Chapter 26: Entering the Settlement

"Greetings, Mayor..." Jacob stepped in, watching helplessly as the zombie girl and the young man interacted.

How could this little girl always meet people who were on her exact wavelength? It had to be too much of a coincidence.

After getting an approving smile from Summer, the Professor instantly transformed into her number one thug. He stood slightly behind her, glaring at Vincious Jerald as if the General were his mortal enemy.

Ella, Ilas, and Angela exchanged silent glances with one another.

They all felt that the Professor now looked suspiciously similar to a certain four-armed giant zombie, who was currently throwing a silent tantrum down the street because Summer had strictly ordered him to stay back with the horde until further command.

The three girls helplessly shook their heads, inwardly wondering what kind of expression One would make if he saw his little master being seduced by another loyal follower in his absence.

Vincious turned his attention toward Jacob, his authoritative expression shifting as a spark of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Jacob? You are alive?"

"Hardly, but yes," Jacob nodded, letting out a weary sigh.

"I thought you and your family died after seeing the last video feed from the rescue helicopter," Vincious said, recalling the horrific footage.

A massive boulder thrown by a High-Tier zombie had smashed the rescue copter right as it hovered near the rooftop.

There was no logical way anyone could have survived that encounter. On the video feed, it was only Jacob and his small family trapped on that exposed terrace.

Yet, looking around right now, not a single member of Jacob’s family was dead. In fact, they didn’t even look gravely injured or infected.

How was that even possible? Unless...

Vincious’s sharp gaze slowly fell upon the pale zombie girl, who was currently receiving a relaxed shoulder massage from the Rogue leader.

Feeling the old man’s heavy gaze on her, Summer tilted her head in his direction, her glowing crimson pupils locking directly onto his eyes.

That was the exact moment Vincious got a crystal-clear, unobstructed view of her face.

His heart instantly turned cold at the familiar face.

It was a face he could never forget. A face that had haunted his darkest nightmares for the past three years now stood alive and well before his very eyes.

Even after becoming a zombie.

Vincious had spent years telling himself that he had moved on from the guilt, convincing his conscience that he had been too helpless back then to stand up for a nameless orphan girl against the supreme military echelon.

But as she stood before him in the flesh, the overwhelming guilt he had tried so hard to bury deep inside his chest seemed to break free all at once.

His breath hitched in his throat. He couldn’t speak a single word, his lips trembling slightly as he stared at the pale child.

"Mayor?" Jacob tentatively called out, observing the General’s strange behavior.

Why was the Mayor showing such a complex, pained expression toward this zombie girl? Did he actually know her from before the outbreak?

Standing a few paces behind her husband, Mary also glanced back and forth between the Mayor and Summer.

She narrowed her eyes, inwardly muttering to herself, ’Is she his illegitimate daughter or something? Why is he looking at her like he owes her twenty years of child support?’

Summer tried to read the emotional waves radiating from the old man, but she failed to pinpoint his exact feelings.

His emotional frequency was a chaotic, muddy mixture of fear, deep sadness, heavy guilt, and utter confusion.

"Hey, old man, what are you looking at my Zombie Boss with those unaffectionate eyes full of fake affection?" The Professor broke the heavy stillness with his signature mocking tone, casually tapping Summer’s shoulder.

"What kind of dirty, underhanded game are you planning? Let me warn you, she might be powerful, but she’s still a zombie minor!"

Luckily, the Professor’s absurd interjection shattered the tense atmosphere.

Vincious snapped back to his senses, forcibly shoving down the chaotic emotions swirling in his chest. He let out a harsh, angry grunt that was directed entirely at the smug Rogue leader.

"Watch your tongue, Professor," Vincious barked, his voice regaining its firm, military command.

He took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to Summer, doing his best to keep his voice completely steady.

"Let’s go inside," Vincious said, gesturing toward the main iron gates of the Northern Settlement. "I will grant you and your companions official permission to enter the camp grounds. But as for getting accepted by the civilian survivors... that’s completely out of my control."

With those words, he turned around and began leading Jacob, his family, and the rest of the squad past the heavily armed outer checkpoint. ℴℴ𝘮

The Northern Settlement was far larger than Summer had anticipated. High concrete barriers and thick coils of razor wire lined the outer perimeter, reinforced by sandbag bunkers where soldiers stood guard behind heavy machine guns.

Beyond the military zone lay rows upon rows of temporary civilian tents, makeshift wooden huts, and crowded emergency shelters stretching all the way to the edge of the Seattle River.

Thousands of displaced survivors sat huddled near open campfires. The moment the small group walked past the secondary gate, the ambient noise of the crowd began to die down.

"Look at that..." a male survivor whispered, nudging his friend as he pointed at the group. "Is that... is that a zombie walking right beside Major Imani?"

"Come on man, shut up. How could the soldiers be that stupid to take a zombie inside?"

"But she’s so pale..."

"Maybe she’s dehydrated..."

"That’s the Mayor," a man added. "Do you think the General is stupid enough to allow a zombie inside?"

With that, the commotion died down. But the General paused for a moment...

"She is a zombie. But she’s under my control."

Before Summer could try to correct him, he gave her a firm look.

"Are you insane?!" a woman shrieked softly, pulling her young child tightly into her arms as she backed away into her tent. "They brought a monster inside the safe zone! Look at her eyes! Look at those red veins on her face!"

"Shoot it! Why aren’t they shooting it?!" another man yelled from the edge of the crowd, his voice laced with pure panic and anger. "My brother was ripped apart by those things yesterday! Get that filthy monster out of here!"

Fear and hatred spread through the civilian crowd like wildfire. Dozens of people began standing up from their seats, their faces twisted in disgust as they shouted curses and pointed trembling fingers at Summer.

Some even picked up rocks and empty tin cans from the dirt, holding them tightly in their fists.

"Why’d you do that?" the Professor asked sharply at the General. "You should’ve waited for a better time."

To that, the General didn’t say anything as he continued walking.

Summer walked calmly through the middle of the dirt path, her gauntleted hands resting casually at her sides.

She paid zero attention to the hostile glares or the rising screams of the crowd.

To her simple mind, these screaming humans were not friends, nor were they food.

They were just noisy, irrelevant background noise.

Beside her, Ella and Ilas stepped closer to her sides, glaring back at the angry crowd to shield their friend from the harsh words.

Angela simply sneered at the survivors, not worried that they could do anything to the girl. As their screaming doubled, it started annoying Summer.

So she simply gave all of them a glare...

"Wanna die? Scream if you want..."

And all the voices stopped...

"Good..." She muttered as she disappeared into the tent...