Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Chapter 49 - 49: Hey, beautiful, let’s have some fun!

Mia and Ethan finished eating, recharged their energy, and continued their

Sean glanced at Ethan. "I've heard the Black Hand Legion is brutal. Maybe you should stay back and let us handle this."

"Brutal?" Ethan repeated, the word rolling off his tongue with a strange familiarity.

"It's fine," he said casually. "I'll go in with you."

"Alright, but stick close to me," Sean said, nodding. He was confident in his abilities—after all, he was an Awakener from Refuge 002.

With that, the group headed straight for the karaoke bar.

...

Inside the building, thirteen members of the Black Hand Legion were gathered. Among them, six had developed crystal cores and awakened abilities, making them exceptionally powerful.

One of the six stood out—a woman with short hair and a tattoo on the right side of her face. The tattoo depicted a black hand gripping a skull, giving her an unsettling, almost deranged appearance.

She was a psychic Awakener, with an extraordinary sense of perception.

Suddenly, the woman stood up from the sofa.

"Gideon, someone's approaching us!"

"Oh?"

The bald man leading the group narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in them. Even hiding out in a place like this, they'd still been found?

"How many?"

"Six. Only two of them have crystal cores," the woman replied.

Despite her heightened abilities, she couldn't sense Ethan's presence at all.

The bald man let out a cold snort. "Just two Awakeners with crystal cores, and they think they can come after us? Overconfident fools. Let's go meet them."

"Yeah, heh heh heh," a man beside him chuckled sinisterly, clearly not taking the situation seriously.

They left three people behind to guard the hostages, while the remaining ten headed downstairs.

...

By now, Ethan's group had entered the building. The crunch of shattered glass under their feet echoed through the first-floor lobby.

It wasn't long before faint footsteps could be heard coming from upstairs.

"They're coming down," Mia said calmly, stepping forward on her own.

Chris and the others were too weak in combat for her to rely on. She figured it would be faster to handle this herself.

At the top of the staircase, a group of people appeared.

Leading them was the bald man, his triangular eyes gleaming with malice. His eyebrows were completely shaved off, giving him an even more menacing look. This was Gideon Voss, a mid-level leader of the Black Hand Legion, known by his nickname, "The Bald One."

Behind him stood a motley crew of individuals, each with their own unique and intimidating appearance—nose rings, lip piercings, tattoos covering their faces. Their expressions were hostile as they sized up Mia.

"Well, well, it really is her," one of them said with a sly grin.

A young man in a leather jacket, his eyes gleaming with excitement, stepped forward.

"Wait, you know her?" someone beside him asked, curious.

"Yeah, I've seen her profile on the Refuge Network," the leather-jacketed man replied, his expression turning lecherous.

He had come across Mia's photo on the network before. The moment he saw her, he was struck by her beauty—she was stunning, almost unreal. Ever since then, he'd fantasized about meeting her in person.

And now, here she was, standing right in front of him. It felt like he'd hit the jackpot.

What's more, he vividly remembered the short bio beneath her photo on the network:

"I'm a gentle girl, afraid of pain."

"I love gentle girls," the man said, licking his lips. "Gideon, let me handle her."

"You've got good taste," Gideon said with a wicked grin. "Go ahead, she's all yours."

It wasn't that they were stupid or overly cocky. Mia's aura, when she wasn't actively fighting, was subdued. To them, she seemed like nothing more than an ordinary B-rank Awakener. Most people wouldn't be able to sense her true strength.

The leather-jacketed man's excitement was palpable. He crouched slightly, pulling a gleaming alloy dagger from a sheath strapped to his leg. The blade shimmered coldly, razor-sharp.

"Hey, beautiful, let's have some fun!" he sneered.

In a flash, he lunged forward, the dagger aimed straight at Mia. His speed was impressive—he was a speed-enhanced Awakener, and his movements were almost too fast to track.

But Mia didn't move. She stood perfectly still, her large eyes fixed on him, unblinking. She didn't even flinch, let alone try to dodge.

The glint of the dagger grew larger and larger in her pupils as it closed in, the blade mere inches from her face.

Then, in an instant, Mia raised her hand and caught the blade mid-strike.

Shhhk!

Blood spurted from her palm, crimson streaks running down her wrist and staining her pale, porcelain skin. The vivid red stood out starkly against her white hand, creating a striking, almost surreal image.

...