Chapter 70: I Was Just Probing
The post-apocalyptic climate was extreme. The temperature had now dropped to nearly thirty degrees below zero, and the frigid wind cut like a knife.
After collecting the Crystal Cores, the group had no time to celebrate. They all bundled up tightly and got into their vehicles, eager to reach the nearby University of Media Arts as quickly as possible.
The closer they got to the university, the more vehicles clogged the road. It was a horrific scene. Judging by the direction the cars were pointed, most belonged to residents who had been frantically trying to flee in the early days of the apocalypse.
The low temperature had coated the road in a thin layer of ice, and the wheels creaked as they rolled over it. Seeing the situation, the group had no choice but to get out and clear the zombies from the abandoned cars.
Even though they were all bundled up securely, the frigid wind carried the putrid stench of zombies, seeping into the gaps between their hats and masks.
Everyone flinched, then deftly dragged the zombies out of the cars, leaving them for Luna Dawson, who followed at the rear, to collect into her dimensional space.
The commotion they created, along with the scent of living humans, attracted the attention of many nearby zombies.
The zombies seemed to move a bit slower in the cold. The group maintained their formation, focusing on killing any that got too close.
Along the way, whenever they came across anything useful, Luna Dawson took it all.
After Luna Dawson went into a nearby community hospital with Kevin Keane and the others to gather supplies, Aaron Palmer, Miles Dawson, and those who remained by the vehicles encountered another group of survivors—ones who hadn’t followed the others to the sports center.
As luck would have it, it was Quentin Sawyer and his men—the same ones who had been hoping to pick up some scraps.
Their group consisted of eight people, all men.
They carried fire axes and large cleavers, and each man had a bulging backpack slung over his shoulder.
Their gear and general condition looked decent. They must have been doing relatively well since the apocalypse began.
The community hospital wasn’t large, but it had been teeming with zombies. It took Luna Dawson’s team over half an hour to clear out the several dozen of them in the area.
Luna Dawson had now entered the community hospital with Kevin Keane, Evan Olson, Lynn Shelby, and Blake Blue, leaving Miles Dawson and Aaron Palmer to guard the rest of the family as they harvested Crystal Cores from the slain zombies outside.
Rhonda Dawson, who was with Hector, was busy harvesting Crystal Cores from the area’s zombies. Just as she looked up, she came face-to-face with the eight men rounding the street corner.
Both groups were startled when their eyes met.
Seeing the others weren’t zombies, both sides subconsciously relaxed a little.
Rhonda Dawson quickly pulled Hector back toward their SUV. After all, tales of humans preying on one another were all too common in the apocalypse.
Staring at Rhonda Dawson, Leonard Miller’s eyes lit up.
Her alluring figure, which even a thick winter suit couldn’t conceal, seemed like a blatant invitation to him.
"Brother Drake, look at that woman. Damn, she’s hot!"
’After Quentin Sawyer gets tired of her,’ he thought, ’maybe I’ll get a taste, too.’
Before Quentin Sawyer could say anything, Logan Sawyer shot him a glare. "Don’t be reckless. We haven’t sized them up yet."
But Quentin Sawyer’s gaze was already glued to Rhonda Dawson. "It’s easy for you to say, Logan. You’ve got your dream girl waiting for you, but I don’t. And I’ve decided I want this one!"
Logan Sawyer replied coldly, his face a mask. "The woman is bundled up so tight you can only see her eyes. How can you already be so taken with her?"
’His older brother is just too impulsive,’ he thought. ’It’s gotten him into trouble more than once.’
Just then, Leonard Miller fanned the flames. "Look around! The shops nearby are completely empty. I bet these guys took everything!"
"No way!"
"We passed by here at noon. That’s way too fast to clear everything out."
"They only have that one big SUV. How could they fit it all in there?"
Since this area was close to their "company" base, they had mentally designated it as their own territory.
They had unilaterally declared many of the supplies as their own. Some of them had even marked items they’d claimed, just waiting for the chance to haul them upstairs.
Ever since the military’s rescue operations began, most of the zombies had been drawn away. The amount of remaining pre-apocalypse supplies was staggering—far more than they could ever hope to move!
They never imagined someone would come and empty it all in one fell swoop!
Did all the supplies they’d painstakingly packed over the last two weeks count for nothing?!
Quentin Sawyer glanced at his scowling men, then turned to interrogate Rhonda Dawson.
"Hey, gorgeous. Did your group take everything here?"
Rhonda Dawson opened the SUV door, helped Hector inside, and told her father to watch him.
Aaron Palmer, Miles Dawson, and Wayne Dawson had already spotted the approaching group. They stopped harvesting Crystal Cores and moved to the front of the SUV.
Mrs. Dawson spoke up. "Rhonda, there aren’t many left here. Let’s go finish harvesting."
’She’d leave those men for her children to handle. She had seen too much by now and had no desire to interact with survivors of questionable character.’
Rhonda Dawson nodded. "Okay, let’s go."
She didn’t spare the man a single glance. She had already felt several unsettling gazes lingering on her.
Miles Dawson flicked his cleaver, splattering a mixture of brains and gore onto the ground, pointedly refusing to even look at the men.
Seeing Rhonda Dawson disappear behind the SUV, Leonard Miller puffed out his chest and spoke arrogantly.
"Brother Drake asked you a question!"
Wayne Dawson frowned. ’This guy is clearly trouble.’
He immediately stepped in front of the vehicle, blocking the man’s view of his daughter.
Seeing himself ignored, Quentin Sawyer grew furious. "I’m talking to you!"
As he spoke, a small jet of flame erupted from his hand. It shot toward Wayne Dawson, narrowly missing his right arm.
Wayne Dawson dodged just in time as the flame struck the SUV’s headlight, leaving a faint scorch mark.
Enraged, Aaron Palmer and Miles Dawson both condensed Fireballs and, WHOOSH! WHOOSH!, sent them flying at Quentin Sawyer.
The hairs on Quentin and Logan Sawyer’s arms stood up instantly.
The egg-sized Fireballs came at them one after another. Knowing their own superpowers were no match, the group frantically rolled to the side.
The Fireballs missed the men but slammed into the shop’s roll-up metal door behind them, searing twenty or thirty blackened holes into the sheet metal.
The men stared at the metal door, cold sweat trickling down their backs.
Leonard Miller was scared witless. ’Their group had women, an old man, and a child, with only three adult males. He figured his own group’s superior numbers meant they could easily take advantage of them.’
’He never imagined that the fire superpowers of those two men were even stronger than Quentin Sawyer’s, who was a Tier-1 user!’
The two who had attacked were wearing snow combat uniforms and laden with gear, making them look quite intimidating.
A closer look revealed they even had guns slung on their backs!
Seeing them dodge the Fireballs, Miles Dawson immediately raised his submachine gun and aimed it squarely at Quentin Sawyer.
Seeing how bad the situation was, Logan Sawyer immediately pushed Quentin Sawyer’s back down. "Please, wait a moment!"
He then hissed urgently in Quentin Sawyer’s ear, "You’ve picked a fight with the wrong people! Apologize, now!"
Quentin Sawyer, a man in his thirties, glanced at the scorch marks on the metal door, completely stunned.
But with the eyes of his entire team on him, he forced himself to act composed.
He nonchalantly brushed the snow from his clothes and stood. "That was just a probe. You’re the ones who took all our supplies. You were clearly in the wrong first!"
Leonard Miller looked at Quentin Sawyer and cursed inwardly. ’I really shouldn’t have instigated this. Now we’re in deep trouble!’
He couldn’t resist whispering to Quentin Sawyer, "Brother Drake, they have guns. She’s just one woman, let it go."
Quentin Sawyer felt his men’s eyes on him. He knew he was no match for the people in front of him, but he couldn’t bear to lose face in public.