Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 184: Splendor of The City

The interior was like that of an old-fashioned tavern, though clearly modernized with flat screen televisions connected to the walls.

It was noticeably empty, except for the employees at the back working the kitchen.

Finn sat down, making sure to take a seat where he could see the entrance, having Charlotte beside him and Nikko across.

"Quiet today?" Finn asked, looking around at the empty tables.

"It's working hours right now. Only people out eating are on their break, most likely," Nikko reasoned with a smile, passing the menus around.

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A server came over, taking each of their orders, though it ended up just becoming an entire lineup of classic barbecue goods brought to them.

From chicken to tri-tip, sausages and seasoned corn, a feast awaited the guests to the secured city. It was a taste of times before everything had gone to hell, a bite of nostalgia, though perhaps an appetizer for a brighter tomorrow.

"Delifish—" Jasper claimed with a mouthful.

"Can you not talk like that, man?" Finn said, sliding his plate away from the crossfire of the knight's lips.

"Sfory!" Jasper apologized, only spitting out more.

"Ugh…" Finn sighed.

Nikko couldn't help but laugh, not partaking in much food but helping himself to a cider. With light alcohol being on the menu, the young woman decided to help herself, though at first gagging at the taste of it.

"Have you thought about it more?" Nikko asked amidst the meal.

Finn set his cup down, breathing out, "Can't even let us enjoy a meal, can you? I get it. You need an answer. Just how urgent is this anyway?"

The jovial attitude of the engineer was gone as he spoke with sincerity, "It's been predicted that there's a seventy-three percent chance that the Moon will attack New Moscow a week from now."

"A week, huh?" Finn repeated, doing the talking as Jasper was having mouthfuls and Charlotte's first time with alcohol made her a bit disoriented. "What's the other twenty-seven percent?"

"A twenty-percent chance that the Moon might ignore New Moscow entirely," Nikko explained but speaking with a quieter tone. "And a seven percent chance it strikes within three nights."

"That's…dire," Finn admitted, looking down at the half-empty glass of amber liquid in front of him.

"Entirely so. That's why I'm looking to get whatever help we can get. Listen, you wouldn't be fighting alone–the full force of New Moscow would be there fighting as well. We have other system users, high level, myself included," Nikko spoke convincingly with earnest.

"Are you saying you'd be there as well?" Finn asked.

"I will have to be. That's the situation we're in," Nikko answered.

Silence followed as they sat there in thought, listening to the chewing of Jasper and the grumbles of Charlotte as she laid her head against the table. It wasn't more than a minute before the knight had worked himself into a food coma, and Charlotte passed out from just a single mug of cider, leaving Nikko and Finn the only ones conscious at the lunch outing.

Nikko chuckled, "Your friends…they sure are a handful, aren't they?"

Finn couldn't help but hold a small smile seeing the two in such a carefree, relaxed state before his expression settled again, looking at the engineer, "Look…I want to help you–this city. The problem is, I don't want to risk their lives."

It seemed that his words stirred interest from Nikko, who leaned in with intrigue, "If I'm being honest with you, you're the one I was mainly interested in inquiring for assistance."

"Is it my level?" Finn asked.

"It's true that you possess a higher level than those two, but that's only a small part of it," Nikko admitted.

"What do you mean?" Finn pressed further.

The light snores of Charlotte and Jasper served as ambience to the conversation that held the fate of New Moscow at the table as the artificial sunlight bled through the open windows.

Nikko leaned back in his seat, glancing around as if making sure nobody else was listening before setting himself closer once again, "I have a greater version of the "Sleuth" ability everybody now possesses."

"A greater sleuth?"

Nikko nodded, explaining further, "It's not just the level or assigned class that I can see, but I can also see if somebody possesses a unique system. Ones like Charlotte and Jasper here–spellblade and knight respectably, but no additional system. You, however, wield the concept of Assimilation, correct?"

It made his mind skip a thought when hearing that word spoken by another–"Assimilation." To him, it was a conceptual advantage exclusive to himself, a fact only he was aware of.

"You're right. What about it, though?" Finn questioned, staring at the engineer.

"The special systems that people like you and I possess allow for a higher threshold of strength. At your level, you'd be an invaluable ally in eliminating the Moon," Nikko convincingly told him.

It was the sort of flattery that didn't move him, though he couldn't deny it.

"Are there others here? Special system users like us," Finn asked.

"Of course. There's a few—" Nikko began to say.

Amidst the engineer's words, a quake rippled through the building, though sounding as if it came from outside.

"What was that?—" Jasper asked, jumping up.

"An attack—?" Charlotte said, stumbling a bit as she got up.

Finn was quick to move alongside Nikko, though stepped in front of his comrades to keep them from following.

"Wait here—I'll check on it! You both are not in any state right now to help," Finn instructed his two friends before hurrying out of the restaurant.

Through the front doors, he emerged onto the sidewalk right behind Nikko to see what was occurring on the street.

There was a woman in distress with a bruise on her arm, looking towards what occurred on the street itself with onlookers watching—

"You can stay down now, bastard."

"Urgh…!"

A man, reddened with stress and wounds was pinned down against the asphalt by the foot of the one holding him there.

The person restraining the man wore an advanced, mechanical suit of sleek, black steel. Different from the Radegasts, it was much smaller in scale, though it still presented the man of wild, pale hair as imposing.

["Sleuth Status"]

[Name: Rykov]

[Age: 29]

[Designated Class: Brawler]

[Level: 57]

The level along with the advanced combat suit worn by the man caught Finn's eye.

"Lemme go…!" The restrained, blonde man forced out with his cheek pressed against the asphalt.

The man of spiky, pale hair kept his sleek, metal boot held on the pinned figure, "Shut up before I make your arm useless!" Rykov shouted, pressing harder.

Nikko hurried over, "Rykov! What's going on here?"

"Oh, hey, Doc. This scumbag here not only hit that woman over there, but vandalized the cafe down the street," Rykov explained, looking down at the suspect with contempt.

"End the rough play, then. Send him away," Nikko ordered with a sigh, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh? Sure, I guess," Rykov listened, casually hoisting the captured suspect up with a single hand as though he were luggage.

Finn stood there, feeling something was off about the encounter as he watched the man in the cybernetic suit leap away with the criminal. Only a small glance was shared between them as he witnessed Rykov leave.

It was only right after that Charlotte and Jasper came out from the restaurant, with the spectators going on their way again.

Finn looked over at the engineer, "What was that about?"

Nikko was tapping on his phone screen, sending a swift text before stuffing it back into his pocket, "That was Rykov. He's the head of the Military Forces of New Moscow."

"That looked more like police work—or enforcement, more like," Finn said, looking at the crack left in the asphalt from the rough arrest.

"The military also serves as the policing force of the city," Nikko explained.

"And that doesn't seem like a bad idea, does it?" Finn asked, looking right at the inventor.

Nikko lightly shrugged, giving his rebuttal, "I said that a place like this can only be maintained with strength. That is true across the board."

There was nothing he wanted to say after that, now getting a better idea of what laid under the curtain of what appeared to be a utopia at first glance.

'It makes sense. A place like this…Of course it would be run with an iron fist—there's no wiggle room anymore. It's not the kind of home I'd want, though,' Finn considered.

He walked back to the sidewalk where Charlotte and Jasper waited, to which it seemed the girl had already worked up a hangover and Jasper had an upset stomach.

"Ooooh…Worth it," Jasper groaned, patting his abdomen.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Charlotte complained, rubbing her own head.

Finn smiled, giving his friends each a pat on the back, "This is why they say moderation is key."

"I only had one mug, though—" Charlotte protested.

"Yeah, you should've had one sip," Finn said with a sigh, lending his shoulder to her.

Before a single step could be taken, Nikko was there in front of him, tapping the button on his keychain as his parked car lightly honked.

"I'll take you three back to the building," Nikko offered.

"For what?" Finn asked.

"You need a place to stay, right? I've had the floor right below mine secured as a suite for you all," Nikko said with a soft smile. "Unless you were planning on leaving the city. In that case, I can give you a ride to the wall."

Finn looked at his tired companions before back at the engineer, "…Alright."