Chapter 80
Emily flopped down on the ground, so wiped out she didn’t even want to lift a finger.
Frank plopped himself down, too, panting hard.
“Man, that nearly scared me to death,” Emily muttered.
Chloe didn’t respond. She just stood at the edge of the crater, staring down.
The tangled roots had already been smashed apart by the ice blades, now scattered in broken chunks across the rocks.
Every single break was oozing blood.
Suddenly, Chloe’s eyes went wide in shock.
‘Roots can bleed?‘ she thought, stunned. ‘And the bleeding spots are actually slowly knitting back together?‘
Out of nowhere, memories of the Demon’s Blood Curse from her previous life flashed through Chloe’s mind.
Instantly, her hair stood on end, and her scalp tingled.
Not bothering to check if it was real or just her imagination, she leapt straight into the crater. With swift motion, she stashed the Cosmic Meteorite into her spiritual space.
The broken mutant roots weren’t regenerating anymore.
She dug through the wreckage and fished out a green core, about the size of her palm, then hopped out of the pit.
She poured diesel and anything else that would catch fire, then torched the whole mess until nothing was left but ashes.
Seeing Emily and Frank looking at her with hopeful eyes, Chloe thought about how much effort they’d put in today.
She cleared her throat and said, “This core here-”
Before she could finish, Frank jumped in, eager to show his loyalty. “I don’t need anything. I just want to be on your team.”
Emily shot Frank a glare for cutting her off. “Me neither. We’re ride or die.”
After all, Emily had just stayed on the sidelines, only using her spirit–powered abilities to interfere a little. She hadn’t really done anything.
‘How could I even think about taking a share of the spoils?‘ Emily thought, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Chloe pressed her lips together, then finally nodded and spoke honestly.
“I need thirty mutant cores, three level or higher, to transform Zombie Girl. She’ll be joining our team next,” Chloe said.
Seeing Emily and Frank’s eyes go wide in shock, Chloe hesitated, then went on.
“About the cores, don’t worry. I’ll pay you guys back for them later,” she added.
Both of them gulped hard.
Emily looked confused and a little shaky. “Wait? Zombie Girl can actually be transformed?”
Chloe nodded. “That’s right. But it’ll take thirty mutant cores, three level or higher. So?”
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“Chloe, we’re in the same boat here. If Zombie Girl really becomes one of us, our survival and fighting power will be next level!” Emily stammered, barely able to contain her excitement.
Frank looked totally confused, but he managed to catch the basic idea from what was said.
“Zombie Girl? What are you even talking about? Where did she come from?” Frank said, totally baffled.
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‘We’ve all been together this whole time, and nothing weird has happened, he wondered. If anything did happen, it must’ve been tonight.’
Emily gave him a smug side–eye, arms crossed.
“Frank, bet you didn’t know this, our boss just picked up a Zombie Girl who’s nearly four levels,” she said with a grin.
Hearing that and connecting the dots from their earlier chat, Frank finally pieced it all together.
He couldn’t help but look at Chloe with a newfound respect and admiration.
‘A Zombie Girl almost at four level? Just how freakishly strong is Chloe?‘ Frank thought, totally blown away.
He muttered to himself, “So, I really hit the jackpot, huh? Guess I scored big by sticking with the boss.”
In the apocalypse, being powerful is worth way more than being a big shot back in peacetime.
Emily laughed so hard that she nearly doubled over. Even though she and Frank were always bickering, they actually got along pretty well.
“Duh! Chloe’s a total badass. Frank, you have some sharp instincts and a killer eye; you really latched onto a real powerhouse,” Emily teased.
“You bet! I’m holding on tight to this big shot,” Frank said.
Frank kept smiling, his eyes scanning the area, clearly looking for something.
Emily joked from the side, “Trying to find Zombie Girl? With those super senses of yours, why not track her down?”
Frank shut his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them, his face was still full of confusion.
He really couldn’t pick up on anything. ‘Has Chloe reached some insane new level?‘ Frank thought, mind blown.
He felt a rush of shock, and a weird kind of happiness too.
Today, he finally got accepted into the squad, and man, it was not easy. Plus, finding out the boss was a total powerhouse just made it all the sweeter.
The joy was practically bursting out of him.
Just then, Chloe spoke up.
“Frank, from now on, we’re a team. As long as I’ve got food, you’ll never go hungry. If you ever want to leave, just give me a heads–up; I won’t hold you back,” she said.
She paused, her gaze suddenly turning icy and fierce.
“But if you ever betray me, I’ll make your life a living hell,” Chloe warned, her voice cold and unyielding.
Frank slowly stood up straight, with a seriousness he’d never shown before.
“I, Frank, will never betray you, Chloe,” he said, his voice steady and full of resolve.
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Chloe’s expression softened a bit. To be honest, she hadn’t really wanted to let Frank join the team.
It wasn’t that he was a bad guy; he was actually pretty decent after all they’d been through together.
She just didn’t like dealing with extra trouble.
She still remembered Frank had a wife who was due any day now, plus a seven–year–old daughter.
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In a world where people killed people, with zombies everywhere and mutant creatures showing up left and right, having a pregnant woman about to give birth was a huge headache for any team.
Especially a newborn, babies cry all the time, and that was basically a zombie magnet.
“Alright, the danger here is over. Let’s head back and get some rest. We’re leaving at noon,” Chloe said.
“Got it!” Frank replied, sounding totally pumped.
Frank agreed right away. Built like a tank, even if he ran out of powers, he was still a beast.
He rolled up his sleeves, scooped Emily onto the flatbed, and got ready to hit the road.
What they didn’t realize was that after Zombie Girl, the mutant vines, and the Cosmic Meteorite vanished, the zombies wandering out on the highway started heading down the path toward the village,
Before, the sinister aura hanging over the place had made regular zombies instinctively steer clear, too spooked to come anywhere near.
But now that the aura was gone, it was only a matter of time before the village got overrun.
Just then, someone came sprinting over, looking totally freaked out.
It was Mindy.
Her clothes were ripped, her hair all over the place, and she was running straight for them.
Thanks to the corroded, bumpy ground, she kept tripping and falling flat on her face.
“Wait, is that Mindy? What the heck happened to her?” Emily blurted out, her eyes practically popping out of her head.
Mindy was a second–level powered human with fire–wood abilities. At that rank, she was supposed to be a top–tier big shot no matter where she went.
‘How did she end up getting bullied by a bunch of villagers like this?‘ Emily wondered.
Frank nodded. “Yeah, that’s her. But hey, where’d that so–called vampire family go?”
They muttered to themselves, watching with cold indifference as Mindy was chased by a mob of villagers.
The villagers were armed with shovels, machetes, kitchen knives, and crowbars.
They were shouting and running straight toward them.
Finally, Mindy spotted Chloe and the crew. Her face lit up with relief, and she broke into a run, heading straight for them.
The villagers, though, were a whole different story. They stopped dead, eyes wide with fear as they stared at Chloe’s crew.
“Bryan, David, Andy, what’s going on here?” The lead guy asked. He pointed at Chloe, looking completely stunned.
Even the chief, Bryan, froze completely. His legs nearly gave out, and he almost collapsed right there.
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Bryan rubbed his eyes in disbelief, voice trembling as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
“W–What’s going on here?” he stammered.
The burly guy who’d asked the question was getting angry, his voice rising. “Bryan. I’m asking you!” he snapped.
