Nile stepped inside the room and what he saw made his eyes widened in surprise.

Maximo was glaring at the opened window. A dagger was embedded not far from Croco's bobbed tail. If Croco still had his tail, then it might have been hit by the dagger. How lucky he is for being unlucky.

The woman was no longer there. She had escaped.

When Nile stepped inside the room, Maximo turned his head towards him. Maximo was startled and felt happy that Nile was already here. Using the earring's function, he communicated with Nile with the telepathy function, all the while performing actions on what had happened.

Maximo pointed here and there using his hooves to recount the scenario. Based on what Nile had understood, it seemed that the lady, after Nile had left, actually tried to escape directly using the window. When Maximo attempted to stop her, she suddenly pulled out a dagger from her back, then threw it at the sleeping Croco. Maximo could not ignore the dagger and managed to deflect it at the last second using his horn, hence the reason why the dagger's trajectory fell short and could only hit the floor, not far from Croco's bobbed tail.

Maximo was oozing in anger while he recalled the events. He did not expect the woman to escape directly. Nile thought that she would try to seduce him tonight, just like what will usually happen in most of the novels he read.

Nile blamed himself for this negligence as he sauntered towards the window. A cold breeze hit his face while he looked outside, at the possible escape route that the woman had taken. He wanted to follow and kill her immediately, but he was afraid of leaving Maximo and Croco behind again.

He knew that he was no longer alone in this apocalypse world. He had two loyal pets that would die for him. Leaving them behind was no longer an option.

Nile was having a bad feeling about the woman escaping. What if she came back to the base of Bruno and reported what he had done? What if Bruno is stronger than him? How many men does Bruno have? Will he be able to contend with them, with only Maximo by his side?

'System, is there an item in the store that could speed up the evolution of Croco?'

The Nile asks the System seriously.

[Unfortunately, Host, the System doesn't have something like that. Evolution should be done in the process, skipping won't do anything well.]

This was the first time that Nile became disappointed with the System's response. Aren't you omnipotent? How many items does your store have, but it doesn't even contain something simple like that?

An hour had passed and Croco was still lying on the floor soundly. Maximo's evolution took almost three hours. Nile assumed it would also be the same for Croco.

At the moment, Croco's body was trembling like it was having a massive battle inside. Nile noticed that Croco's two front legs were having a bump on both sides. He guessed that it was Croco's evolutionary path. Just like Maximo, who now has a defensive carapace on his neck, Nile assumes that Croco's front legs will also be the same.

Half an hour later, Croco's front legs were bleeding. Two metal-like bones sprouted on both of his legs. It was now at three inches and Nile noticed that it was still growing.

Nile was already getting restless because of the vibes he was getting. And then, the System finally issued a mission. An emergency mission.

[ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!]

[Emergency Mission: Escape Right Now.

Description: A man saved a snake from the eagle's claws, but instead of feeling grateful, the snake bites the hand of its saviour. The woman who you saved had returned to Bruno's base and reported that you killed his three underlings. She added some seasonings to the story and now Bruno was furious by what you had done.

Bruno and his gang were coming towards you. There is strength in numbers.

Objective: Leave your pet Croco and escape the Village until the System deems the location as safe.

Reward: Four Earring's of Loyalty.]

Nile's body trembled in anger after reading the mission. Nile clenched his fist and smashed it against the wall. "That woman. I should've killed her right away."

Nile was now regretting why he did not kill the woman immediately after she put a dagger in his neck. There was also the time when the woman came back.

Nile re-read the System's mission again. After reading it till the last paragraph, Nile could help but form a little smile under his mask. It stated that there is strength in numbers.

Meaning, Nile could defeat them one on one, but because they were in a group, the System deemed it as dangerous and offered him the Urgent Mission to escape. 'There's still hope to defeat them.'

Nile glanced at the mission reward and he was tempted for a second. Four Earrings of Loyalty meant that he would gain four loyal underlings in exchange for Croco's demise.

However, Nile set aside the System's generous mission this time. If it was before, he would definitely agree with it and escape immediately. But, ever since he took possession of the two animal's, officially, Nile no longer wanted to part with them. He doesn't know if it was his possessive side or it was actually something else.

But he knows for sure that the two pet's were his, and nothing shall separate them from him.

Nile browsed through the System Store and pressed the tab for the one-time consumable type items. He planned on using bombs to surprise his guests.

Nile stops for a second and recalls that he could also use the sniping slingshot paired with the Exploding bullet to confront them from afar. This way, their numbers will already dwindle before they could even arrive at his location.

Nile goes outside and climbs to the tall tree beside the house. He surveyed the area and shook his head in disappointment before he climbed down again.

There were trees and houses everywhere if he decided to use the sniping slingshot, Nile knew that he could only use it for one time. Unlike before, his enemies right now were intelligent humans. They would surely use those trees and houses as a cover the second time he fires a shot. Of course, even that one shot can be helpful so Nile bought one box of Exploding Bullet(+) in the System for 15 Apocalypse Points.

Nile was hoping that Croco could awaken from his evolution before Bruno's gang arrived. This way, he could escape and System might still deem it as successful, after all, he escaped even though he did not leave Croco behind.

The cost of the mini bombs that the System was selling cost up to 50 Apocalypse Points each. Its explosion radius can reach up to 10 meters. The normal edition of exploding bullets only has an explosion radius of up to five meters. A grenade from his previous life has an explosion radius of 3 meters, so comparing them, the mini bombs were definitely stronger, and it cost a lot too.

Nile bought one as it really cost a lot. Nile then set his eyes on the talents that are useful for his current situation.

Level One° Bombing Talent. Although Nile needed it right now, he only has one mini bomb, so the talent might be wasted.

After browsing for more, Nile decided to settle on one of the top talents in the Level One° System Store.

[Level One° Master of Close Combat Talent: A master of close combat. Become versed in close combat after learning the skill. Evade like a snake and sting like a bee. A Level One° talent at the Peak Phase.

/70 Apocalypse Points.]

[Buy? Yes/No.]

The reason Nile bought this talent was simple, although he knew the basics of how to utilise a weapon, he was still inexperienced in the fighting. It was alright before as what he had been facing was mindless zombies that only have a simple attack pattern. However, he will be facing intelligent survivors later and he knows that they will not be the last.

Combining the Weapons Master Talent, Dual-Wielding Talent, and the recently acquired Master of Combat Talent, Nile knew that even though his stats points did not increase, he had definitely become stronger.

He was confident that he could survive this current situation. And if worse comes to worse, he can just carry Croco and escape. But he is sure that it will be detrimental to Croco's evolution so he leaves that as the last option.

Rows of moves and attack patterns appeared in Nile's mind as he pressed the 'Yes' button inside his head. He closed his eyes and savoured the knowledge that got injected into his mind. After absorbing the knowledge, Nile felt that he could now fully utilise those moves as if he had already learned them a long time ago.

Nile opened his eyes and a determined expression can be seen in his eyes. Nile got up from his seat and sauntered outside.

Nile wanted to set up the mini bomb in a location that has a high chance of achieving multiple kills. He doesn't know just how many men Bruno has, but it's still better to be safe than sorry. Nile knew that he was not the best, at least not yet. Being careful would not do him any harm.

Nile took a glance at the map and estimated that Bruno's group would arrive at any minute. He hastened his work and embedded the mini bomb at one of the enormous trees that was blocking the pathway towards the centre.

Nile then hurried back towards the house. He instructed Maximo to guard Croco, and report immediately when he woke up. Maximo nodded reluctantly and was even protesting to come along with Nile.

Nile only nodded and assured the animal that it could join him outside when Croco woke up.

Nile then goes outside and climbs again at the tall tree. He retrieved the Sniping Slingshot and mounted the box of Exploding Bullet(+) on his right arm.

He leaned on the thick trunk of the tree and waited for Bruno and his gang's arrival.