Chapter 142: Temporary Dominance

Chapter 142: Temporary Dominance

He knew what he had to do; Aaron had already laid it all out in his will.

But man, that will was creepy. It felt like the path ahead was lined with flowers and delicious food, but who knew if it was all just bait? Were there nasty traps hidden underneath?

No matter what, he had to give it a shot.

Aaron had called him "my friend" multiple times in the will.

Even if Aaron was a total psycho, there was no real reason for him to hurt James.

Plus, during all those hours they spent researching in the basement, if Aaron had wanted to kill James, he had plenty of chances.

James had every reason to head to the hospital office and check things out.

There was an immunity serum there.

Aaron had mentioned it in his will.

At the crack of dawn, Emily woke up.

She slowly got up, carefully stepped over the sleeping Isabella, tiptoed through the living room, and walked into the inner room.

James was still asleep.

The enhanced mutant cells had given him strength and speed, plus more energy than the average person, but he still needed some sleep. Of course, he didn't need as much as regular folks.

James heard someone whispering softly in his ear. He opened his eyes and found Emily with her hands on his shoulders, eyes closed with anticipation. She kept kissing him, her breathing getting faster.

There was nothing more tempting than this.

James sat up straight, pulling Emily onto his lap. This position made Emily feel even more excited. She wrapped her arms around James's neck, her tongue slipping into his mouth, wildly tangling and then sucking. James felt her body heat up, her hips moving to intensify the sensation.

She had just taken a shower and changed clothes yesterday. The tight sports shirt showed off her chest.

The zipper was very low, and in front of James, Emily had nothing to hide.

Her whole body pressed against James's face, feeling like she was about to explode.

She didn't know why she suddenly wanted to do this, and she knew the timing and place were totally wrong. But Emily felt she couldn't control her body's desires. She was like a wild lion, biting James's lips hard but also controlling her strength, not breaking the skin.

Her eyes were a bit dazed, the meaning in them clear.

At that moment, a cough came from the living room.

Emily quickly opened her eyes, gripping James's hand tightly, afraid she might fall off his lap. Her body felt weak, unable to straighten up. She grabbed James's shoulders, turned around, and sneaked a glance towards the bunk bed in the living room.

Matthew turned over. He was clearly not fully awake, mumbling some gibberish that no one could understand, then grinding his teeth, and finally turning his body towards the wall, letting out a series of rough snores.

James was already awake.

He quickly helped Emily stand up and zipped up her shirt. Seeing Emily's flushed face, he held her close and whispered in her ear.

"Not now, don't do this."

Emily felt really uncomfortable, holding him tightly and refusing to let go. "I want to... I really want to..."

"Wait until tonight, we'll find another place. There are plenty of rooms in this building. We'll get one just for ourselves, with no one else."

"Okay! You promised!"

"I'll make it happen."

"By the way, you didn't think there was anything wrong just now, did you? I... I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

The beautiful morning time always seemed to fly by. James found an excuse, grabbed a machete from the corner, opened the door, and went out. When he came back, the small medicine bottle already had a dozen red spots taken from the back of the heads of zombies.

One of them came from the brain of the mutant security guard, Daniel.

No one suspected anything. Even Christopher thought it was just a quirky way to exercise and stay fit. Plus, James's reason was pretty convincing: killing one of these mutant monsters meant one less threat, making the area around their place safer.

Breakfast was simple.

Just like yesterday, canned meat and compressed biscuits.

Matthew was a bit picky about the food, probably because he was used to complaining about the meals at the police station. He was whining about getting a propane stove or something today, at least to boil some water and cook some noodles.

The others just laughed it off, and Christopher gave him a couple of playful knocks on the head.

James handed another specially made knife to Matthew; there were quite a few Gurkha knives, enough for everyone to have one with some left over.

Following his instructions, Kurt brought out two barrels of gasoline from the kitchen. James had bought these from a gas station.

Isabella gathered the debris on the ground, packed a bottle of water in her backpack, and asked seriously, "Where are we going now?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Christopher.

He seemed to be mulling over what to do. After a moment of silence, Christopher looked up and asked, "James, got any suggestions?"

James weighed his options and decided to spill part of the secret: "From what I know, there are still some immunity serums at the hospital. Not sure how many, though. If we can, I think we should grab those first."

Matthew's gruff voice cut in from the side: "You guys just escaped from that place yesterday, and now you want to rush back in... Alright! There really are some fearless folks in this world. How about this, you go in front, and I'll cheer you on from behind?"

After a quick tease, Matthew continued, "I'm just kidding. We can go, but with just a few of us and a few knives, we probably can't take on those man-eating monsters. There are too many of them, and even if we do get in, we might not be able to get out."

Allan nodded: "We should go back to the police station first to stock up on ammo."

"Then let's head back to the station first."

Christopher thought for a moment: "A batch of weapons just arrived the day before yesterday and hasn't been distributed to the various precincts yet. Yesterday was chaotic, so there should still be a good amount of weapons and ammo at the station. James, you have gasoline, food, and water here. Let's get some weapons first, then head to the hospital. What do you think?"

He wasn't being bossy or pushy.

This consultative tone made James feel comfortable and reasonable.

Actually, Matthew wasn't wrong; the key to safely getting in and out of the hospital was having enough firepower.

Kurt and Allan carried the gas cans down the stairs to refuel the car.

Christopher and Emily followed closely behind, keeping watch around them.

Isabella was in the room, tidying up and gathering various used items.

Matthew slung the assault rifle strap over his shoulder and was about to head out when he suddenly remembered something. He turned back, rummaged through a cardboard box in the inner room, and pulled out a few chocolate bars. In front of James, he quickly tore open the wrapper and stuffed a large piece into his mouth, chewing vigorously.

"Didn't expect you to like this stuff."

James tucked a handgun into the back of his waistband, holding the machete in his hand, and joked, "Eating so much, aren't you afraid of getting fat?"

Matthew glared at him and mumbled, "I never used to eat this stuff. I don't know what's going on today; I suddenly crave something sweet. By the way, do you have any candy here? Give me a pack."

Candy?

Again with the candy?

James felt his heart tighten suddenly.

He looked closely at Matthew and noticed that the edges of his eyes were slightly bloodshot. Although there weren't many blood vessels, they were extending towards his pupils. Moreover, Matthew's breathing was a bit heavy, clearly not as smooth as it was last night.

Thinking for a moment, James tore open a cardboard box, took out a pack of milk candies, and handed it to Matthew, saying seriously, "Eat this for now. Also, don't stray too far, and if you feel anything unusual, tell me immediately."

Matthew was sharp. He pocketed the candy and asked, "So, is this a side effect of the immunity serum?"

"Maybe!"

James withdrew his gaze from Matthew's face and stepped out the door: "Don't forget, you're an experiment now."

As the engine roared to life, Christopher glanced at the fuel gauge, which was full.

The wheels slowly turned, and the police car drove out of the broken gate of the small community.

The situation outside was no different from yesterday.

Cars were jammed together everywhere, and the narrow roads couldn't accommodate all the vehicles at the same time. Many drivers were trapped in their cars, infected by the virus and turned into terrifying zombies. These monsters were crashing around in the confined spaces, pounding on the windows. A few lucky ones managed to smash the windshields and crawl out, but their bodies were caught by the shards, stuck there, struggling and howling, unable to move forward or backward.

There were many corpses on the ground.

They were refugees.

The zombies' obsession with food was evident from the thoroughly gnawed bones. The dead were reduced to skeletons. James had seen similar scenes in the basement. Whether it was Hestia or William, they were both greedy, wanting to devour every piece of flesh from the dead.

They were still alive, only their heads.

The police car drove on the sidewalk, the cabin jolting. Looking at the terrifying and bloody road outside, no one spoke.

If there really was a hell, it would look like this.

Following the orders of the city's decision-makers, all municipal agencies had moved to the new district. After a long detour, the police car finally exited the old city. The traffic situation here was slightly better than in the city, and the roads were wider.

At the end of the road, the police badge embedded in the top of the building could be seen from afar.