Perhaps he'd grown too accustomed to danger, but Liam felt utterly out of place in Emma's apartment. The home clashed with the world outside, carrying an unmistakable pre-apocalypse flavor.

  Yet beneath his discomfort, a thread of nostalgia tugged at his heart. He'd once had a home like this too, before everything fell apart.

  "Coke's fine." Liam settled onto the sofa, answering Emma while gazing out the window. Beyond the glass stretched that familiar blood-red sky and the skeletal remains of abandoned towers. On a balcony across the street, a sun-bleached skeleton still lay where it had fallen—stains trailing down to the floor below, though time had reduced them to blackened smears.

  Liam glanced back at Emma's apartment.

  Still... profoundly out of place.

  Emma handed him the cola, then immediately powered on the television and DVD player. She selected a disc and slipped it into the tray, beaming. "Haven't had new movies in ages."

  Liam savored a sip of the nostalgic drink, then told Emma he needed to fetch his companion. He strode to the balcony and leaped over the railing, landing on the black dragon waiting below.

  The girl had Black Armor watching over her, so Liam wasn't worried about her safety. He only feared that if he left her alone too long, she'd wander off somewhere.

  This time, Liam genuinely intended to settle in Emma's apartment long-term. He'd already planned to find a base within the city anyway, and Emma had survived here for over a year without incident. Surely his arrival wouldn't change that.

  He collected the girl outside the city walls and swiftly returned to Emma's place, introducing her to their hostess. As for the girl's name... Liam simply called her "Girl."

  Girl spoke poorly. So far, Liam had only heard her say "thank you" once—and even that had been completely off-key. He'd never bothered asking her real name, and she'd never corrected his choice of address anyway.

  Emma hadn't expected Liam's companion to be such a beautiful young woman. But when she stepped forward to greet her, the girl ducked behind Liam, eyeing Emma with wary suspicion.

  "Girl doesn't like strangers. She'll warm up once she knows you better. Don't take it personally." Liam smiled.

  Emma could only nod, offering Girl a gentle smile in return.

  Next, Emma led Liam to the guest rooms. She had two available, so Liam and Girl each claimed one. Black Armor and the black dragon settled on the rooftop across the street to rest.

  Both Liam's clothes and Girl's were woven from his own hair. When he learned the bathroom had hot water, he grabbed fresh garments and bolted for the shower.

  Soaking in the bathtub, Liam felt tension drain from his muscles—a sensation he hadn't experienced since the world ended.

  But he knew this was no time to relax. Take Emma, for example. If he hadn't crashed down and rescued her by pure accident that day, her comfortable life would have ended then and there. In the apocalypse, all comforts rested on a foundation of strength.

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  Lying in the tub, Liam activated his interface and surveyed the city. It was nearly noon, and some mutant creatures were already emerging to hunt. He carefully studied their patterns, noting their displayed abilities.

  In Liam's view, human strength came in two forms: hard power and soft power. Master both, and you'd be invincible.

  Hard power was straightforward—combat capability. Soft power was intelligence.

  Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never be defeated. Ancient wisdom, but in the apocalypse, incomplete. Without sufficient hard power, perfect intelligence still meant death.

  Of course, even overwhelming strength could fail if intelligence was lacking—a single unexpected trap could end everything. So Liam aimed to cultivate both. And influence counted as hard power too. Black Armor and the black dragon obeyed his commands, making them extensions of his strength.

  Half an hour slipped by unnoticed before Liam finally rose. He dressed and headed straight to his room to sleep.

  He'd forgotten how long it had been since he'd slept in a proper bed. Back at East Lion Camp, he'd used wooden planks. His best night had been on a broken-down sofa.

  He slept until evening, roused by knocking at his door. He opened it to find Emma standing in the hallway. Seeing his groggy expression, she laughed. "Dinner's ready. You certainly can sleep."

  "Heh. Haven't slept that well in ages." Liam stretched, smiling.

  Emma turned away, still smiling. "Wash your face, then come eat."

  Liam obliged. He splashed water on his face in the bathroom, then joined them in the living room. The coffee table held several plates of home-style dishes and three bowls of rice. On the floor sat a large bowl piled with fried meat—obviously Bentley's dinner.

  But Liam's attention wasn't on the meat. It was on the standoff between girl and dog.

  Bentley sat rigid, eyes burning with defiant fire. Across from him, Girl stared back with equal intensity, her stubborn gaze fixed on the fried meat with single-minded determination.

  Liam scooped Girl up. "Girl, we're human. We don't fight dogs for food. Come, let's eat."

  Ignoring Bentley's bared teeth, Liam settled onto the sofa before the coffee table and began teaching Girl to use chopsticks.

  Emma glanced at Liam with amusement, then comforted Bentley. "Bentley, no more competition. Eat up."

  But Bentley seized his meat bowl in his jaws, hauled it onto the sofa, and set it on the coffee table before eating—all while shooting Liam looks of pure contempt.

  Liam ignored the dog. He discovered Girl couldn't manage chopsticks at all, so he asked Emma for a spoon. Then he made the painful discovery that she couldn't use a spoon either.

  After blocking her attempt to grab rice with her bare hands, Liam gave up and began feeding her himself. Watching her adorable eating manner, he decided this arrangement wasn't so bad after all.

  "Liam, there's something I wanted to ask this morning, but I wasn't sure if I should..." Emma spoke up when the moment seemed right.

  Liam continued feeding Girl. "What is it?"

  "What's with your hair?" Emma gathered her courage.

  Liam's hair immediately lifted, coiling around his own bowl and chopsticks. He glanced at Emma, smiling. "You mean this?"

  Emma nodded eagerly, then looked at him with hopeful anticipation. Liam's hair was simply too extraordinary.

  "Do you know about the Evolved?" Liam asked.

  He'd assumed Emma was isolated and ignorant, but surprisingly, she nodded. "I've heard some. There was a man named Oliver on the radio. He said humanity had reached a life-or-death crisis and needed to unite. Then he talked about how wonderful Hope City was, protected by over a hundred and twenty Evolved, urging everyone to go there."

  Liam had heard of Hope City before—supposedly the largest survivor settlement in Asia. But he hadn't realized they had over a hundred and twenty Evolved.

  "I'm one of them," Liam said.

  Emma blinked. "Evolved are... superpowered people?"

  "Uh... you could say that." Liam considered, then decided against explaining the source of powers yet. After all, Emma wasn't truly connected to him.

  A woman's heart was an ocean, impossible to fathom. Liam couldn't read Emma's character, so he wouldn't immediately reveal how abilities were obtained.

  Wasn't there a saying? The human heart is unfathomable—especially a woman's heart.