CHAPTER 33: BUSINESS STREET

Carlos was stronger than all the students except Liam, but he had fled from Business Street. Naturally, Alex was aware that it was a place filled with danger.

He wanted to go there, but in truth, he didn’t dare unless Liam was with him.

Of course, Liam was also interested in going. He would go anywhere as long as he could grow stronger.

"Let’s go," Liam said in response, stepping toward the road Carlos and his group had taken.

He brought Alice, Paul, as well as Simba and Milo.

Two Monster Bosses, a Meta Zombie, and Paul, who could transform half of his body into a snake—this was clearly not a weak team.

Moreover, Paul had already reached Level 6, and Alice was even higher—Level 7.

Alex looked confident as he followed Liam.

Naturally, Melly followed as well. She didn’t seem brave enough to stray far from him.

And Lisa, though a bit hesitant, still tagged along. However, she no longer approached Melly, and Melly behaved the same.

Their awkwardness only deepened.

Seeing them heading out far and guessing their destination, some of the other students decided to follow as well.

Even Joel and Anthony joined in with their groups—clearly not wanting to be left behind in case those who went to Business Street grew stronger.

Anyone who didn’t come along might fall behind in level.

"By the way, take this," Liam said to Alex, handing over a skill he had been saving—Double Slash.

He didn’t need that skill anymore, especially now that he possessed far more terrifying abilities.

"Are you sure?" Alex looked interested after seeing the skill’s description.

To him, it was definitely a power booster—each swing of his sword would now result in two slashes.

"Just use it. I don’t need it," Liam replied.

Upon hearing that, Alex swallowed the skill crystal.

As they set off, Carlos suddenly appeared atop the fortress with the blonde-haired woman who always accompanied him.

"Idiots. Everyone else has abandoned Business Street, yet they’re heading there. They’re just looking to die," he said with a sneer.

"But hey, it’s better if they all die. That way, this fortress will belong to me," he added with a chuckle, while the blonde-haired woman only rolled her eyes at the way this boy—ten years younger than her—acted like her boyfriend.

She accepted the relationship because his power was extremely helpful in this new era.

"Too bad Melly went with them too. She’s the prettiest girl in this school, and now the remaining students aren’t even that attractive," he muttered as he eyed the remaining girls—some of whom looked good, but not enough to make a man fantasize.

Melly was the only one beautiful enough to make men daydream about sleeping with her.

"Baby, am I not enough for you?" the blonde woman asked suddenly, pouting after hearing Carlos talk about Melly.

Of course, she wasn’t as beautiful as Melly—who had reached the level of a professional model with great potential in that industry—but she was still prettier than the other remaining female students.

She was also older and more experienced, giving her a certain unique charm.

They were indeed in a relationship—although it resembled more of a king and his concubine situation. Still, she wasn’t happy hearing him talk about another woman, even though she knew Carlos was the type of greedy man who wanted to collect beautiful women for his enjoyment.

He was one of the people who openly embraced his wild ambition after gaining power.

"Not enough. And you haven’t even served me yet," Carlos said coldly, staring at her while grabbing her hand.

Being only 15 years old, his body hadn’t fully matured. He was still a bit shorter than the blonde woman.

"It’s safe now. It’s time for you to serve me. Let’s find a room—I’m sure there are still good ones in that complex," he added before descending from the fortress.

The blonde woman could only show a helpless expression.

This boy had wanted to sleep with her ever since they met, but there had always been some obstacle. Now, she knew she could no longer escape his savage nature.

With everything he had provided to help her survive, she couldn’t say no.

’Hmph, still a virgin. I hope he knows what he’s doing...’ she thought, worried that his lack of experience would only make things uncomfortable.

Liam and the others had no idea what Carlos was planning—nor that he was secretly hoping they would all die.

They continued walking through the winding streets, finding many corpses of zombies and monsters carried away by the flood.

Occasionally, there were still some living zombies and monsters, but Alice killed them before they could act.

It didn’t take long before they arrived beside two massive skyscrapers standing side by side, with a road to Business Street between them.

Liam didn’t see anything unusual in Business Street, which consisted of two wide roads with an extra sidewalk in the middle.

However, he instinctively became cautious, as if sensing a great danger ahead.

"Alice, are there a lot of zombies there?" Liam asked.

Fortunately, he had a zombie who could speak beside him, allowing him to get intel in advance.

"Yes, there are many. And I don’t sense any humans," Alice replied.

"Really?" Liam was confused by this, wondering if the zombies were hiding.

It didn’t make sense—unless they were all Meta Zombies.

"No, they’re... a bit different," Alice added suddenly.

Different how?

Liam wanted to ask more, but something suddenly happened.

From underground, a pair of pitch-black skeletal hands grabbed his leg. Then another hand grabbed his other leg. The same happened to everyone—except for the two zombies and monster bosses.

What shocked him was how strong the skeletal hands were as they gripped his legs.

"Ahhh, get off me!" Melly screamed, trying to lift her leg but failing to shake off the skeletal hand.

Perhaps the skeletal hands were just too extreme for her.

Shua!

Suddenly, she transformed into her rabbit form and jumped high into the air.

The large rabbit foot caused the skeletal hands to lose their grip, unable to hold her anymore.

Her transformation into a rabbit surprised the students, but none of them had time to care—since they were still struggling to free themselves from the skeletal hands.

After that, skeleton after skeleton emerged from underground, dressed in corpse garments—suits, black cloaks, even armor.

Strangely, as Liam and the others looked at them, they didn’t receive any notifications like they normally did when encountering zombies or monsters.