3. Preparation

Water splashing against his face, Luca was stunned before realizing the situation. It dumbfounded him to see a girl leaning her body against the wall. The water ran through Ruth’s hair and onto her face, making the beautiful look a little sexy.

“This... this is ....” Luca stammered as Ruth lifted her face and looked at him. There was a sharp glint in the girl’s eyes that left Luca stunned, even if only for a moment.

Ruth immediately let go of Luca and patted her wet hair, snorting coldly before smiling widely.

“What about my reaction earlier? Wasn’t I fast enough?”

“Ah?” Luca still hadn’t come back to his senses. After rethinking the events of the past few moments, he was completely at a loss for words.

The longer he was with Ruth, the more new things he learned. That girl was not only fast and had good instincts but also strong. Tell me, what girl could kick a gallon of water with her slender calves? Luca thought only Ruth could. Well, at least for now.

“Ahh, sorry... I’m sorry!” The office boy ran down the stairs feeling guilty and a little scared. He almost killed someone!

As soon as she heard the unfamiliar voice, Ruth rushed to hide behind Luca. Holding her pleated skirt, which was torn at the edge uncomfortably, she also hid the wet clothes that could emphasize the appearance of her back.

Aware of the situation, Luca did not shy away as Ruth’s shield. He gave the office boy a complicated look before saying, “It’s okay.”

Before the office boy could breathe a sigh of relief, Luca’s deep, stifled voice echoed back down the hallway.

“My ass! You almost killed someone with your negligence. Is apologizing enough?!”

Both Ruth and the office boy were stunned by Luca’s outburst. Although his voice wasn’t loud enough for people to hear the commotion, the aura he gave off was enough to make people feel a chill down their spine.

After scolding the office boy, Luca took off his jacket and covered Ruth’s body.

“Go to the dressing room, I’ll ask the manager for permission for you,” he left after saying that, followed by Ruth who silently praised.

It was true that the strongest gods had to have abilities before becoming heroes. Yes, although his appearance did not look so capable. However, it was fine. That was why Ruth was by Luca’s side. To make the strongest god on doomsday become strong faster so they could save the lives of many people.

From today on Luca would not take overtime. He went home as scheduled and hurried to his apartment. For the time being, the two of them would make this place their headquarters. After all, it’s not convenient to talk about doomsday stuff in any place or they’ll be regarded as crazy.

Neither Luca nor Ruth hid their closeness in the office. There was no ambiguous scene between them, it was just that other people’s views were different. Neither of them cared.

Ruth blatantly approached Luca and stood next to the man’s chair, folded her arms, and leaned lazily against the wall. Her chin pointed toward the door of the manager’s room and said, “Look, that girl showed up as a new employee, didn’t she?”

Luca followed Ruth’s gaze and saw a shy-looking girl coming out of the manager’s room. With her head down and occasionally saying ‘excuse me or sorry’.

“Don’t be fooled by her shy appearance,” Ruth said again and walked away to her desk.

Although it wasn’t obvious, Luca could see the discomfort in Ruth’s eyes when she saw the new employee named Zoelva. Since Luca didn’t care, he just shrugged indifferently. Going back to staring at his computer.

Instead of being filled with work, it filled his computer screen with a list of items they needed to buy and stockpile. Since purchasing a large amount at once would make people suspicious, both Luca and Ruth decided to buy sparingly, but over a long period.

During the break, Luca went to the cafeteria and bought a can of soda. Ruth approached him and said, “It’s hard to get anyone to bid on the penthouse my parents left behind, so this Sunday I’m going to meet potential buyers. By the way, are you going to sell your parents’ estate?”

Luca muttered, “Mn” pulled the lid off the can and downed his drink.

After a while, he spoke again. “Or I’ll see the situation first. If possible, we don’t need to sell it, just build a base there.”

Ruth thought about it and nodded. “If it’s far away from settlements, then it would be a suitable place.”

The further away from dense settlements, the fewer the number of humans turning into zombies. It would be a safe place in the early days of the apocalypse. Although areas close to forests were also prone to evolve plants and animals, at least they could live more quietly while watching the situation.

“I’ll accompany you there after meeting with the prospective buyer tomorrow.”

They spoke in a low voice that made the few people who witnessed it frown.

Dash approached them and tapped Luca on the shoulder, glancing at Ruth before asking, “What are you talking about?”

Before Luca could answer, Ruth reacted first by flashing Dash a smile. “It’s nothing. Just a couple of talks.”

Ruth left after leaving the two dumbfounded. Luca even scratched his head and gave the girl a slightly annoyed look. Since when did they become a couple?! While Dash looked at his best friend with jealousy and a hint of praise.

“Dude, you’re not single anymore. Tell me, since when have you guys been together?”

Luca shrugged, ignoring Dash, who didn’t stop asking about the relationship between him and Ruth. “We’re not together, just pure work friends,” he replied without any emotional fluctuations.

Although Dash was convinced by Luca’s words, he still couldn’t accept them. If Luca said they weren’t together, then they weren’t together. It was just that Ruth said they were together. Didn’t that mean the popular girl was after Luca?

Dash held his chest uncomfortably, staring at his monotonous-looking friend, who was even a little lifeless. Wondering if the pretty girl’s taste was so ordinary.

Dash remembered how many rumors there were about Ruth’s lovers, most of them handsome and well-off men. Then the doubt in his heart grew. He followed Luca everywhere and demanded explanations. Even when Luca would come home from work, he stood in front of his car in the parking lot, Dash trailing like a chick.

Luca exhaled tiredly and glanced at his best friend with disgust. “What are you doing following me around?!”

“Just curious.” Dash smiled politely, raised his hand, and patted Luca on the shoulder. "I'm going to go home with you, okay?"

Without waiting for Luca’s reply, Dash entered the front passenger seat and sat down comfortably.

Luca frowned and then heard someone calling him.

“Luu!”

Ruth approached with light steps, her mouth moving to munch on chocolate. In her hand was a large package of opened chocolate and a red rose. No question about it, it must be from some guy who was chasing her.

Seeing Luca still standing outside the car and looking at her intensely, Ruth offered the chocolate in her hand.

“Would you like one? It’s from... I don’t know who, but since it’s on my desk, it’s mine now.”

Luca shook his head and looked away, opened the car door, and got in. Ruth followed him and was about to open the front door, but the glass was suddenly lowered. Dash’s meaningfully smiling face appeared in her field of vision.

In the end, Ruth sat in the back seat alone.

Ruth glanced at Luca and Dash back and forth, unable to continue holding back, so she asked, “Did this person finally believe and become part of us?”

“No,” Luca answered within seconds.

“Oh, that’s too bad. If we have more members, we have more money and less workload.” Ruth sighed regretfully, though her expression was not regretful at all.

Dash just listened and wondered in his heart, then he glanced at Luca in confusion before turning his attention to Ruth’s figure. The expression on his face looked strange, vaguely guessing the meaning of their conversation.

Then Dash spoke up. “You guys... Are you talking about doomsday?”

....

After dropping Dash off, Luca took Ruth to his apartment, asked her to come in, and sit wherever she wanted.

Luca entered his room and took out his laptop and notebook. Tonight was destined to be a long and tiring night as they had to prepare everything well.

After finding out about the land his parents had inherited, Luca decided to build a house there. They would sell the penthouse that Ruth’s parents left behind, her car, and her apartment. Meanwhile, Luca decided to sell his car and keep the apartment as their home for the next few months.

“I’ve already chosen what items to buy. Of course, instant food is the main one. It’s just a matter of checking out and deciding where the goods will be delivered.” Ruth leaned back lazily on the sofa, resting her hands after fiddling with her phone to look through every online store app.

Luca was still focused on his laptop screen. He was making plans for the construction of the headquarters.

“You can buy in bulk and send it to different addresses. We’ll move it later,” Luca commented.

Ruth nodded and yawned. She started to sink into the long sofa. Then she remembered something.

“Build a 5-meter high wall. There should also be a basement and a surveillance room on the top floor.

Luca admired “Mn” lowly and continued to work. The house they made had to have a large yard for parking cars and planting crops, the fence had to be high and thick, and the conditions inside the house had to be comfortable to maintain their mental quality.

Ruth almost fell asleep on the sofa before she remembered something and muttered in a low voice, “Oh, I forgot to buy clothes.”

Hearing her sleepy voice, Luca glanced at her before putting away his designs and shutting down the laptop.

“There’s still tomorrow,” he said as he stretched his stiff muscles.

“We don’t need to buy a car, by the way.” Luca’s voice was still clear and there were no signs of sleepiness on his face, making Ruth feel a little envious. “We can rent some big cars ahead of doomsday. It’s just that fuel stocks are a bit hard to come by in large quantities.”

Unless they wanted to drive around the city to visit each refinery and buy a jerry can of fuel. However, given that they don’t have much time and can only do some work at night or on weekends, it’s hard to fit it in.

Ruth yawned and said, “I’m going to stop working. What about you?”