Chapter 63
When their eyes met, Suzy clearly saw the shock in Thomas’s gaze.
She blinked in confusion. Was it really necessary to look that surprised?
Out of courtesy, she lifted a hand and greeted him with a smile.
"Welcome back," she mouthed silently.
Thomas’s pupils trembled slightly. At the same moment, he looked away, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
As if he had seen something he wasn’t supposed to see.
The reaction stung more than Suzy expected.
What was that supposed to mean?
She had thought their relationship was at least decent. But the way he reacted now felt strangely hurtful.
It almost made her feel like she was something unpleasant he didn’t want to look at.
Suzy pursed her lips in quiet dissatisfaction.
Before she could dwell on it, a sudden notification from the system rang out in her mind—
[Suitable target detected: Thomas Kim]
[Rank: SSS]
[Affection level sufficient. Binding requirements met. Proceed with binding?]
Wait—
Wait, what?!
Had she heard that correctly?
Suzy froze for a moment. Then a surge of pure exhilaration rushed through her.
His affection level had actually reached the requirement!
Did it just increase?
But his reaction just now had clearly looked so strange...
Could it be that he was just shy?
Her earlier irritation vanished without a trace.
"Bind! Bind!" Suzy screamed internally.
This was exactly the moment she had been waiting for.
All it took was their reunion—she hadn’t even done anything special—and Thomas’s affection level had already risen into the binding range.
It was an unexpected windfall.
The sudden prompt made the way Suzy looked at him grow even more intense.
Thomas seemed to sense her gaze and glanced back.
The instant their eyes met again, he quickly looked away once more.
But Suzy didn’t care about his reaction anymore.
She waited patiently for the system’s reward announcement.
[Binding successful. Reward distribution will now begin. The host may choose one of the following:]
Suzy blinked in surprise.
So this time, the reward was a choice?
[Reward Option 1: Physical Combat Enhancement Card]
[Reward Option 2: Firearms Mastery Enhancement Card]
[Reward Option 3: Loyalty Card]
The three options instantly triggered her chronic indecision.
All of them sounded amazing.
She hadn’t expected binding Thomas to come with rewards like this. Which one should she choose?
Physical combat enhancement...
That sounded extremely useful.
In an apocalypse, improving physical combat ability meant directly increasing one’s survival strength. The idea tempted her deeply.
She remembered from the dream that a local gang leader had once dominated an entire district purely because of his formidable combat skills.
But...
Firearms mastery also sounded incredible.
If she didn’t have guns, she could dismiss this option immediately.
The problem was... She did have guns.
Choosing firearms mastery would make her even more formidable. If anyone foolishly tried to mess with her, she could simply pull out a gun and go bang bang bang.
The thought made her heart race.
Two seconds later, however, Suzy forced herself to calm down.
She suddenly realized something extremely important.
Guns couldn’t be used right now.
The extreme heat disaster had begun, but national order still existed.
If she dared to whip out a firearm in public right now, she would be arrested in seconds.
So even if she chose firearms mastery at this moment, it wouldn’t be very useful. There would be no opportunity to actually use it.
During the coming months of disaster, she could still practice with guns inside her spatial dimension and gradually improve anyway.
With that in mind, firearms mastery suddenly seemed less urgent.
But...
What exactly was a Loyalty Card?
The question had barely formed in Suzy’s mind when the system displayed an explanation.
Loyalty Card—simply put:
Once used, the bound individual would become one hundred percent loyal to Suzy.
The Loyalty Card could only be used once—binding it to a single person.
Suzy paused.
Almost instinctively, she glanced at Leonard beside her.
Leonard’s attention was entirely focused on Thomas; he hadn’t noticed her glance at all.
The Loyalty Card was certainly tempting.
Suzy could already feel her decision narrowing.
It was now between the Physical Combat Enhancement Card and the Loyalty Card.
For her current situation, both rewards were incredibly practical.
The problem was—she still hadn’t decided which one she truly wanted.
A choice between two.
She hesitated.
"Can I decide later?" Suzy asked silently.
[The host has twenty-four hours to make a decision.]
Only then did Suzy relax.
A full day to think.
That meant she didn’t have to rush. She could weigh the options carefully.
While Suzy was still turning the choices over in her mind, Thomas had already walked up to them.
"Long time no see," he said, looking at the two of them.
Leonard laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.
"It really has been a while. What—half a year now?"
The last time Leonard had seen Thomas was six months ago during a business trip overseas, when the two of them had shared a meal together.
Thomas nodded.
"Well then," Leonard continued cheerfully, "let’s get going. I’ve booked a restaurant. Tonight’s dinner is to welcome you back."
The three of them headed down to the underground parking garage and retrieved the car.
Leonard took the driver’s seat. He gestured for Suzy and Thomas to sit together in the back so they could chat.
The air inside the car was blissfully cool—Leonard had already turned on the air conditioning.
Yet despite walking only a short distance from the terminal, all three of them had broken into a sweat.
"This weather is getting hotter by the day," Leonard muttered.
"It’s about the same everywhere else in the world," Thomas replied.
Suzy didn’t join their conversation. Her mind was still occupied with the reward choices.
If only she could pick both...
Leonard started the car, then suddenly brought Suzy into the conversation.
"Suzy, you and Thomas know each other, too, don’t you? Why are you both so quiet?"
Suzy let out a dry little laugh and turned her head toward Thomas—only to discover that he had been looking at her for some time.
"Talking... we’re talking now," she said with a smile. "How have you been lately?"
"Not bad," Thomas replied.
"That’s good."
They held each other’s gaze for a moment.
Then neither spoke.
When Suzy had been abroad, she and Thomas hadn’t talked much to begin with. Now she found herself even more at a loss for what to say.
Her lips parted slightly—then she thought better of it.
Better to say nothing than say something wrong.
Fortunately, Leonard continued chatting from the front seat, occasionally tossing out new topics so the atmosphere inside the car wouldn’t become too awkward.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the restaurant Leonard had reserved.
Once seated, Leonard handed the menu to the two of them.
"I’ll be back in a minute," he said, heading off to the restroom.
The private dining room fell quiet. Only Suzy and Thomas remained.
Suzy flipped through the menu, though in truth she was sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye.
Thomas was sipping a glass of iced tea, his gaze turned toward the window.
Then suddenly, he spoke. "How... how have you been lately?"
Suzy blinked. Was Thomas actually asking about her? She hadn’t expected that.
"I’ve been alright," she answered.
Her reply left him silent. The room fell quiet for several seconds.
Then Thomas slid something across the table until it entered Suzy’s field of vision.
"This," he said, "is for you."