Chapter 91: Trap Or Genuine

Judging from his appearance, he was probably somewhere in his early thirties.

The remaining pictures showed the people trapped with him. There were eight survivors in total, hiding inside the clothing section of the supermarket while trying to remain quiet.

Another image captured several monsters wandering through the aisles, though the poor lighting and blurry camera made it difficult to identify them clearly. They looked like oversized lizards with thick bodies and long tails.

The last picture had been taken through the supermarket’s front entrance. Although the image was grainy, Alex could still make out the outline of a massive figure standing in the middle of the road.

Even from that distance, he recognized it as a Wild Orc.

Alex looked through the images a second time. Ben had reacted quickly enough to document his surroundings, and he had also anticipated why Alex would be suspicious of the offer.

Instead of becoming offended, he had simply provided evidence to support his claims.

That level of judgment wasn’t something everyone possessed. He seemed to be quite smart.

Alex finally typed another message.

[Me: Why didn’t you consume the S-Rank item yourself?]

This time, Ben’s reply took a little longer.

[Ben: Before we returned to Earth, I already started suspecting something big was going to happen to our world. Society could collapse because of what was happening, and I wanted to prepare.]

[Ben: My original plan was to keep the Mana Fruit as something valuable for negotiations. If it could help ordinary people awaken, I could have sold it to billionaires or traded it for almost anything. Things obviously changed after the monsters appeared, but holding onto it ended up working in my favor, since I can offer it to you.]

Alex read the explanation twice before putting his phone down for a moment. It sounded unusual, but it wasn’t impossible. In fact, it showed Ben was smart, and someone who could plan for future.

He thought about the situation carefully. The supermarket was already on his route, so clearing the monsters there wouldn’t cost him any additional travel time.

Even if Ben had never contacted him, Alex would probably have fought those monsters anyway while making his way toward his sister’s location.

There was still a chance Ben was lying, but Alex didn’t think the risk was particularly high anymore. Even if the Mana Fruit turned out to be fake, there were still eight other survivors trapped inside the supermarket.

If even one of them proved trustworthy or talented enough to recruit into his faction, the trip would still be worthwhile.

After weighing the advantages against the risks, Alex reached a decision. If Ben was telling the truth, the rewards would be enormous. If he was lying, Alex would lose very little.

Alex realized he was helping strangers far more often than he normally would. Before all this, he always preferred keeping to himself and avoiding unnecessary involvement in other people’s problems.

Perhaps a small part of him hoped that just like he was helping others survive, someone else was doing the same for his parents and sister somewhere out there.

That thought lingered in his mind for a moment before he pushed it aside. Worrying endlessly wouldn’t bring him any closer to them. Right now, the best thing he could do was become stronger and continue moving forward.

He opened Ben’s chat and sent another message.

[Me: Okay. I will be coming to your location in...]

...

Ben looked at the message on his phone several times before finally letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"He agreed," Ben said in a barely suppressed whisper.

The people hiding around him immediately relaxed. Several tense faces softened, while others quietly exchanged relieved looks without saying anything.

"Is he coming alone, or does he have a group with him?" Edward asked as he crouched beside one of the clothing racks.

Ben and Edward both worked as security guards at Jaelo Supermart. Like many others, they had been summoned to the Land of Origin and were Ascendants of the Easy Difficulty.

Compared to what they had faced there, however, the monsters roaming Earth were on an entirely different level.

If they had regained consciousness outside the supermart, both of them would have died before they even understood what was happening.

Fortunately, another guard named Sia reacted almost immediately when the monsters appeared. She organized the panicked crowd, had everyone carry the unconscious people inside the supermarket, and led them into hiding before the creatures surrounded the building.

"I don’t know. He seems very cautious. If I start asking whether he’s alone or with a group, he might think we’re trying to gather information about him, and not come at all," Ben replied after a moment.

Edward frowned for a moment before nodding slowly. "That’s fair. Even if he comes alone, we should still have a chance. Stefan said he’s coming with his own group as well."

He adjusted the metal pipe resting across his knees before continuing.

"People on Dwitter have been praising Stefan a lot, so he must be fairly strong. If he and Alex work together, they should be able to clear the monsters inside the supermarket. As for the giant monster outside, if everyone attacks together, we might be able to injure it enough to escape," Edward said.

"Hopefully," Ben replied with a quiet nod.

In truth, he was still worried. Stefan had been the one who made that viral post analyzing Alex, claiming his close-combat abilities were poor and suggesting he relied entirely on fighting from a distance.

Anyone with common sense could tell the post had been trying to undermine Alex, even if it was disguised as an analysis.

Ben could only hope Alex wouldn’t take it personally.

If those two refused to cooperate, then defeating the monsters inside the supermarket would become far more difficult, let alone dealing with the giant monster waiting outside.

..

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