LOGINThe moment they stepped inside, the other side got straight to it."How large is Haylight League?"Alex didn't even blink. "We showed up in a warship. You can imagine the scale."The man paused, then tried again. "How many people do you have?""More than you," Alex replied smoothly."And your living conditions? Supporting that many people… Are supplies tight?""In this world, everyone's short on something," Alex said, "but we manage."Hayley sat beside him, quietly impressed.Every question they asked was about numbers and scale, but Alex's replies gave away nothing. Before they had a clear read on the other side, Alex didn't let a single word slip. Everything he said was tight, leaving no openings.Hayley was glad she had brought him.There weren't many people who could get the better of Alex. He had too many angles in his head.After a few rounds of back and forth, the man in the white coat couldn't get anything useful out of him and finally said, "Mr. Kirk, we're serious
October brought calm seas.A steady wind rolled in from the open ocean, brushing across a remote island deep in the Westreach Ocean.The island was cut off from the mainland, untouched since everything fell apart. No outsiders had ever made it this far.Until now.People on the island spotted a warship approaching.On the deck, a woman in a long black coat raised a pair of binoculars, studying the island ahead.A tall defensive wall ringed the shoreline, blocking any view inside. All she could see were the tips of two cathedral-like domes rising above it and a blue-and-white flag patterned like a starry sky."That's the symbol of the Sovereign Academy," Alex said beside her.Hayley gave a small nod."They reached out for cooperation," Alex continued. "Said they're willing to give up the oil field.""What do they want in return?""They want to assess our strength first. Then they'll talk terms."A faint smile tugged at Hayley's lips as she lowered the binoculars."I'm curio
Hayley paused. "Actually, yeah, that sounds about right."Did she have those flirty eyes, too?" Ruby continued. "Like she's trying to hit on everyone?""First part checks out," Hayley said. "Second part, I don't know. She had a terrible temper. Acted like everyone owed her something.""Diana!" Ruby snapped, her expression turning sharp. "It has to be Diana!""Who is she?""My ex's mistress!" Ruby's teeth clenched. "We were in the same association. She was always trying to steal everything from me, my projects, my funding, my research, and even my man! She never actually succeeded at any of it, but she kept causing trouble, smearing my name and trashing my work. The worst part? She kept sending my ex steamy texts and nudes!""And what did he do?" Hayley asked."He asked around about a virus on his phone," Ruby said flatly, "then forwarded everything to a group chat."Hayley blinked.That was bold."Even then, she didn't quit," Ruby continued. "She kept pursuing him and spreadi
Hayley knew really whoever was behind the inner camp was beyond anything she had imagined.Only someone with serious power could build something this large, this complex, and fully equipped, deep inside a canyon.And yet, they had abandoned it without hesitation.Which meant this wasn't their main base. Somewhere out there, they had something bigger, better, and stronger.This had just been one of their nests.Someone with that kind of reach was anything but ordinary.But there was something else.Winona's mother had said that everything they told people was a lie.What did that mean? Did she mean the whole "recruiting workers" story was a lie? Or something more?Hayley couldn't piece it together yet.The trail on Ascendant Creed had gone cold. The Sovereign Academy had vanished, too. She had nowhere to start looking for either of them.The only thing she could do for now was take over this place.With the inner camp cleared out, they could move in and use what was left beh
Hayley and Winona weren't anywhere near the camp anymore. The exit had led straight into the mountains, deep into an uninhabited stretch of forest.Which meant one thing: the inner camp was massive.An entire complex hidden inside the canyon, built at that scale, didn't happen without serious power behind it.Still, that didn't matter. Now that Hayley was out, she was coming back with people to take the place down.She had gone into the inner camp to dig into Ascendant Creed. Once she had answers, she had always planned to act. Ascendant Creed was already on her list, and anything on that list had to be dealt with.She hadn't found any trace of Ascendant Creed inside, only something called the Sovereign Academy.Different name, but same thing. It was another anti-human operation. They were bringing in living people for experiments and injecting them with the zombie virus.That entire outer camp was nothing but lab rats to them. When they ran low on subjects, they would come out
The woman in the white coat stood behind the open door, fully covered, her face hidden. Even so, the urgency in her posture was obvious.Hayley caught a glimpse of her badge.A51.The same one who had registered them earlier."Let's go."Hayley grabbed Winona's hand and followed her.As they moved, Hayley kept her mental ability spread out, covering a wide radius. All the cameras and sensors within range shattered one after another.They turned corner after corner, passed through door after door, until finally they reached a door that looked different from the rest.The woman entered a long string of codes and swiped multiple cards, and the lock clicked open. Cool air rushed in. Above them, the night sky stretched wide over the canyon, scattered with stars. Ahead, a dense forest spread out in the dark.They were out.Winona coughed hard, the sudden fresh air hitting her lungs after everything inside.The woman immediately crouched in front of her. "Are you okay?"She reac
Hayley sat in her chair without saying a word.She held a cup of fruit tea in her hand, eyes fixed on Alex's laptop screen.In her mind, she kept weighing and recalculating.At the end of the day, someone like her always thought in terms of gains and losses.She first reviewed the chips she held
Hayley heard the noise from the second floor. She looked out through the mall windows and saw several ropes being lowered. Moments later, about seven people were hauled up.She leaned closer and looked down. Outside the mall, the streets were packed solid with zombies. They stretched their arms u
Hayley lifted her palm, and a powerful column of water blasted straight into the dirt ceiling overhead.Instantly, huge chunks of soil collapsed.At the same time, the swarm of zombies outside was still firmly blocked by an invisible wall.As they watched the tunnel cave in and the people retreat
Holding out for another minute or two wasn't going to change their fate.And then, they saw it. The metal spikes anchoring the wall were starting to loosen. Their massive wire net was on the verge of collapse.With a sharp snap, the first steel spike flew loose, and an entire cable tore apart. O







