Savoring The Kiss

Riona was at a loss for words. While others would be scared out of their wits, Soren was actually enjoying the thrill. It was so typical of him, always the odd one out.

She glanced down and realized her pants had been ripped off without her noticing. Already in tatters, they had turned into shorts after the recent chaos.

Her legs, smooth and strong like plaster sculpture, were now visible, but they were covered in ugly scars and swollen, not exactly a pretty sight.

Since the apocalypse, she had always been in long pants and sleeves, never exposing her legs. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, she instinctively wanted to cover them up.

As she looked around the backseat, however, she couldn't find anything to use, so she just tugged at her jacket in a futile attempt.

Soren, catching a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye, casually threw his white robe over her. The dried cloth instantly covered her legs, shielding her from waist to feet.

Relieved from the cold, Riona gratefully glanced at him and said, "Thanks."

Now without his outer robe, Soren was left in his white shirt. Drenched from the rain, the fabric clung to his skin, slightly see-through, revealing his well-defined abs. His good looks, combined with a devil-may-care attitude, added to his unintentional charm.

Leaning back, Soren rest his chin on his hand. He gazed at Riona with interest, replaying the events at the hospital and that kiss in his mind.

Feeling uncomfortable under his stare, Riona was about to say something when Soren raised his hand and knocked on the partition ahead.

The metal barrier slowly lowered, revealing Ayla's voice, "Yeah?"

"How much do we know about the Mutant-R?" Soren asked.

Ayla, unsure of what he meant, still replied carefully, "The Mutant-R virus is a new type of mutant virus that appeared recently, the strongest among all zombie viruses so far..."

Soren cut her off, "Does it mess with your brain if you get infected?"

Ayla responded, "The virus is still being studied at various bases; the effects are not fully understood yet."

Soren, with his finger on his lips, kept his gaze on Riona, thoughtfully saying, "I'm just thinking, this virus might affect the brain's structure..."

Riona thought to herself, 'He's the one with a brain issue.' But since he had really saved her twice, she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she just wrapped herself in the robe and turned to look outside the window.

Soren, observing Riona's tranquil yet troubled side profile, smiled softly.

He reclined in his seat. His eyes sparkled with a mix of pleasure and curiosity, but he remained silent.

Meanwhile, in the Northern State, at the XIII Base…

Corin, holding a research report, left the virus lab, his mind repeatedly going over the researcher's words: "The vaccine for the Mutant-R virus is still under research. We confirmed that its strain's affect will be decreasing day by day, significantly reducing after ten days. However, complete safety requires a month."

Corin was deep in thought. 'So ten days... huh?'

Ever since the train restarted its journey to the XIII Base, Corin had been restless. He was too anxious to sleep, unable to wait another ten days. The supplies he had left for Riona would only last three days.

He immediately returned to his quarters. Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, he gathered a few trusted team members and chose a modified vehicle to return to the snowy plains.

As the car drove out of the garage, a figure in black ran up. The driver stopped the vehicle, and the door opened.

Corin, already frustrated, looked at the small figure outside with a frown, speaking harshly, "What are you doing here? Go back."

Elaira, with a youthful face, looked up at Corin, "Are you guys setting off to find Vice-captain Elex?"

Corin turned his face away, his voice cold, "I told you to go back. That's an order."

But Elaira stubbornly clung to the car door, her eyes red. "If it weren't for me, Vice-captain Elex wouldn't have been injured. I want to go with you..."

Talya scoffed in the car, "Now you know you're a hindrance, and that is all we want from you. Don't get in the way here, go back to sleep."

Someone else chimed in, "Exactly, we don't want Captain Sylas to be busy saving you and end up in trouble ourselves."

Elaira, however, was not willing to give up. Seeing the car about to restart, she made a sudden decision, grabbing the door and jumping into the car.

This was the first time Corin had seen someone so defiant. He couldn't help but point his gun at her, shouting, "What do you think you are doing?"

Elaira closed her eyes, tears falling as she sobbed, "I want to go. If you're really mad at me and won't forgive, just shoot me."

The car was already on the road, and Corin didn't want to waste time. Angrily, he threw down his gun, turned away, and didn't look at her again.

Elaira and Riona were similar in height and build, even their facial contours somewhat resembled each other.

Looking at her stubborn crying face, Corin's heart suddenly ached, and he couldn't help but recall the image of Riona crying in the snow.

However, Riona wasn't like Elaira, nor was she like any of the timid or fragile members of the base.

Over the years, except for the first few months joining, she hardly ever shed tears in front of other people. She appeared obedient, with a gentle and soft nature, seemingly weak and easy to bully, but in reality, she was tougher than anyone.

She didn't cry when her bones broke, nor when she was bitten or scratched by zombies. Even when she and Corin were trapped in a mountain of corpses, with no way to return, she didn't cry.

But this time, after Corin left her in the snowy wilderness, he saw tears in her eyes.

'Why?' Corin wondered. 'Is it because she got injured because I chose to protect Elaira first?'

Corin surely had a reason to do that: if Elaira had been the one injured, she would have surely died, whereas Riona still had a good chance of survival.

Corin looked out at the vast snowy night through the car window. His mind was filled with the image of Riona's tearful eyes and the words she trembled out.

"But Corin, not just Elaira, I get scared too..."

"I get scared too..."

Corin still couldn't get it. 'How could she be scared? How could that be possible? She was well-trained, agile, sharp, strong, and calm. It was just a desolate snowy wasteland. What was there for her to be scared of?'

The more he thought about it and questioned it, the more uneasy Corin felt. It was as if his heart was thrown into a frying pan, an agony no matter how he looked at it.

In the end, he could only close his eyes in pain, silently praying in his heart for her safety.