Sylas had no idea that Wendy had been captured.
He was still leisurely making his way towards the building where Wendy was hiding.
There was no rush; the person he was after was waiting there and couldn't escape.
Along the way, Sylas killed quite a few mutated zombies, gaining substantial rewards, which made him even less inclined to hurry.
Currently, Sylas had mastered abilities including fire manipulation, telekinesis, and Innate Strength.
His fire manipulation had reached level 2, while telekinesis and Innate Strength remained at level 1.
Sylas aimed to upgrade both telekinesis and Innate Strength to level 2.
Level 2 abilities were significantly more powerful than level 1, so naturally, Sylas wanted to upgrade all his abilities to level 2 as soon as possible.
This would greatly enhance his combat power.
There were quite a few mutated zombies at night, but killing fifty of them was no easy task.
Sylas had killed over twenty along the way, still needing half the number to upgrade an ability.
As he neared the building where Wendy was hiding, Sylas decided to temporarily give up on hunting mutated zombies and check on Wendy first.
Wendy was quite beautiful, but whether she met the system's criteria for a premium slave could only be determined upon seeing her in person.
The building was a commercial one, bustling with workers before the apocalypse.
As a result, the number of zombies here was astonishingly high after the apocalypse.
Fortunately, Sylas could blend in with the zombies thanks to his zombie aura, so he didn't worry about being attacked.
In the restaurant, the patience of the thugs was wearing thin.
Hadden's face had also turned grim.
"Where's your man? Why hasn't he come back yet? Could he be dead out there?" Hadden asked coldly.
"He'll be back. Those zombies are no match for him," Wendy responded.
"He must have taken a detour, which is why he's delayed," she added.
"You said the same thing two hours ago. It's been two hours, and he still hasn't returned. Are you lying to us?" a henchman said sinisterly.
He had taken a liking to Wendy the moment he saw her. He was hoping Wendy's man wouldn't come back, so she would be theirs to play with. Although their leader would get the first taste, they wouldn't be missing out. Eventually, everyone would get a turn with Wendy.
"Boss, why don't we stop waiting and just take her now?" another henchman suggested, inciting others to join in.
They were all eager for Wendy. Their group had women, but compared to Wendy, their women were like beggars. Wendy was far more desirable.
So they were all hoping Wendy's man wouldn't return.
Hadden spoke coldly, "Wendy, this is your last chance. Tell the truth. Are you really alone here, or do you actually have a man protecting you?"
"If you tell the truth, we'll just have some fun with you and won't hurt you."
"But if you're lying to us, you're done for. We'll torture you until you wish you were dead, then throw you to the zombies to be eaten alive."
"I..." Wendy trembled, hesitating, not knowing what to say.
"Wendy?" Suddenly, a man's voice came from the door.
Everyone was startled and quickly looked towards the entrance. They saw that, at some point, the restaurant door had been opened by someone.
A man stood at the doorway, his gaze lingering on Wendy.
Hadden immediately became alert.
Wendy also looked towards Sylas. She didn't recognize him, but since he was here looking for her and had accurately called out her name, he must be Sylas.
"I'm here, please save me," Wendy called out excitedly.
This man was indeed Sylas.
Sylas's gaze had already settled on Wendy. Her figure and appearance greatly pleased him. However, he wondered if the system would be equally satisfied.
"High-quality slave candidate detected, Wendy, score: 96."
Wendy's score was very high. This was expected, as she had a perfect face and a body with golden proportions, slightly better even than Clarissa's. It was no surprise that Wendy's score was so high.
Hearing the system prompt, a smile appeared on Sylas's face. Another top-tier female slave! With one more female slave, Sylas could receive another reward, whether it be a skill or an ability, which would enhance his combat power. This was excellent news for Sylas.
"I'm taking Wendy with me. Let her go," Sylas said calmly as he stepped inside.
"What is Wendy to you? She's not your woman, is she?" Hadden asked immediately.
Hadden wasn't a fool. He had listened closely to the exchange between Sylas and Wendy. It didn't sound like a conversation between lovers.
"I'm his woman. His name is Sylas, and he is my man," Wendy said excitedly.
No matter how you looked at it, in Sylas's group, he was the only man. This group of thugs, on the other hand, had many men who shared women among them.
Wendy naturally knew which choice would be most beneficial for her.
Sylas's eyes lit up; Wendy was a clever woman. He smiled and said, "Wendy, you've made the right choice."
"But there's one thing I haven't told you before. To be my woman, you must willingly become my slave."
"Of course, you'll be my slave alone."
"Once you become my slave, I will protect you and provide you with ample food."
"So I'll ask you one last time, do you willingly choose to be my slave?"
Wendy was taken aback, not expecting that she would need to become Sylas's slave. However, being Sylas's slave or being shared by a group of thugs—Wendy knew which option was better.
"I agree, I want to be your slave," Wendy said loudly.
"Wendy willingly becomes your slave."
"Congratulations to the host, you have successfully acquired a high-quality slave. Reward: Teleportation ability."
Sylas was stunned when he heard the system prompt. He hadn't expected the reward triggered by Wendy to be so generous.
The reward was an ability: teleportation.
The concept of teleportation was straightforward and easily understood from its name. Sylas had always yearned for such a power.
He had often wondered when he might have the opportunity to acquire the ability to teleport. He never expected it to come so quickly.
This was incredibly exciting.
Sylas quickly checked the description of the teleportation ability.
After reading the details, he understood the ability better. Teleportation was currently at level 1, allowing him to teleport within a range of fifty meters.
There were two methods of teleportation: visual lock and mental lock.
Visual lock was simple; he could teleport to any spot within fifty meters that he could see.
Mental lock was more complex. It required using his mental power to lock onto the destination before completing the teleportation.
Sylas knew he needed to test the mental lock method before he could use it effectively.
Teleportation consumed mental energy. After each teleportation, he needed to rest his mental energy before he could use the ability again.
Thus, the effectiveness of teleportation depended not only on the ability's level but also on the strength of his mental power.
The stronger his mental power, the smoother the teleportation process.
The specific usage data of teleportation needed to be determined through Sylas's own testing.
However, he now had an opportunity to test it.
Sylas's gaze shifted to Wendy.
He shared all his abilities with Wendy, enabling her to gain combat capabilities in a short time.
Wendy was stunned, her face filled with shock.
Hadden had no idea what had transpired between the two. Upon seeing Sylas appear, he looked at him with a wary expression.
Then Hadden smiled and said, "If you want this woman, you can have her, but you need to prove your ability."
"If you can prove yourself, not only will she be yours, but we can also follow you."
"Who do you think you are, wanting to follow me?" Sylas said coldly, looking at Hadden. "You're nothing but trash. Killing you would dirty my blade."
Sylas already knew what kind of people Hadden and his group were. After all, he had clearly overheard their conversation from the door earlier.
There was no way Sylas would accept such garbage into his ranks. Moreover, Sylas's current goal was to build a female warrior army, so he had no interest in these men.
In fact, it was time to expand the female warrior army. With his fire manipulation upgraded to level 2, Sylas could now be considered a level 2 superhuman. The limit for the number of female warrior marks had reached five hundred. Currently, there were only a little over twenty female warriors, leaving a significant gap to fill.
"You're looking for death! Do you believe I won't kill her right now?" one of Hadden's henchmen shouted angrily, placing a machete against Wendy's neck.
Feeling the cold blade against her throat, Wendy trembled with fear, even though she had gained considerable power.
In that instant, Sylas at the door disappeared. He had used teleportation.
This was Sylas's first time using teleportation.
The moment Sylas disappeared from the door, another Sylas appeared behind Hadden. His katana flashed twice—one slash to cut off the hand, the other to decapitate.
The thug threatening Wendy with a knife was the first to be decapitated and disarmed. Blood spurted out as the headless body fell to the ground.
Hadden had no time to react, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He suddenly felt dizzy, as if his head was spinning. He felt his head lift into the air, seeing Wendy, Sylas with his katana, and a headless corpse. The corpse looked familiar—Hadden realized it was his own body.
"Wait, that's my body? Am I dead?"
This was Hadden's last thought. As clarity dawned on him, darkness enveloped his vision, his consciousness faded, and he died completely.
Sylas turned around and sheathed his katana. He opened his palm towards the remaining thugs.
The thugs were terrified, but they had no idea what Sylas was about to do.
In the center of Sylas's palm, small red sparks, each the size of a peanut, began to appear.
"Go!" Sylas commanded softly.
The small sparks shot out from his palm, hitting each thug in front of him with precision.
Each thug was struck in the forehead by a spark. Though the sparks seemed insignificant, they exploded upon impact with the thugs' heads.
Every remaining thug was killed instantly, their heads exploding from the impact.
The horrific scene terrified Wendy, causing her to scream in fear.
Sylas shook his head with a sigh. He had intended to mimic bullets and pierce the thugs' heads. However, he hadn't controlled his power well, causing the thugs' heads to explode.
Not only Wendy but the other remaining women also screamed in terror.
"If you don't mind attracting zombies, keep screaming," Sylas said calmly.
Instantly, everyone fell silent.