"Commander, commander! Take this too!"
MDR emerged from the back with half a box of instant noodles in one hand and a pack of soda in the other, placing them on the now-cleared counter.
"Good."
Lux stored the noodles and soda in the storage space.
"Oh, Commander, are these drinks safe to drink?"
"Yes, yes, this is soda. Once it's safe, we'll open one for you to try."
"Oh! That's great! There's another bottle—I'll go get it."
MDR excitedly ran back into the living area.
After storing the last phone, Lux saw MDR cheerfully place a bottle of toilet cleaner on the counter.
"What do you want to do with that?"
Lux asked, exasperated.
"Isn't this similar to the drinkable liquid from before?"
"Drinkable? Ha! This is toilet cleaner, not something to drink!"
Lux nearly spat out a mouthful of blood in shock.
"Huh? That's tough… They're both liquids in bottles… Sorry, I've never tried this stuff before."
MDR lowered her head, studying the toilet cleaner curiously.
At this point, Lux realized just how limited MDR and HK416's knowledge of everyday life was.
But considering the barely edible canned rations they handled, he could somewhat understand why MDR couldn't tell the difference between a drink and toilet cleaner.
"Anyway, thanks for the heads-up. Just remember—this stuff is not to be consumed."
"Commander, do you need to rest? If it's too much, I can carry you to the museum. My carrying capacity is fifty kilograms, but my maximum is one hundred."
"Just hand excess gear to MDR. Even as an adult male, I can carry you, though it may reduce my combat efficiency somewhat."
"No need. I can still run… Feeling death approaching, I'll keep running even if I can't. Slower than you, maybe, but I won't fall behind."
Lux shook his head. He had almost no combat ability himself. The kitchen knife HK416 had found at his neighbor's house had been dropped in the firefight.
Their team's combat strength relied entirely on HK416 and MDR. If he slowed them down, their movement would become more difficult.
He had to admit that HK416 and MDR's battlefield performance rivaled that of trained GFL units.
He had assumed the difference between him and tactical dolls was only whether he had a gun—but in the last operation, their psychological fortitude was on another level.
"We should move. Prepare to eliminate any zombies outside the door, if there are any."
Lux pulled out a phone and quickly set ten alarms at maximum volume, placing it under the counter.
Even if zombies entered the room, they would have to destroy the counter to reach the phone.
Lux approached the metal shutter.
"In three minutes, the alarms will go off. Before that, if we run far enough, this phone should keep attracting zombies."
"I know a shortcut to the museum. The map can't be drawn quickly, and we don't have time. Will you trust me again?"
"Of course, Commander. I will always trust you."
HK416 answered immediately.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Miss MDR is very loyal. Naturally, I trust you, Commander!"
"Thanks. Let's go."
Lux quickly pulled up the iron shutter and stepped out of the phone store.
Calm returned, and he finally noticed the street was clogged with cars piled up like a small hill.
Through a shattered window, a zombie with half a mangled face continued gnawing on the remains.
A bus was parked in the distance, its interior darkened by dried blood. The passengers were obviously dead.
Perhaps being a homebody had its advantages… At least he hadn't died in the early outbreak, though his lack of exercise wasn't ideal in the apocalypse.
Following the previous formation, Lux, MDR, and HK416 entered a stone path embedded in the greenery.
Bloodstains were visible, but the dense conifers offered some cover.
Still, through gaps in the trees, Lux could see small groups of zombies on the road, enough to make his heart race—not with excitement, but extreme tension.
As they stepped onto the stone path, the phone store behind them played cheerful music, but in this world, it didn't lift Lux's spirits.
The city scenes confirmed his suspicions: after mass human deaths, zombies would multiply, making resources increasingly scarce.
In the long run, self-sufficiency would be necessary to survive.
With a system and tactical dolls like HK416, he had to seize this chance.
Before other survivors could gather food, he could use system storage to stockpile supplies.
This would help him care for MDR and HK416, or even establish a mining outpost with survivors producing resource points.
Pointing out the path for MDR, Lux also considered long-term plans: acquiring supplies from large Walmart stores or grain depots near City X.
Those grain depots stored tens of thousands of tons and were lightly guarded. Even if the staff turned into zombies, HK416 and MDR could handle them.
The apocalypse was a fixed reality. His task was to keep himself and the tactical dolls safe and comfortable.