Chapter 296: That Zombie Looks Like Autumn Lynch

Silence.

A dead silence.

Even with so many people gathered, not a single person spoke.

A flash of scorn crossed Hector Grant’s eyes.

A man like Simon Hughes still believed money made the world go round, even now.

He was still trying to use the same old tricks from before the apocalypse.

In this apocalyptic world, would anyone really fall for that?

Hector Grant was sure they wouldn’t.

But the reality of the situation caught him completely by surprise.

After a moment of silence, a dark-skinned man stepped forward. “Are you telling the truth?”

“Of course!” Simon Hughes’s face lit up with wild joy. “When have I, Simon Hughes, ever gone back on my word? There are so many people here, they can all be witnesses! Even if you don’t trust anyone else, you must trust Captain Hector Grant, right? I promise you, no matter how it ends for you, the ten thousand Contribution Points, the housing, the job—I’ll deliver on all of it! If not, you can let Captain Grant deal with me!”

The dark-skinned man immediately looked toward Hector Grant. “Captain Grant, can you help me? If I… can I ask you to make sure my family gets all this?”

Hector Grant’s brow furrowed tightly. “Are you sure you want to do this? You have to know, this is extremely dangerous!”

But the dark-skinned man grinned. “Of course I know it’s dangerous, but… even if I don’t do this, am I guaranteed to make it back alive? Rather than just wait to die, I’d rather take a gamble. Maybe there’s still a chance! Even if, in the end… my wife and kid can live out the rest of their lives in peace. It’s worth it!”

He spoke those last two words with resounding force.

Just from the way he referred to his family, combined with his dark, weathered face, Sierra Sullivan knew he must have been a simple farmer before the apocalypse.

Everything he was doing was to give his wife and child a stable life.

If it weren’t for the apocalypse, he would probably be living a peaceful life with his wife and child.

He might not have been rich or famous, had any special abilities, or been admired by anyone, but it would have been far better than this.

But now, not only could he not live a stable life, he was even prepared to sacrifice his own soul just to give his wife and child a better one.

Sierra Sullivan could persuade Hector Grant not to do something, but faced with this dark-skinned man, she couldn’t say a word.

She had never seen herself as some kind of savior.

‘Even if I stop this man now, what then?’

‘Can I support his family?’

‘Of course not!’

Sierra Sullivan remained silent, but Hector Grant couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry to decide. There might be another way—”

“Captain Grant!” The dark-skinned man cut Hector Grant off. “This wasn’t an impulsive decision. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about this for a few days now. I’ve only just finally made up my mind.”

The dark-skinned man gave a smile, but it was a complicated one.

“Even though I became one of these… Superpower Users, I still feel like a normal person. I still get scared. Seeing what happened to those others, I was afraid I’d end up like them, too. That’s why I’ve been hesitating these past few days.”

“But compared to my own life, my wife and kid are more important. If I can’t protect them, there’s no point in me living anyway. Captain Grant, I know you mean well, but I’ve already made my decision. You don’t have to try and talk me out of it.”

As he finished, the dark-skinned man grinned again.

This time, his smile was completely open, as if he had truly put all thoughts of his own life and death aside.

Watching him, Hector Grant opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out.

He didn’t know what else he could possibly say.

Everyone has the right to decide their own fate. Since the man had made his choice, anything more he said would be useless.

With the dark-skinned man taking the lead, one by one, more people began to step out from the crowd.

The first person each of them looked at was Simon Hughes.

After getting a firm confirmation from him, they would turn to look at Hector Grant.

He didn’t need to hear what Eleanor Blackwood or the others had to say; just by looking into their eyes, brimming with expectation, Hector Grant understood what they wanted.

“Don’t worry.”

Hector Grant straightened his back, standing ramrod straight.

“As long as I’m alive, I will personally see to it. I absolutely will not let your… sacrifice be in vain.”

With Hector Grant’s promise, all of them broke into relieved smiles.

Dr. Hayes merely watched all of this in silence, his expression completely unmoved.

It was as if none of it had anything to do with him.

All he cared about was how many people would ultimately go inside with him, allowing him to further validate his experiment.

The metal door closed once again.

The sound of the door closing was faint, but to Sierra Sullivan’s ears, it felt incredibly heavy.

After they returned to their seats, Jayce sat down next to Sierra Sullivan. “Sierra, what did you see outside just now? You looked pretty pale.”

Hearing Jayce’s question, Sierra Sullivan remembered, and her expression grew solemn.

“I just saw Autumn Lynch.”

“Autumn Lynch?”

Jayce clearly hadn’t expected such an answer.

“But isn’t Autumn Lynch long dead?”

Stone-cold dead.

He and Sierra had checked her carefully at the time. There was no way she was faking her death.

“Exactly!” Sierra Sullivan’s brow furrowed tightly. “That’s why it’s so strange. Why would someone who’s already dead appear among a horde of zombies?”

Before Jayce could say anything, Sierra Sullivan slowly voiced her suspicion.

“Unless… she also became a zombie.”

The speculation seemed too bold, almost unbelievable.

But once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Jayce had actually harbored the same suspicion, but before he could voice it, he heard Sierra Sullivan speak.

“If she became a zombie and came here with the zombie horde, that wouldn’t be too strange,” Jayce said softly.

Sierra Sullivan shook her head. “I don’t think it’s that simple. We’ve seen plenty of zombies since the apocalypse began. Regardless of their power level, a zombie is a zombie. There’s a fundamental difference between them and humans, something you can see at a glance. But the Autumn Lynch I saw just now… while she looked like a zombie, she moved like a person. It was like she noticed me looking at her, and she quickly ducked into the horde and disappeared.”

“You mean…” Jayce hesitated. “Even though she turned into a zombie, she still has her human mind?”

Sierra Sullivan let out a long sigh. “I hate to admit it, but that’s what I think. If my guess is right, then this siege by the zombies and Aberrant Beasts is even less likely to be an accident.”