When their eyes t, Suzy clearly saw the shock in Thomas’s gaze.
She blinked in confusion. Was it really necessary to look that surprised?
Out of courtesy, she lifted a hand and greeted him with a smile.
"Welco back," she mouthed silently.
Thomas’s pupils trembled slightly. At the sa mont, he looked away, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
As if he had seen sothing he wasn’t supposed to see.
The reaction stung more than Suzy expected.
What was that supposed to an?
She had thought their relationship was at least decent. But the way he reacted now felt strangely hurtful.
It almost made her feel like she was sothing unpleasant he didn’t want to look at.
Suzy pursed her lips in quiet dissatisfaction.
Before she could dwell on it, a sudden notification from the system rang out in her mind—
[Suitable target detected: Thomas Kim]
[Rank: SSS]
[Affection level sufficient. Binding requirents t. Proceed with binding?]
Wait—
Wait, what?!
Had she heard that correctly?
Suzy froze for a mont. Then a surge of pure exhilaration rushed through her.
His affection level had actually reached the requirent!
Did it just increase?
But his reaction just now had clearly looked so strange...
Could it be that he was just shy?
Her earlier irritation vanished without a trace.
"Bind! Bind!" Suzy scread internally.
This was exactly the mont she had been waiting for.
All it took was their reunion—she hadn’t even done anything special—and Thomas’s affection level had already risen into the binding range.
It was an unexpected windfall.
The sudden prompt made the way Suzy looked at him grow even more intense.
Thomas seed to sense her gaze and glanced back.
The instant their eyes t again, he quickly looked away once more.
But Suzy didn’t care about his reaction anymore.
She waited patiently for the system’s reward announcent.
[Binding successful. Reward distribution will now begin. The host may choose one of the following:]
Suzy blinked in surprise.
So this ti, the reward was a choice?
[Reward Option 1: Physical Combat Enhancent Card]
[Reward Option 2: Firearms Mastery Enhancent Card]
[Reward Option 3: Loyalty Card]
The three options instantly triggered her chronic indecision.
All of them sounded amazing.
She hadn’t expected binding Thomas to co with rewards like this. Which one should she choose?
Physical combat enhancent...
That sounded extrely useful.
In an apocalypse, improving physical combat ability ant directly increasing one’s survival strength. The idea tempted her deeply.
She rembered from the dream that a local gang leader had once dominated an entire district purely because of his formidable combat skills.
But...
Firearms mastery also sounded incredible.
If she didn’t have guns, she could dismiss this option imdiately.
The problem was... She did have guns.
Choosing firearms mastery would make her even more formidable. If anyone foolishly tried to ss with her, she could simply pull out a gun and go bang bang bang.
The thought made her heart race.
Two seconds later, however, Suzy forced herself to calm down.
She suddenly realized sothing extrely important.
Guns couldn’t be used right now.
The extre heat disaster had begun, but national order still existed.
If she dared to whip out a firearm in public right now, she would be arrested in seconds.
So even if she chose firearms mastery at this mont, it wouldn’t be very useful. There would be no opportunity to actually use it.
During the coming months of disaster, she could still practice with guns inside her spatial dinsion and gradually improve anyway.
With that in mind, firearms mastery suddenly seed less urgent.
But...
What exactly was a Loyalty Card?
The question had barely ford in Suzy’s mind when the system displayed an explanation.
Loyalty Card—simply put:
Once used, the bound individual would beco one hundred percent loyal to Suzy.
The Loyalty Card could only be used once—binding it to a single person.
Suzy paused.
Almost instinctively, she glanced at Leonard beside her.
Leonard’s attention was entirely focused on Thomas; he hadn’t noticed her glance at all.
The Loyalty Card was certainly tempting.
Suzy could already feel her decision narrowing.
It was now between the Physical Combat Enhancent Card and the Loyalty Card.
For her current situation, both rewards were incredibly practical.
The problem was—she still hadn’t decided which one she truly wanted.
A choice between two.
She hesitated.
"Can I decide later?" Suzy asked silently.
[The host has twenty-four hours to make a decision.]
Only then did Suzy relax.
A full day to think.
That ant she didn’t have to rush. She could weigh the options carefully.
While Suzy was still turning the choices over in her mind, Thomas had already walked up to them.
"Long ti no see," he said, looking at the two of them.
Leonard laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.
"It really has been a while. What—half a year now?"
The last ti Leonard had seen Thomas was six months ago during a business trip overseas, when the two of them had shared a al together.
Thomas nodded.
"Well then," Leonard continued cheerfully, "let’s get going. I’ve booked a restaurant. Tonight’s dinner is to welco you back."
The three of them headed down to the underground parking garage and retrieved the car.
Leonard took the driver’s seat. He gestured for Suzy and Thomas to sit together in the back so they could chat.
The air inside the car was blissfully cool—Leonard had already turned on the air conditioning.
Yet despite walking only a short distance from the terminal, all three of them had broken into a sweat.
"This weather is getting hotter by the day," Leonard muttered.
"It’s about the sa everywhere else in the world," Thomas replied.
Suzy didn’t join their conversation. Her mind was still occupied with the reward choices.
If only she could pick both...
Leonard started the car, then suddenly brought Suzy into the conversation.
"Suzy, you and Thomas know each other, too, don’t you? Why are you both so quiet?"
Suzy let out a dry little laugh and turned her head toward Thomas—only to discover that he had been looking at her for so ti.
"Talking... we’re talking now," she said with a smile. "How have you been lately?"
"Not bad," Thomas replied.
"That’s good."
They held each other’s gaze for a mont.
Then neither spoke.
When Suzy had been abroad, she and Thomas hadn’t talked much to begin with. Now she found herself even more at a loss for what to say.
Her lips parted slightly—then she thought better of it.
Better to say nothing than say sothing wrong.
Fortunately, Leonard continued chatting from the front seat, occasionally tossing out new topics so the atmosphere inside the car wouldn’t beco too awkward.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the restaurant Leonard had reserved.
Once seated, Leonard handed the nu to the two of them.
"I’ll be back in a minute," he said, heading off to the restroom.
The private dining room fell quiet. Only Suzy and Thomas remained.
Suzy flipped through the nu, though in truth she was sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye.
Thomas was sipping a glass of iced tea, his gaze turned toward the window.
Then suddenly, he spoke. "How... how have you been lately?"
Suzy blinked. Was Thomas actually asking about her? She hadn’t expected that.
"I’ve been alright," she answered.
Her reply left him silent. The room fell quiet for several seconds.
Then Thomas slid sothing across the table until it entered Suzy’s field of vision.
"This," he said, "is for you."
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