Apocaly Utopi apocaly utop

Chapter 15 lucky

Almost the instant the sound reached their ears, the three of them jumped to their feet.

In less than half a second, Emma flipped her palm and firmly grasped the chef’s knife, her voice sharp and commanding as she demanded, “Who’s there?”

Her voice, filled with a cold edge, echoed into the darkness.

“Ah… don’t be nervous, it’s me, it’s Lucky from downstairs.”

The voice came from the dimly lit hallway in front of the maid’s room. Lucky’s voice sounded tired but also somewhat relieved: “Thank goodness, you guys have a flashlight here.” Without waiting for an invitation from the three inside, she started walking in.

A flashlight? Where did that come from?

Immediately, all three of them realized what Lucky was referring to, and their hearts sank.

The Ability Polishing Agent was apparently so bright that even Lucky, standing at the emergency door, could see its light—just then, they heard Lucky’s slow footsteps approaching from the direction of the emergency door. In a moment of panic, Shirley kicked the Ability Polishing Agent toward the sofa. The small bottle turned into countless points of light just before hitting the sofa and quickly merged into it, plunging the room into darkness.

“Huh? Why did you turn off the flashlight? I can’t see—” Lucky’s voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Emma frowned slightly, then had a quick idea. “That was my phone just now, and it just ran out of battery… Ms. Kong, didn’t we ask you to wait at home? Why did you come up?” She paused, her confusion surfacing: “By the way, how did you know I live here?”

While speaking, she placed her hand on the corpse’s leg. A flash of white light later, the floor was empty.

She had just tucked the card into her hand when Lucky, groping in the dark, walked into the living room. The moment her footsteps entered the living room, Jack lit a lighter.

In the orange-red glow, Lucky looked somewhat disheveled: her face and body were covered in a layer of glistening sweat, and strands of hair clung to her forehead. Sensing their gazes, she smiled awkwardly at Emma: “The security guard told me before that you two are the owners of the penthouse. Your place is so high up, climbing up from the 26th floor really wore me out…”

Even though she had evolved, not everyone had Emma’s stamina before their physical abilities were enhanced.

She didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.

Emma finally lowered the knife, still preoccupied with the piece of paper that had fallen on the floor. She forced a smile: “Ms. Kong, why did you come up?”

“It’s nothing,” Lucky looked a bit embarrassed, “I was just alone at home, and my husband is missing, so I felt really scared…”

This wasn’t hard to understand—the three exchanged glances, and Jack suddenly flashed his rabbit-like teeth, smiling as he said, “Ms. Kong, since you’re here, it saves us the trouble of going down to call you later. Look, we brought some water and rice up here specifically to cook some porridge… Would you like to join us?”

Emma mentally applauded—this was a great excuse! Otherwise, the three of them just sitting in the living room doing nothing would have seemed unnatural.

Lucky visibly hesitated, glanced at the rice, and then smiled: “That’s great! This rice isn’t the best for porridge, but it’s still pretty good. You guys rest, let me handle it!”

“Alright, I’ll help you.” Shirley hoisted the bag of rice and headed toward the kitchen.

Lucky seemed unable to contain her curiosity about Shirley and quickly followed, asking as she walked, “Your Chinese is so good, where are you from…”

Watching the two of them chatting as they entered the kitchen to start preparing the porridge, Jack subtly handed Emma a stiff piece of paper. He had apparently picked it up from the floor without her noticing.

“By the way, this…” Emma started to speak, but the boy interrupted her: “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Later? You mean you’re not planning to take her back to the supermarket?” Emma quickly caught on.

It seemed like a spontaneous remark, and Jack hadn’t thought it through. Hearing this, he frowned, his face full of hesitation.—Indeed, not taking Lucky with them felt somewhat unkind, leaving a newly evolved person with no abilities outside. But the three of them didn’t have the kind of trust forged in life-and-death situations with her, so bringing her back to the supermarket didn’t feel right either.

“Let’s see, maybe she has her own plans and doesn’t need us to decide for her.” Emma couldn’t help but smile slightly at Jack’s furrowed brow, offering some comfort.

It seemed Lucky was usually the one who cooked at home. Despite the lack of light, it didn’t hinder her swift movements—she chopped two packs of vacuum-sealed salted chicken into small pieces, added some seasoning, and simmered it with the porridge for half an hour. Soon, the air was filled with a fragrant aroma.

Jack, who hadn’t eaten a proper meal in over a year, immediately felt his mouth water.

“Come on, it’s ready!”

Placing the pot of porridge on the dining table, Shirley found some utensils and served four bowls. The freshly cooked porridge was steaming, the white grains of rice reflecting the glow of the lighter. The three of them blew on it and stirred it with spoons, finally waiting until it was cool enough to eat, and immediately dug in.

Although the porridge was hot, it wasn’t uncomfortable to eat—a comforting warmth flowed into their stomachs, and the sweet, savory flavor of the chicken porridge lingered on their tongues. Counting the time, Emma had actually eaten a more delicious salmon meal less than 24 hours ago, but somehow, this chicken porridge after the world’s end tasted like a lifetime ago.

Shirley took a sip of the porridge and asked Lucky casually, “… How did you spend yesterday all by yourself?”

Since Jack was eating, he had already put the lighter aside, so in the darkness, it was hard to see Lucky’s expression clearly. Her voice sounded somber: “Since I woke up in the middle of the night, I’ve been looking for my husband. The phone lines were down, and the security guard downstairs passed out. I drove around for a bit, but I saw so many people running around like crazy on the streets, so I got scared and came back. I waited until morning, but it was so hot that I hid in my bathroom and fell asleep… I don’t know where my husband is now.”

“Then… have you noticed anything different about yourself?”

Emma couldn’t help but ask.

“Huh? What do you mean… I haven’t noticed anything. What are you referring to?” Lucky seemed surprised, even knocking her spoon against the bowl.

Perhaps her evolved ability hadn’t manifested yet. Emma thought about it and realized that explaining concepts like the new world and evolved humans would probably be more convincing after her ability developed. So she smiled: “It’s nothing, it’s a long story, we’ll tell you later. By the way, what are your plans for later?”

Lucky didn’t hesitate at all and immediately replied: “I’m going home to wait for my husband, until he comes back. He might return at any moment, and if he doesn’t see me, he’ll worry. Oh, let’s eat quickly. I’d like to show you some photos of my husband later. If you see him outside, please tell him to come home and find me…”

Her words made it seem as if she hadn’t considered that waiting indefinitely, without food or water, would eventually lead to her death.

Perhaps she wasn’t unaware, but she was willing to take the risk—even if the hope was slim.

The atmosphere at the table suddenly grew heavy. After a long pause, Emma finally said: “… Alright, if you’re short on food, we’ll bring some for you.”

She didn’t want to shatter this woman’s hope so quickly. Losing hope, like the harsh environment outside, could be just as deadly for a person.

Lucky thanked her gratefully.

The small pot of porridge was quickly finished. After Lucky’s earlier words, the three of them didn’t delay, quickly packed up their things, and followed her downstairs.

Every floor below the penthouse had two units, and the other unit on the 26th floor seemed to have been vacant for a while, so Lucky hadn’t locked the door when she left. Now, it opened with a push.

As soon as the three of them stepped inside, they were stunned.

The elegantly decorated house was now incredibly bright. The dining table, coffee table, and flower stands were filled with beautifully designed candleholders—each holder held several intricately carved cream-colored candles. The fiery red candlelight and faint fragrance filled the entire living room, creating a dreamlike beauty—and a nightmarish heat.

Lucky stood surrounded by the candlelight, smiling shyly, her eyes glistening with tears.

“These candles were bought by my husband for our anniversary. When I came home that day, the whole house was filled with candles, and he even cooked for me himself…” Her voice choked, and she brushed her hair back, pretending to be nonchalant as she pulled out a few photo frames.

“After the anniversary, he wanted to throw the candles away, but I refused. See, aren’t they useful now?” Lucky sniffled, her eyes red as she handed the photos to Emma.

The photo showed a man with an ordinary appearance, his smile gentle, his teeth gleaming white—Emma gasped and said, “I remember your husband, I think I saw him downstairs once.”

At the time, there was a very angry woman on the phone, constantly shouting something, her voice so loud it could be heard outside the phone, which was why Emma remembered.

When she mentioned this, Lucky’s tears began to fall uncontrollably. “We had a fight that day… I regret it so much… If I had known we’d be separated, I wouldn’t have yelled at him for even a second. He’s such a gentle person…”

Shirley gently patted her shoulder and sighed.

Jack sat silently in his chair, seemingly at a loss for words, like most men facing a crying woman.

After comforting Lucky for a while, Emma straightened up, her gaze wandering aimlessly around the room, then she frowned slightly in confusion.

Upon closer inspection, the house was really strange.

The water dispenser in the living room was empty, but a full water bottle was placed next to it, as if the owner had no intention of putting it on the dispenser.

If the owner wasn’t short on water, the fish tank was completely empty, leaving only a layer of decorative stones and a small treasure chest sitting dry inside. A strong fishy smell hit her when she got closer.

The strangest thing was the potted plants in the house. They were more like pots of soil that should have had plants in them. Now the plants were gone, leaving only holes in the soil, with some roots faintly visible… A thought flashed through her mind.

“I’ll get you some water to drink. Do you have any in your fridge?” Emma had already walked to the fridge before she abruptly asked. Without waiting for Lucky’s answer, she yanked open the fridge door.

The fridge shelves were nearly bare, cluttered with supermarket vegetable wrap. One piece bore a price tag: “Premium Organic Carrots, $14.98.” To the left, a row of untouched drinks stood neatly arranged. With just one glance, Emma could tell: these drinks had never been touched.

Only then did Lucky’s slightly panicked voice come from behind: “N-no, it’s fine, I’m not thirsty, thank you.”

Emma closed the fridge door and looked back at Shirley’s hand resting on Lucky’s shoulder, feeling as if a heavy stone had settled in her stomach.