CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31: LEAVING BASE

Hazel stopped mid-sentence when she noticed a woman walking toward the car.

"Oh, Bennett, unlock the door. And by the way, I’m letting you drive since you were begging to drive, right?"

Betty blinked.

"..."

’What the heck, when did I beg her?’

With a sigh, she pressed the button unlocking the door. Hazel hopped out, spreading her arms wide.

"Ahh, Maria! Nice to see you again!"

Maria’s brown eyes lit up as she hugged Hazel. Hazel ruffled her hair vigorously.

"Ow! Sister, stop that! How many times have I said, Don’t ruin my hairstyle, let’s go already—the other teams have already left one by one."

Betty rolled down the window to greet Maria as the two women climbed into the back seat, chatting happily. Taking the driver’s seat, Betty gripped the steering wheel tightly, her lips twitching.

’Why do I feel like a taxi driver right now?’

As they passed through the checkpoint, her gaze fell on the officer who had stopped her when she first entered the base.

She exhaled slowly when he waved at her like an old friend.

"Hello, Thei....officer."

The officer nodded, looking far more energetic than before.

"Show me your registry card, Good Samaritan, and you’re good to go."

Betty gritted her teeth, taking her card out.

’Good Samaritan, gosh, what a jerk’

After handing over the card and getting cleared, Betty drove away, relief washing over her.

’Thank god he didn’t ask for my snacks, Samaritan my ass.’

Betty stared out the window with wide eyes, her breath held in her throat. The roads were blanketed with moss, and knee-high grass covered almost everything in sight.

’What the hell... the world is turning more and more into a forest. And why is the road covered in moss? The city looks like the scenery of the school grounds.

Slowing the car after an hour drive, she asked, "So, where should I park?"

Glancing at the rearview mirror, she froze, her jaw dropped. Hazel was rubbing her chin against Maria, who was struggling to push her away.

’Umm... did I ask at the wrong time?’

Maria finally managed to turn her face away, giving Betty an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. My sister is a little... affectionate."

Betty blinked, stunned.

"D-Did you say sister? She’s your sister?"

Maria tilted her head in slight confusion but nodded nonetheless.

Betty awkwardly looked ahead, her thoughts swirling.

’Tch, what was I even thinking?’

Checking the paper map, she stopped the car near a collapsed building where debris blocked the road ahead.

Hazel’s playful demeanor vanished. She sat up straight, her expression calm as she looked ahead and nodded.

"Yep. This is the place. Now we just need to play our part according to that rubbish plan."

Betty sighed as she got out of the car.

’Why does she call it rubbish? From my point of view, it’s pretty good.’

Maria glanced at her sister, who was slipping on white gloves.

"Sister, you said the plan was rubbish. Do you have a better one?"

Hazel nodded with absolute confidence.

"Of course I have a better plan."

Betty crossed her arms, waiting to hear this so-called brilliant strategy.

Hazel smirked.

"We just go in and beat the hell out of those bastards."

Betty nearly stumbled at the sheer confidence in her tone.

’Yeah, yeah... as if they won’t just shoot us on sight. We’d at least need to have core grade three before that. Until then, bullets are still deadly.’

Betty glanced around. Strangely, not a single zombie growl could be heard nearby.

"Let’s go. I guess the other teams have already infiltrated," she said.

Maria nodded with a wry smile, still stunned by her sister’s so-called grand plan.

"Hey, Bennett," Hazel said, her tone sharp as if giving an order. "You need to pretend to be our brother, understood? We’re from a nearby city, running to find shelter. Got it?"

Hazel’s eyes locked on Betty’s, her gaze was like that of a senior officer.

Betty tilted her head, unimpressed by the act.

"What, do you want me to salute or something?"

Hazel raised an eyebrow.

"When did I ever say that?"

Betty coughed awkwardly and started walking ahead.

"Yeah, you didn’t... cough, okay, pretend to be the brother. Got it. Let’s go."

Hazel chuckled slyly while Maria simply shook her head, already used to her sister’s mischievous behavior.

---

After walking for around ten minutes along the blocked road, Betty effortlessly lifted a boulder that was obstructing the narrow walking path.

Hazel, following behind, squinted her eyes, looking at her lifting boulders with one hand.

’Invisibility... and now this strength? I guess he has absorbed more cores, I’m getting more interested in knowing his strength limit.’

Suddenly, Betty stopped and pressed herself against a tree by the roadside. Hazel and Maria, noticing her movements, quickly followed her lead and hid as well.

Hazel whispered. "What is it?"

Betty tilted her head slightly, peeking around the trunk. Up ahead, a checkpoint had been set up. Police vehicles blocked the road, and several men in police uniforms patrolled the area with guns in hand.

At first glance, it looked like a legitimate base. But Betty’s expression darkened as her eyes focused on two uniformed men holding a struggling man.

"Please! I swear, I’ll never do that again!" the man begged desperately.

One of the men sneered and drove his boot into the man’s stomach, sending him collapsing to the ground, clutching himself in pain.

"You should’ve thought of that before you disrespected our boss, you piece of trash, now be sorry in zombie’s stomach."

"AGhhh!"

The man’s scream echoed as the second officer pressed his boot down on the man’s fingers, grinding with deliberate cruelty.

"Let’s finish this piece of trash off," the officer sneered. "Then we’ll drink to our heart’s content."

Betty clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles whitened. Watching them drag the man away made her blood boil.

’Tch... this apocalypse really is cruel. Those who pretend to have humanity are the first to show their true colors.’

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, she saw Maria storming forward, her face burning with anger.

Hazel quickly grabbed her arm, shaking her head.

"Stop. I’ll go and check what they’re up to. If you go now, you’ll blow our cover."

Betty watched as Hazel slipped away, moving like a shadow, darting from boulder to tree, carefully avoiding sightlines until she disappeared from view.

Maria pouted, crossing her arms.

"Why would the plan be exposed if I go? Hmph."

Catching her glare, Betty gave an awkward smile, rubbing the back of her neck.

---

Perched high atop a tree, Hazel observed the scene below with a sharp gaze. The fake officers had stopped, their sinister smiles spreading as they dragged the man closer to an open clearing. Ahead, several zombies wandered aimlessly, their movements unnervingly calm.

Hazel narrowed her eyes, analyzing their behavior.

’Why aren’t these zombies growling? And why do these bastards show no fear of them?’

"See this?" the fake officer sneered, forcing the man’s head to face the approaching horde. "These zombies will eat you alive, bite into your flesh until you become one of them."

The man thrashed desperately, trying to break free, but their grip was like iron, his struggles were useless.

The zombies began to shuffle closer, their slow, deliberate steps echoing eerily as they walked on grass. The man’s face drained of all color, terror consuming him. Instead of fear, the officers burst into cruel laughter, finding amusement in his agony.

High above, Hazel’s expression hardened, her hand crackling with faint arcs of lightning.

’I need to get closer. My attacks won’t reach from here.’

Silently, she descended from the tree, landing with barely a sound. Moving on tiptoe, she weaved between the grassy field, closing the distance until she stood just a breath away from the unsuspecting officers.

"Aghhhhhhh"

"Huh, what happened?"

When the man looked at his friend, his eyes went wide seeing his burned body, before he could react.

"crunch."

His neck twisted, and he fell backward.

The man, moments away from becoming zombie dinner, crawls backward, whimpering in fear.

"Ahhh"

Hazel punched the zombie head, her lips twitching helplessly, seeing the man running away, shouting on top of his lungs.

’I’m not responsible if he becomes zombie food now, it’s his own foolishness.’

---

"When will sister come? She’s been gone for twenty minutes already."

Betty sighed, rubbing her brows, behind Maria was complaining.

’Why did I get stuck here? She is complaining since Hazel has gone, what did I do to deserve this?’

"Oh, sister is back."

Betty sighed in relief, a strange happiness blooming seeing her coming back.

’thank god, I don’t have to hear more complaints.’

Hazel, seeing her smiling face, furrowed her brows.

"Why are you looking so happy..."

Betty shook her head, composing her expression.

"Ahem, how did it go.."

Hazel cracked her neck, her lips stretching into a proud smile.

"What can happen, of course, i just kill those bastards.s"