Beep! Beep! Beep!

A periodic beep rang in Seth’s ears, his eyelids twitching.

His consciousness slowly roiled awake, his eyes flickering open.

His vision was blurry at first, but it slowly recovered its clarity.

"Where am I?" Seth wondered as his foggy mind slowly stirred.

After a few seconds of staring at the ceiling, his memories flooded in. With a wince, he hissed, "Wait... that’s not right!"

His head spun left, and he saw a vital sign monitor staring back at him, reflecting his rapidly ascending heart rate.

The periodic beeps rang out continuously.

"The fuck?" He spun his head right and saw a drip connected to a rod, the tube running down into his arm.

He stared back at the ceiling, the bulb brightly lit.

Combined with the thick scent of medicine in the air, his mind concluded this was a hospital.

A working, functioning hospital!

His eyes widened and his heart rate began to pick up. How could there still be such a fully intact medical care facility during the apocalypse?

Could it be that everything that had happened was a dream?

His heart lurched, his gut sank.

’None of it was real? It couldn’t be... right?’

It wasn’t until he noticed a subtle flicker in the corner of his vision that he calmed down.

A notification box with a bubble indicating the number 99 sat at the edge of his sight.

Seeing the sign of the system, his heart rate calmed and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

Then he tried to sit up — he had to understand what was going on.

"Mmm?" A faint moan rang out.

He realized there was someone sitting beside him, using his lap as a pillow as she slept.

Dark long hair scattered across his bed, revealing her delicate neck.

Her beautiful face was turned toward him, her eyes closed as a bit of drool ran across her tender pink lips, dripping onto his patient gown.

Seth’s eyes widened as his mind was suddenly overwhelmed with relief, glee, and excitement.

"L-little aunt?" he called.

Her slender figure stirred a bit on hearing the familiar call.

Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing a pair of mesmerizing grey pupils.

Her gaze locked with Seth’s as silent seconds passed.

Then she suddenly lurched forward, locking him into a tight embrace as she immediately began sobbing.

"W-we thought we’d lost you forever!" she cried, tears streaming down her chin, her embrace tightening.

Seth smiled faintly. "Me too," he muttered as he patted down her back, trying to calm her tears.

The little lady’s name was Maya Ironblood.

She was the last born of Seth’s mother’s family, born roughly a year after he was.

Meaning he was older than her in age, but she was his elder by relation — hence why he dubbed her "little aunt." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

She was the only one he had from his maternal line, as his mother died when he was twelve after losing a three-year-long battle against cancer.

Seth was the illegitimate son of the billionaire family, the Duskreavers, so he was somewhat isolated from the others by design.

Leaving the only company he had to be his little aunt.

The two grew up together, and he doted on her very much and cared for her.

Finally, she calmed down, sitting back in her chair. Seth sat up and asked,

"How come I’m here? Don’t tell me this is all a dream." He smiled gently as he asked.

Eyes still puffy red from crying, she shook her head. "I don’t know much. I only know Uncle Sanders was the one who brought you home."

Seth frowned. This was the least expected reply he anticipated. Glancing at his surroundings once more, he confirmed:

This was indeed a working, functioning modern hospital.

"How come everything seems intact? You guys weren’t affected by the corruption?"

Maya smiled. "Before all that, you should at least drink some water."

She stood to fill a glass of water from the dispenser by the side.

She came back and handed it to him. Watching him drink, she began to narrate what she knew.

"From what I know, the corruption indeed infested Earth, but the origin also connected to Earth.

So not only are there corruption zones, there are origin zones — which I heard big brother Mike call safe zones.

Apparently, the city around the family estate became one, sparing us from the horrors of the corruption."

Seth’s eyes lit up. That made sense. If corruption zones could form, it had to be the same for the origin!

He felt like a fool for not considering such a possibility. But it wasn’t exactly his fault — he was too busy trying to keep his head on his neck and didn’t have much time for brainstorming theories.

He sighed. "You guys are actually lucky then. I’m glad."

Maya didn’t smile at his words. Instead, guilt marred her delicate features. "Yes, we were lucky... but you..."

Her head drooped down as she clutched the hem of her skirt tightly. The more she thought about the level of difficulties Seth must have faced, the sadder she became.

Seth was about to ask more questions, especially about his comrades, when the sound of the door opening rang out.

"Ah, you are finally awake! Wonderful, the Duskreavers will be pleased." An elderly man with grey hair and deep brown eyes, dressed in a white coat, spoke as he walked toward Seth’s bed.

"Doctor Tion!" Maya stood and greeted respectfully.

She turned to Seth and whispered, "Be nice. He was the one who treated you throughout the weeks you’ve been unconscious."

The doctor, already before Seth, chuckled hearing Maya’s words. He waved his hands lightly.

"You praise me too much. I didn’t do much of anything. It’s young master Seth’s boundless vitality that did most of the work. I was merely a slight support." He chuckled heartily as he plugged his stethoscope into his ears, reaching for the other end.

"Honestly, it is a miracle. To think your body could repair itself within three weeks — even among other Evolvers, that’s quite remarkable." He added as he moved it toward Seth’s chest to check his heartbeat.

His brows raised on hearing the speeding rhythm of Seth’s heart.

He glanced at Seth. "Master Seth, are you okay? I’ll be needing you to relax."

But all he met was Seth’s stunned expression. His lips trembled as he stuttered vacantly, "I-I’ve been out for three weeks?"

Doctor Tion smiled in understanding. This was a normal reaction of patients when they found out how long they’d been in a coma.

"Don’t panic, young master Seth. But yes, indeed." Glancing at his wristwatch, the doctor added,

"This noon makes it a complete week!"

Seth’s eyes widened. Unlike what Maya and the doctor assumed, Seth wasn’t bothered by the fact he was out for that long. Instead, he feared what he had missed during that period.

His fingers quickly sw

iped through the air as he switched to the Flash Sale system page.

Prompts lined his vision. His eyes went red as he almost shed tears.