LOGIN"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
Once Hayley finished grabbing everything, every zombie she had drawn in along the way flooded into the underground garage.The already cramped space turned into a solid wall of bodies. There was no room left to move.Hayley expanded her air barrier, forcing out a pocket of space around her. The more zombies pressed in, the more mental energy it took to hold it.They packed in tight, layer after layer, forming an endless mass that made your scalp crawl just looking at it."Raarh! Raarh!""Raarh!""June, now! Drop the charges!" Hayley shouted into her earpiece.The order went out immediately.Hayley had expected this. Coming into a city like this meant getting swallowed by a sea of zombies. With a population of over three million before the fall, there was no such thing as clearing them all out.Fighting them head-on wasn't an option.Hayley was strong, but against millions, one mistake was all it would take. Fast in, fast out. Grab the supplies and leave. That was the only way
"It's true, Ben," Fiona said quickly. "Hayley's ability is way stronger than Clark's.""You've got no clue what you're talking about!" Ben shot back immediately. "You've never seen how powerful his fire wall is. You see a little flame and start calling it the sun. None of you know anything. Wait till you see what he can really do, then come talk to me."Fiona opened her mouth, then gave up.The rest of them fell silent too, exchanging looks.Right then, a cry for help cut through the noise."Help!""Help!"Up ahead on the tracks, a woman and her daughter came running toward them. Behind them, about 40 green, bulging-eyed zombies chased at full speed.Their bodies shook violently as they ran, like severe tremors had taken over, heads jerking and limbs twitching, but their speed was terrifying.The mother and daughter were clearly speed-enhanced. Even with evolved zombies closing in, they were barely keeping some distance."Look, survivors!" Ben's eyes lit up. "We have to help
"Raarh!"The half-headed zombie lurched toward Hayley, stumbling as it charged.Hayley kicked the door open and stepped out. She didn't even try to dodge.A saber appeared in her hand. She lifted it and brought it straight down.She didn't go for the neck or split the skull the way she usually did. Instead, she followed the line where its head had already been hacked open and added a clean, precise slice.The blade slipped through the zombie's scalp like it was nothing. Pure force carried it through bone, through the mushy, rotted brain, through the upper jaw, the tongue, the lower jaw, the torn throat.The entire side of its head peeled open like soft tofu under a kitchen knife.A crystal core dropped out.Tap.The green zombie lost all motion and collapsed. Dark red and black sludge spread across the ground. Its bulging eyes stayed fixed on Hayley, lifeless but wide open.Too bad.It didn't even get a last bite before it died.Hayley didn't relax for a second."Raarh! Ra
June's group of four stuck with their own vehicle.Hayley looked at them. "You're coming down with me. Wait inside the station. When you hear my signal, start throwing explosives. Blow a path open and cover my exit.""No problem!"June and the others lit up with excitement.Hayley handed out the explosives, set the ambush points and timing, and everyone moved into position.Clark's team handled the initial distraction, drawing the zombies away while everything was being set up.Once that was in place, Hayley switched to June's vehicle and headed down toward the tracks.At that moment, Ben, still reeking from throwing up, climbed in after them."I'm going, too.""This is dangerous. We'll be stuck down there for a while. You shouldn't come," Fiona said."Who asked you?" Ben shot her a glare and shoved past her, taking the front passenger seat."Ben! You're not going!" Clark yelled. "Clark, stop trying to control me! If you keep doing this, I'll never grow up. That's on you!"
Liam's team threw open the gate. Nobody used guns. They switched to blades and abilities, moving fast and staying quiet. Within ten minutes, every zombie in the area was down.Everyone rushed back to their vehicles and pulled out.Milo left as well, carrying the battery-powered radio Hayley had
Milo looked at Hayley, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly as he quietly asked Liam, "Is she your girl?""No, you've got it wrong," Liam said right away. "She's the leader of Haylight Base. Her name's Hayley Reid. And she's tough."When Milo heard the words "she's tough", he showed a hint of interes
"Damn it! You should feel lucky I even looked at you! How dare you run! Run again and see what happens!"A hard slap landed on the girl's face. She instantly looked like a frightened little lamb, her eyes turning red. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over it at once.The man shov
This was the first time Hayley had ever talked to Thomas, and she honestly didn't expect that he didn't smoke at all.Everything she knew about him came from what people in the base said. They claimed Thomas had gotten into trouble as a teenager and spent years in a juvenile facility. After he go







