Chapter 31: Meet up

Summer sat on the edge of the crystal-clear pool, slowly swinging her pale legs back and forth through the water.

Ripples spread across the pristine surface, reflecting the soft glow of the moonlight filtering down through the cracked glass roof.

When the double doors slammed open with a loud bang, she turned her head around, expecting another little human looking to yell or throw tin cans.

Although the adult humans didn’t dare to come here, young children were an exception. If not for the Professor stopping her, she would’ve taught them a lesson.

Anyway, this time it wasn’t them.

Instead, she found a strange human woman staring at her before suddenly collapsing onto her knees and bursting into tears.

Summer tilted her head to the side, her glowing ruby eyes watching the weeping woman with confusion.

Her face puffed out slightly as her simple mind tried to make sense of the sudden emotional outburst.

Was this pool hers?

Did Summer jump into her private bath without asking permission first?

Summer looked down at the clean water around her legs, then back at the weeping woman on the floor. To her simple logic, that was the only reasonable explanation.

Humans were very strange about their territory and personal belongings. She had seen how fussy people in the settlement got over a single bottle of clean water or a blanket.

If this pool belonged to this lady, then maybe she was crying because she thought Summer ruined her pristine water.

"I am not dirty," Summer said plainly, her voice carrying clearly across the quiet hall. "I washed off the blood before coming here. The water is still clean."

That was a lie. But how could this woman find that out? The zombie girl didn’t consider the obvious blood stain in the pool, which was yet to scatter away.

Salma’s heart wrenched as she heard that. Her poor daughter... did she really think she became dirty because she’s a zombie now?

"Baby, I am your—"

Before Salma could finish her words, Dereck rushed through the opened doorway.

His heavy iron boots thudded against the dusty floor as he knelt beside his leader, his massive frame creating a wall of shadow over her trembling shoulders.

"Young Miss..." Dereck whispered urgently, his deep voice barely audible in the vast space. "You need to control yourself. ’They’ are still watching from the dark. If ’they’ find out the truth right now, your daughter will never be safe."

Salma’s body stiffened at his words. The sharp, bitter reality crushed down upon her heart like an anvil, forcing her back to her senses.

Dereck was completely right. The shadow forces that had manipulated her daughter’s life three years ago were still lurking in the background, waiting for any weakness.

If those monsters discovered that this zombie girl was her long-lost biological child, they would mobilize everything they had to destroy her once and for all.

Salma squeezed her eyes shut, digging her fingernails into the dusty concrete floor until her palms bled. She forced her gasping breath to steady.

She had already lost her baby girl once to her own foolishness and the cruelty of others. She had failed her for seventeen long years.

But this time, she swore on her blood and soul that she would never allow her daughter to be put in danger again.

Not by the military, not by the survivors, and certainly not by ’them’.

Salma took a long, shaky breath and slowly pushed herself up off the floor. She wiped the hot tears from her scarred face with the back of her leather tactical glove, forcing her cold, unyielding composure back into place.

That was when a loud, intentional sound echoed from the shadowed corner of the hall.

"Ahem..."

The Professor stepped out from the darkness near a rusted support pillar, casually adjusting his thick glasses on the bridge of his narrow nose.

He had been quietly standing there observing the entire scene with an amused grin.

Only then did Salma notice his presence.

Her green eyes snapped toward the Rogue leader, tracking his position. Then, her gaze shifted sideways, landing directly on Summer.

She saw her pale, precious seventeen-year-old daughter sitting by the water, clad in nothing but basic, tight dark undergarments, exposing her small, pale frame to the cool air.

Then, Salma’s gaze snapped straight back to the Professor.

In less than a single second, all the motherly grief, sorrow, and restraint on Salma’s face vanished entirely, replaced by an explosive, murderous fury.

Her glowing green pupils narrowed into slits, and the air around her turned violently cold.

"Calm down, Young Miss..." Dereck began, sensing the lethal aura radiating off his leader.

"Get out," Salma growled softly, her voice carrying an edge sharp enough to cut through solid iron.

Dereck’s mouth instantly clamped shut as Salma shot him a lethal glare that made even the giant seven-foot warrior shiver in his heavy armor.

He did not dare to say another word. He immediately turned on his heel and began backing away toward the entrance flap.

"Get out!" Salma’s voice rose into a terrifying roar that echoed off the high rafters, directed entirely at the Rogue leader standing nearby.

The Professor raised both of his hands in the air, but rather than looking terrified, he adopted a deeply aggrieved expression. He took a small step back, adjusting his white lab coat.

"Why should I leave?" the Professor asked, thoroughly playing the part of a loyal follower. "Big Boss, you can’t just come in here and bully Boss Chubby! I am her official right-hand man!"

"Chubby?" Salma paused for a fraction of a second, her sharp green eyes flicking back toward her daughter.

She took in Summer’s soft, remarkably full, puffed-up cheeks, her glowing ruby eyes, and her small, innocent posture sitting at the edge of the water.

So cute.

Her heart melted in an instant at the adorable sight.

However, her motherly instinct quickly snapped back as she glared right back at the young man standing in the same room with her daughter in her undergarments.

"YOU GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" Salma roared again, her hand dropping onto the hilt of her long, deadly dagger.

The Professor did not linger for a second longer. Seeing the terrifying woman draw her blade, he turned around and sprinted out of the aquarium hall as fast as his legs could carry him, his white coat fluttering behind him in the wind.

Dereck hurriedly closed the heavy double doors behind the fleeing Professor, leaving the vast, quiet aquarium completely sealed.

Silence returned to the building once again.

Summer watched the whole chaotic interaction with wide, unblinking eyes, her chubby cheeks puffing out even further.

First the crying, now the screaming and chasing off her new puppet. Humans really were the most confusing creatures in existence.

Now, only Salma and Summer remained in the silent hall. Salma took a step forward, then another, until she was standing just a foot away. Reaching out, she gently gathered the stray strands of hair clinging to Summer’s face and tucked them behind her ears.

"Don’t stay wet. You’ll catch a cold," Salma softly murmured. A warm glow emanated from her palm, gently evaporating the moisture from Summer’s hair.

Looking down at her innocent daughter, and imagining the unimaginable hardships she must have endured, Salma felt her eyes fill with tears once more.

’How did such a tiny child survive all alone until now?’

"Were you scared... all by yourself?" Salma asked before she could stop herself.

"I was not scared! Because I am strong," Summer declared proudly, misinterpreting the human’s concern for weakness.

To prove it, she activated Shadow Mirage. Her small body phased seamlessly through Salma, reappearing directly behind her. She bared her sharp teeth right against the nape of Salma’s neck before stepping back with a triumphant grin.

"See?" Summer boasted, holding her head high.