System Awakening Era: I Have 10x Skill Effects-Chapter 21: Arrogance Leads to Death

After getting Mia’s approval, Aamon stepped away to get his motorcycle.

The children grew more excited, the arrival of a new community member filling them with energy. Quite a few of them wanted to get close to Aamon.

Aside from being a soldier, Aamon had a handsome face and a firm expression. That kind of appearance was easy for children to like.

Aamon arrived and parked his motorcycle in front of the apartment building.

Ever since the planet trial began, many of them had rarely, or even never, seen someone brave enough to ride a vehicle through the city streets, let alone a motorcycle.

One of Mia’s friends, a woman, walked over to her.

"Too bad he’s still a teenager. If he were your age, you’d definitely like him."

"Huh? What makes you think that?" Mia asked, startled.

"He’s your type, right? Handsome face, firm attitude, and strong," the woman replied.

Mia fell silent, her face turning red as she chose to leave and approach Aamon instead. Aamon turned his head while greeting the children crowding around him.

"What?"

"I’ll show you your apartment room. Follow me," Mia said. Aamon nodded.

The two of them went inside and climbed to the third floor using the stairs. Mia explained that the first floor was occupied by the elderly, suitable for those who hated stairs.

The second and third floors were occupied by survivors. The second floor was full, so some of them stayed on the third.

Aamon was assigned to one of the rooms on the third floor.

The door opened, and Aamon clearly saw the condition inside. The furniture was fairly elegant, modern but not luxurious.

The apartment had a bedroom with a sofa and an attached bathroom, a standard apartment layout in general.

"We all work together here. Tasks like gathering food and guarding the area are handled by the survivors."

"Since you insisted on joining, whether you like it or not, you have to follow the task assignments," Mia said, crossing her arms.

Aamon stepped inside, opened the window curtains, and saw that his room faced the front yard, where the children were happily playing in the apartment park.

"Are you listening to me?"

"I hear you."

Mia let out a breath. She had already shown the room to Aamon and said she would return downstairs to handle task assignments.

"Come to the first floor at noon. I’ll assign your task there," Mia explained.

Without saying goodbye, she walked away, leaving Aamon. The door to his room closed tightly as the young man stepped toward his bed.

He immediately lay down on it to rest. Aamon hoped that the people from the military base in Chicago would arrive tomorrow so these people could be evacuated quickly and he could continue his journey.

Aamon closed his eyes and tried to rest for a while. There were still a few hours before noon, and his fight against the caterpillar monsters had taken quite a bit of energy.

CLING!

Not even an hour after closing his eyes, Aamon was startled awake by the sound of a bell. He clearly knew what that sound meant.

Aamon got up and left his room, went down to the first floor, and arrived at the front yard of the apartment.

There, Mia and several of her friends were looking in the same direction.

Aamon’s arrival caught their attention, and one of them greeted him.

"An airdrop chest just fell, Aamon," one of Mia’s friends said.

That’s right. It was clearly the distinctive bell sound of an airdrop chest falling from the sky.

Aamon looked up. There weren’t as many as before. In fact, this was the first airdrop chest in the past few days.

The intensity had dropped, not like at the beginning.

Some people asked Mia about their plan. Mia narrowed her eyes, gathered twelve people, and split them into small teams of three.

Aamon wasn’t included with them. That confused him.

Mia turned, looked at Aamon, and gave a sly smile. "Your job is to stay here, watch, and guard this area. That’s easy, right?"

Aamon narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists, feeling insulted by what Mia had done and said.

However, he glanced behind him, seeing the faces of the elderly and children who needed protection.

Items could be found, but their lives only came once. If he acted selfishly, this area wouldn’t be properly guarded, and they would be in danger.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Mia asked.

"Not at all," Aamon replied, crossing his arms. "I can take any item I want by killing its owner. That’s easy."

Mia froze, and so did the other survivors, clearly shocked. Not long after, their small teams left the apartment area, heading toward the nearest airdrop chest.

One five-year-old boy had overheard Aamon’s words. "Have you ever killed someone, Big Brother Aamon?"

Aamon turned, then laughed, lifting the boy onto his back. "Of course not. I was just trying to scare them."

The cheerful atmosphere returned. The children went back to playing.

Aamon stayed in the yard, standing guard while eating lunch prepared by the elderly using the apartment’s food supplies.

Time passed quickly. The sun slowly moved from above to the western horizon. An orange glow filled the sky as night approached.

Aamon stood at the apartment gate, his sharp eyes fixed ahead. There was no sign of the small teams Mia had formed returning with loot from the airdrop chest.

Seven hours had passed. Why weren’t they back yet?

Worry began to appear on the children’s faces. They questioned Mia’s whereabouts and her friends, wondering why they had been gone so long without any news.

"They’re looking for food and candy. They’ll be back soon," Aamon said.

The sun set. Moonlight shone brightly over the world, and stars scattered across the sky.

Still, there was no sign of Mia and her group returning.

Those idiots! Why aren’t they back yet?!

Aamon summoned his sword, preparing for the worst. From the end of the street, one of the teams appeared.

They entered the apartment area, one of them injured.

Aamon quickly ran toward them. He took out an HP Potion and handed it to the woman. She drank it slowly until her HP recovered.

"What happened?"

They looked at each other, embarrassed to explain everything after how they had treated Aamon earlier that day.

Now disaster had fallen upon them, and they didn’t know what to do.

"Mia and the others were captured by a group of raiders," the woman said softly.

"We tried to save them, but... there were too many raiders."

Aamon and the group entered the apartment building. All the children were already asleep in their rooms. The front area was quiet and empty.

"We don’t know how to save them," the woman added, sobbing.

The young man didn’t respond. He chose to stay silent, watching them with a cold expression. The woman turned back, then suddenly dropped to her knees.

"Please, Aamon! Please save Mia and the others."

Not just her, but her two companions did the same. The three of them knelt before Aamon, begging him to save them.

"What makes you think I have to save them?" Aamon asked.

"What?"

"They formed a team without me and went to hunt airdrop loot. I think they already knew and understood the consequences," Aamon replied, crossing his arms.

"My job is to guard this community. The children and the elderly are safe, and tomorrow they’ll be picked up. But Mia? I have no duty to save them."

The woman lifted her head, pulled off her shirt, and lunged at Aamon. Aamon reacted quickly, dodging and pinning her to the ground, restraining her.

"What are you doing?" Aamon asked.

"I’m offering my body if you’re willing to save them. They’re important to this community."

"HAHA!" Aamon laughed loudly. "You think I’d be interested? Your body is disgusting!"

"Big Brother Aamon?"

In the middle of the argument, Aamon’s attention shifted to the side, toward the apartment entrance.

A three-year-old girl stood there alone, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

Aamon released the woman and walked toward the girl.

"Why are you crying?" Aamon asked gently.

"She’s Mia’s sister, Selena," the woman said, standing up and putting her shirt back on. "She can’t sleep if Mia isn’t with her."

Selena wiped her tears. "Where is Big Sister Mia? I’m scared, Big Brother Aamon."

Aamon fell silent, his eyes fixed on Selena’s tearful face. He reached out his hand. Selena hugged him, and Aamon tried to calm her down.

It was too cruel for a girl like her to endure a world like this. Somehow, Selena reminded Aamon of someone.

"Calm down. Go back to your room. That woman will stay with you until Mia comes back," Aamon said.

"Okay."

Aamon and Selena let go of each other. Selena went back inside the apartment. Aamon turned around and walked toward the three survivors.

"Where is the raiders’ base?!"