Upstairs, the short-haired girl who'd been pulled aside earlier frowned. "Grace, we worked hard to scavenge that food. If we give it to them, what are we supposed to eat?"

"Yeah," added another girl, soft-spoken and bespectacled. "They didn't see our stash, right? If we just say we don't have any, they won't know."

Grace gave them a look. "You're thinking too simply. What happens if we say no, and they come up here and find it anyway?"

The girls hesitated.

"I guarantee they've already searched other rooms," Grace continued. "They'll know someone's been through them. You think they won't figure out it was us?"

"…They will," the short-haired girl admitted.

"Exactly. Even if we've hidden the food, they'll assume we have it. That's why they asked."

Grace's voice was calm but firm. "There's a big difference between them finding it themselves and us offering it willingly. Understand?"

The other three nodded slowly. "Got it."

"Relax," Grace said, her tone softening. "Even if we give them some, we won't starve. Once they finish clearing the zombies downstairs, we can go out and scavenge more. Don't forget—we're Tier 1 Awakened now."

She paused, then added with a sly smile, "And haven't you noticed? They don't even seem interested in regular crystal cores."

The girls blinked.

"If we keep doing our part and show we're useful, they might toss us a few more. And if we get stronger, finding food won't be a problem."

"You're right, Grace. We'll follow your lead."

"Good. But remember—don't try to be clever. If they give us something, take it. If they don't, don't ask. Clear?"

"Crystal."

A few minutes later, the girls returned downstairs, arms full of food and water—mostly bread, crackers, and nuts.

Ethan raised an eyebrow at the pile, then looked at Grace with a faint smile. "You're sharp. Don't worry, we're not freeloaders. Here—one crystal core each. Call it payment for the meal. Sound fair?"

"Seriously?!" All four girls lit up, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Of course," Ethan said with a nod.

They had more crystal cores than they knew what to do with. Just this morning, they'd killed over three hundred zombies—at least a third of them Tier 1s. Digging the cores out of their skulls was the real hassle.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" the girls said, cheeks flushed with excitement.

Grace had been right again.

After eating and catching their breath, the group got back to work.

This time, Ethan, Chris, and Henry rotated shifts at the stairwell, taking turns to rest while the others fought. They kept going until after 6 p.m., stopping only when the sky began to darken.

By the end of the day, they'd killed over seven hundred zombies.

Their arms were numb. Their hands ached. Even swinging the barbell bars had become a chore.

More than half of those kills were Tier 1s. They'd also encountered three Tier 2s—one in the morning, two in the afternoon.

Ethan had taken all three of the Tier 2 crystal cores, bringing his total to four since reaching Tier 2.

Just like with Tier 1, the gains diminished with each core. The fourth one had only added about sixty pounds of strength.

But now, Ethan was puzzled.

According to the data released by the authorities, the upper limit of Tier 2 strength was supposed to be around 1,000 pounds.

And yet… he was pretty sure he'd already hit that.

He didn't have exact numbers, but the way his body felt—the raw power in his limbs—it had to be close.

Maybe even more.

"Could Tier 2 really max out after just four crystal cores?" Ethan frowned, deep in thought. "Or… is it because of that mysterious energy I absorbed on the rooftop last night?"

He shook his head. "No, that can't be it. I can still feel the Tier 2 cores working. They're just… slowing down."

Whatever. He'd know for sure after another trip to the rooftop tonight.

He pulled out four more Tier 1 crystal cores and handed them to the girls. "Here. Like I promised—payment for the food."

"Thank you so much!" the girls beamed, eyes shining with gratitude.

"No need to thank me," Ethan said with a small smile. "We're just trading value for value."

Once Grace and the others left, the three guys turned to look at the rooms now stacked with zombie corpses. The stench was thick, the air heavy with rot.

Chris winced. "Ethan… we're really gonna crack all these skulls ourselves? Dig through their brains by hand?"

"Unless you've got a better idea."

"Why not get the girls to help? I doubt they'd skim off the top."

"No need," Ethan said, shaking his head. "They don't know how many cores are in there. If they saw how many we've got, it'd mess with their heads. They'd start thinking they're getting shortchanged, and then they wouldn't work as hard."

He paused, voice dropping a notch. "And crystal cores are still rare. No reason to let anyone know we're sitting on a mountain of them."

Henry scratched his head. "But what do we even need that many Tier 1 cores for?"

"Pumpkin needs to eat," Ethan said simply. "And if we ever want to expand the team, we'll need a stockpile. The more, the better."

Chris sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's get to it."

"I'll call the shots," Ethan said, already moving toward the first room. "You two do the digging."

"Why you?"

"Because I know which ones have cores. Unless you want to crack open every single skull?"

"…"

They didn't argue after that.

It took over an hour of grimy, brain-slick work, but they finally finished. The total haul: 368 crystal cores. Chris and Henry were exhausted, arms sore and clothes stained, but the job was done.

"Alright, stash the cores. Let's get some rest," Ethan said, stretching his back. "We've got a rooftop date with the stars tonight."

"Mm."

They moved to a different dorm room—far from the stairwell and the corpse stench. The old one was now a makeshift morgue.

Chris flopped onto the bed and instinctively pulled out his phone. No signal.

"Ugh. This thing's basically just a flashlight now," he muttered.

"I told you to download some movies," Ethan said, glancing over. "Did you?"

"Nope. When would I have had time for that?"

"Shame," Ethan sighed. His own phone was ancient, with barely enough storage for a few photos, let alone videos.

Henry, grinning, pulled out his phone like it was a golden ticket. "Well, lucky for you two—I came prepared."

"Hell yeah!" Chris and Ethan perked up, scooting closer.

"Alright, what do you want? French or domestic?" Henry asked, thumbing through his files.

"Domestic!" they said in unison.

"Got it." Henry tapped play on a classic horror flick—Scream. Ghostface appeared on screen, knife in hand.

Chris and Ethan immediately deflated.

"Ugh…"

"What?" Henry asked, confused. "It's a horror movie. Fits the vibe."

"You don't have any… you know… adult content?" Chris asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Ohhh, that's what you meant." Henry chuckled. "Why didn't you say so?"

"So… do you?" Chris leaned in, hopeful.

"Nope," Henry said with a sigh.

"…"

"Ethan, I swear to God, I'm gonna punch him."

"Get in line."

A few seconds later, the dorm echoed with exaggerated screams—part frustration, part mock horror. Upstairs, the girls huddled in their rooms, too spooked to come out.

At 11:50 p.m., the three of them—plus one very smug-looking cat—climbed back up to the rooftop.

They stayed there until nearly 5 a.m., watching the stars wheel across the sky.

Ethan sat cross-legged, eyes closed, feeling the energy swirl inside him.

Another 60 pounds of strength gained.

That made four Tier 2 crystal cores total. And yet… the third point of the first star in his mental constellation map still hadn't lit up.

He was definitely past 1,000 pounds of force now. Maybe not by much, but close enough to feel it.

So why hadn't the star advanced?

"Could this rooftop energy… actually push me past the Tier 2 limit?" Ethan opened his eyes, a flicker of excitement in them.

If that was true, then their strength wouldn't just be above average.

It would be beyond the system's rules.

They wouldn't just be strong for their Tier.

...

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