Memphis smirked and replied:"If I told you to stay in Hope Town, would you say yes? No, you wouldn’t. You don’t feel safe here, and you won’t stay."Wallflower’s hand froze for a moment before she resumed drawing circles on his chest. After a while, she seriously asked:"Memphis, will you come with me to Lakeside County?""Here it comes."At her question, Memphis felt a familiar coldness deep inside.This woman never fully trusted him. She feared that he would stray down a dark path, that he wouldn’t treat the residents of Hope Town sincerely, that one day he might abandon them—or worse, harm them. She had always wanted to bring him into the fold of the government, to steer him towards a more legitimate path.But the unexpected events had changed things. Memphis's heroic confrontation with the M2 level 24 had clearly left a strong impression on Wallflower. She had been moved, perhaps even "infatuated.” or more accurately, she might have truly "fallen" for him.Her behavior said it all
The Soul Suppression skill could be considered both offensive and defensive. Facing it was like dealing with double the normal pressure.With that in mind, Memphis yawned, then turned and pulled Wallflower into his embrace. Before their departure, he needed to figure out how to integrate soul suppression into his skillset and fighting style, ensuring that his combat system was fully optimized and as powerful as possible.But only two minutes later, he was fast asleep from exhaustion. After fighting both on the battlefield and in bed, even an ox would be worn out, let alone a human.Early morning…Memphis had slept soundly and deeply throughout the night. If it hadn’t been for the soft splashing and clinking sounds coming from the bathroom, he might have slept until noon.Groggily opening his eyes and yawning in contentment, he found himself lying alone in bed. Through the frosted glass door of the bathroom, he could vaguely make out a soft, mature figure fiddling with her hair."Truly
Wallflower bit her lip, a thousand words choking in her throat, but all of them remained unspoken.“I… I understand…”With that, she finished her morning routine and quickly left.Memphis watched her for a few moments, then leisurely stood up, turned on the cold shower, and casually washed off, as if to cleanse himself of every lingering trace of the woman.By the time he returned to the bedroom, Wallflower had already left. All her belongings were gone, even the blood-stained bed sheets.“Well, good. At least you’ve kept your independence.”When it came to Wallflower’s feelings, and even his own, Memphis refused to let them interfere with the decisions and goals he had already set. At least for now: “what he wanted” wasn’t a peaceful, happy life with Wallflower. That was only a “primal desire.”And primal desires? Get out of the way. One night of passion was more than enough.After carefully putting on his combat gear and packing a bag with supplies and several sets of clothes, Memphi
From other directions, military convoys also started moving out, heading to different battlefields. After a night of digesting the spoils and distributing supplies, the combined strength of Hope Town had increased significantly, far surpassing what it had been before the war.Within a 5-kilometer radius of Hope Town, few threats remained capable of endangering any squad.Sitting in the same vehicle with Memphis, naturally, was Wallflower. She had already regained her composure, her face calm and distant, exuding that familiar, ethereal elegance. Her aura of beauty, combined with a high and unattainable air, naturally repelled others, making them feel inadequate, even reluctant to strike up a conversation.Meanwhile, Memphis was discussing the situation with Yosef. As a seasoned soldier who had long been stationed near Sunny Hills, Yosef was familiar with every inch of the terrain. He spread out a map and began analyzing the likely attack routes of the zombie horde, identifying potentia
On the right side was another long line of people in ragged, mud-covered clothes, most likely belonging to the construction team. These people were mostly women, young girls, and frail elderly individuals. They too were lined up for food, their faces displaying deep sorrow and endless fatigue.But what was most shocking was the large open area near the vehicle assembly point. There, over 30 enormous iron cages had been set up, with each cage holding one or two people, all of them women or girls. These women were completely naked, their bodies covered in countless cuts, with blood either dried or slowly oozing from their wounds, the stench of death overwhelming.It was as if they had been slashed repeatedly and left exposed in those cages all night. Some were still struggling violently, their limbs scraping against the metal mesh until their skin split open. Others appeared dead or unconscious, their bodies curled up silently. Some were weakly breathing, blood dripping from their mouths
The high-ranking officials of Hope, led by Cormac, made their way into the central living room. The space remained as grand and spacious as ever, now with a large table set up, covered with maps and battle plans.As they all took their seats, more of Sunny Hills' top officials began to arrive. Each one looked exhausted, their expressions grim, with an undercurrent of madness and desperation. Their state was a stark contrast to what it had been just days before.Memphis understood what this meant. These people had suffered numerous spiritual attacks from the zombie horde's leader, their souls “tainted” multiple times without any effective way to counter or mitigate the damage.To be precise, their "anchors" were not strong enough; their minds lacked something to hold on to. They were lost, trapped in a state of fear and confusion.In Hope, Memphis prided himself on good community management. The mental health of individuals and the collective was well-maintained. Hope had a clear goal,
Yosef replied slowly:“The advantage is that we can disperse the zombies’ defenses, exposing their command structure and making them more vulnerable. The downside…”“Our firepower must be strong enough to hold off the main force of the zombies. It has to be very strong, with plenty of ammunition, guns, even 12.7mm rounds, anti-tank rounds, grenades, rockets… We need this to ease the pressure and halt the zombies’ advance, slowing them down.”“Every round of firepower has to be strong enough to break through the zombies’ advance, preventing them from forming a cohesive force.”The room fell silent as everyone realized this was the challenge they’d been struggling with for days.Where would they get all that firepower?Memphis glanced in a particular direction before quickly retracting his gaze, deciding to remain silent and see how the people of Sunny Hills would handle this.Sure enough, Cormac pressed his hands onto the table and said:“I have a way to deal with the zombies, to some e
Boom!Boom boom boom… Ka-boom!The sounds of explosions rang out in all directions, the petrol bombs igniting one after another in a chain reaction. Nearly two tons of fuel exploded in an instant, and a towering column of fire shot up over ten meters into the sky, scattering flaming oil everywhere, instantly engulfing more than 2,000 zombies."Grekkk…""Grakkkk…""Aaaaaa…""Khak…"The explosions, the roaring flames, the agonized growls of the burning zombies, and the faint, terrified screams of the trapped humans all mixed together in a grisly symphony of death, blood, and lost humanity.Cormac’s bloodshot eyes burned with madness and fury. These bastards had to die. Only by wiping out the zombies here could he march to the distant hill, seize the treasure, and complete the system's mission.Raising his hand, Cormac summoned a roaring flame. This fire was an eye-catching blue-purple, its heat so intense it warped the very air around it.The blue flame condensed into a massive fireball,