FAZER LOGINAs for the grenade, at the exact moment it detonated, a gravitational field pinned it down and compressed the blast into nothing more than a dull, muffled sound. Not even a trace of dust managed to scatter into the air. That was the absolute power of an S-class ability user.Ruth withdrew her hand. She didn’t even bother looking at the filthy remains on the ground. Instead, she turned back to me and gently covered my eyes.“Don’t look. It’s so dirty. I don’t want it staining your eyes.”I looked at her as my heartbeat gradually steadied.“He just said…” I paused deliberately before I continued, testing the waters, “That I’m using you.”Ruth’s hand stiffened slightly. Then, she turned her head away. Her voice came out muffled, but it carried a stubborn resolve.“Then go ahead and use me. As long as it’s you, even if you want my life, I’d give it willingly. Just… don’t push me away.”…Five years later, Hope City was the largest survivor base in the southern region, and I was the
Both Ruth and I turned our heads at the same time. From the pile of zombies nearby, a blood-soaked figure crawled out with what little strength he had left. One of his arms was missing. It was Dan.I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I had to admit, the guy was ridiculously tough. Falling straight into a swarm of zombies and still managing to survive?However, at this point, Dan barely looked human anymore. Half of his face had been gnawed away by zombies, and the single eye he had left burned with a manic hatred. In his remaining hand, he clutched a grenade he must have picked up from somewhere. His gaze was locked onto Ruth and me.“Ruth! Are you stupid?” Dan shouted hoarsely. “Didn’t Xavier just admit it himself? He doesn’t love you. He’s only been using you and treating you like some guard dog. Only me! I’m the only one who really wanted to save you back then. If Callie hadn’t dragged me away, I wouldn’t have left you behind. Ruth, look at me! I ended up like this because of you! L
When I found Ruth, she was gripping the zombie king by the throat. Then, with terrifying strength, she tore it in half. However, the state she was in was even more terrifying.Her skin had turned a sickly grayish-blue, veins bulged across her body, and in her eyes, there was nothing human left—only pure, unrestrained killing instincts.“Ruth!” I shouted.She whipped her head toward me. A low growl rumbled from her throat as she lunged forward.I didn’t dodge. Her razor-sharp nails pierced straight through my shoulder, and blood burst out instantly. The moment she smelled it, she froze, as if she was fighting against her own instincts.I seized that moment and jammed a syringe of high-concentration serum straight into her carotid artery.“Ah!”Ruth let out a painful roar. She clutched her head and collapsed onto the ground, rolling in agony.Gritting my teeth through the pain in my shoulder, I pulled her head into my arms and murmured over and over again, “It’s okay. I’m here.”
Callie and Dan suddenly appeared in the doorway, both wearing vicious expressions. Each of them held a gun they had stripped from a zombie.“Xavier, didn’t expect this, did you?” Dan sneered. “Since the zombies have surrounded Ruth, tell me, who’s going to save you?”Callie’s face twisted even further. “You b*tch! I’m going to carve up that pretty face of yours and throw you outside to feed the zombies!”I looked calmly at the dark barrels pointed at me and asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? If Ruth comes back, you’ll die a very ugly death.”“She’s not coming back!” Dan roared. “There are three S-class zombies out there. She’s dead for sure!”“Stop wasting more time. Shoot him!” Callie shrieked.Dan was just about to pull the trigger when suddenly, a deafening crash exploded behind them. The door behind them was violently smashed open, and a mutated zombie burst inside with a furious roar. Everything happened so fast.It all happened too quickly. Callie, scared out of her
When Callie saw me standing there, openly intimate with Ruth, her face instantly turned livid.She scrambled to her feet and pointed at me, trying to start an argument. “Xavier, have you no shame–”Before she could finish, Ruth tilted her head slightly and cast her a cold glance. That look alone made Callie feel as though someone had grabbed her by the throat. Her whole body stiffened, her legs trembled violently, and she didn’t dare move another inch. All she could do was stare at me with a resentful yet pathetic expression.At the end of the day, she was just a good-for-nothing. She couldn’t even look a real powerhouse in the eye.I rolled my eyes dramatically. I couldn’t even be bothered to look at her anymore. Linking my arm with Ruth’s, I turned around with a bright smile and headed back to the room.Early the next morning, a loud commotion echoed through the villa. Dan had woken up. The gravity crush from yesterday hadn’t killed him, but it had broken several of his ribs.
I let Callie and Dan into the shelter. Of course, I locked them in the dog cages in the basement.Sitting back in a cushioned chair, I watched the two of them kneeling on the floor in front of me. The once-elegant shirt Callie used to wear was now black with grime, reeking of rot. Dan looked even worse. One of his fingers was missing, and his face was caked with dirt and dried blood.When he saw how clean and put together I looked, he looked jealous. However, he quickly forced a pitiful look on his face.“Xavier! Thank God you’re alive. I knew nothing would happen to you! When Callie drove the car away, it was because the brakes failed. We didn’t mean to abandon you!”Callie immediately caught on and nodded frantically. “That’s right, Xavier. I wanted to go back for you, but there were too many zombies. Look, we came back to find you, didn’t we?”As she spoke, her eyes swept greedily across the mountain of supplies stacked behind me. Finally, her gaze landed on Ruth, who stood sil







