Over the next few weeks, the three lived peacefully in the Glass Tower. Although Cassie initially nagged Leon for staying in a luxurious building that wasn't his, she soon got accustomed to enjoying the luxury. The other girl, Anna, was the quiet type. Always keeping to herself and only speaking when Cassie spoke to her.
Leon on the other hand, frequently went out to hunt and search for more Golden Boxes. Unfortunately, he hadn't found any.
Unknown to his sister and her friend, he secretly consumed Skyler's body amongst others since an evolved's meat provided high nutrition.
'The special ones aren't surfacing yet. I wonder when they would?'
He thought, suddenly craving the flesh of a special zombie. Thankfully, his prayer was answered the next day. Just not in a pleasant, easy way.
While on his daily patrol and hunt, he came across a small shop that sold female jewelries. Deciding to pick a gift for the girls at home, he entered.
The door opened with a soft chime of a bell, and immediately he stepped inside, he froze. His head slowly turned to gaze at the cashier. There, an old female zombie stared at him with an intense gaze. Unlike other mindless zombies, her eyes held a hint of sharp intelligence.
None moved for over a minute as if gauging each other. Then, the old zombie smiled creepily.
Bang!
Leon only saw a blur before he was hit heavily in the chest, his body crashing into the shelves behind him.
"Ugh.."
Grunting, he rose up to his feet. He was pretty sure a few of his ribs had cracked from that single punch.
"Such power." He muttered, then spotted the yellow essence crystal on the zombie's head. While she was behind the counter, it was covered by her hair but now that she had moved, the bangs had shifted, allowing the crystal to surface.
"A solid Second Level zombie."
His eyes narrowed, hands drawing his katanas smoothly. Then, they moved.
Leon dodged a punch aimed at his head, while his katana stabbed into the zombie's thigh. She hastily recoiled, snarling at him with a guarded expression.
'She's strong.' Leon exhaled, feeling his body shudder from terror.
However, he was determined. He'd kill her. His blades cut deep into her arms, drawing dark blood. She hissed, recoiling—but before Leon could press forward, a piercing shriek tore through his skull. He collapsed to the ground, clawing his head and writhing in pain.
A few meters away from the old zombie, a small black cat padded into the light. Obviously, it was the one who had launched the mental attack. On its forehead was a yellow essence crystal, signifying its power level.
'Facing two Second Levels as a First Level? Death wish.' Leon's mind processed instantly, yet he refused to back down.
Staggering to his feet, he pulled out the revolver and shot at the cat. Nimbly, the creature darted sideways, vanishing into the dark and reappearing with a hiss. The granny zombie moved again, throwing punches and slash attacks at him. One grazed his arm, cutting five deep gashes on his flesh.
While he was engaged with the granny, he constantly endured the assault of the mutated cat's mental attack.
With blood leaking from his lip, he groaned, his eyes darker. "What a compatible pair. Ugh."
The wounds on his body continued to pile up. Though they were being healed at a fast pace.
Bang!
A clawed slap almost snapped his head off his neck, but he forcefully stood his ground. Before he could even recover, the granny's claws tore at his chest, then pushed him away.
'Too strong... I can't...'
His battered body stood groggily like a puppet with cut strings, then he growled.
Suddenly, his purple eyes grew very dark. His nails elongated into predatory black claws, while his teeth sharpened into canines.
"Rarrgghh!"
Snarling, he shot towards the granny and grabbed her frail neck. His claws dug into her skin while she struggled to pry off his arms. Unexpectedly, his strength seemed to have doubled. His hold on her grew tighter.
Crying in panic, the mutated cat launched several mental attacks on him but they barely registered. He was gone—replaced by hunger and instincts.
Before the Second Level duo could think of what to do, Leon sunk his fangs into the granny's shoulders, then tore a chunk of flesh to chew.
"Arrrgh!"
The old zombie roared in pain, then pushed him off with all her strength. Staggering backwards, she stared at him warily.
Ignoring the duo's expressions, Leon swallowed the sweet meat and stared at the zombie with hunger in his eyes.
The cat, sensing the shift, cried once and darted toward the exit. The granny hesitated, clutching her ruined shoulder, then vanished into the dark after it.
Alone, Leon fell to his knees, rationality slowly returned to him. The first thing his mind went to was the taste of the old zombie. It tasted like toasted bread with fried eggs.
"Hmm. A delicacy."
He licked the blood staining his lips. Slowly, his mind cooled. Then, he thought rationally.
"It seems the meat accelerated my healing. And are mutated creatures already showing up?" He hummed. "Troublesome."
Slowly, he rose to his feet. Most of his injuries were gone, leaving a few shallow ones.
Walking towards the counter, he opened the safe and was surprised to discover lots of First Level Essence Crystals stored within. For what reason was the old granny keeping them?
Zombies couldn't use The Crucible, right?
...
As he returned home, walking past wandering zombies and catching glimpses of several survivors peeking from windows, he deeply pondered on his next actions.
He needed a group. Subordinates. Efficient, combat-oriented, and trustworthy. However, he hadn't found any meeting the requirements yet. Perhaps it was time to actively search.
First of all though, he needed to get himself cleaned. Thus, he returned to the tower for a good night rest.