Chapter 72Â
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Meanwhile, the tornado above the tiger’s head intensified, packed with spinning ice blades that relentlessly sliced at the softest part of its belly.Â
Again and again, the same spot was targeted; if one cut didn’t break through, then two, and if two failed, then three.Â
Finally, Chloe’s face went pale. She gritted her teeth and swore out loud.Â
“Damn it, why is this tiger so damn hard to kill?” Chloe shouted.Â
Aside from a few bloody marks on its belly, its fur wasn’t even ruffled.Â
Chloe gritted her teeth, watching as the mutant tiger’s yellow fur bristled, every strand jutting out like steel needles.Â
Every ice blade slammed into its body with a metallic crash, only to be smashed to bits.Â
Now it was a war of attrition.Â
At first glance, Chloe looked like she was winning, but as she kept burning through her powers, she was only getting closer to ending up as the mutant tiger’s dinner.Â
No way, this won’t cut it; she needed a new plan, and fast. Her mind raced.Â
Her gaze landed on the bleeding spot by its tail, and a spark of inspiration flashed in her eyes.Â
All at once, the ice blades in the tornado shot straight for the mutant tiger’s butthole.Â
With its target locked on, no matter how much the mutant tiger roared or thrashed, it was useless.Â
In the end, it just sat its butt down on the ground, focusing only on defense and not even trying to fight back.Â
Chloe whipped out her sniper rifle, lined up a shot at the tiger’s temple, and fired without hesitation.Â
The shot rang out, the recoil nearly knocking her back. The mutant tiger’s head burst like a watermelon, and it crashed to the ground, stone dead.Â
Chloe didn’t rush over to check. Instead, she kept the ice blades in the tornado spinning, slicing deeper into the wound on the mutant tiger’s forehead.Â
Only when she was absolutely sure it was dead did she finally let out a long, shaky breath.Â
She’d used up every last bit of her powers, and her legs wobbled as she struggled to stay upright.Â
Still, she staggered over, dug out the mutant tiger’s core, and stored the body away in her spiritual space.Â
Every part of the mutant tiger was a real treasure; its hide could be turned into weapons, its flesh could boost a powered human’s abilities, and it could even fill your belly.Â
After the apocalypse, with all food production at a standstill, the only way survivors made it this far was by choking down grass cakes or gnawing on mutant beast meat.Â
But that meat was so dry and tough, it was like trying to chew through rawhide, damn near impossible to get down.Â
‘And then there’s the core, Chloe thought, her mind racing. ‘A core?‘Â
Chloe stared at the milky–white core in her palm, totally stunned; then a wave of pure joy crashed over her.Â
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This was a legendary, milky–white mutant core, so rare it was almost mythical.Â
Mutant cores were already top–tier, but a milky–white one was the holy grail, one in a billion, if that.Â
In her previous life, every mutant beast with a core like this was an elite, top–tier among all mutant beasts.Â
Just thinking about it, Chloe sucked in a sharp breath.Â
Her whole body went rigid.Â
‘Wait, could this be the tiger king, one of the top ten most dangerous mutant beasts back then?‘ Chloe thought, her heart pounding.Â
As she recalled the mutant tiger’s fur and the way it fought, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.Â
Just then, a car screeched to a halt beside her. Emily shouted, “Get in, quick.”Â
The door swung open, and Chloe saw a gorgeous girl she recognized right away.Â
A vine shot out from her hand, wrapped around Chloe, and hauled her straight into the car.Â
As soon as Chloe got in, she noticed seven or eight strangers, men and women, shouting abuse at Mindy.Â
One woman shouted, “You damn girl, why are you keeping these two burdens around? Hurry up and throw them out forÂ
me.”Â
The one yelling was an old woman in her sixties, her eyes sharp as knives.Â
“Grandma, this is their car,” Mindy said.Â
Mindy was a powered human with both fire and wood abilities. Back at the Hevenseale Towerg, she was the one who torched those mutant spiders and made a real difference.Â
“Bah. This is obviously Mr. Quinn’s car; they stole it. Kill them now and avenge Mr. Quinn,” the old lady spat.Â
The teenage boy next to the old lady growled, his face twisted with anger.Â
“Mindy, did you hear me? Throw them out, now,” he said.Â
“Yeah, seriously. Keeping them around is just wasting food,” someone else chimed in.Â
The old lady snorted, “Hmph, Mr. Quinn was definitely killed by them. I should’ve avenged him myself.”Â
Chloe looked at these strangers‘ ugly attitudes and couldn’t help but sneer.Â
Even at her weakest, she was still out of their league.Â
Even with her powers completely drained, there was no way these ordinary people could just kill her.Â
Frank shouted, “Try laying a finger on her and see what happens.”Â
Even though he was seriously injured, he was still a force to be reckoned with.Â
The old lady shot him a frosty glare and said, “Who said you could talk here? If my granddaughter hadn’t saved you with her vines, you’d be mutant beast chow by now.”Â
Mindy quickly turned to Chloe and apologized, “Sorry, Chloe, that’s my family; my parents, grandparents, and little brother. I swear, I won’t hurt you guys.”Â
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Chapter 72Â
Chloe kept quiet, revealing a mutant core in her hand, and started drawing in its energy to recharge herself.Â
Just during that heated exchange, she was already able to stand up again.Â
Her eyes were cold as ice, and her words cut like knives, making everyone in the car nervous.Â
“Mindy, you saved Frank’s life. As a thank you, I’ll take you guys somewhere people actually live,” Chloe said, her tone icy.Â
“Thank you, thank you,” Mindy said quickly.Â
Ignoring Mindy’s thanks, Chloe shot a deadly glare at the five people behind her, making it clear she was ready to kill if pushed.Â
“But if any of you keep mouthing off, don’t blame me if I don’t hold back,” Chloe said, her voice like ice.Â
With that, Chloe made her way over to Frank, crouched down beside him, and looked him over.Â
Two ribs were broken, and his organs had taken a serious hit.Â
If she were at full strength, she could’ve patched him up, but right now, that was out of the question.Â
‘First things first, I need to get my powers back,‘ Chloe thought.Â
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As soon as Chloe said that, a woman in her forties got right up in Chloe’s face, finger pointed at her nose, cursing her out.Â
“Who the hell do you think you are? Think you’re tough enough to threaten me? Go on, show me what you’ve got,” she spat.Â
Mindy’s face went pale with fear, and she quickly clapped a hand over her mom’s mouth.Â
“Mom, what are you doing?” Mindy said.Â
Her mom slapped Mindy’s hand away, planted her hands on her hips, and started raising hell like a drama queen.Â
“You useless brat. Siding with outsiders instead of your own family? Backstabber, Should’ve dropped you on your head when you were born,” she screeched.Â
Even before the apocalypse, this woman was always making a scene. Her family always favored sons over daughters, and Mindy was either getting yelled at or smacked around.Â
After the apocalypse hit and Mindy awakened her powers, her mom finally toned it down a little, but only so she could throw her weight around with outsiders, acting like she was better thanÂ
everyone.Â
After all, her daughter was a second–level powered humanÂ
But while everyone else might be scared of her, Chloe, fresh out of the apocalypse’s worst nightmares, wasn’t about to take any crap from her.Â
Out of nowhere, an ice blade flashed and slashed the woman’s tongue clean offÂ
“Ah,” Rosalie screamed,Â
“Keep yapping, and next time it’ll be your head,” Chloe said.Â
Her tone was even colder than the blizzard raging outside,Â
An ice blade was held to her throat, thin streams of blood oozing out, and the woman’s eyes rolled back as she collapsedÂ
unconscious from sheer terror.Â
“Mom,” Mindy cried out.Â
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She quickly laid her mom down on the bed, then turned to Chloe and apologized again.Â
I’m sorry, Chloe. My mom, she.” Mindy stammered, her voice trembling.Â
“She’s not dead,” Chloe said coldly.Â
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Mindy breathed a sigh of relief. She knew her mom’s true colors all too well; blaming Chloe was out of the question.Â
Right now, staying in this car was the only way she could hope to survive.Â