Chapter 49: No more accidents tonight

She obediently pulled the T-shirt back down, covering the skin that had nearly made him explode on the spot. Then she shrank into the sleeping bag until only a pair of watery eyes remained, secretly watching his rigid back.

[System notification: Deep physical contact with Strategy Target Ray detected. Affection +30, points +150. Current points: 610.]

May felt pure satisfaction inside, yet on the surface she put on the face of someone who had suffered a great injustice. She sniffed. "Boss, you were way too heavy-handed... my legs are still weak..."

Ray’s back stiffened for a moment.

She pouted, turned over inside the sleeping bag so her back faced him, and secretly curved the corners of her mouth. The skin still felt hot.

Worth it, though. This older man’s hand strength is unreal.

She closed her eyes. A smile still lingered at her lips. Within a few seconds, she was truly asleep.

Meanwhile, the corridor outside had already turned into pure chaos.

The female special-infected had lost half its head to Mitch’s sniper round, yet it still wasn’t dead. It let out a bat-like shriek.

"Jack! Hold it down!"

Jack charged forward in a single stride. Two massive hands clamped onto the Skinwalker Demon’s ankles and yanked it down from the ceiling with raw force.

The monster crashed to the floor, flipped, and opened its jaws wide to roar at Jack. Foul-smelling drool sprayed across his face.

"Fuck!"

Mitch cursed and stepped in for a follow-up shot. The bullet punched clean through the crown of the creature’s skull. "Just die already!"

It twitched twice and went still.

Alex poked his head out from behind a shelf, glanced at the bloody mess on the floor, and wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Mitch, your marksmanship is slipping. Took three shots to finish it. Used to be one shot, one kill."

"Shut up!"

Mitch irritably kicked the corpse. "This thing’s hide was thick! My fault?"

Theo crouched beside the body, used a scalpel to lift a piece of dark-red tissue, sniffed it once, then set it back down with a blank expression. "Mutation level is two grades higher than anything we’ve met before. This one was an advanced form."

"Meaning?" Mitch frowned.

"Meaning," Theo removed his glasses and wiped them, "these things are only going to become more common, and harder to kill."

Silence stretched for several seconds.

Jack squatted on the floor, checking the heavy machine gun’s ammo belt, large fingers clumsily straightening the twisted links.

Alex leaned against the wall chewing a biscuit; every trace of his usual playful grin had vanished.

Mitch cursed under his breath while changing magazines; the vein at his temple still pulsed.

"That’s enough," Theo stood and sheathed the scalpel. "Split up and check every fire door and ventilation opening. No more accidents tonight."

***

The next morning.

Cool air from the moisture-proof mat climbed up her spine.

May’s eyelids fluttered. The headache still lingered, and a deep, bone-deep soreness ran through every joint.

She pushed herself up. The oversized black T-shirt slipped off one shoulder, exposing a wide stretch of pale skin.

A heavy thud sounded not far away.

Ray was shirtless, braced on the floor, arms mechanically rising and falling in push-ups. Bronze muscles stood out in sharp ridges across his back; sweat ran down the groove of his spine and pooled in the hollow of his lower back.

Hearing the movement, he stopped, turned his head, and fixed her with a stare still carrying residual dark fire.

"Awake?"

His voice was extremely rough.

May swallowed. The system radar in her head was beeping nonstop.

Last night this older man had shown no restraint at all. Looking at him now, it was clear he still had unfinished business.

"Morning, Boss."

She tugged the collar higher and put on her purest, most innocent expression. "Your body really is amazing..."

Internally, she added: Just a shame last night wasn’t enough. I’m still short on points.

Ray pushed himself up, grabbed a towel, and wiped away the sweat. Through clenched teeth, he forced out. "Keep staring and I’ll dig your eyes out."

Before the last word finished, the door was kicked open from outside.

Alex walked in carrying a battered metal tray, smiling brightly. On the tray sat two compressed biscuits and half a bottle of water.

"Boss, May—breakfast."

His voice was clear and cheerful, the perfect picture of a carefree little brother.

The moment he stepped over the threshold his nostrils flared twice. His gaze made a quick circuit from May’s still-red ears to Ray’s flushed neck.

The innocent smile in his eyes iced over, replaced by a cold, sharp edge. He set the tray on the floor, straightened, and leaned close to Ray with pure, wide-eyed innocence.

"What’s that smell... Boss, did you work too hard last night? Sweating this much and you didn’t even go wash up in the bathroom?"

May’s heart skipped. This little fox’s nose was as sharp as a dog’s.

Ray grabbed his combat uniform, pulled it on, and zipped it all the way up, covering every inch of muscle. He didn’t even lift his eyelids. "Get lost. Night watch turn you into a chatterbox?"

Footsteps approached from outside.

Ace stood in a crisp white shirt, every button fastened tight, a chipped enamel mug in hand. He leaned against the doorframe, his gaze sliding past Alex and locking onto the bare ankle May had exposed by rolling up her pant leg. A slow, deep smile curved in those peach-blossom eyes.

"Ray has always been the hot-blooded type. Everyone knows that."

He took a measured sip of hot water and answered in an unhurried drawl.

Theo had appeared sometime earlier in the shadowed corridor, gold-rimmed glasses flashing with cold light. A silver scalpel spun rapidly between his fingers. He said nothing, merely watched Ray with a knowing, mocking tilt to his mouth.

Several razor-sharp men standing in one place made the air reek of jealousy thick enough to choke on. Last night’s little secrets were obvious to anyone with eyes.

May shrank into the corner of the moisture-proof mat, wishing she could sink straight through the floor. This arena of rivals felt more terrifying than a zombie siege.

Boom—crash!

A violent explosion rocked the building from below. The concrete under their feet shuddered twice.

Every man in the hallway wiped the expressions from their faces at once.