Stacking My Abilities

Chapter 9 - Sanctuary (1)

It's been 12 days since the fog appeared. By the looks of it, the fog just might be here to stay.

All of a sudden, this city became a ghost town.

The dense fog made this world grey and gloomy. Silent streets... All the streetlights were turned off.

Abandoned luxury cars. Empty malls. No lights in the business skyscrapers. Sure, this still looked like a familiar world. But it just felt like there's nobody left here.

Even if it's downtown, there's barely anyone around. If Jeff didn't have detection abilities, he won't notice these hiding fellas either.

Mist monsters were a thing now. People were awakening supernatural abilities. Jeff knew well that the old days were over.

Law enforcement was a concept of the past now. It's everyman for himself now...

Walking down the familiar roads, this city felt like a dangerous jungle made out of steel and concrete. People must never let down their guards... In this city, lethal threats were roaming.

"Got it!" Alice jumped down a tree with four eggs in her hands.

"Yep. Watch out." Jeff threw out his dagger. With a flash of white light, the dagger disappeared in a blink.

Thump...

A dying bird monster crashed into the ground.

Jeff extended his hand. His dagger flew right back to his palm. Took a little practice, but Jeff has got it now.

Jeff and Alice stood by the dead monster, The two watched it evaporate into grey mist.

"Ummuu... I find this satisfying to watch for some reason. Is this weird?" Alice tiredly tilted her head. The girl still seemed a little down.

"Yep. It's like opening a treasure chest for me. I wonder what we get this time." Jeff agreed.

In a moment, the monster had totally evaporated into grey mist. The drops were a dead chicken and a handful of feathers.

Jeff poked the dead chicken with a stick. "Looks still fresh to me."

"Fried chicken and toast for lunch?"

"Sounds good! I'll take a look in the restaurants here." Jeff turned on [Aura Vision].

It's clear to Jeff now. The standards of peaceful times didn't apply here anymore. In these days, everyone had to be scavengers to survive.

Pulling open a camping lantern, Jeff walked into a random battered restaurant.

People could only carry so much with them. With crashed cars blocking the roads here and there, it's almost impossible to carry much around.

As a result, there's always something if you searched for it.

Which raised the question: why did those thugs break into people's homes?

The answer was clear. Either they did it for fun, or, their prioritized target weren't food and supplies...

Either way, Jeff felt a little sick realizing this. 'Sons of bitches. I'll get your asses someday...'

In a moment, Jeff returned with a bottle of canola oil, a bag of flour, and some unknown seasonings.

During this time, Alice had already set up a gas stove in the middle of the street. Well. It's not like there's anyone driving around anymore.

A moment later...

Casually walking around, breathing in the fragrance of hot fried chicken, Jeff gulped.

Looking around, his work was pretty much done now...

And the chicken pieces should be cooled enough now...

Also, Alice was still busy with the toasts...

Jeff sneaked a deep-fried chicken leg onto his plate.

Taking a small test bite...

The thin and crispy batter crunched into bits upon his first bite.

Like the breaking of a shell, warm and fragrant chicken juice flooded into Jeff's mouth.

Oh. Hot. Jeff puffed out a breath. Felt like there was a volcanic explosion on his taste palettes. Jeff tasted that touch of paprika. Getting a sensation of tingly and numb.

Taking another small bite.

Jeff smiled at the freshness and tenderness of the meat. Chewing a mouth-full of chicken leg, Jeff felt a surge of excitement for some reason.

"Jeff. What are you doing?"

"Erhm. Taking a test bite."

"Really now..." Alice stared at the chicken bone in Jeff's hand.

"It's good." Jeff looked down at the bone in his hand as well.

Alice's cheeks puffed up.

"Yep." Jeff got up. "I'll go look for uh, stuff, while you finish cooking."

...

...

Pulling on two foldable red wagons, the duo approached the heart of this city.

Yeah... Red wagons. It's not the best. But it'll have to do... It'll have to do...

As the two got closer to the sanctuary, they could see a blinking beacon light some distance away now. However, due to the fog, it's almost impossible to estimate the distance by sight.

Looking around, Jeff could see much more people around these blocks now.

As the two continued forward, the streets started to become packed.

Tents were set up on the sidewalks. Overflowing public garbage bins. Litter on the ground. The air reeked of garbage and urine.

Groups of people sat idly on the curbs. It's like they were lost of what to do now.

Behind these guys, big dudes sat by their building entrances. Smoking on cigarettes, these guys had guns sitting on their laps. These tough-looking dudes didn't look inviting at all...

Some hooligans shot glances at Jeff's cargo. However, seeing the silver bristles in between Jeff's fingers, they just left the couple alone.

Knitting his brows, Jeff felt like he'd walked into the slums.

A group of children ran by. Well, these little fellas still looked cheerful.

...

Walking a few blocks down the street, Jeff could now hear the loud chatter of a crowd.

"Selling drops for food!"

"Batteries! Selling batteries for mana stones here!"

Looked like there was a festival down the streets ahead.

This street was bustling with business. Merchants were repetitively shouting their products out.

Customers shouted to bargain with the sellers.

Some people handed out flyers to the passing crowd.

Oh? There was also two guys grabbing onto each other. Oop. Never mind. They were fighting now...

Ignoring these two, Jeff looked at the products on the stands and mats...

Jeff felt like he'd just walked into the townsquare of a MMORPG world. Weapons. Shields. Armor. Potions. Weird looking gems.

Turning on [Aura Vision]... Hmm... Not a surprise. Most were fakes.

There were also vendors selling everyday items. Clothing. Food ingredients. Cooked food.

It's just a mess in there...

A dude in clunky armor walked over. "The sanctuary has a role for you!"

The dude pointed at Jeff and handed over a flyer.