Chapter 66: Dinner for Three

Since Ilya had no desire to spend another minute at the hospital, he told Summer that he would pick her up at Zero Headquarters instead.

Summer waited for a while before a jeep finally pulled up at the drop-off point. The window rolled down, revealing Ilya in the driver’s seat.

Summer stared at him for a second. Seriously, how many cars did this man own?

His other car was still sitting at the foot of Mount Nivara.

"Did you wait long?" Ilya asked as he reached over and opened the passenger door from the inside.

Summer climbed in and pulled the door shut behind her. "Not really. You actually got here faster than I expected."

Ilya chuckled. "I just didn’t want to make you wait too long." He glanced at her before adding, "Besides, you must be hungry after all those tests. Want to get dinner?"

That was when Summer finally realized she had not eaten a proper meal since leaving the prison. No wonder she had been feeling hungry and slightly irritated for a while.

"Yes," she answered almost right away. "Do you know any good restaurants here?"

Ilya thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "Actually, I can do better than that. I can cook for you."

Summer blinked a few times. "Really?"

"Yeah." Ilya’s smile became a little softer. "It’s been a while since I cooked because I’ve been so busy, but since you told me to take a few days off, maybe I can start with that."

Summer leaned slightly toward him. "You’re really going to cook for me?"

Ilya looked at her from the corner of his eye. "If you want me to."

Something about the way he said it made Summer’s chest feel strangely warm.

She quickly leaned back again. "Well, I’m not going to say no to free food."

Ilya laughed softly. "Then it’s settled. I’ll cook dinner for you."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Besides, Archer is coming home tonight too. He’ll probably want something good to eat."

After that, Ilya started the engine and drove toward the nearest supermarket.

Summer knew almost nothing about cooking, so she mostly just followed him around while he picked out ingredients.

Every now and then, she would grab something that looked interesting, only for Ilya to quietly put it back and replace it with something more useful.

Surprisingly, the supermarket had almost everything.

The source of the meat was a little questionable, but Ilya assured her that it still tasted almost the same as normal beef and the restaurants also used some questionable meat.

Summer decided not to ask too many questions.

As for the vegetables, the situation was even more interesting.

The farmers in this world were not just farmers. Most of them were also scientists.

For years, they had worked on ways to make damaged soil fertile again so fresh vegetables could grow properly.

In the end, they succeeded by using special energy crystals that could improve the soil and help plants grow.

A little while later, Ilya finally said he had everything he needed.

Summer had planned to pay for the groceries since he was the one cooking for her, but before she could even open her terminal, Ilya had already paid for everything.

He only said, "Don’t worry about it."

Since he clearly had no intention of letting her pay, Summer decided not to argue.

===

Summer stared at the apartment building in front of her in awe because it looked no less expensive than the hotel she had been staying at in Zone 0.

"How much rent do I have to pay to stay here?" Summer asked as they stepped into the elevator, whose walls were made of thick glass.

"Rent?" Ilya raised his eyebrows. "I’m pretty sure Archer already bought an apartment for you on the same floor as mine. He said you asked for a place to live as your first payment."

Oh. She indeed had asked Archer for a place to live in Zone 0.

She just hadn’t expected him to actually buy one for her that fast. Seriously, how did that man manage to get everything done so quickly?!

"I can help you move later," Ilya offered with a smile.

Summer was still trying to process the fact that her living situation had somehow gone from a cheap motel to a luxury apartment in just a few days.

"It’s alright," she finally said. "I don’t really have that much stuff anyway."

The original Summer had been living in a rundown motel in Zone 33 after graduating from the academy.

Money had always been tight, so she could not afford anything better.

That was also why, when her fiancé invited her to enter a B-Rank polluted zone, she agreed almost immediately.

Fortunately, Summer herself never had to experience living in that motel and honestly, she had no interest in going back to collect the things left there either.

Those belongings had never really been hers in the first place. Besides, all the important documents, records, and pictures were already stored digitally anyway.

So instead of returning to that old place, Summer would much rather buy everything new and start over properly.

"Here you go." Ilya opened the door to his apartment and let her walk in first.

Summer stepped inside and immediately looked around. The apartment was spacious but surprisingly simple.

The living room had a large dark couch, a low table, and wide windows that showed most of Zone 0 from above. The kitchen was connected directly to the living room, with a long counter separating the two spaces.

There were not many decorations, but everything looked clean, expensive, and carefully arranged.

"You can look around if you want," Ilya said as he carried the grocery bags toward the kitchen.

Summer nodded. "Don’t mind if I do."

While Ilya started preparing dinner, Summer wandered around the apartment.

She checked the living room first, then peeked at the balcony, where the city lights were already starting to glow below.

There was also a small shelf filled with books, a few old photos, and several military medals that Ilya had apparently never bothered to display properly.

Summer picked up one of the framed photos for a moment and it showed a much younger Archer standing beside Ilya.

"They looked cute," Summer murmured.

"I didn’t look cute."

Summer immediately turned around when she heard that voice and saw Archer already standing behind her, with the teleportation portal just closing behind him.