Chapter 75: A city on fire (2)

You obtained 20 experience points.

You obtained 20 gold coins.

You obtained 20 experience points.

You obtained 20 gold coins.

...

"Phew… those things are tough," Luke said and then sighed in relief after another battle."Stinger level three can't impale their heads, even thought I have the elemental advantage with the frozen claymore."

After recognizing the Florida Mall amidst the mist of smoke, Luke recognized that he was pretty close to his destination. There was a residential area one mile away, and it was the place Billy mentioned. Still, given that it was a residential area, Luke was having a hard time finding zombies. He only found burned bones and the Red Fangs pretty much whenever he walked one hundred meters, and they always came in groups of three.

"Their population is quite high…" Rina said. "They completely took over the city… and those people that attacked Miami didn't try to do anything here."

"Billy said that they are shorthanded…" Luke said while frowning. "It would be weird if they had that much ammo ready around these areas."

Despite saying that, Luke was also having a hard time thinking that no military group was nearby. Even if half had been defeated on the first day for whatever reason. He couldn't believe that armed people would fall so easily on the hands of zombies. Perhaps things were looking like that because of the Red Fangs. If they spawned on the first day… then things would make sense.

"Can you guys sense the presence of your friends?" Luke asked.

"No, I can't," Rina said.

"Nope," Shalia said.

"What were the chances of a place with this many people not getting a single one of your Friends as a partner?" Luke asked. "Thousands of you came here, right?" 

"Indeed… but I can tell that many of my allies have already disappeared," Rina said. "The number of reasons as to why they disappeared is immense."

Luke also knew that many of Shalia's allies had also disappeared because of him. Two died, after all. Luke couldn't help but think of that. Still, he had to keep moving, and so he did it.

When Luke found the residential area, he bit his lips because many houses had been burned down. It seemed that a good number of people survived the zombies' attacks but didn't leave their homes. The Red Fangs looked quite a bit with oversized dogs, so they must have tracked down their scent… 

Although that troubled Luke, he didn't stop there. He looked for the address Billy gave him, and he found the house… still standing. Much to Luke's surprise, he could see many zombie corpses around, even the mutated ones. Still, it seemed that they died a few days ago… Luke moved around the house, but he didn't find any signs of people inside or that fights had broken out inside.

"Mister Royce, are you there?" Luke asked. "Billy asked me to check on you!"

Luke put his ears near the door of the house, but he didn't hear anything either. He tried to open it in the end, and he noticed that it was unlocked… Just like the exterior, the interior of the house was pretty normal. Luke could see the living room, the kitchen, and the stairs that led to the second floor and bedrooms. The kitchen was a bit messy, and when he checked the fridge, Luke confirmed that it had been cleaned… only things that would expire soon were left behind.

"It seems they survived, that is good… but if they are alive, where in the heck am I going to find them?" Luke asked.

Since the house was intact, Luke had a hard time believing that Billy's family would leave without letting him a note in case he returned to rescue them. Unfortunately, Luke didn't find any note on the most obvious places. For whatever reason, they didn't want to reveal their whereabouts to everyone… Luke wondered why the survivors of Orlando facing more problems than the zombies and the Red Fangs were? After looking around for a while, Luke found a note under the kitchen table. It had been glued there with adhesive tape.

'We went to my school.'

"Couldn't you have been a bit more specific? Damn it…" Luke said.

"Whoever wrote this, it seems they really don't want to deal with unexpected visitors…" Rina said.

Luke looked around, but he didn't find anything that could help him with that, so he went to the second floor and checked the bedrooms. When he found an album in what seemed to be Billy's old room, he found a photograph when he was in his teens holding hands with a black-haired little girl. It was in front of a school… From a military man, Billy had a map on his bedroom as one would expect. He was really old-fashioned.

Nevertheless, the school in the photograph was on the city's northeast side. Hopefully, Luke will find them at the first school. Otherwise, he will have to check some others…

"Now you understand why I say that you should focus on yourself…" Shalia said. "Instead of helping others, you could have been right now leveling up."

"And how exactly would that help him reach his parents sooner?" Rina asked.

"..." Shalia stayed silent.

"At least you are not crazy enough to make fun of his goal," Rina said.

"Well, once my mind is free from worries that are currently bothering me, I will focus on that," Luke said. "Not only it is fun, but since you guys came to this planet, it also feels like it is more than necessary. Also, I didn't forger that I have to help you both at some point."

"I am grateful for that," Rina said.

"Well, you are getting stronger at a fearsome pace, so I am sure things will work out in the end," Shalia said. "However, I need to ask you to prepare yourself because you will see some crazy things happening to your planet in the future."