"Strategic planning has its limits, Brother Lux. When power reaches a certain level, no amount of schemes will matter if you lack the minimum combat strength."
"Simply put, if zombie cats are fast enough to evade gunfire, then we'll have to rely on Miss AA-12's shotgun to blanket the area indiscriminately."
"Or if some zombie evolves skin tough enough to ignore bullets… then we'll have no choice but to run."
"Um… would hiding in a fortress and shooting count as a solution?"
M99 raised her hand timidly.
"In theory, yes. But if we stay cooped up in a fortress forever, we'll be living in a peaceful environment. I don't think evolution can happen under those conditions."
"One day, we might suddenly face something that can tear apart a fortress with bare hands, or corrode it with bodily fluids, or even alter its body to infiltrate through gaps."
"At that point, we'd truly have zero chance of survival."
Lianne said calmly.
"Then… can we evolve by staying outside?"
M99 asked, unconvinced.
"I'm not sure. But judging from what we've seen so far, humans may break their limits and evolve at the moment of death."
"That day, when Brother Lux rushed over after Miss 416 was locked on, his speed felt almost like teleportation."
"At least in that moment, he had definitely already evolved to some extent. That's what I believe."
"Even a 100-meter sprint champion couldn't pull off something that exaggerated. Honestly, in that instant, I didn't even think Brother Lux could still be classified as human."
Lianne said with a grin.
Lux was secretly surprised. Lianne's perception was extremely sharp. After injecting the system-produced gene modification fluid, he had indeed evolved compared to ordinary people.
Yet she had nearly deduced it just from that brief display of physical ability. Truly worthy of an IQ of 168.
"I probably do need to temper myself through combat. If the goal is just to survive, then taking you all to a nuclear blast shelter, looting a Walmart, and stockpiling supplies would let us live there indefinitely."
"But living in a cramped space like prison confinement… I don't like it. One day, I'd probably suffer a mental breakdown."
Lux said calmly.
"Yeah. Living in a place like that for decades… I can't even imagine it. I'd definitely go insane."
"So if you plan to enter a nuclear shelter, Brother Lux, we'd probably have to part ways then."
"I might choose to train myself outside and see if I can evolve to a new level."
Lianne said with a smile.
After successfully killing zombies with a composite bow, she was no longer terribly afraid of the apocalypse.
Even so, from her perspective, Lux's team would stand at a very high position in the future. And since girls had several weak days every month, fully integrating into this team was the wisest choice.
"Don't worry. I don't like squatting around like I'm in prison either. If there were computers with internet, maybe it'd be okay… without that, it'd be unbearable."
Lux replied with a smile.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, the apocalypse isn't that bad for us."
"Why do you say that?"
Lux looked at Lianne in surprise.
"Well, I'd already seen through my previous life. School, accumulating knowledge, becoming a worker, working hard, getting married, having kids, and that's it."
"It's not bad, but it's a little boring. It felt like I was slowly rotting away."
"But now, in this apocalypse, we have to struggle to survive. In that process, I might evolve to a new level."
"As long as I don't die, it's exciting just thinking about it."
"Of course, that's just for me."
"And we also get the authority to control the lives of the weak. Whether killing others or raping them, no one can judge us."
"That sense of superiority is wonderful too, don't you think?"
"Other survivors are afraid to fight zombies, so they'll need to rely on us to survive. And those survivors will offer us everything except their lives."
A trace of fanaticism appeared in Lianne's eyes.
"Whoa… somehow I feel like there's something pretty dangerous deep down inside you."
Lux wiped the cold sweat that had surfaced on his forehead.
All he wanted was to live happily together with the Tactical Dolls. What Lianne was pursuing, on the other hand, was domination over other survivors.
It was like a double-edged sword. As a teammate, Lianne's intelligence was undeniably impressive—she could analyze a lot of crucial information. But as an enemy… she would be terrifying.
"Heehee, no need to be so scared. I'm really grateful to you, Brother Lux. I was able to keep my virginity because of you—it didn't get taken by those filthy scum, which is just wonderful~ So I've already decided~ the only one who can take this most precious gift of mine… is you~"
"I absolutely won't do anything harmful to you~"
Lianne stared at Lux seriously as she spoke.
"Cough, let's talk about that later. Honestly, we just met. I don't have feelings for you right now, and I think doing something like that would be really inappropriate."
Lux subconsciously glanced at HK416, who was sitting beside him, only to find that she showed no signs of going berserk.
"Oh my, how pure. Of course, I also want to experience romance. Don't let appearances fool you—I'm a girl too."
"Miss 416 and Miss 45 both clearly have feelings for you, Brother Lux. I don't want to monopolize you and then get stabbed in the back later, so let's all work together. Miss 416, with one more person, it'll be easier to protect Brother Lux, right?"
"A capable and outstanding man like him will definitely be pursued by all kinds of beauties in a world like this. Trying to chain him down with love alone might instead cause the relationship to gradually grow cold."
"So my proposal is to date Brother Lux together as a harem. That way, he'll have no reason to leave us, and he won't abandon us for other women either. In that case, he'll always keep us by his side. What do you think?"
"...I have no objections. But if you intend to do anything harmful to the Commander, I swear I'll personally cut you to pieces."
HK416 said this solemnly.
After spending some time together, Lux had also noticed that HK416 would occasionally change how she addressed him. Once she switched to calling him "Commander," it meant she took the matter extremely seriously. "Lux" was just her usual way of addressing him.
What she had just said—she would absolutely carry it out.