Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Dinner Party 3
Jess was committed to her attempt and misinterpreted Julian’s silence as interest. “Oh, come on, Julian. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t appreciate a little variety.”

She leaned forward even more, trying to catch his attention. “I mean, I could make something a little more exciting for you. Just imagine—”

Julian’s eyes hardened, and he cut her off mid-sentence. “I’m not interested, Jess,” he said, his voice cold and firm.

The room fell into an awkward silence. Jess’s face turned red in embarrassment, finally snapping out of her delusions.

“I see,” she muttered quietly. She then stood up and excused herself from the table, unable to tolerate the awkward atmosphere any longer.

Julian watched her leave without a word, his expression cold as ice.

He turned back to Rayne, his gaze softening slightly as he gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t mind her,” he said quietly. “The roast was amazing. Really.”

Rayne smiled back at Julian, happy to hear he had enjoyed her cooking. She tried not to think about the situation with Jess too much, shrugging it off as infatuated jealousy.

The rest of dinner went well, filled with smiles and laughter.

Julian turned to face Rayne. “By the way, we’ve made plans to head into the city once the weather gets a little better. Based on the way things have been going, we’ve noticed a downward trend in hurricane severity recently. If things continue this way, we should be safe to go out in a few days.”

Rayne’s expression turned serious, nodding. “Sounds good, I’ll be ready.”

After everyone finished eating, Julian offered to wash the dishes, but Rayne politely declined his offer, saying that making him clean would defeat the purpose of the ‘thank you’ dinner.

Everyone thanked Rayne again for the delicious food and left, going back to rest for the remainder of the evening.

Rayne remained in the kitchen, washing the dishes, pot, and utensils before retiring to her room for the night.

She spent a lot of effort and energy cooking and was feeling tired. After taking a quick shower, she laid down on her comfortable and fluffy bed, falling asleep right away.

The next morning, she woke up and got busy in her new self-proclaimed role of kitchen staff.

She walked over to the kitchen early in the morning and began making some quick, easy-to-reheat breakfast meals so that the guys could easily grab a portion and quickly heat it up at their own convenience.

This kitchen area was empty, giving Rayne freedom to use her system freely. Using the fresh ingredients and seasonings from her system, she made a stack of breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos before moving on to lunch options.

She continued with the sandwich trend, making turkey, tuna, egg salad, ham, and chicken salad sandwiches. Individually wrapping each portion for convenience.

Beside the sandwiches, she made a few different salads and a classic chicken noodle soup, packaging each serving before placing everything into the large refrigerator.

She quickly ate the leftover salad and turned to head back to her room to relax. She felt good being able to contribute and hoped that the guys would find these pre-made meals helpful.

—

Noah walked into the kitchen to make his daily coffee and bowl of instant noodles, but when he opened the refrigerator to get the creamer for his coffee, he was shocked!

The empty shelves were now filled with different types of sandwiches, soup, and salads! Everything was cleanly packed and clearly labeled.

He quickly went back to the pantry and placed the unopened package of instant noodles back where he got it. He opened the fridge once more and chose a ham, egg, and cheese breakfast bagel, placing it in the countertop toaster oven to heat up.

By the time his coffee finished, the breakfast bagel was also done, allowing Noah to save time and enjoy a hearty breakfast.

“This must be Rayne’s doing. I’ll have to tell Ian so he can stop owing Alpha team favors in return for cooked meals,” he mumbled, heading over to find Ian.

Julian had a similar experience, throwing the packet of instant noodles back inside the pantry after he discovered the prepared meals.

Smiling, he turned to look at the door to Rayne’s room. “I’ll have to thank her, this is a pleasant surprise.”

At dinnertime, Rayne decided to provide a hot food option. She made a large chicken pot pie, leaving it on top of the stove for everyone to enjoy if they wanted.

The pot pie was completely devoured minutes after she left it on the stove, causing her to giggle at how fierce these men could be when it came to food!

She continued this trend of restocking meals in the fridge while occasionally serving hot meals, usually for lunch or dinner. Julian, Noah, and Ian were all very happy with the new arrangement, feeling like their quality of life had improved significantly with the new meals.

Four days later, Julian met Rayne in the communal kitchen while she was preparing to make a beef stir-fry for dinner.

“Hey, Rayne. Wow, that smells so good,” he said, walking over to see what she was making.

Rayne smiled. “Tonight it’s beef stir-fry, it will be done soon!” She skillfully tossed the beef with the vegetables inside the wok, causing them to fly up briefly.

Julian watched with interest. “I can’t wait. I’ll have a double portion today!” he said excitedly.

Rayne giggled. “Just like every other night, got it!”

“Oh, come on, it’s so good I can’t help but eat a larger portion!” he laughed, trying to explain himself.

They laughed at each other, creating a warm atmosphere inside the kitchen.

“Actually, I came over to let you know that the weather has gotten better and that we’re going to head out to the city tomorrow morning,” he informed.

Rayne turned off the gas burner and plated the stir-fry on a large plate. “Okay, sounds good. I’ll be ready! I’ve been itching to get out for a while now.”

Julian quickly picked up a clean plate and scooped himself a very generous amount of rice and stir-fry.

Just as he sat down, Noah and Ian came running down the hall. “Boss!! I hope you left enough for us!” shouted Noah.

“Last time I barely got any,” complained Ian, quickly picking up a plate and filling it with the freshly cooked food.

Rayne shook her head, smiling. The plate was picked clean before the wok even had a chance to cool down. This had been the usual sight at dinner these days!