Chapter 73: Gwen’s hesitation [100 PS Bonus Chapter (5)]

At noon, Marie and her teammates returned from their hunt, all looking drained and tired. Most of them were covered in dark blood, and they had to take a shower before coming downstairs for lunch.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Richard remarked dryly, "I think the five-star hotel is now boring. I guess it was their services that made them special."

Beside him, Miguel nodded, wolfing down chicken laps.

"I don’t really care, though. You saw how many zombies we found today. We’re lucky to have even been able to survive on the first day "

His gaze shifted to Leon who was discussing something with Selene, Reymond, and Gwen.

Apparently, the brown-haired guy had just returned from scouting the area, and from his expression, it wasn’t good news.

Hearing Reymond’s report, Leon frowned, "Although expected, it’s still a bit annoying."

"The zombies were much, much more numerous than what we faced when leaving the campus—and that itself is annoying." Reymond nodded, his expression grim.

Then, he remembered something else, "Ah, right. When I climbed up to a skyscraper close to the shore, I realized the zombies were somewhat avoiding the waters."

"Avoiding the waters?" Gwen tilted her head, confused. "Could it be that zombies have an aversion for any water body?"

Selene shook her head, expression calm, "I doubt it. Instead, I’m more inclined to believe they’re wary of whatever stays in the water."

"To be precise," Leon cut in. "The zombie leader is wary of losing its army to whatever dwells in the river."

He pressed a palm to his forehead. "That’s very problematic. The zombies are already an annoying bunch."

He wasn’t really concerned though. The only thing that could make him hasty was his worry about Clara.

But then, he realized his hastiness wouldn’t save her. Only if he had enough strength would he be able to find her and keep her safe.

Thus, he decided to cool his mind and continue hoping that the girl was surviving.

Selene glanced at her injured arm, then moved it slightly. Her expression contorted, but she wasn’t feeling too much pain. After being healed a second time, she felt that one more healing session would be enough.

"I guess we have to wait for a while longer than we thought before we can move out of this place."

Leon shrugged, "Fine by me."

Glancing back, he could see the five members of his squad dining and chatting.

’If we can grind properly here, then we can surely use the zombies to bring them to Level 20 and above.’

Taking a breath, he looked at Gwen, who was coincidentally looking at him too.

"Should we... head out now?" She asked, her brown eyes blinking innocently.

"Alright, I’ll go prepare," He gave her a nod, then went upstairs. She also went upstairs to get her bow, arrows, and quiver.

After a few minutes, they met again downstairs, then bid farewell to the others before leaving the hotel.

Gwen gripped her bow tightly as they walked through the empty streets. Glancing at the deserted neighborhood, she said to Leon.

"Hey, do you think there might still be survivors in these buildings?"

Leon took quick glances at the buildings around them, then shook his head, "Probably not. If there were, they’d have called out to us for help."

Soon, they reached where he and Selene had fought against the Grimhowl Wolf, and where they had killed it.

Surprisingly, the corpse was no longer there. However, they could still see trails of blood leading into an alley.

’As expected. Something else ate it, hm?’

Glancing towards the alley, he began walking towards it. Gwen followed behind him, her body tense.

"You’re tracking something?" She asked, grip tight on the bow.

"Yes," Leon nodded. "It’s probably a mutated beast, so you should get ready."

She gulped and nodded. Soon, they got out of the alley into a local neighborhood. Here, they could see the small buildings and farmlands belonging to the locals.

They could also see ranches that used to hold farm animals before the apocalypse. However, everywhere now looked deserted.

There were no people, nor were there any animals...

’Strange.’

Frowning, he sensed that something was wrong. Even if there were no zombies, where had the animals gone?

His eyes narrowed, and he pulled Gwen into a story building. They entered a room with a big window, giving them enough access to view the whole neighborhood.

"Let’s test something. Fire a shot at that ranch."

Leon said to her, pointing at a building that looked strangely pristine.

Gwen nodded and drew an arrow, nocking it onto her bow.

She pulled back, targeted the building, then let loose.

Thwip~!

The arrow shot through the air at startling speed, pierced the roof, and landed inside.

[You have slain a Level 4 Mutated Piglet!]

Gwen blinked in surprise, but before she could say anything, the building trembled, and the doors shattered.

Large red-skinned pigs rushed out, letting out furious squeals, their eyes bloodshot.

"Um... I think I killed one of their kids," She said weakly, a conflicted emotion in her eyes.

"Oh? Alright," Leon replied casually, then looked at the frenzied mutated pigs. "Kill them."

Gwen’s hand trembled, and she hesitantly raised the bow. Taking another arrow from her quiver, she fired a shot... and missed.

"Gwen?" He frowned. "Why are you trembling?"

"I... I killed a piglet. They’re probably not crazy mutated beasts, right? Maybe they’re just angry about the loss of their..."

Her words slowed until she stopped, feeling Leon’s cold glare on her.

"Are you still carrying this mentality in this kind of situation?" He asked, his tone frigid.

Walking closer, he took the bow from her, nocked an arrow, then fired a shot at one mutated pig. The shot hit his target, sinking into the pig’s head and crushing its brain.

[You have slain a Level 16 Mutated Pig!]

As the corpse fell to the ground, Gwen was stunned to see the other pigs rush over and begin to eat it.

’Wait, what?’ She gasped in surprise. ’Why are they... eating their own kind?’

Leon turned back to her, his expression cold, "Do those look like normal pigs to you? You should learn how to recognize wild mutated beasts. If you keep hesitating like this, you will die soon."

Gwen trembled, her lips pressed together tightly. ’He’s right. I shouldn’t be soft on them. It’s either mutated beasts kill me, or I kill them.’ 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Taking a deep breath, she took back her bow, then fired a shot at the feasting pigs.

[You have slain a Level 14 Mutated Pig! +3 Stamina points]