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He revealed everything. The cost, the use, and the limitations of each of the upgrades along with their ultimate goal. Yet, once everything was said… nothing was actually done.

\'We could barely afford to go through with getting the settlement,\' Mathew thought as he managed to find a relatively empty spot where he couldn\'t see anyone moving around while busy with their own tasks. \'So how the hell are we going to gather more of the cores now?\'

The simplest answer was to go on another expedition. Theoretically speaking, they didn\'t reach the castle that Mathew wanted to check out, so they could try approaching it again.

Yes, theoretically.

Because Mathew just recently brought forth the biggest purchase in his life so far. And with how he was already struggling with the evolved zombies, how he needed everyone\'s help to take down an evolved monster… Now that the cores he spent would enter the zombie economy, just what kind of opponent he was supposed to expect?

\'It\'s already pretty damn hard to find the zombies anywhere near the fortresses. Meaning, if we want to farm the cores, we need to go far beyond the range of our supply,\' Mathew thought, sitting down directly on the ground before using a piece of rubble as his backrest.

"What are you doing, brooding by yourself out in the sticks?" Leila asked as she slowly walked from behind the building\'s corner and joined Mathew by the compound\'s wall.

Just two days ago, this place would be bustling with zombies and their constant attempts at breaking past the barrier. In those two short days, though, the situation changed. And for whatever reason, there wasn\'t even a single zombie anywhere in sight.

\'On one end, this allowed my workers to clean this area up,\' Mathew thought trying to change his mindset by thinking about the positives. \'But on the other…\'

The perspective of walking halfway across the city just to find some zombies his group could hunt dawned on Mathew\'s mind again, forcing his head down and preventing him from opening his mouth.

"Hey! I\'m talking to you!" Leila protested as she heavily sat down right by Mathew\'s side. "Don\'t ignore me like that!"

"Ah," Mathew twitched. "I\'m sorry, "he then lowered his head in apology. "I was too deep in my thoughts to notice you. Were you saying something?"

Instead of replying, Leila scoffed and turned her head around with a short \'hmph\'. Her knee moved up and down as she tapped her heel against the ground…

No.

Leila kept up her act only for a moment before her body relaxed and returned to a simple, sitting position. She then stretched herself to the back before relaxing her entire body.

"I can tell that you were thinking hard about something," Leila said in a low, gut-born tone. "And it irks me that you don\'t want to share."

Mathew raised his eyes and looked at the girl only to then turn his eyes back towards the nothingness of the empty city.

"I\'m just trying to figure out how to get more cores," Mathew admitted. He then heaved a long, deep sigh.

"I guess this explains why you are so keen to get this entire production thing going," Leila then probed a little.

"That\'s right," Mathew was pretty damn quick to reply. "Only once we can get more cores without actually going to hunt will I feel any better," he admitted. "Right now, it\'s already a huge pain in the ass to find more cores. But what about the future? What about when we clean the entire city out of any remaining zombies? What about…"

Mathew cut his words short.

Leila was intelligent enough to see through his worries now.

And the greatest problem of having to invest a considerable number of cores… for something that would provide an unknown amount of cores back.

"I hate how we always need to risk our lives if we want to improve anything," Mathew admitted in a suddenly lower voice. Once again, he hung his head low from his shoulders as he locked in eyes on the grass. "But no matter how much I try, I can\'t find any other way."

"It\'s okay," Leila said, shooting her hand to the side and resting it upon Mathew\'s shoulder. "I can see how hard you are trying for our sake," she added as she reaffirmed her grasp on Mathew\'s shoulder before pulling him to the side, forcing his head down on her lap. "We all can," she reassured again while moving her hand to stroke Mathew\'s hair.

"What are you doing?" Mathew asked after taking some time to enjoy the softness at the back of his head.

"It was originally supposed to be my night before the morning came," Leila pointed out with a resolute smile, the movements of her hand only intensifying. "So, is there anything wrong with me just playing around like that for a bit?"

Mathew took in a deep breath… and ended up releasing it once he realized he had no good way of pushing the girl aside.

"I know that you want to rush out and gather the stones," Leila whispered as her fingers brushed against the skin of Mathew\'s scalp. "I know that you would be ready to start another expedition right away, all for the sake of growing the strength of our camp…"

Leila\'s voice faded into the nothingness of the late afternoon. The movements of her hands slowed down as well as the look on her face turned nostalgic.

"I can still remember how this place used to be before everything started," Leila then whispered, her eyes locked on the buildings on the other side of the compound\'s barrier. "And right now they are just at a hand\'s reach… You can see those buildings being there… But they are nothing more but a pretty illusion," she muttered.

\'What is she on about?\' Mathew asked himself, confused by the sudden shift of tone in the girl\'s words and actions.

"This illusion works only because you forced all of the zombies out of this area," Leila added after a few more moments. "It\'s thanks to you that I can stare at this illusion as long as I won\'t reach out to see that it really is nothing more but a mirage…"

The girl continued, regardless of Mathew\'s confusion.

"And for letting me have this sweet delusion in this broken world," Leila lowered her eyes and looked down. She then leaned in, bringing her face closer to Mathew\'s lips. "I thank you," she whispered, leaning in a tiny bit further and placing a gentle kiss on Mathew\'s mouth.