Chapter 98 The Rot Beneath
White maggots writhed through the carcasses, and pus oozed from the rotting flesh, spreading a <b>sticky</b><b>, </b>foul slime across everything.
The worst were the small animals still covered in fur. Their pelts dposed far more slowly <b>than </b>their bodies, leaving clumps of moldy, fur–covered remains that sprouted from the ground like fungal <b>moss</b>. <b>It </b>didn’t even look like a ughter site anymore–it looked like hell.
One nce was enough to make one’s skin crawl for a long time.
Worse still, the rotting carcasses carried countless animal–borne bacteria and viruses.
After Theresa and her group returned from the farm, a wave of animal–borne gue swept through the camp, making an already dire situation even more precarious.
Later on, the outbreak spread to other camps as well, wiping out several of the smaller ones entirely.
Theresa’s first bold move was to use her knowledge from her previous life to beat everyone to the punch and secure the site.
She’d driven here based on memory.
But to her surprise, no sooner had her vehicle arrived than the crack of gunfire split the air.
<i>Bang</i>!
A burst of bullets flew toward the livestock facility ahead. A team <b>of </b>seven or eight people was already engaged in a firefight at the front gate.
Someone had beaten her to it.
But this group looked like amateurs. They had only two handguns between them and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. After several shots, they hadn’tnded a single hit. Theresa focused, using her mind power to scan them.
There were five men and two women. One was a fire–based ability user, and two were strength–type ability users. The two handguns were with the strength–type ability users. The rest were ordinary people, armed with sticks or machetes, following nervously behind the powered trio.
But something stood out to Theresa–thest man in the group, wearing a baseball cap. He didn’t emit the usual energy of an ability user, nor did he feel like an ordinary human. There was something else there, something different.
After a few missed shots, the group/seemed to realize this wasn’t going to be easy–and that Theresa’s armored car had just rolled up.
“Logan, look over there!”
“A vehicle!”
“An armored one<b>–</b>someone <b>else </b>is here<b>!</b>”
Chapter <b>98 </b>The Rot Beneath
<b>The </b>man in charge narrowed his eyes at Theresa’s car and waved his team back. “You wait <b>here</b>. I’ll go talk
<b>to </b>them<b>.</b><b>” </b>
He strode confidently toward the armored car. To show he meant no harm, he stopped about <b>30 </b><b>feet </b>away waved, and ejected the magazine from his gun right in front of Theresa.
She nodded to Kyle, who shed the car’s lights twice. The man took that as a sign toe closer.
In the apocalypse, everyone yed by different rules.
Trust was a liability. Every stranger was a potential threat. No one could afford to drop their guard.
But Logan Peak took the first step, offering peace.
Knock, knock.
He tapped on the armored window.
Theresa opened it just a quarter of the way. The vehicle was tall–at this height, she had the advantage<b>. </b><b>If </b>he tried anything, she could react far faster than he could.
Still, she could hear him clearly.
“Hey there, friend. You’re here for supplies too, right?” Logan asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, perfect! Why don’t we team up? We’ve been staking this ce out for three days–we know theyout. After we take it, we split the supplies fifty–fifty.” Logan pulled out a cigarette from a battered pack- clearly cherishing <i>it</i>–and held it out as a gesture.
Cigarettes were rare now. When food was scarce, tobo was practically gold.
Theresa’spanion took the smoke–but her voice followed:
“No thanks. You <i>go </i>in first. I’ll go after you.”
Logan’s smile froze.
<i>Then </i><i>why’d </i><i>you </i><i>take </i><i>the </i><i>d</i><i>*</i><i>mn </i><i>cigarette</i><i>?! </i>
“Come on,” he said, trying to stay friendly. “It’s dangerous out here. One more person means one more pair of eyes.”
“Then may God be with you. We’ll be with you in spirit.”
Logan was speechless.
He’d seen a lot of people in the apocalypse. Normally, if someone didn’t want to cooperate, <b>they </b><b>wouldn’t </b>ept any stuff. But Theresa? She <i>took </i>the offering like it was nothing–and then shut him down <b>without </b>hesitation.
It was like watching a scalpel gut a fish. Cold<i>. </i>Efficient.
14:39 Sat, <b>9 </b>Aug
Chapter 98 The Rot Beneath
He stared at her imposing armored vehicle, jaw tight.
+10 Free Comis
Then he made ast–ditch offer: “Alright. You help us clear it out, and you get seventy percent of the supplies. We’ll just take thirty. Deal?”