Trash in the Apocalypse

Old John introduced his niece and the burly man to Jun. They greeted each other and proceed to whatever they were doing earlier.

Jun took a peek on one of the windows.

The area outside was littered with infected randomly roaming the streets. The huge boulder was now nowhere to be seen, which probably returned to its original form. On its place was a huge circular pit that has a depth of at least two feet into the ground.

"So, how are you doing?" Jun abruptly said. "What happened here? This place is so clean. It's like this place was never affected by the outside."

"What do you expect? Do you want my motel to be filled with those things?!" Old John rebuked. He combs his hair then said, "It was a bad day for business, and I'm thankful that it was. When I first noticed that things aren't looking good, I hurriedly locked the doors."

"Oh, that's lucky for you." Jun laughed then sat down on the floor. He brought out some essence shards and used his energy to combine it to make an essence crystal.

When he felt the energy leaving his body, a crystal appeared on his hand. He checked the description and saw that it was low-tier.

Jun and Evo have concluded that everything needs energy to be activated. If you want to use skills, you need energy. Craft or combine items, you need energy. Evo even experimented using the dimensional energy. He found out that using dimensional storage drains one energy per minute.

Although it was a negligent amount, knowing that information would still prove to be useful. The energy recovery rate also depends on the individual. Since he was alone and there are not enough people to participate in the experiment, Evo could only let the matter go, and leave it for a later time.

When he was looting the dead infecteds earlier, he tried using the essence crystal on one of them.

The insides of the crystal glowed when it touched the infected's body; white light burst from it, then it cracked. Jun thought that maybe his luck wasn't that good, so he just looted the other bodies.

Adrian walked to Jun with Edward and Sheila in tow. Ester and Jamie went out to go to the bathroom. Bernard followed them, saying his stomach wasn't feeling well too. The rest of his group members were eating something as they rest while leaning on the wall.

Adrian said, "What's the plan? Are we going to wait until they all left?"

"Of course not. I'm just resting. I want my energy to recover to full before we head out. By the way, listen up! I learned a new skill, and it's quite useful. Evo did some research about energy yesterday, and I got results to prove that they're correct."

While sitting, Jun stretched his feet for everyone to see. A few seconds later, white lights appeared below his feet. There was a soft whistling sound that can only be produced when moving at high speeds.

"I learned Sprint, it's a toggle skill that temporarily increases your speed at the cost of energy. This skill saved me earlier, and I'll teach the skill to anyone who can use energy."

With that said, Jun taught them how to feel the energy inside their body. Everyone tried their best to learn how to feel energy. Some succeeded quickly while some took longer. Sheila and Evo had the largest energy balls on their palm, and they seem to have more natural control as they played around, making various shapes.

The sizes of energy ball varied by individual, and they found out that the wits stat directly influences energy.

The higher the wits, the greater the control on energy.

When they finally all learned how to control energy, Jun taught them how to sprint. It was so simple that everyone learned it on their first try.

To learn the sprint skill, you only had to focus energy on the sole of your feet. Then, when you feel that your steps become lighter, you need to run.

Watching everyone try out the skill, Jun had the urge to congratulate them. He thought, "Congratulations! You just learned how to run for your life!"

At that time, Old John, who was silently observing their group, finally spoke up. He inched closer to Jun as he smiled.

"Seems like you figured a lot of things this last few days."

"I had to. Have you tried going outside? Everything changed. It used to be a 5-minute drive from my house to here, but now it took me almost a day. By the way, what level are you guys?" Jun casually said as he ate a chocolate bar that he took from his inventory.

"Level? As in level in those childish games?" Old John said quizzically.

Hearing his answer, Jun got all of the information that he needs. He then smirked as he looked at Old John. His eyes were showing the evil intentions that are being made inside his head.

"I can help you level up, but I want that thing," Jun replied.

Old John's pondered on what Jun meant, and then his face darkened when he realized what Jun wanted.

"No! That's a rare collection of mine!" he then turned to Jun's members, thinking that he could just get information from them instead.

Without even seeing the look on Old John's face, Jun already knew what he was up to. They've been dealing with each other for a long time, and they knew how each other think.

Jun crossed his arms in front of him. "They will never teach you as long as I'm here. So give up. I want that thing. As compensation, we can add your niece and that guy to the deal."

As Jun smiled like a local bully looking at his prey, Old John openly cursed at him.

***

"Here! Take it quickly before I changed my mind!"

"Why do I feel like I'm extorting you? Anyways, thank you! Hahaha."

Jun grinned as he fitted the round item into his left arm. He then posed left and right, feeling contented. On his arm was a round shield made of carbon alloy. It had a white star design in the center. When his vanity finally quenched, he turned to Old John.

"Now, you can call me Captain."