Chapter <b>172 </b>The Mall Sweep
+ Free Come
Firearms were only suitable for enclosed spaces, desperate charges, or zombie swarms.
Once the entrance to the mall had been cleared of the undead, Lucas led his team swiftly toward the front doors. Theresa strolled behind him without a care in the world, watching as Lucas‘ squad worked with practiced precision. They pulled out a variety of tools and got to work on therge steel door.
In just a few quiet moments, the door gave way.
Theresa found herself once again grateful to be out on a mission with Lucas. Everything just… worked when he was in charge.
Wolfe, trailing behind with his own team, could feel the same professionalism radiating from Lucas‘ people. A shadow passed through his eyes–deep, thoughtful.
The KI Camp really was strong.
But his gaze soon drifted to Theresa.
Who was this woman, exactly?
And why didn’t she seem to do anything? 2
Once the main doors creaked open, Lucas‘ squad entered first, moving carefully into the pitch–ck mall. No power. No light. Just a silence so dense it pressed on the skin.
Lucas tossed out a few shbangs.
They burst with bursts of white–hot light, illuminating a stretch of the dark corridor–and like moths to a me, the scattered zombies inside began to shuffle toward the noise<b>. </b>
“Raaah!”
“Raaah!”
“Raaah!”
Whether they’d arrived early for work or gotten trapped during the outbreak, the infected emerged from storefronts one after another–young, stylish, eerily clean.
Most wore uniforms or casual work attire. One female zombie in particr stood out. She was dressed to impress–ashy gray hair in trendy waves, a new–season summer dress clinging to her lithe frame, and spotless white sneakers on her feet.
Not a trace of dirt or blood stained her.
It was a stark contrast to the filthy, dposed walkers they usually encountered on the streets.
This mall, sealed tight since the outbreak, had kept its contents remarkably pristine.
Unfortunately, the girl’s face had not fared as well. From the corner of her mouth up across half her face,
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Chapter 172 The Mall Sweep
65 Free Coins
her flesh had been chewed away. Her right eyeball,cking an eyelid to hold it in ce, bulged grotesquely from its socket, rolling upward as she stumbled forward. Her knees bent the wrong way with every jerking step toward them.
With each stomp, it felt like that bulging eye might pop right out.
Froosh!
A small fireball lit up the dark, striking the zombic girl square in the chest. mes roared from the impact, engulfing her quickly.
“From now on,” Lucas ordered, his voice low but sharp, “no more fire–based abilities!”
“Yes, sir!”
Suddenly, the area was alive with bursts of water, glints of metal spheres, and clods of earth–no fire.
This was a clothing depot. The racks and materials were dry, mmable. A single misstep could light the whole ce up.
Lucas didn’t hesitate.
Within minutes, the entire first floor had been cleared of the undead.
He gave the order: “Start loading up the supplies. Now.”
In the apocalypse, stability was everything.
If they saw something worth taking, they took it. Right then. Don’t wait to clear the entire building and risk everything on a final haul. That way led to disaster. People died. Missions failed.
Lucas wasn’t like Bennie, that idiot fromst time who’d almost gotten his whole team wiped out.
When the floor was quiet again, he gave the nextmand. “One store at a time. Go!”
Wolfe approached him. “Mr. Keaton, we’ll start hauling from the two rows in the back.”
“Wait a second!” Theresa suddenly stepped forward, eyes zing with something uncharacteristically righteous.
“We haven’t done a thing this whole time. Mr. Keaton’s been the one working nonstop, cleaning the ce out. And now, when it’s time to grab the goods, you want to jump in first? I say let K1 Camp take everything. After it’s all hauled out, we can split it fairly. I trust Mr. Keaton to be honorable. Don’t you, Wolfe?”
Wolfe’s jaw clenched. He said nothing.
Lucas, hearing all this, nearly lifted Theresa off the ground and spun her in circles. What had gotten into her today?
She was… backing him up. Hard.
The happiness came so suddenly that it almost stunned him.
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Chapter 172 The Mall <b>Sweep </b>
25 Free <b>Coins </b>
“I’ll start,” Theresa said firmly. “Kyle, go help Mr. Keaton move supplies. Everything goes in his truck! Wolfe, what about you?”
Wolfe ground his teeth. “Move it. Mr. Keaton did the heavy lifting. We’ll haul. You heard her–everything <b>goes </b>in his truck.”
Two hourster, the teams had finished stripping the first floor clean, moving from shop to shop. It was slow work, but efficient.
Because this was a clothing mall, theyout had been highly organized.
The first and second floors had been packed with fast–fashion shops targeting teens and young women, selling affordable, trendy outfits in massive quantities.
And since the outbreak had hit in August, most stores had already begun rolling out their fall collections.
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