Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

Alex had time--a lot of it--before the first main scenario started, but he wanted to reach the green zone ahead of time.

He didn't want to be late; who knew if there was a penalty for being late, so he rushed straight toward Dehradun without stopping to clear any level 5 zones.

In Uttarakhand, there were at least 50 green zones, and all of them were situated at a uniform distance from each other, all of them shining with bright green color on the map.

Alex could've just gone to one that was close to his starting spot; many people went there, but he wanted to move closer to Delhi, so he picked this one.

There was also the reason that this was the capital of the state, which for some reason seemed like an important point to him.

This green zone--the one in Dehradun--was around 8000 square meters, and although it didn't sound small, think about the number of people in the whole state.

Was it possible to accommodate every single living being in a state like Uttarakhand in just 20 such green zones?

Alex, who heard the AI's words, squinted his eyes with a frown.

The words of the AI made perfect sense, and Alex was sure that the system really wanted that, but then his frown relaxed.

He knew that he wasn't weak enough to not be able to force his way into the green zone, but as he reached the green zone, his gaze sharpened.

'No one's here?'

He couldn't see a single human, causing his body to tense.

He had already seen people kidnapping others, so there was no saying what else was going on, and that was why he, with his body on full alert, slowly made his way into the green zone.

The AI, as if reading Alex's thoughts, spoke even before Alex could question it.

It was a copying AI and not a perceptive AI; its job was to copy abilities and help Alex survive, that's all.

Alex, who heard those words, turned his vigilance up as he walked toward the once-famous clock tower.

*Cough* X2

But just then, his head snapped toward a certain boulder from where he heard two coughs.

*Woosh*

He zoomed toward the large piece of debris and climbed to the top with silent and swift steps before he looked down.

*Clatter*

*Tap**Tack*

Some pieces of dust and debris fell on the two humans Alex found hiding there, causing their heads to stiffly turn toward Alex, but the guy ignored them as he was slimming through their information before his eyes paused.

His gaze looked into the man's eyes for a second longer before he moved away from there.

'Saurav Patel...'

He memorized the guy's name, not wanting to forget his face.

The AI, as if sensing Alex's intentions, warned him about the possible delay in copying Saurav's ability, as it was a bit complex.

'Let's wait for the first scenario...'

Alex, however, didn't want to think about copying abilities for now; right now, he was more worried about the scenario he was going to face.

*Clatter*

Alex, who was walking toward a secluded corner of the area, suddenly heard another noise of some stones falling to the ground, and his gaze snapped toward its source before he moved there.

*Woosh*

With masterful agility, he zoomed toward two large slabs of cement supporting each other; it seemed like the top of the clock tower, which must've fallen to the ground during the earthquake, and due to whatever coincidence, they created a shelter-like space.

Alex's golden nocturnal eyes peered into the dark shadow between the slabs, as that was where he heard the voice coming from, and there, he saw a man--a chubby, bespectacled man, with close to no hair on his head and a double chin, in office clothes--trembling, as his eyes stared at him in horror.

"Ah-AHHHHHHHHHH!!"

The next instant, the man screamed in terror as he started crawling backward.

From the man's perspective, Alex looked like a shadow with nothing but bright golden eyes shining with a frosty gleam, causing him to almost pee his pants.

It was close to midnight, and although the stars--the gods--were lighting up the night, it was still not as clear as day, at least not for non-nocturnal creatures.

So, the chubby guy thought that it was a monster.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

The man kept screaming as he saw the 'monster' walking toward him.

*Step*Step*...

Each step caused his heart rate to spike a degree higher, as cold sweat started to drench his white cotton shirt.

"Monster!!

Help me! Someone help me!! I have food.

Take it all, but help me!!"

The man grew desperate and started to shout for help, trying to tempt the humans with the name of food.

That man was Ashok Mathur, and he was a manager of a mall. He was trying to return home from work when suddenly the world went to hell.

He somehow survived until now by emotionally blackmailing people into helping him and by exchanging food with them--food that he stole from the people who were trying to leave with their food after buying it, only to die in the first tutorial.

Now, however, he was stuck without an option.

He regretted his decision to part ways with the group that helped him survive the tutorial just so that he wouldn't have to share his food.

But what could he do now?

*Psssssss*

All he could do was wet himself as he saw the golden-eyed monster inching closer to him, and the next second, he saw the monster's 'claw' gleam with a sharp light, reflecting the little light that filtered in from some crack.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!

Help me! I'm going to die!!

I have a small daughter and a wife waiting for me to look for them!

Please, someone!!"

The man shook his head in panic, crawling back at a much faster pace than before, and by now, many people hiding in the surroundings had stepped out of their spots, sneakily moving toward that place.

The temptation of food was a bit too much for them to ignore since the food was also a luxury for people in the apocalypse.

*Thud*

Ashok, however, froze, his back touching the end of the small shelter he was hiding in and his eyes trembling violently.

"H-H-Help..."

Now, with the beast just some feet away from him, Ashok's voice died down.

He shivered as he saw the beast push his claw toward his forehead, and then he shut his eyes as hard as he could, not wanting to see himself dying, but just then, he heard a voice.

"Give me the food you have. All of it."

Ashok's eyes snapped open in sheer shock as the features of the 'monster' finally became clear in his eyes.

'A-A human...?'

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