Natalie Russell
Tenth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
"April, these people are very bad. Last time we encountered them, we saw them capture a lone mother and child, and they… eat people. They ate…" Paige Cooper said it, but didn't finish the sentence.
But Natalie still understood these people did. Although Paige Cooper's account was only one-sided, Natalie still chose to believe her.
Because the stares the people in the opposite group were giving her were enough to disgust her, and were enough for her to realize that they weren't good people.
People with such gazes definitely couldn't be good.
At this moment, the leader of the group opposite them urged. "Hey. Mason Cooper, what's your decision? Give us a straight answer."
Hearing this, everyone looked at Natalie, waiting for her decision. From the questions Natalie asked them, everyone vaguely felt that this ability user might want to take action against the opposite group.
And that was indeed the case. Natalie didn't waste words. She just chose to act. She bypassed Mason Cooper and stood directly at the forefront of the group, facing the other group.
The few people on the other side seemed a bit confused by the situation.
The next moment, flames suddenly appeared around Natalie's feet. And these flames acted very strangely. They quickly spread to both sides, soon forming a circle of fire that surrounded all those people.
"An ability user!"
The few people on the other side instantly panicked. They probably never expected that there would be an Ability User among Mason Cooper's group. Moreover, the opponent's control over fire was too miraculous. She could draw a circle on the ground, trapping them perfectly to prevent their escape.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop, let's talk this out." The leader quickly and anxiously said.
But Natalie ignored these people's words, and after encircling them, she immediately acted.
The reason she was so decisive was that Matthew often instilled a concept in her mind. People die from talking too much.
Matthew said this was especially true for the villains, but it was certainly true for other people, too.
In Matthew's words, dawdling with enemies was giving them time to prepare counterattacks, which could lead to problems or even a complete reversal.
So, once the decision to act was made, one should swiftly deal with the enemy with the might of thunder, giving them no chance to turn the tables.
Unless someone has another agenda, they shouldn't waste too much time on their enemies, listen to them, or toy with them. Otherwise, one day, they would find themselves in a situation they would surely regret.
Natalie felt that Matthew's words made a lot of sense, so she always kept them in mind.
She flicked her index finger, and a small flame, like a bullet, directly pierced the forehead of the leader across from her.
She had practiced this move for a long time, and she had already reached the level where she never missed her target.
The leader's face still held an expression of disbelief, but his body softly collapsed.
Instant death.
Natalie chose to kill with one blow, fearing that these people might launch a desperate counter-attack before dying and ruin the food. It would be bad if these people, upon realizing they couldn't escape, threw the food they had into the fire.
If it weren't for the food, she could have instantly killed everyone with one big move, without needing such trouble.
After that, Natalie continuously flicked her index finger, giving those people no chance to escape.
"Ah. Damn you…"
"Don't kill me, don't kill me."
"Damn it, let's fight her."
There were a total of seven people on the other side, and each of them had a gun. As Natalie shot them, some chose to try to flee, but more chose to fight back.
-Da, da, da…
The sound of an AK rang out.
But Natalie merely waved her hand, raising a wall of fire in front of her, easily blocking all the bullets. Thanks to Observation Haki, it was very easy for her to understand when the other side would fire and take precautions against it.
Seeing this, all those people despaired. And Mason Cooper and the others swallowed their saliva, awed by Natalie's power.
In less than twenty seconds, all the people on the other side were killed. Then Natalie waved her hand, and all the flames instantly disappeared.
The young woman's pretty face remained calm all the time, as if she had done something insignificant.
Seeing that Mason Cooper and the others were still motionless, Natalie reminded them, "Quickly grab the food. We need to leave here. The commotion just now will definitely attract zombies again."
Hearing this, everyone finally seemed to wake up from a dream, rushing forward to scavenge for food, not even missing the little food left in the store, and then retreating.
Ten minutes later, in a civilian house, everyone put all the food together. Looking at the pile of food like a small mountain in front of them, everyone's faces showed happy smiles.
As for the enemies who died earlier, no one cared about them at all. Since the disaster began, they had seen too many dead people and had long been numb. And those who weren't mentally strong enough wouldn't have survived until now.
At this moment, everyone, looking at the food, was actually already starving.
However, no one dared to step forward and touch it. Everyone looked at Natalie, waiting for her to make the first move.
Natalie also knew that if she didn't move, no one would dare to, so she said.
"According to our prior agreement, we'll split this food half and half. Let's start dividing it now."
Hearing this, the joy on everyone's faces grew even greater. They feared that Natalie would become hostile and refuse to honor the agreement after seeing the food.
If Natalie really did that, they would have no choice but to accept their fate.
Fortunately, Natalie didn't do that.
"Miss April, you deserve the most credit for getting this food. We wouldn't dare be greedy. Three-tenths is enough for us," Mason Cooper said proactively.
He intended to rely on Natalie later, which was why he said those words. Otherwise, facing such a scarce resource as food, no one would ever be willing to yield.
Natalie waved her hand and said, "We agreed on half and half, so it's half and half. I won't go back on my word."
Seeing that Natalie was serious, Mason Cooper felt relieved.
Next, they began to divide the food. Most of the food in the convenience store was packaged goods.
Mason Cooper specifically gave some better food, such as "dried meat" and "biscuits," to Natalie's side, and intentionally gave her side a bit more.
"It's divided. Are you satisfied, miss?" Mason Cooper said.
Natalie glanced at it. She wasn't blind, of course, and knew that her side had received better food.
However, she didn't say much, just nodded, and said, "This will do."
"Thank you." Mason Cooper said, then called his companions to eat something to fill their stomachs.
Everyone was already starving, so they didn't act shy. Each person picked some food and started eating on the spot.
But Natalie didn't eat anything. She wasn't hungry yet. Picking up a packet of biscuits, Natalie looked at the expiration date and production date, frowning slightly.
"This food has expired a long time ago…"
Hearing this, Mason Cooper was a bit surprised, then smiled and explained, "Most of the food here isn't meant to spoil quickly. In peaceful times, many of these foods were labeled with expiration dates that were shorter than their actual expiration dates. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for manufacturers to plan and increase their profits."
"For example, this packet of biscuits, although the marked shelf life is only 12 months, in reality, it might not go bad even after twelve years. Back in peacetime, those unscrupulous merchants would re-label expired food that didn't sell with new production and expiration dates and then put it back on shelves for sale."
"Come to think of it, we should thank those capitalist manufacturers for having something to eat now."
Natalie felt a bit speechless upon hearing this.
But there were some things Mason Cooper still didn't say. In the current environment, having something to eat was already good enough. Who would dare to be picky?
When they had no food, they had even eaten leaves and grass roots. Moreover, some deranged survivors would even eat people.
Some shelters, while appearing to be safe places, were in fact dens of evil. Those devils, under the guise of shelters, attracted survivors, and once people were lured in, they became their meat supply.
"April, aren't you hungry?"
Seeing that Natalie hadn't eaten anything, Paige Cooper couldn't help but ask.
Natalie shook her head and said, "I'm not hungry yet."
Hearing this, Paige Cooper became more curious about Natalie. After all, she had never seen a survivor who wasn't hungry. Even those terrifying wanderers, nomads, were often hungry.
"April, where are you planning to go next?" Paige Cooper asked curiously.
As soon as this question was asked, everyone else pricked up their ears, including Mason Cooper.
Natalie thought for a moment and said, "Do you know about Thunder God Shelter?"
"Thunder God Shelter?" Paige Cooper said in surprise, "I know about it. I heard it's a shelter jointly established by the scientists and the military after the disaster. Still, it's located in Sacramento, at least 2,500 kilometers from here… April, do you want to go to Thunder God Shelter?"
Hearing 2,500 kilometers, Natalie slightly furrowed her pretty brows. That was too far.
In the apocalypse, terrifying monsters roamed everywhere. Ordinary people couldn't possibly travel that far.
Even if she was a powerful supernatural, traveling that far was very risky for her. With extreme caution, there was still hope of reaching it, but Natalie didn't want to take this kind of risk.
Moreover, Matthew most likely would reach her before she could get there.
In that case, it would be more sensible to wait for Matthew rather than take unnecessary risks. If Matthew wanted to go to the Thunder God Shelter, going with him would be much faster and safer.
"Since it's so far, then I won't go," Natalie said. She didn't doubt Paige Cooper was lying.
Because Professor Isabel Grant had said that Thunder God Shelter was indeed in Sacramento, California.
Paige Cooper then said, "Since you can't go to Thunder God Shelter, then April, why don't we go to Shelter No. 33 together?"
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.209: To Stay or To Go?
Ch.210: Problem Knocking at the Door
Ch.211: He's Here, and You're About to Die