The zombie's nails pierced Marlen skin and her entire arm fell to the ground with a clean cut. Miriam cast [Holy Light] just then. The zombie couldn't dodge it and was paralyzed. The fingernails on its other hand stopped a few inches from Marlen's face, who was still processing what had happened.
The spell only stopped the Ambusher for an instant, but it was enough for Jane and Adam.
Adam fired and used [Pyromancer] to stop it from burning his allies and their belongings, while Jane fired an arrow she had ready.
Jane's arrow hit the Ambusher in the spine and soon after he was set on fire. Marlen recoiled and fell to the ground as the zombie screamed in pain. Her gaze wouldn't leave its arm and the pool of blood that was beginning to form on the ground.
Miriam screamed, grabbed the arm and pulled Marlen close. It was then that she felt pain and began to scream. Luckily, her sister had acted fast. Miriam attached the arm to the bloody stump and, willing it to work, cast [Holy Light] The spell successfully connected the arm.
"Thanks sister, that was close" Marlen took a deep breath and tried to calm herself and move the arm. Although she felt it very weak, she was glad that she could move her fingers with some difficulty.
Miriam took out a health potion and forced her sister to drink it. Aside from the exhaustion and excruciating hunger it caused, her arm felt much better.
Adam and Jane sat down on the floor.
"Adam, I don't know if I can take this any longer," said Jane. Adam said nothing. The Berserker and Ambusher proved much more difficult than he would have imagined. He remembered his fight against the Gorger in his building. If he had encountered a Berserker or Ambusher back then, he would have been dead without a doubt.
The Ambusher was lying on the ground, still engulfed in flames, it had stopped moving. When Adam finally saw the blue crystal he had thrown, he could breathe calmly again. In addition, he had thrown a healer's staff that Miriam had received.
[Golden staff].
[Allows a healer to cast the holy light spell ten more times before running out. Also slightly enhances the effect the holy light has on enemies].
Inside the apartment, Noah, Carlos, Alfred and Han watched the scene unable to believe what they had seen. Adam's group had killed the Ambusher without much damage. Well, one of the women had lost an arm, but another one of them healed her right away.
Noah didn't even realize that he had acquired ownership of the apartment they were in. He had heard from Carlos that Adam's group was powerful, but it wasn't until now that he was convinced of it.
The guard was the first to leave the apartment, followed by Han, Carlos and Alfred.
"What were you idiots thinking? When Marlen looked at the four, her weariness was replaced by uncontainable anger."
The four of them stopped and looked at each other's faces, a little embarrassed. No one seemed willing to speak, so Alfred stepped forward.
"It's all our fault. Tracel tipped us off about his intention to clear out the superblock, so the survivors in the building banded together to gain control of most of the apartments; while you guys took care of the more dangerous zombies."
Adam frowned.
"Tracel? How the hell did he communicate with you guys if he barely left his apartment?"
Carlos was angry with his son, but he realized there was no other option now. He was sure he had lost control of all the other survivors. None of them reappeared after the Ambusher's death. Surely they were still on the run. Hearing Adam's question, he sighed and explained what he knew.
"By cell phone. According to Tracel, the limitation of services is to the limits of the suburb."
Adam's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't tried that, as he wasn't very close with anyone in the suburb. He only had a handful of acquaintances he had never spoken to.
"It's not just that," Alfred interrupted. "My father was also given the information about which apartments to avoid."
Without another word, Alfred looked at Tarin, who was still unconscious.
"That dirty traitor, leaking the information behind our backs. No wonder he's the brother of that vermin Tracel," replied Marlen.
Miriam and Jane, meanwhile, were too exhausted to think, so they were just lying in the hallway, recovering energy.
"Well, nothing that can be done for now. If you'll excuse me, I need something to eat and some sleep," said Marlen.
Marlen struggled to her feet, helped her sister stand, and then they went into the apartment where Carlos and the others had been. Adam watched the group. He wished he could also get some rest and something to eat, but he had to take care of Tracel's business first.
"What else did Tracel tell them?" Adam ignored his hunger and set about getting more information out of them. Alfred seemed ready to lay it all out.
"He told us that the leader of the refuge can change if the majority of the population wishes it. Also, the more territory you control within the shelter, in this case the apartments, the more resources you can accumulate in the future."
"How did Tracel find all that out?"
"By asking the System. According to what Tracel knows, the shelters will become the most important places for the survival of mankind and will eventually grow to become new countries."
Adam was surprised again, and this time he cursed himself for his stupidity. He had been so focused on killing zombies that he had completely forgotten. When he had been in the dark room, the system had answered one of his questions.
Taking a moment, Adam asked the system about the information Alfred had told him and soon learned that it was all true.
"This is getting more complicated than I expected," was all he said.
At that moment, Noah intervened for the first time in the conversation.
"Excuse me. If you guys have cleared the parking lot, I want to know if you found a special package that should have been mine."
Adam watched him and, when he realized he was part of the National Guard, suppressed his disdain to respond.
"I found a guard starter pack, but if you want it you have to be part of this shelter."
Adam only had to think a little to realize that Noah would be extremely important to the shelter. With his military training and his ability to handle various types of weapons, he could help train the people at the shelter.
"Let me think about it for a moment." The truth was that Noah was a little irritated with Adam. After all, it was his pack. However, he had seen with his own eyes the power of his group and felt a shiver as he remembered the Ambusher.
Noah looked down at his assault rifle and sighed. He didn't have much ammunition left and, anyway, the confidence he had in the weapon had disappeared as he watched how the Ambusher was able to dodge his shots.
Carlos, Han and Alfred retired to their apartments.
"The plan was a failure," said Carlos.
"Yes, it was. If I had known what a disaster it was going to be following your orders, I would have stayed at home," said Han.
"It was all your damn group's fault, Han! If you had stayed away from the apartments I told you about, none of this would have happened. We're lucky the zombies don't seem to react much to noise in other apartments, otherwise we'd be dead by now."
Carlos lost his cool for a moment and yelled at Han, however, he soon calmed down.
"It's not just my plan that's finished. Tracel's too. At least Adam doesn't seem ambitious, so as long as we behave ourselves, I don't think he'll try to kick us out. In my opinion, now we should not aim to lead the refuge, but to amass as much property as possible to get a high position in the hierarchy."
Alfred was somewhat relieved to hear that from his father. He too had been surprised to observe Adam's group. He realized that he had to increase his power quickly, if he didn't want to be left behind.
Alfred's Class was [Biologist] and his offensive ability seemed quite potent, but unfortunately, he needed some time to reach his [Mutagen] potential. This allowed him to acquire, temporarily, the characteristics of an animal he had studied thoroughly. So far, he had not experimented with his ability, so he decided it was time to get down to work and thoroughly investigate it. With any luck, he might be able to help Adam with the cleanup of the suburb and level up.
Han, meanwhile, was so exhausted that he had no energy to think and just wanted to get back to his apartment. Although after realizing that he would have to go through the floors where there were still zombies, he decided to follow Carlos and rest at home.