Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System-Chapter 198: Overwhelming Emotions

Brandon looked at the soup and smiled. "Wow, this looks so good. When was the last time we had a cooked meal? It’s even got meat!"

He bent over to pour himself a bowl when his wife grabbed his wrist.

"What’s wrong, honey?" he asked curiously. He could tell something was off by her expression.

Mila opened and closed her mouth a few times, then looked around to make sure no one else would hear her.

"I... I feel like this soup might be poisoned. I just don’t understand why they’re being so kind! And to insist that we stay here?" she whispered. Her hand started to shake as panic set in; she was truly frightened now.

Brandon stood back up and placed his arm around her. "Sweetie, don’t overthink it. They don’t seem like evil people. I think they were genuinely worried about us."

"You never watched crime documentaries! I have! And let me tell you, it’s usually the ones who appear the most innocent that do all the bad stuff!" she whispered, panic rising in her voice.

Brandon frowned. "Well, how about this: I’ll try the soup, and we can wait. If I’m fine after a while, then it’s safe to eat. It’ll just be sad if we have to eat it cold."

Mila looked at her husband with tears in her eyes. "Why do you always volunteer to do the dangerous tasks? Can’t you think of me for once?"

Brandon smiled and patted his wife gently. "If I don’t do it, who will? This is the responsibility I signed up for when I was elected the leader of our small group."

Mila’s eyes turned red, and she looked away. She saw the group looking eagerly at the pot of soup, hoping that they could eat a warm meal for the first time in months.

Brandon didn’t wait any longer and poured himself a single ladleful of soup. Before Mila could protest, he quickly drank it directly from the bowl.

"Why did you drink so much?!" cried Mila. She felt everything around her begin to spin. Thankfully, Brandon caught her before she fainted from stress.

He carried his wife over to her bed and gently covered her with a blanket.

Turning to the rest of the group, he cleared his throat. "If nothing happens to me in fifteen minutes, then we will begin to pass around the soup. For now, I will place the pot beside the pellet stove to keep it warm."

The rest of the group’s eyes widened. They hadn’t even considered that there might be something wrong with the soup.

Some were even jealous that Brandon got to drink it first, but after hearing his words, they quickly reflected on how selfish their thoughts had been.

Fifteen minutes later, Brandon smiled. "It should be safe. I feel perfectly fine! Actually, I feel better than before."

The rest of the group cheered at the good news and got up to pour themselves a bowl. There was enough soup for everyone to have two generous portions, so everyone patiently waited in line.

The stove kept the soup hot, so everyone felt a lot warmer after only a few spoonfuls.

David brought over a bowl to Laura, excited that she would finally be able to eat more nutritious food.

"I tried to scoop out extra chicken and vegetables for you," he said quietly.

Laura looked at her husband and felt warm inside. The soup looked so appetizing that she couldn’t wait and immediately took a sip, burning her tongue.

"Oh, be careful! It’s still very hot," he said, handing her a cup of water.

While everyone was quietly eating the soup, Mila finally woke up.

"Brandon? Where is Brandon?! Is he okay?!" she jumped out of bed in a panic.

Brandon walked over and hugged her. "I’m perfectly fine, my love. Here, have some soup." He handed her a bowl that he had poured for her earlier.

Mila looked at him, then down at the bowl of soup. "You’re okay? The soup is safe?" she asked a few more times.

"Yes, honey. We’ve all had some already. Now try it before it gets cold," smiled Brandon. While he could admit that his personality was a bit too trusting, his wife was the opposite. She easily overthought things, leading to a downward spiral.

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Mila looked around the room, noticing the empty or half-empty bowls in everyone’s hands and the happy smiles on their faces.

One of the other women looked at Mila. "It was so delicious, I can’t believe I’m not dreaming!" she said, urging Mila to try it.

Finally, after everyone’s convincing, she accepted the spoon that her husband held out for her and took her first sip of broth.

The hot liquid traveled down into her stomach, warming her body almost immediately. She quickly took another sip, but this time with the tortellini and vegetables.

"This is so good," she said quietly. Her eyes began to water from the overwhelming emotions she was feeling.

How long has it been since I’ve had a warm meal? It feels like lifetimes ago...

As she continued to eat, tears flowed down her cheeks, causing the others to also get emotional. After the filling meal, everyone cleaned up and went to sleep.

Mila laid beside her husband. "Maybe staying here wouldn’t be a bad thing after all," she whispered.

Brandon pushed Mila’s hair out of her face and smiled. "I think they’re good people."

In their room, Rayne and Julian were oblivious to the internal struggles that had transpired in the reception room.

"They agreed to stay just like that?" asked Rayne.

Julian had just finished telling her about how quickly he was able to convince their leader to have them stay for at least a few days.

"Yeah, he was only a little hesitant at first. I feel like he was worried about inconveniencing us," replied Julian.

Rayne agreed. She could see the nervousness in Mila’s eyes when they spoke earlier.

"Hopefully they’re good people, and we can get along in the future," she finally said. She was excited to see the forest clearing tomorrow and begin the base-building process!

With hopeful thoughts of the future, she fell asleep sweetly beside Julian.