Just like Jon was thinking about how to get a share of food for everyone, Matthew was pondering becoming a local ruler. He couldn’t go to the other floors, but the food here was sufficient and could last for some time.

If he took these people under his wing, he could take over when the time was right.

That night, Matthew was unusually kind to the newcomers.

Unbeknownst to Matthew, Kain, Amelia, and the children were watching his actions on the large screen TV. It was their evening entertainment.

Kain sat lounging on the sofa, feet on the hassock. Amelia had her head in his lap laying down beside him. The children were on another sofa, drinking the last of the Snowcow’s milk.

"Looks like we have a mutiny on our hands," Kain chuckled. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Amelia slapped his thigh, "Don’t laugh. What if it actually happens?"

Kain hummed, stroking her hair, "They can’t leave Floor One without our permission. When food runs out, let’s see what he will do next. Or we could take the food tomorrow, before his plan even begins."

He turned to the children. "Dom, do you still see the six from before?"

Dominic nodded, "There are more than six now. But, Dad, Uncle Matthew’s number dropped."

"Dropped?" Raising an eyebrow, he turned back to the screen. Matthew’s life value has dropped. Why so suddenly?

"It was at 8 before, now it’s at 6."

His brows furrowed, and his frown deepened. He looked at Jaylin and Claire. If Matthew’s value dropped, then Claire’s should have gone down, but Dominic hadn’t mentioned Claire.

"Then what about your Aunt Claire?"

"It’s still the same."

Kain couldn’t understand the reason. He couldn’t ask Dominic. Watching the child look at the numbers over people’s heads, he even looked confused sometimes.

Amelia chimed in, "We don’t need to think about it now. Wait and see what happens. There must be a reason it suddenly fell."

She’s right, it makes no sense to wonder. If there is a reason, Dominic will know sooner or later. It’s his own power. It’s for him to figure out.

"Alright," Kain clapped his hands. "Ava, Ash, Dom, this is now a family meeting. Your mother and I can’t decide what to do with the people downstairs. We want to hear what you think."

Avery sipped the last of her milk before speaking, "Put them in the incinerator."

"We don’t have an incinerator, Ava. And why would you put them there?" Amelia asked.

"Oh," she replied, licking the milk off her upper lip. "That’s what Doctor Ugly does with the new babies he doesn’t like."

The hand stroking Amelia’s hair stopped. He never asked the children about the lab, and they have never mentioned it. Now, the first mention is of something like this. He felt the hand on his thigh tighten.

Rather than ask who Doctor Ugly was, Kain continued the conversation, "So you don’t like them?"

She shook her head, "Dad doesn’t like them, so I don’t like them."

"Dad doesn’t like them, but he likes us. Dad wants them to protect us." Dominic spoke.

"Then..." his cheeks puffed, "Let’s keep them."

"We don’t need them. I have a scalpel like Doctor Red. I’ll use it to protect big brother and little sister," Ashton pulled a scalpel from his pocket.

He took off the blade guard. The scalpel gleamed in the evening light.

Kain chuckled low, "Okay, you don’t need them. But what if there are a lot of people who want to hurt you?" He pointed to the people on the screen, "They can stop them, so you can run."

Ashton covered the scalpel carefully. He took a deep chug of his milk. He looked at the screen as if contemplating something.

"Okay," he said. "They’re cannon fodder."

Amelia chortled, getting off Kain’s lap. "Where did you hear that?"

"Doctor Red and Dad said it," he shrugged.

Kain shook his head. "So, do we all agree to keep them?"

The three children nodded.

"Alright. What kind of rules should we set for them? Remember, we give them a place to live, but they need to help us in return. If we didn’t help them, they would be out there in the water.

Since they’re cannon fodder, they have to do what we say. But we can’t make them feel like we’re bossing them around."

"Why? You said they would protect us," Avery asked.

"No one likes to be told what to do all the time. Not being able to eat what they want, do what they want, or say what they want. No one would be willing," Kain patiently explained.

"Like in the lab," Dominic said. "Everyone would watch us all the time. We weren’t allowed to eat anything other than the nutrient solution. Bathroom breaks were timed. We couldn’t do anything without one of the doctors there."

After mentioning Doctor Ugly, it was like a dam broke; the children were willing to share a few of their experiences. Though they mentioned it as if talking about the weather, he knew the things they said must be the tip of the iceberg.

As Dominic spoke, he watched Avery and Ashton nodding along.

"Exactly, so we need to reward them for good deeds and punish them for bad ones."

"What kind of good deeds?" Avery asked.

"Like cleaning, or going hunting, or protecting our Avery," Amelia replied. "If necessary, we can have them grow some vegetables on the rooftop. Don’t spoil them."

"Then, they have to promise to protect us. Doctor Red promised he would find us and protect us again. If Doctor Red can promise, they should too."

When Ashton said this, his head was down. Kain could see there was a special connection between Ashton and Doctor Red, whoever that was.

And, based on what Ashton said, Kain could only assume Doctor Red was the reason they got out of the lab intact. It seems Jake’s information hadn’t been complete at that time.

This is to be expected. The mention of baby incineration told him the lab was more than a simple place for genetic research.

For the rest of the evening, the family of five talked about how to deal with those on Floor One.

When they saw children on Floor One, they didn’t even blink. It was at Kain’s and Amelia’s insistence that the children on Floor One, along with a single accompanying adult, would come and play with Avery, Dominic, and Ashton.

Kain and Amelia wanted them to socialize, not be locked away in their rooms all the time.

In the end, they decided to find skilled workers to deal with the maintenance of the building. Kain had confidence in the system, but Amelia felt the system might not offer as much protection as he believed.

Particularly because the building has only been reinforced, not completely sealed.