"N-No. No other Seekers. Just us. We were about to close because—well—obviously." He gestured vaguely at the explosions outside, as if that explained everything.

Fair enough.

Behind him, one employee clutched a mop like it was a sacred weapon. Another gripped a plastic tray like a shield. The third kept darting glances between me and Hai-Min, who was still clinging to my arms. She couldn't stand even if she tried.

More employees and customers watched us from behind counters and shelves, likely having rushed here after the commotion.

Amanda's whisper brushed against my ear. "These civilians are so jumpy… just be patient with them."

Patient. Right. Like that was one of my core virtues, nestled right between discipline and not picking up random girls in a state of emergency.

Still, I gave her a tiny nod.

"I'm trying," I murmured back. "Really. I've only threatened zero people so far. That's personal growth."

She rolled her eyes, clearly finding my words a little hard to believe. It was all the system's doing—making me act like an arrogant, insufferable jerk, when deep down, I was actually a calm and reasonable person.

The owner cleared his throat. "S-Seekers… you can protect us, right?"

"We'll try our best," I said, sweeping my gaze across the store. "But from now on, if you want to survive, you follow my orders. All of you."

That shut them up fast.

"We need to barricade this place until help from outside reaches us," I continued.

The owner blinked. "B-Barricade? With… what?"

I pointed at the aisles. "Shelves. Tables. The snack display. Anything."

Hai-Min looked around nervously. "Is… is this really safe?"

"Not even a little," I said. "But it's safer than running outside, screaming, and becoming monster food."

That got the civilians moving.

They scrambled toward the shelves, fumbling with products and arguing over which direction was 'front'.

I gave them credit: fear turns people into either statues or panicked little rabbits. These ones were at least the productive kind.

While everyone worked on blocking the doors, I carried Hai-Min to a small bench near the magazine racks.

She tried to stay strong, but the burns on her side were bad—red, blistered, and painful enough to make her whole body shake.

She sat down slowly, biting her lip so hard it might leave a mark on her pretty face.

"I… I can handle it," she whispered.

"Yeah," I said, "and I can handle eating spinach. Doesn't mean I like it."

That got a tiny smile out of her.

I reached into my coat and pulled out three small vials filled with white liquid. They were Mercer's group's top-selling medicines, designed for normal people—though their effects were much weaker.

And when I say "normal people," I mean it subjectively. Each vial cost 10 million credits to synthesize, so only the wealthy could afford them—if they somehow found themselves in a life-or-death situation.

"Don't worry. I've got something that'll help you."

Her eyes widened. "Is that… safe?"

"Pretty much," I answered. "I bought this just in case of emergencies. It can heal wounds, burns, cuts and loneliness."

"loneliness?"

"Yeah, I didn't believe that part either."

She smiled again, though the curve of her lips couldn't hide the agony she was feeling.

I opened the first vial and held it to her soft looking lips.

"Take small sips," I told her. "If you drink too fast, the side effects get weird."

She didn't ask what "weird" meant—which I appreciated—and took a careful sip. The liquid slid down her throat, and within seconds her breathing steadied. The shaking stopped.

The burns slowly began to close—bit by bit—like warm water calming the surface of boiling oil. The redness faded around the edges, but the worst parts stayed swollen and raw, refusing to heal completely. It was better, but nowhere close to perfect.

"I'll give you the other two vials later—one every hour," I told her. "They won't remove the scar completely, but they'll help you walk. You can get proper treatment once we get out of this place."

"Thanks," she said, her tone still reserved, but less guarded.

"It's nothing, really. This kind of thing costs almost nothing to me," I chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood.

"No," she shook her head, lowering her gaze. "I know this type of medicine costs a fortune… my sister gave my parents each one… two." Her voice trailed off.

From her words alone, I could tell she hadn't received one herself.

What a useless sister. Suddenly, I felt like a fool for calling Hai-Yen the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid eyes on. She was practically neglecting her little sister.

"You're really kind," she added.

I turned, wondering if she was talking to someone else.

She giggled softly. "Silly, I mean you. You're really kind. MR..."

"Me?" I pointed to my face.

"Yes, you," she tried to cover her mouth while laughing, which somehow made her even cuter. "I don't know… you just give off these big-brother vibes."

My heart melted on the spot.

"Then… I'll be your big brother until we get out of here, okay?" I said, patting her head out of habit. I expected her to be annoyed, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

Hai-Min gave a small, relieved nod. "Okay… big bro."

When those words left her lips, it felt like my soul left my body with them. From this moment on, I decided to protect her—without expecting anything in return.

"Boss, what's our next plan?" Amanda's voice jolted me from my thoughts.

"We'll stay here for now. There's food, water, and the AC is even running, so it makes a good base. But… since we were transported here, we should be disconnected from the power grid. So how is this possible? I don't hear any generator either."

She sat beside Hai-Min to make her more comfortable before explaining.

"This is one of the phenomena during a Tower Echo, called Delayed Resonance. It means that because we were pulled out through some kind of space distortion , it can take a few hours before all the power shuts down completely."

I nodded, pretending to understand at least half of what she was saying.

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