Apocalypse: Every Woman I Invest In Makes Me Stronger

The voices downstairs grew clearer with every careful step.

Ethan tightened his grip on the sword and moved more quietly, testing each stair before putting his full weight on it. He reached the top of the second-floor landing and stopped, listening.

A woman’s voice drifted up from below~tired, almost pleading.

”Please. My daughter hasn’t eaten in two days. Just give me something, anything. I’ll trade you this antiseptic.”

Another voice answered, soft and full of sympathy.

”Don’t worry. I’ll find something for you.”

Debbie.

The tension in Ethan’s shoulders finally loosened. So it wasn’t an attack. Someone was simply asking Debbie for help.

He slowly descended the rest of the stairs and peeked into the living room.

Debbie stood near the side entrance, facing a woman in a silk nightgown. The woman’s black hair was loosely tied behind her head, several strands hanging around her face. She kept her head lowered, making it difficult to see her features clearly. In one hand she held a small glass bottle of antiseptic.

Debbie noticed him almost immediately.

”Who’s there?”

”It’s me.”

Ethan sheathed the sword and stepped into view.

Debbie’s eyes widened. Relief and happiness flooded her face as she hurried toward him. Her gaze quickly moved over his body, lingering on the places where the tiger’s claws had torn him open the night before. The wounds had already scabbed over.

”You’ve healed?”

”Mostly.” Ethan gave her a reassuring nod. ”Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Debbie finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

”Where’s Daisy?”

”Outside. I came in first to make sure everything was okay.”

His gaze shifted toward the unfamiliar woman. She looked up at him.

Ethan paused.

She had a small, delicate face with soft features and slightly upturned eyes. Her lips were naturally full, and there was a mature elegance to her appearance that couldn’t be mistaken for youth. She was forty, yet her skin remained remarkably smooth. The faint dark circles beneath her eyes were the only obvious sign of how exhausted she was. She wasn’t the kind of beauty that relied on youth. There was something more refined about her~something settled and quiet.

[Ding! Gift target detected: Rose Lynn, 40 years old, Beauty Score: 93.]

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Another target.

Rose looked startled by his sudden appearance. She instinctively took a step backward. Her eyes moved over his clothes, the dried blood still staining them, and the sword at his waist. Whatever confidence she had a moment ago disappeared. She looked nervous.

Debbie quickly stepped in.

”Don’t be afraid. This is Ethan. He’s with us.” She turned toward him. ”This is Rose. She lives in Villa 7 next door. She and her daughter have run out of food, so she came over hoping to trade for something.”

Ethan nodded. His eyes dropped to the bottle in Rose’s hand.

”Since we’re neighbors, we should help each other when we can.”

He reached into his Space Ability. A packet of compressed biscuits appeared in his hand~the last packet he had left. He’d been saving it for exactly this kind of moment.

”We don’t have much food either, but take this for now.”

Rose stared at the biscuits. Her eyes immediately brightened. She accepted them with both hands and offered the bottle of antiseptic in exchange. Ethan took it without hesitation. The antiseptic could still be useful.

Then the system sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Gift detected. Compressed biscuits given to a female with a Beauty Score of 93.]

[First-time gift detected. Base Return unlocked.]

[Target: Rose Lynn ~ Age: 40 ~ Beauty Score: 93 ~ Rarity: 100]

[Base Return: 70x]

[Bonus Drop triggered.]

[Returned materials: Compressed Biscuits x210.]

[Target cooldown: 7 days.]

Ethan froze for a second.

Rarity 100?

His eyes flicked toward Rose. Interesting. He glanced toward the doorway where her daughter must be waiting, then back at Rose. If her daughter is biological, why is her Rarity maxed out? He couldn’t make sense of it, but he didn’t waste time thinking about it. A 70x Base Return was already more than enough to make him happy.

He reached into his Space Ability again and pulled out two bottles of mineral water and a can of beef.

”Take these too.”

Rose’s eyes widened. She stared at the supplies as though he had just handed her a fortune. Water. Beef. Food that could keep her and her daughter alive for days.

She immediately shook her head. ”No. This is too much. I can’t take all of this.”

”Take it.” Ethan’s tone was calm. ”We’re neighbors. There’s no need to make a big deal out of it.”

”But~”

”Rose.” Debbie smiled gently. ”Just take them.”

Rose looked between the two of them. Her fingers tightened around the supplies. In the old world this would have been simple kindness. In the apocalypse it was something else entirely. Water was worth more than money. Food was worth more than jewelry. And a stranger willing to give both away without demanding anything in return was almost impossible to find.

”Thank you.” Her voice was quiet. ”I really mean it. If there’s anything I can do for you in the future, just let me know.”

Ethan nodded. ”Sure.”

Rose turned and left.

The moment she disappeared through the doorway, Ethan looked toward the entrance and raised his voice slightly.

”Daisy. You can come in now.”

A moment later Daisy walked inside. The instant she saw Debbie, her eyes turned red.

”Sister!”

”Daisy!”

Debbie rushed toward her. The two sisters collided in a tight embrace. For a long moment neither said anything. They simply held each other. Then the tears came~quiet, shaking, full of everything they hadn’t been able to say for days.

Debbie pulled back and grabbed Daisy by the shoulders, looking her over from head to toe as if she needed to confirm with her own eyes that her sister was really standing there.

”You’re really okay.”

”I’m okay.” Daisy smiled through her tears. ”It’s all thanks to Ethan. He saved me.”

Debbie’s eyes immediately moved toward him. ”Thank you.”

Ethan waved it off. ”It was nothing.” He turned away. ”You two have a lot to talk about. I’ll handle a few things.”

He headed toward the first-floor windows. During the journey back he had collected a large amount of metal. Now he finally had time to put it to use.

He stood in front of one of the windows and raised his hand. The metal pieces scattered around the yard trembled, then rose into the air. Several thick steel bars twisted together under his control, locking into place across the window frame. He repeated the process~one window, then another, then the doors. Within minutes the villa began to change.

Ethan reinforced every opening on the first floor, then moved upstairs. The second floor. The third floor. Each window received another layer of protection. He used thick iron plates to seal the larger windows while leaving small observation gaps where necessary. The doors received the same treatment.

He wasn’t building a prison. He was building something that could survive an attack.

Three hours later Villa 8 looked nothing like it had before. Every major entrance had been reinforced. Double layers of alloy plating covered the doors and windows. The peepholes had been replaced with bulletproof glass observation ports. The wooden door leading to the basement was removed entirely and replaced with a heavy steel door fitted with a digital lock. Even the attic skylight had been reinforced with a welded steel mesh.

Ethan wasn’t finished. He added retractable metal barriers to the stair railings, then concealed several metal spikes along the steps leading toward the basement. Anyone trying to force their way inside would have a nasty surprise waiting for them.

By the time Debbie and Daisy finished catching up, they heard the final clang of metal from outside. They walked into the yard and both stopped.

Daisy’s mouth fell slightly open. The luxurious villa they had returned to now looked like a fortress. Metal covered nearly every vulnerable point. The walls, the doors, the windows, even the attic~everything had been secured.

”Ethan...” Debbie looked around in disbelief. ”What did you do?”

Ethan wiped the sweat from his forehead. ”Improved the defenses.”

”Improved?” Daisy stared at the villa. ”This looks like a bunker.”

He shrugged. ”That’s the idea.”

Daisy watched him for a moment. He had spent hours doing all of this without complaining. Every weakness he’d noticed, he’d fixed. Every possible entry point had been considered. She couldn’t help admiring him. He was strong~but that wasn’t what impressed her most. He was careful. He thought ahead. He planned for things other people hadn’t even considered. With Ethan around, Daisy felt like they actually had a chance of surviving.

Debbie placed her hand against the cold metal door. ”At least we can sleep peacefully tonight.” She turned toward Daisy. ”You’ll stay with me in the master bedroom on the third floor.”

Ethan, who was adjusting a metal trapdoor in the attic, looked down.

For a split second his mind went somewhere it shouldn’t. Two beautiful sisters. One bed. Soft sheets. The quiet of the night. His dick stirred with an entirely unhelpful suggestion.

Nope. Absolutely not.

He cleared his throat and cooked up the first excuse that sounded reasonable.

”I’ll set up the third-floor study for myself.”

Debbie raised an eyebrow. ”So you’re sleeping there?”

”It keeps me close.” His answer came out calm and practical. ”If something happens, I can get to you quickly.”

Debbie nodded, satisfied. ”Good.”

While the sisters organized their rooms, Ethan went back outside. He reinforced the perimeter wall with steel spikes, then buried more than a dozen metal triggers beneath the flower beds. If anyone tried climbing over the wall, the movement would activate an alarm.

When he finally stepped back and looked at everything he’d built, Ethan couldn’t help feeling satisfied. For the first time in a while, Villa 8 actually felt safe. Not completely safe~nothing was completely safe anymore~but safe enough.

That night, warm yellow light filled the third-floor bedroom. Debbie sat beside Nina’s bed, telling her a quiet story in a soft voice. Across the room Daisy stood near the window, looking outside. Ethan was still in the yard, checking the final section of the defenses under the faint outdoor light.

Daisy watched him for a long moment. Then she quietly spoke.

”Debbie.”

”Hm?”

Daisy smiled. ”He’s a good man.”

Debbie looked toward the window. A small smile appeared on her face.

”Yeah.”

She didn’t say anything else.

Next door, in Villa 7, Rose Lynn sat with her daughter. Sofia Lynn was eating the compressed biscuits Ethan had given them. She took another bite.

”Mom.”

Rose looked at her. ”Did that man make things difficult for you?”

Rose shook her head. ”No.” She hesitated. Her mind briefly returned to Ethan~the blood on his clothes, the sword at his waist, the cold, focused look in his eyes. He hadn’t done anything wrong. If anything, he’d given them far more than she had expected. Still, the apocalypse had taught her to be cautious. A beautiful woman without the strength to protect herself couldn’t afford to be naive anymore.

Sofia finished another bite. ”Then I’ll go ask him for more.”

Rose immediately grabbed her arm. ”No.”

Sofia frowned. ”Why not?”

”They’ve already given us enough.”

”But I’m still hungry.”

”We’ll manage.”

Sofia pulled her arm free. ”What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll just ask.”

Before Rose could stop her, Sofia ran toward the door.

”Sofia!”

Too late. The door opened. Sofia cautiously peeked outside.

Across the way, Ethan stood in the yard holding his sword, checking the blade beneath the faint outdoor light. Then he looked up.

Their eyes met.

Sofia froze. For one second neither moved. Ethan’s expression was completely calm. But to Sofia, his eyes looked cold. Dangerously cold.

She immediately slammed the door shut.

Bang!

She pressed her back against it, breathing rapidly. Her heart pounded against her chest.

Rose hurried over. ”What happened?”

Sofia swallowed. ”Nothing.” She looked toward the door, then whispered, ”He’s scary.”

Rose frowned. ”Scary?”

Sofia nodded. ”When he looked at me... his eyes were colder than the zombies outside.”