Chapter 67: Impressive assets

The scene that greeted him was Mitch in a tight half-crouch, locked together with May as the pink harness bound them from waist to thigh. May was pinned helplessly between his legs, her cheek pressed flush against his trousers.

Every pair of eyes in the cabin snapped toward them.

Alex was the first to chime in, his voice dripping with playful sweetness. "My, my, Mitch... get yourself caught in a squeeze by a zombie or something?"

"Shut up!" Mitch and Ray roared at him in unison.

Ray pulled his combat trench knife from his boot and knelt in front of Mitch. He pressed the blade against the bright pink harness and slashed down hard.

Buzz!

A radiant ring of neon-pink energy burst across the belt’s surface, bouncing the combat knife back a half-foot. Not a single scratch remained on the material.

"What kind of madness is this?" Ray stared at the belt, his face turning thunderous.

A crisp chime rang out inside May’s head.

[System Notice: Item "High-Powered Magnetic Tactical Harness" is locked. Unlock Condition: Both bound individuals must maintain eye contact and offer genuine, heartfelt compliments to each other for 30 seconds to disable the magnetic field.]

May squeezed her eyes shut. We are so doomed. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"How do we undo it?" Ray looked down at her, his voice dangerously low.

May shifted her face out slightly and looked up—straight into Mitch’s bloodshot eyes.

Their faces were barely four inches apart, their warm breath mingling together.

May swallowed hard. "We... we have to stare into each other’s eyes and compliment each other for thirty seconds."

The cabin fell into dead silence for a full second.

Mitch’s face flushed from bright red to deep purple in an instant. "You say WHAT?!"

"Compliment each other. For thirty seconds," May repeated softly.

Theo adjusted his glasses, a subtle smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Fascinating. While I still don’t quite know what to call this special ability of yours, the unlocking condition is rather steep."

Mitch’s face turned the shade of a bruised liver, his voice cracking violently. "How the hell am I supposed to compliment her?!"

"If you don’t, this thing won’t unlock," May whimpered softly, looking completely wronged. She could feel that as Mitch’s emotions surged, the pressure against her cheek grew even firmer.

Leaning lazily against the cabin wall, Theo offered smoothly: "Mitch, it’s only thirty seconds. Flattering Sister-in-law won’t kill you."

"She’s not Sister-in-law—no, wait... she is!" Mitch yelled before realizing his slip, glaring fiercely at Ray, who was watching from the side.

Ray’s face was as black as the bottom of a wok. He gripped his combat knife tightly, the point aimed directly at the belt as if he were about to slash through both the harness and Mitch regardless of any system warning.

"Hurry up!" Ray squeezed out through his teeth.

Mitch went stiff. Finally accepting his fate, he shut his eyes and barked out in desperate frustration. "Your... your hair is fine! It doesn’t smell sour!"

Silence washed over the interior.

Jack scratched his head and whispered softly to Ace. "Hey... does that even count as a compliment?"

Ace’s eyes curved softly, smiling without a word.

[System Notice: Compliment invalid. Please speak from the heart. Remaining time: 28 seconds.]

"Fuck!" Mitch nearly jumped out of his skin, but the harness held him pinned tight. His violent twitch only succeeded in pressing May’s face even harder against him.

"Ngh..." May let out a soft, helpless whimpering sound that brushed against the men’s ears like a feather.

"Your turn!" Mitch growled through clenched teeth.

May threw caution to the wind. She looked up with tear-brimmed eyes, staring straight at Mitch, her voice sweet, soft, and trembling slightly: "Mitch... your... your muscles are so big..."

The moment those words left her mouth, Mitch’s breath hitched violently.

Ray’s grip on his knife cracked his knuckles.

Behind them, Alex let out an exaggerated "Ooh," smirking slyly. "Mitch, Sister-in-law is complimenting your impressive assets."

"Shut... shut your mouth!" Mitch felt completely exposed under May’s direct gaze. He looked away frantically, the tips of his ears burning crimson. "My turn... your... your eyes are pretty round! Like... like truck headlights!"

[System Notice: Compliment valid. Remaining time: 15 seconds.]

It actually worked?!

May felt a burst of hope. A strange switch flipped inside her, and she continued in a voice dripping with sweetness. "Your abs must be really hard too, right? Pinned against them earlier gave me such a sense of security!"

As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly, her soft curve pressing gently into his lower abdomen.

Mitch shuddered violently from top to bottom. He felt like he was about to explode. This wasn’t an unlock sequence—it was pure torture!

"You... you’ve got a pretty good mouth for eating..." Mitch squeezed out after a long struggle.

[System Notice: Compliment valid. Remaining time: 5 seconds.]

With victory in sight, May decided to deliver the final blow. Looking up, she tipped out her tongue and lightly moistened her dry lips, gazing up at Mitch with hazy eyes. She dropped her voice so low only the two of them could hear: "Your... pressing into me feels so uncomfortable... but... I kind of like it."

BOOM!

Mitch’s brain went entirely blank.

[Ding! Successfully Unlocked!]

With a soft flash, the bright pink tactical harness dissolved into light and vanished into thin air.

As if his rear were on fire, Mitch launched himself backward, scrambling wildly until he reached the furthest corner of the cabin. Turning his back to everyone, he buried his head between his knees, frozen solid like a depressed mushroom.

May’s legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the floor, only to be lifted instantly into Ray’s warm arms.

"Damn this hellish road," Ray growled, taking the driver’s seat once more to push forward.

The atmosphere in the cabin turned overwhelmingly intense. Silence fell over the group, broken only by Mitch’s heavy breathing from his corner and the low, restrained sighs of the other men.

Night fell quickly across the wasteland, with the snowstorm showing no signs of stopping.

"There’s a light up ahead," Ray announced suddenly from the front seat.