Apocalypse Supermarket: My Four Overpowered Husbands Wontstop Hoarding

Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Cold stranger.

"Oh my... did that guy crawl out of a magazine?" Kai squealed almost insanely, looking as though he had just spotted a celebrity.

The stranger looked taken aback because, from the expression on his face, Luna could tell he hadn’t been expecting visitors. Definitely not a female with three guys surrounding her, all of whom looked perfectly fine, not injured or even scratched despite the disasters outside.

"Hmm, calm down, Kai. You’re embarrassing us right now. Take a chill pill before people start thinking you’re attracted to him," Adrain muttered.

Kai actually paused to think about it before pouting.

"I’ve never seen a celebrity up close before, so I’m excited."

Now he was practically bouncing on his feet, making everyone groan in unison.

Luna casually walked over and rummaged through her handbag before pulling out a roll of cell tape.

The moment Kai saw it, his eyes widened.

She wasn’t...

He immediately stumbled backwards and raised both hands into the air in surrender.

"Okay! Okay! Boss lady! I won’t do it again!"

Kai instantly sealed his own lips.

The memory of the first day they met, when Luna had actually taped his mouth shut, flashed through his mind so vividly that he wasn’t willing to test whether she’d do it a second time.

Seeing that her silent threat had worked perfectly, Luna nodded in satisfaction before returning her attention to the new guy.

Now back to him.

Time to recruit another member into her squad.

"What are you waiting for? Join us. Let’s leave."

The declaration came so suddenly that all three guys whipped their heads toward her as though she’d completely lost her mind.

How could someone casually tell a complete stranger to come along just like that?

"Seriously? Without any introduction? That isn’t how conversations work," Adrain whispered, leaning closer since he was standing beside her.

To his surprise, Luna genuinely looked confused.

Adrain became even more baffled.

Come on...

Someone’s social skills couldn’t possibly be this terrible.

Here he was thinking he struggled with conversations, only to meet someone like Luna who apparently believed nothing was wrong with what she’d just said.

The shocking part was that her face clearly said she thought she was completely right.

"What?" Luna frowned.

"We came here to find him, and because of that we almost died. Why should I introduce myself? It’s unnecessary, and we’re in a hurry."

At her words, Adrain instinctively turned to Rowan.

Rowan looked just as stunned.

Kai wasn’t any better either.

His jaw hung so low it looked ready to detach from his face.

"It’s... kind of necessary," Adrain said slowly, trying to remain patient.

"That’s called etiquette. At least introduce yourself."

He looked like he was pleading with her now.

Luna groaned loudly.

He was making her change her perfectly good plan.

They were supposed to be moving already.

"So that’s what’s stopping us from leaving?"

Without waiting for an answer, Luna dramatically walked to the center before stopping directly in front of the stranger.

She stretched out her hand.

"Hi. My name is Luna, and these are my teammates. So let’s get you somewhere safe."

She didn’t even wait for him to respond.

Instead, she grabbed his hand and shook it so aggressively that Kai physically flinched.

Was she shaking his hand...

...or trying to detach his arm from his body?

Kai couldn’t even imagine how much pain the poor guy’s hand must be in.

At this point she wasn’t greeting him.

She was testing whether his bones were durable enough.

Even then...

The stranger didn’t react.

Not a wince.

Not a frown.

Nothing.

That same unreadable poker face remained glued to his features.

Kai finally came to a conclusion.

He couldn’t talk.

Maybe he was deaf.

Or mute.

Or both.

"Luna... maybe you got the wrong person."

Adrain folded his arms while studying the stranger.

"He doesn’t exactly look eager to leave. Honestly, I’m more curious how someone survived alone in a place like this."

But Luna wasn’t convinced.

She knew she wasn’t wrong.

This was Ethan Vale.

Although she’d never spoken to him in her previous life, she had seen him from a distance enough times to recognize his face.

As for who he really was...

She hadn’t cared enough back then to find out.

And now?

She gave even less of a fuck.

Digging into someone’s identity wasn’t on her list of priorities.

Her only concern was dragging him away from this place before everything completely collapsed.

Honestly...

This dump wasn’t much different from a pigsty.

"You know..." Luna finally sighed.

"You’re making me look like a fool."

She crossed her arms.

"Did those monsters take your tongue during the attack or something?"

It was honestly impressive.

This guy had somehow managed to make her speak more words than she usually did in an entire day.

Yet he continued staring at her with those emotionless eyes as though she were some strange object.

Technically...

He was the valuable one.

A healer like Ethan was incredibly rare.

She doubted he even understood what kind of person he actually was.

Finally...

He moved.

Kai had honestly started wondering whether they’d accidentally been talking to a statue.

Maybe the thing had turned into stone to lure them in before coming back to life later.

The theory had sounded surprisingly reasonable inside his head.

Then Ethan slowly lifted his neck.

His lips parted.

"No."

There was a brief pause.

"Thank you."

His tone carried complete finality.

Without sparing any of them another glance, he turned around as though preparing to leave.

Rowan, who had remained mostly quiet until now, finally stepped forward.

He planted himself directly in Ethan’s path.

"Listen, man."

His deep voice echoed through the ruined building.

"I don’t know if you think you’re the greatest thing walking this earth..."

"But if you stay here, this place is going to melt."

"And when that happens, you’re melting with it."

"So unless you’ve always dreamed about becoming nicely fried bacon..."

He folded his arms.

"...this isn’t a request."

"Grab whatever you think is useful."

"And move."

As Rowan spoke, the muscles beneath his shirt tightened, making him look far more intimidating than usual.

For the first time...

Ethan actually looked directly at him.

Silence settled once more.

Everyone waited.

Luna could practically feel her patience evaporating.

Earlier she’d thought Kai was the most troublesome person she’d ever met.

Then Rowan came along and proved her wrong.

At least those two talked back.

This bastard...

He simply ignored people like they didn’t exist.

Somehow, the quiet guy she’d expected to be the easiest to recruit had turned out to be the biggest headache of all.

Ethan lowered his gaze toward the cracked floor.

A long sigh escaped his lips.

Then he slowly lifted his head.

His eyes met each of theirs one after another.

Kai.

Adrain.

Rowan.

Finally...

Luna.

For a second, nobody spoke.

Then he opened his mouth.

"Eat my ass."

The words landed so casually they almost didn’t register.

Without waiting to see their reactions, Ethan turned around and calmly walked away.

His figure disappeared behind a pile of broken furniture before vanishing deeper into the ruined building.

Silence.

Complete silence.

Luna blinked once.

Then twice.

Then several more times.

"...Was that directed at me?"

Nobody answered.

She slowly closed her eyes.

The corner of her lips curled upward.

A smile appeared.

Unfortunately...

It wasn’t a pleasant one.

It was the kind of smile that made everyone instinctively take a step backwards.

Even Kai swallowed nervously.

"Now..."

Luna cracked her knuckles.

"You want me to be the bad guy."

She opened her eyes again, the sadistic grin still resting on her lips.

"Fine."

"I warned you."

Without another word, she walked after him.

The three guys exchanged glances before simultaneously sighing.

Someone...

Was about to have a very bad day.