"Then, we’ll hide them, just like they were before," Lucian said. "We can seal this place so no one will ever find them."
deia shook her head. "I don’t trust that plan. This place is already well-hidden, yet we still managed to find it. I’ll store everything in my Space Pocket, and neither you nor I will breathe a word about this to anyone. Got it?"
It was the first ti deia had spoken to him in such a cold, firm tone. But he knew that she was only trying to protect him.
"I get it," Lucian said.
They began counting the weapons and anti-mutant serums inside the room. There were 15 guns and around 30 vials of the serum.
"But what worries ," deia continued, "is that there might be more anti-mutant serums out there. If there are 30 here, it wouldn’t be surprising if those scientists kept reserves elsewhere or even distributed them to their families."
Even if the project’s owner had ordered them to keep it a secret, so people were bound to break that rule.
After all, humans would do anything to survive.
"We can’t make assumptions about things we don’t know," Lucian said. "Let’s just focus on the things in front of us. We can worry about the rest later."
deia was still reluctant to push the thought aside, but Lucian was right. She needed to focus on what she could control in the mont.
"Wait for outside," deia said. "I’ll put everything inside my Space Pocket."
Lucian stood by the doorway, respecting deia’s order not to step even a single foot into that cursed room. anwhile, she quickly stored all the guns and anti-mutant serums inside her Space Pocket.
[Storage: 207/1,000]
In addition to the weapons, deia also brought three buckets of ergency food and a mini stove.
[Storage: 211/1,000]
"I guess we can go now," deia said after making sure the door was properly locked, preventing any monsters from barging in.
Lucian nodded and headed toward the ergency stairs beside the elevator. As deia had predicted, the stairs were vertical and narrow, making the climb an exhausting challenge.
She squinted, trying to gauge how high they had to climb, but all she saw was an endless staircase stretching into the darkness above.
Even though she was as lazy as a sloth, deia was confident she could manage. But Lucian? That was a different story. On a normal day, this wouldn’t be an issue for him, but the fever had drained most of his energy.
She placed a hand on his forehead again, and this ti, she was sure that his skin was burning. "Your fever’s getting worse! Are you sure you can climb all the way up?"
Lucian sighed, lowering her hand. "deia, I’m not dying."
"Believe , you look like a corpse, honey," she quipped.
She wasn’t exaggerating, his face was as pale as paper, and she could tell he was barely holding himself together, pushing through sheer willpower just to keep from collapsing.
She understood, though.
All this ti, Lucian had been the one protecting her, ensuring her safety. Now that the roles had reversed, he must have felt useless—maybe even guilty for becoming a burden.
"Listen, this is just a precaution." deia tied a rope around his waist, securing the other end to herself. "I just don’t want you falling halfway up the stairs. And please, please don’t be too hard on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with letting your sweet girlfriend take care of you for once."
Lucian’s expression darkened, but he said nothing and let deia tie the rope around him.
"You have to tell if you’re too sick to continue," she warned.
Lucian only responded with a nod.
"Oh, co on. Stop sulking!" deia huffed. "The world isn’t going to end just because you’re sick!"
But technically, hadn’t the world already ended?
She shook her head, pushing aside that random thought.
After double-checking that the rope was secure, deia began climbing first.
Along the way, she couldn’t help but think that this was probably the worst day of her life.
Not only had she run into her ex, but now her boyfriend had fallen sick out of nowhere.
All she wanted was to go on a peaceful camping trip with Lucian. But for so reason, the universe just couldn’t stand to see her happy.
Screw the world. Screw everyone—except Lucian, of course.
"Lucian, you okay?" she called down.
She could hear his labored breathing below, a clear sign that he was struggling. He really was sick.
"I’m fine," Lucian said, though his voice lacked strength. "Keep going."
After what felt like an eternity, deia finally reached the top of the stairs.
The exit door was locked with a heavy handwheel chanism. Maybe because it hadn’t been used in years, the wheel refused to budge.
And after everything she had gone through today, deia barely had any strength left to force it open.
She sighed, reluctantly drinking the precious healing potion she had been saving for true ergencies.
On her third attempt, deia finally managed to open the door. As soon as they stepped outside, they were back on the surface at last.
The sun was almost rising, casting a faint glow over the forest and pushing away the lingering darkness.
deia pulled out the compass. "Show the direction to Bear."
The needle spun wildly, proof that Bear wasn’t waiting in one place but was actively tracking them down.
The wolf could follow their scent with pinpoint accuracy, so deia was sure Bear would find them sooner or later.
"Lucian, we—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Lucian suddenly collapsed to the ground.
He was gasping for air, his entire body shaking as he broke into a fit of violent coughing.
"Lucian, hey, are you okay?" deia quickly dragged him to a safer spot and propped him against a tree trunk. His skin was burning up, sweat pouring from his body, yet at the sa ti, he was shivering so hard that his teeth clattered.
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