Chapter 16: Bad luck

David stared at the flame flickering in his palm, stunned. His brows furrowed as he examined it closely His black eyes staring carefully at the flame.

'I… I don't feel any pain.... Instead, there's a strange calmness spreading across my skin…'

Shaking his head, trying to clear his thoughts, he looked up—only to see Betty staring at him with clear envy in her eyes.

"What…?" he asked, confused.

Betty blinked, quickly looking away. Her expression returned to normal as she shoved her hands into her pockets and turned back toward the jeep.

"Let's go. The zombies are already cleared," she said casually.

She grabbed the jeep's roof and jumped inside, landing in the back seat with a graceful arc. Once seated, she pulled the glowing green cores out of her jacket.

David watched her with narrowed eyes, then turned briefly to the scattered corpses. But something suddenly tugged at the back of his mind. He glanced back at the jeep, suspicion flashing across his face.

'Wait a second… How did he know about gaining strength from the cores? And that expression earlier—when he saw the flame in my hand—it was envy. Not surprise. As if… he already knew what would happen.'

He stood there for a moment, deep in thought.

Then, with a small shrug, he shook the suspicion from his mind.

'Maybe he just happened to kill a zombie and discovered the core by chance. Just a lucky guess.'

Henry clutched Ethan's mouth in panic and whispered urgently,"Brother, calm down! You'll attract more zombies. Don't be so dramatic."

His face looked like he couldn't believe how weak his friend was acting.

As the pain in Ethan's body started to fade, he noticed Henry's expression—and it only fueled his irritation. Yet, with a calm smile, he patted Henry's shoulder.

"Yeah, brother. I was just joking. Thought it'd be fun," Ethan said gently. "Come on, let's find you a core too."

Henry frowned in confusion, watching Ethan's sudden shift in attitude."Why are you being weird, bro?"

Ethan didn't answer. Instead, he turned and quickly found a nearby zombie, digging out its core with practiced ease. With a grin, he walked over to Henry, who was busy tilting a corpse's head to check its eyes.

"Henry! I found one for you. Come here, quick."

Henry looked up and met Ethan's unusually cheerful expression.

'Why am I getting goosebumps just from his smile…?'

Reluctantly, he took the core. Crushing it in his hand, he let the faint mist rise and absorb into his skin.

("0")

His lips twitched, sweat gathered on his forehead, and his burly body instinctively stood on tiptoes as he tried to hold back a scream, desperate not to make himself a joke.

Ethan burst out laughing, slapping his thigh and covering his mouth."Hahaha! Bro—hah! You look like—hahaha!"

Just then, a solid punch landed on the back of his head.

"Playtime's over," David's voice cut through sternly. "We need to deliver the food."

Ethan rubbed his head, looking at David like he had wronged him.

Inside the jeep, Betty sat quietly, her fingers wrapped around a handful of five to ten cores.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

'Please… don't hurt like before.'

Bracing herself, she crushed one of the cores in her palm. Her body trembled slightly—but after a few moments, she opened her eyes, surprised.

'Huh… it didn't hurt at all. Just felt like… a shiver.'

Frowning, she looked down at herself, confused. The last time she absorbed a core, it had felt like being torn apart from the inside.

With newfound courage, she crushed the rest, one after another. A cold, misty breath escaped her lips as warmth surged through her veins. Her body felt stronger.

She exhaled slowly, her lips curving into a satisfied sigh.

But when she reached the last core and crushed it, nothing happened except that she gained strength. Her shoulders slumped again.

'Tch. My luck is awful… he got in his first try and I, as always, bad luck.'

She looked up just as Ethan jumped into the jeep with his usual grin. David took the driver's seat and started the engine. The road ahead was surprisingly clear, with no more zombies in sight.

But the scenery was even more horrible than before.

From the backside, she watched the towns pass by—a ruined cityscape. Buildings that were not destroyed because of the apocalypse, but destroyed by human hands.

Missile craters marked the roads, and entire skyscrapers had collapsed like fallen giants. Some roads were so torn and twisted that David had to slow down to avoid sharp edges and debris.

The car came to a halt with a soft screech.

Betty, curious to see the base, stepped out—only to freeze the moment she saw the building ahead.

Her heart skipped a beat.

'No way… isn't this… the school?'

Her gaze swept over the cracked walls and the half-burned school emblem barely hanging on the front gate. Even with the damage, she recognized it instantly.

This was the original body's school—etched clearly in her inherited memories.

Her throat tightened.

'Don't tell me… this place is the base now?'

Panic stirred in her chest as the realization sank in.

'Great. Just perfect. I wanted to stay far, far away from the Thomson family, and now… I've walked right into their backyard. That so-called real daughter might be here too.'