The three gathered around to plan their route to Sinia City.
Originally, Ethan Monroe was dead set against them going to Sinia City at this time, but he couldn't persuade Flora Bloom, and Neal Wallace was determined to follow her. Rather than stay behind, consumed by fear and worry, he figured it was better to join them and face the danger.
Besides, he had seen Neal Wallace's superpower awakening, and he yearned for it himself. But even if he didn't awaken a superpower of his own, he'd be much safer following the other two.
Neal Wallace's Fire Element superpower was undeniably powerful—it had even burned down the house. And while Flora Bloom's Water Ability had no attack power, at least they wouldn't go thirsty on the road. What's more, he knew that despite her small size, Flora Bloom possessed insane strength. The viciousness she displayed when killing zombies made him shudder just thinking about it.
Now that the three of them had agreed to go to Sinia City, it was time to plan the route.
On the first day of the apocalypse, GPS navigation systems were still useful, for a time. But the cities were densely populated, and they had no idea how widespread the zombie infection was. More people meant more zombies, so their usual route-planning methods were clearly out of the question.
So, the trio agreed on a route that favored country back roads.
Before setting out, Flora Bloom took her fully charged phone and tried calling her parents and brother again. But the line was full of static; it was clear there was now significant signal interference. The call wouldn't go through.
She was extremely worried about her parents and decided they should leave immediately.
Using the excuse of getting the car from the basement, she went to a surveillance blind spot in the residential community, took the SUV out of her dimensional space, and then drove it to the front of the villa.
After she got out, three zombies by the neighboring villa spotted her. They lunged at her hungrily, looking like they wanted to tear her to pieces.
Flora Bloom raised her axe and struck the nearest zombie, making it stumble. She took advantage of the opening to kick it in the chest with so much force that the zombie fell flat on its back.
Her second swing hit the second zombie's forehead, but its skull was too hard; the blow only opened a gash on its face. Flora Bloom quickly raised her arm and brought the axe down again. This time, the wound on the zombie's face widened. The zombie slowly stopped moving and finally collapsed after her third strike.
Three hits to kill one low-level zombie. Flora Bloom was a little dissatisfied with this result.
'Although my past self wasn't that strong either, my starting point in this life is so much higher. If I want to survive the apocalypse, I have to increase my attack power as quickly as possible.'
Just then, the first zombie scrambled back to its feet as the third zombie lunged at her, snapping its jaws. Flora Bloom nimbly dodged to the side, avoiding both attacks.
At that moment, the villa's door opened. Ethan Monroe and Neal Wallace, each holding a fire axe, charged toward the two zombies.
Ethan Monroe was tall and burly. He swung his axe and split open the zombie's entire left shoulder. Seeing how powerful his own strike was, Ethan Monroe followed up by chopping off the zombie's right shoulder with another swing.
Flora Bloom shouted from the side, "Old Monroe, aim for its head! You can only kill a zombie by destroying its brain. Otherwise, it's useless even if you chop it to pieces!"
Neal Wallace, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as strong. He swung his axe down at a zombie's head, but the force of the blow striking the zombie's skull sent a recoil that made his entire arm go numb.
He glanced in confusion toward Flora Bloom, who was directing Ethan Monroe.
'This little girl... she's so strong. And to hit the same wound three times in a row... what incredible control.'
In that moment of distraction, the zombie he had struck grabbed his axe, immobilizing him. It lowered its head, about to bite his neck.
Flora Bloom shook her head and rushed to take over for Neal Wallace. One swing, then another—she finished the zombie off with clean, decisive blows.
As for Ethan Monroe, though he was still rough around the edges, he had managed to crack open the zombie's skull and kill it.
She looked at Neal Wallace with a serious expression and said, "Mr. Wallace, don't get distracted during a fight. Don't you realize you're facing a monster that could kill you at any moment?"
Seeing his shaken expression, she continued, "Besides, you just awakened your superpower, so you shouldn't use it too much. But you need to know that unless you reach the High-level for your superpower, it's still possible to get reinfected with the zombie virus! You can't let your guard down, not for a moment, not anywhere."
'I thought Neal Wallace had astonishing willpower, but as a doctor, he's still a bit soft. He has a long way to go before he's ready to fight zombies head-on.'
'Ethan Monroe, on the other hand, was a surprise. He's dramatic and yells over the smallest things, but his raw power in a fight was astonishing. If he could awaken a superpower, our trip to Sinia City to find my parents would be so much safer.'
She went back to her old trick of rummaging around in the three zombie heads and found only one Crystal Core. Even so, it was a lucky find.
She handed the Crystal Core to Neal Wallace. He quickly waved his hands, saying, "I can't accept something so valuable. Besides, I didn't help at all just now. I almost dragged you down."
Flora Bloom pressed the Crystal Core into his palm, then got into the driver's seat and started the car.
"I'm giving this to you to restore your superpower. Hold the Crystal Core, use your mind to connect with the energy inside, and you'll naturally figure out how to absorb it."
Ethan Monroe got into the passenger seat while Neal Wallace sat in the back. After thanking Flora Bloom, he closed his eyes and began to absorb the Crystal Core.
'After yesterday's encounter and the fight just now, I really see how useless I am. A seemingly delicate girl like Flora Bloom can kill zombies so efficiently. Even Ethan Monroe, who doesn't have a superpower, managed to kill one on his own. But me? I didn't just fail to kill one—I almost got myself killed. Flora Bloom was right. The world has changed. The apocalypse is here. This isn't the civilized age we knew. Only by getting stronger will I have control, and I'll never be betrayed again.'
While driving, Flora Bloom kept one eye on the GPS and the other on the sides of the road. If she saw a zombie, she would immediately step on the gas and run it over.
To get from their community to the country roads on their route to Sinia City, they first had to pass by the entrance to the local university town.
Flooring it, Flora Bloom soon reached the main road near the university.
The university was the most densely populated area outside the city center. She was reluctant to get close, so she gunned the engine, planning to speed through this relatively short stretch of the main road.
Being a highly populated area, the vicinity of the university town was packed with shops of all sizes.
But now, the shop doors were all hanging open. There weren't many cars on the road; a scattered three or four were already wrecked on the sides.
From the car, Flora Bloom could see unusual commotion inside a few shops, while the tightly shut doors of others most likely meant people were hiding inside.
Just as Flora Bloom was about to drive past the university's main gate, a familiar voice reached her ears.
'Is that her?'