Kael didn’t stop her. He knew she’d have to face this sooner or ter.

  “Wren. We’re safe here for now. If we ration the food， it’ll st three more days. Maybe by then， the Infected will be gone.” Kael said.

  It was as much for his own comfort as it was for hers.

  But before he could finish speaking， the Infected outside the wall erupted into a frenzy. A figure burst through the crowd， sprinting straight for the mall.

  “Kael! Wren! Are you in there? Open the door!” The man yelled from outside.

  Wren’s eyes went wide.“Kael! It’s Jett! He’s back!”

  Kael’s jaw tightened. He stared at the horde of Infected closing in behind Jett， and grabbed Wren’s arm as she ran for the door.“Don’t.”

  “Kael， he saved us when Mom and Dad died! We can’t just leave him out there! He’ll die!” Wren said.

  Kael’s jaw clenched. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was torn.

  “Kael! Wren! I found tons of food! Let me in， and I’ll take you there once it’s safe!”

  Jett burst into the mall， skidding to a stop outside the office door.“You’re really gonna leave me out here to die? If I’m gone， who’s gonna keep you two kids alive?”

  Maybe it was the promise of food. Maybe it was the debt they owed Jett for saving their lives.

  In the end， Kael walked to the door and unlocked it.

  Bang!

  Jett stumbled inside， and Kael smmed the door shut. A split second ter， Infected smmed into it， over and over.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “Wren! Help me block the door!” Kael yelled.

  Wren ran to help. The two of them dragged the heavy office desk in front of the door.

  The door rattled with every impact. The Infected were terrifyingly strong. If it hadn’t been a steel security door， it would have broken down already.

  Kael and Wren pressed their backs against the desk， holding it shut. Kael gnced over at Jett， colpsed on the floor， gasping for breath.

  “Jett! Help us!”

  Jett looked up. He didn’t like the sharp， commanding tone in the kid’s voice， but he stood up and helped them hold the door shut.

  As he did， his eyes drifted to the corner of the room. The small pile of food and water， barely enough for one grown man for a day.

  …

  Kane woke slowly. He opened his eyes in the dark， and heard the distant roars of the Infected.

  In an instant， he knew. The second wave of the Colpse had hit. He’d been out for longer than he had in his past life.

  He didn’t rush outside. He pulled a fshlight out of the Spatial Ring and flicked it on. The small space lit up.

  His eyes fell on the ring on his finger. A flood of information popped into his head， clear as day.

  【Spatial Ring: A-Rank， Spatial Gear. Internal Storage: 350 Cubic Feet.】

  Next， he looked at his own body.

  【Human Male: Ability User. Strength 7， Agility 8， Stamina 6， Spirit 12. Lifespan Remaining: 21920 Days.】

  For an ordinary human before the Colpse， that was roughly 60 more years of life.

  Nothing had changed much from his past life.

  True Sight was only B-Rank， after all. It couldn’t detect Abilities above B-Rank.

  But Kane was more than happy with it. There weren’t many Ability Users above B-Rank out there anyway. The real value of True Sight was identifying anything and everything pulled from a Star Shard.

  He remembered the scarlet pill he’d pulled earlier， and pulled it out of the Spatial Ring.

  【Potent Stun Dust: F-Rank Control Consumable. Incapacitates any living being below F-Rank for 10 minutes.】

  The simple description made Kane’s eyes go wide.

  Control items were rare， at any rank. Even if it was only F-Rank， it was exactly what he needed right now.

  He thought of the mutated macaque， already mutated by now. He’d been wracking his brain trying to figure out how to catch it.

  With this Stun Dust， it would be easy.

  He suddenly thought of the Food Supply. All three Shards she’d given him had yielded incredible， rare items.

  Maybe she wasn’t a bad luck charm after all.

  He pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter. He had gear to sort.

  【Modified Bone Saw (4-foot Steel Handle): Unranked. Durability 8， Sharpness 6.】

  【Butcher’s Cleaver: Unranked. Durability 5， Sharpness 9.】

  【Balisong Knife: F-Rank Offensive Gear. Durability 13， Sharpness 14.】

  【Military Combat Jacket: F-Rank Defensive Gear. Durability 16.】

  【Fishnet Stockings: E-Rank Auxiliary Gear. Movement Speed +28. Bonus Effect: Charm +3.】

  The highest-tier gear he had was the fishnet stockings.

  Next， Kane used the Spatial Ring to absorb the concrete blocking the entrance， and crawled out into the open.

  ROAR!

  Before he could stand up， an Infected spotted him. It roared and lunged straight for him.

  Kane’s eyes went cold. He lifted the bone saw， angled it upward， and drove it forward.

  Shink!

  The bde pierced straight through the Infected’s open mouth， bursting out the back of its skull. Bck， viscous gore sprayed everywhere.

  【Male Infected: Un-evolved. Strength 8， Agility 6， Spirit 0.】

  Kane stood up， staring down at the first Infected he’d killed in this life. Its tattered uniform told him it had been a zoo worker before the Colpse.

  Aside from the stab wound Kane had given it， its right shoulder was mangled and crushed， from the building colpse that had killed it.

  Bck， fleshy growths were already spreading across the wound.

  If Kane hadn’t killed it， its broken body would have regenerated fully， given time.

  And then it would have evolved.

  The Infected were the greatest threat to survivors in the Colpse.

  They were endless. They evolved at a terrifying rate. For every surviving human， there were nearly 50 Infected.

  Only Evolved Humans and Ability Users could stand against them.

  But in his past life， less than 1% of survivors became Evolved Humans. Less than 1 in 100，000 awakened an Ability.

  Tonight， the Infected had risen. The Mutated Beasts had awakened.

  The real Colpse had begun.

  ROAR! ROAR!

  More Infected nearby heard the noise， and closed in on Kane fast.

  They hadn’t evolved yet. They were stronger than they’d been in life， but their bodies were stiff， their movements slow.

  Kane charged straight at them. Seven years of combat training kicked in instantly. He swung the bone saw， straight for the Infected’s skull.

  The only way to kill an Infected for good was to destroy the brain.

  The Infected’s head split open like a melon. Bck brain matter and shards of bone sprayed everywhere， a few drops nding on Kane’s face.

  He didn’t even flinch. He spun around， and split the next Infected’s skull open with a single swing.

  By then， the remaining six Infected were on him.

  Kane turned and ran. With the speed boost from the fishnet stockings， he easily broke out of their circle. He spun around， and split the skull of the closest Infected chasing him.

  He repeated the process， over and over. Minutes ter， all the Infected were dead.

  Kane was gasping for breath. Even with his combat experience， his ordinary human body was exhausted after killing eight Infected.

  He didn’t stick around. He caught his breath， then sprinted for the old primate enclosure.