CHAPTER 23: 23: HEROINE’S ABILITY!

Caelan drew the curtains across the French windows next to the balcony, making the whole room dim and a bit stuffy.

Aria stood there, watching the male lead move around the room in quiet focus, but she didn’t dare to ask anything.

When he was done, he sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard.

He closed his eyes to rest.

Aria gave him a quiet look and didn’t dare ask anything.

It was better not to bother him after fighting a mutant monster one-on-one.

Caelan was probably exhausted.

Aria set aside the idea of talking to the male lead and focused on what truly needed her attention.

The young boy she said she could save.

In truth, she had an idea but didn’t know how to do it now.

Aria did remember something, a really good piece of information from her younger days.

According to what she had scribbled in her little notebook, she had created many male leads as potential love interests for the heroine of this world.

After all, this story world was actually planned as a reverse harem novel set in an apocalypse.

Her younger self had written since the heroine was so cute, so kind, and so beautiful, she deserved to have many lovers in the end.

To protect her.

To love her.

Now, as an adult, Aria felt that her younger self had been pretty naive.

Just thinking about all those men around one person seemed not easy to handle.

But what was important was that one of the heroine’s male lovers could be saved from the deadly A-virus when they got infected, because she had actually written that the heroine had a healing body.

The method of healing the infected human was... actually embarrassing to think about.

It involved the exchange of bodily fluids.

Ah—her younger self really had not thought this through.

So unscientific!

How could the heroine’s fluids possibly heal an A-virus infection?

Eventually, the heroine became the saint of this world after the apocalypse ended.

That was the planned ending, but it was left in draft only.

Aria had forgotten this story, and now she was inside it.

What kind of punishment is this?

Aria wasn’t informed that every story must be completed!

That manager system didn’t even give him a chance to write it again.

"Zzzap!"

A sudden flash of lightning struck next to the villa, turning the whole place white, followed by a single booming thunder.

Aria was so startled that her whole body shook and shivered violently.

She could feel a cold chill running down her spine, as if the lightning had struck right at her.

Aria’s heartbeat raced as she slowly turned her head toward the window.

Fear gripped her for a moment, but she took a steadying breath and was able to calm herself.

What... could it be, the Manager System!?

Was it listening to her thoughts when she had mentioned it?

"Zzzap!"

Startled again by the sudden sound, Aria stood up and couldn’t help but yell at the sky.

"Don’t shock me!"

Male Lead and the Boy: "..."

For a moment, there was utter silence.

Realizing she wasn’t alone, looked at the others and didn’t know what to say.

She took a slow step back, feeling shy and embarrassed by her actions.

The thought of blaming the Manager System crossed her mind, but she stopped herself.

The sky might be angry at her this time and strike her on the spot.

Catching the male lead’s cold gaze, she awkwardly muttered.

"Don’t mind me. Don’t mind me. You continue to sleep hehe."

"Don’t make too much noise." Caelan said, then closed his eyes again.

Aria nodded with a sigh, knowing the male lead must have a reason for saying that.

Just as she was about to return to what she was doing, a sudden downpour of heavy rain crashed outside.

"Eh... it’s raining." Aria murmured softly.

She couldn’t see outside through the curtain, but she could hear the rain faintly.

She asked Fluff Ball if this was its boss’s doing, yet the cold system remained silent.

In the end, she could only conclude it wasn’t.

Caelan also noticed the rain.

He opened his eyes and suddenly stood up.

Aria turned to him with a look of confusion.

"Don’t go out no matter what you hear. I’ll be back later."

"Where are you going? It’s raining, and... and what if something comes up!" Aria asked, her voice filled with sudden anxiety.

After seeing what a mutant monster really looked like, she realized surviving this apocalypse alone would not be easy.

She was just a mortal, unlike the male lead who had gained supernatural abilities from the very beginning of the plot.

A mortal woman like her... wait, why was she afraid?

She had a system to depend on!

Suddenly, her little worries faded, and she tapped her chest, feeling more confident again.

"Yeah, okay, go. I won’t go out. I promise!"

Caelan gave her one last look before leaving the room, leaving Aria and the mute boy alone together.

He knew the mutant monsters and other infected creatures would have a slower sense of smell tonight.

The rain would make it harder for them to detect human blood.

With that knowledge in mind, Caelan left the second floor and stepped into the night to gather supplies and hunt the infected.

Unaware of the male lead’s plan, Aria only felt relieved as the room’s temperature grew more comfortable around her.

"The heroine can save anyone with her fluids... with her blood, right?"

Aria asked as she crouched in front of the mute boy.

"Host, as written in your novel The Crazy Ones in the Apocalyptic World Are Crazy, the heroine awakened her healing ability on the night of the apocalypse. Her body became a healing vessel, and her fluids, especially her blood, can cure the infected."

"But I cannot find the heroine right now, can I? The A-virus might soon take over his system."

Aria sighed solemnly, looking at the mute boy who stared back at her.

Dark veins had begun to spread in his eyes, slowly overtaking the whites of his eyes.

The Fluff Ball system floated around her and spoke words that made Aria’s eyes light up.

"Host cannot locate the heroine at this time. Current level is insufficient to track individuals. However, Host may delay the virus from spreading by designating him as a helper."

"Helper? You mean... one of my tasks is to hire two helpers, right?"