Karina sat on a small chair, and silence filled the narrow room. In front of her, John Obhiren stared at her with intimidating eyes.
Earlier, she was asked to speak with John directly.
"Hmm, interested in joining 'Haven'?" John broke the silence.
"Haven?" Karina murmured, furrowing her brows. She thought the man would mention the 'A20' base, and it seemed like she had never heard of 'Haven' before.
'A20' was the name of the headquarters for zombie survivors. They provided safe zones for the community, though it wasn't free and came with a certain price. 'A20' had a hierarchical system from Class A1 to F5, where the strong or higher-ranking individuals held more power, and the weak would struggle to survive. The highest level was A1, held by the founder, John Obhiren. However, Karina had only managed to reach B2, which was extremely difficult to advance from.
Confused thoughts haunted Karina. Had she really been reborn, or was there someone else who had also been reborn? These thoughts swirled in her mind.
Noticing Karina's confusion, John explained, "Ah! I just want to provide a safe place for people," he said with a smile.
"Safety? Haha, isn't that a lie? Even the government gave up. Who are you really?" Karina asked skeptically.
"Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I'm John Obhiren. Do you know the Obhiren family? It's not something impossible," he said with confidence.
"And we also have good resources to face those creatures," he added.
"Face?" John's words continued to spin in Karina's mind. Who was he really? Had he also been reborn? Wasn't the method to fight zombies discovered about a year later, and even then, it took a lot of effort to retrieve specimens?
"Do you know how to defeat those creatures?" Karina asked, trying to fish for information from John.
Hearing her question, John smiled, "Of course. So, do you want to join? It'll be hard to survive on your own, even if you have abilities."
"I'm willing."
By joining A20 earlier, she could get a higher rank. She also needed to find out if John had been reborn as well.
...
Meanwhile, Eila was in the bathroom, biting her nails in panic because Karina and Haikal had not returned for a long time. Her frantic eyes glanced at the zombie near the sink, with fresh blood still dripping, adding to her fear.
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, snapping Eila out of her thoughts, and the baby in Aunt Yuna's arms began to cry.
"W-who is it?" Eila asked, trembling.
"Eila, it's me, open up," a familiar voice brought relief to Eila, and she quickly ran to open the door.
"Karinn!" Eila hugged Karina tightly. But before she could fully embrace her, Karina had already pushed her hand away, causing her to pout.
However, Eila noticed that Karina was not alone. A tall man stood behind her. Despite his fierce appearance, Eila couldn't help but think how handsome the man was.
Seeing Eila's strange smile, Karina quickly walked past her toward Yuna, who was soothing her baby.
"Aunt Yuna still seems weak. Uncle John, please carry her. I'll carry the baby," Karina said to the man at the door.
The man, who was called 'uncle,' felt confused. Was he really that old? When they first spoke, the girl had been polite; why had she suddenly become rude? Without saying a word, he lifted Yuna.
"John, what a cool name," Eila murmured, glancing at John, who was carrying Aunt Yuna, and observing his muscular arms and broad shoulders, thinking about how sexy he was.
"Eila, you staying here?" Karina shouted, snapping Eila out of her trance. She quickly ran out the door, staring at John's broad back.
"Hey, hold this for a bit," Karina said, waking Eila from her daze. Quickly, Eila took the baby that Karina had been holding earlier.
Sensing something, Karina readied her pistol and shot a zombie blocking their path. They had previously cleared this path with John, but some zombies had caught the scent of Yuna's blood and gone mad again. Fortunately, only a few had appeared.
After arriving at the warehouse, they joined ten others.
"Sis, who was that handsome uncle? Does he have a girlfriend?" Eila whispered.
Feeling ignored by Karina, she pouted and tried to close her eyes to sleep. Suddenly, the image of the man earlier flashed in her mind.
"Kikiki," she giggled softly.
***
The dark night was only illuminated by the moonlight, as the electricity system had shut down. On the supermarket rooftop, someone was seen talking while holding a black communication device with an antenna.
"Why are you asking me to collect crystals from zombie brains? Besides, my researcher says it's just brain matter," John asked, confused by his friend's request.
"Okay, okay, chill. I'll send as many as possible."
"You're crazy, three days?"
"Okay, okay."
After finishing his conversation with his friend and feeling exhaustion creeping in, he returned to the warehouse. However, he saw a figure moving, and quickly, he drew his gun.
...
Unable to sleep due to hunger, Eila sneaked around looking for food, using Karina's flashlight, which she had borrowed—or rather, stolen temporarily.
"Isn't this a food warehouse? How is there nothing here?" Eila muttered quietly.
But she spotted a packet of instant noodles in the arms of an adult woman. Carefully, she took it.
"She's hugging it so tightly," Eila muttered as she tugged the instant noodles from the woman's arms.
After succeeding, she ran to a corner, squatted down, opened the instant noodle packet, and devoured it hungrily.
While enjoying her meal, she suddenly felt someone staring at her from behind. As the figure approached, without thinking, she swung the flashlight wildly.
"Argh, argh, go away!" she screamed.
Suddenly, a hand covered her mouth, and she struggled to free herself.
"Shh," hearing the voice, she glanced behind her and met eyes with someone familiar. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Oh my god, oh my god, I can't breathe, he's so handsome!" Eila screamed in her mind.
Seeing Eila calm down, the man released his hand from her mouth.
***