Chaos has a distinct sound.
Not the roar of monsters, but the sound of panicked humans. Broken screams, ragged hyperventilating breaths, and the thud of weapons being swung blindly in every direction.
In front of me, the Safe Zone's defensive circle was collapsing.
The pack of Scavenger Hounds—mutant dogs with ulcerated skin and double jaws—crashed into the human line like waves hitting a sandcastle.
"Hold! Don't retreat!" Hank, the security guard, shouted. He swung the [Bone Spike] in his hand bravely but foolishly.
He stabbed a dog's shoulder. The monster howled, but didn't die. Hank forgot to pull his weapon back. The dog thrashed, and Hank was dragged forward, falling.
"Idiot," I muttered from my safe position behind the concrete pillar.
The weapons I gave them were Stabbing Type. Not Slashing Type. But these people were swinging them like baseball bats. They were wasting stamina, damaging weapon durability, and producing zero Critical Hits.
It was like watching someone try to type a report using a hammer. Inefficient. Painful to watch.
A dog broke through the line, targeting a mother holding a [Rat Claw] knife. The woman screamed, closed her eyes, and swung her arm wildly.
Slash.
Miraculously, she managed to scratch the dog's snout.
The dog backed off, confused. Not because of pain, but because the woman's Agility stat had increased thanks to the passive item she held.
"Open your eyes!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the noise. "That item gives you speed, not bravery! Stab the eyes, not the wind!"
The woman opened her eyes, trembling, then stabbed again. This time hitting the neck.
Black blood sprayed.
[Assist XP gained.]
I smiled thinly.
The System was fair. If I lent the weapon, I got a small XP commission from every kill they made. Passive royalties.
But my smile vanished when I heard a soft whistling sound in the air.
Not a monster sound.
It was the sound of projectile physics.
Fwhip.
An arrow flew from the darkness atop the building across the street.
Not targeting the dogs.
The arrow struck the thigh of the young man holding two [Bone Spike] cards.
"ARGH!"
The young man fell. The cards slipped from his hands, clattering onto the asphalt.
From the shadows, a dog leaped to finish off the fallen boy.
But my eyes didn't look at the dog. My eyes looked at the roof across the street.
There was a silhouette there. Holding a Compound Bow.
He wasn't helping.
Was he Kill Stealing? No.
He was shooting humans.
He was attempting a Hostile Takeover. He wanted those dropped weapons.
"Dirty competitor," I hissed.
I didn't care about the boy's life. But that boy was holding my assets. If he died and someone else took the weapons without paying, that was theft.
"Miri!" I ordered.
Miri was busy chewing the leg of a dog trapped in my [Spike Trap]. It looked up, mouth full of blood and fur.
I pointed at the fallen boy.
"Secure the asset."
Miri understood. It didn't care about the human; it cared about the dropped cards. The cards smelled of Mana.
Miri rolled like a black bowling ball, slamming into the dog that was about to bite the boy's neck.
CRASH!
The dog was knocked away. Miri stood on the chest of the groaning boy, opened its wide mouth, and hissed toward the building across the street.
It became a Living Shield.
Another arrow flew.
Ting!
The arrow bounced off Miri's iron skin.
[Trait: Iron Skin] worked perfectly.
On the opposite roof, the archer's silhouette seemed to hesitate. He realized there was another player on this chessboard. Someone who had a Tank unit.
I seized this moment.
I had no ranged weapon that could reach that roof. My chain whip only had a 3-meter reach. [Bone Spike] was maybe effective at 10 meters. The archer was at 50 meters vertical distance.
I had to force him down, or force him away.
I looked at the large bonfire in the center of the plaza. The main light source.
This light made us easy targets. The archer was in the dark, we were on a brightly lit stage.
"Hank!" I shouted. "Kick the bonfire! Scatter the fire!"
"What?!" Hank turned, his face bloody. "We need the light!"
"You need to live, you idiot! He's shooting us like fish in a barrel! Put it out or die!"
Hank hesitated for a second, then saw the arrow sticking out of the boy's thigh. He realized.
With a scream of frustration, Hank kicked the pile of burning books and plastic chairs.
The bonfire collapsed. Embers scattered in every direction.
Thick smoke billowed up, creating a chaotic smoke screen.
The light in the plaza dimmed drastically. Shadows lengthened and danced wildly.
Visibility dropped.
On the roof, the archer lost his clear shot.
I saw him lower the bow. He knew his advantage was gone.
He turned and disappeared into the building's shadows.
He retreated. For now.
"Cowardly thief," I muttered.
The battle below continued, but the momentum had shifted.
Without bright light, the dogs were also confused. Their sensory advantage was smell, but the thick smoke from burning plastic messed up their noses.
The humans, driven by panic adrenaline, began attacking blindly.
Stab. Slash. Hit.
Dog screams mixed with human curses.
Ten minutes later, silence fell again.
Only the sounds of groaning wounded and heavy breathing remained.
Fifteen dead dogs. Three dead humans. Seven critically injured.
The plaza was a mess. Blood, ash, and carcasses scattered everywhere.
I stepped out from behind the concrete pillar. Miri returned to my side, carrying one [Bone Spike] card in its mouth that it had retrieved from the boy.
Good girl. She saved the inventory.
I walked to the center of the plaza. People stared at me.
Their gaze was different from before.
Earlier, they looked at me as a weird merchant.
Now, they looked at me as a war leader. Or perhaps, a cruel petty god.
"Three dead," Hank said, sitting against the table barricade, holding his bitten arm. "We... we survived."
"You survived because I gave you tools," I corrected coldly. "And because I told you to kick that fire."
I pointed at the building across the street.
"There's another Player up there. An Archer. He shot that kid, not the monsters."
A chilling silence descended.
Monsters killed because of hunger. That was natural law.
But humans killing other humans in the first hours of the apocalypse? That was a new terror.
"Why?" asked a woman bandaging a head wound. "Why did he shoot us?"
I took the card from Miri's mouth, wiping the saliva on my pants.
"Because you're holding weapons he wants," I answered. "In this new world, Supply is low, Demand is high. Killing you is cheaper than buying from me."
Their faces went pale. The economic reality of the apocalypse hit them harder than the dogs' teeth. They realized the weapons in their hands were not just tools of protection, but also targets on their backs.
I walked around the battlefield, picking up dog carcasses.
One by one.
[Forge]. [Forge]. [Forge].
Dog carcasses vanished. New cards appeared.
[ITEM: HOUND TOOTH DAGGER]
[RANK: COMMON]
[EFFECT: +2 Agility. Bleeding chance.]
Better than rat bones. Product upgrade.
I stopped in front of the young man with the arrow in his leg. He groaned, face pale from shock.
"Help..." he whispered.
I looked at the wound. The arrow went through muscle, missed the bone.
I looked at the [Bone Spike] card he had dropped. Miri had already retrieved it.
This boy lost his weapon. Lease contract terminated.
"You lost my item," I said.
The boy cried. "I was shot! Please, it hurts so much..."
I sighed.
I could leave him. But letting customers die was bad for long-term business. Reputation is an Intangible Asset.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out an unused [Rat Tail Whip] card.
"This isn't medicine," I said, placing the card on his chest. "But if you hold this, the system will give you a small passive Vitality boost. It might keep you alive until the bleeding stops."
The boy clutched the card like a talisman. His breathing calmed slightly.
"Thank you... thank you..."
"Your debt has increased," I said. "You lost one [Bone Spike], you took one [Rat Tail Whip]. Interest is 20% per day."
He nodded quickly, not caring about the math. He only cared that he was still alive.
I stood up, looking at the remaining crowd.
There were about 40 people now. Tired, wounded, but armed. And they all saw me as the only authority who knew what was happening.
I had monopolized violence in this sector.
And now, I had a competitor on the roof.
I opened my status panel.
[Name: Rax]
[Level: 4 -> 5]
[Exp: 85%]
[Assets: 15 Hound Daggers (New), 30 Bone Spikes]
I leveled up again thanks to the passive XP from their kills.
Level 5.
This was an important milestone. At level 5, mental capacity usually increased significantly. And more importantly, new system features usually unlocked.
Sure enough. A blue notification appeared before my eyes.
[Level 5 Reached]
[New System Feature Unlocked: THE AUCTION HOUSE (Local)]
[You may now list items for trade within 5km radius.]
My lips curled into a wide smile.
The Auction House.
Finally.
I no longer needed to shout offering goods like a street vendor. I could sell items digitally.
And more importantly: I could see what others were selling.
Including that Archer on the roof.
I stared at the dark building across the street.
"You want to play free market?" I whispered to the darkness. "Fine. Let's see who has the bigger capital."
I patted Miri's head. It was full from eating the metal scraps of the battle.
"Guard the door, Miri. I'm going browsing."