Author's Note: Oh man, it's been a while! Sorry for the wait everyone, this month has been absolutely insane with work, graduation, and way too many tests to count. Now that summer is here, hopefully, I'll be able to pump out chapters much more frequently :D. I have gone back and made some small edits on the previous chapters, so I would recommend re-reading the first 4. The changes are nothing major for the most part, but it would definitely help refresh your memories after the long break lol. Please enjoy the chapter and I would really appreciate any comments! They really help keep me motivated to write :D!

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"It's Babe Ruth! You're alive!" Jimmy yelled out excitedly towards the man.

"Babe Ru- how many times did those guys bash your head in? My name's Rodger, kid" he responded with a sigh before whacking a nearby creature.

That hammer was no joke. A single swing sent its target flying with enough force to knock down the several creatures it crashed into.

Seeing the opening, Jimmy blocked a punch with his shield and dashed over to the man who's name he finally found out.

"I'm Jimmy, by the way," he said once finally by the man's side, "isn't it pretty ironic how your name is Rodger despite me having the shield."

"... I'm not in any condition to deal with you right now, kid" Rodger groaned.

Putting aside the grumpiness, Rodger's comments were correct. His clothes were ripped in several places and the bandages that Jimmy applied earlier were either in tatters or completely soaked through in blood. It was a miracle that he was still alive, let alone able to fight so intensely.

Despite his carefree behavior, Jimmy was not blind and was intensely pondering how he could save the man. He bashed a nearby creature extra hard to vent out his frustration. The fighting was non-stop- there was no time to re-wrap his injuries.

Absorbing crystals makes people stronger, so maybe Rodger could just absorb so many that these injuries seem tiny? No- that wouldn't work. The guy doesn't have my ability and there's no time to dig them out of the creatures he kills. Is there some other way to heal... wait a minute that's right!

In the announcement earlier, the voice mentioned there being healing items in the shop. If they worked anywhere near as well as they did in the games he played, these potions could be the solution they needed.

"Hey, robot voice! Where is the nearest store thing for crystal points?" Jimmy asked out loud while fighting.

[ The information you requested is restricted at this level. ]

"Dangit, thank you anyway. I guess I'll have to find it myself. Oi, Rodger! We're almost at the car- you drive and I'll go on the roof and push these guys out of the way with my shield!"

"As much as I think that's a terrible idea, there's not really many other options at this point. We gotta head somewhere open, it's too cramped here- we can get cornered way too easily."

Jimmy thought about a possible destination while they fought their way over to the car. His thoughts grew more anxious upon seeing the pace of Rodger's swings steadily declining.

It would be hard to find a large, open space in a city environment. Though there were a few parks that they could potentially go to, they were fairly small and probably overrun by creatures already. After a bit more thinking, a solution finally popped into his head.

"I know, there's a mall near the edge of town! It's surrounded by a giant parking lot and there's probably a lot of supplies we could use in there!" he shouted 

The man paused for a second before looking back at Jimmy with a smile on his face.

"I guess there is a brain in there after all! That's not a bad idea, kid. Not bad at all!"

The two fought with re-invigorated spirit and were successfully able to reach the car a few minutes later. Jimmy leaped onto the roof and spun the shield around the car to create an opening for Rodger to get inside. The vehicle roared to life with the turn of his key and Jimmy turned his focus on knocking away the creatures near the front of the car. This desperate plan somehow worked out and the car was slowly able to move forward. Of course, the man was not familiar with the area, so Jimmy had to give him some basic directions on where to go.

The car engine could hardly be heard over the sounds of screaming and the explosions still going on in the sky. The rapid gunfire going off around them was no longer enough to make the two flinch- it couldn't even compete with the scale of the explosions above. 

Miraculously the plan seemed to be working well. Every once in a while Rodger had to stop the car while Jimmy knocked away creatures that attempted to lunch onto the roof, but despite this, they were making steady progress towards their destination.

Things were going smoothly until a small ball of light appeared far off on the horizon. Though it was night, it was clearly not a star, nor was it high up enough for it to be a comet.

Jimmy paused for a second and stared at the light- his face was completely frozen.

“No way… did they really-"

His muttering was immediately interrupted by the announcer-like voice that had announced the start of the Early-Alpha phase a bit earlier.

[ Attention residents and Crystal Users of Sector 139! Multiple prohibited weapons have been detected and neutralized. Any further rebellion will be grounds for punishment ]

"Oi, Jimmy! You heard that right?" Rodger yelled out from inside the car.

"Yep... we trired to nuke 'em. What do you think they mean by punishment?"

There was a brief pause before Rodger replied in a low voice:

"They're able to brush of nukes like they're nothing... I don't even want to imagine what it could be"

Jimmy stiffened as some possible scenarios passed through his head. Luckily, the fighting around him gave him some relief by preventing him from thinking too deeply about it.

The gunfire grew louder as the car approached the building where the rifleman on the fire escape held off the hoard. Every time they came close to making it up the fire escape, he would shoot a single bullet. It was extremely efficient, as each time the creature was hit, it would collapse onto its peers and send the whole pillar back onto the ground.

Upon seeing the man notice them passing, Jimmy gave him a small wave and got a casual nod in return.

[ Attention residents and Crystal Users of Sector 139! It seems our warning was not respected and as such, we will retaliate. Your mechanical weaponry will now be rendered useless, along with any weapons we deem to be a threat. As a sign of our goodwill, we are adding more shops to aid in the obtaining of Crystal Weapons as their replacements. Be grateful, Sector 139- we will not be as merciful next time. ]

The night sky suddenly brightened as the purple dome's glow strengthened intensity. The next moment, millions of skinny purple beams filled the night sky. There were so many of them that it was difficult to find even a small amount of empty air. Beams poured down upon the town striking every weapon they seemed to find. 

Oddly enough, the beams ignored Jimmy's shield despite it being a relatively large object. Jimmy glanced up towards the man above him just as a purple beam hit his gun. 

The man desperately pulled his trigger, but no gunfire was heard. In a panic, he looked around anxiously before locking eyes with Jimmy on the car.

Jimmy didn't even have time to think before the man ran and jumped off the fire escape in an attempt to reach the car.

Shoot- he's not gonna make it!

In a flash, he whipped his shield out towards him and the man was barely able to land on top of it with a thud. Jimmy's knees buckled from the weight, but he let out a sigh of relief as he slowly pulled the man over.

The second the man staggered onto the roof, Jimmy quickly went back to knocking away the creatures.

"... t h ank... you" he groaned while gripping his ribs.

"Sorry about the rocky landing. Welcome to the Salami Sqad!"