The will to live is one of the most crucial variables that a person preparing for the apocalypse must manage.@@@@


    There aren’t many ways to strengthen one’s will to live in an era where everything is deteriorating.


    The closest thing to a solution is people.


    Family, a lover—something like that.


    But human relationships come with baggage. Bringing someone else into your life means taking responsibility for another person (who, more often than not, is less capable of surviving than you are). Worse, if conflict arises, that relationship might end up doing more harm than good.


    That’s why, in the early days of the war, I actively avoided adding people to my circle.


    Rather than increasing my will to live by bringing in outside influences, I managed it by ensuring it never broke in the first place.


    A certain level of comfort, an environment free of unnecessary discomfort, security, and some form of daily enjoyment—these are essential to maintaining the will to live.


    When these elements are lost and stress builds up, people either go insane or start viewing death lightly.


    For a moment, I imagined a balding, arsenic-poisoned man with a face blackened from chemical exposure staring me down.


    Then, he followed up:


    Message from Dolsingman: I like her. What do you think you''re going to do if you show up? Kill her just because she poisoned me?


    Message from Dolsingman: Actually, can you even kill her? Lol.


    Message from Dolsingman: And by the way, who the hell are you? You sound like some young brat. And, damn, you reek of someone who didn’t get a proper education.


    “Huh?”


    This asshole.


    Was this what he was really like?


    I hadn’t interacted with him enough to know his personality, but I didn’t remember him being this much of a bitter, twisted bastard.


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