If Syrus hadn't discovered that Sophie had tried to poison him, he might have assumed she had simply grown used to the abuse.
But now he understood the situation more clearly. She was most likely trying to stall for time, worried that he might turn his attention toward her younger sisters.
Syrus Vale shook his head and gently helped Sophie to her feet.
"I'm tired. Let's forget about it tonight."
He knew that promising to never hurt her again would sound meaningless. After all, the previous Syrus Vale had tormented her for an entire year. No one would believe such a sudden change overnight.
If he wanted to change their impression of him, it would take time.
Sophie remained standing where she was. Her expression shifted slightly as if she were trying to figure out whether Syrus Vale was truly exhausted or secretly planning something else.
A moment later, she glanced toward Ava, who had been watching quietly from the distance.
Ava immediately stood up and moved quietly toward the youngest sister's room. She knocked on the door in a special pattern—three long knocks followed by a short one.
After hearing the same pattern returned from inside, Ava finally relaxed. She returned to the bicycle generator and resumed pedaling to produce electricity.
Inside the shelter, there was a pressurized well that could draw groundwater. Syrus Vale had used it before and knew how it worked.
He poured a scoop of water into the well and pumped the handle.
Soon, a stream of cold underground water began to flow out.
"I'll handle it…"
Sophie quickly stepped forward and filled the kettle with water.
About ten minutes later, dinner was ready.
A bowl of rice and two simple stir-fried vegetables were placed on the table.
There were still two pounds of preserved rat meat stored in the shelter, but Syrus Vale felt no appetite for it and decided not to cook it.
"Have you eaten yet?"
Just as he was about to start eating, he remembered Sophie was still standing nearby and asked casually.
"We've already eaten," Sophie replied with a small smile. "We don't eat much, so we're not hungry yet."
"What about Clara?"
"She's resting. Her last shift on the generator exhausted her."
"Alright."
Syrus Vale didn't ask anything further and began eating.
The rice was acceptable. Apart from a slightly musty smell, the texture was normal.
The vegetables, however, tasted extremely bland.
All the seasonings had been used up long ago, and whatever remained had expired and lost most of its flavor.
After the meal, Sophie moved quickly to collect the dishes.
Syrus Vale originally intended to wash them himself, but seeing how eager Sophie was, he simply allowed her to do it.
Afterward, he checked the remaining food supplies.
The result wasn't encouraging.
At most, the remaining food could last three days—and that was only if the three sisters continued eating very little. If everyone ate normally, the supplies might be gone within a single day.
Clearly, the most urgent problem now was food.
He had to go outside.
Returning to his room, Syrus Vale retrieved both pistols from the safe. He carefully loaded the bullets one by one before securing the guns on his belt.
He adjusted them to a position where they could be drawn quickly if necessary.
"Honey… are you going out?"
Sophie had finished washing the dishes and was now standing cautiously at the doorway of the bedroom, peeking inside.
"Yes. I'm going out to search for food."
Sophie suddenly seemed to remember something and hurried toward the end of the hallway.
When Syrus Vale reached the exit hatch, he lifted it open, preparing to climb up.
At that moment Sophie returned, carrying a metal bucket with a lid strapped to her back. A terrible smell drifted from it.
Syrus Vale glanced at the bucket but said nothing.
He climbed the ladder first.
Sophie followed closely behind.
The vertical tunnel connecting the shelter to the surface was about ten meters deep, ending at a manhole-like cover.
Above it stood an abandoned house that had originally been built as camouflage for the shelter entrance.
When Syrus Vale reached the top, he paused and carefully scanned the surroundings.
After confirming there were no immediate threats, he pushed open the cover and climbed out.
A moment later, Sophie emerged from the hatch.
Syrus Vale instinctively extended a hand to help her up.
Sophie hesitated slightly, clearly surprised that he would help her. Still, she accepted it without saying anything.
"Honey… I'll take care of this," she said quickly.
Without waiting for a reply, she hurried off with the bucket.
Syrus Vale followed behind to keep watch.
Usually Sophie handled this task alone. She would run more than a hundred meters away to a small forest to dispose of the waste.
The night wasn't completely dark.
Three moons hung in the sky, casting faint silver light over the ruined landscape. Even without streetlights, it was bright enough to see the ground.
Several abandoned houses stood scattered in the distance, silent and lifeless.
Farther away, the sounds of insects and nocturnal animals echoed through the night.
Hearing these noises actually reassured them both.
In areas where mutated beasts roamed, ordinary animals and insects would disappear.
The presence of these sounds meant there were probably no mutated beasts nearby.
Soon they reached the forest edge.
Sophie emptied the contents of the bucket.
But as she turned around, she suddenly froze.
A dozen pairs of glowing eyes stared at them from the darkness.
Her body shivered.
"Let's go," Syrus Vale said calmly.
His pistol was already in his hand as he carefully watched the eyes in the distance.
Wild animals weren't as dangerous as mutated beasts—but they were still capable of attacking humans.
Syrus Vale could deal with a few animals with his bare hands.
But if they attacked in large numbers, he might have no choice but to fire his gun.
And that was something he wanted to avoid.
Gunshots could attract even bigger predators… or worse, mutated beasts.
Sophie was startled by his voice.
She hadn't expected Syrus Vale to stand in front of her like that.
But there was no time to think.
She quickly turned and ran back toward the house.