Chapter 53: Harvest
The last one standing, the woman in black, watched as the men were slaughtered. She began to laugh maniacially. "Hahaha! Excellent!"
Seeing the situation was not in her favor, the woman in pink immediately dropped to her knees and begged for mercy. "Sir... I didn’t do it on purpose! They forced me, *sob*..."
She tried to lunge for Kevin Keane’s leg as she cried, but he dodged away before she could touch him.
Seeing she had failed to grab him, the woman in pink sank limply to the ground. She tore open her collar to reveal a slender neck dotted with bruises, her tear-filled eyes fixed on Kevin Keane.
"We were all captured by those beasts! They tortured me day and night, and they threatened me with a gun!" she cried, sobbing out her story. "They’re not human! They even tied up my boyfriend and used his blood to lure away the zombies! Thank you for saving me!"
Luna Dawson’s voice was cold. "Why should I care? Hand over the Crystal Core."
The woman in pink immediately burst into louder sobs. Wiping away her tears, she said pitifully, "You’re going too far! They tortured me and made my life a living hell, and you still want some stupid Crystal Core from me? How can you be so heartless! *Sob*..."
After her tirade, she turned back to Kevin Keane, her voice turning cloying and sweet. "Sir, you saved me, so you have to take responsibility for me. Please, take me with you. I’ll do anything you ask. Anything at all."
Just then, the woman in black, who had been standing behind them, suddenly spoke up, her voice dripping with hatred. "Don’t listen to her lies. She went with those men willingly!"
The face of the woman in pink changed instantly, and she screeched, "You old hag! What are you barking about!"
The woman in black stared at her with murderous eyes. Her voice trembled, but every word was chillingly clear. "It was her idea to tie up my husband and use his blood to lure the zombies! It was all her! If it weren’t for her, my husband wouldn’t have died!"
She gritted her teeth and added, "We were both captured by those men. I fought back with all my might and they beat me half to death. But her? The moment she was caught, she started cozying up to them, becoming one of them. To stay alive, there’s no depraved thing she wouldn’t do!"
Luna Dawson’s brow furrowed. She turned to exchange a look with Kevin Keane.
The woman in pink was utterly panicked. She screamed at the gaunt woman in black, "You’re lying! That’s all bullshit! You’re just jealous of me! You’re trying to get me killed!"
After screaming, she began to crawl frantically toward Kevin Keane again, trying to grab his pant leg. "Sir, I beg you, take me with you! I know I was wrong, I’ll never do it again!"
Kevin Keane’s patience had worn thin, and Luna Dawson was getting sick of it too.
Kevin Keane simply pulled out his gun, fired a shot into the ground beside her—BANG!—and aimed the muzzle at the woman in pink. His voice was ice-cold. "Hand over the Crystal Core."
She had just witnessed how ruthlessly Kevin Keane killed. She knew that acting weak was useless now. The last shred of hope in her heart was shattered; she understood that the man before her would show no mercy.
Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably. She pulled the Crystal Core from her pocket and placed it gently on the ground, not daring to even look up at him.
Then, she struggled to her feet, intending to flee toward the nearby shops, but her legs were so weak she couldn’t stay upright. She could only scramble and crawl away.
She hadn’t crawled more than a few steps when the gaunt woman in black bent down and picked up the knife a skinny man had dropped earlier. Her expression was terrifyingly calm as she advanced, step by step.
The woman in pink sensed the movement and turned her head, immediately starting to ramble frantically. "Don’t come any closer! Stay away! Your husband’s death had nothing to do with me!"
The woman in black remained silent, her eyes completely devoid of emotion. She raised her hand and plunged the knife viciously into the other woman’s chest.
Once, twice... she stabbed her more than a dozen times, only slowly stopping when the woman in pink ceased to move.
She wiped the splattered blood from her face, turned, and bowed her head slightly to Luna Dawson and Kevin Keane. "Thank you," she said softly.
With that, she clutched the knife and walked away, her lonely figure like a wandering ghost, heading deeper into the residential area.
Watching her retreating back, Luna Dawson suddenly saw an image of her past self and couldn’t help but call out, "The safe zone is at the sports center. You can go there."
The woman slowly turned, offering Luna Dawson a faint smile. "I don’t need to. I was only living for revenge. Now... it’s time for me to go home."
With that, she gave Luna Dawson a slight nod and walked away, never looking back again.
Luna Dawson watched the woman in black disappear into the distance and sighed softly.
Kevin Keane picked up the Crystal Core from the ground. His expression unchanged, he walked over to the bodies of the six men, pried open their skulls one by one, and quickly found three more Crystal Cores.
A short while later, Kevin Keane handed all nineteen Crystal Cores he had collected from the area to Luna Dawson.
The two of them returned to the center of the plaza to continue checking the spoils from the big sweep.
Blake Blue, Evan Olson, and the others had also finished collecting the Crystal Cores around the plaza. They gathered around, handing everything over to Luna Dawson, their faces beaming. "This is quite a haul!"
Miles Dawson yelled, "Sis! We’re rich!"
Rhonda Dawson was also overjoyed. "Luna, I never imagined we could gather Crystal Cores like this. It’s so efficient!"
Luna Dawson hefted the Crystal Cores in her hand, her eyes curving into a smile. "You know it! Thanks for all the hard work, everyone. I’ll add an extra chicken leg to your meals when we get back!"
As she spoke, she retrieved a transparent, round glass jar from her dimensional space and put all the Crystal Cores inside.
She then activated her Water Ability, sending streams of clear water pouring out to wash the Crystal Cores in the glass jar until they were sparkling clean.
The sunlight caught them, scattering brilliant, beautiful rays of light.
Everyone crowded around to count them. In total, from this one zombie sweep, they had harvested more than six hundred Crystal Cores!
The group was ecstatic. Staring at the pile of Crystal Cores, they were all eager to get back and share the good news.
Miles Dawson cheered excitedly, "This trip was so worth it! These Crystal Cores alone will last us for ages!"
A smile touched Kevin Keane’s eyes. "This definitely calls for a celebration when we get back."
Luna Dawson smiled, swept all the Crystal Cores back into her space, and said, "Let’s make one more stop at the shopping mall next door. We’ll scavenge for supplies and head right back. I have a feeling there’s something strange in there."
The group headed toward the mall, talking and laughing. Everyone was full of energy, chattering nonstop on the way about all the supplies they hoped to find inside.
Before long, they arrived at the entrance to the mall.
Vines from the surrounding planters had completely overrun the exterior of the five-story shopping mall. They even choked the glass curtain walls, giving the building a sinister, eerie look.
The group worked together, and it wasn’t long before they had hacked an opening in the vines at the main entrance, just large enough for one person to squeeze through. A wave of stale air immediately wafted out from within.
"Whoa, that smell is overpowering!" Miles Dawson covered his nose and complained with a frown. "The power’s been out for so long there’s no air circulation. It nearly made me gag."
The light inside the mall was dim, and they could only just make out their surroundings by the faint light filtering in from the entrance. The floor was littered with severed limbs and scattered trash. A few zombies could be seen wandering slowly, letting out hoarse, guttural roars.
The group’s laughter died instantly. They all switched on the lights mounted on their guns as Kevin Keane said in a low voice, "Everyone be careful. Don’t spread out. We’ll take out the wandering zombies quickly and as a group."
"Okay."
No sooner had he spoken than the group fell into their roles. Muffled gunshots rang out sporadically.
Those wandering zombies were mostly low-level and were no match for them. In just a short while, they had all been eliminated.