Olivia and Slade each took some broth and meat, sipping the broth first and then taking a hearty bite of the tender meat—suddenly, they heard the notification: Point +20.
The notification left them dumbfounded—this was the first time they'd received points this way. They glanced at Ren, who continued eating and sipping the meat and broth with unbridled gusto, savoring every bite.
Seeing no reaction from him whatsoever, they wondered if he might not even have a roulette system, and that the roulette and store could be exclusive to humans only. Continuing to eat the meat and broth slowly, Slade and Olivia found they couldn't manage more than one bowl each.
The sheer energy packed into the meat made it impossible; when both tried taking another bite, they gagged immediately, and the point increment dropped sharply from +20 Points to a mere +0.50 Point. They desperately wished they could eat more for the gains, but they felt certain one extra bite would make them faint on the spot.
Slowly and reluctantly putting their bowls down with heavy sighs, they kept staring at Ren, who didn't seem bothered at all by the two of them stopping. His spirit sense allowed him to understand their situation perfectly—in fact, he had overheard Olivia's earlier outburst thanks to his spirit keeping a subtle watch on them the whole time.
Having come to the conclusion early on that they weren't bad people at heart, he had gone out and returned with the meatiest animal he could quickly find: an
Feeling that the two couldn't eat any further without risking collapse, Ren simply picked up the entire pot and drank the remaining broth directly from it, swallowing chunks of meat whole without any need to chew.
As he polished off the pot in satisfying gulps, he also heard his own notification chime: +250 Points. He had earned the exact amount from both killing it and consuming the meat—a new inlet for points he hadn't fully explored before. Wiping his mouth with the back of his suited hand, Ren finally met the wide-eyed gazes of Olivia and Slade head-on.
Ren pointed to the info bar atop his head and said clearly, "As you might see, my name is Ren. When I woke up, I was already in this apocalypse. I'm looking for a person. Do either of you know someone named Ophelia?"
Ren's words registered in their minds quickly, but a flood of new questions arose from the details they could glean. Was he human? If so, why did he have an information bar like monsters? If not, why was he so sure the person he was looking for would be in human cities?
How could anyone just wake up in an ongoing apocalypse like this? And who exactly was Ophelia? "Who is Ophelia?" Olivia asked curiously, her expression intrigued like she'd stumbled on juicy gossip. "Are you sure she's still human? What if she turned into a zombie, or some other species?"
This question caught Ren completely off-guard—he had never considered it quite this way before. Actually, he had thought about the possibility back when he was still fully human and fighting off zombies, but he'd pushed it aside, unwilling to imagine Ophelia reduced to brainless, brain-loving dumb creatures shambling around.
However, remembering Dolores and her surprisingly elegant demeanor, he didn't seem to mind the idea of her turning into a zombie anymore—especially since he himself was no longer human. It could also be said he was being a bit vain, hoping she hadn't turned ugly amid the apocalypse's horrors.
Slade noticed pointedly that Ren hadn't clarified if he was human, zombie, or another species entirely. However, he didn't call it out directly and instead asked further, "We don't know any Ophelia. If we come across her, we'll notify you. Can we go now?"
Ren tilted his head, asking reasonably, "How will you contact me?" Slade pulled out a walkie-talkie-like device and explained, "It's an item for making contact—anyone can initiate. If you have any questions, you can reach out on this."
Throwing one device to Ren and the other to Olivia for good measure, Slade pressed again, "Can we go now?" It wasn't that Slade didn't care about preserving his life—he had simply come to the conclusion from the vibe Ren gave off that he wasn't the type to kill mindlessly, completely unaware of the massacre Ren had unleashed on City 05's leader and citizens.