The ruined apartment wasn't much, but after some effort, it was mine. Well, ours now. But I did most of the cleaning so I was taking full credit.
I shoved the broken furniture into one corner, dusted off a table that was somehow still intact, and found two chairs that fortunately didn't collapse under my weight. One did wobble, but that added character. Apocalypse interior design. I was a natural.
"You actually cleaned up," Zero said, leaning against the doorframe. "Most people here don't bother."
"Most people here didn't grow up with a mother who'd disown them for leaving dishes in the sink." I retorted, having decided to keep my origins a mysteries.
I wanted to have an advantage over her, so hopefully this would do.
I pulled out the instant noodles and canned beans from my inventory, but I pretended to take out from the bag. Zero's eyes locked onto them like a hawk spotting a mouse. I swear her pupils dilated.
"Stop looking at my noodles like that. You're scaring them."
"Can't help it." She walked over and sat down. "You have no idea how long it's been since I've had anything that wasn't nutrient paste or mystery jerky."
"Mystery jerky?" I asked in confusion.
"You don't want to know."
"You're right, I don't."
Our little feast was set up quickly. Noodles heated on a portable burner Zero had, canned beans on the side, biscuits for dessert. For me, this was a sad Tuesday dinner. For Zero, however, this was apparently a five-star banquet.
She took her first bite and froze. She let out a loud moan that made my ears go red and my brain short-circuit.
"It's instant noodles," I said, trying to his embarassment. "The cheapest brand actually, so chill with that."
"I don't care if it's made from concrete." Her eyes were genuinely watering. "It's warm and it has flavor. You beautiful, beautiful man."
'Is this the power of the apocalypse? Turns every woman into a goddess and makes them cry over noodles?' I was speechless. 'I hope my readers get their apocalypse world too.'
After the food was gone, Zero leaned back and looked at me with those mischievous eyes. "Let me guess, Questions?"
"Hundreds."
"Pick three. We'll trade."
Smart. Neither of us was giving away everything for free. We'd known each other for a few hours at most, so while there was some trust, it wasn't enough to tell deepest secrets.
Even if she was my sugar mommy now. Details.
"How long has this world been like this?" I asked, geniunely curious about this world.
"About a hundred and fifty years. The outbreak wiped most of the population in the first decade. What's left is scattered settlements and factions fighting over territory."
"How strong are you exactly?"
She smiled. The kind that said not answering that fully and we both know it. "Strong enough to protect you, dear. My turn. Where does the food come from?"
"A place you can't go to." I shrugged.
"Mysterious."
"Right back at you, Miss Strong Enough."
We traded one more question each. I asked about the factions, apparently there were some really nasty ones that made zombies look like house pets. She asked how long I could supply food. I told her as long as I was alive.
Both of us dancing around secrets. It was like poker where both players had shit hands but incredible poker faces.
'Well, her poker face is better. But my hand is definitely better...why did that sounds weird?'
Then she pulled out something from her harness pouch. It was a bracelet, sleek and metallic with a faint blue glow along its edges.
"Put it on," she tossed it to me. "It's a life monitor which tracks your physical stats and vitals. Also generates a biofield that filters radiation from the air."
I blinked. "The air is radioactive and you're telling me this NOW?"
"You're fine. The levels here aren't instantly lethal," she waved dismissively. "Long-term exposure without a filter will mess you up though. Tumors, organ failure, turning into a zombie, just some fun stuff."
"Fun stuff she says." I rolled my eyes at her.
"Just put it on, drama queen."
I snapped it on. A holographic display flickered to life.
[Name: Lukas | Age: 24]
[Strength: 17 | Speed: 12 | Endurance: 19 | Reflex: 14]
[Overall Combat Rating: F]
I stared at the F for a long moment. A big fat F. I hadn't seen that since my highschool.
"F," I said flatly.
"For a normal human without radiation-enhanced evolution, that's pretty standard," Zero said, not even surprised. "You're not really weak. You're just... baseline."
"Baseline. Average. Normal. You really know how to charm a guy." I smiled, finding it funny how she found that word.
"I charm you in other ways~"
I ignored that before my brain melted and shifted gears, "I need something from you. Diamonds, gold, gems. Stuff that was valuable before the apocalypse."
"Why?" She asked.
"Where I get the food, those things are worth a fortune. If I bring some back, I can get way better supplies than instant noodles." I decided to be a bit honest here.
Better food. That was her language, so I chose to strike there. And I was right as I could see the gears turning instantly in her eyes.
"Most of that was looted decades ago and scattered around. It's pretty useless now," she said slowly. "But... bank vaults might still have some. The underground lockers were built to survive anything, after all."
"Exactly what I was thinking." I grinned at her.
"There's an old financial district six kilometers north. Faction-neutral territory, so nobody's claimed it." She paused. "But it hasn't been cleared either."
"Zombies?" I guessed.
"Underground areas are breeding grounds. Dark, enclosed, plenty of organic material, basically a five-star hotel for the dead." She sighed.
"So we're robbing a zombie hotel. Cool, cool, cool."
"I can handle the zombies," she said, looking straight at me. "That's not really the problem. You are."
"Ouch." I felt hurt. Really. "Why?"
"If we get separated down there, you'll die in seconds." She pointed at my bracelet. "An F-rating in a zombie nest is basically a sucide mission."
She wasn't wrong. And I hated that she wasn't wrong.
"So before that," she stood up and cracked her knuckles loud enough to echo through the room, "training."
She tossed me the metal pipe from earlier. I caught it barely, nearly dropping it because the damned thing was way heavier than it looked.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to push you until you wish the zombies had gotten you." She smiled at me.
"That's not motivating at all." I glared at her. "And stop that sadistic smile."
"It's not supposed to be, darling~"
She walked past me, ruffling my hair. Her fingers lingered a second longer than necessary, trailing down to the back of my neck before pulling away.
'This woman will be the death of me. In every possible way.'
I looked down at the pipe, then the F on my wrist.
Bank heist. Zombie nest. Training from a woman who could bend steel barehanded. The same woman who was my sugar mommy now.
'...Everything could go wrong.'
Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited.