Chapter 244 Acquaintances from a Past Life
On a small path by a farmland, a few people were gathered, discussing something. Not far behind each of them were several survivors holding various weapons, eyeing each other warily.
"Wayne, did you also receive that warning from the group up ahead?" a thin man in his thirties asked. Smoking a cigarette, he looked at a man of the same height but three times as burly standing beside him.
The burly man, Wayne Bryant, replied with a troubled expression, "Yeah, I got it. It's not looking good."
The others collectively rolled their eyes in disdain. Wayne always said things were not looking good, no matter what he did. It was practically his catchphrase.
The thin man then looked at another man standing with his arms crossed, wearing glasses. "Logan, this is your turf. What's the deal with this Cloud Peak Manor? Don't tell me they threatened you too."
The bespectacled, scholarly-looking young man was Logan, the leader of the Tech City warband, a sworn enemy of the Hungry Tiger Knights warband, who had previously sent a threatening letter to William.
Adjusting his glasses, Logan looked at the thin man and said, "This isn't my turf. In this area, Arthur is the strongest."
The thin man, Gerald Griffin, had some connections to get cheap memory cards during peacetime and had known Logan, who did small business in Tech City, for a long time. Unexpectedly, they ran into each other again a few days ago in the apocalypse, each having gathered a considerable number of followers. In terms of strength, they were somewhat evenly matched. Logan had more people, but fewer Evolving persons, less than forty, while Gerald had fewer people but more Evolving persons.
After Logan finished speaking, he turned his gaze to the only woman among the four leaders and asked, "Miss, what do you think?"
The three men looked at the woman in a tight black leather outfit, their throats moving involuntarily as she had an amazing figure!
But the birthmark on her face was somewhat distracting, occupying almost the center of her face, making her otherwise beautiful appearance quite unsightly.
"Boring," the woman said, her voice pleasant, which made the presence of the birthmark even more regrettable.
"Sasha, what do you mean by that? Tell me," Gerald, the thin man, said with a disgusting smile on his face.
"We've been following this zombie horde for some time now. You know how much benefit you've gained. Now someone wants you to just hand it over. You gonna do that? Why even bother with this little meeting? It's pointless," Sasha stated flatly.
Hearing her words, the men looked a bit embarrassed. It wasn't really about being boring; they all had their own agendas. Although Cloud Peak Manor wasn't well-known, it was still a force. They definitely had Evolving persons and some firearms. If they decided to abandon their base and fight, it wasn't impossible.
If a fight broke out, who got attacked first made a big difference. The first to be attacked would suffer the most, and the other three forces would be more than happy about it.
"I reckon Cloud Peak Manor is just bluffing. My suggestion is to ignore them. When they come back tomorrow, we'll gather together, show them we mean business. They won't risk it. They're barely holding on as it is. They wouldn't dare," Gerald said arrogantly.
"I'm with Gerald," Logan agreed, then nudged Wayne. "What do you think?"
"I don't think so," Wayne said, still looking worried.
Logan was so angry his mouth twisted. The idiot couldn't even recognize that the vote was already in? Sasha would have to fall in line. And if they did join forces, Sasha, being the weakest, stood to gain the least. They might even use the opportunity to absorb her group entirely.
"I'm not interested. You guys discuss it yourselves. I'll do my own thing," Sasha said. Then she turned and walked away, ignoring the three men, who watched her swaying back with dry mouths.
When William saw Sasha, he couldn't quite describe his emotions.
He hadn't expected to run into a woman he had a past relationship with in his previous life here.
Of course, in the apocalypse, love was a luxury few could afford.
Back then, William was a four-star Evolving person, and so was Sasha. William had just gained some fame in the warband, while Sasha was facing a crisis of having her force swallowed up. William was high-spirited, while Sasha was gloomy. They met in an underground bar. Under the influence of alcohol, they fell in love with each other, which was something that happened countless times every day.
Except for a few people, in the apocalypse where one might die at any time, the concept of gender separation was almost a legend.
Later, William realized that Sasha was not a simple person. His warband badge played a significant role in her choosing him over many other men.
William's warband, although not the top force in Accraville City, was still a dominant one. Sasha, apart from being attracted to William's youthful looks, was also a bit opportunistic. Although she didn't know his exact status in the warband, in a situation where her own force could collapse at any moment, satisfying her desires while taking a chance was a no-brainer.
Although the birthmark on Sasha's face was ugly, it had faded significantly after evolving. They maintained a long-term relationship, and naturally, William had contributed to her force, but with little effect. In the apocalypse, without the drive of benefits, no one would pay attention to him. William had also tried to persuade Sasha to join his warband, but she refused stubbornly.
Later, when William returned from a month-long mission, he heard that Sasha had fought fiercely with an enemy and lost miserably. Her followers were either dead or scattered, and she had to seek refuge with a powerful leader in Accraville City to survive.
They met a few times afterward, but Sasha always acted coldly, as if they were strangers. William only felt down for a short while before recovering. Such things were common in the apocalypse, and situations where there were no strings attached were considered good.
A year later, he learned that Sasha had killed her enemy with the help of that leader. When she tried to kill the leader, she was discovered and resolutely rushed into the Land of Death, never to be seen again.
Everyone knew she was dead; no survivor had ever come out of that place alive.
Only then did William start to reassess Sasha, realizing that she retained too many thoughts and habits from peacetime, which led to her tragic end.
To William's surprise, Sasha, one of the few he had felt regret and affection for in his previous life, suddenly appeared in his sight.
Seeing William put down the binoculars, Jack, who was itching for a fight, asked eagerly, "Mr. Wright, should we fight?"
Jack was now a warmonger, always thinking of fighting and killing as the first solution to any problem.
But his mindset was understandable; it was the most mainstream way of handling things in the apocalypse.
"Fight? All you think about is fighting. If we lose people, how will we deal with the zombie horde?" Michelle scolded, coming over and feeling a bit tense seeing William's expression. She knocked on Jack's head while observing William's face.
"Fight!" William suddenly ordered.
Michelle was stunned, while Jack beamed with joy.
"But we need a strategy," William said, smiling and pointing at Logan. "Do you recognize him?"
"Logan, the leader of the Tech City warband," Jack said.
Yves had photos of key figures from various forces, some taken secretly with a phone, others sketched. Logan was one of them, so Jack naturally recognized him.
"If we have to fight, target him. The losses will be minimal, and someone else will bear the brunt. After the fight, we can warn the other forces. Isn't that great?" William analyzed, tapping the binoculars in his hand and turning to Michelle. "I have a task for you. Do it well, and there will be a reward."
Logan took off his blood-stained clothes, and a beautiful young woman immediately came over to wipe his body with a hot towel.
This woman was once the wife of the largest computer company owner in Tech City, the dream woman of every poor man in the city. Now, she was Logan's exclusive possession.
Logan groped her, eliciting a coquettish response, while he began to calculate today's gains.
He got nearly two hundred Magic Crystals, roughly equivalent to two bottles of one-star Evolution Elixir. Following these zombie hordes indeed had many benefits. But by tomorrow noon, the horde would reach Cloud Peak Manor. Scouts reported that they seemed to be preparing to block them from the foot of the mountain.
Logan sneered, thinking those fools were overestimating themselves. Could they really stop the horde? Fleeing early was the smart move.
He also noted that no one from Cloud Peak Manor had come to warn them again today, cursing them as useless. He decided to extort them after this incident.
The woman served him well, and Logan was about to make a move when he heard chaos outside the camp.
Hastily putting on his pants, Logan rushed out to see several motorcycles roaring into the camp from the dark, each carrying a passenger who began shooting at his subordinates. In an instant, over twenty people were down.
"Darryl, you're dead!" Logan shouted, drawing a 3-foot-long gray short spear with a fine iron chain from his waist.
"Last time you almost killed me. This time, I'll show you what I spent a fortune on!" Logan roared angrily, charging towards the camp entrance. However, after a few steps, he noticed a shadowy figure emerging from the side.
Turning his head, he saw a half-human, half-ghost face, startling him. He immediately stopped and aimed his weapon at the ugly woman about 80 feet away, ready to throw it in the next second to kill her.
But his vision suddenly blurred, and Gemma instantly closed the 80-foot distance, appearing right in front of him!
Logan's mouth opened reflexively, and in the reflection of his pupils, a hand rapidly enlarged.
