James laughed after shaking hands, thought for a moment, and said, "A technical mercenary? That term can mean a lot of things, but no matter what, we'll have to work together for the next three or maybe seven days. I hope our cooperation will be pleasant, buddy."

Henry Clark hadn't had a chance to say anything when the burly Black man next to him, who was as strong as a bull, also reached out his hand and said, "J, my name... or rather, my codename is J. My profession is boxing, underground boxing. Although what you just said sounds unbelievable, for some reason I kind of believe it—maybe it's just intuition. Before I can confirm it, I think I'll act with you."

Henry Clark shook hands with J as well, then looked at the others. The rest all wore hesitant expressions, clearly unsure how to decide. At this moment, the young man with glasses spoke up loudly again: "I still can't believe it. Although what you said makes sense, that we need to see it with our own eyes, it's just too hard to believe. How could this be possible? A horror movie world? Are you kidding me? Anyway, I'm not staying here any longer. Who knows if your 'see it with your own eyes' talk is just stalling for time? So I won't be joining you. I'm going to the police station or the embassy. I didn't sneak into America—once I contact my family, everything can be proven. Anyway, I absolutely won't believe any of this."

At this point, the young man with glasses seemed to grow more confident. He loudly addressed the others: "So, what about you all? Do you want to follow this... uh, Mr. Henry Clark to verify that unbelievable lie? Or come with me to find the police and a way home? This isn't an alien planet—this is still Earth. If you want to go home, if you don't want to go 'adventuring' with them, come with me."

The remaining people looked at each other. Gradually, most of them wavered. Without much more discussion or debate, the vast majority followed the young man and left the alley, heading out onto the street.

In the end, only Henry Clark, Jenny, James, J, and another man and woman stayed behind—a total of six people. Seven people left with the young man with glasses, and at that moment, the whole group was completely split.

Henry Clark, however, didn't mind. After all, everyone chooses their own fate; it has nothing to do with others. Besides, maybe in the end, his group would all die and the other seven would survive—you never know. So he stopped paying attention to the seven who left and instead looked at the remaining man and woman, saying, "A very warm welcome to both of you for joining us. May I ask your names?"

The man looked like he was of Middle Eastern descent, with a signature big beard, but he was dressed in a suit. He smiled and reached out his hand to Henry Clark, saying, "Osage Benton, my profession is white-collar. Honestly, I'm mostly just curious, and contacting the police or whatever can be done anytime. Spending a few days to verify whether this is really an apocalypse isn't a bad idea. After all, if it really is the apocalypse, it's obviously much safer to stick with you guys."

As for the remaining woman, she was a Western woman in her thirties. She looked rather cautious. When she saw Henry Clark reach out to her, she actually took half a step back and said, "Sorry, I don't want to tell you my name, and I don't want to go to the police... I just want to follow you for a day or two, and I'll leave when the time is right... One more question, are you really sure this is America? Is this really Los Angeles, USA?"

Before Henry Clark could answer, James spoke gently: "Yes, ma'am, I'm quite sure this is Los Angeles, USA. I've been here several times for medical conferences. May I ask, are you planning to stay in America? Is there anything we can help you with?"

The woman was startled and quickly waved her hands, saying, "No, sorry, that's not what I meant. I just, I just..." At this point, she actually began to cry softly, slowly covering her face and squatting down on the ground.

"I can't stand that home anymore. I can't stand him... the drugs, the beatings, forcing me to sell myself... I never want to go back. But he knows so many people in the underworld. If he finds out I left, he'll definitely kill me. If this really is America, then I can..."

Everyone fell silent. Henry Clark also took a closer look at the woman. Although she was already in her thirties, she was still quite attractive—basically above average in looks, though there was a bit of bruising at the corner of her eye.

"I understand." Henry Clark sighed silently and smiled, saying, "Ma'am, we won't ask your name or where you're going. For now, just stay with us for a while. First, you can avoid being found and deported by the police, and second, you probably need some dollars to eat and live, right? Once things settle down and we've confirmed a few things, if this isn't the apocalypse, you can do whatever you want, and we'll help you as much as we can. Of course, if this is the apocalypse..."