Chapter 220: Where is the Zombie?
Rose Rhodes’s expression tightened. There were over a thousand people in the bathhouse. What was a High-level Zombie doing sneaking in here?
To start a massacre? A show of force against Central Command?
But High-level Zombies are intelligent. They know Central Command is a hub for humanity’s top fighters.
So why would it... do something so foolish?
Rose Rhodes didn’t dwell on it, simply assuming this High-level Zombie was just hungry, bored, and looking to stir up some trouble.
"What should we do, Rose?" Leafy asked. Oak looked at her as well.
If she said the word, they would leave without a second thought and drop the matter.
But if she wanted to get involved, they would jump in to help just as readily. They followed Rose’s lead, no questions asked.
Rose Rhodes hesitated. She glanced at the bathhouse, where the people inside seemed blissfully unaware of what was coming.
They were all still cheerfully eating fruit, getting massages, soaking in the tubs, and watching movies...
Once the High-level Zombie attacked, it was highly likely no one would make it out alive. She couldn’t bear to see such a great place ruined by a zombie.
Rose Rhodes gritted her teeth. "Let’s go. We can’t tip our hand. We need to evacuate everyone first."
’The thought of notifying Lily Hart that this was Boss Hart’s territory never even crossed her mind.’
The trio walked back inside, acting as if nothing was amiss. The Zombie King, Owen Warren, sat at the reception desk.
He’d clearly seen the three of them come in, go out, and now come back in again. ’What’s with them?’ he thought. ’Did they run out to go mug someone for Crystal Cores?’
Owen Warren didn’t give them much thought. Another customer came up to buy a package, and he was genuinely busy.
Rose Rhodes and her two companions split up to evacuate the crowd, which really meant quietly persuading people one by one.
She was reasonably well-known in Central Command, so most people were inclined to believe her.
After all, her opening line was, "There’s a zombie in here. Head out, and keep it quiet. Don’t make a scene."
Combined with her sharp features and solemn expression, she was hard to disbelieve.
The first dozen or so people were easy. As soon as they heard "zombie," they left for the sake of their own safety.
So what if they wasted the Crystal Cores? They could always go kill more zombies to get them back.
Owen Warren noticed the anomaly, too. It would have been normal for one or two people to leave.
But dozens of people leaving in quick succession was undeniably suspicious.
’Did everyone’s time run out at once? What are the odds?’
He couldn’t help but pause what he was doing, narrowing his eyes to watch.
The three people who had been coming and going had split up. Each of them was now chatting with a different customer.
After a brief chat, those three customers hurried out, their expressions panicked.
’Is there something terrifying in here?’
The Zombie King failed to realize that he himself was that very terrifying existence!
He watched the three of them flee in a panic.
Then he searched for the man and two women who had been darting in and out, and his gaze locked onto them.
’They’re pulling the same trick again, getting another three people to leave. In just a few minutes, they’ve scared off dozens of my customers?!’
The Zombie King was getting annoyed. ’I’m just trying to run a legitimate business here,’ he thought. ’Who did I piss off?’
He sat down, feeling thoroughly wronged. He picked up his Light Brain, wanting to vent to Lily Hart. It would be even better if she came over to console him.
’Maybe leave a few strands of hair or some nail clippings for me to snack on. I’ve been hungry for so long...’
Just then, he heard a commotion and snapped his head up—
He saw the tall, curly-haired woman from the trio. A skinny little man stood before her.
The skinny man glanced around in terror, stammering, "Zombies? Zombies—"
As he yelled, he scrambled to his feet, clumsily knocking over a cup on the table.
Before he could get another word out, Rose Rhodes clamped a hand firmly over his mouth.
She shot him a fierce glare. ’Useless man! Now we’ve really tipped our hand!’
She scanned her surroundings cautiously. Hearing the shout, the nearby customers had all gotten to their feet, their faces etched with instinctual fear.
Oak and Leafy ceased their efforts and rushed to Rose Rhodes’s side, forming a protective stance around her.
’So where’s the zombie? Shouldn’t it be rushing out in a rage, killing someone to show off its power?’
The zombie in question was still at the front desk... watching everything unfold with a deadpan expression.
He watched the panic flash across the customers’ faces at the mere mention of the word "zombie."
He watched them flee in a frenzy, though not without grabbing their leftover fruit.
He watched the tall, curly-haired woman carefully scan the area, seemingly searching for any trace of the zombie.
He watched the man and woman beside her shield her protectively, their expressions resigned as if their own lives meant nothing.
Owen Warren let out a cold laugh and sat back down, angry and disappointed. ’Pathetic humans!’
The moment he sat down, he remembered his role. He was the manager of this bathhouse...
He was supposed to step up, find the zombie, fight the zombie, and reassure the customers.
But... he *was* the zombie.
’Have I been in human society so long that I actually thought I could become human again? That I could fit in?’
’What a joke!’
’I don’t even want to! Zombies are the superior species! We can survive for a decade without food or water, and we don’t feel pain!’
’But... our emotions are also relatively muted.’
Owen Warren slowly rose to his feet, wondering if he should go out, but his legs seemed to have a mind of their own.
He found himself walking right up to the tall, curly-haired woman. The man with her suddenly took a few sharp sniffs of the air.
"The scent is getting stronger!" he said, his tone cautious but certain as he adopted a combat stance.
Rose Rhodes glanced at the surrounding customers. They all looked either confused or panicked.
’Where on earth is the zombie?’
She was suspicious of everyone—except Owen Warren.
’He’s the manager, hand-picked by Lily Hart herself. How could he possibly be a zombie?’
She relayed the situation to him. "Manager Warren, we suspect there’s a zombie on the premises. We’re investigating now."
Owen Warren almost laughed. ’With all this commotion, you think the zombie hasn’t noticed you by now?’
’And it’s just going to wait around for you to catch it?’
Still, what could he do? He had to play his part.
He put on a serious face. "A zombie? Where?" He made a show of scanning the area.
He didn’t spot anything unusual.
’Of course not. The biggest anomaly here is me...’
Rose Rhodes shook her head and looked to Oak, hoping he could sniff something out.
Oak let out a massive sneeze, bending nearly ninety degrees at the waist. As soon as he finished, his nose began to bleed.
He wiped it away unconcernedly with a dirty sleeve. "It’s really strong," he said. "Right here!"
A feeling of helplessness washed over Rose Rhodes. Deciding to check everyone one by one, she walked past Owen Warren and approached a customer behind him.
The customer scrambled backward. "W-w-what do you want? I’m not a zombie!"
Rose Rhodes was speechless. ’If you’re not a zombie, why are you acting so guilty?’
She was about to move on to the next person when she remembered: High-level Zombies are intelligent.
’Could it be hiding in plain sight?’
Rose Rhodes turned back. Just then, Lily Hart arrived in a flurry.
She’d gotten a huge scare. Someone said there was a zombie in the bathhouse. ’Good grief,’ she thought, ’isn’t that just Owen Warren?’
’They aren’t going to drag Owen Warren off, are they?’ She’d rushed over as fast as she could, not even finishing her watermelon.
"What’s going on?" Lily Hart’s voice rang out before she even appeared.
Rose Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief. With Lily Hart here to help, things would be much easier.
It was no surprise she took the matter of zombies so seriously. Her role in Central Command was as one of the commanders of The Guardian Corps.
She was responsible for dispatching The Guardian Corps throughout Central Command. Even though she wasn’t on duty today, an incident like this couldn’t be ignored.
If a High-level Zombie went on a rampage, the result would be catastrophic.