Chapter 55- Three Options
Chapter 55- Three Options
His words made the entire group fall into silence for a moment. Then, they started looking at each other.
"Go to the tower, huh?" Alex muttered as he crossed his arms. "I wouldn’t expect any less recklessness from you. And why do you think that’s a good idea?"
"Because that’s the only idea we got," Rein replied as he walked to the table and sat down with a grunt. "We are now stuck in this city. There are potentially no survivors left, and no actual safe place to hide for any meaningful amount of time. It would be completely counterintuitive to remain in this place."
"But, isn’t the outside even more dangerous?" Cain asked. "There are forests and long stretches of empty land filled with monsters."
"It is indeed dangerous. But this city will soon be flooded with such creatures when they realize that it has now been turned into rubble. Besides, that tower is not only odd but also a bit too obvious not to be something we have to go to."
"..."
Its sudden appearance, the way the entire world seemingly shook by its mere presence, and its aura that seemed to lure gazes toward it. It was completely obvious what the system wanted the survivors to do.
"We only have two options as of now. Only two. Either we go and try to find a safe city or a place where surviving would be possible... Like a human colony, shelter, or anywhere sustainable. Or, we head straight toward the tower. I am going to do the latter. But, if you want to do the other one, then I won’t stop you." Rein explained
Either way, the family would be a hindrance and a heavy weight to carry in such a journey. As much as he held no ill feelings toward them, he knew that if he was going to bring them with him, it would take extra effort to keep them safe, and that wasn’t really ideal.
’If I could find a safe place for them, that would be ideal.’ Rein rubbed his head as he looked outside. ’But, where could we even go? And are there even safe places left in the world?’
"We need a map," Rein spoke after a moment of silence. "I know it’s not easy to make such a decision, but we also can’t just go ahead and guess blindly. We can at least try to guess where the best possible location for a safe shelter could be within the country. Does anyone have their phone with them?"
"M-Me!" Teo said as he approached Rein and put his phone on the table.
Rein nodded and opened the map app and zoomed in on their country. Since it was located in a flat land, there weren’t many mountains or even hills.
So, naturally, any possible natural barriers wouldn’t really be that easy to find. Had this country been in the heart of a mountain range or if it even contained more hills and elevated ground, people could easily use that to their advantage.
’Well, that definitely deletes a lot of places out of the question.’ Rein thought to himself as he looked at the map.
"What are you looking for?" Cain asked.
"Hm, if I have to guess where the government could create a small colony... I would have three options. Here." Rein said as he slid the phone toward the rest of the group. "These three cities."
He pointed at the map. The first option was a city up north, in the heart of the country, far from the sea, and it was located in elevated plains, so it was generally harder to access. The second option was the capital, as it was the biggest city, and it would have a higher chance of containing survivors.
"The problem with the first two options is that they’re just simple guesses. There is nothing special about these cities that could truly make surviving easier. They’re as good as any other city except for the two details mentioned." Rein said as he tapped the map with his finger.
"Yeah, you’re right..." Victoria said. "I don’t know if we can even travel that far so easily. There are long stretches of land, and it wouldn’t be safe."
"That too. So, these options aren’t the best. There is, however, a third possible option that seems a bit better than the rest."
Rein said and then slowly slid the map down and stopped near the shores of the country. There, he pointed at a particular city... Virgona. A coastal city and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the entire country.
"Virgona? Why that specific city?" Alex asked.
"Two... No, three reasons. The first and obvious one is that it’s a coastal city. That body of water acts as a natural barrier. When you’re on land, you’re threatened from every single direction, so that makes creating a colony harder. However, when we delete one side completely, that makes the process a bit easier."
The group nodded their heads. Rein’s logic sounded pretty convincing, and they could see that being the case.
"The second reason is that this particular city is a tourist hub, and while that means more Undead... It also means more chances of people surviving."
"And the third reason... What’s the third reason?"
Rein looked down at the map and then up at the window. "That city... is in the exact direction of the tower. If we head there, we would be heading toward the tower exactly."
Rein wanted to strike two birds with one stone. Find a shelter for the family while also heading straight toward the tower. It would be ideal if he could achieve both goals, but even if he doesn’t find a shelter, he can still head toward the tower.
"Those are the three options I suggest. If you have other ideas, by all means, say them." Rein said as he crossed his arms and looked at each one in the group.
"I... Well, I honestly don’t know which one is the better option... What do you see, Victoria?" He asked his wife. He had always relied on her for second opinions because of her intelligence.
The woman looked at the map and then at Rein. "How confident are you that Virgona would be the best option out of the three, Rein? It’s fine if it’s just your gut feeling."
Rein stared back at her calmly for a second before he closed his eyes as if he was thinking for a moment.
"I would say... 40%." He said.
"40%, huh?"
A feeling of unease loomed over the entire room as they all thought about his words.
"Considering how every other possibility seems in the single digits, this city has pretty great chances if you ask me," Rein explained. "Either way, you still have time to decide. I will try to help you to the best of my abilities."
Standing up, Rein walked to the window to stare outside again. His eyes were locked on the tower in the distance. A sense of connection filled his mind that he couldn’t understand. If that tower had a voice, he knew it would be calling his name to come toward it.
And Rein... for some odd reason, wasn’t hesitating about doing exactly that.