Chapter 8

As Hayley kept walking through the mall, she suddenly caught sight of two familiar figures.

A young man was walking with a heavily pregnant woman just ahead of her. Philip and his wife—the same couple Hayley had just "pranked" a little while back.

"Babe, calm down. Whatever you want today, just buy it. Forgive me, okay? Don't get mad… You don't want to stress the baby!"

"No! You've been lying to me this whole time, haven't you? Your family doesn't even own that apartment! You tricked me on purpose!"

"It's really ours."

"Then what was all that earlier? Debt collectors at your door claiming the apartment was theirs, sending your grandma to the hospital!"

"I don't know what happened. I swear, my mom paid 400 thousand to buy it from Hayley. We just have to find her and transfer the deed!"

"Wait, didn't your mom say the apartment was a gift from Hayley, so I couldn't be on the deed? How is it suddenly bought by your family and transferable?"

"Uh… A-Anyway! Just know that the apartment's ours now. I'm my family's only son, so I'm bound to get everything. And whatever's mine is yours! Just trust me!"

Sue wouldn't buy it. "How am I supposed to trust you? First, you said it was move-in ready with renovations done, now it's a shell. You said it was your property, and now debt collectors show up. I've finally seen the truth—you guys are messing with me! I won't keep this baby! I'm gonna get rid of it now!"

"Babe! Babe!"

Hayley leaned against a corner, listening to their argument, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

Wow. Just ten days, and things were already a mess at the Reids'. Eleanor even ended up in the hospital.

Still, it could get even more entertaining.

Hayley watched Philip, hands on the escalator railing, chasing after Sue. Mischievously, she whistled at him.

Philip, already flustered, turned and spotted her leaning on the glass railing, casually watching them.

"Hayley?"

He froze, wanting to chase her, but Sue had already gotten to the floor below.

"Babe! Babe!"

One was his wife, about to get an abortion, and the other was Hayley. He wished he could split himself in two.

After weighing his options, he decided to chase Hayley. He figured he would just grab her and make her explain everything to Sue—simple.

He ran up the escalator that was heading down, trying to reach her.

Meanwhile, Hayley walked at a calm, steady pace. By the time Philip caught up, she had already circled to the opposite escalator, making him chase her through the entire mall.

They ended up in the underground parking lot.

"Damn it! You little wench! Where do you think you're going?" Philip, panting, cornered Hayley. "How dare you mess with me behind my back! I swear I'll—"

"Perfect," Hayley said cheerfully, shutting the car trunk with a click. "I was thinking the same thing."

She swung a baseball bat in her hands.

Philip's eyes went wide, alarm bells ringing.

"What the… You're gonna hit me?"

Before he could react, Hayley swung.

She immediately overpowered him, dislocating his jaw so he couldn't talk, and dragged him to the corner of the parking lot, beating him mercilessly.

Ten years surviving the apocalypse meant she had learned every kind of fighting technique. She could take down a grown man in seconds.

But she was merciful with Philip.

For half an hour, she smashed him in the arms and legs, striking only the most painful spots that wouldn't kill him.

After 30 minutes, Philip lay on the ground, barely conscious.

Hayley leaned against the car and kicked him lightly before bending down to grab his phone. She dialed 911 while pressing his head against the floor with her foot.

"See? I'm nice. I even called 911 for you. You're welcome."

Philip nearly passed out from anger. If her foot weren't on his face, he would've admitted she was "nice".

"Damn you…"

"Not grateful? Fine. Hope you enjoy your hospital stay like your grandma." Hayley kicked him in the head, knocking him out for seven days.

She took care of the scene and wiped his ID from the phone, not wanting the hospital to identify him that quickly.

Then she transferred all the money in his digital bank to hers, using his fingerprint to authorize the payments.

Afterward, she moved him to a bar street outside the parking lot, the same place she had called 911 from.

Soon, EMTs arrived. Hayley watched them take Philip away, blending in like any bystander.

Calmly, she sent messages to Bernard and Lucy with his phone, telling them he had been hurt and to check the hospital.

After all that, she sold his phone to a small roadside store. Even if Lucy reported it, they wouldn't trace it back to Hayley in three days. By then, any investigation into Philip would be useless because it would be the apocalypse.

Knocking Philip out added 6,000 dollars to her account. She used the money to stock up again, emptying several convenience store shelves into her car.

As she prepared to leave, her car door slammed—someone had collapsed on it.

Hayley's eyes darkened. Several stylishly dressed men and women helped lift the man.

One tattooed guy waved. "Sorry, miss. My friend's drunk!"

They laughed and carried him away.

"Damn, he went down after two drinks! I remember him saying he could drink anyone under the table."

"Yeah, he used to hold his liquor a lot better."

"Maybe getting married weakened him!"

"Hahaha!"

Hayley leaned on her car, watching them leave. Her gaze fell on the young man in the middle—head down, stiff, pale hands hanging awkwardly.

Soon, he came to.

"What happened to me?"

"You drank too much, that's what!"

"You're useless! You didn't even drink that much!"

"Work stress, I guess. I'm heading back."

"Heading back? No way! Keep drinking! Let's get wasted tonight!"

The group laughed as they walked off.

Hayley's eyes darkened as she watched the scene.

She checked her phone and noted that today was the 9th. In her last life, the zombie outbreak started on the 11th.

The apocalypse would happen on August 11.