Strongest Boyfriend In The Apocalypse: Every Girl Depends On Me!-Chapter 43: Frightening Alert

The cottage was quiet, almost painfully so, the kind of quiet that pressed against the ears and made every breath feel louder than it should have been. Nina sat on the edge of the narrow bed, her hands resting loosely on her lap, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the wooden floor beneath her feet. She had been released. They had told her that clearly. She was free to go.

Yet she hadn’t moved.

The girl dressed in white stood near the door, arms crossed, watching her closely, while the girl dressed in black paced slowly across the room, her footsteps sharp and impatient.

"You’re free," the one in white said again, her tone calm but questioning. "Why are you still here."

Nina didn’t answer immediately. Her silence stretched longer than it should have, heavy enough to shift the mood of the room completely.

The girl in black stopped pacing and turned sharply. "That silence is suspicious," she said coldly. "That gives us a reason to believe you have a plan against us."

Nina finally lifted her head, her eyes steady, her voice quiet but firm when she spoke.

"I need your help."

The room fell silent.

And whatever was about to begin, none of them would walk away unchanged.

******

The decision about Anna was the hardest one Ethan had made since the world fell apart, and that alone told him just how much things had changed in such a short amount of time.

He wanted her with him, badly, more than he was willing to admit, because having her nearby gave him a sense of calm that nothing else in this broken place could offer, yet at the same time he understood something that kept pulling at his thoughts no matter how much he tried to ignore it, and that was the simple fact that Atlanta was not going to be anything like this refuge.

The Special Force officers had been very clear about it, not just once but several times, speaking about the city with expressions that lacked fear but carried something heavier, something closer to experience, and from the way they talked, Atlanta was not just filled with zombies but with dangers that could swallow people whole without giving them a second chance.

It was a place where even trained soldiers died quickly if they made the wrong move, and as much as Ethan trusted himself, he could not honestly say he trusted the city.

That was why, when he finally spoke to Anna about it, he didn’t pretend that the decision was easy, and he didn’t try to hide the conflict in his heart either.

They stood a short distance away from the buildings, away from listening ears, the early afternoon sun casting long shadows across the ground while the camp moved quietly around them. Anna listened carefully as Ethan spoke, her hands clasped together in front of her, her expression calm but attentive, like she already knew what he was about to say.

"I want you to come with me," Ethan said slowly, his voice low. "But I also know it’s safer if you stay."

Anna didn’t interrupt him. She didn’t rush him. She waited.

"Atlanta is different," he continued. "It’s not like moving between small zones. It’s a mess. The Special Force doesn’t sugarcoat it. I don’t want to put you in a place where I might not be able to protect you."

Anna looked at him for a long moment, then smiled faintly, not the kind of smile that showed happiness, but one that showed understanding.

"I know," she said softly. "And I know you’re not saying this because you don’t want me around."

Ethan exhaled quietly. "I’d rather know you’re alive here than risk losing you out there."

Anna nodded once. "Then I’ll stay."

There was no drama, no argument, no tears, just a shared silence that carried more emotion than words ever could. And in that silence, Ethan knew he had made the right decision, even if it hurt.

Eva and Helen, on the other hand, were already confirmed to follow him alongside the Special Force men, and even though Gracie was originally the one Ethan wanted, reality had forced his hand.

When they had been captured coming from New Land, it was Eva who had been holding the rifle, and that single detail had been enough to tilt the Commander’s decision in her favor. Ethan tried once to argue it, but the explanation fell apart quickly, and he chose not to push further.

In the end, it was Eva and Helen, and that was final.

Ethan was given two days before departure, two days to prepare, train, and be evaluated further, and during that time he was scheduled to engage in advanced combat training with some of the top officers in the camp.

The thought of it alone filled him with anticipation rather than fear. Training meant growth, and growth meant survival, and for the first time since everything began, Ethan felt like he was stepping into something he was meant to do.

When he returned to his room later that evening, he barely had time to close the door before John and Jasper rushed up to him, their faces filled with excitement and disbelief, their voices overlapping before he could even react.

"Is it true?" Jasper blurted out. "Did you really kill it?"

"A Grade Five," John added quickly. "They said it was a Red Monster."

"How did you do it?" Jasper continued without pause. "Did you stab it or shoot it or was it some kind of trick?"

"Did it really knock someone out first?" John asked. "They said it was fast, like really fast."

The questions came one after another, piling up so quickly that Ethan didn’t even have time to answer a single one properly, and for a brief moment he just stood there, watching them talk over each other, their excitement genuine, their amazement real.

"I don’t really know how I killed it," Ethan finally said, raising a hand slightly to stop them. "It just happened."

Jasper blinked. "That’s it?"

Ethan nodded. "As for the rest, no, I didn’t fight a Red Monster alone, and no, I’m not some kind of hero."

John laughed softly. "You always say that."

Ethan sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It’s been a stressful day, friends."

That was enough to calm them down. They exchanged glances, shrugged almost in unison, and slowly left the room, leaving Ethan alone once again.

The moment the door closed, the silence settled, and just as Ethan lay back on the bed, exhaustion finally catching up to him, the system’s familiar voice sounded in his ears.

[Congratulations, you have temporarily been freed from the Boyfriend Responsibility. The death of any lady in your Girlfriend Counts would not affect you in any aspect.]

Ethan frowned slightly.

[Don’t worry host, you aren’t also losing your d*ck.]

His eyes snapped open, and then, unexpectedly, he laughed quietly, a small smile spreading across his face as relief washed over him.

"So that’s over," he muttered. "I mean, I’m already getting used to it."

Even though the message confused him, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. Whatever the system was doing, it had its reasons, and at that moment, all Ethan wanted was rest.

He fell asleep with a strange sense of optimism, believing that maybe, just maybe, things were finally starting to settle.

That illusion shattered the moment he woke up.

The Daily Intelligence Alert appeared the instant his eyes opened, its cold blue text hovering in his vision, and before he could even fully focus, his heart dropped.

[Day 0011:

— By 11:21 AM, Anna Voss would die.

— By 11:22 AM, Gracie Evans would die.

— By 11:23 AM, Miss Audrey Paul would die.

— By 11:24 AM, Teresa would die.]

Ethan stopped breathing.

His body reacted before his mind could, and he was already sitting up, his hands shaking as his eyes scanned the information again, hoping it was some kind of mistake, some kind of error.

There was none.

He didn’t finish reading. He couldn’t.

The moment the realization hit him fully, Ethan shot out of bed, his heart pounding so violently that it hurt, his thoughts racing faster than he could control.

Just last night, the system had freed him from penalties, and now every single one of them was marked for death, lined up minute by minute like a countdown designed to break him.

"No," he muttered, already moving. "No way."

He didn’t stop to think. He didn’t stop to plan. He didn’t even stop to question why.

He charged straight out of the room, fear burning through his chest like fire, one thought repeating endlessly in his mind.

Even if the system said he wouldn’t be punished.

Even if it said he wouldn’t lose anything.

There was no way he was letting them die.

.

.

.

[You can kindly leave a comment if you are enjoying the story in the slightest least. Apologies, I know I’m not at my best at this point due to my academics, but hopefully we get better as time goes on. Let’s support with more Golden Tickets.]