The dummy was made of white cloth, shaped like a human but without any features.
Sylas immediately turned to Major Kyle.
"Major, I think I know why Dudu can't summon his sound wave ability."
"You found a solution?" Major Kyle asked excitedly.
Sylas nodded and said, "When Dudu first used his sound wave ability, he was very scared. At that time, I stumbled and fell while carrying him, and a swarm of zombies was rushing toward us. Dudu, in his fear and anxiety, might have triggered an awakening."
"So, you mean to scare him again to awaken his abilities?" Major Kyle asked, rubbing his chin.
"Not exactly. But we can make the dummy a little scarier to stimulate him—maybe shape it like a zombie? Or we could draw some zombie-like features on the white dummy and dress it up," Sylas suggested.
Major Kyle nodded before replying, "Then we'll give it a try and do as you say."
He immediately ordered a soldier standing guard outside to bring the necessary materials to modify the dummy. The soldier soon returned, and Sylas, Major Kyle, and the soldier got to work.
Meanwhile, Dudu played by himself, running around energetically.
Since they didn't have proper art supplies, Sylas used markers to draw a zombie face on the dummy.
Within an hour, they completed the new zombie dummy.
Sylas placed it in front of them and called Dudu over.
Dudu ran toward him and hugged his leg.
Sylas rubbed his head and said, "Dudu, look at that monster. Is it scary?"
Dudu tilted his head to look at the newly made dummy, then immediately hugged Sylas's leg tighter.
"Scary... monster... brother," Dudu said, teary-eyed.
Seeing him like this made Sylas feel guilty. He didn't want to scare Dudu, but this was the only way. He squatted down and reassured him, "Don't be scared. Dudu is strong and powerful. You can kill the monster."
"Dudu strong," Dudu said firmly.
"Yes, Dudu is very strong. Now look at that monster. It's going to eat brother—can Dudu save me from it?" Sylas asked, pointing at the zombie dummy.
Dudu clenched his fists. "Save... save brother!"
Then, he immediately let go of Sylas and turned to face the dummy. Though he shivered in fear, he opened his mouth and shouted, "Monster, die!"
As soon as Dudu shouted, both Major Kyle and Sylas immediately felt a slight ringing sound ripple through the air.
"He did it!" Sylas exclaimed, looking at the tiny figure in front of him.
"Yes, finally!" Major Kyle nodded excitedly, clasping his hands.
The dummy's clothes were now torn apart by the sound wave, and small cuts appeared on its surface.
"Although he succeeded, this is far from when he first triggered his sound wave ability. Back then, my ears hurt from the ringing, and almost all the zombies exploded," Sylas said.
Dudu opened his eyes and blinked at the dummy, which was still standing with only minor damage.
He turned to Sylas with an aggrieved expression. "Brother…"
"Dudu, you can do it. Try again?" Sylas encouraged him.
Dudu took a deep breath and shouted again. "Die, monster! Die!"
Bang!
The fabric dummy shattered, falling apart as the sound wave rippled through it. The glass window behind it also shattered, surprising both Sylas and Major Kyle.
"Major, is everything alright?" The soldier guarding outside rushed in upon hearing the commotion.
"It's alright. You can go back," Major Kyle said before turning his attention back to Dudu.
"Monster die! Brother, monster died!" Dudu said excitedly, though his words were jumbled.
Sylas was amazed. Who could have imagined that the little boy in front of him harbored such a powerful ability?
"Wow, our Dudu is very strong. Thank you for saving me," Sylas said, rubbing the boy's head.
Dudu giggled and hugged him.
"Impressive… truly impressive," Major Kyle mumbled as he crouched to inspect the damaged dummy.
"This is a very strong attack ability. But we need to train him to target specific enemies. Right now, his sound wave spreads out. If he can't control it, he might accidentally harm innocent people," Major Kyle said.
Sylas agreed, but the challenge was that Dudu was too young to fully understand. Training him would be difficult and time-consuming.
---
That evening, Major Kyle gathered everyone in the training hall. He stood in front of them, cleared his throat, and began speaking.
"It's been a week since we left the safe zone, and to be honest, our food supplies are running low. If we don't restock soon, we'll face serious problems. So, I'm leading a team—along with you, the ability users—on a mission to retrieve food supplies from the east side of Pinewood. The nearest convenience store is there. What are your thoughts? Are you willing to join me?"
Since Sylas and Dylan had already been on a mission once to retrieve medical supplies, they had no objections. They looked at Serena, who said, "I have no problem. I think it's time to test my abilities on zombies."
Sylas had the same thought—he was eager to try out his spatial blades in combat.
Major Kyle nodded with a smile. "With ability users on the team, the mission will be much easier."
Then, looking at Sylas, he added, "Especially with you. This time, we won't need a transport truck, which will be more convenient and save us the time of loading supplies."
Sylas couldn't help but give a wry smile. He was being regarded as a transport truck by Major Kyle.
"Since Leo's ability isn't for attacking, we'll do our best to protect him. His healing ability is one of the most important assets we have. With him in our team, if anyone gets injured, he can heal them immediately," Major Kyle explained.
"Major, I'm also a soldier. You don't have to worry about me," Leo said helplessly.
"I know, but if something happens to you, we lose not just a soldier—but our only healer," Major Kyle replied.
"Alright, we'll depart early tomorrow after breakfast. Get a good rest. See you all in the morning," Major Kyle concluded before leaving.