"This is the gray stone...?" Tomie asked, holding the tiny stone, no larger than a mung bean, between her slender fingers.

Her surprised expression brushed against the raw nerves in my mind like warm water, a quiet sting.

I nodded.

"How do you use it?"

"Just eat it."

She shot me a glare, the kind a person gives when they want to devour you with their eyes.

"I don’t know," I admitted. "When I picked it up, it melted in my palm on its own."

I shrugged, trying to sound casual.

Tomie didn’t seem to find any clues in my face. The truth was, I had no idea what I was doing. The fact that I’d even managed to accidentally transform the gray stone felt like pure luck.

Suddenly, an idea struck me. I tried to recall the moment.

I was lost in thought when, without warning, Tomie tossed the gray stone into her mouth.

"Hey! Are you crazy?!"

I reacted instantly, trying to grab her hand, but it was too late. Her throat moved slightly, and she had clearly swallowed it.

I clasped my head in my hands, panicking. "What now?!" I was so worried I didn’t know what to do.

"It... seems fine," she said, after a long pause, her tone oddly calm.

"Really... nothing happened?"

I watched her throat warily, and she stared back at me blankly. Then, for some reason, my gaze dropped, and I couldn’t help but notice her chest. It wasn’t intentional, but at this distance, the shape of her body had an almost magnetic pull. I'd been doing my best to avoid these thoughts out of politeness, but it was impossible not to notice, especially at this scale.

I quickly averted my eyes, feeling heat rush to my ears.

Tomie didn’t look away. Her eyes remained locked on me for a moment.

"Mmhm," she sneered coldly. "Never seen anything that big, have you?"

I didn’t expect that kind of question, and I hesitated, nodding slightly before quickly shaking my head, unsure how to respond. It felt like I had been caught cheating on a test. It was rare for me to be in such an awkward situation, and I felt exposed.

Realizing that keeping my head down would only make me look guilty, I raised my gaze. But then, a shadow swiftly came toward my face.

Tomie reached out with her right hand and grabbed my face.

"Ah! That hurts!"

I grabbed her arm, trying to free myself, but her grip felt like a vice. Her strength was incredible.

"My grip can handle 400 kilograms," she said with pride.

"Are you some kind of crocodile?!"

"Let go of me! You’re a liar! The gray stone must have worked, right?!"

"It just worked," she laughed. "Now it’s probably closer to 500 kilograms."

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"Let go! You muscle-bound freak! Big-chested airhead!"

I’d only seen scenes on TV where people’s faces were grabbed and then easily freed, and I’d always laughed at how ridiculous it seemed. I never thought something so absurd would happen to me.

Finally, she released me, and I fell to the floor in a heap. Tomie stood over me, hands on her hips, bending down to glare at me from above.

"Muscle-bound freak? Big-chested airhead?"

I rubbed my temples, my head still spinning. When I looked up, my gaze landed once again on her chest. It seemed even bigger now. Realizing where my thoughts had wandered, I felt a pang of guilt.

I wasn’t someone who usually made cutting remarks. But whatever the reason, once the words left my mouth, they couldn’t be taken back. I often mocked people like that when watching TV or reading novels, but now I’d made the same mistake myself. It was a bit of irony, really. I didn’t want to make excuses for myself, and it was clear Tomie had every right to be angry.

I had braced myself for punishment, though the physical pain from earlier felt trivial in comparison. I could take the pain, but Tomie? She had to endure the emotional hurt. No woman, no matter how tough, would be indifferent to such insults.

Verbal abuse was cowardly. It wasn’t something a man should do.

I was ashamed of myself.

"Sorry..." I muttered.

"I didn’t say I hated you," she replied, unexpectedly.

I blinked in confusion, my mind reeling.

"I just wanted to try something," she continued, extending her right hand and flexing her fingers, from pinky to thumb. "I’ve been well-developed since I was young. I grew up fast, and I’m used to men staring at me. In high school, a senior confessed to me, and when I turned him down, he started spreading rumors about me, claiming I had seduced him. The girls, too—they envied me and were jealous. You can guess how things went after that. Thanks to them, my high school years became a stain on my life."

She spoke in a detached manner, and though I didn’t understand why she was suddenly talking about her past, I couldn’t help but listen quietly.

Tomie paused for a moment, then smiled. It was a calm smile, but there was something hidden beneath it—a hint of something darker.

It was a bit unsettling. Was she still hurt by all that?

"It was hard back then," she said with a bitter smile. "I really wanted to crush those idiots’ skulls."

"Uh... What does that have to do with me?"

"Oh, because you were staring at my chest, it reminded me of those unpleasant times, so I decided to do what I couldn’t do then, but with you. Sorry about the 'muscle-bound freak' and 'big-chested airhead' comments. I won’t hold it against you."

She stretched out her hand and helped me up. I dusted myself off, pretending it didn’t bother me.

"Forget it. It’s really my fault."

"Don’t be mad," she said with a teasing smile. "As an apology, I’ll allow you to stare at my chest. After all, it’s something I’m proud of."

Tomie puffed her chest out proudly. "Only the excellent get envied. Envy leads to hatred."

Proud of it? Was that confidence, or arrogance?

No. Wait.

I didn’t need her permission!

Earlier, I had mentioned that the diamond-shaped mark could reveal some information. Maybe it would work on Tomie too. But I had always tried to avoid prying into others’ private matters, adhering to the principle of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Only now, since Tomie had started talking about her own past, did I decide to use the mark to check her details.

**Name**: Tomie

**Age**: 23

**Occupation**: Graduate Student

**Rating**: D

Her rating was just as astonishing as her chest.

Thinking about it, Tomie gave off a vague impression. Despite being a woman, she didn’t seem to react like most people when facing new or unsettling situations. She remained calm in the face of death, unfazed by the gruesome sight of zombies. She even seemed bold enough to ignore the disgusting creatures entirely. I couldn’t help but wonder what gave her such courage. She didn’t seem careless, but she wasn’t one to overthink either. Her judgment was sharp—almost as though she could read people’s minds.

I realized that she was one of those people who could adapt quickly to any situation.

Survival of the fittest. Tomie was probably even more capable than I had originally thought.

Where had this evaluation come from? Maybe her claim of 400 kilograms of grip strength wasn’t just bragging. The thought lingered in my mind before I pushed it aside.

What was clear was that if she had gotten here before me, she would have easily taken down the ghost dog. After all, leaving out the factor of strength, our intelligence levels weren’t even in the same league.

We continued clearing the rooms, following the same pattern. We collected a few bags of useful and possibly useful items and piled them up in a clean room on the second floor, which we decided to turn into a base.

By now, the sun was already setting. The afterglow wasn’t blinding, and the orange-red clouds spread out into the distance, gradually fading into a thin veil, finally merging with the blue sky.

The light slowly dimmed, and the sounds of zombies and monsters echoed in the distance. Occasional screams and gunshots rang out, reminding us that there were still other people in the city. But in the dusk, everything felt more isolated, lonely, and melancholic.

Tomie and I stood side by side in the hallway, gazing out at the broken cityscape.

The dark night was fast approaching.