A zombie stumbled along the dark alleyway.

The quiet tick of a silenced rifle rang, and a bullet flew toward its target with all its momentum.

The zombie was still walking forward.

Alia turned away in slight shame as she saw a bullet hole on the wall behind the zombie. It was worth noting that the bullet hole was at least one meter away from its meant target. It was also worth noting that the zombie was fifteen meters within Alia.

“Try again.” Behind her, Paul pushed as he discreetly eyed Jean. The older woman showed no opinion toward the failure as she put down two more zombies that moved toward them in an easy manner.

It had been twenty minutes since the three left the burnt house. Fifteen minutes ago a loud noise appeared from the police department of the city. Alia wanted to go there, but both Paul and Jean stopped her. If they could hear the shots, then so could the infected. Just like they expected, the noise ended five minutes ago. Since then, they have been trying to move out of the city where there should be less people and therefore less zombies.

At this point Jean was in an awkward position. Everything she could do without attracting unwanted attention couldn’t really increase her power. She couldn’t kill thousands of zombies because it would be suspicious, but killing several hundred zombies and earning a couple dozen red crystals was not as tempting as it may seem to other voyagers. 20 red crystals didn’t mean 2 orange crystals or 0.2 yellow crystals. At Jean’s level, absorbing red crystals could barely help her. It was better than nothing, but...Orange crystals were slightly better, and only crystals of yellow or above could truly improve Jean. This was nearly impossible in this world without taking a stupid amount of risk. Jean wasn’t afraid of dying, but a pointless death was simply stupid.

This was why the only thing Jean could do here was try to complete the mission while gaining as much as resources as she could. The two followers, for instance, would be helpful if she could make them into her asset. The same could be said for Carl. She wanted to take down Umbrella, but she didn’t need to rush it.

This was why she was wasting time on two teenagers when she could complete the mission with ease. Rushing was risky to her covert nature and was bad for the growth of others. Basically everyone else needed Umbrella as an punching dummy to improve.

Alia bit her lips and raised her weapon again. The recoil of the gun bashed in on her soft shoulder, and she yelped slightly. To the dismay of both her and her brother, the bullet missed again.

The disappointment on Paul’s shoulder was unmistakable. “Try again.” He repeated.

Alia didn’t know his concern. The girl was too naive to realize how much danger they were in.

First of all, the apocalypse. In just one night, all hints of law and order were gone. Government and police were collapsing. Even if they survived, the law nations would be too worn out to keep control over its territory and its people.

In this situation, two teenagers were like sheep in a slaughterhouse. They didn’t have experience in combat. They were barely armed. Even armed, they could barely hit a stable target within fifteen feet. If a few zombies, or even just a few human beings, suddenly jumped on them...they would be defenseless.

In a lawless world, when there was no punishment for crimes, people have a tendency of corrupting and becoming criminals. If someone decided they wanted to let off some steam and also decided that her sister was cute…if what he was afraid of was true, then zombies might not be the most of his concerns.

This blonde that just came to them, for example, was more than suspicious. The deal she made pretty much forced him and his sister to be her servant in exchange for protection. Even worse, she basically forced them to agree. The way she toyed with her weapons back in the house...it was not random. It was a threat.

Sure, as for now the girl only had good intentions. She not only didn’t want anything from the siblings but also protected them, but that only made him more hesitant. This was a world full of trades and values. Even before the apocalypse people worked together and made deals because they needed each other. Someone that offered only benefits and no demands didn’t do so because he or she was nice and felt like doing charity. They did it because they wanted something deeper and darker, and every cent they spent would be returned with ten times the worth.

The girl, Jean, wanted something from them. He knew it. He didn’t know what she wanted, but he would certainly keep an eye on her.

This was also why he so desperately wanted his sister to deal with this seriously and at least have some way to defend herself. This was a dangerous world, and he wouldn’t always be there. He didn’t want Alia to suffer in the future because she was lazy in the present.

Paul’s mind, after recovering from the trauma he just witnessed, was turning quicker than ever. He needed to. He could feel the pressure weighing down on him. His parents were dead. Not only so, they will revived and killed again. On one hand this was painful. On the other hand it brought the even more painful reality that their usual protector was gone. Now, they were alone, and as the older brother he needed to do all the thinking and planning.

This hurt, but he had to deal with it, for no one else would.

“Why?” Alia suddenly snapped and threw her rifle on the ground. Her shoulder hurt. Back in the good old days, yesterday, the most physically challenging thing she did was carrying her backpack. Now she was holding an automatic rifle and firing at a rotting, walking corpse. The change was difficult. “You have a gun as well! She promised to protect us! I am not a freaking soldier!” Tears were in her eyes. This was more than what she could handle. She was just a normal teenage girl. Why was she forced to do this?

Jean watched silently at the outburst. Her eyes flickered slightly when she looked behind Alia.

Paul was about to offer some words of comfort when his eyes suddenly went wide open. Alia was about to ask what was wrong when she felt a stinking breath coming from behind her. The zombie! In the anger of the moment she completely forgot about the beast. She turned around, only to get pushed on the ground by the foul creature.

She screamed as the zombie bit down on her arms.

Paul raised his weapon, but the zombie was on top of his sister. Both were moving, and as an amateur, he had no confidence in hitting the right target.

He turned his gaze toward the professional.

“You promised to protect us.” He demanded. As suspicious as he was of Jean’s intentions, he needed her.

Jean smirked and did nothing.

Paul’s eyes flared in anger, but he knew now was not the time to raise questions. He dropped his rifle and replaced it with a large kitchen knife he snatched from the house. Moving forward, he quickly stabbed the zombie on the back of his head.

Alia felt a wave of disgust reach her mouth as the already bloody zombie head was punched through by a blade. The white and red on her clothes, and some on her face, made she turn and vomit as soon as she got back up.

The zombie was disposed of, but the tension remained. Paul silently rested his hand on the pistol on his belt.

“We had a deal.” He said quietly, barely able to conceal his anger.

Jean smirked again. “Keep in mind, both of you,” She looked at Alia, who was recovering and was realizing the odd atmosphere. “I am not your mother. I am not your girlfriend. I have no obligation to save you, especially when your own stupidity is the reason why you’re in trouble.”

Her words were harsh, and both siblings felt the weight. However, they responded differently. Paul stood thoughtfully, realizing his mistake. Alia, however, had much more fire in her.

“Fine!” She decided. “You know what? I don’t need you to protect me! I’m done with this!” She turned and burst off.

Jean didn’t stop her. Instead, she turned to Paul, waiting for his decision.

Paul looked between her sister and Jean. He knew what his sister did was a bad idea, but he couldn’t just let her go. “I can’t leave her.” He finally said apologizing and ran toward where her sister went.

Looking at the two, Jean’s eyes shined slightly.