Danielle was placing an order when Zachary, covered in blood, walked out from beyond the wasteland zone.
He had good luck today—killed two low-level beasts, enough to buy some nutrient solution.
Excited, he brought it home. But as he reached the door, he hesitated.
He was scared.
Scared he wouldn't see Rain.
Scared Danielle had lied to him.
Just... scared.
He didn't know how long he stood there until the door opened from the inside. Danielle, holding a trash bag, looked at him in confusion.
"What are you doing standing there?"
The door used a passcode—no key was needed.
Zachary's lifeless eyes suddenly lit up. "You really didn't leave?"
"No!"
Danielle rolled her eyes. "Go throw out the trash. Rain's asleep, so be quiet when you come in."
She really hadn't left.
Zachary, his limbs shaky, walked toward the trash bin. A small smile appeared on his lips.
She stayed.
That was all that mattered.
Inside, he saw Rain fast asleep on the bed.
There was also some unfamiliar food on the table.
Zachary widened his eyes. "You made this?"
Danielle was busy looking up information and nodded without turning around.
"Yes, Rain and I went to the supermarket this morning. Oh, and don't forget to put the food in the cooler."
Zachary's expression dimmed.
"Rain insisted on waiting for you to come back so we could eat together, but he fell asleep.
If you're hungry, drink some nutrient solution first. We'll eat together tonight."
With her back to him, Danielle didn't see his eyes shining.
He knew she had money. The empty nutrient bottle on the side made everything clear.
He carefully placed the food into the cooler and slowly drank the nutrient solution.
The room was quiet—just the sound of him drinking and Danielle tapping in the air.
Time passed. He drank two full bottles—something he hadn't done before.
Usually, he would nap with Rain after eating, but now Danielle sat in his usual spot.
He didn't know where to go or what to do.
Just then, Danielle suddenly slammed the bed in frustration.
"These people are unbelievable."
Zachary tensed. "Who?"
Was Dora's family causing trouble again?
Danielle switched the screen to share mode and pointed at the upgrade zone rules.
"Look at this—moving from the lower zone to the middle zone costs ten million."
She only had eighteen million. No—less now.
Even the smallest villa with a yard in the middle zone cost several million.
That would leave her with just two or three million. With the prices here, it wouldn't last long.
She thought she could live comfortably with that much money. She was wrong.
Zachary pressed his lips together. He'd lived in the lower zone all his life and never dared dream of the middle zone.
But if Danielle wanted to go, he clenched his fists, stood up, and headed for the door.
Danielle looked at him, confused. He had just returned—why leave?
"Where are you going?"
"To hunt beasts and sell the crystals for you."
No complaints. Just action.
Danielle's heart warmed.
"It's already afternoon. Get some rest. If something happens to you, I'll have to sell Rain, you know."
Danielle smiled warmly, making Zachary's ears turn a little red.
"You won't be able to."
"Maybe I will. Why don't you go try it outside?"
Zachary hesitated for a long time but didn't end up going out.
All afternoon, Danielle was studying the requirements for upgrading the zone, trying to find a way to save money.
Evening came quickly. Although the food had been reheated, to the two of them who had never eaten proper meals before, it was already amazing.
Zachary even mixed rice with the sauce from the plate and finished every drop.
Rain cuddled in Danielle's arms, acting all sweet.
"Mom, the scrambled eggs with tomatoes were so delicious. How can something taste so good?"
"It's much better than the noodles we had that day."
Danielle gently stroked his soft, yellowish hair—clearly a sign of malnutrition. Her lips curved up slightly, and under the light, she looked very gentle.
"From now on, Mommy will cook you even more tasty things. There'll be meatballs, chicken with mushrooms, fried chicken, burgers…"
Based on just those noodles, Danielle could already tell—the cooking skills in this world were really not good.
Rain's eyes went wide hearing all the food names and he kept going "Wow! Wow!"
Even Zachary, who always looked serious, couldn't help but relax a little.
There were no stars or moon here, just a gray sky.
Danielle had already been here for five days and had finally given up trying to find other ways to upgrade to the middle zone.
Now, there were only two options: first, pay the money; second, awaken a talent.
After the chaos on Earth, not only did the world change, but so did humans and animals. Animals became fierce beasts that hunted people.
Humans started awakening talents too. Some were very powerful, like wind, fire, lightning—attack talents. Others were support talents like healing or space abilities.
People with those talents became upper or middle-class citizens.
Then there were many strange and mostly useless talents like cleaning, breaking down trash, or making your thumb bigger. People with those talents were lower-class.
Some didn't awaken any talents at all—like her and Zachary. They were called "powerless," basically useless.
For example, Dora had awakened a plant-based talent and was called the "savior girl."
After the chaos, the world was full of high-level talent people—but no one knew how to grow food. They didn't even recognize seeds or know how to farm.
The only vegetables left came from one person who just happened to awaken a plant-based talent.
That person's family rose in status and became one of the top eight families—Danielle's ancestors.
Unfortunately, after that ancestor died, no one else in the family ever awakened the same plant talent again.
Not just Danielle's family—in the entire Elysium Zone, no one else had that kind of talent.
So now that Dora suddenly awakened it, it meant a lot!
Who would have thought she'd be so lucky? Maybe she was the main character of this world, with some kind of special destiny.
Danielle sighed in her heart and rubbed her forehead.
It didn't make sense. Usually, the higher your status and better your nutrition, the more likely you were to awaken a talent.
The original Danielle was a rich, upper-class girl. How could she not awaken anything?
It was strange!
When Zachary came home, he saw Danielle sitting cross-legged on the sofa, deep in thought.
Rain was happily playing with a small toy spaceship on the floor. Danielle had bought it for him a few days ago. It was expensive—Zachary couldn't afford it.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way," Zachary said.
Danielle sighed deeply. "What way? Unless you suddenly awaken a useful talent, we'll just have to pay."
Zachary pressed his lips together. He couldn't awaken anything.
Danielle was still thinking hard and didn't notice the sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
"Zachary, do you know how to awaken a talent? I've searched everywhere but can't find any info!"