10:13 am.
It had been thirteen minutes since Amitesh started walking toward the military truck to retrieve the walkie-talkie Gauri had asked for.
He wasn't in a hurry.
In fact, he didn't even feel like walking.
His hands were folded behind his head as he walked—jumping now and then, moving playfully, like someone out on a casual stroll.
System:
"At this speed, we'll reach there by evening."
Amitesh:
"I don't care."
System:
"😑"
A few seconds passed.
System:
"Hey, Amitesh."
Amitesh:
"What?"
System:
"I know your secret. And I know why you refused to give resources to Gauri."
Amitesh:
"What secret?"
He spoke lazily, clearly uninterested in whatever the system claimed to know.
System:
"That the mushroom-heads don't eat you."
His steps halted.
His fingers clenched slowly as his gaze shifted to the glowing system screen beside him.
Amitesh:
"How do you—"
His voice trembled.
System:
"Did you forget? I am the God of Systems.
Of course I know everything."
Amitesh resumed walking—but this time, his pace was faster.
Amitesh:
"So what if you know? It doesn't change anything.
When great power is held by a few, they're called geniuses—lucky, chosen ones.
But when that power belongs to only one person…"
He paused.
"…he's called a monster."
System:
"True. That's why you're afraid people will find out.
They'll cut you into pieces just to discover why they don't eat you."
Amitesh nodded silently.
System:
"Don't worry. That's why I gave you a special skill.
It will help you survive."
A new screen appeared.
System:
"Now choose your skill."
Invisibility — Grade: A
Memory Erasure — Grade: S
All Devour — Grade: ∞
The moment Amitesh saw the word Infinity, he spoke instantly.
Amitesh:
"All Devour."
System:
"Skill chosen: All Devour."
The screen flickered.
System:
"You can now check your status and the status of others."
Amitesh:
"Show my status."
The screen turned blue.
STATUS
Name: Amitesh
Physical Enhancement: Height increased by 10 cm
Special Item: Eye-Healing Eyedrops (one-time use — consumed)
Special Skill: All Devour
Amitesh:
"Good. Show me the others."
System:
"Understood."
Name: Zoey
Physical Enhancement: Superhuman stamina and strength
Special Item: Never-Miss Gun (usable 3 times per day)
Special Skill: Absolute Accuracy
Name: Priyank
Physical Enhancement: Slowed aging
Special Item: Necklace that glows when her children are in danger
Special Skill: Superhuman Multitasking
Amitesh:
"Hey. Why does only my special item have a one-time use?"
System:
"Because… your eyes will remain healthy after that."
Amitesh:
"Whatever. How exactly is my skill supposed to help me?"
System:
"When a powerful person does nothing, people call him a monster—
because they can't profit from him.
But if he plays the hero…"
A pause.
"…they're forced to accept him."
Amitesh:
"So now I have to act like a hero?
Fine. I don't mind."
System:
"Gauri is messaging you."
Amitesh:
"Don't tell me you can act as a messenger too."
System:
"She says—"
Amitesh, are you okay?
I was drunk when I ask you for help.
Please come back safe.
Please… be safe.
Amitesh:
"My… my. This woman."
He sighed.
"She tells me to be safe after sending me out."
System:
"Do you want to reply?"
Amitesh:
"Tell her I'm okay."
System:
"Message sent."
Amitesh pulled out a bottle of water and emptied it in a single gulp.
System:
"You were really thirsty."
Amitesh:
"Yeah… Did we reach the place?"
System:
"Yes. See the vehicle in front of you."
Amitesh lifted his head.
Amitesh:
"…Yeah. I see it."
.
.
.
At the building, Gauri slowly wakes from her slumber.
She lets out a soft yawn, stretching her arms as sunlight slips through the cracks in the wall.
Gauri: Oh—
I slept way too long…
Where is everyone?
System:
Zoey is checking the surroundings.
Priyanka is telling stories to the kids.
Amitesh went out to take the walkie-talkie.
Gauri: …Oh.
He's out…
The words leave her mouth lightly—
but her eyes linger on the screen a second too long.
Silence.
She suddenly grabs the system screen, fingers tightening before she realizes it.
Gauri: What?!
How—when—why is he out?!
System: Hey—stop shaking me.
You're the one who asked him to go.
Her memories flicker—
blurred laughter, careless honesty, the way her thoughts spilled out when she was drunk.
She looks away.
Gauri: …I'll go after him.
System: He's not alone.
He's with me.
Gauri: I know, but—
System: Gauri.
I said he's with me.
She knows this feeling well.
When the System decides something, it doesn't change.
Still…
Her hand rests near the screen, unmoving.
Even if it gives them headaches sometimes…
she trusts it.
Gauri: …But I'm still worried.
System: Then message him.
Here—use the keyboard.
A keyboard appears.
She hesitates—only for a moment—then types.
Amitesh, are you okay?
I was drunk I wasn't thinking clearly when I asked you.
Please come back safe.
Please… be safe.
She stares at the message longer than necessary.
Message sent.
A few quiet minutes pass.
System:
He says he's fine.
Gauri exhales softly, a tension she didn't realize she was holding finally loosening.
Gauri: …That's good.
She leans back, pretending her heart hadn't skipped even once.
System: ⚠️ Alert.
Gauri's breath catches.
Her eyes snap open, pupils shrinking as the translucent yellow screen blooms in the air before her.
"W-What happened…?"
Her voice trembles. Panic crawls up her spine.
"Is everything okay?
Is Amitesh okay?!"
For a split second, the world feels unbearably silent.
System:
"Yes. He is completely fine."
Gauri exhales—but the relief lasts only a heartbeat.
System:
"This alert concerns the mission I assigned to you."
Her chest tightens.
The first mission.
The one that has haunted her for over a year.
The screen shifts in blue colour. Text rearranges itself.
HIGH-LEVEL MISSION
Difficulty: Very High
Objective:
• Kill 3000 Normal Mushroom Heads
• Kill 10 Special Mushroom Heads
(Kills by you and your teammates are counted)
Reward:
• Cultivation radiation density increased near rescue camps
The numbers begin to glow.
Mission Status
Normal Mushroom Heads:
1394 / 3000
Special Mushroom Heads:
1 / 10
(Kill credited to: Amitesh)
Gauri freezes.
Her eyes widen, reflecting the floating screen like shattered glass.
"…What?.
Her thoughts spiral.
One… special mushroom?
Her fingers curl into fists.
How?
Just how…?
She had spent an entire year hunting a single special mushroom head.
Countless ambushes.
Broken weapons.
Near-death retreats.
And still—she failed.
Yet that boy…
"Amitesh really killed it…?"
Her voice is barely above a whisper.
"Did he… really?"
System:
"Yes."
The answer is instant. Absolute.
"I told you before—
that boy is exceptionally strong."
Gauri swallows.
Slowly, she nods.
Her heartbeat steadies, but her mind drifts—pulled backward by memory.
The blue screen fades.
And the past bleeds in.
Flashback — The Day they meet
Ash drifts through the air like gray snow.
Collapsed buildings.
Broken roads.
The stench of and rot.
Her breathing is ragged.
That's when she sees him.
A boy walking through the ruins like the apocalypse is nothing more than a bad joke.
Hands behind his head.
Steps light.
A lazy smile on his face.
No fear in his eyes.
No tension in his body.
Just… calm.
She remembers thinking—
Is he stupid… or already dead?
Gauri felt it.
That this boy ,her old friend is not normal…
Was not normal.
(Author:- note the event of this chapter are before the chapter Long walk)