Strongest Boyfriend In The Apocalypse: Every Girl Depends On Me!-Chapter 30: Refuge Six

The middle-aged man was wearing eyeglasses, and unlike the Special Force officers there, he was one of the few people who weren’t armed.

He was only carrying a book and a pen, and he maintained a smile on his face.

Ethan didn’t deliver an entirely friendly response to his greetings, and the others didn’t need to be told to do the same.

At this point, they were following every action Ethan took, and only sometimes tried to act strong-headed before later following along as well.

"My name is Mister Fred Danielson. I’m one of the Provosts of Refuge Six, and I’ll be the one guiding you in your very first activities here. If I may ask, can I know your names?" the man asked.

Ethan gave him a dark look and hesitated for a moment, but then he knew he had to tell him his name.

"Ethan," he said nonchalantly.

"Nice to meet you, Ethan," Mister Fred smiled and turned to the figure standing right next to Ethan.

"You?"

"Anna," Ethan answered with a faint tone, though she was still able to hear.

"Nice to meet you, Anna... You?"

"Gracie..."

"Eva..."

"Teresa..."

"Mella..."

"Stephanie..."

"Audrey..."

They all said their names until it reached Miss Audrey’s turn, where she responded so faintly, clearly revealing that she wasn’t fine at all.

The man stepped close to her and asked, the smile still hanging on his lips.

"Miss Audrey, are you okay?" he asked.

Miss Audrey raised her head at once and faced him.

"Do I look like I am?" she asked. There was a slight trace of rage on her face.

"I need to get to my family in Atlanta. I really need to. Why can’t they just let me go?" She poured out her frustrations in front of him and sobbed hard in the process.

Mister Fred acted like he felt her pain... Perhaps it might have been genuine. They didn’t know that, but they hoped so.

They hoped he could help them go their way.

After staying silent for a moment, Mister Fred finally spoke.

"I understand how you feel, ma’am. All of us have families, and we’d surely want to be with them in these complicated times. But..."

At that point, they understood what was coming.

"The Special Force have just told you all the honest truth. Atlanta is now overtaken by the dead, and no one can get out there alive. It’s a completely dead city. I’m so sorry to say this, but you have to believe me." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"You all have to believe us," he added.

Ethan felt a crushing hit on his chest, like it was the painful fact he knew would come but still didn’t want to face.

With his fist clenched, he heaved a soft sigh to let the feeling go.

"The Special Force are doing all they can to find survivors in different regions of the state. We all just have to hope that our families are safe somewhere and will be found by them," Mister Fred said.

"And what if they are all dead?" Helen suddenly asked, drawing his attention to her.

"Then we strive for our own survival and rebuild the world when this whole mess is over," he responded with a smile.

"Now come with me," he said as he entered the gate and urged them to follow.

About six Special Force officers followed them behind to prevent any rough displays.

After what had happened with Nina, they didn’t want such a thing to repeat itself again.

Being led through the aluminium gate, they were taken straight to a building made of metal sheets and scrap panels.

This was actually how the rest of the buildings there were built, except one, which was made with concrete and blocks.

Must be where the authorities stay, Ethan muttered as he made his observation.

Upon reaching the metal cottage, they were led in, and everything was going well until it was Ethan’s turn to go in.

"No, no, no... Come on, Mister. Do you want to live with the girls?" Mister Fred asked with a very friendly gesture.

Considering that, Ethan didn’t argue, because he knew it normally wasn’t entirely okay.

Back in New Land, the male dormitory was separated from the female dormitory, so Ethan understood.

"Come with me," Mister Fred said as he led him to another building.

As they walked forward, he seemed to have some things to say to Ethan.

"What is survival?" he asked.

Ethan stared in confusion, not understanding why he suddenly asked such a question.

"Survival is all about staying alive. No matter what... Not dying, even when it feels like you are going to," he went on to answer the question himself.

"We have all been confused, curious, and optimistic. What caused the Disaster? Where did the monsters come from? Why do people who are killed by these monsters reanimate into monsters?" Mister Fred continued.

"Eighty percent of the world’s population has already been wiped out, and it surely seems like more are to face the same fate.

Why? Do you know why?"

He turned to Ethan and asked.

Ethan, with a confused look, quickly shook his head.

"No."

"All right. It’s not bad not to know. I myself do not know what caused the Disaster, because the Georgian State Biological Research Team doesn’t know either. They are trying their very best, but we also have to do our part.

In fact, the Georgian State Government has ordered the Special Force to eliminate every kind of these monsters. If we don’t eventually find what caused it, we can still eliminate it."

Ethan gave a short nod, but he really didn’t know where this was heading.

He didn’t know whether he was being lectured about the apocalypse or if there was something special he needed to know.

He only waited and listened.

"That’s why we are trying to raise new figures for the good job. The good job of saving humanity," he said as he turned to face Ethan with a smile.

"I... I don’t understand..." Ethan stared in confusion again, trying to grasp what he had just heard.

"Our vision is to train new Special Force personnel to make our goals a success. To wipe out these monsters and save the world from completely turning into ruins," Mister Fred explained.

"So you’re really telling me to become one of the Special Force?" Ethan asked, and his face clearly showed he didn’t like that idea at all.

Mister Fred noticed it immediately, but he still maintained his ever-confident smile.

"Yes, Mister Ethan. The Special Force would be very pleased to have you work with them," he responded.

Ethan didn’t even know what to say at that point, because at this rate, he wasn’t only being held there—he was being urged to join the Special Force.

How on Earth was he supposed to be okay with that?

"I understand your feelings, Ethan. And that’s why we’re going to give you time to think and relax. Reflect. Think about how every available figure can add to the success of our goal. How to make it easier and faster. How to make it possible to see our loved ones again."

Mister Fred and Ethan finally reached the entrance of the building, and while he urged Ethan to get in, he added one last statement.

"Think about not letting the dead defeat the living."

With that, the door was slammed shut, and when Ethan turned, he spotted two guys approaching him from different rooms.

One of them was tall and dark-skinned, and the other was pale and slim, his hair dark yet messy.

"Heyyy, we got a new guy," the pale-skinned guy said as he approached Ethan with a smile.

"Hey, umm... Welcome here. I’m Jasper," he introduced himself at once.

The tall, dark-skinned guy offered a hand and a calm welcoming smile.

"I’m John."

Ethan accepted his handshake, then forced a smile and replied.

"I’m Ethan."

"Nice meeting you, Ethan," John said as he stepped aside.

Then Jasper—

"Nice to meet you, bro. Let me show you to your room," he said as he quickly led the way.

There were up to four rooms inside the steel bungalow, two of which were already occupied by Jasper and John.

"Here’s your room. Next to mine, you know..." Jasper laughed, and Ethan only smiled back.

"I was here first until John came three days ago. We’re definitely expecting another guy soon because we still have one vacant room," Jasper explained, and Ethan only nodded in response.

Ethan entered the room, where there was already a small mattress and some resources available.

Jasper and John followed him in, trying to show him everything he needed to see.

Just as they were getting along with conversation and explanations—

"Did you come with anyone?" Jasper asked.

"Yes. My friends," Ethan hesitated before replying.

"Friends? How many are they... Are they all girls?"

Ethan was surprised by the question, but he still decided to answer.

"Yes. They are all girls."

The moment he said that, both Jasper and John’s jaws dropped, and a look of frustration suddenly appeared on their faces.

"What? What’s with that reaction?" Ethan asked.

Jasper was about to respond, but John suddenly stopped him.

"No, Jasper. Let him discover it himself."