Chapter 40: An Elite

’Why is everyone overreacting? It is just a river that dried out,’ Summer complained inwardly.

She watched silently as her friends engaged in a heated debate over the cause of the phenomenon. She felt so bored because most of their heavy military terms and scientific words were completely beyond her understanding.

To her, the situation was something that did not affect her at all. She believed it was the exact same for the other survivors living in this sector. The water in the Seattle River was bitter, salty, and entirely undrinkable anyway.

So what was all this useless drama about?

Summer tilted her head slightly, her ruby eyes filled with pure, innocent confusion. She puffed out her small cheeks, letting out a tiny sigh of utter annoyance.

"Boss, if you pout like this anymore, I cannot stop myself from pinching you," the Professor said.

He was sitting right next to her on an upturned wooden crate, rubbing his sore fingers.

The moment those words left his mouth, Summer immediately covered both of her pale cheeks with her small, gloved hands.

She felt completely helpless against these humans. For some unknown reason, her friends always wanted to pinch and pull her soft cheeks whenever she looked frustrated.

As they grew closer to her over the past few days, they had become remarkably daring.

Though she felt somewhat helpless, Summer did not feel any actual wrongness in their actions. She could clearly feel their underlying fear of her slowly dissipating day by day.

Without the lingering presence of terror in their relationship dynamics, everything felt remarkably natural. It felt very comfortable. In fact, it felt just like the way she felt toward her beloved puppets.

[Cough! Are you really comparing these living humans with your mindless undead puppets?] the system interjected in her mind.

’Mm,’ Summer replied mentally, giving a firm nod.

[That is deeply offensive, you know,] the system noted, its tone sounding quite reprimanding.

’Why?’ Summer frowned, her eyebrows knitting together.

[Eh... just imagine if someone called you a puppet,] the system suggested.

’But I am not a puppet,’ Summer pointed out directly.

[I said imagine it!] the system urged, sounding slightly irritated.

"I cannot imagine something I am not," Summer stated simply.

[Ugh! You are so thoroughly exhausting to talk to,] the system groaned in defeat.

"Yo... what are you daydreaming about over there?" the Professor asked, reaching out to gently poke her shoulder.

Summer turned her head to look straight into his fogged-up glasses.

"Will you feel offended if I call you a puppet?" Summer asked, her voice completely flat and deadpan.

The Professor instantly froze, a totally blank look spreading across his tired face. He blinked twice, his mouth hanging open in utter silence.

Summer frowned slightly, feeling that the system was probably right this time.

[See? This is exactly why you should trust your elders-] the system began to boast proudly.

"Boss! You can even call me a bitch! I am more than happy with any title!" the Professor shouted enthusiastically, patting his own chest with pride.

[Well... this guy’s opinion cannot possibly be considered normal,] the system immediately backtracked, sounding deeply disappointed.

Summer completely ignored the system’s complaining. She raised her hand and gave the Professor a clean thumbs up, feeling immensely happy to have won the argument against her own system.

That was precisely when she felt a sudden, sharp tug deep within her mental connection.

It was a signal coming from one of her Feral zombies.

Although her ordinary puppets could not speak or form complex thoughts, they could send simple mental pulses through their shared bond. This particular pulse was a clear signal of discovery.

It meant that one of her patrolling zombies had successfully located an Elite zombie.

Summer was genuinely surprised by this news. She had not expected her army to find an Elite monster so quickly after setting out.

However, what surprised her even more was the precise location sent through the link. The detected Elite zombie was surprisingly close to this human settlement. To be entirely accurate, it was located right at the edge of the dried-out Seattle Riverbed.

"Candy..." Summer muttered under her breath, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You want candy?" the Professor asked, looking at her with a confused expression.

"Mm," Summer nodded, licking her pale lips in anticipation.

She rose swiftly from her seat on the broken concrete ledge.

"Where are you-"

The Professor could not even finish his sentence before a dark blur flashed across his eyes. Summer activated her Shadow Mirage skill and vanished from the area entirely.

"...going?" the Professor finished weakly, staring at the empty space where she had been standing a second ago.

He scratched his messy hair in complete confusion, letting out a long, weary sigh.

"Damn, Boss must be so desperately craving to eat candies right now," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Summer moved like a phantom through the desolate city streets. Her Swift Strider Boots blurred as she sprinted toward the perimeter of the sector, leaving faint afterimages of dark mist behind her.

Her heart beat with excitement as she neared the destination. An Elite zombie meant high-grade energy, rare loot, and most importantly, progress toward her grand evolution requirement.

Within less than two minutes, she reached the elevated edge of the concrete highway overlooking the vast riverbed.

The view before her was entirely unnatural. The massive Seattle River was completely gone, leaving behind a wide canyon of dark, cracked, and baked soil.

In the very center of the dry riverbed, a massive tear in reality floated silently in midair. It was a giant black portal, crackling with violent strands of purple lightning that pulsed against the grey sky.

Standing right at the edge of that portal was a towering, terrifying figure.

It did not look like an ordinary Feral zombie at all. Its pale body was covered in thick, bone-like armor plates that gleamed with a metallic black sheen. Its long arms ended in wicked, blade-like claws that scraped against the hard ground, leaving deep furrows in the baked earth.

Around its massive feet lay the shattered remnants of three heavy military tanks. The steel armors of the vehicles were torn open like paper, smoking violently under the monster’s overwhelming aura.

Summer stood on the edge of the broken highway, looking down at the giant creature.

Her glowing ruby eyes scanned the monster from head to toe, completely ignoring the terrifying aura that made the air tremble around it.

A bright blue system interface flickered to life directly in front of her vision.

[Target Identified]

Name: Void-Touched Vanguard

Evolution: Low-Grade Elite Zombie (Level 15)

HP: 1200 / 1200

Attributes: STR 45 | AGI 38 | CONST 40 | INT 15

Trait: Void Corruption, Heavy Bone Armor

This was one of the features her system unlocked after she became an Elite. She could see the details of her opponents.

A wide, sweet smile spread across Summer’s pale face as she read the holographic screen.

"A level fifteen Elite..." Summer whispered softly to herself, her small hands curling into tight fists.

To the humans huddled inside the command center, this monster was an absolute nightmare that could easily wipe out their entire base. But to Summer, standing high above on the highway ledge, it was nothing more than a giant, delicious piece of candy waiting to be harvested.

Without a single second of hesitation, Summer pushed herself off the edge of the shattered highway, leaping straight down into the dry riverbed below.