LOSS System: Last Store Standing

Jack stopped and looked back at Mort, puzzled.

“What is it?”

“Something unusual is happening at the brick kiln, but it seems to be good news,” Mort said. “Hal asked me to come get you.”

That immediately caught Jack’s interest.

“What kind of good news?”

“The firing is going much more smoothly than we expected.” Mort shook his head. “I can’t really explain it. You’d better ask Hal yourself.”

“All right. Let’s go together.”

Jack was about to leave when he noticed Megan sitting nearby, deep in thought.

“What’s wrong?”

Megan didn’t answer. She simply got to her feet.

“I’ll come take a look too.”

Jack had no idea what she was thinking, but he didn’t dwell on it. The three of them left the canopy and headed toward the brick kiln.

When they arrived, Hal was searching through the nearby pile of coal. He held several pieces in his hands, comparing them as if he were looking for something unusual.

“Hal, what are you looking for?” Jack asked.

Hal greeted Megan when he saw her, then held up the coal in his hands.

“I’m checking the coal. Everything at the kiln is going almost too smoothly, so I want to make sure the coal isn’t the reason.”

“What exactly is happening?”

Hal set the pieces of coal aside and glanced toward the kiln.

“Since we lit the fire this morning, the temperature inside the kiln has been rising faster than expected, and the fire has remained stable. We originally thought we would need to keep adjusting the airflow and fuel during the first test firing to maintain an even temperature throughout the kiln. But so far, the heat has been evenly distributed. The kiln is also better sealed and insulated than we expected, and air is flowing smoothly through the fire channels.”

“The coal is burning steadily as well. We haven’t had any problems with uneven heating or sudden temperature changes, which has saved us a lot of time adjusting the fire and adding fuel. So far, the brick blanks show no signs of underfiring, cracking, or warping. If the heat retention and cooling stages go just as smoothly, the first batch should be ready sooner than expected.”

Most of the explanation went straight over Jack’s head, but he understood the last part.

“So the bricks will be ready sooner?”

“Basically,” Hal said.

Jack was about to ask another question when he noticed the knowing look on Megan’s face.

“You understood all that?”

“I did.”

“Aren’t you a doctor?” Jack stared at her in disbelief. “Since when do you know how to fire bricks?”

Megan rolled her eyes and ignored him, directing her next question to Hal.

“If you can figure out why this firing is going so smoothly, could you maintain the same speed and stability in the future?”

Hal considered the question carefully.

“In theory, yes, but it still depends on the weather and the condition of the kiln. The weather is hot, there’s barely any wind, and the heat and fire inside the kiln are stable. As long as these conditions hold, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

He surveyed the surrounding area before continuing.

“But if strong winds suddenly pick up or the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures becomes greater, things will change. The temperature inside the kiln could become unstable. If that happens, we’ll have to slow down and adjust the fire as we go.”

Hal shrugged.

“Although I wouldn’t mind seeing a bigger temperature difference between day and night someday.”

Megan gave a helpless laugh.

“I understand.”

Jack listened from the side, completely lost.

“Wait. What exactly do you understand?”

Megan ignored him and continued speaking to Hal.

“I don’t know anything about firing bricks, but if the entire process depends on keeping the temperature stable, then you can’t suddenly build up the fire just because everything is going well, can you?”

Her question took Hal by surprise, but he quickly agreed.

“That’s right. The priority now isn’t to make the process faster. It’s to maintain the current conditions. Even if things slow down later, we can’t make careless changes to the fire.”

“Then you’ll need to pay close attention to even the smallest changes,” Megan said. “Without anything to measure the temperature accurately, you’ll have to rely on the flames, the smoke, and the condition of the brick blanks. If anything seems unusual, check it as soon as possible.”

Mort joined the discussion.

“I can keep watch over the vents. If the fire changes or the smoke suddenly gets heavier, I’ll tell Hal immediately.”

“And be careful,” Megan reminded him. “Stay out of the smoke and don’t get too close to the kiln opening. The bricks are important, but not important enough for anyone to get hurt.”

Hal considered that before adding, “We should also record when we add coal or adjust the fire. Once the first batch is ready, we can review what we did and see if there were any problems. That’ll give us something to work from next time.”

“The same goes for changes in the flames and smoke,” Megan said. “The records don’t need to be complicated. Just write down what happened and when.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Mort said.

The three of them quickly became absorbed in the discussion. Jack tried to join in several times, only to discover that he had nothing useful to say.

Once they had finished, Hal picked up several pieces of coal and hurried back toward the kiln. Mort followed, ready to begin recording when they added coal and adjusted the fire. They both looked as though they had just discovered some remarkable new technique.

Jack watched them leave, feeling thoroughly left out. When he turned to Megan for an explanation, she was already heading toward the convenience store.

“Come on. We’ll talk upstairs.”

Jack could only sigh and follow her.

Even after they returned to the second floor, Jack was still sulking. Megan watched him for a moment before bursting out laughing.

“All right. Stop acting like you’ve suffered some terrible injustice.”

Jack gave her an aggrieved look.

“Don’t you owe me an explanation?”

“There’s nothing to explain.” Megan sat down on the sofa. “All you need to know is that it’s good news.”

“I know it’s good news.” Jack sat down beside her. “But I should at least know why, shouldn’t I?”

Megan studied him for a moment.

“Did you forget something?”

“What?”

When she realized he genuinely had no idea what she meant, she gave him a reminder.

“The reward the system gave you before.”

“What reward?” Jack asked, even more confused. “Wasn’t that reward already converted into sanitary pads?”

The answer came to him the moment he finished speaking, and his expression stiffened.

“You mean that useless reward that increased the success rate of the first brick firing?”

“That’s the one,” Megan said.

“Hal and the others only started firing the first batch this morning. They expected it to take at least seven days before they could see the results, but less than a day later, they already noticed that the entire process was going unusually smoothly,” Megan explained. “So when Mort said it was good news, I figured the twenty-percent bonus must have taken effect.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense.” Jack frowned. “I never claimed the reward. How did it activate on its own?”

“Why not ask the system if it activated automatically?”

That seemed reasonable, so Jack called out in his mind.

“LOSS, you heard all that, didn’t you? Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”

The system responded almost immediately.

“Human, your mental faculties appear to be somewhat lacking.”

Jack’s face darkened.

The system ignored his reaction.

“Look at Megan. All she had to hear was that something good had happened, and she immediately recognized the work of this system.”

“You have the nerve to call me slow?” Jack protested. “Every other time, I had to confirm that I wanted to claim the reward before you gave it to me. This time, you activated it without saying a word, and somehow that’s my fault?”

The system’s voice took on an unmistakable note of contempt.

“According to your reasoning, should this system have summoned you to the brick kiln and required you to personally confirm receipt of the reward? Should this system then have prepared an altar in accordance with Wiccan ritual practices, drawn a magic circle, lit ceremonial candles, recited an incantation, and finally projected a laser beam from the sky onto the brick kiln before the reward could be considered officially delivered?”

The long response left Jack speechless.

Several seconds passed before he snapped, “Get lost!”

The system gave no response. Whether it had actually left or simply couldn’t be bothered with him anymore, Jack had no idea.

Megan watched the expressions flicker across his face and quickly guessed that the system had gotten on his nerves again.

“Well?” she asked with a smile. “Did the reward activate automatically?”

“Yes.”

Jack irritably repeated what the system had said. When Megan heard the part about the altar, magic circle, and ceremonial candles, she stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Jack’s face darkened even further.

“You’re laughing at me too?”

Megan didn’t answer. She only laughed harder. It took her a while to settle down and wipe the corner of her eye.

“All right. Let’s talk about something serious.”

Jack snorted and refused to answer.

“I guessed that the system’s reward had taken effect, which is why I spent so long discussing the firing process with Hal and Mort,” Megan said. “I wanted to see if we could shorten the time even further on top of the twenty-percent bonus.”

“The original estimate was seven days. With the bonus, that could drop to around five days. If the methods we just discussed work, we might even save another day.”

Jack immediately forgot that he was still sulking.

“So? Will it work?”

Megan shrugged.

“No idea.”

Jack opened his mouth.

“I…”

“We’ve done everything we can,” Megan said. “Now we just have to wait and see.”

Jack stared at her for a long moment before finally saying, “You’re damn good.”

They traded a few more playful remarks before Jack turned serious again.

“You need to start the driving lessons as soon as possible,” he said. “We have more and more things to deal with, and that damned mission could trigger at any time.”

Megan’s tone became serious as well.

“I’ll start teaching them tomorrow. Once Cass and the others can drive the CUEV properly, we’ll be able to split up whenever we go out to retrieve supplies.”

“It’s a good thing the first batch of bricks is going so smoothly,” Jack said with relief. “Otherwise, with so many things happening at once, we’d be stretched too thin.”

Megan thought for a moment.

“When are you planning to visit the electronics mall Warren mentioned?”

“The sooner, the better,” Jack said. “Setting up a proper electrical system is important too. We can use extension cords for now, but as more equipment is brought in, we can’t keep relying on them forever.”

“Having extension cords running everywhere is both dangerous and easy to trip over. Besides, I only have so many of them. There aren’t nearly enough for everything we’ll need to power.”

“Then you can drive my Tesla tomorrow and take Warren and the others to the electronics mall,” Megan suggested. “I’ll stay here and teach Cass and the others how to drive the CUEV.”

Jack stared at her.

“You want me to drive your Tesla?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Of course there is,” Jack replied quickly. “I’ve never driven a real car before. You want me to drive a Tesla all the way to the electronics mall? What if something happens on the road?”

Megan reconsidered the idea.

“You’re right. A Tesla is very different from a CUEV, and you’re a complete beginner. If you run into a difficult situation, you might not know how to handle it in time.”

“Exactly.”

“Then we’ll switch,” Megan said. “I’ll drive the Tesla and take Warren and the others to the electronics mall. You stay here and teach Cass and the others how to drive the CUEV.”

Jack considered the new arrangement.

“That works. You take them to the electronics mall tomorrow, and I’ll stay here to teach the others how to drive.”

Then he added, “But take Vane with you. Warren and Grant can go as well. That way, if anything happens, you’ll have two young, strong men there to help. And remember to take the handgun.”

“Understood.”

They continued discussing the next day’s plans. By the time they had settled the general arrangements, the sky outside had already grown dark.

Jack checked the view through the window and got to his feet.

“Go wash up first. I’ll head downstairs and see what Elias and the others made for dinner. We might as well join them and save ourselves the trouble of cooking.”

Megan was about to agree when Cass suddenly shouted from downstairs.

“Jack! Hurry up and come down!”