Chapter 148: Standoff

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Standoff

After Blake Blue reinforced the factory doors, Jasper Payne finally freed his hands and immediately pulled Yolanda Kramer into his arms. He glared viciously at Shay Kramer. "How dare you push your sister!"

Facing Jasper’s wrath, Shay’s heart dropped. She hadn’t expected Henry Hayes to drag her into this! She hastily apologized. "Yolanda! I didn’t mean to! I was just so scared that my hand slipped! We’re real sisters!"

Yolanda’s face was already covered in tears. She had never imagined the two of them would end up like this. Ever since the apocalypse began and their parents mutated, it had taken her a long time to accept reality. Her only wish had been for the two sisters to live a good life together.

"Shay, he’s going to be my husband!"

With just that single sentence, Yolanda felt her throat tighten, unable to speak further. No matter how naive she was, she could finally see her younger sister’s true intentions.

"Holy shit! What kind of drama is this? Kill your sister to steal her man!?" Everyone’s eyes widened. Luna Dawson even felt like grabbing some sunflower seeds to snack on while watching. These two sisters were just too entertaining.

Hearing the commotion, Shay panicked and grabbed at Jasper’s hand, but he shook her off in disgust.

She screamed in defense, "No, it’s not like that! I thought you only saw him as a brother!" She then turned back to Yolanda. "Yolanda, you love me the most! You’ve always given me whatever I wanted since we were little. Why can’t you just let me have him this time?"

At those words, the memory of being shoved toward the zombies flashed through Yolanda’s mind. It felt as if a cold hand had viciously gripped her heart, hurting so much she could barely breathe. She couldn’t understand it. The hands that had just pushed her were the very same ones she had held countless times growing up—the same hands that had always reached out to her for warmth.

Jesse Payne watched the melodrama with a darkened expression. What had he missed? What on earth were they talking about!

Luna blinked at Rhonda Dawson and teased, "Don’t worry, Rhonda. I’d never try to steal that useless baggage from you."

Rhonda looked at her younger sister in amusement and rolled her eyes. "Pfft, gross. Don’t jinx me. That guy isn’t mine."

Kevin Keane subconsciously glanced at Blake. "Who’s the useless baggage?"

Blake looked utterly bewildered. "I’d like to know that myself."

Luna suddenly interrupted them. "The zombies are about to break in. It’s a mother and child. The adult is a Thunder System Third Rank, and the child is a Wood Element Third Rank. Everyone, be careful."

She could sense two pools of energy gathering wildly outside. The metal doors were being repeatedly struck by electricity; their structure was growing increasingly fragile. They wouldn’t hold for much longer.

Shay, her sister, and the rest of their group subconsciously gulped. Everyone tensed up, their eyes glued to the metal doors that were sparking and sputtering with electricity.

CLANG! CLANG!

The violent sounds of crashing echoed back and forth as metal fragments went flying with a sharp CRACKLE. Every so often, a piece would hit someone’s face, stinging sharply. As the door hinges let out a tortuous CREAK, the distinct, guttural roars of two different zombies pierced through the metal, ringing clearly in everyone’s ears.

Before long, the charred metal in the center of the door, baked brittle by the lightning, finally gave way. With a loud CRACK, a fissure split open, and a rotting, blackened claw SHOT through the gap, bits of scorched iron still snagged on its fingertips!

Evan Olson’s gaze hardened. Seizing the opportunity, he immediately sent a fierce wind vortex spinning forward, cleanly twisting around the intruding claw.

RIP!

The sound of tearing bone and flesh set everyone’s teeth on edge. The zombie’s arm was instantly shredded into pieces, splattering black blood all over the metal doors.

ROAR!

This completely enraged the zombie outside. After a shrill, bloodcurdling shriek, a massive BOOM echoed out. The already wobbling metal doors were blasted completely off their hinges, breaking into several pieces that fell to the warehouse floor with a heavy CLANG.

Two dark silhouettes immediately bolted inside, their speed astonishingly fast!

The first to attack was the shriveled, bruised infant zombie. It scrambled on all fours like a little wild beast. The moment it opened its mouth, it whipped out several black vines that lunged forward, carrying a foul, bloody stench!

Blake reacted swiftly. With a flick of his wrist, a flurry of sharp metal blades flew out with a rapid SWISH, severing every single charging vine.

Miles Dawson and Aaron Palmer had long since figured out that plant-type zombies were weak to fire. Exchanging a knowing glance, they activated their superpowers in unison. Two crimson Fire Dragons roared to life with a WHOOSH, weaving into a net that dove straight for the infant zombie’s face!

With a sudden FOOM, the flames instantly engulfed the creature. The crackle of burning flesh, accompanied by a charred, sickening odor, immediately wafted through the air.

SCREECH!

A piercing wail, sharp enough to rupture eardrums, exploded from the infant, shaking the ceiling so violently that dust drifted down in sheets. The infant zombie thrashed wildly within the fire. A mess of black vines flailed about blindly like headless flies, whipping against the broken doors on the ground with a heavy BANG BANG.

At the same time, the female zombie bent her limbs backward, scurrying swiftly up the broken doorframe like a spider. In the blink of an eye, she clung to the ceiling of the warehouse.

Her belly had split down the middle, sagging loosely like a withered lotus leaf. Black, putrid fluid dripped slowly from the edges, hitting the floor with a toxic SIZZLE and corroding small pits into the ground. Her cheeks were severely hollowed out, and her grayish-blue eyes locked dead onto the people below. Her gaping mouth, lined with razor-sharp teeth, let out a muffled growl, as if she were complaining about why the crowd below wasn’t waiting obediently to be eaten!

Evan didn’t dare slack off. He hurled Wind Blades at the ceiling one after another, forcing the female zombie to scurry and hide among the rafters, her dodging movements so fast they left afterimages.

Jasper’s squad didn’t dare stop either. They unleashed various superpowers toward the ceiling, relentlessly pinning down the female zombie so she wouldn’t have a chance to release any lightning strikes.

In the midst of the chaos, a few drops of black zombie fluid happened to splatter right onto Shay’s face. A foul, reeking stench of rot instantly pierced her nose. Half-scared to death, she shrieked and turned, trying to burrow her way into the middle of the group.

Jasper caught sight of this from the corner of his eye. He quickly grabbed Yolanda and pulled her protectively behind him, terrified she would be dragged into the collateral damage.

But Shay was already out of her mind with terror. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, crying and dodging blindly until she crashed into Evan with a heavy THUD, right as he was fully focused on controlling his Wind Blades!

Evan’s attack rhythm was instantly disrupted. He staggered, and his movements slowed by a half-beat. In that tiny window of time, several black vines that had slipped through the net silently slithered over to him!

A chill ran down Evan’s neck, and he immediately sensed something was wrong. Subconsciously pushing his superpowers to their limits, streaks of wind vortices, Thunder Snakes, and metal blades exploded around him. They shredded the approaching vines to pieces, slicing through them as effortlessly as a blender chopping vegetables.

Meanwhile, Shay was still standing beside him with her eyes closed, wailing at the top of her lungs. Her piercing screams grated on everyone’s eardrums, making them furrow their brows in irritation. They all inwardly cursed that this useless teammate was just here to cause trouble. She couldn’t help in the slightest and only ever made things worse. It was incredibly annoying!

Suddenly, Shay’s wailing came to an abrupt halt.

Yolanda’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned her head, only to see three thick black vines stabbed viciously right into Shay’s chest. The leaves on the vines quivered madly, seemingly buzzing with excitement at having caught their prey.

Shay’s eyes went wide as saucers. She stared at her sister in absolute horror, her lips moving as if trying to say something, but no sound came out.

The next second, the vines yanked forcefully, dragging her body outward. Bound tightly by the infant zombie, she was pulled out of the warehouse. Miles and Aaron instantly chased after them.