TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 257: Rebecca: Luke, Just One Tube (Patreon)

Ever since that day in the lab, when Rebecca had personally watched Luke beat the berserk Crane around like a punching bag, she had become completely fixated on him.

Like a cat that had caught the scent of something irresistible.

Every few days, she would find some excuse to hover around Luke. More than once, Luke and Ada had been in the middle of getting intimate, only for Rebecca to barge in and ruin everything.

Each time, she was either carrying a stack of research reports or an entire tray of empty blood collection tubes.

"Luke, just one tube." Rebecca pushed up her glasses, her eyes stubborn and determined, making her look every bit the mad scientist.

"The Harran Virus caused an irreversible beneficial transformation in Crane's body. But you've never been infected, and there are no signs that your body has undergone any kind of modification, yet your physical abilities far exceed Crane's."

"Scientifically, that doesn't make sense."

"I need to study your blood."

Luke stared at the densely packed tubes in her hands. "Do you even hear yourself? Does that look like one tube to you? That's a whole damn tray! If you fill all of those, I'll end up looking like a dried corpse!"

Luke shook his head furiously and immediately backed away.

No chance.

Besides, even Luke had no idea what Rebecca might discover from his blood. What if she became obsessed with the results and started trying to drain him every day?

He wasn't stingy with certain other kinds of essence. He had an endless supply of that. And no, not walker essence.

But blood?

Absolutely not.

You could actually die from losing too much of that.

Just look at Crane. The guy was so drained that he started panting after running only twenty kilometers.

Luke had no intention of lying beside Crane and experiencing the female scientist's punishment firsthand.

"Hey, don't be fooled by how many I'm carrying. I'm really only taking one!"

"No!"

"Oh, come on. Just one tube!"

"Not even one drop!"

Rebecca refused to give up, while Luke kept dodging her every attempt.

He ran. She chased.

There was no escaping her.

Eventually, Luke became so desperate that he called for reinforcements.

"Ada, can you please do something about Rebecca? She's completely destroying our happiness!" Luke complained miserably.

Ada's cosplay.

It had already been several days, and he still hadn't even gotten to enjoy the secretary outfit properly.

Ada sat with her long, shapely legs crossed. Today, she had changed into a sleek professional office outfit. Luke had no idea where she kept finding all these clothes. They looked custom-made.

Were there really still tailors this skilled and meticulous after the apocalypse?

Luke could barely keep his eyes off her.

Ada looked up at him, amusement curling at the corners of her lips.

She loved teasing her little puppy.

"Why should I stop Rebecca? I'm curious too," she said leisurely.

Luke: "..."

Don't do this to me.

"You keep saying you're not some kind of biological experiment, but I'm not sure I believe you."

Ada set down the documents in her hand and gently lifted Luke's chin. There was something playfully predatory in her eyes.

It was somehow even more intimidating than Rebecca's stare.

"Even I found berserk Crane difficult to deal with, but you tossed him around like a punching bag. And you expect me to believe you're just naturally gifted?"

"Exactly!"

"Krauser and Mendez too? I asked Luis about your fights. Every one of those guys was a monster, and you still crushed them."

Ada clearly didn't believe him.

"There isn't a normal human being left in this office. I've had years of professional training as an agent, and I know I'm good. Better than most people could ever hope to be. But against you, I doubt I'd last even one move."

"Luke, you stopped being normal a long time ago."

Ada leaned close to his ear and lightly caught his earlobe between her lips, teasing him like a mischievous cat.

"Be a good boy and hand over some blood."

"You wouldn't want to spend your nights sleeping alone, would you? I still have plenty of outfits you haven't seen yet."

"Don't you want to see the pure white bridal dress?"

Luke felt the blood rush straight to his head.

Still, the sight of these two women working together and eyeing his blood like predators sent a chill down his spine.

Damn.

They were in this together.

Ada was so determined to make him hand over his blood that she was even offering that kind of temptation.

The easiest way to breach a fortress really was from the inside.

"Unbelievable! You're betraying me too?!"

Luke wrapped his arms protectively around himself. "Nobody is touching my blood. Anyone who tries is getting punched!"

Then, without the slightest shame, he immediately asked, "The white bridal dress sounds great, but what about the reward you promised me before? You still haven't delivered on that!"

Ada's lips curved into an enticing smile.

"That little reward is nothing. If you obediently hand over your precious blood, then the next time Rebecca walks in..."

"I could hide under the desk."

"Ahem!"

Luke managed to avoid them for the rest of the day.

He couldn't afford to provoke these women.

The pricier the fish, the rougher the seas.

For the next several days, Luke stayed holed up at home and refused to go outside.

No joke. Those women were basically bloodsucking demons.

He shut the front door and completely ignored everything happening outside.

If there was work to discuss, Deanna could come to him.

That morning, Maggie came out carrying breakfast and found Luke curled up on the couch, looking like a hopeless shut-in who had completely given up on life.

"Why aren't you going to work?"

Maggie looked puzzled. "What about everything going on in the Commonwealth? I heard Mercer has been stamping paperwork so fast the stamp is practically smoking. Eugene's testing the turrets too. Aren't you going to take a look? A lot of people are going to watch today."

This was also one of Deanna's ways of building Luke's reputation.

She wanted the public to see just how formidable the Commonwealth's defenses really were.

With towering walls, automated turrets, and burning trenches designed to roast walkers, what walker would dare come close?

Anything that did would be reduced to ashes almost immediately.

"Work? Only wage slaves go to work!"

Luke let out a long sigh.

"Besides, for me right now, going to work feels like walking into my own funeral."

"Those women out there are getting crazier by the day. They're practically trying to eat me alive."

He spoke with heartfelt misery.

"My poor body can't take this. They're all beautiful snakes!"

Rosita happened to walk out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee. Hearing that, she gave him a sidelong glance.

"Oh?" she drawled, clearly enjoying his misery. "So our king is finally capable of self-awareness? I thought you never turned anyone down. Otherwise, where did that little wildcat come from?"

"You really don't need to be saying that," Luke replied, giving her a sideways look.

The little cheetah had absolutely no self-awareness of her own.

"None of you understand my suffering. There was once a golden opportunity right in front of me, and I failed to appreciate it. Now I've lost countless chances because of it. What a disaster."

Rosita burst out laughing at his pitiful expression.

Despite all her teasing, she genuinely wanted Luke to rest.

Whenever Luke stayed home, she absolutely refused to go to work herself.

And Rosita's ambitions didn't end there.

Maggie, however, couldn't bring herself to laugh.

She looked at her foolish younger sister and frowned slightly.

Hershel had been pressing her more and more lately.

He was getting old, and his greatest wish was to see Maggie and Luke finally have children of their own.

After all, in the apocalypse, children meant hope.

The next generation had to grow strong and resilient on this land.