Apocalypse: Every Woman I Invest In Makes Me Stronger

At eight in the morning, Ethan finally stretched and climbed out of bed.

With the villa’s defenses reinforced, he’d slept better than he had since waking up in this world. For the first time since his rebirth, he hadn’t spent the entire night wondering whether something would break through the walls.

When he reached the dining room, he found Debbie and Daisy both trying not to smile.

Ethan walked over to Debbie and looked down at Nina, who was happily eating in her mother’s arms. He leaned toward Debbie’s ear, voice low and teasing.

”So that’s how it is? You cross the bridge and burn it behind you? Did you already forget what you promised me?”

Debbie’s face immediately flushed. She glanced toward Daisy, who was getting up from the table.

”I didn’t forget,” she whispered. ”It’s just... Daisy is here. I’m embarrassed.”

”Oh?” Ethan raised an eyebrow. ”So if Daisy wasn’t here, it wouldn’t be a problem?”

Debbie nodded without hesitation.

Ethan blinked. He’d only been teasing her. He hadn’t expected such a straightforward answer. Still, he’d already thought about this last night. Right now he didn’t have enough high-value targets to risk losing the System’s Drop Rate Mechanism. Debbie wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually she’d be his. There was no need to rush.

”Since you teased me last night, shouldn’t you make it up to me?”

He leaned closer. Debbie glanced toward the stairs, then moved quickly and gave him a small, soft kiss on the cheek. As she did, the soft weight of her breast brushed against his arm. Even through the thin fabric of her top, he could feel how warm and yielding it was~full, heavy, and impossibly soft.

”Is... is that enough?” she whispered.

Ethan nodded, still feeling the lingering warmth against his arm. His eyes dropped back to Nina. He sighed dramatically.

”Man, water every day is getting boring.”

Debbie’s eyes narrowed. ”You really are greedy. Give you an inch and you want a mile.” Her voice was low, but there was a playful edge to it.

Before she could say anything else, Daisy’s voice came from across the room.

”Ethan, the neighbor is here. Her emotions are mostly gratitude, but there’s also... something else. She’s nervous.”

Debbie immediately headed toward the side entrance. She checked the observation port first. Once she confirmed it was Rose, she unbolted the door.

Rose stood outside holding a blue cloth bundle. The moment she stepped inside, her eyes swept across the villa. Her gaze lingered on the reinforced doors and the welded metal shutters covering the windows. Villa 8 no longer looked like a normal home. It looked like a fortress.

She had also noticed something else the previous night~faint light coming from the villa, which meant their generator was still running. A thought immediately crossed her mind: If only I could move in here. But the moment she remembered Ethan’s intense gaze from before, she swallowed the idea. Bringing her daughter into a man’s house like this would be walking straight into a lion’s den. She quickly pushed the thought aside.

”Thank you for the supplies yesterday.” Rose held out the bundle. Inside was a small metal tea tin. ”This is some coffee I had stored away. It’s nothing special, but I’d like you to have it.”

Debbie opened her mouth to refuse. Ethan simply took it.

”Rose, you’re being too polite. We’re neighbors. Helping each other is the least we can do.” He placed the tin on the table, then looked at her. ”Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Do you know where I can find diesel nearby?”

”Diesel?” Rose thought for a moment. ”There are several diesel SUVs in the underground garage. Range Rovers, Mercedes G-Wagons... even a few Land Cruisers.”

Ethan’s eyes lit up slightly.

”But there’s a problem,” she continued. ”The entrance is blocked by a pileup. Several cars crashed into each other and completely blocked the way. And there are quite a few zombies inside.”

”What about somewhere else?”

”The logistics park on the eastern side of the city should have large fuel storage tanks. But it’s far away. From what I’ve heard, there are some very dangerous Mutant Beasts in that area. People have also seen armed groups operating there.”

That got Ethan’s attention. But Rose didn’t stay much longer. Before leaving, she glanced once more at the reinforced walls and doors, then turned toward the exit.

After she left, Ethan tapped his fingers against the table. The underground garage was close. That made it worth the risk.

”We’ll check the garage tonight.” He looked at Daisy. ”If things get ugly, we’re close enough to retreat.”

Daisy nodded.

---

Seven that evening.

Darkness had already swallowed the city.

The entrance to the underground garage sat beneath the community’s plaza. Seven or eight wrecked vehicles were jammed together at the mouth of the ramp, their bodies twisted from multiple collisions. Ethan activated Metal Manipulation. The wrecked cars groaned as metal shifted and bent. A narrow opening appeared between them, barely wide enough for one person.

He glanced at Daisy. She closed her eyes for a moment.

”There are a few zombies wandering around inside.” Her expression suddenly changed. ”Wait. Something’s moving to the front-left. It’s fast... and its emotions are extremely violent.”

Ethan’s grip tightened around his sword. ”Stay behind me.”

He crouched and slipped through the gap. The garage was dark and smelled of oil, rust, and something much worse~old blood and rot that had settled deep into the concrete. He moved carefully through the narrow passage. Two zombies stumbled out from behind a vehicle. The Tang dao flashed twice. Both bodies dropped.

He stepped over them and continued deeper.

He had just turned a corner when something gray shot across the floor in front of his feet. Ethan stopped.

”Mutant giant rat!” Daisy warned from behind.

He immediately moved sideways. The dim flashlight beam caught the creature. It was enormous~more than half a meter long, with two yellowed fangs protruding from its mouth. Its back arched as it stared at him. A low hiss escaped its throat.

Ethan didn’t give it the chance to attack. He raised one hand. Metal fragments scattered across the floor suddenly lifted into the air and shot forward like a handful of knives. The rat twisted violently, dodging most of them~but that was exactly what he wanted. He stepped forward and brought the sword down.

Crack!

The blade split the creature’s skull. The rat twitched twice before going still. Ethan crouched and pried the skull open. Nothing. He stared at the empty cavity.

”Useless.”

He stood and continued deeper into the garage. The farther he went, the worse the smell became. Something had been feeding down here for a while.

Daisy’s voice came again, tense. ”Ethan. There’s a massive wave of hunger ahead. It’s a horde. A lot of them.”

He immediately ducked behind a wrecked car and slowly peeked around it. More than thirty zombies crowded the narrow passage ahead, packed so tightly there was barely enough room for one person to squeeze through.

Ethan looked around, then picked up a loose stone and threw it toward a concrete pillar on the opposite side. The clang echoed through the garage. Every zombie in the passage turned. One by one their heads followed the noise, then they began shuffling toward it.

He didn’t waste the opportunity. He burst from cover and moved like a predator. Slash~one zombie fell. Slash~another. A third swing took a third down. The horde finally realized something was wrong and low growls filled the space, but Ethan was already gone. He slipped through the opening and entered the SUV parking area.

Three large vehicles sat in the darkness: a Range Rover, a Mercedes G-Wagon, and a Toyota Land Cruiser. He checked the fuel gauges. All three still had plenty of fuel.

”Perfect.”

He pulled out his draining equipment and started with the Land Cruiser. The tube had barely entered the tank when Daisy’s voice cut through the quiet, urgent.

”Ethan! Behind you! Something’s coming~it’s rock-hard!”

His flashlight snapped toward the darkness.

A massive lizard crawled out from behind a van. Nearly two meters long, its body was covered in thick, stone-like scales. Its claws scraped against the concrete, sending up sparks.

Ethan’s expression hardened. ”Petrified Lizard.”

He didn’t hesitate. The pistol came up.

Bang!

The bullet struck the creature’s back and ricocheted with a sharp clang. Sparks flew. The bullet hadn’t even pierced the scales. The lizard roared and charged.

Ethan barely moved aside in time. Its claws tore across his back.

Riiip!

Three bloody gashes opened across his skin. Pain exploded through him.

”Fuck!”

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay focused. Metal Manipulation surged. Above them a large ventilation duct suddenly tore loose from the ceiling. Ethan brought it crashing down.

Boom!

The duct slammed into the lizard’s head. The creature staggered~just enough. Ethan raised his hand. Every loose piece of metal around him shot upward, then flew toward the lizard like a storm of blades. Several struck its face. One punched into its eye. The lizard screamed and thrashed wildly, claws tearing through the air.

Ethan charged. Both hands wrapped around the sword. He waited until the creature opened its mouth in another roar, then drove the blade straight through its throat and into its brain. The body convulsed once, twice, then collapsed.

Ethan stood there breathing heavily, blood dripping down his back. He crouched and cut open the creature’s skull. A small crystal core rolled into his palm~roughly the size of a peanut, glowing with an earthy yellow light. He stored it in his Space Ability.

Then he paused. Something had caught his attention. Metal Manipulation sensed metal behind the wall at the far end of the garage. Not ordinary metal. An alloy. He concentrated. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.

Too thick? Or maybe his ability simply wasn’t strong enough yet.

He stared at the wall for another moment. ”I’ll deal with it later.” Whatever was behind that wall could wait. Fuel came first.

Ethan returned to work. He drained the three SUVs first, then moved through the garage, pulling fuel from other vehicles whenever he could. By the time he and Daisy headed back, he’d collected more than three hundred liters of diesel and over two hundred liters of gasoline. It was worth the trip.

They were almost back at Villa 8 when Daisy suddenly spoke. Her expression turned cold.

”Something’s wrong.” She glanced toward the neighboring villa. ”Villa 7. There’s a strong feeling of dissatisfaction coming from inside... and a little hatred.”

Ethan didn’t bother turning around. ”Let’s keep moving.”

They returned to Villa 8. The moment Debbie saw the blood covering Ethan’s back, her expression changed.

”Ethan!”

She rushed toward him. Her Healing Ability activated immediately. Warm energy spread across his wounds. Ethan barely noticed. His thoughts were still back in the underground garage.

That alloy wall.

It wasn’t there by accident. Someone had built it. And someone had hidden something behind it.

He looked toward the darkness outside.

What the hell is hidden down there?