Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

Moira Lynch found a detached house.

The house showed no signs of damage, but it was already completely deserted.

Inside, she saw signs of a struggle in the living room, likely caused by the homeowner’s fierce resistance.

After confirming that no one was around, Moira Lynch righted an overturned table, found a stool, took out a pre-prepared meal from her storage space, and began to eat with large mouthfuls.

Just as Moira Lynch was digging in, she suddenly heard a very faint noise. It sounded like someone swallowing.

Moira Lynch didn’t think she had misheard, so she immediately stood up. Her eyes scanned her surroundings warily as her spiritual power swept through the area.

’If I can hear it, the person who made the sound can’t be far away.’

After her spiritual power swept the area again and again, the person hiding in the shadows could no longer hold back and revealed themselves.

Moira Lynch stared at the table she had just been using. In a Blink, it had transformed into a living person. Her expression was one of pure shock.

She looked at the person in front of her, who had a head of curly red hair. Unlike the Ariel people she had seen before, this person’s appearance leaned more toward The Human Race.

Moreover, Moira Lynch didn’t see any features of other creatures on this person.

"Who are you?" Moira Lynch took two steps back, watching the person before her warily.

But the person ignored Moira Lynch, their gaze fixed on the meal container that she had just half-eaten.

Due to her sudden movement, the container had fallen to the floor, spilling a good portion of the food inside.

The person didn’t seem to mind, though. They quickly snatched the container from the ground and began to wolf down the food with their hands.

Seeing this, half of Moira Lynch’s doubts vanished.

’Look at my luck,’ she thought. ’I pick a random house and manage to find a survivor.’

Half a container of food was nowhere near enough; it was gone in just a few bites.

After eating the last grain of rice in the container, the person finally looked up, staring pleadingly at Moira Lynch.

Their round, puppy-dog eyes reminded Moira Lynch of a little dog.

So, Moira Lynch took out a food resource box.

Upon opening the box and seeing the food inside, the person’s eyes lit up, and they began to gorge themselves again.

Only when their stomach was stretched taut and they couldn’t eat another bite did the person finally stop.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch approached. She had originally intended to offer water, but then she thought, ’What if all that food expands in his stomach with water?’ So, she swapped the water for some digestive pills.

"Here. Take these. You’ll feel better."

She had seen many survivors before, but this was the first time she’d seen someone this starved.

’Has this person not eaten at all these past few days?’

"Why were you disguised as a table?" Moira Lynch asked.

The person took the digestive pills, swallowed them in one go, and said, "My name is Joe. Moira Lynch, I wasn’t disguised as a table—I was pranked and turned into one."

In the ensuing conversation, Moira Lynch learned the whole story.

Joe was a student here. His parents, worried about him, had built him a house in this area, and he had just officially moved in a few days ago.

Having moved into a new house, it was natural to have friends over to celebrate, and Joe was no exception.

So he invited a group of good friends to his house for a party.

During the party, they played hide-and-seek.

One of his friends gave him an item that could randomly turn him into a piece of furniture.

If he wasn’t discovered, the transformation would last for three days. If he was found out, he would immediately revert to his original form.

Joe looked at the item and agreed to use it right away, and so he became a table.

Then, right in the middle of their game of hide-and-seek, pirates burst in, captured everyone, and trashed the room.

Fortunately, Joe escaped this fate because he was a table. Unfortunately, he couldn’t change back.

And so, Joe remained a table for three whole days, only reverting after Moira Lynch arrived.

After hearing Joe’s story, Moira Lynch looked at him with a complicated expression. She didn’t know whether to call him lucky or unlucky.

Lucky, because his friends were all captured by pirates, their fates unknown, while he was safe. Unlucky, because although he was safe, he’d spent three days as a table and nearly starved to death.

She had just checked; there wasn’t a scrap of food in the room.

If she hadn’t come, he would have had nothing to eat—not even grass to chew on—once he turned back.

"By the way, looking at your clothes, you’re an escort, right?" Joe suddenly asked.

Moira Lynch nodded. "I am."

Hearing her confirmation, Joe instantly grew excited. "That’s great! I can help you. I’ve wanted to be an escort for a long time. I had almost finished registering, but then my parents found out. They were dead set against it and immediately withdrew my application."

After listening to Joe and seeing the naive look on his face, Moira Lynch cruelly shattered his fantasy. "Being an escort isn’t as great as you think. It’s the profession with the highest mortality rate. Only people who are desperate for money and have no other way to survive choose to become escorts."

Because of the high risk, escorts receive generous pay after each job. If they die during a mission, their families receive a substantial death benefit.

Many people become escorts specifically for that death benefit.

So, most escorts are people with no money at home, or those in desperate need of cash. Very few do it just for the love of it.

"I’m not afraid. I don’t care how dangerous it is. If my life can save more people, then it’s worth it."

Moira Lynch couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Joe’s heroic declaration. She wanted to say something, but after a moment’s thought, she held her tongue.

’After all, who wasn’t young once?’ she mused. ’To be honest, back when I was in school, I also dreamed of saving the world.’

’Playing games where I had to save the world, save humanity, sacrifice myself... I even made myself cry with how moved I was.’

"In any case, I don’t need your help," Moira Lynch refused.

"Why not?" Joe pressed, not giving up.

"You’d just slow me down," Moira Lynch said, giving him a reason he couldn’t refute.

"If you really want to help me, then take care of yourself. Don’t get found by the pirates, and make sure you stay safe."

Fortunately, although Joe was young, he still had some sense. He didn’t insist that Moira Lynch take him with her.

Besides, he had just finished eating and was stuffed to bursting. It was hardly the right time for any strenuous activity.