Within the endless darkness, Suzy felt an invisible force guiding her forward. Trusting the pull, she followed it through the void.
Before long, a faint light appeared ahead.
She moved toward it.
The mont she broke through the glowing barrier, her eyes flew open.
What she never expected to see was Liam.
More specifically, Liam’s face, magnified by how impossibly close he was.
Far too close.
For a mont, Suzy’s mind went completely blank.
Why was Liam here?
And why was he leaning over her like this?
As awareness gradually returned, so did her senses.
She beca conscious of a lingering softness against her lips, along with a faint trace of moisture.
Instinctively, she pressed her lips together.
The reaction was imdiate.
Liam jerked back as though startled, creating distance between them so quickly it was almost comical. His pale cheeks flushed a deep crimson.
"Liam..."
Suzy’s voice ca out weak and hoarse.
Standing several steps away, Liam looked visibly rigid.
He gave her a small nod.
Suzy’s attention settled on his reddened face. Almost unconsciously, she ran her tongue across her lips.
She distinctly caught the way his eyes widened. Suddenly, she found herself feeling awkward too.
Trying to ease the tension, she forced a smile.
"Um... were you giving water just now?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
The conversation fell flat almost imdiately.
Liam offered no further explanation, and an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Suzy let out a slow breath and closed her eyes briefly, sorting through the fragnts of mory in her mind.
She rembered the darkness. Every bit of it.
In fact, the mories were surprisingly clear.
If she had to guess, the system was the one that saved her.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the only voice she had heard was its.
As for reality...
Liam must have been the one who rescued her.
Otherwise, she would still be lying unconscious in that stairwell.
The more she pieced everything together, the more the events of the past day began to make sense.
Opening her eyes again, she looked toward Liam.
His cheeks were still faintly red.
His gaze remained lowered.
The mont he sensed her looking at him, his shoulders stiffened all over again.
Suzy cleared her throat softly.
"Liam, thank you for saving ."
His Adam’s apple bobbed. When he finally answered, his voice was so low she almost missed it.
"You don’t need to thank ."
After a brief pause, he added quietly, "Besides... you’ve helped plenty of tis before."
He stood there with his fingers unconsciously gripping the edge of his shirt.
It was the posture of soone carrying a guilty secret. Soone who could not quite bring himself to et her eyes.
Watching him, Suzy suddenly wanted to laugh. He looked absurdly nervous. Painfully obvious.
The usually distant and reserved man now resembled a cat whose tail had been stepped on, every muscle in his body wound tight.
"Why are you standing so far away?"
Suzy attempted to sit up. Unfortunately, she forgot about her injured arm. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Her arm imdiately gave out beneath her, and she fell back against the pillow.
A hiss escaped her lips. Only then did she look toward the source of the pain.
The wound Wendy had inflicted.
However, it had already been carefully bandaged. The wrapping was neat and secure. Tied into the bandage was a tiny butterfly bow... Slightly crooked.
Suzy stared at it for a mont, caught completely off guard.
"Are you alright?"
Liam’s voice suddenly sounded beside her.
In the span of a heartbeat, he had crossed the room.
"Your arm is still injured. Be careful." Concern filled his expression. "Are you trying to sit up?"
Suzy nodded.
Without hesitation, Liam placed a hand on her shoulder and carefully helped her rise.
Once she was seated, he tucked a pillow behind her back for support.
His movents were smooth and practiced, as though he had repeated them countless tis already.
Settled comfortably against the pillows, Suzy looked up at him.
The angle was perfect. The support behind her waist was perfect. Everything felt surprisingly comfortable.
anwhile, Liam had already retreated to his previous position by the bed.
Maintaining exactly an arm’s length of distance.
His eyes remained lowered.
Still refusing to look directly at her.
"Liam, how long was I asleep?"
"One day."
He hesitated before adding another sentence.
"You didn’t drink any water during that ti."
The second half of the explanation was clearly ant to justify what she had woken up to earlier.
The corners of Suzy’s lips lifted.
She was about to tease him when Thomas and Leonard suddenly ca to mind.
The joke imdiately died on her tongue.
"What about my uncle and the others?"
"Don’t worry," Liam replied. "They’re fine. They’re in the next room. They just haven’t woken up yet."
Relief washed through her.
"Liam, you’ve really gone through a lot of trouble because of us."
Warmth filled her chest.
Not only had he saved her, but he had also brought Leonard and Thomas back safely.
A genuinely good person. She had not misjudged him.
"And... Wendy?"
Given everything that had happened, Liam had likely already realized there had been a serious conflict between the two of them.
"Her body is still on the fifth floor," he said quietly.
Suzy nodded.
To her surprise, Liam did not press for details. Instead, his attention remained focused entirely on her.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. "Would you like sothing to eat?"
The mont he ntioned it, she beca aware of the hollow ache in her stomach.
She had gone an entire day without food.
Her stomach felt completely empty.
"A little," she admitted sheepishly.
"Then wait here." His answer ca imdiately. "I’ll make sothing for you."
Before she could respond, he was already heading toward the door.
Suzy watched his figure disappear into the hallway.
A mont later, the door clicked shut.
The room fell silent.
Now she was alone.
Staring at the ceiling, Suzy quietly called out in her mind.
"System?"
She still had not thanked it.
If not for the system, she would probably still be trapped in that strange void.
"System?"
No response.
A trace of unease crept into her heart.
"System?"
Still nothing.
The silence stretched longer and longer.
Her chest tightened.
Had sothing happened?
The possibility instantly filled her with anxiety.
"System? Are you there? System!"
Finally, after repeated calls, a familiar voice answered.
[I am here.]
The voice was as chanical and emotionless as ever.
Yet sohow, Suzy could hear the exhaustion hidden beneath it.
"System, are you alright?"
Concern filled her voice.
The system had helped her countless tis.
In many ways, it had beco one of her greatest sources of support in the apocalypse.
The last thing she wanted was for sothing to happen to it.
[Not particularly.]
There was a brief pause.
[My energy reserves are nearly depleted.]
"Because you saved ?" Suzy asked imdiately.
The system remained silent for several seconds.
When it finally spoke again, the voice sounded even weaker than before.
[Yes.]
After devouring Wendy’s system, it had finally acquired enough new energy to begin upgrading.
It had believed everything was about to improve.
Then Suzy’s life had been placed in danger.
Because they were bound together, their fates intertwined, it had no choice but to save her.
As a result, all the newly acquired energy had been consud.
It had nearly destroyed itself in the process.
Now it could barely maintain basic functionality.
A wave of guilt washed over Suzy.
"I’m sorry."
[It’s alright.]
The answer ca gently.
[Host, I may enter dormancy for a period of ti. During that period, so system functions will be temporarily unavailable.]
The system briefly explained the situation.
Once dormancy began, many of its abilities would cease functioning.
Even if Suzy t the required favorability conditions, she would no longer receive rewards until the system awakened again.
User Comments
0 comments from readers