Then let’s begin the exam

"Uh… what?" Hank's glowing eyes widened in alarm. What the hell did that mean?

From the very beginning, Ethan had been careful—never showing his face, always staying in the shadows. So naturally, when the livestock started disappearing, all the blame landed squarely on Hank.

"But they know me!" Hank hissed, the realization hitting him like a punch to the gut. He crouched low behind a crack in the rocky hillside, peering out at the distant figures of wandering zombies.

Luckily, maybe by some miracle, the undead didn't come any closer. After a while, they turned and shuffled off in another direction, their guttural howls fading into the distance.

"Whew… they're gone!" Hank let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, feeling like he'd just dodged a bullet.

The Exile Zone was massive. Finding this exact hiding spot would've been like finding a needle in a corpse pile.