Chapter 37: Obtaining the Map
The two of them came down from the building together. Olivia swung a leg over her motorcycle and sped off toward her home, with Finn seated behind her.
The sunlight was warm and pleasant. As they rode, Olivia’s golden hair streamed in the wind, and the fresh scent of mint kept drifting back to Finn.
Her face glowed with a bright smile, and her whole demeanor seemed to have changed—from a tough female warrior into the girl next door. Even so, a sharp, no-nonsense edge still showed through whenever she walked or spoke.
On the barren highway, a truck loaded with firewood came barreling toward them. It took up the center of the road and showed no sign of moving aside.
Traffic rules no longer existed in this era, so Olivia had to wrench the handlebars hard. The motorcycle fishtailed in a smooth, stylish arc and slipped neatly past the truck.
Only after clearing the truck did Olivia remember she had a passenger. She twisted her head around in alarm, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Finn sitting there perfectly fine.
“Sorry, I hardly ever give anyone a ride,” Olivia called over the wind. “Hold on to my waist, or you might lose your balance.”
As she spoke, she straightened her back slightly, pressing her shapely waist closer to him.
“I’m fine,” Finn said. He had no intention of taking advantage of the situation. He simply gripped the side rails with both hands and sat there rock-steady, not shifting even once.
The motorcycle wound its way through the quiet streets and finally pulled up outside her home.
Olivia Hill lived alone. Her home was simple and modest, with hardly any large furniture inside.
The largest item in the room was a homemade cloth punching bag that took up a big stretch of open floor space, its surface covered in deep fist dents. A few crushed iron canisters lay scattered across the ground—clear proof that Olivia trained hard at combat on a regular basis.
“Sorry, I haven’t really cleaned up,” Olivia said in a rush. She grabbed a broom and swept the canisters into the corner. Trash cans didn’t exist anymore, let alone recycling centers or garbage collectors.
“Do you know the way to Ironatom?” Finn asked casually. He pulled over a chair and sat down, unbothered by the mess.
Olivia rummaged through boxes and cabinets until she found what she was looking for. She handed Finn a thick stack of old maps and some yellowed books and magazines.
She sat down right beside him and spread the maps open. “When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the world outside Refuge City. I loved the adventure stories my dad used to tell, so I collected every scrap of information I could find. I always dreamed of leaving Black Mountain one day and seeing it all for myself.”
She gave a bitter laugh. “Then I grew up and realized that just managing my own life inside Refuge City was already more than enough.”
Finn nodded. He sat up straight, back rigid, and began studying the worn maps in front of him.
They were old and tattered, stained with faint brownish tea marks that carried the quiet weight of years. A few of them, judging by the print dates, were relics from before the Cataclysm.
The others were newer but much cruder—hand-drawn by wasteland hunters and traders, their lines still showing the rough, personal touch of manual work.
Finn had scouted the area outside Black Mountain a few times before, so he already knew the nearby terrain. He pulled out a compass, cross-checked it against the maps, and quickly formed a solid mental picture.
He didn’t try to hide what he was doing from Olivia. He simply took out his phone, snapped photos of every map, saved all the terrain data as images, and opened the map-generation app stored on the device.
In less than two seconds, a clean electronic map combining every scrap of information appeared on the screen.
Finn realized it would probably be better if Olivia didn’t see too much of this. Explaining it later would be troublesome. He glanced sideways and noticed she wasn’t looking at the phone at all—her eyes were locked on him instead.
“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?” Finn asked, touching his cheek.
Olivia started and quickly looked away. “Ah… no, nothing. I just thought… you look really good when you’re focused like that.”
Good? Finn had never heard a woman describe him that way before. For a second, he didn’t know what to say.
He had always been honest with himself. His looks were average at best—decent, but nothing close to handsome, let alone stunning.
In Endless Worlds, cosmetic surgery and genetic modification were everyday things. If you wanted a certain face, you could get it.
Even the ugliest person could be reshaped into a jaw-dropping beauty—handsome enough to stop traffic. Walk down the street and you’d leave eighty-year-old grandmas and eight-year-old girls alike completely smitten.
But Finn had zero interest in any of that. For one thing, he was used to his own natural face. For another, when it came to infiltration or undercover work, a plain, forgettable face was the best camouflage you could ask for.
In TV shows and movies, spies and secret agents were always either drop-dead gorgeous or impossibly handsome. That was pure fantasy. The real top-tier operatives were the ones with completely ordinary faces—the kind that disappeared the second they stepped into a crowd.
Guys who looked like movie stars drew attention everywhere they went. How were they supposed to pull off covert missions?
And beautiful female agents? The moment they got caught, they’d be dragged into some back room and put through every “interrogation technique” in the book.
……
Olivia noticed Finn’s puzzled look and suddenly seemed restless. She stood up. “Keep working on the maps. I’m going to take a shower.”
The bathroom was just off the living room. She stepped inside, and behind the frosted glass door the incandescent light clicked on, filling the space with a soft yellow glow.
Finn didn’t think much of it. Finding any trace of the World Nucleus was the priority, so he turned his attention back to the maps.
The steady patter of water started up, broken now and then by the girl’s soft, low gasps. Warm streams slid over her body and dripped onto the floor in steady drops.
Finn glanced over and realized Olivia hadn’t closed the bathroom door. A few splashes of water were even spraying out into the living room.
“Hey, Olivia,” he called, trying to be helpful, “you forgot to close the door.”
“Ah, sorry! I forgot,” Olivia called from inside the bathroom. “I’m used to living alone, so I’m not used to having anyone else here.”
She reached out a slender, fair wrist and gently slid the frosted glass door shut. The sound of the running water immediately softened.
While Olivia was still in the bathroom, Finn quickly pulled up the 3D map projection on his phone.
A pale blue holographic map flickered into view, outlining all the combined terrain data. Finn studied it for a moment and soon had the route to Ironatom locked in.
Before long, Olivia finished her shower. She stepped out of the bedroom, towel-drying her hair as she walked.
She was wearing only a pair of tight shorts and a white short-sleeved top. The shirt was clearly a size too small, revealing her slim waist, her navel, and a generous stretch of fair skin. Her whole presence felt even fresher and more charming than before.
“Do you need help going through the maps?” Olivia asked, leaning over him. She was pressed close to Finn’s side, close enough that he could catch the light, pleasant scent that was uniquely hers.
“No. I’ve already figured them out,” Finn said, standing up. “I’ll set out for Ironatom tomorrow.”
“You can borrow all these maps,” Olivia said quickly. “You might need them on the road. Just bring them back when you’re done.”
She lowered her head slightly. A trace of disappointment flickered in her clear blue eyes, but Finn didn’t notice.
“No, don’t trouble yourself,” Finn replied firmly. Since he had already saved all the map data on his phone, the paper versions were pointless to him now.