“What do you mean, they drove off?”

  Jonah Moore was at a farm, just over the Burn Line, in a tiny reclaimer outpost that didn't even have a name. The same one that he had been at the start of this reset, in fact. Normally, he would have long since moved on. Operatives were for inspecting outposts and solving problems, not for ruling over those outposts personally. This was a unique year.

  Jael did not show any emotion. “I mean what I said. They drove off in some sort of large, custom truck. It had blades on the front to cut through young trees. I do not know if it was something the town already had on hand, or if Joshua Hundredborn built it himself.”

  Jonah made a face. Either option was embarrassing for him. Clearly, Hundredborn was skilled in either acquiring resources or pushing the limits of his class. And Jonah had been the one to drive him away.

  Well, it was far too late for regrets. He was well aware that he was not getting out of this mess with his dignity intact. In the absolute best case scenario, the Eight Heroes would let him quietly “retire in the City,” under polite house arrest. Worst case, he died having accomplished nothing.

  Either way, he would make sure that his daughter had every advantage he could give her.

  “Why did you not pursue?” With her shadow teleportation, Jael could keep up with a truck driving through the Jungle. It wasn't as though they could go full speed with all the trees in the way.

  Before Jael had a chance to answer, a monster burst out of the field of crops in front of them. Jonah identified it as he pulled out his rifle. It was a [Level 20 Zea Mays Windtaker], a flying corn monster. Jonah took it out with a single shot. He didn't even have to use a technique. White mist streaked over the field, though it was hardly worth bothering to breathe it in.

  “I thought it best to return and report,” Jael said, answering his question as if nothing had happened. “Furthermore, if I can determine their destination, I will be able to ambush them there.” She gestured at the man next to her. “I also thought it best if you met Hou Zheng in person.”

  Jonah had certainly noticed Hou Zheng. The man was big, towering over literally everyone and built like a brick house. He was covered head to toe in leather armor and wrappings, making it impossible to scan him or even determine any other details. Well, except one: He was missing a hand. Judging by the way he moved, Jonah thought it was a recent injury. Jael hadn't said much about him, just that he would be a useful asset. He trusted her instincts.

  “Did you see that monster spawn?” he asked the big man, rather than asking a more direct question. It was a simple power move. Besides, he was taller.

  Hou Zheng nodded. “I did. You killed it less than a minute after it spawned.”

  “Which means it was born at level 20,” Jonah muttered. He had hoped that it had been hiding in the fields for a few days or weeks, gaining strength. Monsters rarely had that kind of patience, though. A monster that spawned at level 20 could theoretically grow to level 40 in a year, just from absorbing ambient mana. It would of course grow even more if it killed humans or ate bloodstones after it hit level 40.

  It probably didn't mean anything. There were always outliers, monsters that spawned at a surprisingly high or low level. Even if no one had killed it, the monster might never have reached level 40 due to any number of factors.

  But still. By level 40, most monsters were functionally immune to conventional weapons. Level 48 at the latest. Below that threshold, if you put enough level 1 humans in a line and gave them guns, they could kill any monster eventually. But above that threshold... you needed magic weapons to deal with anything past that.

  Magic weapons were very, very rare these days.

  “Regardless,” Jonah said, shaking his head. They could deal with the inevitable fall of civilization later. “You said Hundredborn spread his bloodstones around the village, correct?”

  “Correct,” Jael said. “I confirmed that they have an Alchemist now. They also had enough unclassed children to make sure they could start some as Crafters. They can reproduce the bloodstones themselves now.”

  Jonah frowned. “A complication,” he said. “But not the end of the world.”

  Hou Zheng cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps I have misunderstood your intentions. You do not seem worried that the Crafter classes will escape your control.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Jonah shook his head. “Before they fled, I encouraged them to spread the bloodstones among the reclaimers at this outpost as much as possible. We have plenty of [Crafters] ourselves. We just can't make more bloodstones, because everyone started with different classes.”

  “Ah, yes, I suppose with the world quest, hiding the existence of such classes is not necessary.” Hou Zheng nodded. “I understand.”

  Jonah looked at Jael. “How much does he know?”

  “Enough.”

  Jonah let out a long sigh. “The most important thing is that my daughter receives credit as the first new Crafter.” He grimaced. “Even my own activities can be spun in her favor, once they come to light.”

  “It still seems a risk,” Hou Zheng said. He didn't seem to be arguing, just making an idle comment.

  “I will fully admit that this is not the ideal situation.” By the Eight, this situation had gotten wildly out of hand. “But in the end, my daughter will have the tools she needs to succeed. That is all that matters.” He shouldered his rifle and fired at a monster that poked its head out of the fields. The level 17 tomato monster exploded. “Besides. With all these extra bloodstones spread around, there is no risk of losing them. Delaying the world's technological revolution by a single year will not harm anything unduly.”

  It wasn't as though there was some single, massive threat that they needed to unite against right now. The endless tide of monsters growing stronger would bury them eventually, but even in the absolute worst case scenario, they had a few years before they had to do anything drastic. He had access to the reports, had seen the studies.

  Which wasn't to say he had failed to take precautions. When his daughter had left, there were ten Woodcrafter bloodstones left in the outpost. He had given one to Jael for safe-keeping, kept one himself in a sealed lead box inside his storage ring, and sent the rest to secure locations with strict instructions to keep them sealed until proof of his demise was confirmed.

  The world was not going to lose another bloodstone on his watch.

  “Did anything else interesting happen in that village?” he asked. “Other than them taking it over briefly and upgrading the citystone.”

  “No, sir.”

  Well, that was to be expected. He had a desperate hope that Hundredborn had pulled a new stash of bloodstones out of somewhere... but no. That would be too much to ask. They had received one new bloodstone this reset. Anything more than that would be miracles on top of miracles.

  He refocused. “So they have a vehicle now.” He rested his rifle on his shoulder. “Fair enough, I suppose. I wish I could give you a flier.” Flying monsters were a bit on the rare side, but certainly common enough to make flying vehicles a risky concept. “Do you have any idea where they are going?”

  Jael shook her head. “None. They went down Airline Highway at full speed.”

  Airline Highway was one of the roads from the Old World, kept at least somewhat clear. Which wasn't saying much. There would still be twenty foot tall trees, but at least they wouldn't be twenty feet wide.

  Jonah nodded. “They're going to Bolado, then? That's about as far as it's possible to go, so I suppose fleeing in that direction—”

  “Bolado is gone, sir,” Jael interrupted. “They were destroyed at the start of the reset. I heard it in San Juan Bautista, so they would definitely know about it.”

  Unfortunate. Bolado had been a strong beacon in the wilds. He made a mental note to inform the Dragon Slayers so that they could go down and clean up whatever had eaten the citystone. They'd need to re-establish that town as soon as possible.

  Still, if they weren't after Bolado...

  “Why?” Jonah asked, incredulous. “Why would they even go that way? There are other, closer villages to the west and southwest.”

  Jael did not react. Hou Zheng, however, shrugged. “They seemed to know where they were going, if you don't mind me saying. They were driving full speed down the road, clearing out trees with those big blades and their own spells. Or arts. Whatever. I don't think they were just wandering around, hoping for the best.”

  “But why? There's nothing out there!” The Eight Immortals had ranged that far, of course. They had traveled all over the world, seeking out monsters before they could become a threat to humanity. Humanity itself, on the other hand, hadn't extended all that far from the Burn Line, outside of a few small expeditions that tended to end horribly. “Bolado might be the farthest that we've extended in that direction. I can't think of what they could possibly want down the highway besides—”

  He stopped speaking as realization dawned. It didn't make any sense, that was hundreds of miles away, and they'd have no reason to go that way!

  No reason that Ruth should know of, at least.

  “What?” Jael asked, seeming actually confused for once. She looked at Hou Zheng, who shrugged, even more baffled than she was. “What's down there besides—”

  “They're going to Los Angeles,” Jonah whispered in horror.

  They were going to his wife.