The lower district, the slums, was louder than the upper district. Streams of armoured vehicles moved through roughly made roads.

The crowd was endless, almost overwhelming but Silver was the least affected.

He walked through the sanctuary’s commercial centre with his hands in his pockets, quietly observing the crowd moving around him. The commercial centre was located near the inner walls. It was better than the overpriced shops in the upper district, which was why Silver had decided to visit.

They all essentially sold the same thing, with different brands emblazoned on them. Capitalism will never end.

In the endless crowd, contractors stood out immediately. Visible beast tattoo that most of them seemed to have put on display for people like Silver to gawk at.

Even among ordinary humans, the awakened individuals carried themselves in a different manner. While they did fail to contract a beast, the awakening of their soul means their bodies have increased in strength as well. Almost twice the normal adult male.

The existence of beasts had forced humanity to evolve socially as much as physically. Weak people still existed but strong people ruled and they were the minority.

A massive screen mounted along a nearby building displayed the current expedition’s rankings outside the walls.

OUTER ZONE CLEARANCE RATE: 66%

NORTHERN GATE CASUALTIES TODAY: 14.

No one nearby reacted much since it was a normal occurrence. Death outside the walls happens constantly. The screen was just a reminder for those whose partners or family members had not returned to go and confirm.

The protagonist had also been on the list of the dead but of course, he had to rise from the dead to face slap his enemies and the world.

Now that Silver thought about it, he was also undergoing the same situation. He shook those distracting thoughts away.

Silver entered one of the larger weapon stores quietly.

The interior smelled like oil, metal, and money. Reinforced handguns, rifles, and combat blades lined the walls beneath glowing display cases while contractors tested their weight near the back counter.

Although other weapons were used, modern weapons still mattered. Humans are adaptable creatures, during the first collapse modern weapons had proved to be useless but after a lot of trial and error they had finally found a way.

Humanity created reinforced weaponry capable of piercing through the skin of these beasts. The ammunition had been made from the beast’s very own remains and a few other materials to create high-powered weapons.

A clerk approached him at once before immediately straightening slightly after recognising the Ruddington family insignia near his collar.

"Looking for anything specific Sir?"

"Reliable sidearm. Compact."

There were just so many for him to choose from but he knew he had to get something that matched his current level of strength if he didn’t want a dislocated arm.

Silver stopped near a black handgun displayed beneath reinforced glass. It was compact, heavy with a minimal recoil design.

The tag beside it read: 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

M7 sanctuary sidearm

Compatible with ranks 1 - 3

Price: 3000 points.

The clerk noticed his interest and nodded quickly unlocking the display case.

Silver stared at it for a moment then picked it. It suited him better at the moment since he was more proficient with guns. It was expensive but Silver bought it anyway.

Along with spare magazines and a combat knife because wandering outside the walls tomorrow without a weapon sounded like suicide. He had more than enough money. He also purchased several emergency supplies afterwards without much thought.

By the time he left the shop noon had passed and evening was slowly approaching. He hadn’t noticed how fast time passed during his fascination with the newer and upgraded versions of weapons he had once used. Some of them he has never seen before.

Outside, his thoughts shifted elsewhere.

Finding Ravenna logically wasn’t difficult once he stopped overthinking it.

In the original story, Ravenna arrived in Delta 3 with little to no money after her exile from Delta 1. She distrusted Elite families, avoided expensive housing, and survived independently by joining temporary hunting groups near the sanctuary.

That was how she had met the protagonist.

With this in mind, it meant she would stay somewhere cheap and close to contractor activity.

The contractors’ hotels.

They were a chain of cheap hotels that littered around the two exit gates.

A heavy sigh left him as the dreaded thought came. He would have to look for her around every gate since they were basically opposite to each other.

He didn’t trust servants to look for her, not even slightly. The moment his family staff realised he was looking for a specific woman rumours would spread across the whole upper district and Ravenna already had enough reason not to distrust him.

So he had decided to handle everything personally, and he still had enough time before tomorrow’s test. Silver looked down at the bags hanging from one hand.

Medical supplies.

Portable nutritional packages.

Gloves.

Basic survival equipment.

These were all useful things. It would be a waste to buy flowers or jewellery when he knew her situation at the moment and what she would need even more.

He looked up at his tenth trial, the neon sign flickered above it.

Friends Contractors hotel.

’Hope it’s this one’

He had first begun with the Southern gates and found nothing then moved to the Northern gates. This was his third hotel at the moment.

Night had already taken over and the base lights flooded the surroundings.

He stepped inside. Warm air and noise hit him immediately. The lobby remained crowded with exhausted Contractors returning from their hunt while public screens rotated between bounty request and beast territory updates.

He walked directly to the reception. The receptionists straightened the moment she saw him approach.

"What can I help you with, Sir?"

Silver glanced around the lobby.

"I’m looking for a Ravenna Arkland, she booked a room here," he calmly said while smiling at the receptionist.

He knew his face could do wonders. The woman as expected blushed.

"We unfortunately cannot ..."

"She’s my girlfriend, I’m really worried. "

The woman was quiet for a moment contemplating. She bit her lips while avoiding his gaze.

She hurriedly typed on the computer before her.

"I... She is here, sir. But not at the moment. "

A small exhale left him. ’Finally.’

"Thank you."

"No problem, I hope you can reconcile with your girlfriend. "

Silver flinched a little then smiled at her.

"I hope so."

Since all the seats that gave him a better view of the door were taken. He had no choice but to stand near the reception and wait.

An hour later, the door was pushed open.

White.

It was the first thing he noticed. White hair cascading down her back beneath the bright hotel lights and her eyes, they were a Cold grey.

They were sharp enough that he immediately understood how she survived alone this long.

Ravenna stood near the entrance with one hand subtly pressed against her side, as if she were injured.

She was beautiful, dangerously beautiful.

Silver forgot how breathing worked for several seconds.

"God."

A nearby Contractor looked at him strangely. Right, he said that out loud.

Excellent start this was.

Ravenna noticed him then. Their eyes met across the crowded lobby and immediately, her posture shifted. The changes were small and subtle but obvious once seen.

Her shoulders tightened slightly and her weight shifted instinctively towards defense like prey spotting a potential threat.

Silver suddenly became painfully aware of how it looked. An Elite with a terrible reputation staring at a visibly exhausted woman while carrying shopping bags.

Fantastic.

He walked towards her anyway because retreating now somehow felt even more suspicious. The closer he got, the more nervous he became which was deeply irritating.

He had gone to war and had bullets pass above his head without panic but now, why was talking to a woman somehow harder?

Silver stopped a few steps away. Close enough to notice the exhaustion beneath her eyes.

The silence stretched awkwardly, then his brain decided to betray him completely.

"... You’re real."

The moment those words left his mouth, Silver considered throwing himself out the nearest window.