Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Teamwork
The bucket had five fish swimming around inside. Rayne smiled at her success, while Julian couldn’t understand how he didn’t manage to hook a single fish!

“You must’ve given me a faulty lure!” announced Julian, trying to come up with any kind of excuse for his failure in catching anything other than clumps of grass.

“Hahah, but you even made me trade fishing rods with you. That doesn’t make sense,” laughed Rayne.

Rayne picked up the bucket of fish. “Let’s call it here and make dinner! I’m thinking grilled fish.”

Julian stood up and grabbed the bucket from her hands. “I may not be able to catch a fish, but I do know how to clean one. Let me clean these here while you get set up.”

“Oh, thank you! I’ll let you handle the cleaning then!” said Rayne as she walked back to the camper.

Once she was alone, she opened her system screen to see what kind of options she had for grills. She felt that grilled fish over a coal/wood fire would be more delicious than gas-grilled fish, so she took out a small tabletop version of the coal grill.

She also found a small bag of charcoal, fire starter, and a lighter, bringing all of these items to the picnic table.

She then went back inside to bring out various spices and dipping sauces suitable for grilled fish.

Julian worked quickly, removing the scales from the fish and gutting them. By the time Rayne set up the table with the grill and spices, he had already finished cleaning the fish.

He slowly walked the bucket of cleaned fish over to the table, marveling at the amount of seasonings and sauces she had prepared! She really has an impressive stash of items and seems prepared for every situation.

Rayne was currently inside the camper steaming a small pot of rice while chopping some fresh vegetables to serve as a side dish.

She noticed that Julian was finished with his task and walked out to prep the fish for grilling.

She opened the cavity of the cleaned fish and seasoned it with minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Then she stuffed it with green onion, oil, rosemary, and lemon slices, closing the cavity with small toothpicks.

Julian watched her precise movements with interest. He’d never really been around people when they cooked, and his own cooking abilities were abysmal. To him, Rayne’s actions seemed like magic, transforming a simple fish into an appetizing meal.

“Could you start the fire in the grill? I need to go back inside and check on the rice,” said Rayne.

“Yeah, leave it to me,” answered Julian as he got up to start setting up the fire in the small grill.

Rayne walked back inside to finish chopping the vegetables. Once the rice finished, she stored it in her system, then brought the entire pot out and placed it on the table.

The coals in the grill were glowing red, indicating that the grill had reached the appropriate temperature. Rayne placed two prepped fish on the grill, hearing the nice sizzling sound.

A little while later, only the sounds of eating could be heard.

Julian ate with relish, enjoying the taste of freshly caught fish. This was a very novel experience for him, and one he would remember for a long time.

“Thank you for the meal, Rayne. Not only did you cook everything so well, but you were also the one who caught all of the fish. I feel like that useless live-in husband who relies on his wife for everything,” said Julian.

Rayne blushed at the comparison of being a wife and answered, “Don’t feel like that. You helped clean the fish, which is my least favorite part. You also started the fire, not to mention your shooting lessons!”

“Haha, well when you put it that way, it sounds like we make a good team.”

She smiled, “Yes, I think we do!”

They both chatted happily, enjoying each other’s company for the rest of the evening.

—

Noah and Ian finally met up at their previously agreed-upon location.

“Were you able to salvage anything from the lab?” asked Ian as he approached Noah.

Noah nodded. “Yes, although a lot of the lab was destroyed from the building’s collapse, we managed to salvage most of the prototypes.”

Ian nodded and sent a message to Alpha Team to gather the prototypes and move them to the bunker.

They then walked out of the small building owned by REN Corp, which was located on a small hillside at the outskirts of the city.

They saw the rubble from the toppled buildings, along with smoke from burning buildings and cars. Alarms and sirens from emergency vehicles were blaring nonstop all day, drowning out the cries of the people.

Ian paused, taking in the sight. “I’ve never seen a disaster this big, and I feel like even the government won’t be able to control the chaos. I’ve heard that similar situations are happening in every city around the world.”

Noah frowned, hearing that they weren’t the only city affected. “Is this the start of the apocalypse? If society collapses, Damien is going to have a field day,” he said.

Ian shook his head. “I just hope it doesn’t get to that point. Let’s go, I told the boss we’d be there by tomorrow morning.”

They walked down toward the large off-road vehicle that was parked on the street below them and drove off toward the bunker.

—–

“How’s your ankle feeling today?” asked Rayne after she greeted Julian the following morning.

Julian had just finished his set of morning push-ups and got up. “It’s getting better and better, all thanks to your attentive care,” he replied, flashing a bright smile.

Rayne’s cheeks flushed. “I didn’t do anything. I’m glad it’s getting better. I’ve been wanting to take a walk around the area soon and was wondering if you’d like to join me?”

Julian was surprised, yet happy, at her invitation. “Sure, I’d love to take a walk around with you. I remember seeing a nice scenic spot a bit higher up in the mountains. If you’d like, we could go there tomorrow. I think I should be okay to walk then.”

Rayne’s eyes lit up hearing his response. “Mhm! I’d love to check it out with you!” she smiled.