Chapter 23: Shields and Shadows
As sixth-level power users, Alexa and the others were highly perceptive. They noticed the cat's approach but weren't fast enough to react before it scratched Ander. To their astonishment, however, a protective shield appeared around Ander's body, deflecting the cat's claw with no harm done to him.
"Watch out! That's a zombie cat!" Anllela warned.
Due to the zombie virus, the cat's skin was a dark gray with no fur, and its eyes were also pale gray.
Time Freeze!
Celine and Anllela acted simultaneously, freezing the zombie cat in place. Anllela then raised her knife and swiftly decapitated it.
"Are you okay?" Anllela asked, holding his arm to check.
Ander smiled, patting her hand. "I'm fine."
Among Ander's current superpowers, there are only two types of shields: space shield and ice shield, but the one that appeared just now is definitely not one of these two, which makes Alexa very puzzled.
"Ander, what was that shield just now?"
"It is a shield that appears autonomously in space."
"That's strange. In your previous life, your spatial power never manifested shields automatically. We're sure of it," Alexa replied.
"No matter how it was before, it's a good thing that it protects me automatically now, isn't it?"
"I suppose so." Alexa muttered, and as she was about to knock again, the car door opened.
"Julia, let me introduce everyone…" Alexa introduced each person, then turned to the others, saying, "From now on, Julia will stay with me. I'll be responsible for her care." She then whispered to Ander, "If you ever need a woman, you can look for her too."
Julia was beautiful, but this arrangement required Marina and the others' approval to avoid any issues.
Just then, three sedans and a van arrived and slowly stopped in front of Ander and the group.
Five people stepped out of the cars. Four men approached with unfriendly looks. One wore an earring and had a mischievous grin, another, a Black man with a tongue piercing, darted his eyes around, while a third Black man had a nose ring, and a white man had tattooed arms. Their gazes were filled with greed as they shamelessly ogled the women across from them. A woman with long, wavy hair and a rose tattoo on her chest smoked leisurely, eyeing them sideways.
In a mocking tone, the men jeered, their voices low and teasing.
"Well, well, look at these lovely ladies. Today's our lucky day," the man with the nose ring sneered at Marina. "How about keeping us company?"
The man with the tongue piercing recognized Alexa and Celine, his eyes flashing with excitement. "Hey! Isn't that Alexa and Celine? Celebrities! How about coming with us to have some fun?"
Mei stepped back, trembling, her face filled with terror, which only fueled the men's arrogance. They exchanged glances, clearly enjoying the scene.
At this moment, Ander stepped forward, his tone calm but with a warning edge, "Let's all stay calm and not cause trouble here."
The men burst out laughing. One clapped his friend's shoulder. "Look at this guy, so scared! Relax, buddy, nothing bad will happen."
Another man sneered, "What are you afraid of? Think you're a hero?"
Ander remained calm, continuing, "Don't start trouble; none of us want any issues."
The tattooed man, growing impatient, spat and suddenly pulled out a black gun, aiming it at Ander.
At that instant, Celine walked towards him slowly, moving gracefully and with composure. Suddenly, time seemed to freeze. The four men's actions stopped, expressions frozen in surprise.
Celine calmly took the gun from his hand, checked the magazine, smiled in satisfaction, and stored the gun in her spatial storage, making it disappear. Time resumed, and the men saw the gun missing, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Did you… did you see that? The gun…" the earringed man stammered, terror in his eyes.
Ander stepped forward again, speaking calmly, "This isn't something you can handle. Leave now."
One of the men, clearly unwilling to yield, pulled out another gun. But just as before, Celine calmly walked over, taking the gun with ease and pointing it at them, her gaze cold.
Ander gently pressed her hand down. "Let it go. They'll understand on their own."
The five men, realizing something was amiss, muttered a few words and left in a hurry.
After they left, Alexa whispered to Ander, "Ander, I know you don't like killing, but remember that if you let people like this go, they'll just go on to harm other women. By sparing them, you're indirectly harming others."
Ander fell silent, seemingly contemplating whether his choice had been right.
Everyone appreciated Ander's kindness and didn't criticize the incident, letting it pass.
Hatala asked Celine, "About that giant zombie we saw earlier, do you know anything about it?"
"Humans evolve, and so do zombies. That giant zombie was a strength-type zombie—tall and strong but slow. There are also speed-type zombies, which have normal bodies but move quickly. When you encounter them, be extra careful."
Celine continued, "In the future, zombies will mutate further. There'll be all sorts of strange zombies—some that spit acid, some that merge together, and some that consume humans with stomachs full of teeth. Regardless of how they mutate, cutting off their heads will always take them down."
"Thank you for your advice. I will ask you for more advice in the future."
Everyone was about the same age, and Hatala's politeness made Celine feel uncomfortable. After all, they weren't dealing with fans now.
Celine repeatedly waved her hand, a bit flustered as she said, "Don't say anything about asking for advice, I've just been through it. If you want to know something, feel free to ask me."
"What does Celine mean by 'been through it'?" Tamara whispered to Ander. Ander then explained their group's resurrection, which left Tamara, Abigaile, and Julia very surprised.
"No wonder Alexa told me to stock up on food and water," Julia finally understood. She regretted not listening to Alexa, as all the hard-earned money she had saved over the past few years was now useless.
Tamara walked over to Ander, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Ander, could you take me home? I'm really worried about my father."
Without hesitation, Ander replied, "Of course, I can. I have a friend living in Chinatown, and I was planning to drop some food off for him anyway."
Ander had taken Tamara home several times, so he knew her place was in Chinatown.
Alexa and the others didn't stop Ander, knowing that Tamara would eventually become his woman.
Ander turned to Julia and asked, "Do I need to take you home?"
Since Ander knew Abigaile's home was in the Czech Republic, he didn't ask her.
Julia felt a little uneasy. She forced a weak smile and said, "It's probably very hard for me to go back now, since my home is in Poland."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Julia shook her head, not saying anything further.
Although it was quite a distance to Julia's home, Ander and the others' powers were so strong that they had a smooth journey there.
"Paul, Paul, come quickly!" Kitagawa Miku called from the window to Paul in the room.
Paul walked to the window and looked down. He saw a young man leading the fight, his whole body glowing with electricity. Every time he swung his hand to release a bolt of lightning, a zombie would fall. Paul recognized this young man as an employee of his daughter's company, someone named Ander Davis.
The several girls with him were equally impressive, their movements sharp. As wind blades flickered, zombies' heads were swiftly severed, with some being decapitated and others' bodies instantly turning into tiny glowing dots and vanishing. Oddly, some zombies even had their heads fall off for no apparent reason, as if severed by an invisible force. These hundreds of zombies, which had once terrorized the survivors, were wiped out by just a few of them in less than twenty minutes.
In an instant, the whole community erupted in cheers, with joyous and excited shouts echoing in the air.
Paul watched the whole process from the window and made a decision in his heart. He wasn't stupid. although the zombies in the community had been eliminated, more would come from the outside. Once Ander's team left, they would be trapped again. So, he decided to leave with this group.
After Ander and the others went upstairs, Paul immediately opened the door for them. He smiled and extended his hand to Ander, "I remember your name is Ander Davis, right? Young man, you're amazing!"
Ander shook his hand and said, "Mr. Silva, hello. I've brought some food and clean water for you. Where would you like me to put them?"
"No, no, no, we'll go with you."
"Daddy, you're leaving this house?" Tamara said in surprise.
"Of course. Before the power went out, I checked online. This is a global disaster. Zombies are everywhere now. If Ander and the others leave, what will happen if we get surrounded by zombies again?"
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