After crossing the frozen creek and heading toward Crown Heights South Station. Lauren’s voice hit his ears from behind him.

"M-mister!"

"...?"

"I think the expansion stopped!"

At those words, Walfred halted immediately.

He looked back, and sure enough, the White Dome had stopped expanding. It had completely swallowed the South Brooklyn Tunnel they’d passed through just moments ago.

Walfred let out a sigh of relief.

And at the same time, a chill ran down his spine.

’If we’d been a little slower...’

If the Horn Tiger hadn’t run away, if a fight had broken out because of it, they would have been swallowed by the White Dome without question.

After watching the now-still White Dome, Walfred walked a bit farther to Crown Heights South Station. Then he pointed at a nearby three-story building.

"Let’s rest there for a bit before we go."

It might have been smarter to put more distance between them while the White Dome’s expansion had stopped, but resting while they could was the better call.

They’d also burned through a considerable amount of stamina.

’And...’

He wanted to log into the Hunter Community and get a read on the current situation. So Walfred set up a temporary base on the rooftop of the three-story building.

The location offered a clear enough view to monitor the White Dome, and it wasn’t a bad spot for a quick escape if things went south.

As they caught their breath for a moment.

"...Mister."

Lauren suddenly spoke up.

Her voice trembling slightly.

"What do you think happened to the Silicon Alley shelter?"

"..."

Walfred couldn’t answer.

The White Dome had currently expanded from Tech Row Station all the way to here, near Crown Heights South. Calculating the distance, the radius was easily two miles or more.

That meant the Silicon Alley shelter, which was within a two-mile radius of Tech Row Station, along with Hudson Tech Station and the Ironbound shelter, had all been swallowed.

’But...’

Telling her the truth would only add to her anxiety.

There was no need to crush her morale.

After a moment of deliberation, Walfred met Lauren’s trembling eyes and spoke.

"Distance-wise, there’s a good chance the shelter itself was swallowed, but they probably evacuated before that."

"Y-you think so...?"

"Yeah. Bauer posted a warning on the community, and more importantly, there’s no way they wouldn’t notice something that massive coming their way."

Walfred said it like he was driving the point home.

Lauren’s anxious expression eased noticeably. After reassuring her a bit more, Walfred turned his gaze back to the White Dome. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"I’m going to log into the community and check on the situation. In the meantime, keep an eye on the White Dome for me. If it starts expanding again, tell me right away."

"Okay...! I will."

After assigning Lauren the role of lookout.

Walfred logged into the community.

[System: Hunter Community]

[Accessing the New America Republic channel.]

As expected, the boards were on fire.

Not just the Q&A Board, but the Local/News Board and General Board too; they were plastered with posts about the White Dome.

’Let’s see.’

Walfred tapped the post with the highest view count. A flood of comments written from all over unfolded before his eyes.

[Okay, so what the hell IS the White Dome?]

[Nobody who went in has come back out?]

[That seems pretty dangerous...]

[Seems dangerous? It IS dangerous. When I was running, I saw monsters fleeing from it too.]

The comment section was pure chaos.

Walfred calmly read through the comments, piecing together information about the White Dome.

Some time later.

He’d managed to glean several pieces of information from the comments. Walfred organized them one by one.

’The White Dome’s current radius is approximately two miles.’

It had expanded more than threefold since that morning.

And due to the White Dome’s expansion, the areas of Newark, Silicon Alley, Ironbound, and Tech Row had descended into utter pandemonium as fleeing refugees poured together.

Some estimates suggested that anywhere from several hundred to several thousand non-Awakened people had been swallowed by the White Dome.

’Several thousand...’

That meant there was a real possibility it would start expanding again tomorrow. If so, it might be worth pushing themselves harder today and covering more ground.

Just as frustration drew a sigh out of him.

A new post appeared.

[Title]: Survival report: Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter.

[Author]: StoneFist

A nickname that jumped right off the screen.

It was Bauer.

’Looks like he got out safely.’

He’d been wondering what had happened. Walfred let out a short sigh of relief and read through the post Bauer had written.

-----

This is Bauer, representative of Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter.

Our entire shelter has evacuated from the Silicon Alley District. We’ve set up a temporary base at an abandoned factory near the Newark Interchange.

I’ve created a temporary category for White Dome-related matters, so hunters in the Silicon Alley District, Newark, Hudson Tech, and Crown Heights areas, please head over there.

I hope everyone is safe.

-----

The man really was something else.

Leading over a hundred people to safety through all that chaos. Just as Walfred was marveling at this, one more new post appeared.

The moment he saw the title.

"This is...!"

Walfred’s eyes went wide.

He couldn’t help it.

The location mentioned in the title was the very place Walfred and Lauren had been heading for.

[Title]: Announcement from the Silicon Alley shelter.

[Author]: Ace

The Silicon Alley Station shelter.

Lauren’s sister. The place where her only family might be. Walfred checked the contents in a hurry.

-----

Hello.

My name is Jonah, and I serve as the representative of the Silicon Alley Station shelter.

Our shelter is currently moving along The 7 Line tracks to escape the White Dome’s expansion. We have established a temporary base camp near Prospect Park Station.

Depending on how the situation develops, we plan to head north toward the Financial District along the Crown Heights Line. If there are any hunters nearby who wish to join us, please come.

Thank you.

-----

"...Thank goodness."

Walfred let out a sigh of relief.

Now that he knew the Silicon Alley shelter survivors were safe, he immediately left the community.

Then he called out to Lauren, who had been staring holes through the White Dome with hollow eyes.

"Lauren."

"Yeah?"

"I found out where the Silicon Alley shelter people are."

"...!? R-really?"

"Yeah. They said they’re near Prospect Park Station right now."

Walfred laid out the full details of the post written by the Silicon Alley shelter’s leader, Jonah.

Color returned to Lauren’s face.

"If it’s Prospect Park Station... we can get there through the Crown Heights Line underground tracks!"

"Exactly."

"Then let’s go, right now."

"You sure? You look tired..."

"I’m fine. I feel better after resting a bit. I can definitely walk to Prospect Park Station."

Lauren radiated fierce determination.

Even if her legs gave out, she looked ready to keep going no matter what. Seeing that kind of resolve, Walfred nodded in agreement.

He’d been planning to put more distance between them and the White Dome today anyway. With that, the two left the building and descended underground at Crown Heights South Station.

Thud, thud, thud!

Past the 2 Line turnstiles and onto the Crown Heights Line.

Walfred and Lauren moved briskly along the tracks heading toward the Financial District.

A pitch-black darkness without so much as a sliver of light.

Walfred walked the tracks in silence, flashlight in hand. Unlike the surface, which was buried in snow, the tracks were snow-free and far easier to travel.

How long had they been walking?

Far ahead, a faint amber glow came into view. Along with it, the murmur of voices drifted out from the darkness beyond.

"For tonight, let’s stay here and..."

"...next is the Financial District..."

Human voices.

Walfred’s eyes lit up.

He and Lauren quickened their pace, and before long they spotted a crowd of people huddled together amid a multitude of flickering lights.

It was the survivors of the Silicon Alley shelter.