"Are you a fucking child?" Joseph slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"You've been working under me for years! You know how things should be done! What is this now? What is this?" Joseph could no longer control his anger and stood up. He then slapped Marcus hard across the face.
He seemed to calm down afterward. He turned around and sat back down in his chair.
"Marcus, how many years have you been working for me? What changed today? Explain to me what changed today!"
Marcus couldn't say anything. He remained silent, but it seemed like he wanted to speak.
He pursed his lips and said, "He started it... He interfered with our business.
"Don't think I didn't see what you did! You're not that important anymore! Every man and woman in this shelter can kill thousands of zombies! Know your place and act like it! You're a soldier!"
Joseph slammed his fist on the table again and stood up. He went to the window and looked outside as he spoke.
"People now think you're a bandit who doesn't care about orders!"
Joseph looked Marcus straight in the eyes.
"No, that's not—..."
"But that's what they think now! Everyone saw you attack William first! I saw it too. I also saw you die twice!" Joseph shook his head.
"You're dead! You left us alone in these difficult times, depriving us of your strength. You just died there because of a stupid argument, MARCUS!"
William smiled smugly. "YOU!" William didn't know what to say to Joseph, who was looking at him angrily.
"Me?"
"YES, YOU! While he's being manipulated by others and falling for their tricks, what about you? Do you think I didn't see it? Do you think I didn't see the way you looked at Ed? And if you're so strong, why are you just loafing around? Why are you playing the role of the defender of justice? Go and get a damn job!"
William couldn't find the words to respond to Joseph's outburst. He simply bowed his head like Marcus and remained silent.
He felt as though he had been scolded by his father. He wanted to speak, but he feared that speaking would only make things worse.
Fortunately, Joseph's words encouraged him.
"Come, sit down. What's bothering you?"
William did as he was told and sat down opposite Joseph. Marcus and Eliza remained standing.
"I..." At first, he didn't know what to say, but when he thought of Elura's words and the baby in her womb, he was filled with courage.
"I want equality. Other people should be able to level up, too. They should be given enough ammunition and advanced weapons.
I've seen some of your soldiers using rare energy weapons. These should be given to the others as well. They shouldn't have to struggle to level up by doing random jobs in civilian work."
William then became even more serious. "Furthermore, assigning your soldiers only tasks such as killing zombies and providing protection smacks of discrimination. I want them to do civilian work as well."
Marcus and even Eliza wanted to object, but Joseph stopped them with a gesture.
"Well, that's all very well, but are you aware of the time? William... It's been a month and a half."
Joseph stared out the window. "It's been a month and a half since the catastrophe began, and we've only managed to gather two hundred and eighteen people."
Joseph shook his head. "Do you want to know how many people I commanded in New Telludure before the catastrophe? I'll tell you, two thousand three hundred and seventy-four! Do you think it's easy for so few people to do so much work? On top of that, we have to fight zombies between cities to get every piece of material.
Do you understand how difficult this is? You may be strong thanks to your blessing, but not everyone is like you. This shelter needs repairmen, doctors, nurses, and even cleaners. But you're right about one thing."
Joseph stood up again and came over to Marcus. He spoke while hitting Marcus on the head.
"These trashes need to be disciplined. From now on, they will do civilian work after training every morning. In the afternoon, they will take over security duties. In addition, everyone who has a blessing that makes them good at fighting will fight from now on. The entire shelter will join the soldiers in morning training before noon and then go out to clean up the surrounding area. They will be divided into groups of five. I will decide who will be in which group.
In the afternoon, they will take over civilian duties. Is that understood?"
Everyone, including William, nodded at Joseph's constructive words.
"We also need to form a new team. I've been thinking about you for this job from the beginning, but I don't know if you can do it. Your actions have shaken my trust. Maybe I should give this task to someone else?"
William raised an eyebrow. "What is the task?"
"Explore the open dungeon completely. Raise the levels of the people there. Create a safe area and build a secure corridor to this shelter. Can you do that?"
"Why wouldn't I be able to? This task is exactly what I wanted." William nodded.
"But how can I be sure you won't give civilians special treatment? You'll be training and working with soldiers and civilians all mixed together."
William shook his head. "You're wrong. My goal is for everyone to participate because killing that zombie is not something we can do alone. No matter how hard we try, it's impossible to kill that zombie and clear the open dungeon without reaching level eleven."
Joseph nodded understandingly.
"Don't worry, Marcus will stop by there when he goes to the Mansion Operation. I want him to explore the open dungeon and see the dangers inside."
Joseph nodded at Marcus.
"Now go, William. I have things to discuss with Marcus and Eliza. We'll talk about the dungeon tomorrow morning."
William nodded and left. As soon as he closed the door, he could hear the sound of things flying and crashing inside. It was also clear that Marcus had to endure a few more punches.
But there was something else William noticed, and that was sincerity. Joseph truly saw Marcus as his son and Eliza as his daughter. Eliza came out a few minutes later and continued giving orders to the soldiers as if nothing had happened.
Ed no longer interfered with Eliza.
The weapon William had split in two had been a good lesson for him.
Now that Eliza could get her way, everything was much easier. The soldiers could easily lift and carry huge rocks and planks, which sped up the construction process.
William drank some water from a tap in the garden of a newly built house. Mick then came over to him.
After taking a few sips of water, he got the words out.
"What happened there, William?"
"Nothing, I just wanted them to be more active, that's all." William then followed Mick and carried materials to the house, where Jason and Kim were also carrying materials.
That day, while William was helping with the construction, he asked everyone. A few people were enthusiastic, including Mick, Kim, Jason, and Min-Jun. William thought that these five people, including himself, would make a good team.
The synergy between their blessings was undeniable.
William also found out what had happened to Trudie that day.
Trudie had run away. Yes, she had run away.
One of the newcomers said that Trudie's husband was helping them in New Telludure and even confirmed his name and appearance.
Trudie later told this to Joseph, but since there was no concrete information, Joseph asked her to wait until it was confirmed. Trudie, however, had stolen a car while William was away and had fled.
To be honest, William hadn't expected such loyalty from Trudie. Because her gaze toward Mick wasn't normal.
He later heard the story from Mick as well.
Trudie's husband had lost everything in gambling.
Mick had helped them during their most difficult days. He gave him a job and helped him get back on his feet. They quickly recovered by planting crops in the fields.
Trudie had always seen Mick as a brother. She even came to him first to find her husband and ask for his help.
However, Mick had a different perspective on the matter.
Mick knew that Greg always had a plan and acted accordingly. Most likely, Trudie wouldn't find Greg; Greg would find Trudie.
That was Mick's belief. He knew how full of life and strong Greg was.
After his gambling problem, he had made such a comeback that the whole village envied him.
That's why Mick didn't go after Greg.
They searched for Trudie all night, but she was extremely skilled at keeping herself hidden. That made it difficult to find her.
Mick even insulted William for teaching Trudie how to hide.
When William woke up the next morning, Malik invited him to Joseph's room. He was the only one called.
"William, I'll be straightforward. As far as I can tell, you're very young, maybe 23 or 24?"
William smiled and nodded. "I'm nineteen."
Joseph smiled. "You look older, which is a good thing; the system has matured you. The point I want to make is that you have very little experience. Unfortunately, this is not a superstition; age, work, and effort bring experience, and experience brings success. That's why I'm hesitant to entrust you with this task, but fortunately, I've found a solution."
William looked at Joseph in surprise when there was a knock at the door. After Joseph said, "Come in," someone entered.
It was Pete.
William had no problem with Pete, but he was afraid of a conflict because he was a soldier. Fortunately, his level wasn't very high, so he thought he could "overpower him."
"This is Pete, he's a pilot. He's an experienced soldier. He's also had a great blessing for training."
Pete nodded and sat down with high discipline, where Joseph pointed. Every movement was calculated. Although he had a slight belly, it was clear that he had allocated most of his stat points to strength.
"Hell,o William."
William nodded and smiled.
"From now on, you'll be working together. Kim, Jason, Min-Jun, and Mick will assist you when it comes to combat. I want you to explore every inch of the open dungeon and return with all of you having reached Level 11 if possible."
Joseph then pulled out a notebook and read out about ten names from it.
"These people will be your assistants. Their blessings may not be very useful, or we may not have discovered them yet, but these people are hardworking enough. I want you to create a safe area in the environment closest to the entrance of the open dungeon or the Monolith. There should be thick walls that no zombies can enter and a few houses where people can sleep comfortably. We need to use this place as a training facility, so security is the most important factor."
Joseph paused for a few seconds to make sure they both understood. Seeing them nod, he continued.
"Once security is ensured, there are two tasks to be done. William will take the people to the open dungeon, helping them gain levels. We shouldn't keep William here too long; he's young and needs to grow stronger. Therefore, once everyone reaches level five, we won't need any more training. I just want Mick to reach level seven because I want him to manage the place after that, so Pete, you need to focus on this. We need you here."
Both Pete and William nodded. It was a good plan, and he had seen most of the people on the list at least once.
Moreover, Min-Jun, Jason, and Kim were people with enough blessings to be able to help him.
After William and Pete agreed, they spent a few more hours working out the finer details of the plan. In the end, they decided to leave the next morning because Marcus and his team were also going to the eastern part of New Telldure for the mansion operation.
On the way, Marcus would take a few hours' break to look at the open dungeon.
That day was spent in preparation. William wasn't much of a gunman, but he followed Pete's instructions. They took two pickup trucks full of ammunition and weapons with them. William equipped everyone with weapons and armor appropriate for their levels. He also took ten healing potions and left three in the shelter, hiding the other seven.
Despite this, Joseph was almost in tears because he thought William had spent all his money on this.
The next day, Marcus's team and William's team set off in a large convoy. There were more than 30 people in total and nearly twenty vehicles. Most of them were either off-road vehicles or large pickup trucks.
Marcus's team had taken the school bus, and with William and Marcus's help, they pulled the school bus William had seen earlier at the North intersection out of the large crack and had it repaired in Austin. After Austin repaired the school bus, he returned with two guards.
Although Austin spent most of his time working on repairs, his level hadn't fallen too far behind; he was at level five and had accumulated enough experience to reach level six at any moment.
Everyone who knew that leveling up wasn't just about killing zombies was working tirelessly on whatever task they could find.
Still, it was a widely accepted fact that the fastest way to level up was by killing zombies.
This meant that even people without fighting abilities had a chance.
It was afternoon when they arrived at the open dungeon. Those who saw and realized that William had single-handedly slaughtered thousands of zombies held their breath and could do nothing but admire his tall figure.
Even Marcus furrowed his brows and kept his jaw clenched when he saw the thousands of dead zombie bodies around the monolith.
William and Marcus went to the open dungeon without speaking, while the others stayed behind to secure the perimeter.
There were still a considerable number of zombies around, which was an opportunity for the team to gain experience.
William and Marcus entered the open dungeon.
When Marcus vomited and completely emptied his stomach, William chuckled under his mustache.
They then killed several hundred zombies together and advanced to the second level. At the second level, Marcus and William formed a good team.
William could advance by hiding, but Marcus did not have that ability. Therefore, they had no choice but to fight.
Fortunately, Marcus was strong. He was a man who could be called a tank. He attracted the attention of the special zombie with his shield and the physical strength provided by his strength stats, and William took advantage of the opportunity to finish off the special zombie with a single strike.
"Actually, it wouldn't be so bad if we hung out here for a few weeks." William smiled at Marcus as he advanced toward the third level.
Marcus nodded silently. He agreed with what William had said. The two of them made an excellent team for killing high-level zombies. They could even take down special zombies with ease.
The only problem was that, despite Marcus's strength, the special zombies' hammer blows were also powerful. At this pace, he could only withstand the attacks of five special zombies in a day.
Because the force of those hammer blows on his body was too much.
He wasn't even counting the other eighth, seventh, and sixth-level zombies.
Fortunately, William's speed and strength made up for it. He quickly killed the smaller zombies around them, clearing a path for Marcus.
Soon they reached the central area. Marcus saw what William had seen.
All the hairs on his back stood on end, and his skin prickled.
"This thing is much stronger than I am." Marcus couldn't keep his eyes on the creature for long.
He turned his head and rubbed his eyes before looking at William.
William was smiling at him.
"What do you think, can we take it down?"
Marcus turned his head again and looked at the creature.
"Impossible…"