Those professional explanations left Lux stunned, but he didn't dwell on them. As long as he wasn't going to suddenly drop dead, it was fine.
As long as he could use this power to protect HK416 and the others, the details didn't matter.
As for food, with tens of thousands of tons of grain in this warehouse, there was no way he'd starve.
"Since new flesh is already growing, 416, later you can help me walk into the warehouse and start collecting stored grain. The sooner we leave this place, the better."
"The food left in the fridge has already spoiled. If we don't want to eat plain rice forever later, we should head to Walmart early. Then we can at least have things like chili oil with our meals."
"Brother Lux, rest for one more day. At this rate, your wound will fully heal in just two or three days. If something unexpected happens on the road and the wound splits open, it'll be even more troublesome."
"Judging from the situation, we're already far ahead of other survivors. You don't need to push yourself this hard."
Lianne comforted him.
"But I have a lot of people to support… I want all of you to live the happiest lives possible in this world."
"Right now we're still moving from place to place, far from that goal. At the very least, we need to establish a small settlement before we can truly rest…"
Lux said helplessly. He was worried someone might get to the supplies in the supermarket he had his eye on first. Since he knew his leg injury was no longer a big problem, he wanted to set off as early as possible.
"Alright, Lux, just lie down and rest obediently. If you insist on leaving, I'll tie you to the bed and sit on your stomach to keep you from going."
HK416 pushed Lux onto the bed and said firmly.
"Shit, th-that actually sounds kind of nice… being treated forcefully and all…"
"Pfft, so Brother Lux likes being passive, huh? Fetish discovered."
Lianne said with a giggle.
HK416 turned around and sat on Lux's stomach, then propped her arms on either side of his head, forming a kabedon posture.
"Lux, normally I follow your orders. But as medical personnel, when you're injured, you should listen to me and stay here to recover properly before leaving. Otherwise, I'll use any means necessary to keep you here."
Looking down from above, a slightly unhinged smile appeared on HK416's face.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. But lying in bed all the time is boring. Let's play some cards."
Lux smiled and took out a deck of cards.
"If you want to play, I'll play anything with you."
HK416 said gently.
"Hehehe, then I'll relax a bit too."
UMP45 and MDR also gathered by the bed.
"Card games? I want in too!"
M99 ran over.
"Six people? Then let's play Struggling Upstream. Two top, two middle, two bottom—just right."
Seeing more people join, Lux took out another deck of cards.
"Ahaha! I know how to play Struggling Upstream. I can play Fight the Landlord too!"
M99 said confidently.
"Hehehe, Brother Lux, playing without stakes is kind of boring, isn't it? Win or lose wouldn't matter at all. Let's bet on something, shall we?"
Lianne suddenly smiled.
"That's true. But what do you want to bet on? I can bring out some snacks and divide them evenly as starting chips?"
Lux nodded subconsciously and asked.
"Betting snacks might hurt feelings, and 416 would deliberately help you win. That wouldn't be fair competition. Let's just treat snacks as something to enjoy after the game."
"Cough, that makes sense. Then what are we betting? 416 will help me no matter what…"
Lux asked.
"No, no. As long as the bet is something she wants, she won't help you. So let's play something exciting."
Lianne said with a grin.
"What kind of exciting?"
Lux looked at her in confusion.
"How could that be! Lux is my most precious treasure. I would never harm the Commander just to satisfy my own desires."
HK416 interjected seriously.
"Hehehe, then what if the wager is the Commander's body~? In that case, you'd have to return to a fair game and wouldn't be able to deliberately help Brother Lux anymore, right?"
Lianne revealed a foxlike, cunning smile.
HK416 froze for a moment, then nodded firmly without saying a word. At the same time, a strong desire to play radiated from her.
"The two players who end up in the lower tier have to take off one piece of clothing. Once there's nothing left to take off, the two players in the top tier get to touch the lower-tier players for one minute. How about that?"
"Hahahaha, wouldn't that mean I profit massively? I'm a man—am I supposed to be afraid of being touched by you? I'd be winning big."
Lux laughed arrogantly.
"Oh my, at least personally, I do want to touch you, Brother Lux. And your risk isn't small either. After all, everyone here is a girl—there's only you as a guy. Be careful, or we might completely devour you."
"No worries, no worries. I'm super brave. I trained my card skills online before—why would I be afraid of you?"
Lux said confidently.
"Hehehe, then the wager is settled—strip poker~"
Lianne clapped her hands and finalized it.
"Wait! Th-this—this is sexual harassment, right?! I—I object!"
M99 shouted seriously.
"Oh? Could it be that you're scared, M99? Don't worry. As long as you don't lose repeatedly, you won't be stripped so easily. Just win, right?"
Lianne immediately used provocation.
"Oh! That makes sense! Bring it on!"
M99 took the bait without hesitation.
"Oh right, Commander, do you have white chocolate and a diamond ring?"
M99 suddenly asked.
"What do you need that for?"
Lux asked in confusion.
"I want to prepare like in the movies, you know—hand-rubbing suits in advance."
"Hey, hey, that's cheating. Cheating is forbidden."
"Huh? I can't hand-rub suits??"
M99 said regretfully.
"Of course not. We're using two decks. Aces with Kings total eight cards. Playing more than that is obviously cheating."
Lux said helplessly.
"Hahaha, let me deal the cards! Miss MDR here has extremely superb dealing skills!"
MDR volunteered enthusiastically. Lux casually tossed the two decks of cards to her.
He mostly played card games online before and didn't know those flashy real-life dealing and shuffling techniques.
MDR took the cards and began shuffling them in the air in an extremely cool manner. M99's eyes immediately lit up.
"So—so cool. I didn't know Miss MDR could do that."
"Yeah, it really is pretty cool."
Lux nodded in agreement.
"Hehehe, I've trashed plenty of magicians on forums and message boards before. I also practiced a bit of magic as a hobby. This is small stuff."