The next morning, Kuon was woken up by a piece of debris falling on his face.
“Ouch!
F*ck…” After that not so nice alarm, he got up, went outside and washed his face, walked back in, cut the rotten part of an apple and ate the rest, patted Stephanie on the head, got punched for it and went out.
His plan for today was simple, yet not so simple at the same time.
He had to make a trip to the storage vault, and pick out all the necessities he woukd need.
If what Lev had said was true, then Kuon was going to cook up a feast tonight.
As he walked, he couldn’t help but wonder what beautiful dishes could be made.
If there was enough artificial dough, he could make noodles, or even better.
If there were enough artificial tomatoes and meat, then he could even make pizza.
The thought of having pizza for dinner had drool running down his mouth.
Kuon quickly wiped it and resumed his walk.
Feeling bored, Kuon decided not to walk.
Instead, he dashed forward and landed on the roof of a nearly dilapidated cottage.
Walking the rest of the way to the vault felt too slow.
Parkouring through the Ruins was far more satisfying, even if it left his muscles burning slightly afterward.
He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, twisted through narrow alleys, and used broken ledges like stepping stones between collapsing structures.
Occasionally, he lifted a hand in passing greeting to familiar Ruined faces below, people who didn’t bother asking questions anymore.
A shadow moving across the bones of the city was still a common sight here.
After a few minutes, Kuon finally arrived at the Storage Vault.
It was once a supermarket, long abandoned centuries ago.
Rusted signage still clung to the upper frame, half-eaten by time and dust.
Yet against all logic, the structure still stood, stubborn and upright amid the decay around it.
Kuon sighed and passed through the broken sliding glass door like a swift shadow, appearing in one of the many aisles.
Observing the shelves full of long expired chips and snacks, he couldn’t help but grimace.
In theory, there should’ve been enough food to last the Ruined of sector 242 for at least an entire year…if all of it did not wither away and expire centuries ago.
Kuon abruptly took his eyes off the shelves and stared into the distance at one of the few aisles that collapsed a long time ago and started making his way to it.
He stopped a few meters away, bent down and gently tapped one of the floor tiles.
As the tile seemed to loosen, Kuon placed his fingers into the gap and opened it, revealing a hidden circular ladder which lead down into what seemed like a pool of darkness.
The supermarket itself was not the vault as one would assume.
From the outside, it looked no different from the countless ruins scattered throughout the sector.
A rundown supermarket from centuries past, its walls cracked, its windows shattered, and its faded sign barely hanging onto the structure.
Most Ruined walked past it without a second glance.
That was by design.
The Storage Vault was one of the Ruins’ most closely guarded secrets.
While the Grey Market brought precious supplies into the Ruins, keeping those supplies safe afterward was an entirely different challenge.
As a result, only a handful of trusted individuals knew the true location of the Vault.
The exchange runners and several respected elders were entrusted with its secret.
Kuon was naturally among them.
Both as an exchange runner and the most competent and noble among the Ruined.
The actual storage area wasn’t inside the supermarket at all.
Instead, it was hidden beneath it.
A concealed entrance lay buried underneath a collapsed aisle near the back of the building.
To an outsider, it looked like nothing more than a pile of rusted shelves and broken concrete.
Only those who knew where to look would notice the narrow passage hidden beneath the debris.
Beyond it was a network of old maintenance corridors and underground rooms that had survived the centuries surprisingly well.
That was the true Storage Vault.
Every sack of grain and dough, every bottle of purified water, every box of medicine that entered the Ruins through the Grey Market eventually passed through those hidden chambers.
It wasn’t perfect.
Supplies still disappeared from time to time.
But in a place where starvation was common and theft was a daily reality, secrecy was often the best lock money couldn’t buy, if the Ruined were even allowed to have money in the first place.
Closing the tile entrance above him, Kuon descended the ladder into the darkness.
After taking a few steps, he finally made it to the many corridors where all the exchanged goods were stored and walked to one of the rooms.
Above its metallic door, there was sign that read: WHEAT Dough Rice Tomatoes Milk Water Bread Medicine These were the list of things Kuon came to get.
He had high hopes of being able to make pizza or some noodles tonight, so he decided he was going to go get the dough first.
With a loud metallic shreak, the door opened revealing crates upon crates full of fresh artificial dough.
‘Woah, I guess Lev wasn’t lying.’ The monthly exchanges through the Grey Market usually provided the Ruined with a modest amount of supplies, medicine, and artificial food products.
Even then, there was rarely enough.
Most months, the supplies barely lasted until the next exchange.
As a result, Kuon and the district elders had long since mastered the art of rationing.
Every package, every bottle, and every pill had to be carefully distributed among the Ruined of the 242nd District.
Waste was not an option.
Kuon sighed and walked over to one of the larger crates.
DOUGH The faded label was stamped across its side.
“Let’s see…” Prying open the crate, he found exactly what he expected.
Packets upon packets of artificial dough.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Artificial dough wasn’t exactly appetizing, but it was filling, easy to store, and could be turned into dozens of different meals.
For the Ruined, it was practically a luxury.
Plus, Kuon could whip it up into any food he desires, not that he knows of many foods to begin with.
As he sorted through the packages, however, something caught his attention.
A few packets near the bottom were wrapped in different packaging.
Kuon frowned.
‘Huh?’ The color was different.The texture looked different too.
‘Odd…Since when did they change the design- wait, no.
It could just be flour.’ Curious, he grabbed one of the odd packages and brought it closer.
A moment later, his body froze.
His eyes widened.
“No…no way…” His voice came out a little more than a whisper.
His right eye twitched slightly and then again.
Kuon rubbed both eyes and looked down at the package once more.
Maybe he was still tired.
Maybe he was hallucinating.
Or maybe he had finally gone mad.
But no matter how many times he looked, the result remained the same.
His eyes weren’t deceiving him.
The package in his hands wasn’t artificial dough.
For several seconds, Kuon simply stared.
His mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
Then, he whispered so quietly it could barely be audible, “Real…real…dough…” Indeed, the dough was holding in his hand was not synthetic dough.
It wasn’t artificial.
It was made of whole grain.
It was real.
It was…
Real Dough The kind of food that most Ruined only ever heard about in stories.
The kind of food people above the First Great Wall probably ate without a second thought.
And Kuon was holding an entire packet of this sacred product in his hand right now.
‘Nevermind, this is the greatest exchange we’ve ever made!’ Glittering sparks could practically be seen in his contrasting eyes as he stared at the packet of real dough.
His mind was racing.
Was it okay?
Was a pitiful vermin like himself even allowed to touch this sacred product?
Was simply gazing upon it disrespectful?
However, Kuon quickly wiped those thoughts away as he excitedly walked towards to entrance, completely aloof to the sound of someone else walking in.
‘Steph has to see this.
She is going to freak ou-‘ Kuon suddenly bumped into someone.
He instinctively jumped back, getting ready to take action if the intruder turned out to be a thief.
However, his stance disappeared as he recognised the figure that had bumped into him.
His eyes widened slightly.
“Mr.
Murphy?” The figure turned to face Kuon and chuckled slightly.
“Well…hey there.” Murphy was a calm daunt old man who looked to be in his late sixties.
Wrinkles were clearly visible one his composed face and his grey hair swayed slightly.
The man wore a scruffy and torn black coat and a simple red tunic could be seen underneath.
Kuon was beyond excited.
He had just discovered real dough in one of the crates and the elders such as Murphy just had to know about this aswell.
Kuon grinned.
“Hey, old man, come see this…you won’t believ-” However, Murphy cut him off abruptly, “Sorry, Kuon…We’ll talk some other time ‘kay?” The nearly skeletal man seemed to be in a rush and was frantically checking every crate in the room.
Eventually, he sighed and turned to Kuon.
“Which supply room is this?” Kuon shrugged.
“The one that says wheat.” “Curse it…Guess my eyesight’s getting worse by the day, huh?” Kuon watched the old man walk towards the door to leave, a slight frown forming on his face.
Murphy’s posture seemed oddly stiff, and his eyes carried a distant look, as though his mind was somewhere far away.
It was unusual.
Kuon had known the old man for years, and aside from the monthly supply distributions, he had rarely ever seen him act this strangely.
‘Something is…very wrong.’ Kuon called out, “Hey, old man…are you okay?
Did something happen?” But Murphy was already pulling on the door handle as he went to leave, but a that moment, Kuon’s hand fell on his shoulder, gripping it tight.
“Hold on…” The old man looked back at the skinny teenager, his eyes carrying a dark look in them.
Eventually, he sighed and spoke, “It is nothing you should concern yourself with.” However, Kuon’s grip did not falter.
He had known Murphy for too long to not notice the sorrow in his voice.
With a grim tone, he asked, “Jonah…how is he?” Murphy’s eyes widened as he stared into Kuon’s abnormal contrasting eyes which stared right back at him.
One seemed to be a dark void.
The other resembled a burning star.
A look of darkness sorrow came across Murphy’s face as he spoke, his words making Kuon shudder.
“Jonah…he…I think he has caught the virus.”