The world was so sparse that the chances of people meeting the way Excel had met Anna should have been incredibly rare—almost impossible when compared to the size of the planet and the remaining population.
"What was that?" Anna asked, clearly frightened by the crash.
Excel looked at her in confusion. Aren't I here with you? How should I know? But he kept the thought to himself and turned toward the door.
"Hmm..."
His brows furrowed. We're on the seventh floor. For the crash and footsteps to sound this loud from here... He glanced out the window. "Shit. It's already dark."
The footsteps stopped. For a moment, everything fell silent.
Then it came. A shrill roar. High-pitched. Ear-splitting. Wrong. It sounded neither animal nor machine. The noise tore through the building like a blade. Anna's face went white. Excel felt every hair on his body stand.
Then it stopped.
And so did the world.
Not a leaf rustled. Not a single sound remained. The silence that followed was somehow more terrifying than the roar itself.
Excel stood frozen, caught between exhilaration and fear. Never in his life had he experienced anything like this. As for Anna, she had already passed out.
Excel stared at her for a few seconds, then at the door, then back at Anna.
"Fair enough."
After finally getting a hold of himself, he shrugged and draped a blanket over her before leaving her on the floor. The penthouse was a temporary base at best, but it had one major advantage. The suite was fitted with soundproofing that prevented noise from escaping while still allowing outside sounds to be heard from within.
Excel quickly barricaded the doors and checked the windows. Whatever that thing was, it shouldn't know we're here. Unless it starts wandering around and somehow ends up on the seventh floor.
He clicked his tongue. "Fucking Jurassic Park."
Sleep was no longer an option after that disturbance. Since he was wide awake, he decided to spend some time on his phone.
Due to the differences in time zones, many people had already gone offline. Some had fallen asleep from exhaustion and accumulated stress. Others remained active, searching for nearby survivors to join or absorb into their growing groups. Some had already begun forming factions. And then there were those suffering from main-character syndrome who had decided to venture out alone.
Beep.
A notification appeared on his screen.
Excel tapped it.
It was a message from Yuhma.
A group invitation.
Deadlands Great Minds.
Excel blinked in surprise before grinning.
They're already dividing themselves into classes.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Everyone here must have contributed something valuable. An idea. Information. A solution. So technically, these are either future world leaders or people who think they should be.
He looked at the group name again.
The name is pretty cool though.
The chat loaded and the first message appeared almost instantly.
Apex:
"@user09673782827, thank you for joining us."