2026-10-22 04:58:09"There are zombies inside," the lady explained, her voice still shaky from the sudden outburst. "A lot of them. The entire place is a nest."
Owen turned his attention towards the store, examining the dark entrance with renewed interest. From where he stood, there was hardly anything unusual about the building, except for the overturned shelves and the broken glass scattered around the doorway.
"How many?" he inquired.
"At least fifty, probably more. I couldn't count all of them before I got out."
That explained the injury on her leg.
Zombie nests were among the most dangerous places anyone could encounter during the apocalypse. Unlike the infected wandering through the streets, those gathered in nests occupied buildings in large numbers, making it almost impossible for ordinary survivors to enter without attracting the entire group.
A nest containing fifty zombies would require a properly equipped squad of at least ten men to clear. And even then, there was no guarantee that everyone would come out alive.
For a lone scavenger, it was practically a death sentence.
However, Owen was totally unfazed by it.
"That shouldn't be a problem," he replied.
The lady paused, wondering whether she had heard him correctly.
"What?"
"I said it won't be a problem."
She stared at him for a few moments before suddenly bursting into laughter.
Owen raised an eyebrow, watching as she struggled to contain herself. The movement aggravated her injured leg, forcing her to lean against the wall, but that didn't seem enough to stop her amusement.
"Are you serious?" she finally asked. "Did you even hear what I just told you?"
Owen nodded. "Fifty zombies. I heard you."
"And you think that won't be a problem?"
"Exactly."
The lady shook her head, her gaze moving over his bloodstained clothes.
It was difficult to imagine anyone looking more miserable than the man standing before her. His clothes were torn in several places, his body was covered with wounds, and even his face carried the exhaustion of someone who had spent the past few days running for his life.
He looked like a scavenger who had barely escaped death, only to decide that he wanted another encounter with it.
And somehow, he was speaking about fifty zombies as though they were nothing more than an inconvenience.
"Listen, mister," she said, finally recovering from her laughter. "I don't know how desperate you are, but if this is your last hope of getting something to eat, you should reconsider."
Owen remained silent.
"My squad should be coming back soon. If you can wait without getting both of us killed, I could beg them to spare you a few scraps. They might even have some medicine for those injuries."
It wasn't an offer she particularly enjoyed making. Supplies had become difficult to obtain, and convincing her companions to share with a complete stranger would be another problem entirely.
But watching someone throw himself into a zombie nest over a few cans of food wasn't something she wanted on her conscience either.
Owen glanced at her.
"You don't have to do that."
"Then stop trying to enter the store."
"I didn't remember when I made you my boss.” Owen replied coldly.
The lady's smile disappeared.
For a moment, she wondered whether the injuries on his body had somehow affected his reasoning. There was no other explanation for why someone who could barely stand would insist on entering a building filled with infected creatures.
"Do you have a death wish?" she demanded.
"I'm not the one dying.”
"Then what makes you think you can survive in there?"
Owen looked towards the store once more.
His twenty infected followers were still waiting behind the surrounding buildings, and although he had yet to test the full extent of his ability, he had already seen enough to know that his situation was no longer the same as that of an ordinary survivor.
Owen released a quiet breath.
"I've awakened," he replied.
The lady froze.
For several seconds, she remained completely motionless, staring at him as though the words had struck something deep within her.
Then, slowly, all the color drained from her face.
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Chapter 10
Rebecca stared at Owen for a few moments, her fingers tightening around Jerry's arm. Beside her, Jerry slowly closed his mouth, his expression hardening as he looked over Owen's bloodstained clothes.Rebecca's lips pressed together, her eyes narrowing. She took a step towards the counter, but when she noticed the people watching them, she stopped and loosened her grip on Jerry."What are you doing here?" she asked, managing a small smile.Owen met her gaze without moving from the counter."Surprised, considering the fact that you left me to die?"His voice remained level, and the smile on Rebecca's face disappeared.Murmurs immediately spread through the hall. A woman near the entrance leaned towards her companion, her eyes moving from Owen to Rebecca."That's him, the man she dumped.""That man standing at the counter?""Who else could it be? Didn't you hear what he just said?"The man who had mocked Owen earlier leaned forward on his bench, studying him with renewed interest. A few
Chapter 9
“You want to register a haven?” The worker looked around the hall before returning to Owen, the frown growing deeper.The pen was still resting against the open register, but she made no attempt to write anything down.“That is what I said,” Owen replied.Behind him, someone nudged a companion with an elbow.The worker’s gaze travelled down his body once more, lingering on the bloodstains around his shoulder before moving towards his injured leg.“You look like you’re going to die any moment from now, and you’re talking about starting a haven?”Owen glanced at the register. “Are you going to write my name down?”“Do you even know the requirements?” she asked with a frown.“Aren’t you supposed to be the one to tell me that?”“Then perhaps you should have found out before making that bold announcement.” The worker pushed the register farther across the desk. “You need a squad of people who can clear the place and protect it afterwards. Where is yours?”Owen remained silent for a moment.
Chapter 8
Owen followed the road towards Haven 3, occasionally moving aside for the people hurrying past him with bags and cartons in their arms.The closer he got, the more crowded the street became. Small groups stood beside the buildings, arguing over supplies or searching through the things they had brought back from the city. A few people glanced at him as he passed, but most quickly returned to whatever they were doing.By the time he reached the registration building, his injured thigh had begun aching again. He slowed his steps, allowing a woman carrying a basket to pass before making his way through the entrance.Several rows of benches occupied the hall, with counters arranged along the opposite wall. People sat with bags between their feet, while others stood together, speaking loudly enough that Owen could barely hear the worker addressing someone at the far end.He glanced across the counters until he found the one marked for territory registration.Fortunately, there was nobody st
Chapter 7
Evelyn blinked. She had been preparing to explain why her guild would be interested in him, and for a moment she wondered whether she had misunderstood his words."What? Wait, I haven't even told you what I wanted."But Owen had already turned around. One of his zombies adjusted a carton that was slipping from its arms, and the others followed as he began walking away from the store."Owen!" Evelyn called, limping forward a step. "At least hear me out. I'm not trying to cause you trouble!"He didn't answer. She opened her mouth again, then stopped when pain shot through her leg.By the time she steadied herself against the wall, he was farther down the street, moving past an abandoned car without so much as a glance in her direction.Evelyn stared after him with a mixture of embarrassment and disbelief. A few moments earlier, she had been certain that the smile meant something. Now she was standing alone with a packet of medicine and an introduction she hadn't managed to finish.'What
Chapter 6
Evelyn rubbed her eyes repeatedly, hoping that the sight before her would disappear.However, even after the third attempt, the zombies were still fighting one another, while Owen stood in the middle of the store, looking completely unbothered by the chaos surrounding him.She had encountered several Awakened since the beginning of the apocalypse, but never had she witnessed one who could control the infected.The thought of what such an ability could accomplish made her heart race, and almost immediately, her earlier embarrassment was replaced by excitement.'I have to tell the others about him and get him on our team,' she thought.Their guild would certainly be interested in someone like Owen. With the growing number of infected around the city, finding an Awakened who could command the very creatures they were struggling to eliminate was an opportunity they couldn't afford to lose.Evelyn was already imagining how she would convince her squad leader to recruit him. The only proble
Chapter 5
Owen hadn't intended to reveal his awakening to anyone, much less a stranger he had only met a few minutes ago.But there was little chance they would ever see each other again. And if they did, and she happened to become a threat to him, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.The apocalypse wasn't exactly a place to keep unnecessary enemies.However, before he could take another step, the lady suddenly burst into laughter."You awakened?" She asked, her eyes moving over him. "Are you trying to make a joke out of me?"Owen simply stared at her."Do you even know what an Awakened is?" She continued, shaking her head. "The military would pay fortunes to have one in their ranks. Even private individuals are willing to spend everything they have just to employ one as a guard."Her laughter returned, this time with a slight cough that forced her to clutch her injured leg."And you're telling me one of those people is standing here looking like a scavenger who just crawled out of a zombie's mout
