I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 67: 67:Forward.

The silence after surviving a near-death experience always felt strange. One moment people were running for their lives and the next they were sitting quietly as though nothing had happened.

Silver sat on the hood of the vehicle. The engine had finally been turned off. The surrounding area felt too peaceful.

It felt strange, when they had come from a place filled with deafening noise. Above them, the afternoon sun hung high in the sky, the golden light spilling across the broken highway.

Rusted vehicles sat abandoned beneath the overpass. Grass pushed through concrete trying to survive in the searing heat. Nature was slowly reclaiming civilization one crack at a time even at this moment.

Silver opened a nutritional packet. The contents looked exactly as uninspiring as every other nutritional packet.

A beige paste, supposedly nutritionally balanced and healthy. He was almost certainly designed by someone who hated happiness and taste.

Across from him, Ravenna stared at her own packet then sighed.

"I miss real food."

Silver nodded.

"I miss food with flavor."

"I miss food with texture."

They both looked down at the paste then back at each other. Neither spoke for a few seconds. A moment later they burst out laughing.

The tension from earlier eased considerably. Near death had a funny way of making simple things feel more important.

Silver took a bite and immediately regretted it.

Ravenna noticed.

"Bad?"

"Awful."

"Good."

Silver narrowed his eyes.

"Why is that good?"

"Because now we’re suffering together."

"That’s a terrible mindset to have."

"It’s working."

Silver couldn’t argue with that. Several minutes passed of them trying to stomach the food while talking to keep themselves busy. The quiet was suffocating, it felt like something was lurking around them.

Despite this, Silver couldn’t bring himself to fully relax. His eyes drifted occasionally as he searched for anything, especially the ground.

The conversation drifted naturally, it was nothing serious, just two people resting and recovering. Silver discovered he actually enjoyed that.

It was easy and comfortable, with no expectations or hidden agenda. There was no need to impress anyone.

Then, Silver remembered something important, the Soul Bloom Fruit, which he had gotten as a reward for her.

The system activated before him.

[Do you wish to retrieve the Soul Bloom Fruit?]

"Yes," he responded inwardly.

Silver turned to Ravenna who was looking up at the overpass. She turned to him the moment she felt his gaze.

"What?"

Silver shook his head and slid off the car hood.

"Wait here for a moment," he excitedly said.

Her eyebrow raised at his weird excitement. Silver walked towards the car doors and opened the back seats.

The soul Bloom Fruit appeared in his hand. A few seconds of creating the illusion of searching, he came out with it.

Ravenna turned to him, curiously. He came to a stop before her. She looked down at him, now that she was slightly taller.

"Here," he quietly said," I found this during my last hunt."

She stared at the golden Fruit for a moment then back at him.

"What is it?"

"Soul Bloom fruit," he said and placed it in her hand," it will make your integration much easier and at least, less painful."

She wrapped her hands around the plum-sized fruit, looking at it with surprise and skepticism.

"Really?"

He nodded. " Just trust me on this."

She was quiet for a moment before she suddenly threw the whole Fruit into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged as a result.

Silver chuckled.

"You could have just bitten it in half."

She didn’t respond since she was busy breaking it down but the way her eyes lit, showed everything.

"It’s good."

She nodded. A minute later, she was finished with it. Silver looked at her expectantly. She frowned then shrugged.

"Didn’t feel anything, though" she said and took his hand," thank you for thinking about me."

Silver chuckled, it felt as though he was being comforted.

"You’ll know its use during your first integration."

She nodded as though humouring him, but she obviously didn’t believe him.

"Okay."

"Good."

Silver didn’t know how to convince her it wasn’t a normal fruit, so he gave up.

Eventually Silver turned on the map module again, and the screen lit up showing the entire zones that their Sanctuary managed.

Several sectors glowed across the screen. The familiar colors contractors used to classify danger zones; green, yellow, and red symbols.

Silver examined their current location, and frowned.

"Huh."

Ravenna looked over.

"What?"

"We crossed farther than I thought."

She scooted closer until their shoulders nearly touched again. Neither seemed to notice this time.

The map expanded. A different Green Sector highlighted itself, one he vaguely remembered reading about in the old newspapers in his room.

Ravenna frowned.

"This place."

Silver nodded.

"I know."

A red warning symbol hovered over the area. Thankfully, it was not active but archived, meaning it was old. The sector had been restricted for several months.

There had been numerous mysterious attacks, missing rookie contractors, destroyed vehicles, and strange sightings with no clear explanation.

Eventually, the military conducted a sweep and found nothing. The sector reopened and the mystery remained unsolved. Other older contractors had visited the place and attested that it was safe.

Ravenna studied the information then looked at him.

"You thinking what I’m thinking?" She asked excitedly.

’I don’t think so’

"Probably."

"Bad idea?"

’You shouldn’t be so excited’

"Definitely."

She smiled.

"We’re going?"

Silver sighed, resignation settling in.

"We’re going."

Half an hour later they were back on the road. The vehicle moved steadily through overgrown streets. The atmosphere felt different now. It was less populated and explored.

The signs of human activity became increasingly rare. Fewer tracks and abandoned camps. There were almost no contractor markings.

The further they traveled, the quieter everything became. Even the beasts seemed scarce. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Silver noticed it first then Ravenna did too.

"There are not many scavengers around these sides."

"No."

"That’s very weird."

Scavengers existed almost everywhere. Their absence usually meant something stronger occupied the area. The thought remained in the back of Silver’s mind as they continued.

Eventually, the road ended. A tunnel entrance appeared ahead. It was massive, dark, and partially collapsed. The opening resembled a giant mouth waiting to swallow travelers whole.

Silver parked nearby. Both stared at the entrance, as they started to doubt their decisions. Then Silver spoke.

"You know..." he started slowly," we can go home and rest until the adrenaline disappears in our bodies and then come back tomorrow."

"Do you not want to go in?"

Silver sighed heavily.

"No, I’m just worried," he said and ran a hand over his face," the last incident seems to be affecting me."

"I’m sorry, that was inconsiderate of me."

Silver hurriedly shook his head.

"No, no, let’s just go in. It’s the green sectors," he said, " we’ve already met the worst there. We’ll probably just find a Tier two beast." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

She looked towards the tunnel.

"Now that I think about it, it also looks haunted," she changed the subject.

Silver nodded.

"It probably is."

"That makes it even better."

"Pardon?"

"Interesting things live in haunted places."

Silver stared at her with mild amusement

"That’s the exact reasoning that gets people killed."

She shrugged.

"Probably."