System Awakening Era: I Have 10x Skill Effects-Chapter 18: Humanity Hopes

***

The next day.

The sharp clanging of metal rang out from outside. The sound carried clearly through the silent, empty world. Aamon woke up abruptly from his sleep.

Still wearing his elite member uniform, he walked over to the glass window and pulled the curtain aside.

In front of the apartment building, Aamon saw a fight taking place between a group of survivors and mosquito monsters. Five survivors against four mosquito monsters.

They swung their weapons and began activating their skills. They could injure the monsters, but their skill attacks were not strong enough to kill them quickly.

Aamon opened the balcony’s glass door and stepped out casually while summoning one of his food cans.

He stood on the apartment balcony, eating his breakfast while watching the five survivors fight.

One of the women looked up, shocked to see a man standing there calmly while they were struggling to kill the monsters.

"You! Can you help us?!" the woman shouted.

Her words drew the attention of her teammates. All five of them immediately turned and looked toward Aamon.

From the uniform he wore, they could roughly guess his status.

"An elite member?"

"Watch out!" one of them shouted.

Their attention snapped back to the fight. Three mosquito monsters were still left, even though earlier it had taken them three to five minutes just to kill one monster.

Aamon finished his can of food. He walked back into the room and began preparing himself.

Half an hour passed before Aamon left his apartment room and arrived outside the building.

Aamon’s eyes focused ahead. Four mosquito monsters were dead, their corpses lying on the ground. He scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of the five survivors from earlier.

Maybe... they already left for somewhere else.

The merchant from last night had also disappeared, moving to another location to serve other survivors.

Aamon could not waste any more time. He had to leave soon to search for information about All-Seven.

He started the motorcycle, then glanced toward the balcony on the fifth floor. The glass balcony door was open, its curtain swaying in the wind. But no one was there, neither Jake nor Avery.

Aamon did not pay them much attention. He immediately got on his motorcycle and drove away from the apartment building.

His destination was the city center. He had been away from Chicago for seven days already. There probably would not be any significant changes in the city.

"Look! Who is that?!"

One of the soldiers turned and pointed ahead. A young man was approaching on a motorcycle. His arrival clearly drew the attention of many soldiers.

"Stop!"

There was no wave of monster attacks that day. The soldiers looked far more relaxed compared to what Aamon remembered.

Clearly, Aamon could feel that something had changed in this city.

"Who are you?"

"I’m Aamon. I want to meet Commander Robert," Aamon replied.

The soldier captain heard Aamon’s name and then cleared a path for him to meet Robert. The concrete barricade was opened, and Aamon entered the military headquarters on his motorcycle.

Aamon’s arrival attracted a lot of attention. Commander Robert saw him from the window of his office desk.

Ralph and the members of Squad Three noticed Aamon as well. Natasha looked shocked to see him return, since she had assumed Aamon had disappeared for an entire week without any news.

"Aamon?!" Ralph said, narrowing his eyes.

Even though Aamon had been gone for a week, his face remained firm, his gaze sharp, and his aura felt different.

Aamon parked his motorcycle and walked alone into the headquarters building. Some people watched him with curiosity, wondering why he could casually enter and leave the military headquarters.

He went up to the third floor and stopped in front of the door to Commander Robert’s office. The door opened, and Robert was already there, sitting behind his desk.

"Come in, Aamon," Robert said.

Aamon stepped inside, and the door was closed by Robert’s adjutant. Now Aamon stood directly in front of Robert’s desk.

"I’m going to travel far to the east coast. I’ll try to search for information about this group in Washington or New York," Aamon explained.

"Woah. That’s very far. Are you sure you want to go there alone?" Robert asked.

Aamon paused for a moment, then cleared his throat and nodded.

The young man explained that he would still go because according to his memory of the future, only those three cities would survive on the US mainland for the next fifteen years.

There was a possibility that the All-Seven Regional Headquarters was located in one of those three cities. However, Aamon was not ready to tell Robert about All-Seven yet.

Letting All-Seven reveal themselves naturally was the best option.

"Alright then. Do you need anything?" Robert asked.

"Milwaukee has split into three factions: two civilian factions and one military faction. Try communicating with Nana to determine a solution for the situation there."

"If we can unite the two cities, Chicago could become a fortress of hope for humanity," Aamon added.

Commander Robert turned his head and looked at his adjutant. The adjutant responded with a nod, fully agreeing with Aamon’s suggestion.

After all, they had to start thinking about plans to build a shelter city to accommodate refugees from other cities, and to ensure the economy could start running again in the post-apocalyptic world.

"Alright. I’ll talk to Commander Nana."

"Anything else?" Robert asked.

Aamon remained silent for a moment before looking forward.

"Ask your soldiers to search for other survivors. They’re vulnerable and inexperienced, but valuable for strengthening the Elite Members."

"I’ve seen many survivors hunting monsters without any faction. You should start searching for and recruiting them."

Commander Robert narrowed his eyes, studying Aamon carefully.

"How old are you, Aamon?"

"Age?"

"Yes."

"17... I think."

The man in the military shirt stood up from his chair and walked past his desk until he stood directly in front of Aamon.

Their physiques were clearly different. Robert was bigger than Aamon. Robert was also taller.

"The advice you’re giving... doesn’t sound like something a high school student would say," Robert said firmly.

Damn. I went too far.

Does he suspect me?

Aamon remained silent. He glanced briefly to his left and right before focusing back on Robert.

"If I still had the mindset of a high school student like before, I would’ve died seven days ago!" Aamon said firmly.

"HAHAHA!"

"That’s true! Hard times create strong men!" Robert said loudly.

The man returned to his desk. Aamon quietly exhaled in relief, feeling calmer when Robert no longer seemed suspicious.

"I’ll form a team to search for other survivors. Anything else?" Robert asked.

"Nothing."

"Alright. You may leave, Aamon," Robert said firmly.

Aamon nodded, said his goodbye, and walked out of Commander Robert’s office.

Robert stood again, walking toward the glass wall overlooking the courtyard in front of the headquarters building.

His adjutant walked over with a confused expression.

"I don’t understand. Why are you following everything he says? You’re the Commander of this Army."

Robert stayed silent for a moment, his eyes still fixed on the survivors wearing elite member uniforms.

"I’ve already seen their abilities. Our rifles will be outmatched by their skills. I can’t awaken the system because of my age."

"So I’m trying to help them rebuild our world in their own way. In my opinion, Aamon will definitely have a huge influence in the coming years."

His adjutant turned to look at the courtyard, "I think every survivor has that potential, not just Aamon."

"No," Robert replied.

"Aamon is different."