5:52 PM.
Team 5 returned to Haven Town.
They were at Northwest of the town in front of Tony's Car Shop and just got out of their vehicles.
Twitch was there waiting.
He approached Nathan.
"Good evening, sir. I'm so glad to see you alive and well. I knew –"
"Have these two treated immediately," Nathan indicated Cassandra and her child. "Make sure they're treated with priority."
"Yes, sir."
While Nathan was giving instructions, two people, a man and a woman, came forward to talk to Nathan and his team.
"Good evening. We're part of the logistics team. We're in charge of doing a headcount on each Scavenger Team and also check the items your team brought. Please proceed to the tent over there to have our medical staff check your bodies after we're done with the headcount," said the man.
Everyone listened except for Nathan and Twitch.
"One more thing, kid. Have him be part of my team no later today and give him proper accommodations." Nathan indicated Germaine.
When Twitch saw Germaine, his whole world slowed down and a romantic song started playing inside his head.
'You are my destiny~'
"You got that? Kid. Hey, kid. Hey."
Nathan lightly slapped his cheeks.
Pah.
"Are you okay?"
Twitch returned to reality.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I mean, yes, sir."
"..." Nathan remained silent for a moment before continuing, "I've already taken the potions as part of my share of the loots and there are still some remaining. You can have them."
Twitch's eyes shined.
"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"
Nathan decided to leave.
He wanted to see Ashleigh and ask her a few things.
"So only 4 people survived and you saved 3 survivors… Okay. Please proceed to the tent over there for the medical check-up," said the man from the logistics team.
The woman from the logistics team noticed Nathan leaving.
She quickly called out, "Excuse me, sir. There's still –"
Hearing his companion, the man from the logistics team looked at his companion and saw Nathan leaving.
"Take care of this," said the man to his companion and ran towards Nathan.
There was one incident in the past where one of the members of the Scavenger Teams returned to Haven Town without notifying that he was infected with the zombie virus. It caused quite the chaos, killing a number of people in the town.
Ever since then, anyone who went outside and enters Haven Town is required to do a medical check-up.
"Excuse me, sir. Sir. Sir, please wait!"
The man grabbed Nathan by the shoulder.
"Sir, you still have to go to that tent over there for a medical check-up."
Having someone grab his shoulder, Nathan stopped and turned his head.
He gazed over at the hand holding his shoulder and then to the man's face.
The members of Team 5 saw it and they chose not to say anything and remained passive.
Not long ago, they've witnessed and experienced for themselves their captain's personality. There was no way in hell they were going to interfere.
However, they secretly wished inside their hearts that Nathan will suffer.
Nathan frowned and an annoyed expression formed on his face.
Seeing Nathan's expression, the man quickly pulled his hand away.
He was about to explain himself, "This –"
But it was already too late…
Nathan grabbed him by the neck. He raised him up in the air and squeezed.
"Who the fuck gave you permission to touch me?"
The man's legs were flailing and his hands grabbed unto Nathan's hand as struggled for air.
"M…er…cy…"
No one in the area said a word or moved, including the nearby guards and personnel. Throughout the day, the story about Nathan – starting with his fight with Team 8 at the bridge up to the incident at Hunter's Hall – spread across town.
As for Cassandra and Germaine, they didn't do anything.
In the case of Germaine, he was prevented by Twitch. He quickly explained to him how things worked around here and also about Nathan's background.
Although there were rules set in Haven Town by Rose herself, people from the Scavenger Teams, especially a captain, holds a higher status within the town. Offending them will only lead to plenty of troubles, including assassination. It was rare for a member of the Scavenger Teams, especially the captains, to be heavily punished unless that member caused too many mistakes.
But in Nathan's case, who was a Chosen One and was also personally recruited by Rose even after everything he has done, there were only a few people here in this town who would dare cross him. And unfortunately for the man, none of them were present at the moment.
"I hate it when a dog doesn't know their place. Let me teach a lesson you will never forget."
Nathan dropped the man to the ground and let him lay on his stomach.
"Please! I'm sorry! I was only doing my job!"
Nathan stepped on the man's back and grabbed one of his arms by the wrist.
"PLEASE! PLEASE NO! HELP MEEEEEEE!"
"STOP THAT!" said a female voice.
Everyone turned towards the direction where the voice came from.
It was Brezine.
She just got out from the tent for the medical check-up with her fellow teammates, Team 2, including Ashleigh.
Most of their members were women.
They just finished having their bodies checked inside the tent.
"Release that man or I will have you arrested for violating the rules!"
Hearing what Brezine said, a sense of hope blossomed inside the man's heart.
Brezine and Ashleigh were here. They were among the most influential people within Red Dust.
Many considered Team 2 a very special team, mainly thanks to two people.
First was Ashleigh who was the lieutenant of Team 2 and was also Chosen One with the power to heal, repair lost limbs and even cure zombie infection.
The second was Brezine who not only was the captain of Team 2 but is also one of Rose's close friends back from college. There were even rumors that she and Rose have been in a relationship since college.
As for the breakfast incident this morning, after Nathan left, Rose told Brezine and Ashleigh about her plans and the reason why she recruited Nathan – well, Rose told them a slightly different version.
And although Brezine and Ashleigh heard about last night, they were positioned in another area to specifically keep Ashleigh safe. Because of that, they have yet to witness or experience firsthand what it was really like to face Nathan.
Nathan looked at Brezine with a sneer on his face.
"Violating rules?"
He moved his feet to the back of the man's right shoulder and ruthlessly pulled out the arm by the wrist.
Craaaaack!
Riiiiiiip!
The sound of bones cracking and muscles being ripped apart echoed throughout the air.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Due to the intense pain, the man immediately lost consciousness in a matter of seconds and his body occasional twitched.
It was only a matter of time he dies.
Nathan dropped the arm and his backpack as well.
Thud.
He crossed his arms and held a nonchalant expression.
Some of the people around began to vomit due to the sight.
Meanwhile, some of the members of Team 2 immediately started shouting.
"How dare you!"
"You murderer!"
"You should be put to death for the crimes you've done!"
"This is why men can't be trusted! All they know is violence!"
"Guards! Arrest this pig for violating the rules!"
Unfortunately, no one outside of Team 2 moved. Some were in fear, while others were curious as to how this will play out.
Brezine trembled with rage, including most of her fellow members.
In their minds, Nathan didn't have any right to act like this in front of them, especially towards Brezine and Ashleigh.
"Ever since I've been here, all I hear is: Do this, do that, go here, go there. Do you people take me for a dog?" Nathan said.
"In Rose's place, I will teach you some manners!" Brezine said as she tried to pull out her weapon but was stopped by Ashleigh.
"Brezine, don't!" Ashleigh said and then turned to Nathan. "You too, Nathan, stop it! You'll only get hurt!"
"Teach me? Come, I want to see you try."
Nathan's eyes shined in amusement and a wide grin spread across his cheeks.
"Ashleigh, let go!" Brezine said to Ashleigh and then turned to the other members, "Take her away from here."
Two members of Team 2 grabbed Ashleigh away.
"Lieutenant, please come with us."
"Wait! Let go of me!"
When Brezine pulled out her weapon and turned Nathan, he was already gone.
Bam!
She was punched in the face by Nathan, causing him to lose his invisibility, and she flew a few feet away before landing on the ground.
Thud!
Her nose was broken and it was bleeding.
Nathan immediately disappeared.
Meanwhile, the rest of the members of Team 2 shouted.
"Captain!"
"Brezine!"
Brezine quickly got up to fight.
Nathan quickly charged towards the rest of the members and beat them up into a bloody pulp.
The air was filled with the sound of anguish and cracking bones.
Bam!
Crack!
"Aaaaahhhhhhh!"
Crack!
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
The only person he spared was Ashleigh. He had some business with her after all.
***
Nathan was slowly walking towards Brezine who was lying on the ground.
Her beautiful face disfigured and bloody, her right arm and legs were dislocated.
She was barely alive.
As for the people present that were not part of Team 2, they just stood there. They didn't want to get involved.
Ashleigh, on the other hand, was on the side watching in horror. She wanted to help, but she was frozen in fear.
When Nathan reached Brezine, he stood right next to her.
"What happened? Are you tired? I thought you were going to teach me a lesson?"
With a smile on his face, he stepped on her left hand.
He could see her eyes glaring at him, full of hatred, but she didn't cry out in pain.
This fight made Brezine realize how powerless her team was against Nathan. No wonder Rose wanted to team up with him and how Derek couldn't kill him.
Putting aside the fact that his disappearing skill has no mana cost and cooldown, without any proper preparation, once he disappears, you're left with a sense of dread wondering whether he will attack you or not. It was mentally exhausting.
"And as I recall this morning, you also said that you can take me on by yourself, right?"
"Go...on! I dare you... to kill me!"
Although she was now aware that her team wasn't a match against Nathan without any proper preparation and had to learn it the hard way, she knew that he won't kill her because she held a special position within Red Dust, thanks to her friendship with Rose.
If Nathan kills her now, she was confident that Rose would avenge her.
At the moment, she was waiting for back up to arrive, specifically from the other Scavenger Teams.
Nathan ruthlessly stomped on her left elbow.
Crack!
"AHHHH!!!" Brezine screamed in pain.
Nathan then stepped on her bloodied and disfigured face to shut her up.
He was also aware that he can't kill her. Based on the setup earlier in breakfast, he concluded that she held a very close relationship with Rose.
However...
"Since I can't kill you, I'm going to play with you more in the meantime~"
"It's Team 1!" One of the people who witnessed the entire drama said.
"Make way!"
"I'm curious about how is this going to play out!"
"Shhh… Quiet, you dumbass!"
It was indeed Team 1 and they were heavily armed.
They were also accompanied by a group of medics carrying stretchers.
The person leading them was the 6'7" black guy from this morning, Tyrone.
Tyrone's eyes swept over the scene.
He saw the twisted arms and legs of members of Team 2 lying on the ground and groaning in pain.
He saw Ashleigh standing in a corner. Fear was written all over her face but she seemed to be unharmed, physically at least.
However, what really struck him the most was the sight of Brezine's bloodied and bruised face under Nathan boot and her broken arms and legs.
"Heh~ It's you, Darkness. Looking for a second round?"
"You pathetic bitch! You dare call yourself a man?!"
"Oh please… Save me from your sexist views. Equal rights... and lefts. Isn't that what this country stands for?"
"Tyrone, remember the orders," said a man behind him.
Nathan recognized the man. It was the man who Rose was talking to last night before he rode the limousine.
"So what is it going to be, Darkness?" Nathan taunted as he started moving the sole of his boot around Brezine's face.
"You're really asking for it, you pathetic bitch!"
Tyrone was about to charge, but three men behind him grabbed stopped him.
"Tyrone, calm down!"
Amused, Nathan increased the pressure against Brezine's face.
"Uggghhhh…" Brezine groaned in pain.
"Wait! Wait! We've already heard about what happened here! You were merely acting in self-defense!" said the man that Nathan recognized from last night.
On the other hand, Tyrone and the others were looking at Nathan with killing intent.
In their mind, that was a woman. What kind of man does something like that?
It was even more hurtful for Tyrone because Brezine had the same skin color as him.
Witnessing the scene, aside from being a serial killer with an explosive childish temper, everyone in the area started to think that Nathan was also a full-blown misogynist.
In their eyes, Nathan was the scum of scums. A worthless human that's better off dead.
"Really now?" Nathan said.
"Yes, sir. It was confirmed by multiple witnesses and the Boss approved it. We're here to take these people away and interrogate them."
"Rose said that?" Nathan said. 'That bitch is quite patient, huh... Well, I didn't kill anyone here so I guess it makes sense.'
He forgot about the man that he ripped an arm off.
"Yes, sir."
Nathan studied the man's expression for a moment.
"If you say so."
He removed his boot against Brezine's face and turned towards Ashleigh.
With a very warm and loving smile, he asked, "My dearest sister-in-law, would you like to have dinner with me back at my place?"
*********************************************
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