I was aiming for something else

She smiled at me and said, "Both."

"My home was made into a shelter for survivors after the outbreak began," Akemi continued, gesturing to the house around us. "There are only five houses remaining in this town, including mine. There used to be many more, though. I'm lucky I still have my house."

She smiled sadly.

"I'm grateful for this place and the survivors who helped secure it. Without them, we would probably be dead already."

She paused and looked up at me. "You know, most people believe there's no way to survive this invasion. They assume they won't make it past their first week alive."

She paused again, glancing back toward the interiors.

"But, you see, there is always hope."

Lianne had been so quiet during our conversation. She was staring intently at the cub, completely fascinated by it.

When she saw me looking at her, she shyly waved to me and mouthed something I could barely hear.

I asked, pointing at her lips, "What?"

Akemi cocked her head. "I think she's asking if she can hold him."

"Oh yeah, sure, she can; I'll trust your judgment this once," I replied, picking the cub up from where he lay on the ground and handing him to Lianne.

The moment she touched him, she went stiff.

Her mouth hung open, and her eyes widened as she stared down at Ruff.

Then, like a switch had been flipped, she broke into a huge smile and giggled excitedly, "Eeeeeeee!"

She hugged the cub tightly against herself.

It took everything in me not to laugh.

Ding!

[Serotonin level: 5/12.5%]

'Eh? What the hell is going on? How? Wasn't it a 0.5% increase every hour of a satisfactory deed? How did it suddenly increase from 2.5% to 5%? This makes no sense...'

[Your actions have given your link—Lianne—a serotonin boost of 2.5%. As your link's serotonin is currently above average hourly rates, the system has decided to grant you an additional 2.5% bonus.]

I narrowed my eyes at the notification.

As much as I was curious about how it worked, I knew I shouldn't press any further. After all, it benefited me, too. And I wasn't going to waste it.

So instead, I turned back to Akemi, who, surprisingly, had been watching me with suspicious eyes the entire time while I had zoned out.

"Hmmm..." She hummed, tilting her head to the side.

I instinctively glanced away from her gaze and back down at Lianne and Ruff.

"Why don't we go inside? It's getting cold here. We should start making dinner soon. Everyone is stoked to meet new survivors, you know?"

"What about Fre—" I started to ask. But before I even finished, Akemi cut me off.

"There is no need to worry about him; he knows these walls as well as I do. He'll be fine. Come on in."

–––––––––––

We followed her inside the house.

The interior was a lot cleaner than the outside suggested. It felt spacious and bright. The walls were painted white, and the floors were hardwood.

It reminded me of the old colonial-era homes I'd seen on television shows.

We continued following her back through another door and into the kitchen area, which was now lit up with warm light.

The first thing that caught my eye was the massive countertop stove sitting in the middle of the room, next to a sink filled with dirty dishes. A large pot sat atop one of the burners.

Next to that was a fridge covered with various types of foodstuffs. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of supplies they managed to scrounge together after the invasion.

That was when I noticed there were also some vegetables and fruits growing in pots hanging from the ceiling.

Akemi must've heard the noise coming from my stomach because she stopped in front of me, smiling. "So hungry, huh?"

"Yeah, kind of. Never really had the chance to eat after..." My voice trailed off at the thought of the duel I had with Xian.

My body felt heavy and sore. I didn't want to talk about it.

Instead, I nodded at the pot over the burner and asked, "Is that what I think it is?"

Akemi nodded. "Yep. It just needs to cook a bit more, then we'll dig in."

Whoosh!

'Huh?'

Whoosh!

My eyes searched for any signs of someone who was trying to move a little too quietly for comfort.

Then the movements stopped all together, drowned out by Akemi's lively chatter.

In a blink of an eye, I managed to spot the perpetrator.

'There!'

I looked to my left.

I could make out a pair of green eyes staring at Lianne from the corner of my vision.

With hands reaching out, I could only assume it was possibly to hold Lianne without being noticed.

Whish!

The sound of the knife cutting through the air was unmistakable.

In a split second, it lodged itself into the wooden wall, mere inches from the head of a young guy with startling green eyes.

"..."

The room fell into a stunned silence, everyone's eyes wide.

I stood there, my hand still outstretched from the throw, my heart pounding in my ears.

'What the hell?'

I couldn't believe how fast I had reacted. The knife had left my hand before I even fully processed what was happening.

My own reflexes impressed a part of me but horrified another. I had almost killed someone, right in front of Lianne.

My mind raced, trying to piece together how I had reacted so quickly and so violently. It was as if my body had acted on its own, driven by some primal instinct I thought I had under control all these years. The thought terrified me.

'What if I had actually hit him? What if he hadn't slipped on the puddle of water? What if...'

Akemi was the first to break the silence. She let out a slow breath, her eyes flicking from the knife to the young man who had been its target. She seemed as stunned as I felt.

The young guy himself was still staring at the knife embedded in the wall, his mouth agape.

He looked to be in his late teens, dressed in casual attire that seemed a bit too large for his slender frame. His hair was unkempt, and there was a streak of dirt on his cheek, likely from his recent escapades.

He finally turned his gaze to me, his expression a mix of fear and confusion.

"What the hell was that?! He's in his teens and just as much of a survivor in my home as you are!" Akemi exclaimed, taking a step forward.

"Uncle Ally? Was that something bad? Why is towel lady shouting at you?" Lianne asked hesitantly, looking between us.

Her question broke the tension in the room.

Lianne looked like a child who had witnessed a fight between two adults. Her innocent expression was both delightful and heartbreaking.

I was sure she hadn't understood what had happened.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Sorry," I muttered softly.

It wasn't entirely clear to me why I apologized to her, but I knew it wouldn't be appropriate for me not to.

"I'm sorry I let my protective instinct kick in," I muttered as I locked eyes with Akemi.

Akemi's eyes widened further. "You're apologizing?! Are you crazy!?"

'Maybe I should have killed him, then I'll proudly wave my crazy flag.'

She took another step towards me, her hands balled in a fist.

What she planned on doing to me with those prim and proper nails, I did not know, but it took all it had in me to hold back a chuckle.

"If you ever try anything like that again, I will beat your ass! Got it?!"

She was glaring daggers at me now.

I tried my best to look apologetic. "Yes, ma'am."

I smiled awkwardly, hoping she would understand.

But she just shook her head, turning away.

"Outside these walls, we might be dead if one of those monstrosities finds us; we've managed to have each other's back with no issues, but I just hope we don't have to watch out for you too!"

"I-I wasn't aiming for his head!" I reasoned, but deep down I knew she wouldn't care about any excuses.

'I was aiming for his hands. If given more time, it might be his heart I would have aimed for.'

As if sensing that, she stopped and turned back to face me. "Good enough. For now anyway. But if you pull anything like this again, I swear I'll kill you myself."

With that said, she spun around and marched off.

I watched her walk over to the teenager, feeling strangely relieved.

She reached out and grabbed the handle of the knife, pulling it out of the wood and tossing it aside.

Then she squatted and placed an arm around his shoulders, helping him up.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that when you clearly meant well..." She murmured quietly to him, smiling gently.

He didn't say anything.

Sneaking up on us and having his eyes locked on Lianne meant, well? Right.

'What the fuck?! My murderous instincts are kicking in just at the thought of that pedophilic shit I felt from him.'

My gut has never been wrong, but the timing was just not right—Lianne was present.

"Come on. Let the others check you over," she said, leading him towards the door.

Grrr!

I held my tummy, internally cursing at my hunger pains.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, to break the tension and request when I could get something to fill my tummy, but before I could, a voice called out from behind us.

"Hey, everyone! You won't believe what I found out here!" Frederick's voice was upbeat, filled with excitement over his discovery.

He appeared at the doorway, his eyes bright and a wide grin on his face.

"I got us some—" Fredrick's words trailed off as he entered the kitchen.

His smile faltered as he took in the scene before him: the knife on the floor, the young guy with wide, frightened eyes, Akemi's stiff posture, and Lianne's worried face focused on me.

Frederick looked at me first.

My heart sank even lower than I thought possible.