CHAPTER 45: 45: FIRST DEAL

"Second Station?" Aria paused for a moment. She already understood what the system wanted. It was meant to level up.

"Do I need to follow the city you’re going to pick?"

In response, the system’s user interface suddenly appeared before her, and a familiar third map popped up.

City C, Wishing Stop Station, located near the beach of Silveria Town.

A red dot floated above the location, with a flag hovering on top. Golden lines encircled the area, showing the boundaries of the Golden Barrier.

In every direction, there were greyed-out areas, as if they were locked. Aria immediately understood the scenario. It looked just like a game, where certain parts of the map had to be unlocked by the player.

"The next station of the Heavenly Train can be anywhere on the map. But since you’re not Level Two yet, the map isn’t available."

"Eh, how can I open this map to access the next station?" Aria raised an eyebrow. This hadn’t been mentioned to her before.

"Host can complete a special task. Task will be provided by the system."

"Oh, special task? What kind?" If it was meant to help her unlock the map for the second station, she didn’t mind doing it.

"The task will only be revealed once the Host accepts it."

Aria sensed that there was some trick to this.

"Okay... what if I don’t want to do it after seeing the special task?"

"Host Survival Points and Rate Progress will decrease if the task is not completed."

Aria: "....."

As expected of the capitalist system, there was no free meal. Tasks had to be completed, and work done accordingly.

"Additionally, please be reminded, Host, that once you accept a special task, it must be completed. Otherwise, Survival Points will continue to decrease until it is finished."

Damn, so hard.

"I will not accept or do your special task. I’d rather move on in my own time..." Aria said, walking forward.

The morning sun shone over the city.

The weather was better this time, and the wind was no longer as cold, the warmth of the sunlight making it pleasantly comfortable.

"Miss Goldie! Where are you going?" One of the men shouted after noticing the pink figure walking away in heels.

They wanted to follow her, but their morning meals had just been served. Besides, one look from their Boss was enough to scare the life out of them.

"Is there no other way?" Aria asked again, refusing to give in so easily.

The Fluff Ball floated in front of her, displaying a screen she hadn’t seen before.

The interface showed her profile status.

[ Identity: Miss Stationmaster... Level: 1... World Survival Rate: 0.04%... Owner: Heavenly Train Station...]

"By completing tasks, you can unlock the Map, or you may choose to do smaller tasks available in the system."

The words of the Fluff Ball echoed in her mind, making her stop walking along the road.

"You said there were only special tasks?" Aria was growing confused by all the new information.

"Yes, if the Host wants an easier way to open the Map." The Fluff Ball system floated to her side, its voice monotone as ever.

"However, to level up, the Host may complete the system’s assigned tasks or accept small tasks listed in the daily activities."

Aria opened the daily activities tab beside her profile, and a list of available tasks appeared on the screen.

Each one could raise her Survival Points, and to her relief, they actually seemed quite simple at first glance.

She could earn 100 Survival Points by giving someone food for free. Another task gave 100 points for helping someone get their Heavenly Train premium card.

There were plenty more, simple and small things that all added up toward leveling up.

Aria stared at the list in silence before sighing softly. Even if she started doing all this, she might not even get to sleep in her bed tonight.

NO!

She must do something. Whatever it was, she had to act. She refused to have a sore back tomorrow.

At that exact moment, Aria turned around and saw the man coming toward her. It was the perfect timing for her to take advantage of.

"You, what is your name?" Aria asked the Leader of Base E.

She couldn’t remember his name clearly. The impression he left wasn’t deep enough for her to recall anything besides calling him the old man with weird ideas.

"Golden Princess, I thought I already made an impression, yet you don’t even know my cool name?" Michael’s face showed an exaggerated look of disappointment.

He turned to look down at his feet, probably thinking deeply about his words, or perhaps as if the others were preparing for another one of his flashy introductions.

When he raised his face again, there was almost a smug, peacock-like look on him, as if he was ready to show off his rainbow feathers at any moment.

"I’m Michael, Leader of Base E. I’m good at riding bicycles and good at driving cars... and–"

"Okay, Michael, right? I have a proposal for you." Aria cut him off before he could finish, not wanting to waste time on his dramatic introduction when she could get straight to business.

After a moment of explanation, golden eyes met black ones, and the silence lingered for another minute.

"What, is that for real!" Michael couldn’t believe what the other had said, but he looked at Aria suspiciously.

Then a slow grin appeared on the older man’s face.

"Yes, for real, as in letter F and R for you." Aria gave her confirmation and continued with the deal between them.

"I will not kick you out, but you must follow my odd jobs. I will provide you with food every day, and you can likely earn something as well while staying within my territory. Only, I am going to be strict that no one under you will ever dare to harass a woman, or anyone, even a male."

There was a slight hardness in Aria’s last words, the kind that left no room for argument. Both of her golden eyes glimmered with a stern light as she looked straight at him.

If he dared to break that rule, he would face the consequences.

"Well, well, as long as you can give us food like before, my men can work for you all day and night on this matter. How about that?"

It was a good thing they could have a meal, and Michael would not let this advantage go to waste.

For this moment, his focus lingered on the woman before him, observing her more closely.

This golden-haired woman was unlike anyone he had ever met until now.

There was something extraordinary about her.

No hostility, no killing intent, and most remarkably of all, she dared to face a man like him alone.

Surely, she was not ordinary, as someone who could disappear and reappear as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without even a trace of panic.

He must find out this woman’s identity.

"Then it’s settled. My first odd job for you and your team is this. You must clean the entire area around here, including the outside parts I’ve marked as the boundary. Next, you must find a good house nearby with complete walls and floors."

With a faint and polite smile, Aria finally sealed a deal with the leader of another base before turning back to walk toward Samantha.

Behind her, the men’s boss gathered his team to discuss the next steps.

Their expressions were mixed. Some unwilling, some curious. Working under a woman didn’t sit well with many of them, yet the lingering taste of the food they had eaten earlier softened their male pride.

Most of them had been born after the apocalypse began, never knowing what real meals tasted like.

Even the older ones, those who had once lived through peaceful times, found themselves reluctant to let go of that rare, comforting flavor.

They could only follow the orders from their boss now, while some quietly convinced themselves that it was all for the sake of delicious food.

This small dilemma was unknown to Aria, who was busy discussing her plan to move into a house near the train station with Samantha.

She didn’t forget to remind her again that the outside was far more dangerous than it seemed, especially for ordinary people without powers.

They had to be careful, but staying inside the Train Station wasn’t ideal either. There were no soft beds, only hard chairs, and no privacy, especially when passengers were around.

Samantha gave a nod of acceptance.

She was already aware that this world was plagued by the lethal A-virus, so she didn’t protest and calmly accepted the new arrangements while preparing everything to be ready.

After almost a full day of sorting out everything inside the Wishing Stop Station, Aria stepped outside to check if the men were still there or had already gone to look for the house she wanted.

However, as soon as her feet stepped down the stairs, she noticed only three men outside.

They seemed busy with something, forming a circle around someone in particular.

Wait... who is that?