I looked down when the door opened again. Li Julong panted and a wave of cold air rolled inside. The brown-haired man lay over his shoulder like a wet bag. Was he still alive? In the darkness, I could only make out silhouettes but was unable to see any injuries. 

Moving up the stairs easily, Li Julong started a conversation. “Is everything alright with you?” 

“Hm,” I answered and continued my ascent. My feet were wet and cold, making every step uncomfortable. The additional numbness did not make it better. 

“Can you help me here, real quick?” he asked.

I thought for a second and just as I was about to answer, a deafening noise echoed through the hall. Millions of tiny shards flew into the room, glittering in the yellow light of the lanterns, and a deformed head entered the bottom of my field of view, baring its teeth. 

The fanger sniffed the air and turned in our direction. The bright light from outside illuminated the dark lines covering its back. 

Slowly, the fanger crept up, stopping just to the side of the stairs and looking up. It ducked down, making itself look like a long log of snow.

The tail swooshed to the side. 

Crash!

It knocked over the scaffold. Paint spilled, and I could smell the wood splinters and musty dust from it. However, the monster kept its focus even after getting hit by a paint bucket. 

It looked straight up the staircase scaffold. Its eyes narrowed to slits, it was trying to make out our silhouettes behind the wooden railing.

The door was almost there. I pressed myself to the wall furthest away. The damp trousers of mine ranged along the rough wall.

For the fanger, the ten meters that separated us were just one leap away. The front and its paw twitched. 

I was not there yet.

My thoughts screamed at each other. The door felt so far at that moment.

The fanger bent back and then…

{Do something!}

I needed only two seconds.

I grabbed the person on Li Julong's shoulder by the collar and pulled him over the railing. 

You will make up for the two seconds.

I ran up the remaining stairs, and grabbed the saving door handle. I opened it and tasted sharp wooden shavings mixing with the chemical smell of paint in my mouth. 

A gurgling sound let me turn around the moment I felt relatively safe.

Li Julong held on to the man’s leg, keeping the body from falling. But the creature's paw had hit the person's chest and went straight through, sending half of the body flying towards the door. White bones stuck out from the bleeding torso, pointing to the dark ceiling like arrows. The red and brown flesh and intestines splattered on the glittering floor and left a red streak behind.

The pale-white Li Julong let go the foot and stumbled back against the wall, his dark-circled eyes widened in horror.

I leaned forward and pulled Li Julong into the door.

Wham!

Through a gap, I spied upon the fanger. A shudder went down my spine as it chewed at the cadaver. It licked the intestines from the glass-covered floor, leaving nothing behind except a slimy layer of acidic spit. After finishing its meal, the snow fanger left on silent paws into the darkness of the night. 

Only then, my rapid heartbeat calmed down. Li Julong was still apathetically staring at straight ahead without focus.

I ascended the second staircase. We shouldn’t stay here for long. Who knew if this area counted as a room. I grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

He slapped back my hand. Without saying anything, he stared at me, trying to formulate words to say, but ultimately decided against it. He bit his lip and ran up the stairs.

Several minutes later.

10 people queued in front of my throne of tins. Ayo Guh and Phee stood left and right at my side like guards. Not that I needed protection; I felt great; but my two acquaintances were adamant that the food should be protected by all means. It was also a way for them to earn their ration.

While I was gone, most of the people decided that my bags were common good now. However, they were not able to get far. Ayo Guh and Phee had guarded the bags with their life. 

When I came back, the tall, dark-skinned woman had bruises on her arms, but kept a sturdy stance holding a thin metal pipe. The boy hovered over my bags, curled up into a ball. 

Not one tin was stolen. That alone would have been a valid reason to give them some, but since they were insisting… 

After the alliance failed and a stern look from Hugo after Li Julong returned, they quickly changed tactics and now queued like polite kids in school.

It was hard keeping my eyes open. I missed my phone, even if to only check the time. It had noticeably become colder since the sun went down. Some people had curled up near the pipe and tried to sleep, but the cold wind from the hole made them wake up with cold sweat again and again. 

I had taken off my shoes. They stood on top of the pipe and dried. My pants were soaked. I hadn’t anything else to cover myself with, so I left them on. They had become 

“What is the price of one can? And can I choose myself?” It was Li Julong’s turn. He had been patched up by his team members, but he still looked worn. He forced himself to speak cheerfully, but the fingers cradling and kneading his thumbs showed his discomfort.

I held up my index finger. “One can, one Existence. Otherwise, you can offer anything else, including precious or useful objects, or labor. What payment would you prefer?”

“Existence. Two cans, please.”

I nodded and handed him a piece of paper. “Please sign here.” A previous customer had offered their expertise as a lawyer in setting up a contract, and another made it binding under the watchful eyes of the gods.

“Thank you for your service.”

I shook his hand.

“Di-rring!”

[Error! Error fixed!]

[*God, ‘Director of Future Light’ transferred three EX points.]

“Three?”

“For… earlier.”

“Oh, thanks! Which flavor do you want?”

His answer shot right back at me, as if he had been waiting. “One tin of kidney beans and one baked!”

“Here you go.”

But after getting his purchase, he did not leave.

“Is there something you want to say?” When he did not respond, I added, “You’re holding up the line.”

“Will you join the reconnaissance squad?”

I looked over at the timer. It had completely recovered. Dragon Anima had not messaged me since the attack of the snow fanger. I would have really needed their help there.

The administrator’s motive was obvious. The point was not for saving him. It was a bribe to join the squad.

“I will think about it.”

Thinking of the bribe, I could not help but smile. The administrator was a cunning fellow.

“Let me just finish up here. Then we can talk.”

Li Julong flashed a smile, walking away.

I hurriedly finished up the line. In the process, I acquired 4 Existence additional to Li Julong’s 3, adding up to 7 points in total. I held on to them for the time being. They were my emergency cheat to replenish energy or to reset the paralysis timer by investing in health at the right time.

The majority of people had paid with miscellaneous items, and 3 people had offered their services. 

Two were the people who set up the contract. They had been my first two customers. The third person had wanted to act as a bodyguard. But since Ayo Guh and Phee were already guarding the place, she instead decided to take on any request by me as long as it was not too dangerous. 

Of course, this agreement was sealed with the contract before the gods as well.

I stretched my arms. The upwelling tiredness made me yawn. My lids became heavy. The eventful day must have taken a toll on my body, as well as the early sundown in winter. 

I looked at Ayo Guh until she realized and turned to me. 

“How long do you think you can hold on? I want to sleep for a bit. Could you keep watch?”

“No problem,” she replied, “the night is more my friend than the day anyway.” She raised the corner of her lips and formed a beautiful smile with her plump red lips. Her eyes sparkled cheerfully.

“I can also stay up!” Phee said from the other side. 

I chuckled. 

“If you are sure, you can take over the second shift. Is that okay with you?” I asked Ayo Guh.

She smiled gracefully at the boy and nodded hesitantly. “You have to wake us if you see anything suspicious. Promesse?” The last word was spoken in French. 

My own French had stayed at beginner level, even after learning it in school for four years. Ayo Guh was clearly fluent, probably even better than her English. I wondered if she could speak German too.

I shook out a blue-lined blanket somebody had traded, adding even more dust to the room. The thin blanket, originally meant for a picnic, didn’t spend much warmth, but it was an excellent separator from the cold floor. The pipe released thin steam clouds into the dark room, making it warmer, but also added water to the already humid air. The tiny clouds caught the yellow light from outside and glowed like ghostly lava lamps.

Leaning back, covering me up with one end of the picnic blanket, and back to back with the boy Phee, I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

“That will be the positions for the expedition. Any questions?” The giant Hugo belonged to the military. He was a sergeant, Feldwebel in German. His whole demeanor had changed when the meeting started, now that he was in charge.

Li Julong and another administrator stayed on the sidelines and watched as Hugo explained the procedures in short and precise sentences.

After careful consideration, I had decided to join the team. Right now it was cold and the food would barely last for one to two people. Sadly, I was still not strong enough to guard the food against all people present. Even if Li Julong was portraying an honorable man so far, I didn’t know how far he would go if food is scarce. Hunger changed people like it changed animals.

But now was not the time to think about that. Being in this team will give me the advantage to get to know the elite. And having official authority would prove to be helpful as well.