Chapter 6: Perfect act

The air inside the truck seemed to freeze solid.

A deafening explosion went off inside May’s head, as though a dazzling mushroom cloud had suddenly erupted in her mind.

She hadn’t merely bitten Jack.

She had actually... used her tongue to investigate the "object" too.

What is it now? Am I going to turn into some kind of narcoleptic pervert now?

She was so embarrassed, she wished someone shoved that giant red dildo down her throat instead.

This was the kind of humiliation where you would immediately want to reincarnate on the spot. Even Devil himself would probably let her cut the line just to avoid holding up the next soul.

May abruptly raised her sleeve and scrubbed furiously at her lips, rubbing so hard it looked like she wanted to remove an entire layer of skin.

As for Jack, the unfortunate victim of her accidental assault, his entire system had completely crashed.

His towering body stood frozen in place. From his neck to his temples, he was so red he could have doubled as a traffic signal. His mouth opened and stayed that way for several seconds, but not a single coherent word came out. The only sound escaping his throat was a faint, strangled "Ughh... ughh..."

"Ahem."

A soft cough finally shattered the suffocating silence.

Alex lounged lazily against the side of the truck, drawing everyone’s attention. Beneath his messy brown hair, his puppy-like eyes blinked innocently.

"Jack, don’t just stand there boiling alive. At least let us see what it was that made our new little friend here so hungry."

The moment he finished, Mitch shot back irritably, though his eyes couldn’t help drifting toward Jack’s waist.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? Do you really want us all to look at another man’s junk?"

"Oh, come on, why are you getting so worked up? Are you worried about him? Or are you scared he’s bigger than you?"

"Shut your trap!"

The two traded irritated remarks back and forth, their words like a pair of sharp little knives that finally popped the tightly stretched balloon of tension.

The other three men watched them in utter bewilderment.

Ray was the first to turn away. He moved so quickly that the motion stirred the air, the muscles across his bronze back instantly tightening as though his entire body had been fitted with springs.

Theo followed close behind, his pale fingers slightly unsteady as he hurriedly pulled his clothes back on.

Ace was still smiling, but there was something distinctly stiff about him now. He picked up his clothes from the floor and dressed noticeably faster than usual.

One after another, the four overheated men hurriedly covered their bodies.

For a fleeting moment, their broad shoulders, narrow waists, defined abdominal muscles, and crisscrossing scars remained exposed to the air, creating a ridiculously luxurious sight in a world where survival had become the only priority.

May secretly lifted her eyelids and stole a quick peek.

Damn. Perhaps I can fake another body temperature drop?

"Ahem!"

The deliberately heavy clearing of a throat came from Ray, who was now fully dressed.

He had once again become the team’s intimidating leader, his wild, commanding presence restored. Yet his expression was noticeably darker than before.

"What is your name?"

His gaze settled on May with unmistakable weight.

She startled and instantly slipped into character.

She timidly raised her head. Her dusty little face looked painfully pale, while her long eyelashes trembled like the wings of a frightened butterfly. A thin layer of tears quickly gathered in her eyes, shimmering without quite falling.

"I... I’m May. You know, like the last month of spring."

Her voice was soft and delicate, trembling with the hint of a sob.

"I’m a freshman at Redcliffe University. Today... suddenly, so many people started biting others on campus. I was scared, so I just kept running... and then I fell from a building..."

As she spoke, she secretly wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, revealing a slender, almost fragile-looking wrist.

She had perfected the image of a damsel in distress.

Ray stared at her for several seconds without saying anything. The atmosphere inside the truck tightened again.

Jack had already shrunk himself against the rear wall as much as his enormous body allowed. He looked as though he desperately wanted to transform into a piece of sheet metal and disappear completely.

Theo adjusted his glasses. His voice had returned to its usual calm, clinical tone, as though he were presenting the results of an experiment.

"The Skinwalker Demon is an intelligent infected variant. It retains fragments of its former memories along with the ability to imitate others. It feeds on living humans. We just cleared out a group of them."

He paused and glanced at the wound on May’s leg.

"You were lucky. Its claws didn’t leave behind any toxins. The virus isn’t spreading anymore, but the infection itself is still extremely serious."

"All right. Enough with this. Boil some water and make food. I’m starving."

Ray’s low command finally broke the strange atmosphere.

He was the first to jump from the truck and retrieve a portable gas stove and a military cooking pot from the storage compartment underneath the truck bed.

Mitch reluctantly went to fetch a water container.

Meanwhile, Ace pulled out several packets of frozen dumplings and a string of preserved cheese and began preparing the meal.

Alex wandered over to May and pointed toward the men working outside.

"See that guy with the permanently dark expression, like the entire world owes him ten hundred million dollars? That’s our big bro, Ray."

"The one wearing glasses is our team’s doctor, Theo. Whatever you do, don’t let him perform surgery on you. He can dissect zombies more efficiently than most people chop vegetables."

"The one cutting meat with that gentle smile is Ace. He loves explosives. The louder they are, the happier he gets."

He pointed around the truck before finally indicating Jack, who looked as though he wanted to evaporate on the spot.

"And that giant over there is Jack. Don’t let his appearance fool you. He’s actually more timid than a rabbit. You probably scared him half to death just now."

May followed his finger.

Jack visibly shuddered and lowered his head even further. The tips of his ears were still bright red.

"And that one is Mitch. His temper is more explosive than a loaded gun, but he’s actually a pretty decent guy."

Finally, Alex pointed at himself and winked at May, looking every inch the playful youngest member of the group.

"I’m Alex, the youngest of the bunch."

May couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Oh, come on. Is this some kind of Korean boy band performance or something?

Before long, the water in the pot began boiling.

Ace sliced the meat into thick pieces, tossed them into the pot with whatever other ingredients they had managed to find, and cooked everything into a steaming pot of thick stew.

It wasn’t exactly attractive, but the smell was absolutely irresistible.

"Come eat."

Ray kept his invitation short and direct.

Theo had already treated the wound on May’s leg and wrapped it securely. It still hurt, but she could at least move with some difficulty.

She limped over to the pot.

Ace ladled a generous portion into her bowl, making sure most of the meat ended up on top.

"Thank you, Ace."

May’s voice was soft and sweet.

Ace’s big, round eyes curved into an even warmer smile.

She had barely raised her spoon when another bowl landed heavily in front of her.

It was Mitch.

His expression remained dark. Without even looking at her, he picked the largest piece of luncheon meat from his own bowl and dropped it into hers, making her eyes widen in surprise.

"What are you staring at? You’re injured. Eat more so you can recover faster. Don’t become a burden to everyone else!"

With that, he carried his bowl to the farthest possible corner and began eating with his back turned to everyone.

Unfortunately, his reddening ears completely betrayed him.

May held her bowl and stared at the steaming piece of meat. Her heart practically bloomed with delight.

Aha. So this guy is the novel’s thundere, then.

The meal ended in a strangely harmonious atmosphere. Once everyone had finished eating, Ray’s gaze settled on May again.

"Now that you’ve eaten, tell us what you plan to do next. Do you have somewhere to go? Do you know of any survivor bases where your family might be staying?"

May’s heart jumped into her throat.

She lowered her bowl and raised her watery eyes, slowly looking around at the six men radiating enough hormones to fill the entire truck.

Then she gently shook her head.

"I... I don’t have anywhere left to go. I... I can’t get in touch with my family anymore."

Her voice trembled with just the right amount of fear and confusion. Tears welled up almost instantly, spilling over and tracing delicate paths down her cheeks.

"I... I don’t know what I’m supposed to do..."