Off Limit System

They were sitting on the fire escape. Just brooding on the sound of hundreds of zombies snarling behind the building's walls. It would almost certainly be the end if they went through the foyer doors. They could go back again if they were dead there. But Ethan had never been devoured alive and would never be.

“Can we return to The Lobby from here?" Dane asked.

"Miriam gave a shake of her head. "Sorry, Dane. But we still have to return to where we started."

"Geez!" Dane looks frustrated.

"Did all the players come from the door leading to the subway?" Ethan inquired.

"No, they didn't. Different,” replied Miriam. "That's why you're separated from us, right?"

"You said we were a team, so why did we emerge from different portals?" Ethan muttered.

"I'm not sure, Ethan. There are a lot of things in this game that I don't understand." Miriam grumbled softly. "Mostly, I played solo.”

"Why?" Dane looked surprised.

Miriam didn't answer; instead, she mumbled to shift the subject and seemed to deafen her ears. "Those damn zombies, they messed everything up."

Dane paused and pondered after sensing Miriam's reluctance to disclose her game plan. The most essential thing was that they could go without experiencing what it was like to be ripped apart by the undead. Dane suddenly had an idea, so he tapped Ethan's shoulder, who was seated one step below him.

"Is there no basement in this building? A parking lot? Or maybe a path to the sewers?" asked the young man.

"Miriam," Ethan called. "You've checked three floors. Are there any other possible avenues we could use to escape?" he asked.

"No basement, parking lot. Oh, wait." For a little while, the woman remained silent. "I don’t know if there's any way into the sewers. But there's an air hole, so there could be a way through," she continued.

"Can we get through?" Dane wondered.

"Let's take a look. Let's go," said Miriam.

Miriam pushed open the entrance to the second-floor fire escape. She took a few cautious steps and hurried to the east of the building. The three of them rushed into the quiet corridor. Their footsteps, which resonated in the solitude, trod on shards of glass. On the right, two doors led to the cafeteria. Miriam entered at this point. She walked straight to the kitchen, cautiously opened the door, and entered and approached the stove. Her head raised.

"Over there," she pointed to an air vent.

Ethan worried if their bodies could pass through the air vent. The young man shook his head. "No, it's too small."

"Damn," Miriam grumbled.

As Ethan's gaze moved across the kitchen, he spotted a metal door that reached up to an adult's waist. He took a curious step over to it, confirming what the door was. The door turned out to be for garbage disposal.

"We can get out of here. The hallway is for taking out the trash," Ethan said.

"No way!" groaned Dane.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" asked Ethan.

Dane merely grinned and shook his head. He inhaled deeply. "Fine, I'll go wherever you want to take us."

As planned, the three finally entered the garbage disposal entrance and crawled along the foul-smelling passageway to exit the building. Despite efforts to hold their breath, the odor was already piercing their noses. The descent through the tunnel was extremely steep. They had to grab onto a rather slippery metal wall. Ethan, who crawled first, eventually spotted the light at the end of the five or six-meter-long passage.

"Looks like we..."

Ethan's remarks were cut short by feet squeaking behind him. Dane and Miriam's bodies fell loose, colliding with Ethan. The three of them landed on a mound of plastic in a huge garbage bin.

"Ouch...," they moaned in pain.

"I'm sorry, E. My feet couldn't stand the slickness." Miriam chuckled. "Are you OK?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Can you get your foot out of my face, Miriam?" replied Ethan, grimacing in pain.

Miriam stifled a giggle, then moved one foot that was covering the side of Ethan's face. They climbed down from the garbage bin, being cautious not to make any noise. Dane snorted gently, smelling the foul stink of his colleagues' bodies, including his own.

"I need a shower," Dane complained.

"Come on, don't complain so much. Let's go quickly," Miriam invited.

Ethan checked his status by pressing his temple. A holographic screen appeared.

**[The Casual: The City – level +10]
[Name: Ethan Mannon]
[Classification: Tank]
[Status: Greenhorn +5]
[Gold: 2400]
 
[Armor: Shield Treachery’s Iron Bulwark level 25]
[Item: None]
[Power: +50]
[Buff: None]
[Skill: None]**
 
He gasped in surprise, since his status had risen to include gold. It was apparent when he killed one of the undead earlier. Ethan immediately realized that he would gain more gold if he killed enough zombies.

"Ethan," Miriam said quietly, motioning for them to go.

They fled along the street behind the building, dodging the herd of zombies who lingered and prowled in front of it.

They slowed down and took a leisurely pace after a few blocks. The group reached a shopping area after passing through a T-junction. The building was shorter, with just two to a floor. And this situation was no exception. It's abandoned and quite cluttered.

Dane pointed to a supermarket at the end of the fork ahead. They ran there without saying anything through the practically empty parking lot with the trolleys strewn about.

Ethan placed himself carefully in front of the entryway, which suddenly opened automatically. They gasped in surprise, but there was nothing inside. No zombies. There are no zombies.

Dane rushed up to the beverage rack, opened a bottle of mineral water, and drank it all. Miriam, on the other hand, glanced about for a map. Ethan just stood vigil, making sure there was no threat around.

"Don't you want a drink?" offered Dane, who was now standing behind Ethan. The young man handed over a bottle of mineral water.

"Thank you." Ethan accepted Dane's bottle.

"What did we come here for? We have no mission," Dane complained.

"Those zombies are gold."

"By killing them?"

Ethan nodded. "That's the way it is."

"I can't imagine dying in this place. Then repeating the same thing over and over again. You understand, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Dying repeatedly, it's like hell, E."

That was what Ethan was going through. Dying.

Chemotherapy is making him bored. Then there were the side effects, vomiting and his entire body hurting like hell. He wished he could just die, but the next day he was OK. It was as though Death was playing a game with his life.

Dane took a deep breath. "If obtaining gold was that simple. I'm going to stay at The Casual."

"Before the main game starts, we can do it.," Ethan reply.

"No. This is really too horrifying for me."

"We shouldn't be here at this level, Dane."

"How much gold do we get for being at the level we should be?"

Ethan shook his head. "Definitely different from the higher levels, I guess."

"You get a lot of gold, don't you?" Dane inquired. "The higher your level, the more gold you receive. The game concept is nearly the same."

A touch from behind fell on Dane's and Ethan's shoulders.

"Of course, Ethan is a newbie with a lot of gold. So cheer up, Newbie Two," Miriam chided.

Dane chuckled. "Yeah, I'll try to take out one or two. It'll give me some practice."

"That's good," nodded Miriam.

"Did you find the map?" Ethan said, returning to the reason for their visit to the supermarket.

"Nothing." Miriam bit her bottom lip, looking concerned.

"Maybe there's no beach or sea here. Just an area made to look like a city," said Ethan.

"We should go back to the subway," Miriam decided.

"And your mission?" asked Dane a little anxiously.

"Maybe someone will sell it in the lobby. Although it will be expensive," Miriam replied casually. "I don't want to waste my time anymore. Come on, let's go."

Looking shocked, Dane stared at Miriam in disbelief. "How much gold?"

Miriam came to a halt in front of the supermarket's entrance. She sighed heavily.

"Things like these don't have an approximate value in gold, Dane. Everything is free. It's not for sale; you give it away for free," Miriam said.

Dane just stared at Miriam, perplexed. "Sounds strange. Then what do you pay with?"

"Like I said. It's expensive."

"Oh, OK," replied Dane, who didn't understand what she meant.

At that point, Ethan understood why Miriam insisted on hunting for the goods required for her quest. It wasn't simply about gold or trading goods or leveling up weapons.

Especially if the object in issue was worthless. Why pay so much for it? However, what may be used as a barter value when something this 'worthless' is required? Isn't there a cost to pay in times of urgency and need?

Ethan aligned his steps with Miriam's, then whispered softly, "Don't do it."

Miriam turned to the young man, surprised. "About what?"

"Selling your body just for an oxygen tank. Or things like that in the future."

The woman's face paled, and she just nodded weakly.

How could a woman survive playing alone without the support of a team? It appeared to be impossible. Either she was adept at games, she could be deceitful, or she used her body for pleasure. That was precisely what Ethan did not want to happen to Miriam.

There was the sound of a canned drink bottle being kicked not far away.