Cayden walked almost confidently towards the café. Since he was alone and had nothing on him, the people inside were not wary of him. They are observing how he hide in the bushes and walls, vigilant against sneak attacks in the surroundings. His shirt and pants are greasy and full of mud. And he was perspiring. It means he’d come a long way just to run in here and find suitable places to hide.

When Missy saw Cayden behind the cracks of the window blinds, she lightly gasped.

Cayden?! He was alive?

It had already been seven days since strange things happened. She clearly remembered how she was about to go home from the house warming in the manager’s house. Her apartment is right beside the café. When she got home, that’s when the riot erupted and everyone was running around, screaming at the top of their voices. She was lucky she was able to hide in the storage of the café.

With the food stored in the cafe, she get to survive for days. What she did not expect was these guys coming in and flaunting their guns and muscles. Missy succumbed to doing whatever they wanted, just for them to spare her.

They are terrible, but to Missy, those zombies outside are worse.

"You know him?" One of the thugs whispered in her ear. His hand were trailing the bare skin at the side of her waist. She welcomed his touch and lean on his muscles.

"Yes. He’s my coworker."

"So he came here for food?" The thug let out a merciless laugh and licked Missy’s ear. She shivered and continued to stare at Cayden who went around the café to enter the backhouse.

"Baby, why don’t we play the damsel in distress for him?" Missy whispered. Her face nuzzled with the thug’s rough stubble.

"Alright, you want to play as the hostage?"

Missy smirked. "Yes. And have him take us to the place where he’d been hiding." Her sharp eyes studied Cayden greedily. He still looked the same from seven days ago. Unlike her, who needs to scrape for food. Her body had changed greatly. Her bones started to protrude and her cheeks began to hollow out. Living at the mercy of these men and relying on their good will to feed her has taken away the natural, healthy beauty she once had. She gritted her teeth in anger. She can’t dissipate the jealousy in her heart unless Cayden experiences suffering much worse than her current situation.

"Alright, baby." The thug gave her a box of cookies and a cup of warm milk. She eats them greedily while not forgetting to entice his desire from his lower body with hers.

When Cayden finally stepped inside, he was immediately greeted with a rough hit in the forehead with a blunt object. His vision blurred and he dropped dead to the ground.

Right off the bat, huh? Cayden lost consciousness afterwards.

He woke up from the sudden sensation of water on his face. He gasped and coughed as liquid dripped on his face.

"Awake homey?" The ugly thug he saw last time greets him with his monkey like features. Cayden’s head ached. The more he stared at the thug’s face, the uglier he became. He’s already hideous in Cayden’s eyes; no need to add unsightly features. Cayden fought off the dizziness and straightened up.

He was staring at the world outside and vaguely realized that it was still the break of dawn. Much earlier than he expected.

Opposite him, Cayden saw Missy’s sorry figure, silently sobbing and in ragged clothes. If anyone could see her face now, they would know she was defiled and raped by these men. If Cayden only saw her now, he would feel sorry for her.

Yet he had already seen her twice. The first time in nice clothes, the second time in damsel state. It was obvious at this point that she was working with these thugs to survive. Women relying on men is not that uncommon in apocalyptic world.

Cayden has seen many instances of this scenario before. Most of the time, none of the women survive that long. Cayden slumped his head down. So what should it be? Save her from these guys for the sake of acquaintances? Or let her be and die with them?

Cayden’s head is still pounding in pain. He bit his tongue a few times to keep a clear head.

Wait, why should he decide? The choice is up to her. Missy is not his Xyris. He has no reason to risk his life for her. Cayden has been given a second chance to redo the trials. Hence, he should choose someone who is worthy of his efforts.

Cayden inwardly smile. Okay, Missy, this is your chance. Show me your sincerity. I will help you escape from here. If you go with us, you will survive. If not, I’ll let you die together with these scumbags.

Cayden suddenly felt a heavy blow in his stomach. He groaned. Another hit landed on the side of his jaw.

"Answer our boss!" This time, it’s another young man with spiky hair and black leather jacket who kicked him in the face and trampled on his shoulder.

"Jackson, leave him." The monkey thug said. The young man named Jackson coldly humped and walked away.

"Okay, let’s start. What’s your name, lad?" The monkey thug sat on the sofa with his legs raised on the coffee table. He was smoking his cigarettes with a beer can in his right hand. Cayden chewed on his lips and did not answer.

His eyes were staring at Missy. The change in Missy’s eyes that he saw before is really still there. She was acting pitiful and aggrieved on the spot. Trying to cover her exposed body parts with the ragged clothes. Her eyes are pleading and asking for help.

What should he do? Play the part? Well, that would save him the pain and effort he has to endure. He still needs to be in the best condition to fight the zombies for ten days.

"Jackson, hit some sense into this new friend of ours, would you?"

Jackson grinned. "With pleasure."