CHAPTER 69: THE APOCALYPSE BEGINS

[Side Quest Complete!]

[Save Mister Mustache 2/3]

[Obtained 100 Creation Points!]

[Obtained New Species Crystal]

[Save Mister Mustache 3/3]

Part 1: Feed your cat the New Species Crystal!

Part 2: Feed Mister Mustache a Level 2 Crystal!

Final Reward: 1000 Creation Points + 3 Random Recipes + 1 Special Recipe + 1 Level 2 Crystal!

"How do I feed him the crystals if he’s..."

[Dead?]

"Yes..." Lucien nodded.

[Technically, they’re not dead, well, by human standards, that counts as a form of death...]

"What does that mean?"

[Their hearts stopped beating, their body temperatures plummeted, and even their cells began to die, too. By human standards, this can be considered a death. But the cell death in these two days is minimal, because something is trying to preserve the body by healing and mutating cells before they die, and also eliminating any cadaveric bacteria that enter it...]

"The ZY pathogen..."

[Exactly, every few minutes it forces the animal’s heart to beat very slowly, to the point that it’s almost imperceptible to human detection. It does all this while gradually changing the animals’ bodies to first adapt to the existence of the virus. Once adapted, they evolve and improve their bodies, only then does the animal return to its old habits, spreading it to more uninfected targets. But of course, your cat is different...]

"Different how?"

[You fed it a level 1 crystal. This caused it to acquire a new crystal within itself. This crystal is even more valuable than the heart of any mutant creature. It protects the body from disease, provides energy and stamina, strengthens the body, and even pumps blood in the event its host loses this organ, once considered vital... Since you fed your father a crystal, he also has his own Level 1 crystal now...]

"Is that why you said I don’t need to feed him?"

[Correct, both you and your father have Level 1 crystals inside your mutant bodies. These crystals provide enormous energy that enhances your body and stamina. In your father’s case, the crystal uses energy daily to keep his body alive without wearing out by consuming fat or muscle. And when his crystal is about to run out of energy, you feed it a new crystal, which is then absorbed by your existing crystal, restarting the cycle and keeping it stable. If he were conscious, he would still be very thirsty and hungry, but since he isn’t, this is a tolerable side effect in this situation.]

"Thank you for the explanation, but unlike my father, who swallows the crystal after I speak to him, how do I give the crystal to Mr. Mustache, who is in a ’coma’?"

[You just need to raise his head and place the crystal at the entrance to his throat, and that will be enough. But don’t let his teeth hurt you, or it will count as an infected bite. And as soon as he wakes up, you give him the second crystal...]

Lucien chose to use two chopsticks and inserted the new orange crystal he had received into his cat’s throat.

Seeing Part 1 of the mission completed, and realizing that Mr. Mustache wouldn’t wake up today, Lucien went to sleep.

The next morning, with less than an hour to go, Lucien turned his father’s cell phone back on, checking the numerous missed calls and messages. Without time to read them all, he first called his friends’ house, William being the first.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it’s me."

"Lucien!"

"Are your parents home?"

"Just my mom. My dad said the company was short-staffed with several people sick, and he went to work..." William complained sadly.

"Sigh..."

"I’ll send one more message to your dad... I’m so sorry, William, I hope he will be okay..."

"Okay, Lucien... Thanks for trying again."

"No need to thank me... Remember what I told you about the doors and windows..."

As soon as he hung up, he wrote one last message to William’s father:

"Go home and be with your wife and son, everything’s about to start in less than an hour... If you still don’t believe me, then find some kind of weapon to defend yourself and avoid the bites of infected humans and animals..."

Lucien sighed. If it were his mother, would he be able to get her to come home?

"I highly doubt it... Maybe with some well-organized emergency, who knows..."

He then moved on to the next number, which was Nina’s home number.

"Hello?"

"Nina, it’s me."

"Lucien! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. Did your parents see my message?"

"I’m fine... My mom saw your message and came home early this morning, but she brought her boyfriend with her, tsk... My dad said he couldn’t get back to the city in time, but he said he’d be careful."

"Including your grandmother means four people will be living with you, so be careful with the resources you’ve accumulated. And remember to reinforce the doors and windows."

"Thank you for everything, Lucien!"

"It’s nothing, take care..."

"You too!"

As soon as he hung up the phone, Lucien sent a similar message to the previous one to Nina’s father.

His face hardened, he took a deep breath, and dialed Dona Yolanda’s number.

"Lucien, is that you?"

"Yes, Laura, it’s me. Are you and your father home?"

"Yes, we are, it’s crazy here. My father was calling you all the time; he thought it was Mr. Rivero... And he wants to know why we should stay home..."

"The streets will become dangerous, and sick people will become aggressive, trying to bite and injure those who aren’t sick... The same will happen with infected animals..."

"My God, isn’t there a cure for this?"

Lucien swallowed and lied.

"Unfortunately, no..."

"’Sob’, so my mom and Grandma Yolanda? What will happen to them?"

"I don’t know..."

"’Sob’, why did this happen to them?"

"I’m sorry, Laura. My parents’ future is also something I can’t confirm, just like you... So I understand what you’re feeling... In this time of crisis, you need to be strong!"

"You sound different, Lucien..."

Lucien noticed Laura crying nonstop on the other side of the line before answering:

"Different? Me?" He asked, a little surprised, wondering if she had realized he’d lied.

"Yes, the way you talked to me yesterday and the way you’re talking today, you’re trying to comfort me even when you said something similar happened to your parents... You don’t even seem like the little boy I used to babysit anymore..."

"I’ve been through a lot these past seven days... Maybe that’s it?"

"So much change in just seven days, you’ve made me curious..." Laura said, trying to sound a little cheerful while still sniffling.

"It’s a long story, and I don’t know if we have much time before the phone lines go down."

"How long until it all starts?"

"Less than 10 minutes..."

"Just stay and chat with me a little longer, okay?"

"Sure, it would be my pleasure..."

"Hehe, "Sob", if I didn’t know you better, I would say you were trying to flirt with me..."

Lucien had put on a pair of headphones and walked out to the beautiful penthouse of his luxurious apartment. There was a beautiful garden that his mother personally tended, and a huge pool and outdoor jacuzzi on the roof.

He stumbled as he walked near the pool when he heard the melancholic Laura try to smile and make a joke about him flirting. He had said that naturally, without much thought...

He then summoned all his courage and tried to steer the conversation in a certain direction in the next message.

"Are you sure you know me that well?"

After saying this, his face turned completely red and he activated a button on the side of a wall, activating a metal covering used during heavy rains, blocking any light from entering and completely closing off the entire terrace, leaving only a small window-sized space in the railing where he could observe the city at a greater than 180-degree angle.

"It’s true... The new Lucien seems to be someone different from before..."

Lucien took a pair of binoculars from his inventory and began to observe the entire city.

"I’m on the roof of my apartment overlooking the city. I can see your house from here, but only part of the roof. Did your father manage to buy a good supply of supplies in time?"

"Yes, I think we’ll be fine for a few months if it’s just me and him... How’s the port?"

Lucien turned his binoculars toward the famous port of Kaelor and saw the sea, several ships arriving while others departed. But then he noticed something. A cloud of various types of birds from the coastal region flew strangely around the ships, but he couldn’t see the ground of the city’s port to see if something like that was happening there too.

"There’s a cloud of birds, there are so many. They seem to be attacking the ships and—"

"And what, Lucien?"

"Oh my gosh, look at the sky, it’s turning red."

"What is that? It’s blocking out the entire sky... I’m scared, Lucien."

"I’m too... This reminds me of one of those omens from the horror movies we watched in secret when you were my babysitter..."

"Hehe, you were so scared you couldn’t sleep alone afterward..."

"Just me? I remember you were terrified too..."

"Okay, I admit I was a little scared, but—"

"Beep-Beep-Buzz"

Laura’s voice cut off abruptly, followed by beeps from a dead phone line before the cell phone finally heated up in Lucien’s pocket, emitting a strange hiss and a faint smoke coming from it. At the same time, he heard the numerous beeps of the system announcing the beginning of the apocalypse.

But he ignored them for now, focusing on the various noises coming from the city. He put his binoculars back on and looked at the entire city, where illuminated building signs went off, traffic signals went out, and several cars stopped moving, causing massive traffic jams everywhere. Soon, several fires began to appear throughout the city, making Kaelor seem truly apocalyptic...