Chapter 632 - 622: Zombie 17

Although Mark Rhodes had his doubts, for some reason, he subconsciously chose to believe Moira Lynch.

’It’s probably because of the certainty in her eyes.’

He returned to his team with the eight bottles of medicine, distributing one to each of the men.

"Captain, what is this?" one of them asked.

These were his brothers-in-arms, so Mark Rhodes didn’t hide the truth. He told them plainly.

"These are potions that can awaken superpowers, but I’m not certain if they actually..."

Before he could finish, the eight men who received the medicine eagerly opened the bottles and drank the contents.

Since the apocalypse began, only four people in their twelve-person team—including their captain—had awakened superpowers.

And though they never said it aloud, it would be a lie to say the remaining eight weren’t envious.

They were also terrified that their teammates would abandon them for being weak, choosing stronger allies instead.

Now that they had a chance to awaken superpowers, they weren’t going to pass it up, even if it was risky.

As soon as they drank the potion, their bodies began to react.

"This feeling... It’s so pleasant. It’s like soaking in a hot spring."

After a few minutes, one of the squad members exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "I did it! I have a superpower!"

Looking over, they saw a steady stream of water droplets materializing in the speaker’s hand.

One by one, the rest of the men successfully awakened their superpowers as well.

Of the eight men, one awakened a Water Ability, one an Ice Ability, one an Earth Ability, two had Fire Abilities, two had Space Abilities, and one had a Speed Ability.

Seeing that a small bottle of medicine could actually make people awaken superpowers, Mark Rhodes’s shock was immense. ’Could it be? Are those four really aliens?’

’What’s their purpose in coming to this planet?’

’And what do they have to do with this apocalypse?’

Countless conspiracy theories flashed through Mark Rhodes’s mind.

After a moment of deliberation, he decided he had to go ask them directly.

’If they really are aliens, at least they haven’t shown any hostility so far.’

’In fact, according to our intel, that young woman, Moira Lynch, has helped save quite a few people.’

"I’ll believe you for now. But what is your purpose? And what does this apocalypse have to do with you?" Mark Rhodes stared at them intently, trying to read their expressions.

"First, let me be clear: the disaster you’re experiencing has nothing to do with us. To be perfectly honest, our own planet is going through something very similar. So you don’t need to be hostile toward us. In a way, we’re in the same boat."

Hearing Moira Lynch’s explanation didn’t make Mark Rhodes lower his guard. After all, who knew if she was telling the truth?

Moira Lynch didn’t seem to mind his skepticism. "Second," she continued, "we didn’t want to be here, either. This is just a game."

"A game? What do you mean by that?" Mark Rhodes’s voice was tinged with anger.

His home was being torn apart by an apocalypse, and these people had come here as part of a mere game.

"Calm down. We didn’t volunteer for this. We’re forced to do this just to survive. Our situation is more like a game started on a god’s whim, and we’re just ants scrambling for a slim chance at survival."

After hearing what Hugh Finch said, Mark Rhodes didn’t know whether to believe them.

"So, by revealing your identities to me now, aren’t you breaking the rules of the game?"

Shane Rhodes shrugged. "Nope. If we violated a rule, we’d get a warning. Since there was no warning, it means revealing our identities is allowed."

’So that’s how it works.’

Mark Rhodes asked again, "You did a good job of staying hidden before. Why choose to reveal yourselves now?"

"Because you’re someone we can trust," Moira Lynch said. "We just need to stay here long enough to complete our mission and go home. In the meantime, we can offer you all the help we can, including the Awakening Potions from earlier, and even a way to purify Crystal Cores."

In truth, there was another reason. Hugh Finch had realized that survival was merely the most basic objective; their true mission was to gain the acknowledgment of the Cosmic Consciousness.

’But how could they gain that?’

It all went back to why they were being targeted in the first place.

The Cosmic Consciousness wanted to eliminate them because it believed they posed a threat to the universe. So, all they had to do was prove they weren’t a threat.

And how could they prove that? By doing good deeds, of course.

They had provided a great deal of help in the last game, and they could choose to do the same this time.

Mark Rhodes had no reason to refuse the two incentives Moira Lynch had offered.

After all, they were outnumbered by the zombies, and not all of the remaining survivors had awakened superpowers.

Furthermore, the only known method for rapidly increasing one’s strength—absorbing Crystal Cores—was risky, as they contained the zombie virus and couldn’t be absorbed in large quantities.

"Alright, you have a deal," Mark Rhodes said seriously. "But first, I need you to provide us with a batch of Awakening Potions and Purification Potions for the Crystal Cores. Until then, I’ll keep your identities a secret."

After all, not everyone could accept the idea of aliens.

Especially at a time like this, it was inevitable that some extremists would blame them for everything that had happened.

"Alright, no problem. I just need some time to prepare. I’ll have them for you before we get to the base."

Hearing Moira Lynch’s words, Mark Rhodes asked in surprise, "You’re willing to leave Dawnlight Base?"

Moira Lynch was exasperated. "It’s not like it’s some kind of paradise. Why would I be reluctant to leave?"

"What about your luggage? Do you need to go back for it?"

"No need. We have everything with us."

And just like that, Moira Lynch and her group had successfully hitched a ride.

Mark Rhodes’s other squadmates didn’t know the identities of Moira Lynch’s group. All they knew was that these were the people who had provided the potions, so they treated them with great enthusiasm.

When Moira Lynch mentioned she was looking for a jade bracelet, people even scrambled over each other to find one for her.

Soon enough, Moira Lynch had the item she wanted.

"Do you need jade to make the Awakening and Purification Potions?" Mark Rhodes asked.

"No, I’m using the jade bracelet to make something else."

It just occurred to her that in the apocalypse novels she used to read, the female lead would often have a spatial jade bracelet.

And Mark Rhodes—aside from his gender—was worthy of the title "female protagonist" in every way, from his status to his appearance.

’Come to think of it, my own space came from a jade bracelet too.’

’Jade bracelets really are wonderful things.’