CHAPTER 22: 22: THE BOY WHO COULDN’T SPEAK

"It’s a secret." Aria replied with an endearing smile.

Caelan clicked his tongue, reached for her hand, and forcibly moved her aside.

Momentarily surprised, Aria quickly snapped out of her trance and clung to the male lead’s arm with all her strength.

"Please, please, just this once. I just... I can’t, can’t leave that boy there."

When he stopped, Aria pressed on.

"He’s still human, not yet fully infected. I can save him, I promise. I just... I can’t tell you how right now."

Caelan stared back at her.

"Pretty please?"

Wanting to figure out what was going on in this woman’s little head, Caelan agreed.

Though his expression made it clear he wasn’t happy about it.

Yet, he turned and headed back inside the convenience store.

Aria was left standing behind, only realizing a second later that the male lead was already gone.

"Caelan!"

When Aria stepped inside again, her foot landed on the corpse of another mutant rat.

She let out another sudden, low scream, but had no time to dwell on it and hurried toward the male lead.

Caelan sensed Aria the instant she entered.

He cut her off before she could take another step.

With a sharp stare and a cold command not to come closer, Aria obediently stepped back.

It was because the boy was still lying naked on the floor.

Caelan looked around and saw a grey shirt lying not far from the boy.

He picked it up, then turned to the other with ice-cold eyes.

The young boy met his gaze and shrank back in fear.

"Can you speak?" Caelan asked first, before taking any action.

There was no response, only a small shake of the boy’s head.

At least he was still conscious, which was a good sign.

It meant the virus in his body had not spread too quickly yet.

His thin wrist, where he had been bitten by an infected, already looked ugly and disgusting.

The wound gave off a fishy stench, the skin had darkened, and black veins had begun to crawl along his hand.

Caelan tore the t-shirt apart, wrapping it around the boy’s waist just enough to cover his front.

He didn’t dare to pick him up so easily without preparing other things.

Using another strip of fabric, he covered the boy’s mouth, then bound both hands tightly with a thin metal wire.

When Caelan finally turned to face Aria, who was now allowed to look, the young boy was already lying on his back.

"Oh, what happened? He can’t walk?"

Aria inquired with curiosity as she circled around.

But the answer revealed itself almost immediately.

The boy’s legs were twisted so badly that she gulped, her stomach turning weak at the sight.

They seemed crushed and broken, as if someone had beaten them with a bat until they snapped.

Aria realized another painful truth, the boy could not speak.

He was mute.

Since the boy could not speak, Aria chose not to question him for now.

After placing him in the backseat, tied securely to the seat, the three of them left the convenience store.

Caelan said they would have to find a house to stay in for the night.

Aria thought any abandoned house would do, but she was mistaken.

There were plenty of decent houses left behind, yet the male lead did not stop at a single one.

They had been driving for a while.

Aria was about to ask Caelan where they would stop.

Before she could, he pulled over beside a villa instead.

Oh, he wants a big place!

That was Aria’s first thought when she saw the house.

It towered above everything else, so large it almost looked like a mall.

Only wealthy people could have afforded such a house.

Too bad the apocalypse came to this world, leaving it nothing but abandoned.

She was about to open the car door when her eyes fell on a humanoid figure emerging from the villa’s entrance.

Her hand froze mid-motion, heartbeat hammering in her chest as her gaze locked on the nearly two-meter-tall humanoid creature.

A sudden, icy shiver ran down her spine.

It’s....it’s a mutant monster!

"Don’t get out." Aria heard Caelan’s command, snapping her out of her shock.

Her head slowly turned to him, and she was about to speak about the mutant monster.

However, Caelan had already gone outside.

The next thing she knew, she was watching how the male lead moved with precise aim at the mutant creature.

It was the result of years of skill the male lead had honed over fifteen years of surviving in the apocalypse.

Caelan fought the infected and mutant creature as if it meant nothing to him.

Aria fell into silence, her eyes fixed on Caelan with a nervous expression.

She didn’t let them wander, making sure she could see that the male lead was not at a disadvantage.

Caelan returned in victory, but the dark stains of blood on his face and shirt told the story of the hardship he had endured fighting the mutant monster.

The male lead did not enter the car immediately.

He walked around, making sure no mutant monsters were left.

Then he went behind the car to grab another shirt to change into.

He carelessly used the old one to wipe the bloodstains from his skin.

When he seemed satisfied, he returned to the car.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked hesitantly, scanning him from head to toe.

"Mnn." Caelan hummed, then steered the wheel toward the main entrance.

Entering the house, there were no other humans or mutant monsters in sight, only the three of them.

Trash, broken materials, and unidentifiable bits of flesh lay scattered everywhere.

It was a mess, but expected.

The only real problem was the foul stench, which made Aria feel like vomiting, while her stomach growled with hunger.

She didn’t dare ask for food at that moment.

The male lead merely gave her a quiet stare before continuing upstairs.

They had chosen the master bedroom to settle in.

Caelan then locked the door and the window.

Inside, the air was limited, and it felt so hot that sweat began to streak down her skin.