CHAPTER 260: CHAPTER 260: NOT TODAY

Liora cracked one eye open. She didn’t shoot up or groan. She just lay there, blinking at the ceiling like it was personally responsible for all her problems.

Her body felt like it had been dragged through wet cement and tossed out of a moving truck.

Head? Still attached, thankfully.

Limbs? Check. Aching, but check.

Soul? Slightly frayed around the edges, but still present.

She blinked again. The light was gentle...not blinding, but warm, like early morning sun. It slipped through the window, casting golden stripes across the floor and across her face.

And she realizes that she is lying on a soft bed with soft sheets. A faint smell of fragrance. A curtain gently waving in the breeze like it didn’t have a care in the world. It was so... peaceful.

Which immediately made her suspicious. Her eyes flicked around.

Wooden walls. Clean floors. Not a trace of blood or broken glass. Not a single zombie groans in the distance.

Wait.

Where the hell was she?

"Good. You’re awake," a voice said, and she nearly jumped.

Xu Kai was sitting in a chair nearby, arms crossed over his chest like some kind of silent guardian who hadn’t moved in hours. His face was calm, but his eyes—

Oh.

His eyes were pissed.

Not furious, pissed. Just quietly, deeply, emotionally pissed.

Liora sat up slowly, every joint cracking like she was made of old bones. "I feel better now," she murmured as the scene from last night flashed in her mind.

"Good," he said again. Then he stood up and crossed the room in two long steps.

"You scared the hell out of me last night," he said, his voice low but sharp around the edges. "You almost..."

"It wasn’t that bad..."

"It was that bad," he snapped.

Liora flinched slightly. Xu Kai didn’t raise his voice often. But now it was edged in something worse than anger and fear.

"You nearly collapsed from shadow overload. Do you understand that? You were burning yourself out. If you’d kept going even one more minute—"

"I needed to," she said softly.

Xu Kai went silent.

She didn’t need to explain what "needed" meant.

This wasn’t about just fighting zombies. This was her only hope, and she could not wait before she could access her full memories; she still felt like she was missing too much.

"I can’t stop," she said quietly. "I won’t stop."

Xu Kai looked away, exhaling hard.

"I know," he muttered. "But not today."

Liora hesitated. Then, finally, nodded. "Not today."

His shoulders relaxed by maybe five percent.

"Good. You’re staying in bed."

She didn’t argue. Instead, she let herself take in the space properly. "Where are we?"

"Top floor of an old hotel," he replied. "I found it while carrying you up from the rooftop. It’s clean. I cleared the zombies on the lower floors."

She looked around again.

And yeah... it was nice. The kind of place that almost made you forget the world had ended.

"Want to take a bath?" Xu Kai said as he made his way towards the bathroom to fill up the tub.

Liora hummed; she needed a good bath to freshen up. But she stopped him when she found out he was going to fill the bathtub. "I will. But I don’t need your water. I have a stockpile in my space."

He nodded, knowing her space was very big. Then he headed to the small kitchen—pulling all sorts of gear and food out of his inventory like a mobile cooking show, while Liora disappeared into the bathroom.

Once the door was shut, she let out a sigh and leaned against the sink.

Then she pulled out several big bottles of water and began washing. The coolness grounded her, her fingers careful as they traced over her body and rubbed herself. She took her time, letting her mind clear.

Afterward, she changed into a soft cotton nightsuit. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean and comfortable.

When she stepped out, the smell hit her first.

Food.

Actual, delicious-smelling food.

Hot rice. Stir-fried vegetables. Eggs. Soup. Soup, for crying out loud. All of them were laid out on the table.

She chuckled and sat down. Her stomach was already growling with hunger.

"Eat. You’ll need your strength."

They ate together in silence, but it was a comfortable kind. Every bite filled her with warmth.

After breakfast, the dishes were cleared away and the lights were dimmed. Xu Kai gestured toward the bed.

"Go...rest."

"But I just woke up," Liora muttered, her voice barely louder than a breath.

Xu Kai didn’t respond. He simply pulled the blanket up over her legs with the kind of quiet stubbornness that made it clear: this wasn’t a request. It was a decision already made.

His expression said it all—calm on the surface, but that quiet steel behind his eyes was impossible to miss. It was the same look he got when he faced down a pack of infected without blinking. A look that said, Don’t fight me on this. I will win.

She exhaled, long and low, and sank back into the pillow with a groan. The softness of the bed welcomed her like a warm ocean, threatening to pull her under again.

But sleep wasn’t coming.

Her body might’ve been tired, sore, and still aching from last night’s shadow overload—but her mind was buzzing with unrest. She stared at the ceiling, eyes unfocused, as guilt began to knot in her stomach.

I haven’t checked the system since the Beast Tide. That realization hit her like cold water.

Everything she’d built—her base, her people—was still out there, fighting to survive. And she had gone silent. Unreachable. Her absence wasn’t just inconvenient. It could’ve been fatal.

They must be struggling. They must be wondering where I went. Are they safe?

She couldn’t go back yet. She knew that. Not until her memories returned. Not until she figured out her past and the reality of Kazren. She is afraid that if she returned now, she’d lead him straight to the one place she couldn’t afford to lose.

The base couldn’t take that hit. But even if she couldn’t go back physically, she could still do something.

Liora closed her eyes and took a deep, steady breath.

And the system panel appeared in front of her, even though her eyes were closed.