Walfred hesitated at the man’s proposal.

A group of hunters he’d never seen before today. On top of that, most shelters were extremely hostile toward outsiders.

And now they were telling him to come to their shelter, just like that?

’What’s their angle?’

Walfred’s eyes narrowed.

Had the man picked up on his wariness?

He let out a small smirk.

"Of course, I’m not saying I’d tell you for free."

"Then?"

"In exchange for information, I have a favor to ask."

The moment he finished speaking.

The man’s expression turned serious.

"I’d like your help with monster extermination."

According to his explanation, ever since the recent Crown Heights gate liberation incident, monster populations had surged dramatically around Passaic River and the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall area.

Recently, monsters had even approached close enough to threaten the shelter directly.

"We’re short on hunters."

The Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter had over a hundred people in total.

But of those, only four were hunters capable of fighting monsters. Having laid out his situation in a matter-of-fact tone, the man turned his gaze back to Walfred.

"If the two of you fought your way through those dangerous roads to get here, you’re clearly no amateurs. And right now, we’re desperate for even one more hunter."

Hearing the full explanation, it finally clicked.

Why he wanted to bring them to the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter. When Walfred’s expression showed understanding, the man extended his hand.

"If you help with the extermination, I’ll let you stay at the shelter for the time being. Food included, of course."

"..."

The offer itself wasn’t bad.

Room and board taken care of, plus a secure base of operations. And crossing the Passaic River would put even more distance between them and Hector’s pursuit, which made it all the better.

On top of that, he’d get information about the phenomenon blocking the routes toward Silicon Alley.

’But...’

Couldn’t he just get that information from the community? Just as Walfred was thinking that, the man suddenly added something.

"If you’re thinking of getting information about that thing from the community, I’d drop the idea. Nobody on there knows what it is."

"...Seriously?"

"Yeah. Don’t believe me? Go check for yourself."

That was exactly what he’d been planning to do.

Walfred immediately logged into the community. He scoured the Local/News Board and Q&A Board, searching for related keywords, but came up with nothing.

There were occasional eyewitness accounts, but they were all just people asking "What is that thing?" Nobody actually knew what it was.

’He was telling the truth.’

In the end, if he wanted the information, he had no choice but to accept the man’s offer. After deliberating, Walfred made up his mind and clasped the man’s outstretched hand.

"All right. I’ll take you up on your offer."

"Good. Smart choice."

The man smiled with satisfaction.

"It’s getting dark, and the temperature’s dropping, so we should move quickly. Deputy Rosa."

"Yes, chief."

At his call, a woman wearing a white fur hat stepped forward. She gave a light wave of her hand, and a fierce wind instantly whipped around them.

And in that moment.

Whoosh!

The two men, the two women, and Walfred and Lauren with them.

All four of them lifted off the ground, floating into the air.

Walfred was stunned by the sight, and Lauren looked just as startled. The woman who’d conjured the wind spoke with a blank expression.

"It’s my skill."

Levitation, a unique skill of the wind attribute.

Apparently it could lift up to eight people as high as thirty feet off the ground.

"We’ll get moving now."

With that, the group soared through the air and crossed the Passaic River. A river frozen solid. Flying right over the heads of monsters roaming across its surface.

It was, how to put it, a rather surreal feeling.

Before long, Walfred touched down in front of the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall without having encountered a single fight.

"Made it safe and sound."

The man grinned.

After loosening up with a few stretches, he turned to Walfred and Lauren and gave a slight nod.

"Let me introduce myself first. I’m Bauer."

"Rosa."

A Level 42, C-rank hunter.

Bauer, leader of the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter.

Bauer was thirty-five this year, the same age as Walfred. Before the ice age, he’d been an ordinary office worker at an IT company.

And the one who’d safely carried the group across the Passaic River was Rosa, a Level 31, D-rank hunter.

She was twenty-seven and revealed that she’d worked on the same team as Bauer at the company.

"Walfred. And this is Lauren."

"Oh, hello..."

Walfred introduced himself as well.

He didn’t mention his attribute or level, though. He didn’t want to be looked down on. Fortunately, Bauer and Rosa didn’t seem to care much.

With introductions out of the way, the group headed to the underground parking garage beneath the government building where the shelter was set up.

Thud, thud, thud!

Footsteps echoed through the parking garage corridor.

Before long, they arrived at the third basement level, where a barricade had been erected at the entrance. Two men stood guard in front of it.

"Oh, chief!"

The two men, presumably hunters.

The moment they spotted Bauer, their faces lit up with welcoming expressions.

"Must’ve been rough out there in the cold, sir."

"Yeah. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary, but..."

"Who are the people with you?"

Their gazes shifted to Walfred and Lauren.

Bauer answered simply.

"Hunters who’ll be helping with the extermination."

"...! I see. Finally..."

The hunters’ faces brightened.

Moments later, they cleared the barricade blocking the shelter entrance without a word of protest. Beyond it lay a space walled off by vehicles stacked like barriers.

"This is our Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter."

Tents and sleeping bags clustered together on the floor.

People with relatively healthy complexions.

The sight of them laughing and chatting with each other felt nothing like the atmosphere at the Newark Galleria Shelter where Walfred had been.

"Total headcount is 124. Most are office workers in their thirties and forties. Some families, too."

At that, Walfred found something puzzling.

For a total of 124 people, there seemed to be too few around.