"He killed a zombie," Jack muttered in disbelief.
Sarah nodded her head vigorously as another blood-chilling screen of despair rang from behind her. Compared to the horrors others were experiencing, she looked like she was talking about light-hearted dramas.
"Hester, he started a whole movement," Sarah chirped.
"Everyone after him started buying guns to help them advance in the game. Why didn't you tell me we could use guns like this?" Sarah questioned as if she was mad that Jack hadn't given her this secret strategy.
Jack didn't know what to say. He flabbergasted himself by this method.
He didn't tell her because he didn't think of it.
"What can I say? I only thought about using guns as crafting materials. But I forgot that the guns in Digital Factory all have tons of extra code that lets them be played like real guns." Jack sighed in astonishment.
"In any case, I don't recommend using this play style. This is probably a VR-exclusive trend; it doesn't work as well in 2D."
"Spending that much effort trying to kill the zombies yourself isn't that satisfying or effective. You might as well plan out better ways to use your plant cards." Jack explained as he scrunched his eyebrows in thought.
He had never made this mistake when he had the System. Since he had complete control of the code, he knew how everything worked as if it were the back of his hand.
Who would have guessed that now that the System was gone, he had made his first mistake.
Underestimating his players.
"Ah, that makes sense." Sarah nodded her head in agreement.
"Um, if it's not that good in 2D, then I'll stick with the old method." Sarah shivered when she heard the groans of zombies and the screams from the students behind her.
She would definitely not play the VR version of Windor's Siege, even if killing zombies using a gun was fun.
"Same here, but I will have to raise the difficulty level since this method has been found. I can't let my players have too much fun." Jack said half-jokingly.
Knowing his game could be broken nearly made Jack want to rush home and launch a patch.
Sarah pouted as she hastily fought back, "Nope, you can't. You promised. At least wait for me to beat the game first."
Hearing the urgency in Sarah's voice, Jack burst out laughing and felt tears welling up in his eyes from how funny it was.
"Fine, fine. But I might have to rebalance the game later if the guns seem too overpowered. Especially that G-Frame Rifle. I forgot it unlocked this early." Jack said with a smile.
Just then, as if possessed, Georgry, who had passed out earlier, jumped up. His face was flushed red as he stumbled around, clearly still drunk.
"Sergeant, hiccup! Pass me a G-Frame Rifle, will ya."
"No, pass me three. Ma and Pa love shooting." Gregory roared before falling back into his seat and instantly falling asleep.
Jack blinked as he was speechless.
"This guy woke back up to ask for more guns. As expected from Texans." Jack muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes.
"Hester, who was that? You aren't cheating on me. Are you with other friends?" Sarah said half-jokingly.
"Why would that count as cheating? I'm a popular man, so of course I have more friends." Jack said with a smirk.
"Tsk, I can't believe this. First, you admit to having a secret family, and now you tell me you have friends other than me."
"How many other things are you keeping from me? Explain yourself, or I'll march over there, young man." Sarah said as she crossed her arms.
Jack rolled his eyes, hearing her tone.
"I have no other secrets…that I can't tell you right now. It's a surprise." Jack paused before continuing.
"Plus, I don't think you would enjoy hanging out in a bar. These drinks are expensive." Jack said with a smile.
As his eyes scanned through the table, his mouth twitched. With a glance, he could easily count over twenty cups, which used to be filled to the brim with alcohol.
From what he could remember, if these drinks were ordered outside the one-dollar window, the price for them would easily be over a few hundred dollars. They were expensive as hell.
"Wait, how will they pay with how drunk these guys are?" Jack suddenly realized.
His face twitched as he felt the urge to slap them. With his strength, he could probably slap the drunkness out of them.
"Damn it. I thought I was going to drive Gregory back home, but from the looks of it, I'm going to have to drive these guys back, too." Jack thought and softly sighed.
But he didn't mind it too much. He enjoyed his time with them.
Wasting some time and money wasn't too much of a big deal now that he was flush with cash.
"Bar?" Sarah said with shock.
"Are you drunk now? Hester, don't fall for the Devil's piss! It might make you feel good, but it's poisoning your future."
"You know what. I'm coming to pick you up. What's the address?" Sarah said hastily.
Even from the phone, Jack could hear her scrambling to pick up her things.
"..." Jack's lips twitched as he felt a warm feeling.
"Sarah, calm down. I'm not drinking. I'm the designated driver. I can't get back home drunk." Jack said as he shook his head.
Sarah sighed in relief, "Don't scare me like that."
She placed her hands on her chest as if she had just been saved from a disaster, which couldn't be a stark contrast as her eyes glanced back at the piles of fainted students in the room.
If anyone came into the room and saw this scene, they would think there was a massive murder that had happened.
"Thanks for the concern. Let's talk tomorrow. I need to get these guys back home." Jack said, looking at the time.
It was getting pretty late. He needed to get home if he didn't want to sleep all day tomorrow.
In addition, he didn't want to keep staying here. There was no one to talk to when they were all passed out drunk.
"Aw, you sound like you care about me," Sarah said with a wide grin.
"But we can't talk when I get to your place tomorrow."
Jack's eyebrows scrunched up, "Are you planning on giving me the money so soon? That's quick."
"Bro, there is no way I'm getting the reward money in a few days. Don't you remember, tomorrow is Saturday. I'm coming over for my card." Sarah said confidently, her crimson eyes glowing with excitement.
"Oh yeah, of course." Jack coughed as he suddenly remembered.
"We will see how getting your card goes tomorrow morning," Jack said calmly and quickly hung up before Sarah could question him further.
"What does that me—" Sarah tried to say but was cut off by the call ending.
She pouted her lips and snorted. She angrily put her phone in her pocket and walked over to where Betty and Gloria were both sitting in a corner playing Windor's Siege on their phones.
Their eyes were glued to their screen even as their faces were pale from disgust and horror.
"Have you heard back from Izak and Starn yet? It's been two hours, and they still haven't sent back a video showing how they are doing." Sarah asked with curiosity and concern.
Gloria snapped out her focus and quickly paused the game. Before she spoke, she took a few deep breaths to prevent herself from vomiting. Only then did she answer Sarah's question.
"I texted Izak, but all he sent back was a fire emoji. They're trying to be mysterious." Gloria said, wiping the dripping drool from her mouth from when she gagged earlier.
"Those guys. They must be doing pretty well, too. Why don't we surprise them by going over? I'm kind of sick of hearing all these screams." Sarah said as she rolled her eyes to that reply.
Betty finally snapped out of her game after completing the round and nodded in agreement. Her deathly pale face and beautiful shimmering blonde hair made her look like a dying angel.
"Yeah, let's get out of here. It's making me nervous."
Gloria quickly agreed with them. She hated being here. She couldn't look up without seeing some horror scene that would be her nightmare for the next few weeks.
"That settles it," Sarah said, clapping her hands with delight.
As the chaotic night slowly ended for these three ladies across the city, the night was still young and freezing for one young man.
"Achoo!"
Jack sneezed as he shoved Gregory's limp body into the back of Gregory's truck. Right next to Donald's and Gal's sleeping bodies.
As for Samantha, she was sitting in the passenger seat, passed out drunk like the others. Her face was squished against the dashboard, drool trailing down to the floor.
After getting Gregory inside the truck bed, Jack patted his clothes before shivering, and the cold night wind slapped his face.
"So cold," Jack muttered, hastily rushing inside the truck.
Stepping inside the cozy driver seat and the hot air filling the cabinet, Jack breathed a sigh of relief as his stiff muscles loosened.
His hands rubbed together as he recalled the address of who lived closer. His emerald eyes flashed as he groaned at how far away even the closest home was.
It was a twenty-minute drive to Samantha's apartment. From there, it would take another ten minutes to get to Gal's place.
As for Donald and Gregory, poor guys would need to wait another forty minutes since they lived in the opposite direction.
"Sorry guys, you'll have to freeze in the cold for a while. It's not my fault you're the ones who choose to live so far away." Jack muttered.