Chapter 56: Growable

The rustling of fabric suddenly stopped.

The slender figure standing in the children’s clothing section slowly turned around.

The pink dress in her hands slipped slightly as a pair of wary eyes locked onto Ethan.

Moonlight spilled through the broken windows, outlining her thin frame. She looked like a startled deer, tense and ready to bolt at the slightest movement.

"Don’t run."

Ethan softened his voice and slowed his steps.

"I’m not going to hurt you."

The girl hesitated.

She didn’t relax.

Her right hand slipped behind her back and quietly pulled out a kitchen knife.

Ethan noticed the movement but made no attempt to stop her.

Instead, he pulled a flashlight from his backpack and switched it on.

The beam cut through the darkness and illuminated her face.

She still looked remarkably young.

Her cheekbones were slightly prominent, her lips were chapped, and her face was pale and gaunt. Yet her eyes were surprisingly bright and alert.

[Gift target detected: Penny Eira, 18 years old, Beauty Score 85, Growable.]

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

A Beauty Score of 85 barely met the system’s requirement.

But the word "Growable" immediately caught his attention.

He studied her more carefully.

She looked younger than eighteen, largely because of how thin she was. Her underfed body and youthful features made it easy to understand what the system meant.

She hadn’t fully matured physically.

If she survived and eventually returned to normal health, her Beauty Score could potentially rise well above ninety.

"Hello. My name is Penny Eira. I... I..."

Her voice trembled.

She clearly wanted to say something, but her nervousness made the words stick in her throat.

"Why have you been following me?"

Ethan switched off the flashlight so the beam wouldn’t keep shining directly into her eyes.

"I... I wanted to ask you for some food."

"Oh?"

Ethan leaned casually against a shelf.

"Why come to me?"

Penny’s cheeks flushed.

She lowered her head and quietly explained, "This morning, I saw you give a student some compressed biscuits in the alley. I thought... maybe you could spare some food for us too."

Her fingers tightened around the knife.

"My little sisters are starving."

As they talked, Ethan gradually pieced together her situation.

Not long after the apocalypse began, Penny had found the Core of a severely injured Mutant Owl and used it to awaken her Flight Ability.

Unfortunately, the Ability wasn’t suited for direct combat.

It made her extremely fast and allowed her to glide at low altitudes, but she couldn’t freely soar through the sky or fight powerful mutant creatures.

Her greatest advantage was her speed.

When danger appeared, she ran.

That was how she’d managed to survive until now.

"I have a base."

Penny hesitated before continuing.

"It’s very well hidden."

Ethan’s interest immediately sharpened.

"My sister and my neighbor’s little sister are there. The three of us depend on each other, and I’m the only one who comes outside to search for food."

"How well hidden?"

Penny hesitated again.

"It’s inside the clock tower of the city library. There’s a maintenance passage underneath it that leads to an underground air-raid shelter."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The library wasn’t far from the Museum.

That made the location useful.

If he needed to search the southern part of the city again for the Golden-Winged Corpse, having a secure place nearby would save him a great deal of trouble.

He looked into Penny’s sincere eyes.

Then he made his offer.

"If you let me stay at your base, I’ll provide enough food to keep the three of you from starving."

Penny froze.

She clearly hadn’t expected such an offer.

Since the apocalypse began, she’d encountered plenty of men who used food as bait to deceive desperate survivors. Some pretended to help women only to demand something in return.

But Ethan’s expression was different.

There was no obvious greed in his eyes.

No predatory smile.

He wasn’t even trying to hide what he wanted.

She also remembered how casually he’d given food to that student earlier.

After a moment of hesitation, she bit her lower lip.

"You... you won’t hurt us, right?"

"If I wanted to hurt you, would you still be standing here?"

Ethan shrugged.

"Besides, I’m not interested in children."

The answer finally eased some of the tension in her shoulders.

Penny nodded.

"Okay. I’ll take you there. But you can’t tell anyone where it is. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise, a Mutant Owl will swoop down and carry me away?"

Ethan smiled.

Penny stared at him for a second.

Then a small laugh escaped her.

The corners of her mouth lifted.

It was the first genuine smile she’d had since the apocalypse began.

Ethan bent down, picked up the pink dress she’d dropped, and stored it inside his Survival Space.

He then searched the rest of the clothing store, taking anything that might prove useful.

When he finished, the two of them left.

They moved through several narrow alleys, keeping to the shadows.

They hadn’t gone far when Penny suddenly grabbed Ethan’s wrist.

"Crouch!"

Ethan immediately lowered himself.

Three enormous bats swept over them.

Their wingspans stretched nearly three meters, and their long fangs flashed beneath the moonlight before they disappeared into the darkness.

Penny remained crouched until the creatures were safely out of sight.

"Mutant Vampire Bats," she whispered. "They come out to hunt at night. If they lock onto you, you’re in serious trouble."

Once the bats disappeared, Penny stood and continued leading the way.

Eventually, they reached a side entrance of the library.

Penny clearly knew the building well.

She led Ethan around the clock tower and stopped beside its base.

After checking the area and making sure nobody was nearby, she struggled to move a heavy concrete slab.

A narrow opening appeared beneath it.

The entrance was barely wide enough for one person.

"There’s a staircase inside."

Penny crawled through first.

Ethan followed.

Once both of them were inside, Penny pulled the slab back into place, completely concealing the entrance.

They descended more than twenty steps.

At the bottom, the narrow passage suddenly opened into a large underground chamber.

The air-raid shelter was roughly one hundred square meters.

Clean bedding had been stacked against one wall.

A folding table stood in the middle of the room, with a half-burned candle flickering on top.

Two little girls were curled beneath the blankets.

The sound of approaching footsteps woke them.

Both immediately sat up and stared nervously at Ethan.

"Don’t be afraid."

Penny walked over and gently patted their heads.

"He’s a good person. He can give us food."

She pointed toward the older girl.

"This is my sister, Maya Eira."

Then she gestured toward the younger child.

"And this is our neighbor’s little girl, Lana. Her grandmother was killed during a zombie attack, so I brought her here with us."

Maya looked around ten years old, with large, watchful eyes.

Lana was even younger, perhaps six or seven. She clutched a doll against her chest and hid partly behind Maya, peeking at Ethan from the side.

Ethan opened his Survival Space and took out a can of beef.

He handed it to Penny.

"Give them something to eat first."

Penny stared at the can.

A flash of surprise crossed her face before she accepted it with both hands.

[Gifted supplies: Canned Beef.]

[Gift target detected: Penny Eira, 18 years old, Beauty Score 85, Growable.]

[First-time gift detected. Base Return unlocked.]

[Penny Eira, 18 years old, Beauty Score 85, Growable, Rarity 100.]

[Base Return: 60x.]

[Target emotional fluctuation detected: Gratitude + Hope.]

[Super-High Bonus Drop triggered!]

[Returned: Canned Beef ×120.]

[Cooldown: 7 days.]

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up.

Beauty Score 85, yet a Base Return of 60x?

That was even higher than Debbie’s.

So Rarity really mattered this much?

He glanced at the additional 120 cans of beef inside his Survival Space.

His mood immediately improved.

He took out three more cans, half a bag of rice, and a 5-Gallon Water Jug.

"This should be enough to keep the three of you fed for about a week."

Penny stared at the supplies in her arms.

Her eyes gradually reddened.

Since the apocalypse began, aside from her deceased parents, nobody had treated them this generously.

"Thank you..."

Her voice cracked.

"We won’t take your food for free. I can move quickly. I can scout for you and gather information."

"No need to repay me right away."

Ethan waved her off and looked around the shelter.

As they talked, he learned more about Penny’s past.

Before the apocalypse, her father had been the director of the city library.

Penny had often visited him there when she was younger and had eventually discovered the hidden air-raid shelter beneath the clock tower.

After the apocalypse began, both of her parents were killed.

With nowhere else to go, she brought Maya and Lana here.

Ethan inspected the entrance again.

The shelter was extremely well hidden.

The maintenance passage was barely wide enough for one person, making it difficult for large creatures to enter. Anyone attempting to attack from outside would have to squeeze through the narrow passage one at a time.

The reinforced concrete walls were another advantage.

Even most mutant creatures would struggle to break through them.

It was exactly the kind of place Ethan could use as a temporary base.

"I plan to stay here for a while," Ethan said. "If everything remains safe, I’ll bring my companions here in a few days."

Penny nodded without hesitation.

"That’s fine. It’s very safe here."

Ethan watched the three girls sitting together and eating the canned beef.

He quietly calculated his next move.

Once their supplies ran low, he could simply give Penny more food.

Her Growable Beauty Score and perfect Rarity made her an extremely valuable target for the Gift Return System.

For now, she was his most reliable Bonus Drop source.

---

Three kilometers away, inside a residential building, Dr. Elena Vance stood outside her brother’s apartment.

The door was slightly open.

"Brother? Sister-in-law?"

She called softly.

No one answered.

A bad feeling settled in her stomach.

Elena pushed the door open and hurried inside.

The apartment was a mess.

Furniture had been overturned, drawers had been pulled open, and belongings were scattered across the floor.

Before communications were cut off, her brother had told her that he and his wife were trapped in the Museum and couldn’t get out.

He had also told her that his young daughter and grandmother were still at home.

But neither of them was here now.

Elena’s heart tightened.

’Did my brother come back for them?’

Or...

She immediately stopped herself.

She didn’t want to imagine the alternative.

After standing there for several seconds, Elena grabbed her backpack and turned toward the door.

If her brother and his wife were still trapped in the Museum, she had to find them.

Without wasting another second, she left the apartment and headed toward the Museum.