Aria felt like she must be losing her mind.
She had just met Novak today, and now here she was, following him to a hotel room. The sound of water splashing in the bathroom made her fidget anxiously. But when she recalled the image of Novak standing protectively in front of her, her resolve strengthened.
No, I'm not crazy, she told herself, I'm brave.
Just as she was trying to steady her nerves, her phone chimed with incoming messages. Aria glanced at it absentmindedly.
[Aria, where are you?! I heard something happened at the hospital! Are you okay?!]
[Do you need me to pick you up? What do you want to eat tonight?]
The messages were from Bob, a persistent admirer. Aria frowned slightly, intending to reply, but just as her fingers hovered over the keyboard, the sound of water stopped abruptly, and Novak stepped out of the bathroom.
In an instant, the thought of responding to Bob evaporated. All the blood in Aria's body rushed to her head. Any response, any attempt to soothe Bob's feelings—along with those of the other guys in her social orbit—suddenly seemed irrelevant.
The man in front of her was perfect.
Novak's shirtless form revealed a physique she hadn't noticed before. His muscles, lean and defined, were unlike any she'd ever seen.
Her breath caught in her throat.
…
Novak watched Aria, noticing her tear-streaked face, and felt a wave of surprise. He hadn't expected that this nurse—who had seemed so forward—would still possess such innocence.
A pang of guilt settled over him. He had only intended to use her for his own purposes, yet the vulnerability she showed made him hesitate. However, years of surviving in the apocalypse had hardened Novak's heart.
He quickly shifted to the real reason he had brought her here.
"You work at the hospital, right? Do you have access to blood samples for testing?" he asked, his tone calm but direct.
Aria blinked in confusion but nodded slowly. "Yes... why?"
"I need samples. HIV, Ebola, any virus you can get your hands on."
"H-HIV...?" Aria's face drained of color as she stared at him in shock.
Novak sighed. Clearly, discussing deadly viruses wasn't appropriate given the current situation between them. He gently patted her head and said, "Relax, I don't have any diseases. If you're worried, feel free to test me tomorrow. But I do need those samples—can you get them?"
Aria let out a long breath, visibly relieved. She even placed a hand on her chest, which—due to her ample figure—made for a rather noticeable gesture. Still a bit embarrassed, she replied, "It's not easy. The lab has strict protocols, and..."
Before she could finish, Novak's expression hardened.
"Is that so? Well, never mind. I'll find someone else who can help." He stood up as if to leave.
Panicking, Aria quickly blurted, "It's not impossible! It's just... just difficult..."
Seeing her hesitation, Novak softened his tone. "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to do anything illegal. You've seen my ID—I'm a student at De M-anila University. I'm conducting research. Once I'm done with the samples, I'll destroy them. There won't be any loose ends."
His reassurance seemed to work. Although Novak felt guilty about manipulating such an innocent girl—no, he corrected himself, she's a woman now—the apocalypse left no room for sentimentality. Every moment before the world's collapse was precious, and he had already spent hours with her. It wasn't just about sating base desires; there was a higher price at stake.
As Aria drifted to sleep in his arms, Novak's expression turned cold and calculated.
In the apocalypse, unless a woman was extraordinarily powerful, she was nothing more than a disposable commodity.
Of course, someone like Aria, especially when dressed in a certain kind of uniform, might command a higher price. But even that wasn't much.
In his past life, Novak had relied on his looks to survive, even gaining favor with the Dark Mother Goddess. The Goddess, who represented both love and darkness, had no restrictions on relationships.
Still, Novak had learned to protect what was his, especially those he cared about. Aria, his first woman in this new world, would be no exception.
With that thought, Novak mentally summoned his personal attributes:
——
[Yie Novak (Forerunner) (Zombie Killer)]
[Evolutionary Number: 001]
[Talent: Virus King (SSS)]
[Level: 1 (10/500)]
- Strength: 14 (+1)
- Agility: 16 (+1)
- Constitution: 16 (+1)
- Spirit: 15 (+1)
- Charm: ???
- Luck: ???
- Assets: 1 gold coin, 10 copper coins
——
His stats had increased slightly, a bonus from the Zombie Slayer title.
He also had some gold coins, but Novak already had plans for those. He wouldn't waste them carelessly.
His main focus was his talent:
——
[Virus King (SSS): You possess an innate mastery over any bacteria and viruses within your body! Any virus can be controlled and harnessed by you. Each time you come into contact with a virus, you gain evolution points and unlock new abilities! Current Evolution Points: 1.57]
——
This was Novak's greatest advantage. After killing the zombie, he had earned most of his evolution points by absorbing its virus.
With the Virus King ability, he could turn any virus he physically encountered into evolution points. The fear of becoming a host for deadly pathogens no longer concerned him.
However, Novak wasn't in a hurry to spend his evolution points. Instead, he opened the evolutionary tree and inspected a specific branch:
——
[Infectious Disease Evolution: Traditional diseases spread through physical contact, body fluids, droplets, etc. With further evolution, transmission methods can become even more advanced.]
(Note: Due to your exposure to a large number of disease samples, the evolution points required to unlock this ability have been reduced by 50%!)
——
Fifty percent reduction?
Novak's eyebrows rose in surprise. Without hesitation, he allocated 1.5 of his evolution points to unlock the branch, and then used the remaining point to further enhance his control over the Blacklight Virus.
Suddenly, Novak felt his heart beat violently within his chest.