In another place, in a poor lodging area.
This place was built a long time ago and has deteriorated quite seriously, but it is home to many people.
In a small but cosy room, a cute girl, about 18 years old, with striking light red hair, is preparing dinner.
"Meika, are you preparing dinner?" Suddenly, a familiar male voice came from outside the room.
Meika happily turned her head, looked towards the door, and said, "Ah! Brother, you're back already."
Alec pushed the door open. Because the place was quite cramped, the kitchen, living room, and bedroom were all combined into one room.
The room was not large, only about 10 square meters, with the kitchen near the entrance and a small bathroom in the corner.
There was a small open space in the middle, serving as both the living room and the bedroom.
Alec saw Meika and smiled, "Meika, you came home early today?"
"Uhm!" Meika nodded, smiling as she said, "Brother, today the store manager said that the sales were quite good, so he allowed me to come home early and even gave me an extra 300 credit points as a bonus."
"300 credit points?" Alec frowned upon hearing that, thinking about something before asking, "That's quite a lot. Do we need to pay any bills?"
Meika smiled and replied, "No, we don't need to pay any bills at the moment."
She pointed to the pot boiling on the stove and continued, "Brother, look, I bought some meat today."
"You bought meat?" Alec was startled, "It's very expensive, we don't have that much money."
Meika smiled and replied, "You are a survivor; you need more nutrition than usual. Besides, I just got a 300-credit point bonus; buying a little is fine; we still have over 200 points left."
"Meika, you are truly a good girl," Alec praised.
Hearing that, Meika blushed and lowered her head, saying, "No, I just want the best for you, brother."
"Meika, in the future... when I become a strong survivor, I will give you a comfortable life," Alec said, gently patting Meika's shoulder.
She nodded, her eyes full of trust as she looked at him: "Brother, I believe you will become a great survivor."
Both smiled as if they were seeing a bright future.
When Alec came home, he didn't seem to need to do anything except take a bath. After bathing, he saw the dishes laid out on the table, just waiting for him to enjoy.
He sat at the table placed in the middle of the room, with Meika sitting opposite him.
While eating, Meika didn't touch the meat, only eating a few other ordinary foods.
Although the world had gone through the 'Twilight of Humanity' nearly 100 years ago, war continued.
Wars not only occurred between humans and monsters but also frequently between empires.
Therefore, food was always a very precious commodity. Besides a few easily grown vegetables, meat was extremely expensive, so much so that ordinary people could hardly afford it.
Raising livestock is extremely difficult when the area of safe zones for living is already very limited, so the area for livestock farming becomes even scarcer.
That is also the reason why only survivors or those with high incomes can afford to buy meat.
Although Alec is also a Survivor, he is currently still a student at the survival academy and cannot take on missions to earn extra money like other Survivors.
Only when he graduates or reaches the required level can he go to the Survivor Centre to take on missions or leave the safe zone to start hunting monsters.
Seeing Meika only eating vegetables and a bit of stewed carrots and potatoes, Alec didn't feel guilty.
For him, eating meat was natural because he was a survivor, and he needed more nutrition and energy.
'Now Meika can only eat ordinary food, giving up meat for me, but in the future, I will be able to give her a better life.'
With that thought, alec immediately swept away all the meat on the plate. Seeing this, Meika did not feel uncomfortable or angry, on the contrary, she smiled with satisfaction.
After eating, Alec looked at Meika, deciding to speak up: "How much money do we have left?"
Meika heard this and answered honestly: "Hm… if we pay the bills this month, we probably have about 4,700 credit points left."
"4,700 points?!" Hearing this number, Alec was immediately startled: "Meika, has your salary increased? Or have you taken on another job?"
Meika smiled and replied: "Um! Brother, my manager is very good; he increases my salary by 40% and sometimes gives me a lot of bonuses, so I dare to buy you meat to eat."
Hearing this, Alec frowned and said: "Meika, do you feel that your manager is a bit strangely kind?" "Heh?!" Meika was startled: "Why are you asking that, second brother? I feel that he is very normal, there are many good people like him out there."
"Moreover, the salary here is very high. If we quit that store, I'm afraid we'll continue to live in poverty."
"Brother, you need a lot of money to go to school, only this job can help you earn enough money to go to school."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Alec frowned when he heard that, although he didn't want Meika to work there because, in his mind, Meika was already his woman.
After all, Meika's status was quite special, she… wasn't his biological sister.
However, he needed money right now, he needed a lot of money. That's why he could only let her continue working in that dangerous place.
'Wait until tomorrow passes, after I have some money, I'll definitely let Meika enjoy a better life.'
'Wait! Tomorrow is too soon, I need to take care of myself first. I am a Survivor. The stronger I am, the more comfortable Meika's life will be.'
'Alright! Then wait until I become rich, as for Meika… I have to let her work there for a while.'
Alec silently decided in his heart. For him, the priority right now is… his own strength, then Selvia, and finally Meika.
After all, Meika has been with him for such a long time, there is no way she can betray him. Therefore, it is fine to let her wait a little longer.
Alec spoke up at this time: "Meika, I want to buy some things; it requires quite a lot of credits."
"Heh?!" Meika was not too surprised, after all, she had quite a large amount of savings, so she said very generously: "Brother, you are a Survivor, you need to spend a lot of money to buy resources."
"If you need credits, just say so, I will give them to you."
Alec nodded and smiled, "Not much, just… 2,000, no, 3,000 credits."
He had thought it through. At first, he only needed 1,000 credits. However, the more credits he had, the easier it would be to carry out his plan.
"What?! 3,000 credits?" Meika was startled, "Brother, we…"
"Don't worry..." Alec hurriedly reassured Meika, "I'm just borrowing it for now. Tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow, I will return it."
"Brother, what are you planning to do? Buy resources to level up?" Meika asked, puzzled.
"No, it's alright... don't ask too much. I just need 3,000 credit points, and I will return it to you the day after tomorrow," Alec said with a smile.
"Don't you trust me? Don't you remember who saved you from death back then?"
"This..." Meika bit her lip. She had saved up nearly 5,000 credit points over almost two years. Now her brother needed 3,000 points, which made her feel a bit... uncomfortable.
However, the person asking was her big brother, and his parents were the ones who saved her from death when she was a child.
Therefore... Meika could only sigh and say, "No, I just feel that the amount is a bit large."
"Hahahaha... don't worry. I'm not going to spend all of it. I just... alright." Alec continued, "In short, don't worry, I will return the money soon."
Meika nodded, then used her phone to transfer 3,000 credit points to Alec.
In the end, the money she had saved over two years was reduced to just under 2,000 credit points.
But immediately, she tried to dismiss the thought in her head: 'Meika, what on earth are you thinking?'
'This money is for your brother. Now that he needs it, of course you have to give it to him, that's normal.'
Meika sighed, then smiled and said, "Brother, I've completed the transaction."
Alec looked at his account, which now had nearly 4,000 credit points, and felt very happy: "Meika, don't worry. I will make you proud of me."