Evelise frowned, her expression tightening as she shot him a glare.

"Don’t ruin it, Sid. Maybe he just left—"

"No. He didn’t technically die... not at first."

"What do you mean?"

Sid sighed and leaned against one of the shelves. His voice was softer now.

"His daughter turned. She became a zombie. He couldn’t shoot her. Couldn’t even lock her up. So... he shot himself instead."

The air in the room felt heavier instantly. Evelise’s eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly, trembling as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

"That’s..."

She whispered, her throat tight.

"That’s not true."

"It is. I found his body when I first came here."

Her eyes glistened for a moment, but as she glanced at Sid’s face — calm, but distant something inside her hesitated. The disbelief flickered again, pushing the sadness back behind a layer of irritation. Before she could answer, something caught her eye — a small bottle lying on the ground near Sid’s foot. Evelise crouched and picked it up. Her gaze hardened when she read the label.

"Painkillers,"

She murmured. Then her eyes lifted sharply toward him.

"This is the same one you took yesterday. When you went out to scavenge."

Sid stiffened, caught off guard.

"Yeah... what about it?"

"You’ve been using these a lot, haven’t you? Your right knee — it hurts, doesn’t it?"

Sid’s jaw tightened, his silence giving her the answer. Evelise stared at the bottle in her hand, then back at him.

"You think I wouldn’t notice? You limp sometimes when you think I’m not looking."

Sid forced a laugh, weak and hollow.

"Guess I’m not that subtle."

Her expression softened, a mix of frustration and concern crossing her face.

"You shouldn’t rely on these too much. You’re not invincible, Sid. The world’s already killing us slowly — don’t help it along."

Evelise rubbed her arm, her eyes still lingering on Sid’s leg before a sudden sneeze slipped out.

"Ah–choo! Ugh, damn it! It’s too dusty in here."

She waved her hand in front of her nose, frowning.

"If we leave it like this, half these supplies will go to waste. We should clean this up before mold eats through everything."

Sid blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"We?"

"Yes, we. Now, grab a—"

"Shh!"

Sid hissed suddenly, placing a finger to her lips. His expression turned deadly serious.

"Don’t say it. I just cleaned a damn deer corpse. I just want to relax, okay? Don’t trigger it. Please."

Evelise looked confused.

"Trigger wha—"

He leaned closer and whispered,

"The system, Evelise. If you say it, it’ll make it a task. Just... don’t."

For a second, she stared at him blankly. Then, with the most defiant glare she could muster, she smacked his finger away and yelled,

"I WANT TO CLEAN THIS BASEMENT!"

Sid’s face dropped.

"No, no, no, no—"

A sudden chime echoed through the air.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE!]

[New Task Acquired!]

[Task 5: The Basement Purge]

[Objective: Assist Evelise in cleaning and restoring the basement. Remove mold, dust, and leftover junk.]

Sid groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face.

"I can’t believe this. You just had to yell it, didn’t you?"

Evelise smirked, already rummaging through some boxes for old rags.

"Well, now you have to help me. It’s a system task."

"Yeah, I mean... I don’t have a choice, do I? I have to obey the system. I mean... you."

"Good answer."

And so, the cleaning began.

Sid was sweeping up dust while Evelise tackled the shelves, muttering about "civilized living standards." Every few minutes, she’d let out an exaggerated cough or grumble about the state of things. Sid even repaired a few of the broken shelves and patched up whatever damage time and pests had left behind.

It wasn’t long before the first scream echoed through the basement.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Evelise jumped back, flailing her arms as a small rat darted out from under a crate.

"Kill it! Kill it, Human!"

Sid leaned against his broom, watching her climb halfway onto a table.

"Nope. You got this, tough girl. Future queen of the undead, afraid of a mouse?"

"It’s not a mouse! It’s a disease with legs!"

If there was a camera right now, this would be gold. Big D would love this footage."

Evelise glared at him, cheeks red.

"You’re going to regret not helping me!"

"Already regretting lots of things,"

Sid replied dryly, continuing to sweep.

By the time they were done, several hours had passed. The basement was completely transformed— the dust was gone, the broken furniture had been repaired, and a faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the air.

The cans and boxes gleamed under the dim light from outside. But there was one problem: nothing was organized. Food, medicine, tools— everything was crammed together on the same shelves, a chaotic mix of supplies stacked without order. Evelise stood proudly with her hands on her hips, though a faint frown lingered on her face.

"Now this looks like a real basement. But we still need to organize everything. Food, medicine, and tools all mixed together? That’s not how a proper base works. Still, we did clean it up— so, good job!"

A familiar chime echoed through the basement again.

[Task Completed: The Basement Purge]

[SYSTEM MESSAGE!]

[+10 Bond Points gained]

[Current BP: 60 / 100]

[Heart Status: Black]

Evelise stood there, still in awe of the cleaned basement. Sid leaned against a shelf, watching her expression.

"You’re way too happy for someone who can’t even eat half the food here,"

He teased with a smirk. Evelise snapped her head toward him, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Oh, shut up."

Before Sid could laugh, the familiar chime of the system echoed through the air.

[NEW STORAGE UNLOCKED!]

[Unlocked: Storage Room]

[A dedicated space for your growing collection of supplies.]

[Current Slots: +200]

"Wait— what? A storage room?!"

Another message blinked right after.

[Tip: You can also use your skill Inventory Management to sort things out easily.]

Sid grinned like a kid at Christmas.

"Oh, this is perfect! My basic backpack’s been screaming for mercy since day one."