Until they arrived at the gates, Anna clung to him like a stubborn parasite. And when he asked her why she wouldn't get down, she blamed her legs for getting cramped.
'Could that be possible?'
He thought quietly, though he didn't care.
Moments later, they were welcomed by Cassie who was worried sick. After all, it was late in the evening they got back.
"Now, now..." Leon clapped, catching the attention of the two girls. "You both have these."
He handed them the evolution potions.
Although Cassie was surprised, she quickly took it. Anna hesitated briefly before downing the contents too. Instantly, they both felt changes. It felt like someone had washed their mind clean and boosted their physical abilities past human thresholds.
"Is this what gave you and Skyler so much power?" Cassie asked, clenching her fists.
"Uh, you can say so." Leon nodded. It was true, only partially though.
"You need some time to get used to your new strength." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's a training room on the 63rd floor. Use that."
Excited, Cassie quickly bolted off, leaving Leon and Anna alone.
"Take." He said, pushing the Warrior Class Card to her.
Unwilling to object, Anna took the card, then installed it. She took a few moments to digest the information imprinted into her mind, then looked at him. Unlike before, her fear towards him had almost disappeared, replaced by confusion and slight caution.
"Why?" She asked. "Why are you focusing on me?"
Leon merely shrugged. "You have the heart. Cassie doesn't... yet."
Anna exhaled as if processing his words, then she did something surprising. Extending a hand, she gently brushed aside Leon's bangs and rubbed his crystal.
"I have a feeling this thing will put you in danger."
Leon froze, stunned by her action.
"I know." He said calmly, pressing her hand against his forehead. For the first time in a while, his expression carried a hint of weariness.
And for the first time, Anna didn't see Leon as a monster. A wild predator. Instead, she saw him as a young 19 year-old boy with worries on his shoulders.
Suddenly, Leon's eyes snapped open. His weary expression was gone. Replaced by his usual indifferent expression.
"Before we detour... you need special training."
....
[Evermore Refugee camp]
Two days later, Old Pipe's group set out to scout possible provision shops for the shelter. The Camp Master had assigned them to the Starlight district where a popular supermarket was freshly opened a week before the apocalypse. Unless the place had been looted by another shelter, it was meant to be stocked to the brim.
"Yo! Little Tiger, wanna tag along?" Daddy Ye called out to a teenage boy who leaned against their truck. He was also dressed in soldier combat suits and had two machetes hanging from his sides.
"Dad!" He called out, rushing to hug the man. "Of course I want to. I can kill zombies too, you know."
Old Pipe looked at the excited kid and the hesitant father. "C'mon, let him join us."
Sighing, Daddy Ye nodded, then entered the military truck with the boy. Old Pipe and Ice entered a moment later.
"Alright. Let's move." Calling out from the driver's seat, a guy with spiky blue hair whistled as he started the truck, then got on the road.
While driving through the city, the four evolved at the back would constantly shoot down zombies who wanted to chase after the vehicle.
Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. The Starlight district. Eerily, the district was void of zombies, only having corpses and crashed cars littering the streets. A damp smell hung in the air, causing their noses to scrunch up. A piece of torn newspaper drifted in the air, creeping the group out.
"What the hell is this place?" Old Pipe muttered uneasily as the vehicle slowed.
"Dad. We've been here before. But it now looks so different." Little Tiger frowned, holding his machetes tightly.
"We'll have to be careful around here. Check if it's still stocked, then go back to report. Nothing else." Ice muttered under her breath.
"Alright. Out."
Old Pipe said confidently, resting his hammer on his shoulders.
Along with the driver; an evolved with stealth abilities, they got out of the car and approached the supermarket.
Before they could step inside though, a guttural growl echoed in their ears.
Turning stiffly to the side, they saw it. A hulking monster that stood two feet tall, its four long legs tapping the ground in a synchronized rhythm. Patches of dried fur clung to its grotesque skin, its breath a stench of acid.
On its head was a yellow essence crystal that glowed brightly in the dark.
"A Second Level Zombified Beast." Daddy Ye muttered, hand reaching for his axe.
"Animals can get the zombie infection too?" Little Tiger asked, his expression full of caution. Although he was young, barely 16, he understood the dangers of the apocalypse.
"Get ready." Ice said calmly.
But before they could even steady themselves, more figures crept from the alleys and broken storefronts. Wolves with skeletal ribs showing, a bloated bull with one horn twisted sideways, a hyena dragging its entrails but still moving with feral energy. All of them had dim essence crystals glowing faintly in their skulls.
"For fuck's sake," Old Pipe spat, slamming his hammer to the ground with a loud boom. "Was this district a damned zoo?"
The leader beast roared then—an ear-splitting bellow that made the asphalt tremble and sent a shockwave of foul breath rolling over them.
Old Pipe stepped forward. "Ye, with me on the big one! Ice, Shadow, take the flank! Little Tiger, stick close and don't overextend!"
Daddy Ye nodded, then charged forward, Old Pipe right behind him.
Roar!
The sound was like a call to action. Instantly, both sides clashed. Evolved Humans against Zombified Animals.
CLANG! BOOM!
At the center, the Second Level zombie beast swiped with a claw that carved through a parked car like paper. Daddy Ye barely dodged, the edge of the strike grazing his shoulder. Blood sprayed, hot and bright.
"Ye!"Old Pipe roared, hammer slamming into the beast's ribs with all his weight behind it. This time, bone cracked. The beast howled, staggering—but its glowing crystal flared brighter, and its frenzy only grew.
Behind them, Ice struck the head of a First Level zombified bull with her machete. Blood sprayed, but the impact rattled her arms as the bull pressed on—ignoring its injuries.
"Move!"Little Tiger shouted, leaping in with a double slash. His machetes cut into the bull's flank, ripping open muscle and sending the beast stumbling sideways.
The boy's face lit with grim determination—his first real battle kill within reach.
But an hyena lunged at him from behind.
"Tiger!" Ice spun, kicking the beast away before its teeth could clamp down on the boy's spine. Her strike dislocated its jaw, yet it kept thrashing, gnashing with unnatural fury.
'They're strong.' The group realized instantly, their faces grim.
Unknown to them, two pairs of sharp eyes watched them intently from a high rise building.