At her words, his entire body tensed instantly.

It was obvious. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He was still bare-chested—any hint of tension showed clearly in the tightening of his muscles.

Suzy glanced at the time. It was still early.

But in a world like this, there wasn’t much to do. Sleeping early had become the norm.

She didn’t dwell on his reaction. Instead, she lay down on their makeshift bed.

The mattress was surprisingly soft, comfortable enough.

She took the inner side, turning toward the wall as she closed her eyes.

But sleep didn’t come.

Not even a little.

On his side, there was no movement either. Thomas seemed to still be sitting there... watching her.

She could feel it faintly—that lingering gaze, subtle yet impossible to ignore. Whenever it settled on her, its presence felt strangely strong.

She couldn’t fall asleep.

Just as she suddenly remembered to check the favorability level, the phone beside her pillow vibrated.

Her eyes snapped open. She grabbed it and sat up.

A message from Leonard.

[Leonard: Suzy, I’m back.]

She remembered—he had gone to check on some movement nearby earlier.

[Suzy: How is it?]

Instead of replying directly, he sent two photos.

The connection had been unstable lately. The images took their time loading, spinning endlessly before finally appearing.

The first photo showed two blurry figures. It had clearly been taken from above, zoomed in.

But the more it was enlarged, the worse the quality became.

Dim lighting, distant angle, only their backs visible—there was almost nothing useful to make out.

Well... almost.

It looked like a man and a woman.

Both had good builds. The man was tall; the woman was about two heads shorter.

She swiped to the second photo.

This time, it caught half of the woman’s face.

Suzy tried zooming in, but the more she did, the blurrier it became.

Still...

There was something familiar about her.

[Suzy: Who is that?]

[Leonard: You don’t recognize her? Well, it’s a bit blurry. It’s Wendy.]

Suzy’s pupils shrank sharply.

Wendy.

[Leonard: When I told you there was movement, I went to check. Didn’t expect it to be her. Now that I’ve said it, you should be able to tell, right?]

[Leonard: I don’t recognize the man next to her, though. Looks like they’re stuck here too.]

Suzy zoomed in again, studying the man carefully.

He hadn’t shown his face—only a partial profile.

But even so, she recognized him.

It was Liam.

It had to be him.

The man who lived on the thirteenth floor.

The fact that he was out here with Wendy now—what did that mean?

[Suzy: Uncle, be careful.]

[Leonard: I know. You too.]

[Leonard: I just checked—the acid rain has stopped. I’ll come get you tomorrow.]

[Leonard: Not sure if it’ll start again. Better head back home and regroup. The supplies I found this time should be enough for you for a while.]

Message after message came through.

He hadn’t been idle on his end either. Splitting up with Suzy, he had been gathering gold and jewelry for her—materials that could help upgrade her space.

[Suzy: Okay. Then you should get some rest too.]

After ending the conversation, she didn’t put her phone down right away. Instead, she opened the two photos again.

So Wendy had come out at a time like this too... scavenging.

And with Liam, no less.

How far had things progressed between them?

Did she still have a chance to gain any favorability from him?

No, no—

That wasn’t the point.

Right now, all she wanted was to avoid running into Wendy when she got back.

"What are you thinking about?"

The mattress dipped slightly beside her. Pulled from her thoughts, she turned to look.

Thomas had already moved over and was sitting at the other end of the mattress.

Even so, the distance between them wasn’t much. The mattress was only about a meter and a half wide.

"I was just messaging my uncle," she explained.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Did something happen?"

"No. Why would you think that?" she asked.

Thomas pointed at her face. "You don’t look too happy."

From the moment she sat up, he had been watching her—her expressions shifting constantly, though the slight furrow in her brows never faded.

"It’s nothing serious." She let out a quiet breath.

She didn’t know how to explain the situation with Wendy, so she skipped over it and instead relayed what Leonard had said.

"He’s coming to find us tomorrow. We’ll head back together."

"Alright."

Thomas had no objections.

If the acid rain continued to fall unpredictably, staying outside wasn’t safe. Being caught in it again would only make things worse.

Even if she had medicine, it wasn’t unlimited—and it was far too valuable to waste.

"Then it’s settled. We’ll contact him in the morning," she said, lying back down.

From where she lay now, she realized something—there wasn’t a single bad angle on him.

From this view, his back looked especially striking.

He sat sideways, the light falling across him from the front, outlining his form in a soft glow.

His back muscles were broad and powerful, every line sharply defined, every inch radiating strength.

No matter how she looked at him, it was... a feast for the eyes.

What a shame.

After tonight, she probably wouldn’t get to see this again.

Once they returned, he would go back to his own place. Without a reason, she couldn’t just drop by—and naturally, they’d see each other less.

Wait.

Didn’t that make tonight her last chance?

Whether she could "get stronger" might just depend on this moment.

She bit her lip.

Such a rare opportunity—she couldn’t just let it slip away.

After what she’d experienced with Derek before, a restless urge stirred inside her.

After all, chances like this didn’t come twice.

Whatever happened in the future, if she didn’t act now, she’d regret it.

Lost in her thoughts, she had no idea his gaze had already settled on her.

"What are you thinking about?" Thomas asked quietly.

She looked up, meeting his eyes.

And before she could stop herself, the thought slipped out—

"I was thinking about sleeping with you."

He froze.

"...What?"