Chapter 39: Aftermath of the beast tide
A week had passed since the Beast Tide incident.
For the first three days, Zac could barely even move his fingers. His entire body was practically paralyzed, leaving him unable to do even the simplest daily activities. Marty stayed by his side the whole time, helping him move around and take care of himself.
Even though his mother offered to help, Zac felt too embarrassed to ask her for things like bathing or helping him to the bathroom.
It took another two days before he could finally walk without anyone’s help.
Right now, he is lying on his bed, lazily scrolling through the Variant Association news network on his VSB.
Almost every headline carried the same grim atmosphere.
’8,000 died and hundreds were still missing.’
’The association confirmed the beast tides were caused by the terrorist.’
’Reconstruction Efforts Ongoing in Destroyed Regions.’
’Variant Association Issues Public Apology for Security Failure.’
The deeper Zac scrolled, the heavier the news became. Photos of destruction and deaths flooded the website.
Every media platform had exploded into chaos, and many blamed the Variant Association, calling the tragedy nothing more than the result of arrogance and negligence.
The supporters defended the association, arguing that the terrorists had carefully planned the attack for years and struck at the perfect moment, when the nation’s attention was focused on the academies’ entrance examinations.
Debates, accusations, conspiracies. The entire country was still drowning in the noise.
Zac quietly locked his phone screen and leaned back against the bed.
"What do you think, System?" he asked.
[Well, if something is destined to happen, it will happen. Crying over spilled milk is pointless. Instead of drowning in regret, they should focus on becoming vigilant enough to stop history from repeating itself.]
Zac gave a faint nod.
"Yeah. That’s what I think too."
"Well, anyway... it’s time to visit the Association and finally meet her."
[Oho? Falling in love again?]
"I’m just appreciating beauty."
[Sure. Keep telling yourself that.]
Zac ignored the sarcastic voice in his head and stood up from the bed. After grabbing his jacket, he walked toward the front door.
The moment he opened it.
"And where exactly do you think you’re going?" His mother’s voice called out from behind him.
Zac froze for a moment before slowly turning around. "I’m just heading out for a walk, Mom."
She narrowed her eyes, looking him up and down. "Do you really need to? You just got recovered, and I really don’t want someone carrying you again, saying you collapsed in the middle of the street."
"Don’t worry, Mom. I’m completely fine. Besides, I can’t stay locked up in my room forever." After a few seconds, she sighed. "Fine. But you better be back before lunch."
"Okay." Zac replied with a polite smile before quickly slipping out of the house.
***
Not long after, he arrived at the Variant Association.
As soon as Zac entered, he approached the front desk and showed his variant license. "I need to speak with Assistant Chief Lima."
"She is not an assistant anymore, she was promoted to Chief of the Mellow City Association."
"When did that happen?"
[She did kill two ’A-ranks’ on her own.]
"It’s been two days, and do you have an appointment?"
"No, but you can inform her it’s Zac."
The receptionist looked slightly surprised but still nodded professionally. After making a quick confirmation call, she gestured toward the elevators.
"Please proceed to the ninth floor."
"Thanks."
A few moments later, the elevator stopped with a soft ding. The instant the doors opened, Zac saw Lima already standing outside waiting for him.
She wore the same clean office uniform as always, perfectly neat without even a single wrinkle. Her expression remained calm and unreadable, carrying that cold professionalism around her.
"She looks exactly the way I remember."
[Ohoho! Only that she is not a virgin anymore.]
"Wait, she was before? How did I not know?"
[You were too horny to notice it.]
"Agreed."
Lima showed no reaction to the strange expression flickering across Zac’s face. She simply turned around and spoke in her usual composed tone.
"Follow me."
Once inside her office, Lima calmly took her seat across from him, crossing her legs elegantly as the atmosphere in the room turned serious once more.
The silence between them slowly became unbearable for both of them.
He fidgeted in his seat as though someone had hidden a bed of needles beneath him, unable to stay still for even a second. Before coming here, he had imagined asking her a thousand different questions.
But now that she was sitting right in front of him, every word seemed to get stuck in his throat before it could leave his mouth.
Meanwhile, Lima sat across from him calmly, observing his every move. Eventually, she seemed to understand his struggle and decided to break the ice herself.
"How’s your recovery?"
Zac snapped to attention. "Ah... yeah. I’m completely fine now." He quickly raised his arm and rotated it awkwardly. "See? I can move normally again."
To his surprise, Lima suddenly smiled. Not the one she usually does. This time it was bright and cheerful.
"You know you look very cute when you’re flustered."
Zac nearly choked on air. "What? Stop saying things like that." A faint blush instantly spread across his face.
"Anyway," she continued, regaining her professional tone, "the thing you asked me to do... it’s done."
Zac blinked. "Really?"
Lima raised an eyebrow. "Why would I lie to you?"
"Yeah... right. Well, thank you, I guess."
"No need."
"Hm?"
"You saved my life. So let’s just say we’re even now."
Zac gave a small nod.
Silence descended once again among them. Zac inhaled deeply and forced himself to gather courage.
"You know... about what happened that night..."
"Zac." Her voice interrupted him instantly.
"What’s done is done," Lima said calmly. "Neither of us was in the right state of mind, and things escalated in a way we never thought they would. So let’s just forget about it. Okay."
[Ouch.] The system clicked its tongue dramatically inside his head.
[You got dumped before even proposing. Quite the luck you have there.]
"Shut up."
For a few seconds, Zac lowered his gaze, silently debating with himself.
"Lima."
It was the first time he had called her directly by the name, and her eyes slightly widened before locking onto his.
"You saw the exam recordings, right?" She nodded once.
Zac slowly leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling.
[I smell a sentimental talk incoming.]
"Before the awakening, my whole world revolved around her. Every single day, I woke up hoping to see her, to spend time with her, and I truly believed she was the person I’d spend the rest of my life with."
"But after everything that happened..." He let out a bitter laugh. "After being betrayed and discarded like trash, I thought I’d never be able to love another woman ever again."
He looked at her face with a melancholy expression.
"My mom used to tell me that someday I’d meet someone who would truly value my heart. Someone who would want me for who I am and not for what I have."
"I never really believed her. Back then, I just nodded along because I didn’t want her worrying about me."
"But then you appeared."
A faint change flickered across Lima’s expression.
"When I first saw you, I thought you were beautiful... hot... sexy... ah, sorry about that." Zac cleared his throat awkwardly. "What I mean is, I thought you were absolutely gorgeous, but there wasn’t any love behind those thoughts."
"At first, I only saw you as an ally. Nothing more. At least, not until that night."
"You may not realize it," Zac said softly, "but after that night... I started feeling like maybe my mom was right after all."
"I might not be strong enough for you right now, and I can’t protect you yet. But one day..." His voice turned firm. "One day, I’ll become someone worthy of having you."
He took a slow breath.
"So... would you be willing to become that someone in my life?"
There was complete silence in the room, and Lima simply stared at him in astonishment.
["sob" "sob"]
"Are you crying?"
[I’m very sensitive to sentiments.]
Suddenly, Lima burst into laughter. "What was it, ’One day, I’ll become someone worthy of having you... hahaaa...’"
Zac became confused, not knowing how he should take this laughter. "When did you become such a Romeo?" she asked between laughs. "I didn’t know you were capable of saying things like this."
"So... is that a yes?"
"Of course, it’s a NO."
