Chapter 4

Another disaster soon followed. In the span of a single night, the entire supply of processed serum stored in the base was contaminated by an unknown fungus.

The serum was the lifeblood of the base. It was the source of every survivor's courage to leave the safety of the base to fight the zombies.

And now, panic spread through the entire base like a plague.

"Did you hear the news? All the serum reserves can no longer be used!"

"What are we supposed to do now? If another zombie horde comes, we're screwed!"

"It's all Beckett Walker's fault. Isn't he supposed to be some kind of hero? Why is his blood suddenly useless now?"

Voices of doubt and agitation came from all sides. Dad was so overwhelmed that his eyes turned bloodshot after several sleepless days and nights.

Mom stayed by Beckett's bed at all times, crying her heart out.

Mom and Dad, once the proud power couple who ruled the base, were now social outcasts. Everyone in the base avoided them.

During an emergency meeting among the senior leadership of the base, Deputy Commander Harris, who had always been eyeing Dad's position, leisurely picked up his cup of coffee and blew on it.

"You don't need to fret so much, Commander Walker. Don't we… have a backup?" he asked pointedly.

My parents' eyes lit up at once. They'd forgotten about that! They still had me, the unruly daughter whom they'd discarded at the old base, as their "backup".

Mom whipped her head up, shrieking, "That's right—Brielle! She must be doing this on purpose. She knew we'd run into a crisis, so she's trying to use this situation to blackmail us! That little bitch!"

It seemed to have completely slipped her mind that she and Dad had locked me up without even letting me explain myself. She also forgot how they were the ones who abandoned me without a second thought when the zombie horde arrived.

And now, they were treating me like some scheming villain who would readily gamble with the safety of the entire base just to gain attention.

Dad jumped out of his chair, his eyes bright with hope once more. He swiftly commanded, "Seal the base and conduct a complete search! I want her found! Even if we have to drag her over by force, we're getting her on the operating table!"

Hovering near the ceiling of the conference room, I stared coldly at the frenzied and nasty expressions they were now sporting after realizing I was still of value to them.

The entire base sprang into action, with the search teams practically turning the new underground stronghold upside down.

They searched every room and every crevice with a fine-toothed comb, from the commander's residence right down to the lowest maintenance tunnels, to no avail.

As the days passed, Beckett's condition steadily worsened. He was beginning to show signs of organ failure. Without the deterrence of the serum-reliant survivors hunting them down, the zombies began to appear more frequently outside the base.

Everyone's patience was slowly running out. Dad's temper also grew more volatile. He'd even executed several of the search team leaders who'd failed to find me.

Meanwhile, Mom acted as if she'd lost her mind, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Brielle Walker! Get your ass out here, you ungrateful little bitch! Do you think we can't do anything to you because you've gone into hiding?

"If anything happens to Beckett, I'll make you pay for it!"

I merely continued to drift above, watching them impassively.

At yet another meeting among the senior leadership, everyone looked grim.

"We can't find Brielle. We've searched every single corner of this base. Not even a rat could've hidden from us."

"Is it possible that she's… not in the base?"

"That's impossible! The base has been under lockdown this whole time. How could she have gotten out?"

When everyone else had run out of ideas, Deputy Commander Harris, who had remained silent until now, finally joined in.

Drumming his fingers on the table, he said in a nonchalant voice, as if mentioning a thought that just came to him, "Commander Walker, did you… personally check the cryopod back at the old base?

"If I recall correctly, Brielle was last seen when you had her locked up there."

Mom and Dad's faces instantly paled. Mom even started trembling. Her lips quivered as she mumbled, "N-No… That can't be… The door… would've opened automatically once the timer ran out…"

Dad's expression was even uglier than hers. Staring fixedly at Deputy Commander Harris, he demanded, "What are you trying to imply?"

Deputy Commander Harris shrugged, his expression innocent. "Nothing, Commander Walker. I just think it's best if we leave no stone unturned. Wouldn't you agree? After all, this concerns Beckett's life and the future of the base as well."

Dad shot to his feet, his chair falling backward.

"Get the vehicles ready!" he ordered sharply. "We're heading to the old base!"