Summer began tidying up her sniper rifle. Once she was done, she jumped down from the lower floor with the suitcase, landing lightly without even a scratch, and walked straight toward him.
She looked completely used to it. If anything, the way she moved made her even hotter in Gideon's eyes.
There was something undeniably attractive about a woman who could fight and be an expert in something like being a sniper.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, setting the suitcase down. "Did you finally fall in love with me or something?"
Gideon nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. You're really sexy, you know?" He rested one hand on his waist. "So I can fuck you after this, right?"
Summer groaned and rolled her eyes, though the flush on her cheeks did not fade.
"Whatever."
She turned toward the fallen Aberrant to examine it. Gideon laughed and slapped her ass.
"I know you want it too. Don't make me look like the pervert here."
She pouted and punched his chest lightly. "You are a pervert. I don't mind though."
She wrapped an arm around his neck and whispered, "We could even fuck here."
Gideon laughed. "Really? Good. But I hope you act more like a virgin than this cocky."
His hand slid to her waist, then down to her ass, squeezing it hard. It felt soft in his grip, perfectly shaped even under the robe.
Summer shuddered, her pout disappearing. She grabbed his hand sharply and forced it away, making him hiss.
She tapped his cheek several times, gently but firmly. "And I hope you act more like a gentleman. I need to focus on this." She released him, leaving him groaning in disappointment.
Summer pulled a knife from her robe and began carving into the Rootpod's body with precise movements. Gideon stepped closer, ready to help, but she stopped him.
"Nope. You'll ruin the meat. It needs to be cut clean or the fat gets wasted. And if you hit the acid sac, everything spoils."
Gideon backed off and decided to check the system notifications instead. He deliberately avoided opening the Infinite Shop, already painfully aware of the fifteen thousand Love Coin debt hanging over him.
'I'm fucking Summer every morning, afternoon, and night until this debt is gone,' he thought, glancing at her as she worked, blood splattered across her robe.
The system chimed.
[[Congratulations, you killed an SR Rootpod!]]
[Rewards:]
[1x SR Ruby Core]
[1000 EXP]
[1x Rootpod Meat 10kg]
[5x Tendrils]
[Rewards have been stored.]
[Level Up!]
[Level 6 → Level 10]
[Status Update:]
[Charisma: 70 → 110 | Strength: 65 → 105 | Endurance: 70 → 110 | Speed: 65 → 105 (+100) | Defense: 60 → 100 (+50)]
[Residential Area Level 1 → Level 2]
[Plant the Seed of Aaru to unlock details.]
---
Gideon raised an eyebrow. "No Love Coins?" he muttered.
He checked the SR Ruby Core description and saw that it could be sold to the system for 5,000 Love Coins.
His eyes widened. "This is… one way to get rich."
SR meant Super Rare, just like a gacha system. If something like SSR or SSS existed, he could clear his debts in no time.
'Too bad it didn't drop a gacha ticket,' he thought. 'But that's fine. I've always been unlucky anyway.'
He sold the core. The number updated instantly to five thousand Love Coins.
Gideon stared at it and exhaled slowly. He still has about ten thousand dollars in debt if he pays them with this 5k…
He raked a hand through his hair in frustration, but Summer's voice pulled him out of it, making him turn and push his worries about debt aside for the moment.
"Gideon, it's such a shame, but we can't possibly take all this meat," she groaned. "At least we got the core."
She lifted a black sphere in her palm. It was about the size of her hand, smooth and slick, gleaming faintly like a pearl.
"This alone can buy us two crates of ammo," she grinned.
"How do people even still have ammo?" Gideon asked as he crouched beside her to get a closer look. "It's been ten years since the apocalypse."
Around them, strips of meat lay scattered on the ground. It looked like thick pork cuts, long and rectangular, pink with layers of almost white fat.
"Not every country collapsed the same way," Summer explained. "Some places still have usable land and working factories. They can still make weapons and bullets."
"I see," Gideon murmured.
"That's why ammo costs a fortune," she added with a groan. "Which is exactly why you shouldn't waste it shooting every tendril you see."
"So you wanted me to die?"
"I wanted you to dodge and let yourself get eaten," she shot back. "Anyway, do you have something to carry all this?"
Gideon chuckled and reached out, holding her jaw lightly with one hand and squishing her lips into a pout.
"At least act cuter while you still need me."
"Hmph! You need me to fuck too," she snapped, shaking his hand off.
She cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "Please, Gideon, please. Can you put all of this into your magic pocket?"
He laughed. "That's going to cost you a lot."
Still smiling, he thought, 'System, can I store all of this?'
[Yes, but storage capacity is limited. Please place items carefully to avoid overload.]
A small rift opened in front of him. Summer stared at it, her eyes widening in pure amazement.
"You can put everything in there?!" She exclaimed.
He nodded. "Let's move fast. And don't tell anyone."
"Are you insane?" she said immediately. "Of course I won't. You'll be my secret." She grinned and started shoving meat, skin, and even teeth into the rift.
Gideon helped, adding smaller Rootpods as well after Summer explained that they stored water inside. The process took longer than either of them expected.
"Alright, that's everything," Summer said, suddenly serious. "We need to move. Look up."
She pointed toward the ceiling.
Gideon followed her gaze and saw it. A crack was spreading where there hadn't been one before.
"Not all the tendrils are dead yet," she said. "We still have time."
She handed him the suitcase. Understanding immediately, Gideon stored it away, and both of them started to move.