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By the poolside, everything was already set up—grill, charcoal, and all kinds of ingredients.
Thorough as ever.
"Master, why don't you and Sister Mafuyu go for a swim first?""I'll handle the food."
Hana spoke with quiet thoughtfulness.
When Julian and Mafuyu got back earlier, they were both covered in blood. A proper wash and a chance to relax were definitely in order.
After a quick shower, the two of them slipped into the pool.
Meanwhile, Hana stayed by the side, feeding them freshly grilled skewers—meat, eggplant, chicken wings, squid, scallops, abalone… one after another.
Under the water, Mafuyu was busy… practicing holding her breath.
At that moment, Julian's phone, sitting off to the side, suddenly rang.
Hana picked it up without hesitation and held it to Julian's ear.
"Hello? Uncle!"
"You—you—you… you've gotta come save me!"
Asuka's voice came through, hushed and nervous, like she was afraid of being overheard.
"Uncle?" Julian blinked.
Since when did he become an uncle…
"That's not important!""I'm on the fourth floor of the computer mall. Hurry up and get here."
"Save me, and I'll give you fifty gold bars!"
"Can't talk long. The zombies might hear me."
With that, Asuka hung up.
"The computer mall?"
"What's she doing there…"
Julian had no idea she'd already been there before.
"Master, are we heading out again?" Mafuyu surfaced and asked.
"Yeah. Our big sponsor is asking for help."
"Hana, grab me a clean set of clothes."
Julian gave the order.
Walking out in a bathrobe wasn't exactly appropriate.
Before long, Hana came running over with a neatly folded outfit in her arms.
"Master, this time I get to go out with you, right?" she asked while helping him get dressed.
"Alright, alright." Julian nodded helplessly.
She'd been so obedient—it felt wrong to refuse her.
Mafuyu walked to the bridge entrance and opened the iron gate for them.
Julian started the truck and drove off.
The zombies on the bridge noticed the vehicle and instinctively shuffled aside, clearing a path.
Looks like Hana's abilities had improved again.
About ten minutes later, they arrived at the computer mall.
Even before stepping inside, Julian could already feel a faint sense of danger.
The sound of the truck had drawn quite a few nearby zombies, but with Hana there, a clear zone formed around them.
Any zombie that got too close would pause mid-step, subtly controlled by her.
It wasn't that Julian feared them.
But at night, in such eerie silence, once a fight broke out, it would attract every zombie in the area. And when the numbers piled up, things got troublesome.
Switching on his flashlight, Julian stepped cautiously into the building.
On the first floor, only a few advertising lightboxes were still flickering, casting a strange, unsettling glow.
He scanned the area.
There were clear signs of battle.
Some blood was still sticky and fresh, while other patches had already dried.
Looks like several groups had passed through here.
Weird as hell. It's the apocalypse—what kind of lunatic comes to a computer mall…
…Ah, right.
His drone and graphics card had come from here—Kento had found them in this place.
And Kento had mentioned something strong appearing here before.
Probably mutated zombies.
"Hana, do you sense anything unusual?" Julian asked quietly.
"There are a few zombies in the corners, but they're weak. I've already made them stay put," Hana replied.
"Upstairs…""There's something strong upstairs."
She clutched the corner of Julian's clothes, sticking close behind him.
With Hana around, most encounters with ordinary zombies could be avoided entirely.
It made things much easier.
Step by step, they climbed the stairs to the second floor.
The air felt heavier here.
Not just the smell of blood—there was a faint chill lingering in the air.
The windows on the second floor were blocked by large billboards outside, so not even moonlight could get in. The entire floor was pitch black.
Suddenly, Hana turned her head toward a certain direction.
She had the distinct feeling that something in the darkness was watching her.
"She said she's on the fourth floor…"
"Hopefully she's still alive."
Muttering under his breath, Julian continued upward.
Hana glanced once more at the pitch-black second floor before quickly following him.
There was definitely something here.
On the third floor—
A large TV was still playing a game.
Around it lay piles of zombie corpses.
Some were cut clean in half, others missing limbs. None of them had died easily.
Julian understood immediately.
Asuka must've gotten stronger and come here to mess around, looking for games.
The one Kento mentioned—killing mutated zombies… that might've been her.
Still, did she think this place was her personal supermarket?
Coming here every couple of days like it was nothing.
Would it kill her to play less games?
Just then, a staggering zombie appeared in front of Julian.
It hesitated for a moment before opening its bloody jaws and lunging.
Julian didn't waste a second—he smashed its head in with a single punch.
"Master, that one was different from normal zombies," Hana said, sticking out her tongue a little, looking guilty."I couldn't control it."
She'd almost let him get hurt.
"It's fine. Just got my hands dirty.""It was close to mutating, that's all. Stronger than a regular zombie."
"But… what's with this place? Why do mutated zombies show up so easily here?"
Julian wiped his hands and continued upstairs.
"Master, next time we run into a mutated zombie, don't kill it right away," Hana said."I can communicate with them."
Julian nodded.
Understanding how zombies mutated could be valuable information.
Soon, they reached the fourth floor.
It was the home appliance section—air conditioners, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines everywhere.
Ironically, with so many TVs around, the floor was actually fairly well-lit.
According to Asuka, she was somewhere here.
What could've scared her this badly?
Julian scanned the area briefly but didn't spot anything unusual.
There were a few scattered zombies, but none seemed particularly strong.
After confirming it was relatively safe, he took out his phone and called Asuka.
A ringtone suddenly echoed—from inside a double-door refrigerator.
"Holy crap!""Why are you calling me?! You'll get me discovered!"
Asuka answered in a hurried whisper.
Julian smiled faintly as he walked over and pulled open the fridge door.
Inside, a terrified little girl was curled up, clutching an axe.
When she saw it was Julian, she finally let out a breath of relief.
"Uncle… you finally came…"
Her voice trembled, on the verge of tears.
Whatever she'd gone through, it had clearly shaken her badly.
"....."