Jun absorbed every dead body in the room, which made him realize how easy it is to become strong if you were willing to kill for it. The stat he received made his current stat twice as before, making him able to tell the difference by just feeling the changes in his body. He tried giving Adrian some, but the teenager refused vehemently.
The night ended rather quietly. The captive women who were brought to the National Police since they have better skills when dealing with traumatized individuals.
Some of the women claimed that they were forced to do things that they didn't want, and they couldn't do anything but accept everything that happened to them.
Marianne was unconscious when she was brought back to her room. Luckily, Sheila was her roommate, and she was able to look after her even though she was still a bit drunk. Since she can't diagnose her, she could only cast her skills on Marianne.
That night, Jun stayed by Marianne's side. Marianne woke up past midnight when Jun was about to fall asleep. Jun, who was a bit startled, asked her how her dream was.
The two smiled at each other and remained silent.
One implied that what happened was just a dream while the other agreed to never talk about the matter again.
Sheila, who was sleeping at the side, woke up. She turned her body and felt awkward, seeing the two hugging each other.
When she noticed that the angle was quite illogical to be hugging, her face reddened.
The two were actually kissing!
She blinked a lot of times just to confirm whether what she was seeing was true or not. When the two parted, she hurriedly closed her eyes. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she peeked a few times and caught the two passionately kissing each other.
When Marianne released a few moans, Sheila decided that it was time to get out of here. She jumped out of the mattress, then ran out of the room while apologizing, egging them to continue their hard work.
Marianne's face reddened while Jun continued attacking her.
***
After walking a few meters away from the door, Sheila accidentally hit someone. She instinctively closed her eyes when she felt that she was going to fall backward. The feeling of pain didn't come as she expected, and was replaced a warm embrace. She opened her eyes and saw Adrian staring at her. When she finally realized what was going on, she felt the hand that caught her back slowly let her go, and her body was already standing on its own.
"Is there a problem? Why are you flushed? Are you still drunk?" Adrian questioned.
Sheila looked at his eyes filled with worry. Why is he acting like this? Isn't he ignoring me like I don't exist?
When Sheila didn't answer, Adrian shrugged and walked past her.
Which resulted in his hand being suddenly pulled back by Sheila.
"Where are you going?" Sheila said.
Adrian frowned, but politely replied. "I have something to discuss with Jun. I heard he's in there?"
When Sheila heard his answer, she immediately pulled him away. At that moment, she felt so strong since she was able to pull a grown adult all by herself. Unbeknownst to her, Adrian actually enjoyed her company and let himself be led by her.
The living quarters were all on the second floor of the mall. The first floor became a huge storage room since the scavenged things were all piled up in the supermarket.
Sheila finally stopped in front of one of the stalls. Before she could speak, a bottled fruit juice appeared in front of her.
"I don't have any hangover medicine, but I hope this helps."
"T-thank you." Sheila blushingly took the bottle.
Adrian brought out the same bottled drink from his dimensional storage, then opened the cap to drink some.
"Is there any problem? I really need to talk with Jun."
"Is it urgent?" Sheila asked.
Adrian thought for a bit before answering. "Not really."
"Good." As if possessed, Sheila suddenly changed her temper and glared at Adrian.
"Let's sit down. I have a few things to clarify with you."
Sheila looked around but couldn't find a good spot where there was enough lighting.
To minimize gas usage for the generators, the mall runs its power efficiently. There were only a few dim lamppost lit outside.
Adrian noticed her predicament, and so he took the lead. "Follow me."
Sheila became confused but still followed him.
They climbed up the ladder that leads up to the roof of the bus. They saw Bernard and Dyna happily chatting with each other. It seems like it was their shift today.
Adrian told them that he was here to relieve them, and they could rest now. Sheila, on the other side actually tried to stop him, but Bernard and Dyna quickly agreed with Adrian with a broad smile on their faces.
As the two left, they couldn't help but chuckle at the young man and woman on top of the bus.
Now that they were actually alone, Sheila felt her face reddened even more. They sat on the folding chairs as they gazed at the empty streets.
Before Sheila could think of anything to say, Adrian said something she would never think he would say.
"I think I like you, but I'm not really sure about it. Maybe its just infatuation. You know, since we always see each other."
"Then, why are you avoiding me?! All this time! Its been a few days, and it's annoying me!"
Adrian felt shocked. He didn't know that she could actually act fierce like this.
"I-I got scared. I don't know if you'll judge me. For what I was and what I've done. I was scared."
"Then why are you telling me this now?" Sheila raised her brows inquisitively.
"I realized that life is too short to be scared. So, that's why..." Adrian turned his head and stared at Sheila.
"I'll be brave."
Then leaned forward to kiss her.
Adrian thought that he would be slapped and so he readied himself. But she didn't.
She actually responded and kissed back. When they parted, Sheila had a wide grin on her face.
"Just to let you know. I'm older than you, so I take charge of this relationship, okay? No buts. No questions. You just follow my words and always answer my questions. Okay?"
"Okay." Adrian nodded his head, then pulled a panda plushy from his dimensional storage. "Take this."
"Thank you." Sheila took the panda and played with it. "I like it."
The next day, Jun walked outside the gate early in the morning. He was fully armored with a new set of leather pants, a leather jacket, and leather shoes.
He thought he was early, but he saw groups of people already on their way to scavenge scraps or fight the infected for experience and their loot.
Just before he could leave, he heard Adrian's voice sounded from above.
"A large horde was coming from the town plaza. The police scouts saw them from afar and had to cancel their operations in the surrounding area. They requested help last night and is probably waiting for a response."
Jun looked up and saw Sheila sleeping on Adrian's shoulder. A jacket was draped over her body.
Jun nodded. "Let's see how those bad boys do in actual battle."
He walked towards the police station and entered the jail. He woke every prisoner by clanging on the iron bars.