inside and rest," Elias said.

"We'll handle things out here." Jack didn't argue. His chest was beginning to ache again, so he had Ray help him back to the folding cot. Elias joined him inside a short while later.

"That was fast," Jack said.

"You've already arranged everything?"

"I only had to decide where to put the tents. It wasn't complicated." Elias sat down nearby.

"Now tell me what happened. Why did a Crag Lynx come here?"

"How would I know?" Jack said.

"Mort thinks it was after him. It was probably the same one Valkyrie fought before."

"Then it was most likely the same one," Elias said.

"But how did you end up this badly injured?" The question brought Jack's anger back. He told Elias everything that had happened during the fight, then said, "What else was I supposed to do? Something comes after me every few days. Did it really think I would keep letting it push me around?" Elias watched him in silence for a long moment.

"You were too reckless," he finally said.

"I know you were angry, but that doesn't mean you should risk your life."

"You were lucky this time. You killed it and survived. But what about next time? Can you promise you'll always be so lucky?" Jack opened his mouth, but Elias raised a hand to stop him.

"That's enough. Think about it." Elias got up and headed for the door. Just before stepping outside, he stopped.

"Since you're here, make sure you stay alive." Jack froze. Before he could respond, Elias waved a hand and walked out. Jack watched the glass door close behind him. After a moment, he gave a short, self-mocking laugh.

"No one here is a fool." He was about to lie down when the system spoke in his mind.

"Human, the third mission has been issued."

"Mission: Paint This Place."

"Time limit: Thirty days."

"Success: You may select one existing resource from the convenience store and convert it into an unlimited supply."

"Failure: One resource currently available in unlimited supply will be revoked at random."