It's Not Easy Making Money in the Apocalypse

"It seems I overdid it." I sighed, opening up my eyes.

I was in a hospital, and I could hear the beeping of a heart monitor next to me. I had been in and out of it for the most part, but I had enough awareness to remember everything that had happened. I had been shot in the other world but then managed to travel to this one. As I collapsed to the floor bleeding, I wasn't alone in my apartment. An ambulance quickly picked me up and I was brought to the hospital. A surgeon removed the bullet, and then I was bandaged up and sent to a room to recover. I had only just woken up after whatever meds they had used on me.

As for who had called the ambulance, I was a bit woozy on that. Someone had been in my apartment, and I wasn't sure if they had seen something they weren't meant to see. I already needed to accept I couldn't handle being shot. As for someone seeing me use World Travel, I wasn't sure.

"How much time?" I asked.

"It's only been a single night," Cecelia spoke from the Perco on my arm, the Bluetooth headset normally in my ear had long since been removed.

"I'll probably want to use Kiera's coordinates to return home."

It had already been weeks since I left to join the Cock and Balls. This mission was turning out to take more time than I originally planned. It was a good idea to touch base with the Ascension crew before I returned. Furthermore, I couldn't exactly return to the pile of rubble that I left behind. Besides the risk of injuring myself, I also had the risk of running into those Grunts. They had been watching the place closely enough to get Conrad, so there was no saying there weren't more of them just because I blew up the building.

"As you say…" She responded, seemingly unconcerned either way.

The door opened before I could ask her any more information, such as emails from the last week or any progress reports since I had been in the other world. I trusted that as soon as I arrived, she'd jump online and acquire missed calls, messages, and important news and filter it for me. Having already been out for a night, she probably had all of the information at the ready. The person who walked in surprised me a bit.

"Lily?"

"I must say, you wear some very questionable clothing when you go out and about," Lily spoke after closing the door behind her.

"Ah!" I sat up, feeling a bit of pain where I had been shot.

I had already injected myself with drugs to increase my regeneration rate, but a bullet hole wasn't something I could just walk off after a few hours. As for explaining it, I already had far too many things to explain, and I didn't intend to. If I couldn't get people off my back with excuses, then I would just use money. In that respect, Lily was the perfect person to speak to.

"You don't need to be worried." She spoke, walking over to me with her heels clicking each step. "I removed your… armor… before the ambulance arrived. I almost didn't recognize you when you appeared."

I had been wearing the raider outfit when I was transported. It consisted of an assortment of oddball equipment used as armor and a mask that covered most of my face. Usually, I tried to wear ambiguous things that would be fine in either world, but when it came to this recent trip, I had to blend into the raider crowd, and also not be found out by Marsh even if I was standing right in front of him. This left me appearing rather garish.

"You were in my apartment?" I asked.

"I was making sure my new tenant was doing well. There was a notice left in advance on your door. No one had heard from you in weeks, so I was worried." She paused for a moment, looking away. "When I opened the door to see you collapsing on the ground with a gun wound, I wasn't sure what to say."

"I see…"

I looked at her for a moment. I wasn't sure if she was lying to protect me or if that was what happened. I eventually realized that it didn't matter. She was either expressing her willingness to keep my secret or saying she didn't know there was even a secret to keep. I would be safe regardless.

"I've already dealt with the police situation. It will be logged as an accidental gun discharge. If anyone asks, you were attempting to test a ghost gun and then ended up shooting yourself. Otherwise, I've kept news of this to a minimum."

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"I suppose I owe you then…" I spoke quietly.

She looked at me hesitantly. "Daniel, I can't pretend to guess what you are up to. I've been watching you these last few months since you first contacted me, and your actions are quite mysterious. You disappear for days at a time. Even your family doesn't know where you are…"

"You're spying on my family?" I looked up, a flash of anger in my expression.

She bit her lip, looking away. "I was worried. You're not… like anyone I've ever met. I can usually understand people well, but I don't understand you. What drives you?"

"Money," I responded coldly.

"Is that all it is?" She asked, almost looking hurt.

"That's all it is," I responded, not wanting to give her anymore.

I wasn't sure why she was looking at me with misty eyes. Maybe it was an act to get more information out of me.

"Daniel, I will never reveal your secrets… to anyone." She stated, looking at me with a strange light in her eyes.

"What secrets?" I asked back, but as she continued to stare at me, I felt my cheeks becoming hot.

She suddenly laughed, returning to her normal self, light and a bit seductive. "You know, I like-"

"Daniel!" The door burst open and a woman walked in. "Chart, where is his chart? Wait, who are you?"

Gabriella was wearing a lab coat and nurse scrubs as she burst into the room in a panic. As soon as she laid eyes on Lily, her demeanor instantly changed and she put her fists on her hips, giving Lily a suspicious look.

I looked at Lily. "News to a minimum, you said?"

"Naturally, I can't stop news spreading through a hospital." Lily's eyes looked slightly amused as she turned at held out her hand to Gabriella. "Hello. You must be Gabriella, Daniel's auntie. He's spoken so much about you."

"Who's his auntie!" Gabriella looked at her hand aggressively. "He's never mentioned you at all."

I winced at the tone of Gabriella. She didn't have a good filter, which I felt was surprising for a doctor.

"My name is Lily. I'm an… associate of Daniel."

"An escort?" Gabriella tilted her head.

"She's my landlord!" I cried out before Lily's expression darkened too much. "You know I'm renting my place now. She called the ambulance for me."

"Oh." Gabriella's expression softened slightly before she turned to me. "You mean the apartment you've never shown us and won't even give your address? I was beginning to think you lived in a box!"

"I assure you that his living conditions are adequate," Lily smirked. "I have very high standards."

Gabriella looked her up and down one more time. "Are you his landlord, or his roommate?"

"Auntie!" I cried out.

Lily let out a soft and sultry laugh. "I see you need time to catch up with your… auntie. Please contact me any time. I'm always available for you, Daniel."

She turned and left the room. Gabriella seemed caught off guard, not able to speak as the other woman walked away, her bewitching body swaying out the door. Only Once she was gone, Gabriella seemed to snap out of her stupor.

"Whose your auntie…" She snorted before glaring back at me. "You! Explain yourself."

I coughed. "There is not much to explain…"

I was speaking slowly as she picked up the chart. After all, it depended on how much the chart said on what I would tell her.

"You were shot!" She cried out, and my expression sank.

I supposed it was too much to hope that the doctor would lie on my medical form. Even if she could keep the police and news at bay, the doctors had to do what the doctors had to do. I somehow felt like maybe if it had been Mizuki who found me, she would take me to some private doctor. No, she'd also definitely ask questions, Mizuki was a much more inquisitive person who didn't know how to mind her own business. Of anyone finding me, it was best that it was Mizuki.

"Ah!" I cried out as I realized a tearful Gabriella was now directly in my face.

"Tell me, Daniel. You have to be honest, it's required by law to be honest to a medical professional." I was pretty sure that wasn't true. "Are you in a gang?"

I opened my mouth to deny it, but then I remembered that whether it was the raider gang in that world, or the people Caleb was gathered, it seemed to be that I was in a gang.