Later that day, John had just come back from making sure the way back from the power plant was free of monsters and he found Maria sitting alone on a crate, her face buried in her hands. As he got closer, he could hear muffled sobs.
"Maria, are you alright?"
Maria sniffed her sobs and attempted to compose herself, but John cut her off before she could say anything.
"You don’t need to act tough. Just talk to me, what’s wrong?"
Maria couldn’t hold it in any longer. She burst into tears and started to explain.
"It’s… it’s everything that’s happening. I thought I could still have some of my old life with Marco, but he’s changed too."
Maria’s honey-coloured eyes were swollen and rimmed in red, tears tracking down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her runny nose added to the mess, leaving streaks on her sleeve from where she had wiped it away repeatedly. She looked like a shattered porcelain doll, trembling lips and quivering chin betraying the depth of her sorrow.
"I know it’s difficult to accept, but we’re rebuilding. This community we started, it’s something we could only have dreamt of before. Maria, do you know where we’re standing?"
Confused, Maria scanned the surroundings, trying to decipher John’s meaning.
"You remember that old steel factory that burned down decades ago? People used to make up ghost stories about it."
Maria thought for a second and then her jaw dropped.
"How...?"
She couldn’t believe it. She remembered what the old steel factory looked like and it looked nothing like this.
"Incredible isn’t it? Do you know how long it took me to change the factory into this?"
Maria’s eyes reflected her scepticism, but still, curiosity got the better of her.
"I don’t know, um, months?"
"Two hours," John deadpanned.
Maria’s face scrunched up, "stop joking. That’s impossible."
John grinned, "yes, it’s something that was certainly impossible... before the apocalypse."
Maria’s eyes widened, but John continued, "you see, Maria? The world is far more dangerous than it ever was before, but it’s not all bad."
John used his Strength Buff and Muscle Strengthening and walked towards a thick steel beam. He stopped next to it and turned to look at Maria.
"Could I have done this before the apocalypse?" John asked as he lifted the heavy steel beam over his head with just one hand.
John looked at Maria with a mischievous smile and said, "Do you want to see something really cool?"
Maria nodded hesitantly, not sure what to expect.
John swung the steel beam over his shoulder and walked towards a pile of scrap metal. He tossed the beam into the air and caught it with his other hand. He repeated this a few times, juggling the beam like a toy.
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[Favourability +10]
"Wow, you’re really good at that," Maria said, impressed.
He then grabbed an old refrigerator and tossed it high into the air. He picked up the steel beam with both his hands and swung it, attempting to hit the refrigerator like a baseball, sadly, he missed and hit the roof of an old, dilapidated room.
The clanking of metal rang out and a cloud of dust fell from the ceiling.
"That could have gone better," he muttered, his eyes locked onto the fridge.
Maria giggled, and John flashed her a lopsided grin.
"Well, that was fun," John said.
"It was pretty cool," Maria said, smiling.
"Anyway, what I was trying to say is that even though the world is now scary, it brought some good things with it. Let’s focus on the good things, Maria. Let’s rebuild and make the world a little less scary."
John approached her and gave her a reassuring hug.
"We can do this together, Maria. You just need to believe in yourself and you’ll do fine."
"Thank you, John," Maria said, giving him a tight hug.
"Will you be okay?" John asked.
"Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks again," Maria said, nodding.
[Favourability +5]
"Good," John replied.
But just then, a distressed survivor burst in.
"Boss! Boss! Something terrible has happened!"
"Calm down, what is it?"
"A group of survivors have arrived at the power plant and they want to claim it for themselves."
John cursed under his breath.
"What are we going to do, boss?"
"Don’t worry, we’ll deal with this. Stay put, I’ll take care of this."
"Maria, go look for Octavia and meet me at the power plant. When you get there, use your Skills from a distance if needed, tell Octavia to join me."
Maria nodded and headed out.
John ran towards the power plant as the sun set below the horizon. He couldn’t allow the survivors to lay a claim on the power plant, he needed it for his base. He arrived just as their leader stepped forward - a muscular man with a clean-shaven head and arms like tree trunks.
"Who are you?"
"I’m the owner of this power plant."
"Oh yeah? What gives you the right to claim it?"
"Because I’m stronger than you," John said, cracking his knuckles.
"Stronger, huh?" The man grinned, flexing his muscles.
"We’ll see about that," the man growled, cracking his neck.
The man charged at John, throwing a powerful punch at his face.
John dodged and counterattacked with a punch of his own, hitting the man square in the chest.
The man staggered backwards, clutching his chest.
The rest of the men gathered behind the bald man.
"We’ve got you surrounded," the man said, sneering.
"So?" John replied, cracking his neck.
"So, you’re screwed," the man said, lunging forward and aiming a punch at John’s gut.
John smirked and raised his palm to his eye level. A powerful blast erupted from his hand, sending the man flying.
"What the fuck?!" the bald man gasped, struggling to get back on his feet.
The others watched in shock and confusion.
John used his Shockwave skill once more and hid behind the power plant building as the men flew around the place. Now that he was out of sight, he could use the passive effect of his Quiet Steps and double his Agility. He could not beat all of them by himself, but he only had to wait until Octavia and Maria arrived.