What lurked in the shadows of this apocalyptic street? Through her bubbles, Elara Voss saw clearly—countless Mutated cats, dogs, even rats, watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Elias Voss and the others had long tensed up.
They gripped their weapons tightly, ready to leap into battle at any second.
"Awoo~~"
A dog's howl rang out like a command.
Over a dozen Mutated cats and dogs pounced from all directions, their target locked on the Land Rover!
Grayish-black Mutated rats, as big as civet cats, were no slouch either.
They scurried out of corners at an unnatural speed!
"Get out of the car!" Elara barked an order.
She was the first to open the door, clamping her palm shut.
Her golden sword sliced through the air, slicing a yellow Mutated cat clean in half as it lunged at her!
"Slash!" Piper Thorne unfurled her iron whip, knocking a Mutated dog flying.
It crashed straight into another Mutated dog that Jaxon Hale had thrown aside.
"Ugh! Disgusting!" Piper shot a disgusted glance at Jaxon's blood-stained combat knife, curling her lips.
"Tch, this is called passion! Fucking awesome!" Jaxon waved his combat knife triumphantly.
"Focus!" Elias tossed out a stiff warning.
He casually hacked a Mutated cat away with the heavy sword Elara had forged for him.
"Piper Thorne, stop fooling around." Silas's voice was still softly warm.
But Piper stuck out her tongue, sneaking a quick glance at Elara.
Elara swung her sword calmly and steadily.
Every strike claimed a Mutated Beast's life, her efficiency astonishing.
No matter how gruesome or disgusting the Mutated Beasts' deaths were, her expression never flickered.
"Sis Elara is so badass!" Piper gushed, full of admiration.
Why did Elara always look so unfathomable? She admired her so much~
"What are you staring at? You'll never reach Elara Voss's level!" Jaxon chuckled, slashing down another Mutated cat, reckless as ever.
"You're more like a tomboy!"
"Jaxon Hale, you wanna die, don't you!!"
Piper snapped her whip, coiling it around a Mutated rat and slamming it onto the road.
The rat immediately spurted blood from its seven orifices, twitching violently.
She glared at Jaxon, one hand on her hip, pointing at him with her whip.
"Dare to compete? Let's see who collects more Beast Cores today!"
Jaxon grinned. "Afraid of you? Bring it on! Don't cry if you lose!"
Silas shook his head helplessly.
Elias pushed up his glasses, his face expressionless as he uttered a few words.
"Bickering lovers..."
Though Elara moved swiftly, taking down numerous Mutated Beasts, she kept an eye on the others.
She'd heard Jaxon and Piper's bickering.
But she didn't see anything wrong with it.
For one thing, it could boost camaraderie among the group.
For another, it spurred them to hunt Mutated Beasts, honing their skills and practical combat abilities.
A win-win.
Besides, Piper and Jaxon... they actually made a pretty good pair.
Piper and Jaxon never imagined that their little quarrel would have Elara secretly pairing them up...
They were just best friends, after all~
Before long, the ground was littered with Mutated Beast corpses.
The group instinctively moved to dig out their share of Beast Cores.
They got back in the car and continued forward.
"Is that a maternity and baby store up ahead?" Jaxon asked, craning his neck to look around as he drove.
"What use is that to us!" Piper rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.
"Let's check it out." Elara fell into thought, then tapped the window to speak.
"We have three kids in our Safe Zone, and there might be more later. I doubt our Safe Zone has much in the way of baby supplies."
"Elara Voss is right. Children are the future hope of humanity." Silas's tone was uncharacteristically serious.
"Oh right~ But for now, they're vulnerable. Defenseless and easily abandoned by adults~ Sigh~" Piper rested her chin in her hand, seemingly lost in thought, her voice laced with sympathy.
Silence fell over the car.
It was true that most parents loved their children.
But not all.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many orphans, so many children abused or even killed by their own parents.
If every parent cherished their child as much as their own life, orphanages, the Red Cross, and similar organizations would never have existed in the first place.
Even in peacetime, parents abandoned their children for their own interests.
How much more so in this apocalypse, where morality and humanity had collapsed?
The car stopped on the road in front of the maternity and baby store.
The group got out, cautiously staying close to the car as they scanned their surroundings.
It was quiet—no sign of Mutated Beasts.
Elara secretly sent a cluster of bubbles floating into the store, and another group scattered around the area.
The store had three floors, decorated mainly in pink and white, giving it a warm, cozy feel.
But the large pool of blood at the entrance was chilling to the bone!
The blood trail stretched all the way to the end of the street.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
"Let's go. Everyone, be careful!"
Elara took the lead, walking inside.
It was summer, so there was no curtain to block the way, and the glass door stood wide open.
As soon as the group entered, their expressions all changed.
The floor inside was soaked in blood—some dried, some still bright red, indicating it hadn't been there long.
Countless pieces of clothing were scattered around the bloodstains.
Several strollers lay overturned, their contents messy, as if torn apart by something.
A few shelves had collapsed, spilling bags and cans of milk powder, boxes of rice cereal, and dried meat floss all over the floor.
The first floor seemed to mainly sell food like milk powder, so there was nothing else of note.
But the scene of carnage was enough to tell them what had happened here.
Piper's face turned pale, her eyes reddening.
She was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, who would normally be in high school.
Soft-hearted by nature, the sight of the blood and strollers made her bite her lip tightly.
Elara had seen far worse in her past life, scenes a hundred times more gruesome.
Her mood flickered slightly, then quickly calmed, her expression as indifferent as ever.
Elias and Silas's faces were also grim.
They pressed their lips together in silence, saying nothing.
"These milk powder, rice cereal, and dried meat floss are all good supplies." Elara broke the heavy silence, heading upstairs alone.
"Who knew when the country would resume production? We should take as much as we can."
The second floor sold baby clothes, shoes, and hats.
Bloodstains dotted the floor here too.
Two shelves had collapsed, spilling unopened clothes everywhere.
Hanging clothes and child mannequins were tangled up in a mess.
These things were practically useless to most people.
In the apocalypse, the priority was food and water.
Adults could barely take care of themselves, let alone worry about a child's clothes and food.
Moreover, most children had died in the early days of the apocalypse.
Even now, the elderly and children had the highest mortality rates—they had no ability to defend themselves, and in most people's eyes, they were just useless freeloaders.
Even the few surviving children were only cared for by their closest relatives.
No one else would bother with their survival.
It wasn't that people were cold-hearted.
But the circumstances forced it.
Everyone had only one life, and all lives were equal.
Elara sighed inwardly.
The three children at the hotel were the first she'd seen since the apocalypse began.
They were the future hope of humanity and the Safe Zone, as well as potential recruits for Blaze Legion.
She had to take good care of them.
They were at an age where they should have been innocent and carefree, yet they'd been forced to endure things no child should.
Fate was cruel.
These children, both publicly and privately, deserved to be protected.
She found several extra-large plastic bags, filling three of them with suitable clothes, pants, shoes, hats, and other usable items.
Since it was summer, most of the clothes in the store were summer wear, with only a few early autumn outfits.
Elara didn't miss a single one.
She wondered if she should look for the store's warehouse later, to see if there were any leftover stocks from last year—finding some cotton-padded clothes would be even better.
She placed the three large plastic bags at the stairs, making them easy to carry down later.
Then she lifted her feet and headed to the third floor.
The third floor mainly sold toys and books, with a small area converted into a mini play zone.
Now, the floor was covered in ocean balls, large patches of bright red blood, pieces of clothing, and even severed limbs.
Some looked like they belonged to adults, others to children.
In some places, the blood was still faintly steaming.
The smell of blood in the air was overwhelming.
Elara lightened her footsteps, holding her breath.
In the silent space, the sound of chewing was clearly audible.
Through her bubbles, Elara saw the giant creature lying in the play zone.
It was a yellow Chow Chow, as big as a tiger, tearing at a half-eaten child's corpse.
Its entire head and front paws were dyed blood red.
Silver-black barbs could be clearly seen protruding from its paw pads, and its fangs glinted coldly.
The Mutated Chow Chow exuded an extreme sense of ferocity—even more terrifying than a tiger or lion in peacetime!
"Awoo~"
One moment, the Chow Chow was tearing at the corpse.
The next, it had pounced straight at Elara!
A shrill, violent roar shook the entire third floor!
Elara immediately stepped back sharply, dodging the Chow Chow's frontal attack.
She spun around, swinging her sword at the beast's hind legs.
But it was as if the Chow Chow had eyes in the back of its head.
It pulled its hind leg back eerily, avoiding Elara's golden sword.
After landing, it slowly turned around, its blood-red eyes fixed on Elara, its fangs glinting with cold light.
"It's a Mutated Beast!" Elias and the others were packing milk powder on the first floor when they heard the earth-shaking roar from upstairs.
Elias and Silas dropped what they were holding almost simultaneously, rushing upstairs together!
Piper stared at their retreating figures, stunned for a moment, then curled her lips.
"Anxious when it comes to her. Does Sis Elara even need your help?"
Watching their figures disappear around the stairwell, she muttered to herself.
"Brother Silas, the enemy is strong. You have to step up your game!"
"When will I finally get to call Elara sis-in-law? So frustrating!"
If Elara and the others had heard Piper's muttering, they would definitely have shouted:
"Is this really the time to be thinking about that!!"
"Roar!!"
The Chow Chow pounced again, its silver-black claws slashing down fiercely!
Next Chapter Highlight:
Elara's golden sword clashes with the Mutated Chow Chow's steel-like fur—her attack fails to pierce! Silas and Elias rush to help but are instantly thrown back by the beast's brute force. Just as Elara is cornered and about to activate her ultimate metal Superpower, Kael's fiery figure crashes through the ceiling! His jealous rage ignites, and he unleashes a massive fire tornado to trap the Mutated Beast. But the beast's roar attracts a horde of Mutated creatures nearby! Amid the chaos, Kael shields Elara tightly, but Silas is seriously injured while covering their retreat. Will Elara set aside her awkwardness to treat Silas? And how will Kael's reckless rescue affect his and Elara's tangled relationship?