Chapter 20

So, the base’s "ordinary" people were sacrificed. The bodies littering the ground, the wandering zombies... faces familiar and strange. Not long ago, they might have dreamed of the future, maybe imagined dying. But not like this—used as bait for zombies, and bait for me.

I could accept my own death. But I couldn’t accept being deceived. So, from a distance, I popped Elder Mu’s head like a grape. His eyes bulged. How scary. The people on the wall froze momentarily, then swiftly regained composure. A cold command issued forth.

Leave none alive.

"Fire the cannons."

Did they think I wouldn’t retaliate?

​​*BOOM!​​*

Smoke and dust filled the air. A small figure threw itself in front of me. Wen Yu. Blood streamed down his forehead.

"Sister... don't... be scared... I... I'm still here..."

But dummy, I could have dodged that! Did it hurt? I desperately wanted to ask. But I couldn’t speak. It’s okay. Big Sister will make them pay. I pressed my palms together, unleashing my psychic power to its absolute limit. Wave after wave of zombies surged towards the wall, summoned by my call.

People on the wall stared in disbelief. "Now! Increase the infrasound! Overpower them!" Sorry, but with me here? I control them.

​​*BOOM! BOOM!​​* Cannon fire rained down. Chunks of debris flew everywhere. I grabbed Wen Yu and flashed beside Yang Mo, crushing two skulls bare-handed. Yang Mo snapped out of it. "F*ck!" she roared. "You think I'm some damn kitten?!" Her rage was palpable. Her pupils shifted, glowing gold. I felt immense psychic pressure. Her mind-reading had evolved into mind-control.

"Commander! Too many! We can't hold them!" a soldier yelled. He got no response. He turned. The commander was staring into the eyes of the ability user they’d planned to recruit. ​​*BANG!​​* Instantly, the commander shot himself in the head. Warm blood splattered the soldier’s face. His mind blanked. Leaderless, chaos ensued. But the slaughter continued. Bloody hands, tearing teeth, horrific faces eagerly ripped living people apart.

"Help me! Help!"

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"I don't want to become a zombie!"

…………

Time lost meaning. The earth darkened to a rust-brown. Blood refused to coagulate. The sky’s gloom wouldn’t lift. Unrecognizable limbs hung grotesquely from the stone wall. The cacophony of gunfire, screams, and tearing flesh faded, leaving a silence more brutal than the noise.

Wen Yu forced his eyes open. "Is it... over, sisters?"

Yang Mo seemed dazed. In the blink of an eye, only three humans remained alive. "I guess... it’s over."

"Good," Wen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile touching his lips. "We’re all still alive."

My gaze fixed on a scrap of fabric on the ground. I remembered Qingqing had a dress like that. The child I never got to hold. A wave of sadness, utterly out of place, washed over me.

Yang Mo sensed it. "Their elements remain," she offered softly. "Their atoms... molecules... they'll be in the clouds, the forests, the ocean... they're still here."

They... were still here? Didn’t that mean those other idiots were too?!

Thanks for the comfort. Now I want to destroy everything.

​​*Skrrrtch— Skrrrtch—​​*

A harsh static crackled. A walkie-talkie. "Squad Seven, report status, over!" "Squad Seven, report status, over!"

Yang Mo and I locked eyes. Madness reflected in both.

Yang Mo picked it up. Her voice was chillingly calm. "Squad Seven reporting. Objective neutralized. Human survivors confirmed. Request immediate evac, over."

A clipped response crackled back. "Copy. Dispatching chopper now, over