Chapter 100: A Home Without a Touch of Home

Since Summer had no connections to Zone 33 or any reason to stay there, she asked Archer to take her back to Zone 0.

Before this, Archer had already hired some staff to clean her new apartment. They had even taken the clothes Ilya bought for her and neatly arranged them in her wardrobe.

"The staff have also stocked your kitchen and refrigerator," Archer explained. "But if you don’t feel like cooking, you can always order food from the restaurant on the ground floor."

Curious, Summer opened the kitchen cabinets and peeked inside the refrigerator. To her surprise, they were fully stocked with all kinds of ingredients, from different types of meat she couldn’t even identify to fresh green vegetables, cooking spices, and even fruits.

Looking at all that food, Summer couldn’t help but feel tempted to try cooking something herself.

Unfortunately, no matter how fresh and tempting the ingredients looked, her cooking skills were practically nonexistent.

If anything, she was more likely to turn those expensive ingredients into a disaster than a decent meal.

"What if I just hire a private cook?" Summer asked casually as she looked through the ingredients in her kitchen. "Do you know anyone I could hire?"

Ilya had promised to cook for her, but Summer knew how busy he was. She didn’t want to keep bothering him whenever she wanted a decent meal.

Mr. Alfred seemed like he might make a good cook, but she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of letting a man into her apartment all the time.

Of course, Archer and Ilya were exceptions. She had no problem letting those two come and go as they pleased.

"What kind of chef are you looking for?" Archer asked as he sat down at the kitchen island. "I can arrange everything for you."

"Anyone who can cook delicious meals is fine with me," Summer replied. "But I’d prefer a woman."

"Of course," Archer answered almost immediately.

His response was so quick that Summer couldn’t help but glance at him. He looked perfectly calm, as if hiring a female cook had been his plan all along and he had never even considered suggesting a man.

Before Summer could say anything, Archer added, "I’ll try to find someone who suits you best, but for today, we can just order food from the restaurant. After all... I’m not exactly good at cooking."

As he said that, he turned his face away, looking a little embarrassed.

Summer knew that Ilya was usually the one who cooked for him, so she could easily guess why Archer wasn’t confident in his cooking skills.

"Same here," Summer admitted with a shrug. "Honestly, it’s better for us to stay away from the stove than risk burning down this beautiful kitchen."

She glanced at the spotless kitchen before turning back to Archer with a smile. "So, what do you want to eat?"

Archer thought about it for a moment before suggesting steak and mashed potatoes. Summer had no objections, so they quickly placed their order and settled down to wait for their food.

The rest of the day passed peacefully, which was exactly what Summer needed after all the horrible things that had happened earlier.

Unfortunately, her peaceful evening didn’t last long with Archer around, as he had to leave in the late afternoon to take care of some work.

Once he was gone, Summer found herself alone in her new apartment and since she had nothing better to do, she decided to take a closer look at her surroundings.

The apartment had a layout similar to Ilya’s, with a spacious living room, a modern kitchen, and large windows that let in plenty of natural light. Everything looked clean and new, but the place felt a little too empty.

There were barely any decorations, and the plain walls made the apartment feel more like a show room than a home.

Summer stood in the middle of the living room, slowly turning around as she took everything in. "Should I make some changes here?" she murmured.

She tilted her head and thought about it for a while. After all, this was her new home, so she wanted it to feel warm and cozy rather than cold and lifeless like her old living place in the lab.

With that in mind, she finally opened her terminal and began browsing for furniture and decorations. However, before she could get very far, a new message suddenly appeared on her screen.

[Would you like some recommendations to turn your beautiful home into a space that suits your taste?]

Summer’s eyes lit up. "Oh, that sounds useful."

Without wasting any time, she clicked on [Yes].

[Please allow access to scan your home.]

Summer agreed once again, curious to see what the terminal would come up with.

After scanning her apartment, the system quickly provided Summer with several interior design recommendations, complete with furniture, decorations, and matching color schemes.

However, Summer wasn’t impressed by any of them.

"Why does everything look so boring?" she muttered as she scrolled through the suggestions. Some designs looked too plain, while others were so fancy that she couldn’t imagine herself living in them.

In the end, she decided to browse for furniture and decorations on her own. Unfortunately, that didn’t help much either.

Summer spent quite some time looking through different designs, but the more she browsed, the more confused she became. She knew she wanted her apartment to look beautiful and cozy, but she had no idea where to start.

Should she go with pink and white? Or perhaps soft green and cream? What about adding a few colorful decorations to make the place feel more lively?

Every time she found something she liked, she would imagine how it looked in her apartment and then change her mind a few seconds later.

"This is harder than I thought!" she complained.

In the end, Summer decided to leave the apartment as it was for the time being. She figured that she could always come back to the problem later when she had a better idea of what she wanted.

However, after a few days she still hadn’t made a single change to the place.

Whenever she had some free time, she would open her terminal and browse through interior designs again, only to close it without making a decision.

Before she knew it, the day she had been waiting for finally arrived.

It was time to head to the Blackstar Restricted Sector with Balian.