LOGINA blast of heat surged forward.Ben felt it hit his face like a furnace. Even in the middle of November, the temperature seemed to jump several degrees in an instant.He stared at the wall of fire stretching across the sky, too stunned to say a word.Clark was the strongest fighter in their base. The fire wall he could throw up was unmatched. Everyone looked up to him because of it.But compared to this… it was nothing.Ben's eyes locked onto the tall, lean figure standing at the center of the flames.So this…was her real strength.He couldn't help but think back to yesterday, when Hayley had chewed him out. He thought she looked down on him.Now, he realized the truth.He didn't have anything worth her looking up to."Like I said, Hayley's on another level. See it now?" June sounded almost smug.Ben's face burned. Everything he had said earlier came rushing back, each word hitting him like a harsh wake-up call."Hayley! The path's ready!" Zach shouted."Get in the vehicle
The creatures in front of Hayley's group saw nothing but temptation. All they wanted was a bite of hot flesh, a gulp of sweet blood. If they got lucky and tore into something soft and fresh inside, the frenzy would drive them insane."Raarh!"Faster. Faster! Hurry! The food was right there!Shing!Hayley swung her blade and took the first zombie's head clean off.Then came a blur of steel so fast that the eye couldn't follow. The flashes of her blade stacked into something solid, like a wall made of knives.Not a single zombie could break through the line she held.Hayley alone held the line against thousands. With her standing there, everyone behind her felt a strange, steady calm.Even Ben, scrambling in a panic, couldn't help but look up at her.At that moment, he stopped running his mouth about whether these were evolved zombies or not and stopped trying to downplay her strength. Even if they were just regular zombies, he had never seen anyone cut through them like this.
Bang!A green zombie slammed into the car door.Its body flattened on impact like an overripe tomato, fluids and shredded flesh bursting outward. Its once-defined features were crushed into a smear, nose caved in, lips mashed into its teeth, the bulging eyes shoved back into their sockets.But those cloudy eyes were already ruptured, leaking like burst yolks.Even so, the zombie kept gnashing its ruined mouth, chewing nonstop. Its lips were a mangled mess, stuck to its gums and teeth, and with every bite, loose chunks of broken teeth fell out, dragging bits of torn flesh and gum with them."Raarh, raarh, raarh!"The zombie clung to the front of their vehicle, twisted and feral.Screech!Spencer executed a sharp drift, flinging the zombie off. The car spun hard at high speed, sending everyone inside reeling.By the time it stopped again, everyone felt like they were about to throw up.Ben, somehow, clamped his mouth shut and held it in."What now?" Hayley gripped the seat and
Hayley looked out toward downtown Fairfield.A cloud of green toxic fog was rising into the air.And inside that fog, the giant zombie was coming."How is this possible?" June stared outside, stunned. "Why is the toxic fog rising this early?"The moment she finished speaking, the two women in the back seat moved at the same time.Each of them pulled out a syringe and lunged forward, aiming straight at Hayley and June in the front.They were fast. So fast that June's mind went blank.Thud!The syringes stopped just inches away, blocked by an invisible barrier. The next second, two sickening cracks rang out.Both women's arms went limp, hanging uselessly.Hayley had already snapped their wrists in a blur of motion. They tried to struggle, but her hands shot out and locked around their throats.It all happened so fast that by the time anyone reacted, both women were already pinned in her grip, unable to move."They're not survivors," June said, realization hitting late."You
"Who are you?"Hayley stared at the two unfamiliar women."I saved them," Ben said, turning around from the front passenger seat, practically glowing with pride. "There were a ton of zombies chasing them. They were exhausted and collapsed right on the tracks, about to get swarmed. I rushed in and pulled them out of the middle of the horde."The more she listened, the hotter her anger burned.So that was why her order hadn't been carried out immediately. This idiot had thrown everything off.Good thing June and the others weren't completely useless. They still managed to set off explosions and draw the zombies away.Otherwise, Hayley would have been in real danger back in that underground garage."See that? I'm not some weak guy who only hides behind my sister and brother-in-law!"Ben was still puffed up, still bragging.Then someone grabbed him by the collar and yanked him halfway out of his seat.A storm of punches came down on him. Hayley's fists slammed into him again and
A huge wave of zombies outside suddenly shifted direction, all of them turning toward a new target.Right then, Hayley dropped her air shield for a split second. A flash of silver cut through the air. One clean swing split open two zombie skulls.Two high-grade crystal cores dropped into her hand.One Level 5 mental-variant, one Level 5 speed-enhanced.She didn't even glance at them. The moment they touched her palm, the air shield snapped back into place.Just then, a roaring burst of fire tore open a path straight ahead.Using the explosions outside to draw off part of the horde and thin the density, Hayley forced her way out of the underground parking garage.Just as she was about to reach the exit, her eyes flicked back to the scattered cars still sitting in the lot behind her.Right before she burst out, she raised a hand and hurled a massive fireball into the garage.Boom!A deafening explosion ripped through the space.Every car in the underground garage detonated at
A burst of mist exploded through the air, and every zombie leaping toward them was blasted backward by the force.A member of Future Base, who was being attacked, watched in shock as the zombie clawing for his heart suddenly froze an inch from his chest. Its sharp talons had already torn through hi
"Let's go. I've got something to tell you." Liam gestured ahead."Okay, sure." Hayley turned toward Cyril and the others. "You don't need to bring anything. Just your people. Come with me tomorrow. I'll take all of you."Liam added, "It's a good thing you're going with Ms. Reid."He said it casua
Hayley met Griffin's one-eyed gaze and gave him a nod of acknowledgment, showing him respect.The moment she started to leave, the elderly woman who had been speaking stepped in front of her. "Where do you think you're going? You can't leave. Is this man really your teammate? How did you find tha
Just then, Hayley saw everyone who had charged forward suddenly turn back and start running the other way.They were firing off the last of their flash grenades and ammo, covering Liam and Nadia as the two broke through the crowd.Through the chaos, Liam caught sight of Hayley. His eyes lit up, as






