"Rick, I have to go..."
Maya tried to get out of bed while being hugged by an "unconscious" Rick.
Rick kept his eyes closed and hugged Maya even tighter, pretending to sleep...
Maya ran a hand over his head, feeling his brown hair with her fingers, while admiring his unshaven face. The beard was barely enough to hide his youthful features... Which reminded her that he was much younger than her. Due to his maturity, it was hard to remember that he was barely in his twenties... This made her blush, and she quickly urged him to get up again...
"Seriously, Rick... I have to open the clinic. Today I’m giving your sister a practical class, and didn’t you promise to go have breakfast with your mother?"
Rick opened his eyes, remembering that he also had a lot to do, and hurriedly got up...
It had been a few days since he sent the signal and also told Maya the truth. Since then, his relationship with her had changed considerably, and the two were now lovers...
While he was changing, he saw Maya stand up, a little shy, as she removed the comforter, revealing a curvy body wearing only the bottom of her lingerie. Rick swallowed hard and couldn’t resist, giving up on putting on his clothes. He picked Maya up in his arms in surprise.
"Ahhh..." She squealed in surprise as he picked her up, but when she saw his face and smile, she only blushed...
"We still have time for a shower before we leave..."
"You’re such a pervert..." Maya murmured, embarrassed...
At Rick’s parents’ house, the family of three was having breakfast. Rick’s mother served large portions of food on the table with a peaceful smile on her face, encouraging them to eat well. Rick ate a little of everything and sampled it all calmly, while Rhayra devoured large quantities of everything, stopping only to speak from time to time...
"Crunch, Brother... Are there any patrols or gathering parties this afternoon?"
"I think so. Even if there’s nothing planned, I should still go out and bring back as many resources as I can using my bracelet..."
"Can I go?" Rhayra asked, her eyes full of anticipation.
"Okay, but we have to be careful. You haven’t learned any combat skills from your Universal Force yet, and I don’t want to get too close to the cities, as Level 3 zombies might be there..."
"Son, when will we have eggs? I want to make some cakes and other dishes for you..."
"Soon, we prioritize hatching all the eggs we find, so we have a good supply of chickens and other second-generation adult birds first..."
"Be careful when you go out today; the snow is already starting to pile up, and don’t let your sister get involved in anything dangerous..."
"MOTHER..." Rhayra grumbled as she went back to devouring even more food. Her metabolism had completely changed due to her Universal Force, and she was always hungry.
"Don’t worry, Mother, nothing will happen to her while I’m watching."
"Your father would be very proud of you both; you’ve grown so much so fast..."
When their mother said the last sentence, her eyes were filled with tears, and both Rick and Rhayra began to comfort her...
Half an hour later, breakfast finally ended, and Rick said goodbye to his mother, promising he’d come back for dinner. As Rhayra headed to the clinic where Maya awaited her...
Rick went to the new, enormous stable where the gigantic Fulmen was kept and began feeding him... Luckily, the second-generation animals could eat the flesh of infected monsters and even zombies... Otherwise, feeding creatures their size would lead the group to a severe food shortage...
As he fed Fulmen and checked on the gigantic wolf’s well-being, he stopped eating, and his entire fur stood on end as he growled towards the sky...
At the same time, Rick felt a slight tremor throughout the base, followed by several screams that his heightened senses picked up...
His system also sent several messages, informing him that a threat had invaded his base, and not only that, but the Pineview Base administration system sent an alert informing him that over 30 people had died in a single instant...
[Attention! Pineview Base is under attack!]
[A hostile enemy has been detected in Pineview Base airspace!]
[Parts of the North and South walls of Pineview Base have been destroyed!](+)
[Several residences and other structures at Pineview Base have been destroyed!](+)
[27 Pineview Base survivors have been killed!](+)
[21 Pineview Base survivors are injured!](+)
"Good morning, Joe, Good morning, Vanessa!"
"Good morning, Old Duncan!" They both responded.
They were both getting ready for the morning shift, walking across the village ground, which was already beginning to accumulate a good amount of snow...
From time to time, Joe would exchange glances with Vanessa and give each other meaningful smiles... The reason for this flirtation through glances and smiles was that they had also started a relationship...
Since arriving at Pineview Village, Vanessa had been staying at Joe’s house... For a single man and woman to live under the same roof, it was only a matter of time before the two young firefighters became a couple...
"I think I should move out of your dad’s house..."
"What? Does living with my old man bother you? I can ask for one of the new houses for both of us..."
"It’s not your dad, I love him... But now that we’re together, I think it’s inappropriate to live in the same house, after all, we’re not married yet..."
"I don’t think anyone cares about that, and neither should you..."
"You’re wrong, the original residents of Pineview Village are all very traditional, and they’ll soon start talking if they find out we’re together..."
"I don’t think they would. The world has changed, everyone is scared, and many are living together now..."
"They’re already talking about that kind of thing..."
"What? About us? How did they find out? Not even my old man has any idea yet..."
"Not about us, they’re talking about Rick and Maya’s relationship... Many people have seen Rick leaving the doctor’s house at dawn..."
"Hehe..." Joe just laughed.
"Don’t laugh, soon people will be talking about us too..."
Joe grabbed Vanessa’s hand and continued walking, making her feel very embarrassed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break free from her grip. Soon, many hunters and other people walking around the Base began to notice the couple walking hand in hand...
"I’ll ask Rick’s mom to let you stay at their house until we make our engagement official, how about that?" Joe said with a huge and confident smile...
"Who said I want to marry you? I just want to keep people from talking bad about me..." Vanessa said, pouting and stuttering a little, clearly lying about not wanting to marry him.
"Sure... Sure... How about we announce it during the winter banquet Rick is preparing?"
"It’ll be in two weeks, right? So get me a nice ring and prepare a good speech for your proposal—"
Vanessa didn’t finish her sentence, and Joe felt a tremor followed by a silver light causing a huge crack right to his right. It was as if a spatial crack had been cut through Pineview Base, splitting it in half. The base’s ground had cracked and disappeared, leaving a deep, symmetrical crater. The houses and everything in their path, including the people, were also hit... Desperate screams and cries began to be heard throughout the base where the tear had struck...
Joe felt Vanessa pull his hand, until he realized she was on the right side and very close to the spatial crack. And when he looked at Vanessa, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing...
The entire right side of her body had disappeared along with the crack, and the left half of her body had become unbalanced due to the absence of her right limbs. The remaining left half of her beautiful face tried to move a few more times, trying to say something, but without half of her entire head, she couldn’t, before the remaining half of her body collapsed to the ground, completely lifeless...
Joe screamed, desperately trying to do something to save her, but it was too late... At the same time, a figure appeared in the sky of Pineview Base, as if a god watching over mere mortals... He then said a short sentence, proving that not only was he to blame for the attack, but that he would also attack again...
Still with Vanessa in his arms, Joe turned his head toward the sky where the figure stood. With red eyes filled with tears, he only heard the part where the person said he was responsible for what happened, and completely ignored the man’s remaining words before a terrible red energy full of fury covered his entire body, starting one of the greatest Berserk Forces ever seen...