33 Her Choice
Possibly flustered by the attention of Lucas and Sarah, Lucy quickly interjected, "I... I was just taken aback by the fact that there were more cartridges. You know, guns are illegal here, so for a police officer, he has quite a stash. Considering he would have likely used a lot to maintain his leadership in this place."
Grasping the meaning behind her surprised comment, Lucas added, "That's right. Although the police are authorized to use guns, he does seem to possess an unusually large number of cartridges. By now, he should have run out. But anyway, Lucy, wasn't there something you wanted to ask Sarah?"
Recalling her original intention, Lucy redirected her focus. "Oh, right! Sarah, how is your daughter coping? Is she managing alright?"
Gazing at her daughter, Sarah replied, "She's probably handling it okay, but I can't fathom what she went through when she witnessed those monsters consuming human flesh. She's likely more accustomed to seeing human corpses than I am. I mean, it's my first time seeing something like this, even though I've experienced my grandmother's death, it wasn't this gruesome."
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Lucas inquired further, "And your husband? What happened to him?"
The question seemed to shake Sarah a bit, causing her to look up at the standing Lucas. "We're no longer together; we're divorced."
Lucas nodded respectfully, choosing not to pry any further into the matter.
With a nod, he retrieved a small pouch to store the gun and proceeded to gather all the cartridges from the cabinet. While he did so, he faintly heard Lucy engaged in conversation with Sarah. However, due to Lucy's lowered voice, he couldn't catch the details.
The police officer must have felt the need to amass an abundance of cartridges during the apocalypse, Lucas thought. As he observed the collection, he realized that he had no idea how to use the gun. The notion of needing to use such a weapon had never entered his mind before. Until now, there had been no reason to consider it.
Returning his attention to Lucy, he saw her bidding Sarah goodnight. Retrieving his phone, Lucas checked the time, almost out of habit. It displayed 8:00 p.m. As the night had fallen, he stowed away his phone and followed Lucy out of the room.
A sigh escaped him – today felt like the longest day since the start of the apocalypse. He had taken down some of the group leaders, obtained the red orb (even though he remained uncertain of its future utility), and reflected on how rare these system skills seemed to be, with only him, Lucy, and James having acquired them so far.
Walking out of the room in Lucy's company, Lucas realized that this might be the opportune moment to discuss their plan – whether "we" were going to venture together into the city. Lucy led him downstairs to a room, seemingly chosen for some purpose. Closing the door behind them, Lucas posed his question.
"Lucy, you remember when you mentioned that you had already made a decision about whether to join me in heading into the city or to remain here? I've been curious..."
Anticipating his question, Lucy replied, "Yes, I recall. Initially, I was leaning toward staying here, considering the dangers of venturing deeper into the city. But now, I'm finding it hard to stay put. In fact, I wish to go with you. As those creatures grow stronger, I fear I won't be able to handle them on my own."
Lucas had hoped Lucy would choose to accompany him, but he believed in giving her the freedom to decide. He was relieved to learn of her preference.
"While I'm glad you're willing," Lucas questioned, "do you realize that the deeper parts of the city likely have even more formidable zombies? Are you still committed to the idea?"
"Absolutely," Lucy affirmed. "The zombies won't be confined to those areas forever. Eventually, they'll spread here too. I'd rather we become stronger and more capable of dealing with them."
Lucas nodded, his gaze wandering around the room. He suspected Lucy had brought him here to rest.
"Why this room? We could've slept upstairs if it was just about sleeping."
Lucy clarified, "No, Lucas. This is where they store the food. I've talked to Sarah about our plans to leave, though she thinks we're siblings. I never corrected her."
Lucas glanced at the cabinet. "Inside there?"
"Yes," Lucy confirmed. "Help yourself. Sarah and the others are content staying here. Take some supplies. We can always gather more as we pass other stores during our journey."
Considering the plethora of canned goods in the cabinet, Lucas took only a portion, stuffing it into his pouch.
"Lucy, lend me a hand in gathering them. We'll be able to rest sooner."
In response, Lucy rolled her eyes discreetly, knowing Lucas wouldn't notice his own obliviousness. "Lucas, I can reach the shelf, but not my head. Could you spare a bit of height?"
"Oh, right! Well, you could assist by tidying up here; after all, we'll be spending the night in this room. I'm not sure how long it'll take for Sarah and the others to acclimate to the presence of zombies."
Lucas sensed their bond growing, but he acknowledged the need to expand his social interactions beyond Lucy.
As they gathered the provisions, Lucas deliberately omitted the beers. Consuming alcohol seemed counterproductive in their current circumstances.
"Lucy, have you ever wondered what beers or alcohol taste like?"
Pausing her cleaning, Lucy responded, "Beers? I don't know. We're underage, and my parents never allowed me to try any."
Slipping a water bottle into his pouch, Lucas mused, "We're quite similar, aren't we?" He continued the task, adding more bottles. Surveying the abundance of food, he wondered how long it could sustain them. Staying here seemed comfortable, with a few roaming zombies, likely due to Ethan's skills or some other factor.
Finishing packing, he assisted Lucy in tidying up the room and arranging the bed. As they settled in, Lucy expressed frustration. "Why store all this food in a hotel room? Don't they have proper storage facilities?"
Ignoring the complaint, Lucas lay down on the bed, feeling the stickiness on his body. It was clear neither of them had showered, and both seemed content with the idea.
"Lucy, did you shower yet?" he inquired.
"No, not yet," she replied.
"Want to?"
"Nope."
"Really? Same."
Lucas sighed and shifted, resting his head on the pillow. He noticed Lucy had done the same. Their backs turned to each other. Despite his usual cleanliness, the exhaustion from the day was overpowering his desire for cleanliness.
With gratitude for whatever force kept the zombies away, Lucas realized that if it weren't for this intervention, they'd likely be overwhelmed due to the blood in the building.
Assuming Lucy had already drifted off, Lucas reached for his system to review it once more. It had become a habit, especially since Lucy typically fell asleep earlier.
"Opening system!"
---
Name: Lucas Tharla
Age: 16 years old
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: God of Fire and Heat
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Subclass: None
Level: 11 (960/1000)
Stats:
Agi: 14 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Str: 30 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Int: 27 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Vit: 25 (Average Adult Human: 20)
Unallocated Stat Points: 6
Skills:
[Clawing Fang: Manifest a temporary long claw for 30 seconds. (2 uses/day) Grade 1!]
Unallocated Skill Points: 11
Coins: 415
Achievements Completed: 6 △
Items: 8 △
---
'Yeah, still not a fan of this new skill,' he thought, casting his eyes down to his gradually strengthening physique.
"System, allocate 3 points to strength."
---
[Allocating 3 Stat Points to Strength!]
---
He reveled in the satisfying surge of power. "Where was this when I was yearning for abs? So much easier than enduring days of suffering and then giving up."
"System, allocate 3 points to intelligence."
---
[Allocating 3 Stat Points to Intelligence!]
---
As he sensed his mental clarity heighten, Lucas pondered whether investing points in intelligence would truly benefit him. Regardless, succumbing to sleep, he embraced the surge of strength and tingling intellect before surrendering to slumber.
