Apocalypse Supermarket: My Four Overpowered Husbands Wontstop Hoarding

Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Ethan’s pain.

Rowan had already left to join Luna on the staircase while choosing a room. Miles was walking beside him, directing him where to go since the house was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. There were several passages and hallways that could lead somewhere else, and without proper guidance, it would have been easy to get lost.

"Your room is this way," Miles said, pointing toward another passage.

Rowan nodded and followed him, occasionally looking around with fascination.

Everything about the place was impressive.

Ethan, on the other hand, had no intention of going to change immediately.

He remained in the sitting room, walking around and looking at everything with curiosity.

Then something caught his attention.

His eyes widened.

A huge plasma television was mounted against one of the walls.

Ethan’s entire expression instantly brightened.

"Oh fuck! There is a TV here?!"

His excitement was so genuine that Kai couldn’t help but give him a strange look.

Of course there was a television.

It was a sitting room.

Which sitting room didn’t have a TV?

Unless Ethan had been living in some kind of cave where modern technology didn’t exist, Kai couldn’t understand why he was acting as though he had just discovered something extraordinary.

"How can I operate this?"

Ethan rushed toward the television, his hands moving around as he searched for a remote.

Adrian, who was standing a short distance away, immediately spoke.

"I thought Luna said we should talk and go take a bath. And here you are, trying to turn on her television without her permission."

Ethan paused.

He looked at Adrian.

Then he shrugged.

"I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong. I’m just trying to see what they’re showing on the TV. I’ve never touched one before."

His eyes practically sparkled.

"And I’m so excited to use this one."

He was beaming with genuine happiness.

Kai noticed it.

For someone who had been through so much recently, seeing Ethan this excited over something as simple as a television was strangely refreshing.

Adrian, however, looked completely speechless.

He stared at Ethan as though he had just heard the most unbelievable thing in the world.

"You’re kidding, right?"

Ethan frowned.

Adrian continued.

"I thought everyone had a TV."

The moment those words left his mouth, Ethan’s expression changed.

The excitement disappeared from his face almost instantly.

Kai noticed it and immediately stepped in before the situation could become uncomfortable.

"Maybe we should just show him how to operate it. It’s not bad for him to start using one now. Come on, Ethan."

Ethan’s expression brightened again.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Kai nodded.

Seeing this side of Ethan was rare.

Most of the time, he was either serious, nervous, or trying to figure out how to survive. Seeing him this excited over something so ordinary made Kai want to keep that happiness alive.

He didn’t want to ruin the moment by making Ethan feel embarrassed about his background.

Adrian, however, was exhausted.

He didn’t have the strength to stand there and watch Ethan stare at the television forever.

Besides, the television probably wouldn’t even work.

"The thing is..."

He paused.

"Maybe I should break it to you all, but it seems like you forgot something."

Ethan looked at him.

"Networks are gone. There’s no internet anymore, and the electricity has crashed."

The moment he mentioned electricity, Adrian stopped.

He looked around.

There were lights everywhere.

The sitting room was brightly illuminated, and even the hallway beyond it had lights glowing.

He frowned.

If the electricity had collapsed, then how was this place still powered?

He slowly turned around, looking for some kind of generator or power source.

Nothing.

There was no visible generator.

No wires running across the walls.

Nothing that could explain how the entire house was still functioning.

"Then how is this possible?"

He pointed toward the lights.

"The electricity?"

Kai looked around as well.

He wasn’t surprised anymore.

He had already learned that Luna had more secrets than she was willing to share.

Despite coming here before, there were still plenty of things she had kept from him.

She had even warned him not to get involved with certain matters.

So Kai had learned to mind his own business.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "She doesn’t tell me everything. Most of the things I know, I figured out myself."

He paused before looking directly at Adrian.

"But I have one warning for you."

Adrian’s expression became serious.

"There were people here before. Miles’ friends, I guess you could say."

Kai lowered his voice.

"They died because they started asking too many questions."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

Kai continued.

"So I don’t think she would hesitate to finish you off if she realizes you’re becoming a threat. Just avoid doing anything that puts you on her bad side."

He pointed toward Adrian.

"And unnecessary questions? Especially questions about things like the power source of this house? Keep them out of your mouth."

Adrian stared at him for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"Understood."

He had no intention of testing Luna’s patience.

"As I was saying," Adrian continued, turning back toward Ethan, "most television stations depend on networks to keep broadcasting. But with humanity collapsing, I doubt those systems are still functioning. So turning on the television might be useless."

Ethan’s excitement slowly faded.

His hand tightened around the remote.

His shoulders dropped.

Kai noticed and groaned.

"Let’s just turn it on for him."

Adrian looked at him.

"And then he can see for himself."

Kai sighed.

The more he thought about it, the stranger Ethan’s life must have been before the apocalypse.

How could someone not know how to operate a television?

It was almost impossible to imagine.

Still, he decided not to question him about it.

"Here."

Kai took one of the remotes from Ethan.

"You just put it into the socket like this."

He connected the television and pressed the power button.

The screen flickered.

Ethan watched with wide eyes.

Kai was about to press another button when a question suddenly crossed Adrian’s mind.

He had been sitting down for a while, but his eyes remained fixed on the two of them as they worked on the television.

"Where do you live?"

The question came casually.

Ethan glanced at him.

"What?"

"Before all this. Where did you live?"

Kai looked at Adrian, but didn’t interfere.

Ethan’s fingers stopped moving.

He lowered his head slightly.

"It’s not a normal place like where you all lived."

His voice had become quieter.

"I stayed in a rural area all my life. In my village."

He gave a small smile.

"I decided to come to the city because I wanted greener pastures."

The smile slowly disappeared.

"That was when the natural disaster happened."

The room became quieter.

"Before I could go back, it had already killed almost all the inhabitants."

Ethan swallowed.

"There were only a few people remaining..."

His voice cracked.

"...and my little sister."

His eyes began to water.

The television had already come on, but Ethan no longer seemed interested in it.

Kai noticed the change immediately.

His stomach tightened.

His sister wasn’t here.

He hadn’t seen her among the group.

And now that Ethan had mentioned her, Kai suddenly had a terrible feeling that they had touched a wound that hadn’t healed.

He glanced at Adrian, silently hoping he would leave the subject alone.

But Adrian didn’t realize how deep the question had cut.

"Where is she?"

Ethan froze.

"Your sister?"

His legs stopped moving.

The remote slipped from his fingers.

It hit the floor.

Crack!

The plastic shattered into pieces.

Nobody spoke.

Ethan stared down at the broken remote.

His shoulders began to tremble.

Then his eyes slowly filled with tears.

"I couldn’t save her, you know."

His voice was barely audible.

"I was weak."

He clenched his fists.

"Helpless."

A tear rolled down his cheek.

"They ganged up against me."

Kai’s expression changed.

"Cannibals."

Ethan’s voice trembled.

"People who eat their fellow humans just to survive."

He swallowed hard.

"They took her from me."

His breathing became uneven.

"They took my joy away from me."

He wiped his face roughly, but more tears followed.

"They almost stabbed me to death too. I thought I was going to die, but..."

His voice broke.

He couldn’t finish.

Ethan staggered backward.

Adrian immediately realized his mistake.

"Sorry."

Ethan shook his head.

"I don’t think I’m interested in movies anymore."

He turned away.

"I want to go and take a bath."

His voice was bitter.

"Thanks so much for bringing up the memories."

The words were directed at both Kai and Adrian.

Before either of them could respond, Ethan hurried away.

He wasn’t looking where he was going.

As he turned into the hallway, he collided with Miles, who had just been coming out.

"Sorry."

Ethan didn’t even wait for a response.

He simply walked past him.

Miles turned around, confused.

"What in the world was that?"

He looked toward the sitting room.

Kai and Adrian were standing there with guilty expressions.

Miles glanced between them but decided not to ask.

Whatever had happened, it clearly wasn’t his business.

Instead, he simply gestured toward the hallway.

"I’ve arranged your rooms. You can go check them out."

Kai nodded.

"Thanks."

Miles turned and walked away.

But just as he was about to leave the sitting room, the television suddenly caught his attention.

The screen had changed.

A news reel appeared.

The usual programs were gone.

Instead, the screen displayed a serious-looking emergency broadcast.

A warning symbol flashed across the screen.

Everyone in the room slowly turned toward it.

Kai’s eyes narrowed.

Adrian sat up straighter.

Even Miles stopped walking.

A voice began speaking from the television.

"Attention. This is an emergency worldwide announcement."

The room fell completely silent.

The message continued.

"This announcement is being broadcast across every remaining operational network."