Chapter 65: Magnetic force

"Fuck! What was that?!" Mitch cursed as he was thrown off-balance, his shoulder slamming hard against the interior wall.

Ray wrestled with the wheel, slamming his foot onto the brake pedal. The heavy tires skidded frantically over the smooth ice with a deafening screech, sliding the rear end half a meter out until part of the chassis hung dangerously over the edge.

Everyone saw it clear as day: the ice sheet on the right side of the road was collapsing.

It wasn’t just a minor crumble; entire slabs of frozen earth were cracking and plunging into a pitch-black abyss below.

"There’s something massive moving under the snow layer!" Theo reported, maintaining an uncanny composure. "It’s impacting the mountain’s structural foundation!"

Another brutal collision shook the vehicle.

The back half of the heavy transport lost all ground support and dropped into empty air. The entire vehicle tilted at a terrifying angle, its front pointed skyward as the rear slid backward down the cliff.

Losing her foothold completely, May slid backward off her seat, her back slamming heavily against the rear metal door.

"Ahhh!" she screamed in terror, flailing her hands desperately for a handle or strap, but finding nothing to hold on to.

Under the immense stress of the tilt, the rear latch snapped with a sharp burst, creating a gap that let howling arctic winds sweep into the cabin, whipping her hair wildly across her face.

She began sliding directly toward that open drop—

"May!"

A hoarse, thunderous roar erupted from the cabin.

Without a second thought, Mitch lunged forward. His right hand locked onto a ceiling mounting ring with a grip so ferocious his fingers turned ghostly pale, while his left arm reached out and snagged May around the waist mid-slide.

Her downward momentum pulled hard against his arm, dragging both of them down another couple of inches as the metal ring shrieked under the strain.

"Ugh—!" Mitch gritted his teeth, veins bulging along his neck.

With sheer brute force, he yanked May upward and slammed her tightly against his chest, wrapping both arms around her like steel chains. May’s face buried right into his solid chest muscles, the impact so hard it made her nose throb with pain.

Yet she didn’t have time to care about the pain—the vehicle was still slipping.

"Don’t you dare move a muscle!" Mitch bellowed, his voice raw and laced with desperation. "You let go, you die! Do you hear me?!"

May clung frantically to the collar of his tactical gear, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist like a koala, holding on for dear life.

Then, the vehicle dipped another half-foot into the void.

"Ray! We can’t hold on much longer!"

The vehicle chassis dangled precariously over the void, the metal hull groaning and shrieking under the strain.

"Nobody move!"

Ray barked, his hands locked onto the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. "Mitch, hold on for dear life! Every single one of you, stay still! If anyone shifts right now, we’re all going down to feed the zombies!"

Mitch’s right hand was clamped around the ceiling mounting loop, his left arm wrapped tight around May’s waist. The girl weighed barely a hundred pounds, but right now he wasn’t thinking about her delicate frame or soft scent—his arm was shaking violently, muscles trembling on the verge of a brutal cramp.

"May! Grab onto me!" Mitch growled through gritted teeth, the veins on his neck bulging to the bursting point.

May clung frantically to his midsection, her hands gripping his torso while her face pressed flat against his rock-hard abs. "Mitch, I’m terrified! My hands are slipping!"

"Then dig your nails in! I don’t care if you tear my skin off, don’t you dare let go!"

The tail end of the transport dipped another two inches. The rear metal doors shrieked in agony as the frame twisted, widening the gap further.

Right at that critical moment, a sharp chime echoed inside May’s head.

[System Triggered: High-intensity physical contact between the host and target Mitch in a life-or-death situation. Reward granted: Bizarre Item — ’High-Powered Magnetic Tactical Harness’.]

Before May could even register what kind of absurd item this was, a blinding flash of bright pink light erupted right in front of her eyes.

Snap!

A massive pink tactical belt materialised out of thin air. Packed with an insanely strong magnetic pulse, it locked straight onto May’s arms and Mitch’s waist with a heavy metallic click!

The real issue wasn’t just the belt—it was the fierce magnetic pull that violently snapped the two side buckles together.

While May had been slipping downward a moment before, the intense magnetic force now dragged her upward with overwhelming power, forcing her face right into Mitch’s waist. Because Mitch was in a half-crouch to hold her, the sudden attraction fused them together like conjoined twins.

May’s torso slid down half a foot under the momentum, moving her face from his abs down to the inner crotch of his combat trousers, leaving zero gap between them.

An instant, dead silence fell over the cabin.

Ray caught the view in the rearview mirror, his pupils contracting instantly. Theo’s usually unflappable composure cracked with a rare look of utter shock. Ace snapped the branch in his hand clean in two, while Jack quickly covered his mouth.

May was completely stunned.

She could feel the muscles along Mitch’s inner thighs instantly tense up like solid steel plates. Her warm breath was blowing directly against the most sensitive spot at the top of his thigh.

"Damn..." Mitch drew in a sharp breath, his whole body going rigid as a wooden board.

The belt’s suction was absurdly strong. When May tried to pull her waist back, her face was pulled right back against the fabric.

"Mitch... what is with this belt..." May’s muffled voice came from below, tinged with tears. "I can’t move!"

Mitch stayed silent, his skin flushing dark red from his collar all the way to the tips of his ears. His Adam’s apple bobbed frantically up and down as he clenched his jaw, a thick vein throbbing at his temple.