Leaning against the doorframe, Kain held Amelia in his arms. He smiled down at her. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he watched her pretend to panic.

This wasn’t their first time in a natural disaster. She wasn’t afraid then, so why is she pretending now?

Kain reflected on himself. Did he make her insecure? Or was she pretending because of what happened earlier?

It seems the mother and daughter had the same thought. However, the daughter was a bit more mischievous. Both wanted to give him something else to focus on.

He stroked her back as the building continued to shake. A few minutes later, the shaking stopped.

Stepping out of the doorway, Kain breathed a sigh of relief.

[Sanctuary Access has been restricted. Remove all unauthorized individuals.]

[Matthew Wilde, Jaylin Parker, and Claire Crosgrove were relegated to Floor One]

[Verdana Parker relegated to Floor Three]

[Jake Valentine and Veronica Passey granted access to Floor Four]

[Within 30 minutes, please remove unauthorized personnel.]

[Reward: Sanctuary Reinforcement]

Seeing the task, Kain eyes it suspiciously. This is the first timed task he has been given. What’s more, the task is related to the Sanctuary restrictions.

It appears the system agrees with the decision he made. Though he couldn’t understand why he needed to send them to the different floors, he would do it regardless.

He was on Floor Five according to the system.

He shared the task with Amelia. He watched the little woman crack her knuckles as a malicious smile spread across her face.

"We aren’t going to fight, you know," he snorted.

"You aren’t, but I am. I have been waiting for this day for a while," she said excitedly. She caressed his cheek, "You hoped for too much too soon. Next time, take your time finding a few good ones."

Then she took his hand and led them downstairs.

First stop, Floor Four.

This is the floor where Verdana, Veronica, Jaylin, and Jake live. Soon, there would only be two people living here.

Amelia strode through the living room. There was a jacket on the plush sofa, and random items strewn around the room. Evidence of people living there.

Soft sounds came from the bedroom. Any person who had engaged in such activities or watched such activities could make out the sounds.

Amelia walked resolutely towards the door. Without knocking, she opened it.

The people inside were naked, their heads snapped towards the door. Without a hint of shame, Veronica, who was on top, turned to Amelia.

"Young lady," she said, breathy.

"Nothing. Where’s the rest of them?" Amelia asked while using a hand to cover Kain’s eyes.

Amelia wasn’t tall enough to completely block his view. He still saw the scene. An eyebrow quirked up seeing Jake’s hand, above his head, bound.

"Lower floor," she replied.

Taking his hand, Amelia walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. She shot Kain a glare, and he shrugged.

’Lady, you’re the one who opened the door.’ He could only complain to himself. He knew if he said anything, he would risk being nagged.

They made it to the Third Floor quickly, but did not enter immediately. As the person with the highest power level currently, his physical prowess was the best. His hearing, sight, and smell were amazing.

So when they arrived at the third floor, he could hear them talking inside. When he saw Amelia reaching for the door’s handle, he pulled her back.

"...if he thinks we’re worthless, then we don’t need to stay," the male voice boomed, sounding disgruntled.

"He isn’t wrong," came an exasperated female voice. "We’ve enjoyed everything he’s offered, but we haven’t done anything to help him."

"He’s the one willing to give us a good life. Why is he complaining about it now?" Matthew ground out the words.

Verdana sighed, "Let me ask you. If the people you thought had potential only wanted to use you for food and shelter, how would you feel? What would you do?"

Matthew scoffed. "I’d be damned if they get anything good from me in the first place. Let them experience hardship, that way when I show them some favour they’ll know who’s good to them. But I agree with one thing, he said betrayal is death."

Kain chuckled derisively. The system was right; subordinates should not be treated as friends. He made the mistake with Noel, then made the same mistake with these people.

He wanted to live a more relaxed life this time around, but he forgot that they had never experienced the first life like himself.

It was fine for him to pamper Amelia and the children, but not everyone else...

Intertwining his fingers with Amelia, he opened the door. Whether it was locked before didn’t matter; he was the master of all five floors. There is no place he couldn’t go.

The voices in the living room stopped abruptly with the entrance of Kain and Amelia. Amelia’s eyes were ablaze with fury. She may not have heard everything as clearly as Kain, but she heard enough.

"Well, well," Kain said boredly. "Thank you for defending me, Verdana. It is a breath of fresh air."

Verdana frowned as she heard him. She was used to his usual relaxed, at times flippant way of speaking. But this...it was different.

There was a natural bored indifference, but the detachment was new. Even his eyes, which would sometimes smile when he saw them, were flat.

His hooded eyes scanned the group of ingrates. "Jaylin, Claire, and Matthew, come with me," his voice brooked no arguments, but some people wouldn’t relent.

The scorn in Matthew’s voice hadn’t lessened since seeing Kain, and his eyes were more defiant.

He leaned against the sofa, arms crossed.

"I’m not going anywhere. You’ve made it clear what you think about us." He swept an arm across the room. "We’re already in such a comfortable place, there isn’t much you can do about it if you want to talk now. And frankly, I don’t feel like talking to you."

A vein throbbed in Kain’s neck. "Worthless. Completely worthless." ’Is this the person I had high hopes for?’

"Told you," Amelia chimed in, "Beat them, and they’ll listen."

Saying that, she released his hand, walked towards Matthew, and delivered a swift right hook. His head snapped to the side from the unexpected hit.

She didn’t give him time to react; she grabbed his hair, pulled him off the sofa, and proceeded to kick him in the stomach.

Claire stood immediately, taking a step towards Matthew, before moving back. Kain caught the action and thought it was peculiar, but didn’t comment.

Amelia wasn’t satisfied, but they didn’t have time. "Let’s go." Her gaze swept the two women.

Kain stifled a laugh when he saw Amelia dragging Matthew by his hair. Still dazed, he hadn’t resisted in the slightest.

"Take him," she said. Then, turning to Verdana, she said, "You stay."

And together the five people left the third floor and headed to Floor One.

Once there, without Amelia or Kain’s explicit approval, they could not leave the fifth floor. A feature Kain found handy as a ’Sanctuary Restriction.’