Universal Sign-in: Ascending to Godhood With My 10x Rewards!-Chapter 48: Welcome to the safe zone

The air that blew against my skin here was fresh and pleasant, and as it trickled into my nose, I took in the refreshing scent of jasmine and olive trees.

What?

I eased my brows.

The jasmine scent brought back some good memories, causing a smile to stretch on my lips.

It smells like home.

As we reached this area that had obviously been expertly taken care of, our pace slowed. We began walking with intent, taking in the large, looming sight in front of us with widened eyes.

Richard slowly exhaled in relief as he slumped his shoulders. "We’re here."

Jerry took his hands out of his pockets and clenched them as he stared at the large sight, smiling, "So this is it, huh?"

Richard finally halted his movement, and we all followed suit.

Marcus chuckled. "Safe zone, huh."

Katie ruffled my hair as she giggled, "This is the place, right, Mr. Nameless?"

I blinked. In front of us, a large metal gate loomed. It wasn’t like the one at the station; this one was reinforced and built to withstand even bullets. Moreover, it stretched wide. I couldn’t even see the edge of the gate. That spoke of the vastness of the compound within.

This was truly a military facility.

I swear, this place reeks of money. I wonder how much they poured into mounting this gate alone.

"Yes, it is," I replied to Katie, taking her hands off my already scattered hair as I asked Richard. "How do we get in, though?"

Katie dodged my fingers and continued ruffling my hair. I rolled my eyes, letting her be.

"Right. There are even barbed wires on top of the large gate." Marcus chimed in.

"No need to overthink it." The third soldier stepped forward, removing the bandages wrapped around his body as he rolled his shoulders. "We just have to walk."

"Yeah! Let’s go!" Katie almost jumped down on my head.

I held her firmly. "No," I furrowed my brows, staring intently at the scarred back of the gruff soldier. "Wait."

Marcus was about to take an excited step forward, but Jerry stopped him with an arm, telling him, "Wait a minute."

We’re thinking the same thing.

"What? Why?" Both Katie and Marcus asked.

I still stared at the soldier. He took calm, measured steps toward the gate.

One step.

Two steps.

"You see," I said, "this is a military facility. And the fact that the gate still stands strong after all this while can only mean one thing."

"And that is..." Jericho spoke to Marcus, who listened with a raised brow.

"The place might be trapped." I completed it.

Katie’s fingers finally stopped gripping my hair as she adjusted her posture.

I strained my eyes, looking up at her. She held her soft, round chin, wearing a contemplative expression as she said, "Naruhodo."

Pfft–

I almost chuckled.

So cute.

Naruhodo indeed.

I stared at the soldier once more. He had walked past Richard.

Four steps.

Five steps.

Silence. The only thing I heard was my heartbeat and Katie’s beating pulse.

The gruff soldier stood in front of the gate and gazed upward at a small camera that hung on the barbed wire.

Then–

Flash––!

Red blinding rays rained down on him from various corners of the barbwires. The sources of the lights were thoroughly hidden in the barbed wire.

A loud male voice rang out, —Identify yourselves!—

I frowned.

The fuck does he mean identify yourselves?

Ain’t this supposed to be a safe zone?

Aren’t safe zones supposed to LET the survivors in without questions? Like safety first, questions later.

Why the sudden interrogation? Let us in goddamnit!

But of course, I didn’t voice out any of my complaints. I maintained a calm and steady exterior as I stared.

Jerry did the same.

Marcus tried to explain, but the gruff soldier — I’ll call him gruffy from now on — raised a hand, signifying that he got it covered.

"Are we really safe?" Katie’s mom asked.

I know I am. And Katie is too because of me. And Jerry. And Marcus.

I don’t know about the other NPCs, though.

"We’re survivors!" Gruffy screamed, "We’ve come to take refuge in this safe zone! Five civilians and three soldiers!"

—There are still survivors that haven’t entered a safe zone in City H?—

The voice sounded somber and stern, like it belonged to a man who never took no for an answer.

"Yes, sir!" Gruffy yelled out, adjusting his posture to stand erect.

The voice didn’t respond.

"What now?" Katie asked.

"I have no idea."

Gruffy turned, looking at us all with a smirk on his lips.

"Wait for it."

Crack––!

The gates cracked.

–Ziiiiiiim–

The metal gate began to split, opening slowly.

"It’s opening!" Katie beamed.

Jerry sighed, "Finally."

Marcus cracked his neck. "It begins here."

Dim–

The gate stopped splitting, and a small entrance that all eight of us could pass through was left.

—Well, come on in!—

We marched into the Northern safe zone, completely unaware that this was the beginning of a journey that would span eons.

End of Volume 1.

[Author Note: Hello there, readers! Author here! We’ve successfully come to the end of volume one that serves as the origin story of ’The Nameless One.’ And now, the next volumes will follow Dustin and his companions’ rise to power and domination on Earth and even beyond!

Stick around for that! And for those of you who have read up till this point and supported the book with power stones, golden tickets, and even gifts, I want to say a warm thank you!

To kick off the next volume, I’ll be mass-releasing four Chapters every day for the rest of this week! And I hope to see your continued support.

One last thing. If you’re reading this book in a place that isn’t the official novelkiss app, you’re doing what they call ’pirating.’

And don’t get me wrong! I’m not hating anything. I completely understand you. I was once a struggling reader, too. But one thing I’ll ask of you is to at least show support by sending daily power stones. They’re free and cost nothing! And it’ll help me know that people actually read my work, and in turn, motivates me to write more!

Thank you all, see you in volume two. That’s tomorrow, lol.]