Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Getting to Know You
Julian was surprised by her invitation. He felt that Rayne was too kind for her own good. If he were a man with no morals, she would have invited disaster into her home. Julian felt a pang of unease; he didn’t like the thought of her getting into danger because of her kindness.

“I will graciously accept your kindness,” he said, thanking her for the trouble. He still had time to kill before Damien made his move, so he figured, why not spend some time with Rayne? He was curious about her; something felt a little different about her.

She seemed very prepared, almost as if she had planned her trip here in advance. Either way, he wanted to make sure she was safe for as long as he could.

After their late lunch, Rayne cleaned up the table, pretending to bring the dirty dishes inside to wash them. As soon as she stepped through the door, she tossed them into the trash bin of her system.

Rayne looked out the window and observed Julian for a few minutes. She noticed that he looked like he was in pain. He must have been putting on a brave face in front of me, she thought. She opened her system and took out a small bottle of extra-strength painkillers and a bottle of water.

She walked over to Julian and presented the pills and water to him. “I’m guessing your twisted ankle must be causing you a lot of pain. Here’s a bottle of basic painkillers; hopefully, it can help ease your pain.”

Julian looked at her worried face and felt really warm inside. It had been a while since he’d felt someone’s genuine concern for him, causing him to let out a small smile. He accepted the painkillers, swallowing two pills right away.

“Thank you for these. I’m sure they’ll help with the pain,” he said, motioning for Rayne to sit with him.

“So, tell me a little about yourself, Rayne.”

She looked at him and smiled. She was worried they would just sit there awkwardly, but it seemed that Julian had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation.

“Well, let’s see. I’m 24 years old. I like to cook… well, I guess it would be more accurate to say I enjoy eating good food.”

Julian nodded, remembering her blissful face at the restaurant that one time.

“…I am an architect! Just recently, I got to work on a big contract with REN Corporation!”

Julian looked up at her. “Oh! I’ve heard of REN Corp! What sort of project did you work on?” he asked curiously. A part of him wanted to test her to see if she would disclose information about the bunker.

Rayne smiled. “Oh, it was an interesting project indeed! I got to design the president’s newest vacation home! I heard that he purchased a private island somewhere to have it built!”

Julian’s smile grew upon hearing her answer.

“Oh, that’s exciting indeed!” he said.

Rayne frowned immediately after. “Well, it’s unfortunate that he will probably never see it. I’m sure you’ve seen the news all around; he passed away about a month ago.” She felt bad that they had hired her for such a top-secret project, but it seemed like it was all for nothing. Even with her short design deadline, she felt that it would’ve been impossible to finish the bunker construction before the president’s passing.

Julian tried not to give himself away with his smile. He lowered his gaze, looking at the table. “Yes, I heard about that. Unfortunate that he was killed like that.”

“Yes, I agree. I heard that the killer was immediately arrested. It seems like the president’s family is really pushing to get him life in prison,” said Rayne.

“Well, enough about him. I want to hear more about you,” said Julian. He didn’t realize how flirtatious his words sounded.

The tips of Rayne’s ears turned red. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she started to feel a little hot.

“Umm, where was I? Oh, my hobbies… Well, I’m into the boring stuff. Reading, music, watching TV, playing games on my phone, cooking. Actually, a new hobby of mine used to be marksmanship. I used to attend classes at a shooting range and enjoyed it a lot.”

Julian listened to her attentively, genuinely interested in all of her interests. “Oh, I’m surprised about the marksmanship hobby. I feel like many women tend to shy away from firearms. Maybe one day we can go shooting together.”

Rayne looked over at him, slightly surprised. “Oh, you know how to shoot as well then?” Rayne felt that Julian didn’t look like the type to be into guns.

“Oh yeah, I have a master’s certification across all weapons. Actually, I worked as a weapons researcher for a bit,” replied Julian.

“Oh, wow! I’ve only just finished the intermediate certification course! Maybe you can teach me a thing or two while you’re here!” said Rayne excitedly. It wasn’t every day she could come across someone with such high-level skills!

If she remembered correctly, Yasmin didn’t even have a master’s certification! Rayne wanted to take advantage of Julian’s expertise to improve her own skills.

Julian was really happy that she took the initiative to ask to learn from him. He wanted to repay her for all that she had done for him in this short period of time.

“Of course, I’d be more than happy to teach you. Do you have a firearm with you?” he asked curiously. There were strong gun laws in this country, and he knew that in order to own one, you would need either government approval or some sort of underground involvement.

Rayne thought about how she should answer. She was worried that he would think she was involved in something illegal if she told him she had a gun, but her desire to improve her skills was greater than her worry.

“Yes, I have a basic pistol,” she replied calmly.

Julian looked over, slightly surprised. Seems like she’s quite resourceful. He didn’t show any shock, nor did he ask her where she got it. “Okay, perfect! This is a relatively remote location, so we can start as early as today if you’d like!”

Rayne’s eyes lit up. She was happy that he didn’t probe. Without wasting a moment, she ran back inside the camper and opened her system panel.

She had managed to store three different pistols from the shooting range. Only one of them had a suppressor attached, and naturally, Rayne chose that one. Even though they were in a very remote location, she wanted to avoid drawing attention.

She pulled out the pistol from her system, along with a box of appropriate ammo, then walked back outside.

Julian noticed the silenced pistol and quickly recognized it as a standard model used in shooting ranges. Interesting… I wonder if she somehow managed to snag it from the shooting range, he thought. He was becoming increasingly more interested in Rayne and what she was capable of.

Rayne quickly set up a few empty soda cans as targets at a decent distance from the picnic table.

She stood up, in her practiced stance, and shot three times. She hit one of the cans clearly off the tree stump and another can on its side. She missed her mark on the third can.

She looked over happily, seeing that she had managed to land a good hit on one of the cans!

(A/N: Hey all! Little update~ Once the book reaches 10 reviews I’ll be doing a mini mass release as a thank you! Please leave a review if you’re enjoying the story so far, it’ll help me out a lot <3)