The Last Evolution

Chapter 5 — The First Hunt: Splitting Supplies and Old Guests

Derek's threat and Chloe's sneering laugh cut off the second Max twisted the radio's power knob.

"He has gasoline upstairs!" Mia whispered in panic while tugging at the edge of Max's sleeve. "What if that lunatic really sets this hallway on fire?!"

"Use your head for a second," Max replied flatly as he brushed her fingers off his arm. "If Derek wants what's inside this warehouse, burning down the first floor means roasting his own loot."

A coward like Derek is only barking over the radio because he's too scared to face the zombies in the hall, Max thought coldly. Better to clean out that warehouse before he circles around from outside.

Mia blinked as she realized the bluff for what it was. "S-so we're still going into the back warehouse right now?"

"Obviously. Unlock the door without making a sound," Max ordered as he stepped out of the storage room. "Drop the keys because your hands are shaking, and I'm leaving you behind."

Mia gulped, led the way to the steel door at the end of the corridor, and turned the key while holding her breath.

As the door swung open, the coppery stench of blood greeted them from behind rows of supply racks towering twelve feet high.

Three zombies in supermarket vests stood swaying with their backs to the door between stacks of cardboard boxes.

"There are three in the front aisle," Mia whispered breathlessly and ducked behind Max's back. "Don't let them shriek and call the others!"

"Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut," Max murmured.

Without making a single footstep sound, Max darted forward toward the first zombie. His iron pipe came down on the back of the monster's skull with lethal precision.

Thud!

The stiff body crumpled before it could even groan. As the two zombies beside it began to turn, Max had already lunged forward to close the gap.

His left hand clamped around one monster's throat to choke off its growl while his iron pipe caved in the second zombie's temple, then whipped around to crush the last one's skull.

Crack!

In less than ten seconds, all three undead lay motionless on the concrete floor.

Mia clamped both hands over her mouth and stared at Max's back with wide eyes.

Insane... he took out three zombies without making a sound?! Mia thought in shock. Yesterday, Derek wasted three bullets and screamed his head off just to kill one!

"Stop daydreaming. Keep moving toward the office," Max said as he stepped over the bodies.

Mia hurried after him. Just as she squeezed through a narrow gap, however, her shoe stepped on a splintered wooden pallet with a soft creak—triggering a pair of rotting hands to lunge out from a blind spot beneath the rack.

Grrrhhh!

"Kyaaa—!" Mia let out a muffled shriek as a bloated zombie lunged straight at her from less than two feet away.

Her legs froze on the spot. Yet before those rotting teeth could reach her neck, Max's hand grabbed the back of her collar and yanked her backward with one sharp pull.

The next second, Max planted himself in front of Mia and brought his iron pipe straight down on the crown of the fat zombie's head.

Wham!

The monster's skull caved in, and its heavy body slammed face-first onto the floor right at Mia's shoes.

"Haa... haa..." Mia sank onto a wooden pallet with a hand pressed against her racing chest.

"Watch the space under the racks next time, not just the floor in front of your nose," Max said coldly as he wiped black blood off his pipe.

Mia swallowed hard. The way Max had hauled her back with one hand and cracked a monster's skull like a walnut was way beyond normal human strength.

"Wait a second... your strength and reflexes just now weren't normal at all," Mia whispered, trembling as her gaze drifted to Max's tightly buttoned left sleeve. "You... don't tell me you were bitten and infected by that virus?!"

Max's hand stopped mid-motion. He turned around slowly and fixed Mia with a gaze so sharp and icy that her breath caught in her throat.

"Do you think an infected person would have just saved your neck?" Max asked in a low voice. "I train my body every day. Accuse me of being infected one more time, and I'll throw you to the horde out front myself."

"N-no! I was just surprised because you're so strong!" Mia backpedaled, her face pale. "I won't ask any more stupid questions, I swear!"

Max let out a short snort and pushed open the door to the warehouse office at the end of the aisle.

Inside stood stacks of emergency food cartons, a staff medicine cabinet, and a small iron safe beneath the desk.

Without bothering to look for a combination, Max wedged the tip of his iron pipe into the gap of the safe door and pried it back until the hinges snapped.

Not bad. Four stacks of cash, a few small gold bars, and three boxes of radio batteries, Max tallied with satisfaction as he tucked the contents of the safe into the inner pocket of his military pack.

He swept dozens of cans of food, water, chocolate bars, and medicine into his large backpack until it was full.

Next, he packed a small bag with two light first-aid kits and a bottle of water, then tossed it along with a thick jacket into Mia's lap.

"Put that jacket on and carry this small bag," Max ordered curtly.

Mia caught the jacket and the light bag with a frown. "Wait... almost all the food and the stuff from the safe went into your pack! Wasn't I the one who gave you the key to this warehouse?!"

"Your key wouldn't have done you any good if those four zombies had chewed your head off," Max replied while tightening the straps on his heavy pack. "I take the risks up front, so I decide how we split the loot."

He cast a flat glance at Mia's thin blouse, torn at the shoulder.

"If you haul a dozen cans of food while shaking like a leaf, you'll slow down and get in my way," Max added sharply. "Hurry up and put the jacket on before you freeze to death."

Mia paused and looked down at the thick jacket in her hands. For all his harsh words, he was deliberately carrying the heaviest load himself so she could travel light.

"A-all right. Thanks for the jacket," Mia murmured softly, her cheeks warming as she slipped it on.

Max ignored her and walked out of the office toward the emergency exit at the far end of the warehouse, which led to the rear parking lot.

Right in front of the iron-barred exit door, however, he stopped short. Through the bars, he could see a heavy iron chain padlocked from the outside, along with fresh bloodstains and two spent bullet casings on the asphalt.

"The door's chained from the outside?!" Mia gasped and turned pale. "Because we switched off the radio earlier, did they come down the outside stairs from the second floor to cut us off here?!"

Bang! Bang!

Someone pounded hard on the warehouse door from the outside. Through the gaps in the iron bars, Chloe's eyes bulged in shock at the sight of Max—who should have starved to death days ago—standing there alive with a full pack of supplies and another woman beside him.

"M-Max?! How have you not starved to death yet?!" Chloe shrieked as her face drained of color, right before Derek jammed the barrel of his pistol through the bars.

"So this loser isn't dead yet? Hand over everything you've got right now, or I'll put a bullet through your skulls!"