Olivia is tough as nails, but unlike Zane, she ain't exactly graceful—more like a bull in a china shop, leaving a mess everywhere.
She glanced over and saw Zane approaching step by steady step, his face calm, and she got the hint.
She stepped back, handing over the battlefield to Zane.
Song Yang squinted, his heart skipped a beat, dizzy from the intense fight, he'd totally forgotten about this dangerous dude.
He hadn't lifted a finger the whole time.
And who knows what his superpower is?
Song Yang didn't dare slack off, he perked up, focusing all his attention on Zane.
But Zane kept moving forward, closing the distance between them.
"What's this supposed to mean?"
Song Yang puzzled, watching as Zane got up close and personal, forcing him to make a move.
"Take this!"
He roared, his voice grating like metal on metal, swinging a heavy punch at him.
In a flash, Zane's eyes sparked red, Dead Zone activated!
A crushing force spread, instantly enveloping Song Yang, thanks to Zane's recent homebound evolution, Dead Zone was now more potent.
Song Yang felt a heavy pressure, like sinking to the ocean floor, his body unable to move.
Zane sidestepped, dodging his punch, and as he passed by, he reached into his skull.
He pierced through the skull, extracting his Core crystal effortlessly.
The move was smooth and clean, like picking something off a shelf without breaking a sweat.
'This...'
Song Yang's face was a picture of horror, his life force draining away, his metallic skin fading to reveal his true form.
Then he fell backward, crashing to the ground.
Dead as a doornail!
Song Yang's eyes were still wide open, staring straight at the ceiling, clueless to the end, dying with his eyes open!
The whole thing happened in the time it took Zane to walk a few steps, taking Song Yang's Core crystal as easy as pie.
Richard and the others were gobsmacked, never seeing this kind of killing method before.
Song Yang looked fine on the outside, but his Core crystal was gouged out.
Spooky!
Totally spooky!
A wave of fear washed over them, hair standing on end, more convinced than ever that Zane was that eerie Zombie Overlord, killing invisibly!
Song Yang's three henchmen were dumbstruck.
Their boss just died out of the blue?
What in the world happened?
While one was still dazed, Landon punched him in the chest, shattering his bones, he screamed and fell, silent forever.
"Shoot!"
The remaining two realized the game was up, no matter how they resisted, it was futile.
They lost their will to fight, their mental defenses crumbled, and they quickly fell, taken out by Landon.
And with that.
The battle was over.
Quiet returned, the KTV a complete wreck, bodies strewn everywhere, including three hostages and thirteen members of the Black Scorpion gang, all dead.
"Zane, you're so badass, taking out that metal dude with ease!" Landon exclaimed, eyes wide.
"You're pretty awesome too."
Zane hadn't expected, with his smarts... to awaken such a power.
Landon burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha, you caught me!"
The others were cleaning up the battlefield, Olivia approached the three hostages' bodies, staring down at them.
She seemed regretful, unable to save them.
Then she crouched down, her fingers digging into their heads, extracting each Brain Nexus.
"Treasure the enemy's Core crystal, don't waste our own people's Brain Nexus..."
Olivia muttered, probably used to hard times, so she's thrifty, a good girl who knows how to manage a household...
Meanwhile, Richard and the others, using communicators, reported back to the shelter headquarters.
"Uh... members of the Black Scorpion organization have been dealt with, total bad guys thirteen, actual kills... sixteen."
Zane was all about saving a buck too. He took a stroll around the building, scooping up sixteen bodies into his storage space like he was picking up groceries.
Landon was totally bugging out next to him, blurting out, "Dude, where'd the bodies go? You stash them away?"
"Yup, packing them up to take home for dog food," Zane replied, not missing a beat.
"No way, man!" Landon scratched his head, weirded out. Was he at a feast or something, taking leftovers home?
Meanwhile, Olivia and the crew found the looted supplies. It wasn't much—Zane eyeballed about five boxes of ramen, a few bags of pasta, a couple of bags of rice, and a sack of flour.
There were some canned fruits and chocolates too, but most were past their prime, and Song Yang's gang had munched on quite a bit.
It was clear the shelter was running low on supplies.
To think they sent Olivia, code 001, and Landon, code 002, for this little haul showed how critical it was.
"Let's head back," Olivia suggested.
Landon's eyes lit up, "Heh, we got grub this time!"
Richard and the other three turned into movers, lugging rice and flour, hauling boxes, looking a bit shabby.
They were super wary of Zane, keeping their distance, always trailing behind...
"Zane, come back to the shelter with us," Landon said.
"Nah," Zane shook his head.
"Why not?" Landon looked puzzled.
"I don't need a shelter," Zane stated.
"Oh..." Landon nodded, sort of getting it.
They had reached the street where they first met, time to part ways.
Olivia looked at Zane with big eyes, "When will we see you again?"
"If the shelter runs out of food, you can trade with me using Core crystals," Zane thought for a moment before replying.
"Deal," Olivia agreed quickly, sealing their business arrangement.
They added each other online for easy contact, chatting on the net from time to time.
After sorting everything out, Zane said his goodbyes.
"This is it, see you next time."
"Yeah, bye," Olivia said, not looking back as she walked away.
Richard and the others, loaded with bags and boxes, carefully circled around Zane and hurried to catch up with Olivia.
"Bye, Zane, catch you online," Landon waved and turned away.
As the sun set, casting long shadows, Olivia and the others slowly disappeared down the street...
Zane watched them go until they were out of sight.
Then, one by one, fierce Zombies started emerging from alleys, lanes, and buildings, including Jake, Zoe, Nathan, and others, neatly gathering behind Zane.
"Boss, those were your friends, huh?"