"Cough, cough…" Lily cleared her throat twice and quickly turned her head away.
Olivia, flustered, pulled the blanket tightly around herself, too embarrassed to face anyone.
For a brief moment, Lily felt a mix of emotions. She didn't know whether to feel happy or slightly bitter. Logically, it was a good thing for her brother to find a woman, and it wasn't her place to interfere. But why did it make her feel... uneasy?
"Um… it's not—" Olivia stammered, her head buried under the blanket, with only her eyes peeking out. She looked at Lily, who was still standing in the doorway, her gaze hesitant and shy. She wanted to say something but was too overwhelmed with embarrassment.
She had just been savoring the sweetness of last night's intimacy when Lily had walked in on her. Mortified, she felt like she wanted to sink into the ground.
Trying to compose herself, Olivia began to move as if to climb out of bed to greet Lily. Seeing this, Lily quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"There's no need to be so formal with me. Just treat me like an older sister," Lily said, her usually cool demeanor softening into a rare display of gentleness.
Olivia couldn't quite figure out what Lily was thinking, but at least for now, she seemed approachable.
However, what Olivia didn't know was that Lily wasn't typically this way with others. It was only because Olivia was now part of her brother's life that she chose to be patient. After all, they were likely to live together for a long time.
"Okay, big sister…" Olivia murmured, awkwardly fumbling to retrieve her scattered clothes from the edge of the bed and hastily putting them on.
"You're not in great shape right now, so there's no need to get up. Rest well, and take your time recovering," Lily said as she placed the breakfast tray by the bedside.
Olivia, feeling overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness, hesitated to accept the meal. She stammered that one of the other women could attend to her instead, too nervous to let Lily serve her.
Olivia was well aware of Lily's position in Ryan's heart, and she dared not overstep any boundaries.
Lily didn't push her and simply handed the tray to someone else before leaving Olivia to rest.
Although Olivia was absolutely loyal to Ryan, she wasn't without her own ambitions. She understood that as Ryan's power grew, so would the number of women by his side.
There would inevitably be someone—or several people—needed to manage things. She didn't hope to surpass Lily's status, but she was determined to secure the second spot.
How to achieve that position would depend on her efforts. To stand out, she needed more than just beauty. She prided herself on her management skills and her ability to cook, and she resolved to do whatever it took to become Ryan's favorite—even if only as a servant.
"Olivia, weren't you in A City for a fan meet before this?" Lily suddenly asked, breaking the silence. She had been observing Olivia for a while and couldn't shake the feeling that she looked like a certain celebrity she had seen on television.
"Yes, I came to A City for a fan meet," Olivia admitted sheepishly. "But then the apocalypse started, and… well, I was lucky to meet Mas—um, the Master."
Olivia raised an eyebrow, her suspicion confirmed. It seemed her brother had unintentionally picked up a starlet.
Olivia couldn't help but recall the first time she met Ryan. Back then, her foolishness had attracted a swarm of zombies, and she ended up being smacked across the face by him.
She still couldn't quite wrap her head around how this man had the audacity to hit someone as beautiful and famous as her.
Only later, after being thoroughly scolded, did she realize her mistake. Thinking back on it now, she felt a bit embarrassed and self-conscious. It was her own stupidity that had nearly cost her life—if not for Ryan's intervention, she would have met her end right there.
While Olivia was having breakfast, Lily divided rations among the other women. Naturally, their meals weren't as good as what Ryan and the others had; they were given simple food like bread and biscuits, with maybe a couple of sausages if they were lucky.
Once the women finished eating, Lily began instructing them to clean up the rooms. The initial chaos of the apocalypse had left behind plenty of messes, not to mention the blood from the zombies that had been killed. All of it needed to be scrubbed away.
----
It was only the second day of the apocalypse. The world was in chaos, but many people still clung to hope in the government and societal institutions. Most areas were relatively calm, with only a few experiencing outright riots.
Places like police stations and military bases, which were armed and fortified, had a much easier time maintaining control. Unless they faced a large-scale zombie assault, these locations rarely fell completely.
A City's Police Headquarters was located on the eastern edge of the city, not far from the airport. It covered a decent area.
When the apocalypse first broke out, the sudden onslaught of zombies had taken everyone by surprise, leading to many officers and prisoners being bitten or killed. The survivors retreated to the western side of the headquarters, fortifying it into a temporary stronghold to hold off the zombies.
Ryan made his way toward the police station, sticking to side streets and avoiding large groups of zombies. Even so, the journey was fraught with danger. The city was much quieter than usual, but faint screams, distant explosions, and sporadic gunfire still echoed in the air.
Expressionless, Ryan gripped a steel pipe tightly in his hand, smashing his way forward. Any zombie that blocked his path was either struck in the head or sent flying, left sprawled on the ground and unable to get up.
Before long, he reached a building across the street from the police station. Cautiously, he climbed up to the third floor and began observing the scene below.
Ryan had no intention of rushing in recklessly.
In this early stage of the apocalypse, low-level zombies hadn't undergone much evolution yet. Compared to a normal adult male, they were faster but somewhat weaker in terms of strength and coordination. This meant that one-on-one, an average person could still manage to kill a zombie.
In other words, most people wouldn't be in immediate danger of death as long as they weren't too foolish or cowardly—especially not in a place like a police station. Ryan was certain there were still living officers inside.
From his vantage point, he could see about eighty or ninety zombies wandering aimlessly in the courtyard outside the station.
Near the entrance, several corpses lay on the ground, bearing visible bite marks. It was clear that these unfortunate souls had attempted to enter the station, perhaps seeking shelter or with some other intent, only to meet their doom.
Ryan's eyes narrowed as he focused on the corpses at the police station entrance. The marks on these bodies didn't resemble the usual bites of zombies. Instead, they looked like the work of some kind of animal, with claw-like scratches and bite marks clearly indicating the shape of a paw.
When zombies infect humans, they stop attacking once the scent of life fades. If the infected individual doesn't die, they transform into a zombie in a short time. However, if the person dies before the transformation, the process stops altogether, leaving the body lifeless.
The corpses at the police station entrance were peculiar; some had missing hearts or heads, making it impossible for them to become zombies even if they were bitten.
While Ryan was observing the scene, a group of about a dozen police officers was gathered inside a small building on the station's western side.
"Director Jace, those things outside attacked again. Several doors and windows were damaged. If we hadn't worked together to block them, they would've broken in by now," a male officer reported to a plump, middle-aged man who appeared to be the chief.
"Watch your words! Those were our comrades, people who fought alongside us!" snapped a female officer, clearly displeased with his tone.
"I get that, but they've already turned into zombie dogs. They're no different from the monsters outside. How many of us were bitten by those zombie dogs? Are they still comrades?" the male officer retorted dismissively.
"Enough! Stop arguing and focus on reinforcing the doors and windows. We can't let them break in," Chief Jace raised a hand, cutting off the dispute.
The female officer glared angrily but refrained from saying more since the chief had spoken. "But, Chief, what about the prisoners? Do we still keep them locked up?"
The chief frowned deeply. "Keep them locked up for now. Give them just enough food and water to survive. We can't have them starving to death."
This small building was originally used to temporarily detain minor offenders. When chaos erupted during the apocalypse, the officers had no choice but to retreat here, relying on its reinforced concrete structure to fend off zombie attacks.
However, the over one hundred prisoners inside posed a significant problem. Excluding them, only a dozen officers remained, and their food supplies were critically low. The rations they had wouldn't last more than three days.
Adding to the dilemma, a large group of zombies roamed outside, making it nearly impossible to venture out for more supplies.