Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1166: Buying Time [2]

Michael had barely taken a few steps into the living room before Lily caught up to him.

"So?"

She folded her arms.

"What happened?"

Michael looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

Lily stared at him as though he had asked the world's most obvious question.

"You left in a hurry and came back looking so exhausted."

"And you just said a lot happened."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"So…"

"What happened?"

Michael smiled helplessly.

"I'll explain later."

Lily continued staring at him for several more seconds before finally sighing dramatically.

"Fine."

Michael laughed.

Only then did Lily finally seem satisfied.

"Good."

She pointed toward the kitchen.

"Mom's cooking in the kitchen. You should go and greet her."

Michael nodded before walking toward the kitchen, the pleasant aroma becoming even stronger as he approached.

Stepping inside, he found Aunt Mia standing beside the kitchen counter with several freshly caught fish neatly arranged on a wooden cutting board.

She was carefully gutting another with practiced movements while two more already sizzled gently on the electric stove nearby, the quiet crackling of hot oil mixing pleasantly with the occasional hiss from the pan.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, and the moment she saw Michael, a warm smile appeared on her face.

"You're back."

Michael smiled in return.

"I'm back."

For a brief moment, everything felt wonderfully normal. Then Aunt Mia's smile gradually faded as her eyes carefully studied his face, taking in the slight paleness, the tired eyes, and the faint weakness hidden beneath his usual composure.

Although he had recovered considerably after everything that had happened, his condition still wasn't something that could completely escape her. Her expression immediately became worried.

"Michael…"

She set the knife down.

"Is something wrong?"

"You don't look well."

Michael knew immediately that hiding it was impossible, but there was no reason to make her worry even more, at least for now since he needed to soften the atmosphere before telling her some things. He smiled reassuringly.

"I'm alright."

"Just tired."

"I've had… a rather long day."

Aunt Mia clearly wasn't completely convinced.

"You should rest."

"You've been working too hard lately."

Michael nodded obediently.

"I will."

Not wanting her thoughts to remain on him, he deliberately shifted the conversation.

"It smells really good."

He looked toward the fish on the stove.

"Where did you find them?"

Just as he expected, Aunt Mia's attention immediately shifted, and her worried expression softened into a smile once again.

"Jester showed me."

She pointed toward the window overlooking the lake.

"There were so many."

She laughed softly.

"I've never seen fish so easy to catch before."

Then she looked around the kitchen.

"And honestly…"

"I'm still amazed."

She slowly swept her gaze across the room.

"You really built all this?"

Michael nodded.

"More or less."

She smiled warmly.

"It's wonderful."

"So Comfortable."

She gently ran her hand across the smooth wooden countertop.

"When you said we needed to go somewhere for a little while I thought we'd be living inside some gloomy underground cave or something."

"But this…"

"It feels like a real home."

Her eyes wandered toward the windows overlooking the lake.

"The scenery is beautiful."

"The air is fresh."

"And it's so peaceful."

She smiled to herself.

"I like it here."

Interestingly, she never asked how any of it worked, partly because Aunt Mia suspected many of those things were secrets Michael couldn't casually reveal.

But even more importantly, she simply wasn't interested in the mechanics; to her, it felt like anything Michael would say would sound impossibly complicated, and as long as he was safe, that was enough.

Michael found himself smiling, already knowing exactly where those fish had come from. Unlike many of the other creatures now inhabiting the Mausoleum, these particular fish had been introduced personally by him.

Over the past several months, Jester had been given enormous freedom to develop the Mausoleum. Countless plants, birds, small mammals, and even insects had been transplanted from Aurora or nurtured through the Land of Origin until entire ecosystems gradually formed.

At this point, even Michael couldn't confidently identify every species that now lived somewhere within his world unless he deliberately checked.

Jester had simply done too thorough a job.

But the fish in this land had been Michael's own idea. Back when he first began constructing this lakeside residence, he had envisioned occasionally spending a quiet afternoon fishing and had even gone as far as purchasing rods, hooks, lines, bait, folding chairs, and various fishing equipment from Aurora before transporting everything into the Mausoleum.

He remembered being strangely excited at the time, but unfortunately, reality hadn't matched the fantasy. Fishing turned out to be an exceptionally poor hobby for someone like him whose senses were far too sharp.

His perception extended beneath the water, allowing him to detect every movement of every fish within hundreds of meters. If he wanted, he could simply point at a particular fish and retrieve it instantly with telekinesis.

Waiting patiently for one to bite became almost impossible when he already knew exactly where every fish was swimming.

After trying it a handful of times, he had quietly admitted defeat, leaving the fishing rods in storage ever since while the fish themselves multiplied until they became today's meal.

The thought made Michael shake his head with an amused smile, glad that at least they hadn't gone to waste.

Michael's gaze drifted back toward the cutting board, and only now, paying closer attention, did he notice something he had overlooked: tiny puncture marks near the mouths of several fish, the unmistakable signs left behind by fishing hooks.

Michael blinked.

"…Wait."

He looked at Aunt Mia.

"You didn't catch these by yourself…"

His eyes widened slightly.

"…Did you?"

Aunt Mia smiled brightly, looking almost embarrassed for a brief moment as she rubbed the back of her neck and gave a small nod.

"I did."

Michael stared at her.

"You went fishing?"

Another nod.

"I did."

Michael clicked his tongue silently, wondering why he was just finding out Aunt Mia was quite the fisher.