Chapter 309: Chapter 211: Warning
The situation was better than Paige Summers had expected.
The black vortex had indeed swallowed many of the team members, but they had only been pulled into the Zombie Leader’s space, not killed instantly.
However, due to suffocation and the smaller zombies, they had still lost some team members—a little over twenty people.
This was already incredibly fortunate!
Now, most of the bodies had been recovered, though not all of them were intact.
The sea of blood had gradually receded, seeping into the soil. Although the ground was slick and wet, and they could still feel a sticky residue under their feet as they walked, at least they knew these things would eventually fade away.
Everyone felt the relief of having survived a disaster. As they stared at the bodies littering the ground, at the deep red earth, at the Zombie Leader’s headless corpse, and even at the bodies of the smaller zombies, a dazed look filled their eyes.
’Is it... finally over...?’
’We should be happy, right? But somehow, I just can’t feel any joy...’
Everyone felt this way—but not Paige Summers.
She knelt silently on the ground, cradling the upper half of Ben’s body.
She gripped his arm fiercely, unable to make a sound.
’I thought he would be fine.’
’He wasn’t even injured when he faced the Zombie Leader before. It was just bloody water. How could that have hurt him?’
’I thought...’
But the truth proved her wrong. She had been far too arrogant.
Not only was the Zombie Leader’s superpower bizarre, but its personal space was just as strange.
Those smaller zombies were clearly born from that bloody water, yet when it came to Ben, he fell into a coma.
This time, Rainbow Water and everything else were useless.
No matter what Paige tried, he remained unconscious.
Paige didn’t know what to do.
Thinking back, she hadn’t actually known Ben for very long.
But Ben was different.
He trusted her and protected her with all his heart. It was a devotion without reservation, something no one else could offer—not even Marcus Monroe.
Of course, it wasn’t a fair comparison.
Marcus Monroe was her lover, but he was also an independent man with his own thoughts, methods, and principles.
Ben, on the other hand, had none of that.
All he had was her will. He acted on her thoughts alone, whether they were right or wrong, safe or dangerous.
With the sole exception of the moment he sent her onto the dead tree right before fighting the Zombie Leader, Ben was like her reflection in a mirror, showing only herself.
Paige didn’t know how to describe the bond she felt with him. The only thing she knew for sure was that she could not give up on him!
After getting Paige’s permission, Rhonda Rhodes came forward to examine Ben.
Her conclusion was that there was no major damage; for some unknown reason, he had simply entered a kind of static, dormant state. She admitted she didn’t fully understand the specifics of a Zombie’s physiology, as they were unlike humans or animals that breathe, so this was as far as her examination could go.
Paige shook her head, telling her it was okay.
’Since Ben wasn’t headshot, it means he’s still alive.’
’He’s not even afraid of Rainbow Water, a "virulent poison" that other Zombies scramble to avoid. What else is there to fear?’
’I’m sure he’ll wake up one day.’
And all she could do until then was to protect him.
However, there was one problem... After Ben fell into his coma, his rank had degenerated. His current appearance—even without the bulging eyes—was now unmistakably that of a Zombie, from his deathly-pale green skin and sunken cheeks to the fangs at the corners of his mouth...
Paige’s expression grew cold.
She lifted Ben onto her back by herself, then turned to face the team members scattered around them, their faces a mixture of expressions. She raised her voice. "Do you know why Ben suddenly dragged me over here? Do you know why I was able to kill that Zombie Leader so easily?"
No one spoke.
She didn’t seem to mind their silence and continued, "It’s because this Zombie Leader was evolving. Ben sensed it, so he rushed to bring me here. You all probably came running after hearing the continuous roars, right? That was him, interrupting the Zombie Leader’s evolution, stopping its Space Ability from developing to a point where none of us could have possibly fought it! After that, he was the one who held off the Zombie Leader, buying us time. Otherwise, if it had successfully evolved and gotten away from here, what do you think would be the first thing on its agenda? Finding us and feasting on our flesh?"
Her words sent a chill down many of their spines.
This was especially true for the team members who had been swallowed into the Zombie Leader’s space. They couldn’t help but think that if what she said was true, they wouldn’t have been pulled into a mere space, but straight into the Zombie’s stomach!
Paige hitched Ben’s body higher on her back, her voice low and cold. "So, about Ben. I don’t want to hear a single rumor. If I happen to overhear anything..." She tilted her head, her face a mask of undisguised cruelty. "No, you don’t want to know the consequences. Because no one can bear them. Not even... the City Lord of Southreach!"
The line "You don’t want to know the consequences" was something Claire Chapman often used to intimidate the members of Bloodfall, but hearing it from Paige now, it felt terrifyingly real.
The members of The Power Corps knew her words were aimed primarily at them, and they couldn’t help but feel a prickle of unease. But then they recalled the image of Paige, with one swift motion of her blade, severing the Zombie Leader’s head. The unease vanished, replaced by a stark understanding of her true strength.
An Eighth Rank Speed Superpower, a Space Storage Ability, immense strength, Poison Arrows, and an assortment of strangely shaped weapons... and who knew what else? This woman had too many tricks up her sleeve. More than a Zombie killer, this cold woman before them, radiating a suffocating aura, seemed better suited to be an assassin!
If she was truly set on killing someone, they feared not even the City Lord could stop her.
And they were no City Lord...
’If we want to live, we have to stay away from rumors!’ Many of them secretly made this vow.
But there’s always someone who fails to read the room.
A reedy, hesitant voice piped up from among The Power Corps. "But... but he’s a Zombie! Can’t you all see that?!"
The moment he spoke, everyone around him—to his left, his right, even those in front of him—couldn’t help but turn to stare.
A member of The Power Corps shot a frantic look at his comrades. ’Hey! Which squad’s fucking idiot is this? Does he have a death wish?!’
The person standing to the moron’s right immediately shot back a look that screamed, ’No shit! He obviously doesn’t! And he’s not from our squad. We’d have dragged an idiot like that out back and beaten him to death long ago!’
Meanwhile, the person to their left simply lowered their head in utter shame. ’I don’t know him! I don’t know him! Please don’t let anyone know he’s from our squad!’
