After leaving Matthew's group behind, they traveled even faster than before. Or well, at least James did. Isaac couldn't really speed up too much unless he wanted to leave his teammate in the dust. Flying was just that unfair when it came to covering long distances.

That said, barely twenty minutes after resuming their journey, more and more people began to pop up in his sight. Most traveled and fought in groups—usually about ten strong—but there were also the rare loners who stood against the monsters without any help.

It was… a surprisingly good sight. To see so many survivors working to get stronger, to get through this mess that the Overlords had dumped them into.

Unfortunately, as Isaac and James soon discovered, the growing number of people also meant they had to slow down. And it wasn't just out of courtesy or concern about spooking the groups of Hosts in their path. No, the reason was much different and far more entertaining.

At least to Isaac.

The problem, as it turned out, was James' Legacy form. A gray bull, a bit larger than normal, but still unmistakably a bull. And since Analyze didn't work on other Hosts… well, a couple of groups had a brilliant idea. Or rather, the same bad one.

Which was to hunt James for meat.

The first time it happened, and the poor group realized their mistake and scrambled to apologize, Isaac barely held in his laughter. By the second, third, and fourth time, he had no such reservations. The death glares James sent his way only made it better.

Really, it was long overdue karma. Isaac still remembered the teasing about his Legacy form and how it might taste. Well, now the older man knew how he felt back then. It was quite cathartic, and he wasn't even one to hold a grudge.

"It really isn't funny," James grumbled after escaping the fifth group that had mistaken him for walking dinner. "I would taste terrible. I haven't had a proper bath in, what now? Four days?"

Next to him, Isaac snorted. "That's what you worry about?"

James' shoulders slumped as he let out an over-the-top sigh. "I have accepted my fate, man… Probably safer to stay in my human form from now on, huh?"

"Might be for the best," Isaac answered, trying to hide his smile.

The older man shot him a flat look. "You're enjoying this way too much."

"That I am," Isaac admitted with a shrug. "So what?"

That earned him a loud groan, only making his smile widen. Honestly, for someone who enjoyed being a pain in the ass, James sometimes had very thin skin. Or maybe it was just the fact that they were close to Los Angeles now?

Yeah, that's most likely it, he thought, and clapped James on the back. "All right, man. Come on. It can't be far now."

James nodded without a word and started running, this time in his human form. Isaac, meanwhile, transformed and shot into the sky. He just hoped he wouldn't become the next victim of people trying to hunt for food…

At last, once the sun began to slowly dip behind the horizon, Isaac spotted their target in the distance.

A massive, blue, transparent dome that protected one of the largest cities in the US.

Los Angeles.

The first thing Isaac noticed? The earthquakes here had clearly been a lot kinder than in Sacramento or Galt. Compared to his home, LA came out of the Breakout stage quite well. Sure, he could see many collapsed or half-destroyed buildings, but there were also plenty that looked almost untouched. Hell, even a few skyscrapers survived, which was quite mind-boggling.

Other than that, with the night fast approaching, thousands of lights flickered across the entire Safe Zone. Be it from campfires or some other artificial sources. Obviously, the people of Los Angeles were doing quite well for themselves. A very good sign, considering why Isaac and James had come here.

But, ignoring what was happening inside the dome, there was one more thing about this place he wasn't thrilled about

The territory that surrounded it.

Much like Sacramento, LA wasn't straight up connected to the Peaceful Plains. Instead, a stretch of swamps, at least a mile or two wide, surrounded the Safe Zone. Mud, shallow waters, and clusters of thin trees filled with brown leaves made up this place. Quite the contrast to the Rotborne Woods, Isaac and his team had to deal with.

However, seeing the strange mud monsters of all shapes patrolling the swamps made him think that maybe the Hollowbeaks, Barkspawns, and even Rotgrubs weren't all that bad. At least those didn't force him to change clothes after a single fight.

Not that we have to worry about that. Monsters haven't tried to touch us for a few hours now, he thought as he flew down to join James on the ground.

With LA this close, he didn't see a point in alerting everyone inside the Safe Zone of their arrival. Sure, the incoming night would hide his Legacy, but odds were good someone here had night vision. It seemed like quite a popular ability to obtain these days.

Oh well, doesn't matter. James will be leading the way now anyway.

By the time they stepped into the Merciful Swamp—and wasn't that an interesting name for a territory—darkness had descended upon this part of the Earth. Did that stop some Hosts from being out and about, fighting the scattered mud monsters?

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

No, not at all.

Isaac and James had passed just as many, if not more, people here than they did in the Peaceful Plains. Obviously, even three days after the Safe Zone opened up, there were still plenty of people who weren't strong enough to push further into the wilds. That or they just enjoyed facing monsters that could barely fight back.

Because really, this place had nothing on the Rotborne Woods. Back there, one could get swarmed by a horde of monsters. Here, the Mudlings moved with the speed of a crawling baby. Even better, none of them were stronger than level four, and even those were rare.

Kinda pathetic, Isaac mused. Were we just unlucky with the Rotborne Woods, or what?

He spared another Mudling a glance and activated Analyze one more time. For some reason, that action sent the monster into a frenzy, making it slither away, refusing to stay close to him any longer. It could be due to how strong he and James were, but if that was the case, then why didn't it just run the moment it saw them?

Whatever…

Potential Threat: None

Same result as with every other Mudling. Honestly, he didn't even know such a threat ranking existed. In hindsight, it made sense. Those things wouldn't be able to hurt him even if they swarmed him. His toughness was likely enough to hold them back.

Amazing how much can change in under a week.

Isaac sighed, averting his gaze from the fleeing monster. His gaze drifted to the man jogging next to him. As expected, no changes there. Still the same expressionless look. It was like James had no idea how to feel with his target so close.

Not that it was any surprise. Los Angeles might still be here. But his family? His sisters? That remained to be seen.

Isaac could have said something, but it wouldn't have mattered. The only thing that could stop James from worrying now was seeing his family alive and well. There was no other solution.

Just a little bit further.

Before long, they reached the blue barrier, the border between the old and new world. Isaac shared a quick nod with James, and without a word, they stepped through. The shift was instant.

Some sort of weight he had grown used to at this point vanished from his shoulders. At the same time, multiple notifications flooded his vision.

"Holy shit," James muttered next to him.

Holy shit indeed, Isaac thought, his focus fully on the messages floating before him.

Welcome, Host, to Los Angeles. Viral connection with the local Support Nexus established. Data exchange in progress… Done! You may now enjoy the full benefits of the Nexus.

Fast-travel location unlocked. New Guides unlocked. Shop inventory expanded.

LA Support Nexus Menu: - Status - Guides - Fast-travel - Shop

Isaac's lips tugged upward. Now, that was exactly what he wanted to see. He quickly dismissed the first two notifications and chose Status from the menu, just to check if it was the same as in Sacramento.

Nexus Information: Owner: Public (Cannot be claimed) | Status: Online (Permanent) | Strength: Overseer-powered

Yeah, word for word, he noted, waving off the information. He was about to check on the fast-travel when James spoke up.

"Come on, man. We still have a long way to go."

Isaac frowned. "Long way?"

James nodded without even sparing him a glance. "I live in Long Beach. That's on the other side of the city."

"Oh…" Isaac muttered. "Right… okay then. Lead the way."

Without missing a beat, James took point. They kept running, but not as fast as before. People were almost everywhere, and crashing into someone because they went too fast was the last thing they needed right now. Still, at the very least, this gave Isaac a chance to check the other new stuff in the Nexus' menu.

Fast-travel.

Unlike last time, the Interface didn't stop him with a notification. Instead, it showed him a small window, filled with an unfamiliar image. It took him a good couple of seconds before he realized what he was looking at.

A map. A very incomplete map, but still a map.

It displayed two glowing points far away from each other, with a jagged path connecting them. A closer look confirmed that this was the road he and his team had taken from Sacramento to Los Angeles. No borders between territories, though—a bit disappointing.

Still, at least the fast-travel function seemed to be working now.

For a brief moment, he even considered selecting Sacramento, just to see what would happen. Then he thought better of it. Getting teleported by accident was the last thing he wanted to happen. He backed off to the main menu and selected Guides.

And… disappointment.

Sure, there was some new stuff, but nothing that Isaac didn't already know. And worst of all, when he selected the guide for Origin fusion, he only received the following notification.

[Reach level 30 to unlock more information.]

A bit irritated, he again returned to the menu and chose the final option, Shop. Another window appeared, this one filled with all kinds of items.

First, there was all the stuff he could buy back in Sacramento. But as he scrolled lower, a fresh selection revealed itself.

Two Blueprints, one for Stealth, the other for Burst. Quite nice, but the price of 80 Inferior or 8 Normal-grade Virality Gems made him stay away. After that came the potions, all Inferior-grade. They were cheaper than the Blueprints, but Isaac still doubted he would buy them soon or at all.

And finally, at the very bottom was something that he could see himself spending gems on.

Storage Brands.

To be precise, there were only two options available. One to buy a temporary Brand for a day, and the other to extend its lifetime for another twenty-four hours. Now, creating one from scratch? That was quite pricey—whole 10 Normal-grade gems. The extension, however?

This Isaac could work with.

Twenty Inferior, or two normals. I can do that.

Without hesitation, he selected the option, hoping the Storage Brand he received almost a week ago would work with this. It didn't even have twenty-four hours left anymore, and there was a lot of stuff within it, stuff he couldn't carry alone.

Storage Brand extension: 24 hours. Do you wish to buy this? First purchase bonus is unavailable for this item.

Huh… Isaac blinked. That solves one issue. Proceed then and buy it twice.

Acknowledged. 40 Inferior Virality Gems have been removed from the Host's Storage Brand.

The lifetime of your Storage Brand (T) has been extended by 48 hours.

Isaac smiled. This little deal might have cost him two-thirds of the Inferior gems he had saved up, but it was more than worth it. He quickly dismissed all the notifications from his sight and focused on following James.

Final straight.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.