Carrying her large black backpack, she began driving her jeep through the sea of zombies. Inside the backpack were medicines, food, several pistols, and a sharp machete. The pistols, of course, came from her deal with Peter Nelson, delivered to her.
Peter Nelson certainly did not send them to her villa but to her old house, which she had already sold. Besides, the people on his side didn't ask for her current address. Luckily, the former owner of the house contacted her, unaware that the package contained weapons.
After resting for a week, Karina planned to leave her hideout to hunt for zombie crystals. These crystals were found in the core of a zombie's head, where the brain had been replaced by a chunk of red crystal.
Initially, people ignored them, but two years later, scientists revealed the benefits of these zombie cores. The crystal could provide positive energy, strengthening the body and granting strange powers if extracted properly. Since then, zombie crystals became highly sought after, even used as currency to trade for food, goods, or even people.
Right now, zombies were still relatively weak, which was why Karina began hunting them. And since she was a scientist, she could easily extract the crystals.
A week later, many people's supplies were running low, forcing them to venture out. Without proper preparation, they were quickly devoured by zombies.
She was certain that today, many people would turn into zombies, giving her the opportunity to collect many cores from the chaos.
Her first destination was the supermarket, the first place most people would head to, and undoubtedly, it would be filled with zombies.
Observing the situation from her vehicle, she began shooting zombies mercilessly. The sound of gunfire startled those hiding in the supermarket. Hearing the gunshots, they rejoiced, thinking they were about to be rescued by soldiers or police. But their hope would be in vain—no soldiers or police would ever come for them.
After blowing several zombies' heads apart and collecting their cores, Karina entered the supermarket, heading straight for the cigarette stand. She grabbed a pack, lit one with her dragon-patterned lighter, and inhaled deeply.
"Huff," smoke started to fill the air around her.
Suddenly, a loud scream startled her. Reflexively gripping her machete, she saw two women and a man running toward her, followed by a horde of zombies.
"Help, please, help us! Aaaa!" the man screamed loudly.
"Aishh," Karina groaned, irritated that her break was interrupted. She immediately flicked her cigarette away and, without hesitation, started shooting at the zombies. Fortunately, zombies weren't sensitive to sound; otherwise, she would've gagged the loud man.
Realizing her bullets were running low, she sprinted, and of course, the three people followed her. Many zombies were chasing them. Spotting a bathroom, Karina darted inside, the three trailing close behind.
"What the hell did you do to attract all those zombies?" Karina shouted angrily.
Catching his breath, the man pointed to a pregnant woman leaning against the wall. Karina glanced at the woman and noticed blood starting to trickle between her legs. No wonder the zombies were so relentless, she thought.
"Arghhh," the woman groaned, slumped against the wall, blood pooling on the floor. Karina wondered what she should do next.
"Bang!" A stall door suddenly burst open, revealing a female zombie, who lunged toward the pregnant woman, sinking its teeth into her neck, hungrily seeking blood.
Karina immediately grabbed the zombie by the hair and threw it against the sink, smashing it into pieces. Blood flowed heavily; clearly, this zombie had only recently turned and had been hiding in the bathroom stall.
The two people witnessing the scene stood frozen, covering their mouths in shock. Meanwhile, with a desperate look, the pregnant woman glanced at her swollen belly with deep concern. She struggled toward Karina.
"Please, please save my baby. I swear I'll pay you anything," she cried, tears streaming down her face.
"Pay with what? Money?" Karina scoffed. "I already saved you once. I'm leaving now."
"You have no heart! There's a pregnant woman here—two lives!" the man shouted, trying to stop Karina from leaving.
"Hey, you think I'm a charity? I've got my own business to deal with. Besides, they'll turn into zombies anyway," Karina said, glancing at the pregnant woman.
"Save them yourself. I'm not a doctor," she added coldly.
Hearing the argument, the young girl, who had been silent, felt like crying. She noticed several teeth scattered near the broken sink where the zombie had hit and suddenly spoke up.
"Auntie Yuna didn't get bitten," she said, breaking the tension.
"The zombie... she pulled out her own teeth, so she wouldn't infect anyone, right?" she pointed to the teeth scattered around.
It seemed the female zombie had realized she would turn, so she pulled out her teeth to avoid spreading the infection to others.
Upon hearing this, the woman in her thirties checked her neck, crying with relief.
"Please, I won't turn into a zombie," Yuna begged, clutching Karina's legs.