The three continued walking deeper into the forest, following a narrow path between the trees.
Nex walked at the front with his spear in hand, occasionally pushing aside branches that blocked their way. Leslie followed behind him, while Faust examined the surrounding plants.
After walking for some time, they began hearing the sound of flowing water.
"Wait. Do you hear that?" Nex asked.
Leslie raised her head.
"Water?"
"Yeah. Sounds like a river."
Nex pushed through a cluster of bushes, revealing a large river running through the forest.
The water was remarkably clear. Sunlight reflected off its surface, and they could even see the rocks scattered across the riverbed.
"Oh, finally!"
Nex hurried toward the river, crouching near the water's edge.
"We won't have to worry about water anymore."
He dipped both hands into the river and scooped up some water.
However, just as he was about to bring it to his mouth, Leslie suddenly rushed forward.
"Don't!"
SMACK!
She slapped his hands away, sending the water splashing onto the ground.
Nex stared at his empty hands.
"Hey! What was that for?"
Leslie glared at him.
"You promised me you wouldn't do this again!"
Nex blinked.
"Do what?"
"Drink water without checking it first!"
He glanced toward the river.
"But look at it. The water's completely clear."
"So what?"
Leslie pointed toward the river.
"Just because it looks clean doesn't mean it's safe to drink!"
Nex scratched his head.
"Well, I thought..."
"No means no!"
Leslie interrupted him.
"We have to boil it before drinking. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
Nex opened his mouth, but stopped when he noticed her expression.
Leslie's eyes had begun to water.
"Last time, you did the same thing. You drank water without boiling it, and then you got sick."
She lowered her head.
"You had a fever for days. You could barely move, and I didn't know what to do."
"Leslie..."
"You almost died."
Her hands tightened into fists.
"I don't want to go through that again."
Nex fell silent.
Leslie looked up at him.
"You know you're all I have left now..."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Nex let out a sigh.
He reached out and gently patted her head.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."
Leslie looked away.
"You always say that."
"I mean it this time."
Nex smiled awkwardly.
"I'll be more careful. I promise."
Leslie stared at him for a few seconds before finally nodding.
"You'd better."
"Yes, ma'am."
Nex raised both hands in surrender.
Leslie gave him another glare, but the tension in her expression began to ease.
Faust watched their exchange quietly.
For some reason, it reminded him of the past.
***
A familiar voice suddenly came to mind.
"Faust!"
He could almost see Eila standing in front of him, her hands resting on her hips.
"How many times must I tell you to wash your hands before eating?"
Faust remembered looking down at the food in front of him.
"But I already washed them at the lab."
Eila frowned.
"And how long ago was that?"
"Not that long."
"Faust."
"What?"
"Wash your hands again."
"But..."
"No buts!"
She pointed toward the sink.
"Go wash them."
He remembered sighing before reluctantly getting up.
"Fine, fine."
"And use soap!"
"I know!"
The memory ended as quickly as it had appeared.
Faust looked at Nex and Leslie again.
A faint, wry smile appeared on his face.
'Some things never change.'
He understood why Leslie had reacted so strongly.
After losing so many people, even a small risk could become difficult to accept when someone important was involved.
Faust turned toward the river.
"Well, let's see."
He crouched beside the water and dipped one finger into it.
Then, before either of them could react, he brought his finger to his mouth.
"Faust!"
Leslie stared at him.
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
Nex looked equally surprised.
"Seriously, man?"
Faust tasted the water before lowering his hand.
"Hmm."
He examined the river again.
"The water seems fine."
Leslie frowned.
"That's exactly what Nex said!"
Faust chuckled.
"Relax. My body is different from yours."
He stood up.
"I can safely sample things that would normally be dangerous to an ordinary human."
Leslie looked at him with concern.
"But what if there's something harmful in it?"
"Then I'll deal with it."
Faust glanced toward the river.
"Besides, tasting the water is only a preliminary check. It doesn't tell us whether there are harmful microorganisms inside."
He turned toward Nex.
"You should still boil it before drinking."
Nex nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. I learned my lesson."
Leslie crossed her arms.
"Good."
Faust smiled slightly.
"I'll handle the testing if we encounter anything unusual. You two don't need to take unnecessary risks."
Leslie's expression softened.
"Thank you, Faust."
Nex nodded in appreciation.
"Thanks."
He then turned toward the river.
"Alright. Time to collect some water."
Faust expected him to take a few containers from his backpack.
However, Nex didn't even reach for it.
Instead, he extended his hand.
A moment later, several empty plastic bottles appeared in front of him.
Each bottle was large enough to hold two liters of water.
Faust paused.
'Hmm?'
Nex crouched and began filling the bottles from the river.
Faust watched for a moment before speaking.
"How did you do that?"
Nex stopped.
"Do what?"
"Those bottles."
Faust pointed toward the containers.
"Where did you get them?"
Nex's expression changed.
"Oh..."
He glanced at Leslie.
Before he could think of an explanation, she answered.
"That's one of Nex's abilities!"
Nex immediately turned toward her.
"Leslie!"
She blinked.
"What?"
He gave her a meaningful look.
Leslie understood what he was worried about.
However, she didn't seem particularly concerned.
"Don't worry. It's Faust."
Nex sighed.
"That's not the point."
"I know, but we can trust him."
Leslie looked toward Faust.
"Besides, he might be able to help us understand your ability better."
Nex hesitated.
He looked at the bottles in his hands before turning toward Faust.
"I was hoping to keep this a secret."
Faust nodded.
"Understandable."
Nex studied his expression.
After a moment, he sighed.
"Alright. Just don't tell anyone else, okay?"
"Don't worry."
Faust glanced at the bottles again.
"Now, could you explain how it works?"
Nex placed one of the bottles beside him.
"Well, it's a little difficult to describe."
He scratched his head.
"Basically, I feel like there's another space somewhere inside me."
"Inside your body?"
"Not exactly."
Nex paused, searching for the right words.
"It's more like... inside my soul?"
Faust raised an eyebrow.
"Your soul?"
"Yeah. I know it sounds weird."
Nex extended his hand.
One of the empty bottles disappeared.
A moment later, it reappeared in his palm.
"See? I can move things in and out of that space whenever I want."
Faust's interest immediately increased.
'A storage ability?'
He watched Nex repeat the process.
The bottle disappeared without leaving any visible trace, then returned a moment later.
There was no apparent opening, distortion, or other physical effect that Faust could detect with his eyes.
'Could be some form of spatial manipulation.'
He considered the possibility.
'If it's a separate dimension, this ability might be far more useful than simply storing objects.'
Faust looked toward Nex.
"When did you first discover this ability?"
Nex opened his mouth, but Leslie answered first.
"Not long after the apocalypse began."
Faust turned toward her.
"That early?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
"It happened when we were being attacked."
Nex's expression became more serious.
"Yeah. That was a bad day."
He placed another filled bottle on the ground.
"A group of people attacked us. They had guns, and they started shooting."
Faust listened.
"We tried to run, but there was nowhere to go."
Nex looked at his hands.
"I thought we were finished."
He paused.
"I remember wishing I could make us disappear. Just get us away from there somehow."
"And then?"
"Then one of the things I was holding suddenly vanished."
Nex shook his head.
"At first, I thought I'd dropped it. But somehow, I could still feel it."
"Feel it?"
"Yeah. Like I knew exactly where it was, even though I couldn't see it."
Nex opened his palm.
"And when I tried to bring it back, it appeared in my hand."
Faust nodded slowly.
'So the ability awakened under extreme stress.'