Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Emma tears
Sitting in the backseat of the jeep, Betty looked out of the window. Vines and roots coiled over crumbling buildings, some of them slithering like snakes, covering the view.
"We’ve arrived."
One awakener sitting in the front seat shouted. The convoy halted, engines rumbling to silence as people jumped out with mixed expressions.
Thump.
Betty closed the door calmly, her gaze fell on awakeners walking out of vehicles with fearful faces, she shook her head.
’Why agree to come if they fear monsters so much.... yeah, desperation for supplies, I guess’
Her gaze fell on one particular blue car as Hazel stepped out. She strode straight over to Hazel’s side.
"So," Hazel smirked, lightning crackling at his fingertips, "where should we start, plant monsters or zombies?"
Betty glanced around and shrugged. Some awakeners were already rushing toward the writhing plants, while others dashed into buildings.
"I don’t know. The military didn’t specify. Looks like we’re free to do whatever we want."
David, standing to her right, eyed her face and spoke evenly. "We should start with zombies first. Plant monsters can be... annoying."
Betty nodded, unsheathing her katana. "Okay, I don’t have much experience with plants anyway."
Behind them, Ethan jumped out of the car and looked around for David. A hand landed on his left shoulder, squeezing it playfully. His face darkened in irritation.
"So, what power do you have, Ethan?" Leon asked with a playful grin, his eyes darting around and find Betty and the other three as they walked ahead toward the building.
"Don’t be so friendly. I don’t trust you," Ethan huffed, slapping Leon’s hand away.
"Ouch. Gorilla hands... tch," Leon muttered mockingly, rubbing his hand as he strolled forward, leaving Ethan standing there with a question mark on his face.
"Grrr... what did he just say? Of course I’m stronger! My core is Grade Three!" Ethan roared after him in anger.
He gritted his teeth, seeing Leon simply waving his hand without looking back.
---
"Careful. There’s a strong one ahead." Betty raised her hand, halting everyone as her gaze locked onto the staircase leading to the second floor.
David narrowed his eyes, hearing a puzzled expression cross his face, and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife. His pants were already drenched in zombie blood.
"How strong is it? Why can’t I sense anything?" He muttered as heavy footsteps echoed from above.
Betty’s lips curved into a grin. "That’s because I’m the stronger one now." Without warning, she dashed forward, charging up the stairs.
David cursed under his breath and sprinted after her.
By the time he reached the last step, his jaw dropped, just in time to see Betty midair, her katana slicing clean through the grotesque beast’s throat.
A faint blush crept across his ears as Betty landed gracefully, a grin tugging at her lips as she flicked her blade, scattering crimson droplets.
’Haah... calm down david...’
As he steadied himself, his eyes swept the floor, eyes widening in shock. Dozens of third-level zombies lay dead, each with a clean slash to the neck.
’How strong is she now? She’s supposed to be the same level as me... so why is she so much stronger?’
"What level is this monster? Wait, its blood is..." David knelt beside the corpse, his black gloves smearing crimson as he touched the sticky liquid.
Betty noticed it too. Sliding her katana back into its sheath, she crouched down next to him, looking carefully at the zombie’s neck.
"Oh... this monster’s blood is Different from others," she said calmly, unsheathing a knife from her leg belt, slicing the zombie’s neck from behind, and pulling out its core.
From the back of the neck, green blood gushed out, splattering onto the floor.
David’s brows furrowed in confusion. "The back of the neck is green, typical for zombies. But why is it red on the front?"
Betty slipped the core into her jacket pocket and stood up, She crossed her hands around her chest.
"Guess the stronger the zombie, the stranger the traits. And maybe... the stronger the monster, the smarter it gets."
She walked over to a pile of lower-level zombies and began extracting their cores with practiced ease.
’In the novel, Level Seven monsters had intelligence... not as much as humans, though. but still enough to learn how to fight’
----
[A little time skip]
"Here, eat this."
Hearing David’s voice, Betty turned her head and smiled when she saw David holding two bowls of porridge.
"I have mine, you can eat that," she said, lifting her own set of food to show him.
David nodded slightly, setting the extra bowl on the balcony’s concrete railing before standing beside her.
Outside, thick fog blanketed the streets, and vines coiled around broken buildings like sleeping serpents, the streets free from zombies, leaving low-level ones for weak awakeners.
"I’m curious, though," David said, his gaze fixed on the street below, where an awakener sliced open a zombie’s throat with a single strike.
"What?" Betty looked at him, puzzled.
"Where did you get rice packets? I’ve been with you this whole week, and so have the others," he said, still looking down from the railing.
"Ah... that..." Betty tilted her head awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I found them in one of the rooms here. Guess I was lucky, haha."
David glanced at her face, her eyes darting around like a guilty child laughing awkwardly. He shook his head with a smirk.
"Okay... but still, military rations are usually bland without spices, so I was surprised when our team got spices and rice."
Betty nodded, scooping a spoonful of porridge into her mouth.
’I just took it from my space. Eating bland food gets boring after a while.’
"So, did you break through, David?" Betty asked, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
David nodded with a small smile. "Hmm. Most awakeners have reached Level Two, some even Level Three. So yes, I’m Fourth Core now."
Betty let out a sigh, setting her empty plate on the railing before leaning back against it, her gaze drifting toward the fog-covered buildings.
’It’s been a week since we arrived here. We’ve taken control of six towns already, clearing most of the zombies and leaving the low-level ones for the military. So it’s normal for everyone to level up.’ Her right fist clenched.
’I’m already Fifth Level, after all... Still, I’ll need to cultivate when everyone’s asleep.’
"It’s time to go; the mission has paused. Samuel announced it just now, so after eating, we can go back to base," David said, talking empty plates of her and his own and walking away.
thump thump
Betty raised her hand, putting it against her heart, her gaze looking at his leaving back.
’Why did this feeling appear again? He has just taken plates, nothing more.’
---
On the roof of one building, a head popped out. Shu Hong’s brows furrowed as her gaze locked on Betty’s expression.
Then her eyes shifted to David’s back, her fists clenching tightly.
’Don’t tell me... has Master started developing romantic feelings for him? No... no, that can’t be. If Master’s husband finds out about this...’
A cold shiver ran down her spine as the image of a terrifying figure surfaced in her mind.
’Master’s husband, who usually acts like an obedient puppy in front of her, if he learns of this, he’ll completely lose control... he might even start destroying worlds in his rage.’
"I need to talk with Calista. I don’t even want to imagine facing that actor."
---
"Calista..." Shu Hong whispered, standing within the Phoenix Pool cave as the torn void behind her sealed itself at a frightening speed.
Calista appeared before her, a slight frown creasing her delicate features as she met Hong’s panicked gaze.
"Don’t worry, Hong. Nothing will happen."
Shu Hong dropped to one knee, leveling her height with Calista’s body, and gripping Calista’s shoulders, shaking her with desperation.
"How can you say nothing will happen?! You know your grandfather’s personality! If he finds out that his beloved has been looking at another man, he won’t be able to control himself!"
"Ah, ah! Grr! Stop shaking me, you fool!" Calista shoved her hands away, glaring at her resentfully.
"I said Don’t worry, and there’s a reason for that! Hmph! Do you take me for a fool, as if I wouldn’t realize if something like that truly happened?"
"Then why aren’t you worried?!" Shu Hong demanded, her usual composure shattered; there wasn’t a single trace of calm left on her face.
Calista sighed and sat on a nearby boulder, hugging her legs.
"Don’t worry. I have Phoenix Eyes; I can see it. Those people around Master... didn’t you notice they all have something in common?"
"Common? What common thing? I didn’t notice anything."
Calista nodded slightly. "Of course, you can’t see it. You don’t have Phoenix Eyes. But I can see. Remember when Master jumped into the Celestial lake in desperation?"
Shu Hong nodded silently.
Calista hopped to her feet, brushing off the dust. "Then you should also remember that all the gods who had a deep bond with Master... jumped in after her to follow master."
Shu Hong’s eyes widened in shock. "Don’t tell me...."
---
"Okay, later, Betty," Hazel said, waving her hand before resting it on Maria’s shoulder and walking away.
"Later," Betty replied with a smile. She turned to leave, but her steps faltered when she saw Damien standing there, sadness and worry etched on his face.
"What are you doing?" she started, but Damien cut her off.
"Mother told me to take you home. Come with me."
As he turned away, Betty’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’What does he mean...?’
She followed him silently. When they entered the Thomsen family estate, Betty froze. Her eyes widened at the sight of Emma sitting on the couch, her gaze Dull.
Betty rushed to her side and knelt down, gripping Emma’s hands tightly.
"What happened, Mot-" she stopped herself, her voice trembled before she changed the word, "...Aunty?"
Life flickered back into Emma’s eyes as she slowly lifted her trembling hand, resting it gently against Betty’s chin. Her lips quivered as she whispered,
"I’m sorry, dear... I’m so, so sorry for everything."
Tears streamed down her cheeks, falling onto Betty’s hands, wetting her fingers.
Betty’s brows furrowed in confusion. She turned sharply, her gaze landing on Damien, who stood near the main door, nervously rubbing his arm.
"What happened to her? Why is she crying?"
Author note: this arc is going to end in the next Chapter, please leave a kind review, I will be thankful.