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"Holy shit, bro—what did you used to do?"
"You're way too good at picking locks!"
Shiro stared at him, completely stunned.
"Not gonna lie… I used to share a cell with Askeladd," the dark-skinned guy said with an honest grin.
He'd only just gotten out and was still worrying about finding a job when the apocalypse hit.
Now? No need to job hunt anymore.
Still, he was pretty happy his "skill set" finally had a use.
"Let's go! There's another one!"
Shiro's energy shot right back up.
They might not be Awakened, but that didn't mean they were useless.
Before long, the brake systems on both vehicles were wrecked.
All the cigarettes, alcohol, and other supplies inside were cleaned out too.
Shiro and the others climbed back into their own car.
"Now we just wait for Captain Kento and the others to come back…"
"Captain Kento… hang in there…"
They silently prayed.
"…No, screw it. I gotta call Boss Julian."
After hesitating for a moment, Shiro pulled out his phone.
"Boss!"
"I need to tell you something…"
He quickly ran through everything that had just happened.
"Damn it! They dared threaten my people?"
"I'm on my way."
Julian hung up immediately.
"Awesome!"
"Boss said he's coming right now!"
Shiro instantly felt a surge of confidence.
He'd seen Julian in action before.
Now all they could do was hope Captain Kento and the others could hold out a little longer…
—
A dozen minutes later, hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
"Everyone, keep your heads down," Shiro whispered.
They all ducked.
Through the car window, Shiro spotted that skinny guy—Shidou—along with two of his lackeys.
The three of them were in rough shape, covered in blood.
They fumbled their way into a BMW X5, slammed the doors, and floored it out of the garage.
Not long after, Nanami Kento and the others appeared at the stairwell.
"Damn it… they got away!"
Kento wiped the blood off his forehead.
Behind him, Ryuji, Shimada, and Takeshi were all still alive—though each of them had taken some hits.
"Captain Kento!"
Shiro and the others rushed out of the car and ran over.
"Are you guys okay?" Shiro asked anxiously.
"We're fine!" Nanami Kento snorted."Those bastards might be Awakened, but they're nothing special."
"I said I'd take on three by myself, and I did!"
"Shame there were still three that slipped away."
His lower abdomen had been sliced open, his arms were covered in wounds, and there was a nasty gash on his forehead.
But during the fight, his strength had improved again.
With that boost, his body had toughened up—some of the smaller wounds had already stopped bleeding on their own.
"Don't worry, Captain Kento," Shiro said with a grin."We sabotaged their brakes."
"And we emptied their trunk too."
"There were dozens of cartons of expensive cigarettes!"
The group couldn't help laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"Now that's satisfying!" Kento burst out laughing.
"Dozens of cartons? Then losing this hand wasn't for nothing!"
Ryuji's eyes lit up as well.
Just then, the sound of an engine echoed through the garage.
Everyone tensed again.
A truck rolled in, dragging behind it a half-dead zombie dog.
The zombie dog looked miserable.
It had spent all that time leading the way, and the driver suddenly made a U-turn and sped off like crazy.
Nearly killed it.
Just you wait—once I get the chance, I'm biting you for sure!
Julian slammed the brakes.
The truck's tires crushed the zombie dog's head instantly.
"What's going on? Where are those trashy bastards?"
Julian stepped out, gripping his Destruction Hammer, his presence blazing with killing intent.
"I killed three. The other three escaped in a car," Kento said."But Shiro wrecked their brakes. No idea if they'll even make it back to Bloodfang Camp alive… haha—ugh…"
He laughed, only to wince as his wound split open again.
"Bloodfang Camp…"
"Alright. You guys head back and get some rest."
"I'll handle this."
A rare, icy killing intent flickered in Julian's eyes.
Before, when he dealt with zombies, it was like exterminating pests.
This time…
He genuinely wanted to kill.
Threaten his people into cutting off their own arm?
If I don't wipe your entire camp off the map, I'll write my name backward.
"Alright, we'll head back first," Kento nodded.
They were all injured—staying wouldn't help. Better to return and guard the base.
Still, this trip had been a huge haul.
Dozens of cartons of expensive, several crates of Maotai, and over a dozen sacks of crop seeds…
Damn.
After saying their goodbyes, Kento and the others drove off.
Julian leaned against the truck door, thinking.
Bloodfang Camp…
They'd managed to wipe out that mutated zombie nest in the computer mall. That meant their strength wasn't weak.
Definitely not pushovers like the group Kento just fought.
How many people did they have? How strong were they?
All unknowns.
Given the situation, Julian wasn't about to charge in with just two followers.
Too reckless.
Maybe it was a habit from his pre-apocalypse life—playing it safe—but when things were uncertain, he preferred a cautious approach.
"Mafuyu. Hana."
"Grab whatever supplies you want, then drive the truck back to the island."
"I'm going to… sneak into Bloodfang Camp and see what they're really about."
He smiled faintly.
They were recruiting survivors anyway. Blending in wouldn't be hard.
Once he figured things out…
He'd wipe them all out in one go.
"But Master…"
"We haven't eaten today…"
Hana pointed out the key issue.
Julian froze.
…Right.
They hadn't eaten last night either. If he didn't feed them soon, there might be trouble.
"Alright. Get in the truck."
He decided to make it quick.
"Master, the truck isn't very comfortable…" Mafuyu said."How about somewhere else?"
Her standards were clearly getting higher.
Julian sighed.
Fine.
He might be undercover for a day or two—better make sure they were fully "fed."
He took the two of them into the mall and looked around before finally choosing the cinema.
Trying it out in a movie theater had been one of Julian's dreams before the apocalypse.
And today, he could finally make it happen.
There weren't many zombies inside. Julian quickly cleared out the few wandering ones, then brought the girls into a VIP screening room and locked the door.
The VIP seats reclined fully—perfect for what he had in mind.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye…
At the very last moment, Mafuyu suddenly threw her head back and let out a piercing roar that echoed through the entire theater.
Hana was completely stunned.
"....."