Chapter 69: Looking for a Steal
Ethan Coleman’s gaze fell on the scratches across Kelvin Miller’s back, which weren’t completely hidden by his uniform. The bloody marks stood out starkly against the light-colored fabric.
’Thank God the one who got scratched is a Superpower User. If he were a regular soldier, I would have likely lost another comrade...’
He pulled his gaze away and listened to his subordinate’s envious questions. A complex, bitter smile touched his lips. "He was originally from our unit. Two years ago, he was dead set on getting discharged. We couldn’t convince him to stay, that little rascal!"
As he finished, he let out a soft snort. There was little blame in his voice, mostly a sense of relief. "But looking at it now, his discharge wasn’t such a bad thing after all."
The smile on Kelvin Miller’s face faltered for a moment before he broke into another broad grin.
His eyes lit up as he said, "In any case, if I ever get the chance to see them again, I’ll have to thank them properly! If I could learn a trick or two from them, that would be incredible!"
Ethan Coleman had raised his hand to clap him on the shoulder, but then he remembered the wound there and his hand froze mid-air.
He then slowly lowered his hand to Kelvin Miller’s other shoulder and gently straightened his uniform, which was torn and dusty from the fight.
His gaze was gentle yet firm. "Good. Our soldiers are second to none. Focus on healing. There will be plenty of opportunities to train later."
Meanwhile, with Luna Dawson and her group...
"Sis! How are things on your end?"
A burst of static crackled through the communication headset Luna Dawson wore.
It was Miles Dawson. He and the others in the car had heard the military truck drive off, followed by a few explosions, and then silence. He couldn’t help but ask, worried.
She quickly summarized the rescue and the burning zombies, telling them to drive over in two hours to dig for Crystal Cores.
The group on the roof looked out over the wall. The explosions had attracted three to four hundred zombies, which were now gathered in various spots below. They picked them off one by one with their submachine guns.
In a few distant high-rise office buildings, quite a few people hadn’t left with the rescue unit.
Some had been trapped by the circumstances and missed their chance. But many more were hoping to scavenge what was left behind, and they peered out their windows to watch the commotion.
"What’s there to be afraid of? We’re inside the walls of Kensington Base. We can hide anywhere. No need to suffer in a crowded safe zone with all those regular people."
"Exactly! There are fewer zombies and people around right now. It’s the perfect chance to stock up on supplies. It’s a hundred times better than living on those meager rations in the safe zone!"
Seeing the military truck completely swarmed by the horde earlier, Quentin Sawyer grinned from ear to ear.
"Good thing we didn’t go. Otherwise, we’d be the ones surrounded right now! Ha ha!"
"You got that right. Those grunts were just trying to be heroes!"
Then the military truck scrambled away, and the faint sound of explosions echoed from the distance.
Leonard Miller, who was as skinny as a monkey, had his eyes light up. "Hey, look! They took off in such a hurry. You think they left some Crystal Cores behind?"
Quentin Sawyer, who had a scar across his face, slapped the windowsill. "Let’s go!" he barked. "Charleston, come with me! Those grunts fled in such a panic, they must have left a ton of Crystal Cores behind. It’d be a waste not to grab them!"
Bull immediately shuffled forward, bowing and scraping like a dog. "Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Brother Sawyer is as sharp as ever! You’re truly worthy of being Mr. Sawyer’s own brother. Your brain works ten times faster than ours!"
The flattery went straight to Quentin Sawyer’s head.
Logan Sawyer had been their leader before the apocalypse, organizing everyone to gather supplies. So, naturally, everyone treated the two brothers as the ones in charge. No one dared to cross them.
Leonard Miller’s eyes darted around. "Brother Drake, some time has passed. Aren’t we going to move all this stuff?"
Logan Sawyer scoffed, speaking with complete confidence. "Just pack it up. Who around here would dare touch our things?"
"Yes, of course!" Leonard Miller chimed in.
Before long, the group had stealthily made their way nearby.
Bull stared, dumbfounded, at the barricade of abandoned vehicles surrounding several large buildings.
"Damn, those soldiers’ superpowers are insane. To build a wall this high to block the zombies..."
"What are you gawking at? Get a move on and search the area! Find any zombies whose heads haven’t been cracked open and get those cores for me!"
As he spoke, Quentin Sawyer kicked a few of the men nearest to him, barking at them to hurry.
Just as Leonard Miller and the others were rubbing their hands in anticipation, about to approach the dozens of charred zombie corpses outside the wall, Kevin Keane spotted them.
He raised his submachine gun and slowly walked to the edge of the roof.
From his high vantage point, he looked down on the men below.
The flickering flames behind him threw the taut muscles under his combat suit into sharp relief. Every line of his body radiated a coiled power, as if he could leap down and claim their lives at any moment.
The mask on his face hid his expression, yet Bull and the others on the ground felt an inexplicable, bone-deep chill.
It was a terrifying killing intent, thick with the stench of death.
Before any of them could react, a bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl slammed down. With a BOOM, it struck the concrete at their feet, instantly blasting a scorched crater. Tiny arcs of electricity still sizzled and danced across the charred ground.
"Get lost."
A deep, cold voice drifted down from the rooftop, the tone utterly calm.
But the threat hidden beneath that calm stabbed into their hearts like an icicle.
Bull and his friends were just regular office workers from the area. They had only banded together to survive in these chaotic times. They had never witnessed a superpower this terrifying.
The moment the lightning struck, their legs turned to jelly. They almost collapsed right there on the ground, scrambling backward in a pathetic, terrified heap.
Logan Sawyer stared at the scorched earth still smoking at his feet, his face deathly pale.
Even he wasn’t stupid enough to miss that the power of that lightning bolt was far beyond what his own little wind vortex could handle.
Quentin Sawyer stared in shock at the figure on the roof, his self-image as a powerhouse completely shattered.
Logan Sawyer was the first to snap out of it. Seeing his brother still in a daze, he jabbed him with his elbow.
Any thought of greed vanished. They immediately bowed, apologizing over and over.
They grabbed the still-trembling Bull and the others and fled in disgrace without a backward glance.
...
Luna Dawson and her team watched until the mountain of corpses had burned to ash, then contacted Miles Dawson to bring the car.
The moment the rest of the group arrived, they were like kids in a candy store, absolutely ecstatic.
The air temperature was extremely low, but the intense flames had heated the ground considerably.
Everyone quickly pulled on heat-resistant boots and began using tongs to sift through the ashes for Crystal Cores.
By afternoon, the work of harvesting the Crystal Cores was finally winding down.
Blake Blue looked at the bag of Crystal Cores and raised an eyebrow. "It’s only been a few days, and there are already a lot more Aberrant Zombies!"
"Mutated plants and animals are evolving even faster. We’re still just on the outskirts of the city, and it’s winter. Give it a few more months. Once summer hits and the Aberrant Beasts start to multiply like crazy, human survival will become much more difficult."
Luna Dawson said this calmly, as if it were a matter of course.
Kevin Keane looked at her. "To hear you talk, Little Boss, it sounds like you’re not afraid."
"I’m killing zombies like my life depends on it *because* I’m afraid."
Luna Dawson pouted. ’I saw Aberrant Beasts besiege a city in my past life.’
’Back then, the newly established Southen Base nearly fell. It was only saved because Superpower User teams from other bases came to help.’
’And that woman, Susan Vaughn, was one of the Superpower Users who came from Kensington Base to provide support.’
’In this life, I’ll be waiting for her right here in Kensington. I’ll make sure she gets a personal taste of being torn to shreds by zombies!’
Her fingers suddenly tightened, gripping the bag in her hand.
Her eyes slowly narrowed. Those normally bright and lovely almond-shaped eyes were now instantly filled with an unconcealable hatred.
But deep within that thick hatred was a frenzied eagerness to meet her enemy again. The two extreme emotions swirled and churned in her eyes.
Standing beside her, Kevin Keane was extremely sensitive to changes in the surrounding atmosphere.
He sensed the shift the moment her emotions fluctuated. He glanced down at her tense face, and a flicker of almost imperceptible interest crossed his eyes.