The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 14: Getting the Hang of It

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Getting the Hang of It

He was incredibly fast, pinning Luna Dawson so she couldn’t move. Her elbow ached from the pressure, and beads of sweat broke out on her forehead in desperation.

She knew her unorthodox style was no match for a real special forces soldier. It was clear that if this stalemate continued, she was going to lose.

The nightmare of being humiliated to the point of desperation during the apocalypse suddenly ignited a ruthless spark in her. Her attacks became less orthodox, and in a rush of blood to the head, she resorted to a dirty trick.

Seizing the moment Kevin Keane leaned over slightly to adjust his stance, her free hand shot down and landed squarely on his butt. She even squeezed it forcefully, a purely subconscious reaction.

’Feels pretty good, actually.’

The air instantly solidified!

Kevin Keane’s body went rigid. His grip on her forearm loosened slightly, and the base of his ears flushed a shade of red visible to the naked eye.

He turned his handsome, stern face to glare at Luna Dawson, his usually cold eyes now tinged with flustered indignation. His voice cracked. "Luna Dawson! Where did you learn such a dirty move?"

Luna Dawson was dumbfounded herself. The sensation still lingered vividly on her hand. She snatched it back, wiping the back of it behind her again and again.

Her cheeks burned hot enough to fry an egg. "S-Sorry, I thought you’d go easy on me..."

"A spar is about skill, not holding back!" Kevin Keane took a deep breath, struggling to keep a straight face. He couldn’t stop himself from taking half a step back to put some distance between them. His tone was stiff. "Don’t you ever use a dirty trick like that on anyone else."

Luna Dawson pouted, though she felt a bit sheepish. She muttered under her breath, "I still have to use it if I can’t win. I guess I just won’t grab *there* next time..."

The moment she said it, the atmosphere grew even more awkward for everyone present.

The truth was, Kevin Keane had tried to dodge. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to grab him there... He just hadn’t dodged quite fast enough...

Miles Dawson clapped both hands over his mouth, his face flushing red as he suppressed his laughter.

’My sister’s a legend! She really went for it!’

Aaron Palmer was also stunned by the sudden turn of events. Amused, he quickly started messaging Lynn Shelby and Blake Blue to dish on what just happened.

Luna Dawson was so embarrassed she wanted the floor to swallow her whole. Unable to stand the heavy silence any longer, she was the first to speak, her tone apologetic. "I’m sorry, I really didn’t do it on purpose. If it bothers you... I can add more to your fee!"

’Add more money?!’

The tips of his ears were still flushed. He cleared his throat abruptly to hide his embarrassment, deliberately steadying his voice. "That won’t be necessary!"

He inwardly seethed. ’How did I let a young woman get the better of me? I’ll definitely get her back next time.’

He avoided Luna Dawson’s gaze, turning toward the training equipment and stiffly changing the subject. "Ahem. You’ve got all that brute force, so go hit the punching bag for half an hour to warm up."

He pointed to the punching bag area, single-handedly forcing the atmosphere back onto the track of a proper training session.

In the next moment, the siblings were meekly taking turns with the punching bag. Miles Dawson couldn’t stop his shoulders from shaking with suppressed laughter...

Aaron Palmer watched them, shocked by the force of their punches. ’Is this family naturally superhuman or something?’

Half an hour later, Luna Dawson hurried over with a chilled bottle of water and offered it to Kevin Keane. Her tone was sincere. "Coach Keane, I’m really sorry about earlier. Please, have some water."

"Seeing as you’re so sincere, fine." Kevin Keane gave a slight, still somewhat stiff, nod.

"Coach, you’re from the north, aren’t you? We should treat you to some authentic northeastern food sometime as an apology!" Miles Dawson eagerly chimed in.

"Ahem, how did you know?" Kevin Keane was taken aback. He didn’t think he had ever mentioned it.

"My sister asked Brother Evan about you," Miles Dawson announced, shamelessly selling her out. "He said you were a legend in the military. He also said you were handsome, so my sister immediately decided, ’Great, I want him to be my instructor.’"

"Looking at handsome men adds years to your life. What’s wrong with wanting to live to be a hundred?" Luna Dawson’s face flushed.

Miles Dawson kept pestering him with questions about interesting things that happened in the barracks. Luna Dawson would occasionally interject, steering his questions away from being too intrusive.

Kevin Keane looked down at the two chattering siblings. He was at a loss for words, but a strange, pleasant feeling also began to stir within him.

With training back on track, Kevin Keane got a good grasp of their respective conditions. He meticulously tailored their training plans, teaching each according to their aptitude.

Luna Dawson was quite strong and had some self-taught fighting basics, but her moves lacked form and she often applied force from the wrong places. Kevin Keane focused on correcting her technique.

He used a training baton to correct the angle of her punches, never again daring to make direct physical contact.

He demonstrated the proper way to generate force again and again. He even found a soft pad for her to practice on, to prevent her from just swinging wildly with brute strength.

Miles Dawson was an athlete, so explosive power and stamina were his strengths, but he had zero combat experience. Kevin Keane started him with the basics: stance and footwork.

He had Miles stabilize his base before moving on to offense and defense, arranging targeted sparring sessions to take full advantage of his stamina. The two siblings trained on their own things, but the atmosphere was harmonious. Kevin Keane moved between them, offering patient and professional guidance.

While they spent the week immersed in their combat training, the events mentioned in the email were gradually coming to pass...

Time would tell.

October 11: Easton Province was battered by Super Typhoon Watson, with winds reaching level 17.

November 16: A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Novis Province at 3:16 a.m.

November 26: Mount Zeron in Lorica erupted. The number of casualties was immeasurable.

December 12, pre-dawn: Meteorite impact...

Thanks to the typhoon, the summer heat in Southen faded earlier than usual, replaced by a refreshing coolness.

After only three or four days of training, Luna Dawson announced she needed to take some time off for a trip to Kensington.

"Are you really taking time off? Or do you just think my training methods are too brutal?" A smirk played on Kevin Keane’s lips as he stared at Luna Dawson. His ink-black eyes sparkled, hinting at a devilish sort of charm.

Luna Dawson found herself staring, mesmerized. When she snapped out of it, she cursed inwardly. ’What a charmer.’

Out loud, however, she answered obediently, "That’s not it, Coach. I just bought a house in Kensington that’s being renovated. The contractors are pushing me to come for an inspection and to make a payment for the next phase of the remodel."

"Where in Kensington?" ’So she lives in Kensington, too.’

"In the Dragon Lake Villa Area."

Luna Dawson’s cheeks flushed slightly under his gaze, and her voice was a little husky as she replied.

Kevin Keane raised an eyebrow. ’What a coincidence.’

His eyes twinkled. "Oh? Then go. Take this kid with you. As it happens, I have some business to attend to as well. There will be plenty of time to train later."

Miles Dawson watched from the side, completely baffled. He let out a dramatic wail. "My sister asks for time off and I get rejected by extension? Ah! The heartbreak! I guess I’ll just have to force myself to go back to Kensington and have some fun."

"Thank you for your guidance these past few days, Coach. I look forward to learning from you again."

Luna Dawson tilted her head up and thanked him with a smile.

"Good. I’ll be looking forward to it!"

A smile touched his eyes, making his already handsome features even more captivating.

-----------------

Back at the villa in Kensington, the renovation team had been working for over a month and was about to begin the second phase of the project. They had contacted Luna and her brother to come for a site inspection. If everything was satisfactory, they would prepay the fees for the next stage of construction.

On the afternoon of October 14, Luna and her brother arrived at their future home in Kensington.

The team leader, Max, demonstrated the villa’s intelligent perimeter defense system. A pulsed electric fence and high-precision motion-sensing fiber optics had been installed on the walls and fences, capable of distinguishing between a person climbing or touching them versus a small animal passing by.

As he spoke, he had one of his men place a small gecko on the fence next to the nearly three-meter-high wall. A notification immediately popped up in the first-floor control room, showing that external deterrents—such as tear gas, flashbangs, high-decibel alarms, and high-voltage electrical discharges—could be activated to incapacitate the intruder.

A translator standing nearby relayed Max’s words to the siblings in perfect, clearly enunciated sentences.