By the time Ethan reached the property management office, his heart was still beating hard from the fight upstairs.
He slowed as he stepped into the first-floor lobby.
Empty.
Not a single person in sight.
A few cigarette butts and crumpled playing cards lay scattered across the floor. An overturned chair rested against the wall, its legs sticking up at an awkward angle. The air smelled of stale smoke and sweat.
Ethan glanced around.
No footsteps. No voices. Nothing.
A cold smile touched his lips.
"So the boss knows when to run."
That was probably the smartest decision the man had made all day. Anyone who had kept a group of criminals alive this long understood one simple rule: don’t fight an enemy you don’t understand. Five of his men had just been wiped out in minutes, and whoever did it had a gun. Staying behind would have been suicide.
Ethan wasn’t going to chase him. Not yet.
Daisy was still somewhere in this building. That came first.
He turned and took the stairs two at a time.
Two floors later he reached the third-floor landing. The heavy door to the community hall stood directly ahead, locked. Even through the thick wood he could hear something~crying. Dozens of muffled, exhausted voices.
His expression hardened.
He stepped closer, drew his leg back, and drove his boot into the door.
The lock snapped with a sharp crack. The door flew inward and slammed against the wall.
Every sound inside the room died at once.
More than forty women stared at him.
For several long seconds nobody moved.
They looked terrified. Exhausted. Broken. Most wore clothes that had been torn or pulled apart until they barely covered anything. Bruises darkened arms and faces. Some still had dried blood on their skin. Others simply sat with their backs against the wall, eyes empty, as if they had already stopped hoping anyone would come for them.
Ethan’s chest tightened.
He had seen plenty of ugly things since the apocalypse began, but this was different. These women weren’t fighting anymore. They were waiting~waiting for the next person to walk through that door and decide what would happen to them.
He slowly swept his gaze across the room, face after face.
Then he stopped.
A woman sat alone near the far corner.
She was covered in dirt and grime. Her clothes were stained and torn, the thin fabric hanging loosely in places. Her dark hair hung messily around her face, one sleeve pulled up as if she had tried to hide behind it. Even like this~filthy, exhausted, marked by days of fear~she was strikingly beautiful. The soft, full curve of her breasts pressed against the ruined top with every shallow breath. When she shifted slightly, the line of her hips and the round shape of her ass were still impossible to ignore. Dirt and bruises couldn’t hide the natural softness of her body. She looked like someone who had been elegant once, and the body itself had refused to forget.
She looked nothing like the polished image Ethan had imagined from Debbie’s description.
But her eyes... and the shape of her eyebrows...
Something about them was immediately familiar.
Something that reminded him of Debbie.
"Daisy?"
The woman jerked her head up. Her bloodshot eyes met his.
At the same moment the system spoke inside Ethan’s mind.
[Ding! Gift Target Detected.]
[Name: Daisy Miller]
[Age: 27]
[Beauty Score: 96]
A faint smile appeared on Ethan’s face.
He had found her.
Daisy.
And somehow, even after everything she had been through, her Beauty Score sat higher than Debbie’s.
He glanced around the room once more. Two other women stood out from the crowd~clearly beautiful, probably around eighty-three or eighty-four. The system stayed silent.
So close, and still not enough. The system really didn’t bend its rules for anyone.
Ethan walked toward Daisy. She watched him approach with cautious, exhausted eyes. When he reached into his pocket several of the other women flinched.
He pulled out the half-heart pendant.
"Your sister sent me."
Daisy froze. Her gaze locked onto the cool jade. For a second she didn’t even breathe. Then her trembling hand reached out. Her fingers touched the pendant.
Tears filled her eyes at once.
"My sister..." Her voice cracked. "Is she alive?"
Ethan nodded.
"She is."
Daisy’s lips trembled. "Where is she?"
"Somewhere safe." He paused. "She asked me to bring you home."
Daisy stared at him. Something inside her seemed to break. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks. She covered her mouth, trying and failing to keep the sobs quiet. For weeks she had lived without knowing whether her sister was still breathing. She had probably already prepared herself for the worst. And now someone had walked through that door and told her she wasn’t alone anymore.
"I’ll take you to her," Ethan said.
Daisy nodded immediately and pushed herself to her feet. Her legs shook badly from exhaustion; she nearly stumbled. Ethan reached out and steadied her by the elbow.
"Can you walk?"
"Yes." She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I can."
Ethan turned toward the exit. He said nothing to the other women. Not because he didn’t care, but because he had already learned the hard way that trying to save everyone was the fastest way to die with them. The moment he showed weakness, people would take advantage of it.
Daisy followed him. Just before she stepped through the doorway she stopped and looked back.
Forty terrified faces stared after her. Some hopeful. Some desperate. Daisy’s lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but what could she promise them? She couldn’t save them. She couldn’t even guarantee her own safety. Her expression fell. She lowered her head and followed Ethan out.
They left the building through a side exit and disappeared into the surrounding streets. They didn’t stop until several blocks lay between them and the complex. Eventually Ethan found a small abandoned room tucked between two old buildings. He checked it thoroughly~empty, no zombies, no survivors~then closed the door behind them.
Only then did he finally let his shoulders drop.
"My name is Ethan. I’m staying with your sister for now."
He briefly explained how he had met Debbie and what had happened since. When Daisy heard that her sister and Nina were both alive, the rigid tension in her face slowly eased.
"She nearly lost it when she found out what happened to you," Ethan said. "She practically begged me to come find you."
Daisy lowered her head. A tired, fragile smile appeared.
"That sounds like her."
Ethan nodded. "She also has a daughter. Nina."
The moment Daisy heard the name her expression softened further.
"Nina’s alive too?"
"She is."
Daisy closed her eyes for a moment and let out a quiet breath.
"Thank God."
Then her gaze moved over Ethan~the bloodstains on his clothes, the scratches along his arms, the dried blood around his sleeves.
"You came all the way here for me?"
Daisy stared at him. "You must have risked your life."
Ethan shrugged. "I’ve had worse days."
She gave him a look. "You don’t look like someone who’s had a normal day."
Ethan almost laughed. "Fair enough."
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Ethan’s eyes flicked toward the crystal core waiting inside his Space Ability. He had been waiting for the right moment. This was it. Daisy had just been rescued. She knew her sister was alive. She knew he had risked his life to find her. Gratitude was already written across her face. If the system ever offered a perfect window for a high return, this was it.
He reached into the Space. A green crystal appeared in his palm.
Daisy stared at it. "What is that?"
"A crystal core. From a mutant leopard." He held it out. "It can awaken an ability. Your sister received one and awakened her Healing Ability. This might do the same for you."
Daisy didn’t take it immediately. "That’s incredibly valuable."
"I know."
"Then why give it to me?"
"Because I think you need it more than I do."
It wasn’t exactly a lie. He already had his Space Ability. If Daisy awakened something useful, it would help both of them.
She slowly reached out. Her fingers closed around the crystal.
"Thank you."
She stared at it for another few seconds, then swallowed it without hesitation.
The crystal dissolved the instant it entered her mouth. A strange chill raced through her body. Daisy’s eyes widened. Her fingers tightened. Then her entire body began to tremble.
"Ah..."
She dropped to one knee.
Ethan stepped forward at once. "Daisy!"
"I’m fine." She gritted her teeth.
The cold sensation suddenly flipped into a wave of heat. It spread through her chest, then her arms, her legs, her head. A faint blue light appeared beneath her skin.
At the same moment the system notification rang in Ethan’s mind.
[Ding!]
[Gift Successful.]
[Gift: Mutant Leopard Core]
[Target Beauty Score: 96]
[First Gift Detected.]
[Base Multiplier Unlocked.]
[Target: Daisy Miller ~ Age: 27 ~ Beauty Score: 96 ~ Purity: 100]
[Base Multiplier: 100x]
[Target Emotional State Detected: Gratitude + Shock + Hope]
[Ultra-High Multiplier Activated!]
[Reward Obtained: SSS-Rank Metal Manipulation Ability]
[Cooldown: 7 Days]
Ethan’s eyes widened.
"SSS-Rank?"
He stared at the notification. Then another detail caught his attention.
Purity: 100.
He almost laughed under his breath. The system really is ridiculous.
But there was no time to think about it. A tremendous wave of energy surged through his body. His muscles tightened. Every nerve seemed to come alive at once. Then something strange happened.
He could feel metal.
Not just the things he could see~everything. Steel beams hidden inside nearby buildings. Copper wiring running beneath the walls. Metal pipes buried underground. Door locks. Window frames. Abandoned cars sitting several streets away. His perception stretched outward until hundreds of tiny pieces of metal became clear inside his mind.
Ethan slowly raised his hand. He didn’t know how he knew what to do. He simply did.
A metal nail lying on the floor trembled, then shot toward him. He caught it. Focused. The nail bent, twisted, folded in on itself. Within seconds the tiny piece of metal had reshaped itself into a crude key.
Ethan stared at it. A slow smile spread across his face.
"Metal Manipulation."
The ability was terrifying. He could already imagine what it would do in a fight~guns, blades, steel doors, vehicles, rebar. Anything made of metal could become a weapon. And if he mastered it, he might not even need to carry a weapon anymore.
Behind him Daisy’s breathing finally steadied. Ethan turned. She slowly opened her eyes. Something had changed. Her pupils seemed deeper than before. A faint blue glow lingered around her fingertips.
She stared at her hands. "I... I can feel them."
"Feel what?"
"People." She looked at Ethan. "Their emotions."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
Daisy closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
"I think I awakened an S-Rank Mental Ability. I can sense the emotions of people nearby." Her expression grew more uncertain. "And I think... I might be able to influence them."
Ethan’s interest sharpened at once. A mental-type ability. Extremely useful for reconnaissance, interrogation, and dealing with large groups.
Daisy looked at him, eyes filled with genuine gratitude.
"Thank you. My sister and I will never forget what you’ve done for us. We’ll repay you."
Ethan gave her a faint smile. "Let’s worry about surviving first."
He looked toward the door. "We need to get back."
They left the room shortly afterward.
The journey back was far easier than the trip in. Ethan spent most of the walk testing his new ability. A loose piece of rebar buried beneath the pavement tore free and shot upward; he stopped it before it could damage anything. Then he tried something else. Several scraps of metal scattered around the street rose into the air, floated around him, and at a single thought snapped together into a crude metal shield.
Ethan stared at the shield. A satisfied grin appeared.
"This is going to be useful."
Very useful. Barricades. Weapons. Shields. Traps. Even reinforcing the villa. His mind was already racing through the possibilities.
Daisy walked beside him, occasionally sending her newly awakened Mental Ability outward. At first she could only sense a small area. Every time she pushed the perception too far, exhaustion washed over her. Still, it was enough to detect anything close.
They had just passed a collapsed building when Daisy suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Ethan stopped at once. "What?"
She pointed toward a pile of broken concrete. "I felt someone."
Ethan reached for his weapon. "Where?"
"Over there."
They stared at the ruins. Nothing moved. Ethan waited. A second passed. Then another. Finally a dark shape shifted behind the rubble and disappeared almost instantly.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "A survivor?"
"I’m not sure. My ability isn’t strong enough yet."
He considered chasing after them, then decided against it. "We don’t have time. Stay close."
Daisy nodded.
Neither of them saw the figure move again.
But they weren’t alone.
Behind the ruined building a man crouched low and watched them disappear into the distance. He slowly raised a walkie-talkie to his mouth.
"Max." His voice was barely above a whisper. "The guy just came out. He’s got a woman with him."
Static crackled through the speaker. Then a cold voice answered.
"Keep watching them. Don’t let them see you."
The man nodded. "Got it."
He lowered the radio. His eyes remained fixed on Ethan and Daisy as they walked away.