The air was thick with the stench of blood.

With every breath Paige Summers took, the urgency grew stronger. ’I have to kill this monster before me, this thing that can no longer be called human!’

At such close range, she could smell the putrid stench coming off its body.

It was a nauseating stench, even worse than that of a rotting corpse!

’The smell of a Zombie!’

She swung the sword in her hand, the blade never straying from its head and neck. A sharp whistle followed the blade’s edge, emanating a daunting killing intent.

Her technique was a hybrid, combining the Sword Skill she had learned in her past life with what she had observed from Grant Yardley and the others in this one. It looked formless, yet her follow-up strikes were faster, came from tighter angles, and her movements were more agile than those of an untrained fighter.

This made her a formidable opponent.

The Zombie across from her was no weakling, either. Its gloves were torn to shreds, revealing sharp claws that were like daggers, capable of easily slicing through flesh. It was also extremely fast, its body nimbly dodging her attacks.

’But its fighting style... it’s less like a Zombie and more like a human!’

Paige Summers realized this as well.

’But so what?’

’Even if it’s still conscious, even if it was once human, feasting on the flesh of its own kind is a crime that death itself can’t atone for!’

While she was locked in a fierce battle with the zombie, Erin Quinn was just regaining consciousness after fainting from the pain. She struggled to sit up, ignoring the agonizing wound. The bite on her thigh had been medicated and wrapped in a cloth bandage, but blood was still seeping through.

She looked toward Paige Summers and sighed in relief when she saw that Paige wasn’t losing. But when she turned and saw the person beside her moving to help her up, she angrily slapped her hand away. "Elara Archer, don’t think I can’t recognize you just because your face is covered! Save your fake concern! You’re still keeping that thing and using it to hurt people. Wasn’t feeding it Xiao Hua enough? Now you want it to eat me, is that it?!"

Elara Archer nervously touched the black cloth covering her face. "E-Evie, you’re misunderstanding. He’s just too hungry. I... I’ll talk to him..."

A cold sneer spread across Erin Quinn’s little face. "Still lying. Do you know what I hate most about you? It’s not that you lure people for it to eat. It’s that you always put on this innocent act! Even from behind that cloth, it makes me sick! I know what you’re really thinking: ’As long as we catch them, it’ll have food for at least two days. That should be enough time to find other ’food’!’"

Beneath her black mask, Elara Archer’s face turned pale. She forced a smile. "How could you say that! I’m not that kind of person. Look, didn’t I just bandage your wound for you?"

"That was just so I wouldn’t die right away. Zombies prefer their food alive, don’t they..." Erin Quinn said, bluntly voicing the thoughts she’d pried from the other girl’s mind. She didn’t know why she was acting this way. Perhaps it was the pain, or perhaps Paige Summers’s relentless rescue attempt had thrown her into a state of unexpected turmoil.

No matter how she’d promised herself she would trust Paige Summers, at a time like this, doubts still bubbled up from the depths of her heart.

’Will she save me?’

’Will she risk her life to fight a Zombie for my sake?’

’She really won’t abandon me, will she?’

As it turned out, she would.

Part of Erin Quinn’s heart rejoiced at Paige Summers’s arrival, but another part was terrified that she would fall to the Zombie’s ferocious assault.

After all, the man who was once Patrick Forrest had been an incredibly powerful Superpower User before he turned into a Zombie—a top-ranked figure at Dawnbringer Base!

If he weren’t so difficult to kill, people wouldn’t have just let him roam near the base. He even occasionally preyed on people inside the base when he couldn’t find other food...

And as for Elara Archer, she was even more despicable!

Erin Quinn shot her a look of disgust, noticing that Elara had stopped trying to talk to her. Instead, she was staring blankly at the fight between the human and the Zombie, her glistening eyes filled with worry.

She pressed her lips together firmly and slowly, stealthily, moved her hand toward her waist.

Hidden there was a small dart that Paige Summers had given her.

Paige had said that because Erin was so small, carrying a Short Sword would draw too much attention, making this a better option. It was small and easy to hide, and most importantly, its tip was coated in poison. The point was currently wrapped, but a single hard stab would break the covering and allow the poison to seep into the enemy’s bloodstream. They would die a gruesome death, just like those two scumbags from before!

When Paige Summers gave it to her, she had given a solemn warning: only use it in a life-or-death situation.

’This has to be it, right?’

But Erin Quinn forgot one crucial thing. After living with a Zombie for so long, and after having her true intentions exposed, how could Elara Archer possibly let her guard down?

And Erin, despite having a mind-reading superpower and being slightly stronger than an average child, was still only seven years old.

Her arm, as it shot out to strike, was caught in an iron grip!

Elara Archer’s gaze turned sharp. Without hesitation, her other hand clamped down on Erin’s shoulder. Two sharp CRACKS echoed in quick succession. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Large beads of sweat rolled down Erin Quinn’s face. Already pale from blood loss, her little face now took on a deathly gray pallor. The pain of having both arms dislocated made her want to scream, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t let Paige Summers get distracted...

’So I have to endure it!’

Seeing the hatred, disappointment, and defiance in the little girl’s eyes, Elara Archer’s own gaze dimmed for a moment. Then she turned back toward Patrick Forrest, her expression complex.

Although Erin Quinn hadn’t made a sound, Paige Summers, even in the heat of battle, had seen her wake up. ’I don’t know the details, but I can’t let this drag on. She’ll die from blood loss sooner or later. Plus, she was bitten by a Zombie—she needs treatment right away!’

’My strength is about equal to this half-Zombie’s, but if this stalemate continues, I’ll be in deep trouble. We’re too entangled for me to get my Crossbow out. If we keep clashing like this, my superpower will run out eventually. Even if the same happens to the half-Zombie, it still has an accomplice. She hasn’t joined the fight yet, which means she’s not a strong fighter, but it doesn’t mean she’s completely helpless...’

In the space of a few breaths, countless thoughts raced through Paige Summers’s mind.

She glanced at her right hand, the one gripping her sword!

That momentary lapse in focus was all it took. The Zombie’s claws slashed through the air, barely missing her face. Paige Summers used the momentum to leap back, rolling once across the ground.

In the few seconds it took for her opponent to give chase, she had already switched the sword to her other hand.

Scrambling to her feet, she parried a strike from its sharp, metal-hard claws with her Blade. At the same time, with a swift movement, she grabbed its other flailing arm with her now-bare right hand!

Her overall fitness had improved, making her left arm stronger than an average person’s, but it was still far weaker than her right. The exchange was therefore incredibly brief; they broke apart the instant they made contact.

Paige Summers retreated as fast as she could, but she was still no match for the frenzied Zombie. A sharp pain suddenly erupted in her chest. Her breath hitched, and she staggered back to dodge its next lunge as the stench of blood, which had started to fade, once again thickened in the air.

A rattling GURGLE escaped the Zombie’s throat. It seemed consumed by its craving for flesh and blood, for energy, and grew even more agitated.

This was the scene that greeted Marcus Monroe when Sweetie led him to the clearing.

For some reason, his heart clenched, and a strange, complex emotion washed over him.