"That's enough!" Stacy snatched the towel from the chair and wrapped it tightly around herself.
A faint trail of slick moisture ran down her thighs from the brief brush of his fingers, though Lucas only caught a fleeting glimpse before she bolted into her room.
Even so, the image burned itself into his memory.
Lucas had always admired girls, but he'd never been the type to make a move. Most of his life had been consumed by survival and routine. He'd only watched porn a handful of times and rarely gave sex much thought.
But seeing Stacy up close like that stirred something in him.
A few minutes later, she stepped back out wearing a different outfit. Somehow, this one revealed even more skin, a loose top hanging over a thin bra and shorts.
"Sorry. Turns out it was nothing after all," Lucas said with an awkward chuckle. "False alarm."
Stacy clenched her jaw for a moment before forcing a smile.
"It's fine. You were only trying to help."
But Lucas caught it, the tiny crack in her expression. She was upset, and trying very hard not to show it.
'Is she angry because I tricked her?' he wondered. 'I thought my ability would handle the aftermath too…'
If not, things were about to become painfully awkward.
"Maybe I should head back home." he tried to move.
She suddenly stepped in front of him.
"One question, how did you hear about that monster?"
"I saw something online, but it'd be hard to find the post again because—"
"Online?" she interrupted. "What online? The internet isn't working."
"Hm. You don't know about it yet?"
Stacy blinked in confusion. The moment Lucas mentioned the system's Crossnet feature, her attention completely shifted away from the earlier incident.
Lucas made his system screen visible to her, allowing her to browse the online platform without spending any Karma Points herself.
"Woah…" Her eyes widened. "It really is just like the internet."
"Pretty much," Lucas replied. "Except you have to pay five Karma Points every week to keep access."
"Pay Karma Points?" she repeated. "Why?"
He shrugged. "No idea. The system probably has its own reasons. I just know that's how it works."
Stacy let out a disappointed groan.
"But I already used all of mine."
"used them on what?"
"Upgrading my strength, obviously." She raised an arm and flexed dramatically, though her slim build looked no different than before. "If there's any trouble, I need to be able to protect myself."
Then she slumped back against the couch.
"Too bad I won't get to use Crossnet now…"
A second later, her expression lit up again.
"Wait." She pointed at him excitedly. "Why don't we just share your account for now?"
"I don't know about that…" A hesitant smile tugged at his lips.
"Come on," Stacy pressed. "We can work together to earn more Karma Points. Two heads are better than one."
Lucas hadn't expected a suggestion like that from her. Truthfully, the idea hadn't even crossed his own mind. The speed at which she connected everything made him see her a little differently.
Up until now, he hadn't given Stacy much credit. But suddenly, he started wondering if she was far less innocent than she liked to appear.
Before the apocalypse, they had lived next door to each other for months without exchanging more than a few words. Even when she visited the convenience store, they acted like complete strangers.
And now, all of a sudden, she was bringing him food and trying to get close to him.
Even the day before, the only reason she handed over her Karma Points to those people was because of the food. Otherwise, she would've held onto them until the very last second.
'She hides it well, but she's always calculating' he realized.
That was probably why she hadn't thrown him out even if she was upset about what happened earlier.
Right now, she was proposing a partnership because she understood how valuable information was for survival. If they shared access to Crossnet, she wouldn't have to fall behind everyone else.
"Sure. Why not?" he answered casually.
Under normal circumstances, Lucas would've stopped to negotiate something in return. But Stacy had started talking about earning Karma Points barely seconds after seeing Crossnet.
It was like she'd already formed a plan the moment the screen appeared.
For now, he decided he'd wait and see what this "big idea" of hers actually was before making any real judgment.
Because if she turned out to be useless, he had no intention of dragging around dead weight.
When it came time for sharing his account they found out it wasn't the same as sharing a social media account on the phone.
The system could only materialize a short distance from the host, and would follow him around everywhere, but she insisted that all she needed was a few hours.
Lucas agreed and allowed her to do as she liked, and simply watched from the side. He even gave her permission to set up his user profile, allowing the system to capture her own image as his user photo.
He watched the messages begin flooding in almost immediately.
The photo Stacy uploaded had been taken carefully, her pose drawing attention to her cleavage in a way that felt oddly deliberate. It was almost professional.
Before she even made another post, notifications from desperate men were already pouring in.
Then, without hesitation, she opened a live stream.
Lucas blinked in surprise. He hadn't even known Crossnet supported streaming.
What shocked him even more was how naturally Stacy navigated the platform. She moved through menus and settings with practiced ease, as though she already understood exactly how people online behaved.
"Hey, everyone~ Thanks for joining," she greeted with a bright smile and a small wave.
As she leaned toward the screen, Lucas noticed the subtle way she positioned herself, keeping her posture just suggestive enough to hold attention without being outright explicit.
The viewer count started climbing steadily.