Chapter 180: The Death of Susan Vaughn

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: The Death of Susan Vaughn

Pain! A piercing, bone-deep agony!

Susan Vaughn felt as though she’d been thrown into a meat grinder. Every bone in her body screamed as if shattered. A red-hot branding iron seemed lodged in her chest, making every breath a tearing agony. She couldn’t draw in a single gulp of fresh air.

The heavy, metallic taste of blood flooded her throat. It was so dry and itchy it felt like it was on fire. Unable to hold back, she coughed violently. Warm blood mixed with fragments of ruptured internal organs gushed frantically from her nose and mouth, smearing all over her face.

She was going to die... She was really going to die... This realization drenched her entire being like ice water. Yet, what followed wasn’t fear, but a monstrous, overwhelming sense of indignation!

Why?! How could this be?!

Not long ago, she had been Ron Rivers’ cherished girlfriend, the envied future wife of the district mayor. She had the world at her fingertips! She had flawlessly managed to hook up with Kyle Keith and successfully met Francis Grant! If only she had put in a little more effort to make Francis Grant drink a few more glasses of her water, she could have secured him as her patron!

These thoughts spun like a carousel through her chaotic mind. All the ambitions, schemes, and unfulfilled desires of her short life now transformed into sharp thorns piercing her heart.

Slumped on the ground, her head too heavy to lift, she could only stare fixedly at her own pooling blood. She watched a slender figure slowly approach, bringing with her a biting chill, stepping on and shattering the bloodstains with every stride.

Gathering her very last ounce of strength, Susan struggled to lift her head. Through the extreme agony, her blurred vision finally managed to focus...

Luna Dawson! This woman! Why wasn’t she dead?! She should have died in that barrage of gunfire!

Before the shock and malice could fully bloom in her eyes, a flash of cold light suddenly swept past.

Luna’s index finger, cloaked in her Water Ability, pierced through Susan’s forehead without any resistance. The sharp Water Blade brought an icy touch, obliterating Susan’s last trace of sanity.

The next second, a severe pain erupted from her forehead as Luna dug her fingers directly into the wound. With brutal precision, she carved out the Crystal Core containing Susan’s Second-Order Water Ability while she was still alive!

"GASP—"

Sharp intakes of breath echoed continuously around the scene. Everyone was frozen in terror by this blunt, cruel spectacle. Many even turned their faces away, their stomachs churning violently.

Holding the Crystal Core still stained with warm blood, Luna casually wiped it clean. Her eyes were as cold as ice.

She leaned down and grabbed Susan’s body, which still clung to a faint trace of consciousness. Like dragging a bag of garbage, Luna walked straight to the perimeter wall and ruthlessly tossed her over.

Outside the wall, the countless zombies that had long been drawn by the scent of blood instantly boiled over in a frenzy!

Hungry! So hungry! Delicious! Smells incredibly good! These ghoul-like zombies hadn’t tasted such fresh human flesh in far too long! Every detail was frantically stimulating their appetites!

Several Second-tier Zombies pounced first, their sharp nails instantly tearing through Susan’s winter coat. More zombies swarmed in, fighting and scrambling to rip her apart. The heavily trampled snow became stained with dark red blood. A few stronger zombies directly ripped open Susan’s stomach...

These ear-piercing, horrifying sounds left the people inside the wall numb with terror, their teeth set on edge. They all cast fearful glances at Luna standing by the wall.

Everyone knew that zombies in the apocalypse rarely got to eat a complete, living human. Usually, before they could even finish gnawing on the organs, the attacked victim would become infected and mutate into one of their own kind.

But Susan was different. She still had a breath of life in her when she was thrown out. With a hole in her forehead and her Crystal Core removed, there was zero chance of mutation. She was completely and utterly a fresh, delicious, "whole ingredient."

The zombies outside the wall fought madly as if they had won the lottery, constantly emitting beast-like gnawing sounds of HISS and CHOMP. These sounds spread wildly through the dead of night, like countless fine needles viciously stabbing at the nerves of every onlooker.

"You can offend anyone, but never cross this living Yama!"

"This is terrifying... She actually dissected someone alive and threw them to feed the zombies..."

"Stay far away from Luna Dawson from now on. We absolutely must not offend her!"

Hushed murmurs thick with fear passed cautiously through the crowd.

Meanwhile, Luna, the object of everyone’s dread, slowly broke into a radiant smile. Her eyes focused intently on the zombies scrambling outside the wall. It wasn’t until Susan’s very last finger was entirely devoured by the zombies, without a single scrap of meat left, that she slowly raised her hand to signal Miles Dawson beside her.

Miles instantly understood. Channeling the Fire Ability within him, a blast of scorching flame surged out, soaring over the wall and landing precisely on the scattered, shattered skeleton. The raging inferno reduced the remaining bones to ash. With a gust of the freezing wind, the ashes dissipated without a trace, as if the person known as Susan Vaughn had never existed in this apocalyptic world.

Kyle Keith clenched his fists tightly. All her passion and smiles had been fake! This woman had been putting on an act all along!

Watching Susan’s remains outside the wall be completely reduced to ash by the flames and blown away by the wind, the smile on Luna’s face slowly faded.

As her adrenaline fully receded, an overwhelming, churning surge of stabbing pain erupted from deep within her mind, feeling like countless steel needles piercing her simultaneously. All the strength was instantly drained from her body. Like a deflated balloon, she slumped straight down.

"Luna!"

Kevin Keane reacted with lightning speed. Throwing himself forward like a madman, he firmly caught her by the waist. Without even sparing another glance outside the wall, he picked Luna up and sprinted toward the nearby RV. He ran so fast he nearly stumbled.

The RV door was pulled open with a loud CLANG. The moment Kevin rushed inside with Luna in his arms, Mrs. Dawson and Miles followed closely behind, their faces etched with panic. Rhonda Dawson was anxiously waiting inside the cabin, holding out for Luna’s return.

Outside the RV, mutated animals and plants like Rollo, Little Tiger, and Purple Bean clustered around the vehicle, all appearing highly agitated. Rollo kept rubbing its head against the side of the RV, while Little Tiger let out low whimpers. Purple Bean and Little Sweet Potato coiled around the door handle, their leaves trembling faintly.

Not far away, Blake Blue, Evan Olson, and a few others glared with fiery eyes. The chilling aura radiating from them was almost palpable, making the surrounding air feel as if it had dropped ten degrees.

The moment she saw Luna leaning weakly in Kevin’s arms, Mrs. Dawson’s mind went blank. Her already strained nerves snapped completely, and she babbled incoherently, "What... what happened? Wasn’t she... wasn’t she just fine a moment ago? My baby! Oh, my precious baby!"