Chapitre 39: Chapter 39

'What the fuck' were the only three words flying wildly through PQ's mind.

First battering ram zombies, now a tsunami of revolting critters.

Running frantically because his life literally depended on it, Charlie, who shared the same thoughts, couldn't help but cuss out the young man who probably triggered this event. "Fuck you man! Who the fuck even are you!"

"Ay fuck you too!" The young man puffed out, retaliating in indignation. He wore a military uniform and had a buzz cut, indicating his occupation.

The skin on their faces undulated from the intensity of their running motion.

"There's no way you're arguing back! You're the one who brought upon this catastrophe!"

"Oh-oh! I'm the one who caused this?! Me?! I can't believe a nobody is blaming me!" The young man squealed back in disbelief, offended by Charlie's accusations.

"Oi shut up! Read the damn magnitude of the situation!"

Raphael's fierce reprimand from up ahead barely inflicted a dent in the duo's argument.

But no matter how chaotic their bickering progressed, their voices could never rival the unbridled noises of the rats and cockroaches.

The ceaseless chitter of rubbing mouthparts and scurrying insect legs reverberated in the hollow railway tunnel, ricocheting off the walls and amplifying the discord of their hungry pursuit.

Startled by the unsettling, ever-increasing hissing, the young man gained a burst of speed as he raced ahead of Charlie, closing in on PQ and the rest, who were already sprinting for their lives down the path.

As an ordinary pizza man, Charlie's speed was not even close to competing.

Seeing that he had become the last man lagging behind, Charlie wailed as a last-ditch effort. "Chloe! Leash!" Like summoning a mythical beast, his golden retriever leading the way slowed down, matching Charlie's pace. Feeling her owner's grip on the red leash still tied to her, Chloe emulated a reindeer as she galloped at full throttle, dragging Charlie forward.

"Good girl, Chloe! If we get outta here, I'll take you to the biggest treat shop in Sap-East city!"

Charlie's encouragement created more distance between him and the enraged swarm of subway dwellers as Chloe distributed the burden of Charlie's incompetence by increasing her speed.

Frankly, without his golden retriever's assistance, Charlie wouldn't have had enough persistence to run at this constant velocity. It sounded absurd, but perhaps only pet owners would acknowledge the magical attributes of beloved pets.

"Huh? Aren't you that soldier from back then?"

Hoisting Mary up in his arms, PQ's movements were slightly impeded, which allowed the young soldier behind to catch up.

The buzz cut and his familiar figure reminded him of the random soldier who performed an act of heroism.

"Weren't you the soldier who dealt the first powerful attack?" PQ said.

"You actually recognized me!" The young soldier exclaimed, waving his fist in the air while in sprinting motion. "I can't believe I caught up to the legend!"

"The legend?" Perplexed, PQ knitted his brows.

"Yeah! The legend who eliminated the Category Two!"

"Oh… The legend…"

PQ savoured the glamorous taste of his title as a conceited smile formed across his face. So the creature he killed was a Category Two?

However, his cocky smile quickly faded when he felt a cold pair of hands patting his cheeks.

"Speaking of Category Two, did you retrieve its soul fragments?" Mary commented nonchalantly.

Hearing this foreign term for the first time in his life, PQ stuttered. "Soul… soul fragment? You mean… you mean the green emeralds located in a zombie's head?"

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about your condition." Sighing, Mary continued. "Soul fragments are like vessels containing the culmination of energy within mutated bodies of zombies."

"That's exactly like one of the fiction novels I've read before!" PQ replied in an astonished tone. "However…" He paused. "Though this may be a slightly dumb question, where exactly is the gemstone, or in your words, soul fragments in a Category Two?"

Several risky encounters with zombies have made him aware of the existence of soul fragments. While ordinary zombies do not bear soul fragments, Category One and Category Two creatures were well under his radar.

However, other than the emerald obtained from Chloe, the zombified Australian Shepherd, he has yet to dissect either one of the two mutations he had come across. Frequent progression of events has been constantly pushing him forward, and although infuriating, was at least heading back on track.

With the help of Mary, a young yet knowledgeable individual who has reincarnated like him, his growth and journey would finally develop how he desired.

Was his good fortune finally kicking in?

"That's actually a tough question. If I remembered correctly, it's located around a Category Two's stomach region instead of the skull. Not discovering it was well within expectation for first-timers." Mary grinned while twirling her braids, which were fluttering due to the PQ's speed.

"I wish I had more useful memories." Filtering through the relatively new segments of information in his brain, PQ mumbled in dissatisfaction. Happy memories of his peaceful life on Earth were wonderful, but sadly, they were just the past and weren't beneficial for his survival.

"Concentrate on running PQ, the end of this tunnel is near." Mary reminded PQ of the task at hand.

The waning echoes responding to their rapid footsteps signified the existence of a larger area of space, preferably a station near the city centre.

"Yeah, my bad," PQ replied gingerly, enabling his focus on his footsteps and breathing while averting his gaze to the young soldier. "Uh, dude. What's your—"

"Kansan! 24 years old! And my superpower is that I'm kinda fast, I guess?" The young soldier blurted out his introduction in one go.

"Okay Kansan, welcome to the team."

"Cool! Do I get to receive any sorta perks?"

"As you can see, our team is kinda struggling, so we're not about to discuss that right now."

"Cool! Any tasks for me?"

"How about you scout ahead with your speed powers?"

"Cool! Good call Legend!" Running at superhuman velocity, Kansan instantly passed by Raphael and Teresa.

A subway platform emerged at the end of PQ's beam of light as the echoes of their conversations and footsteps finally diminished.

"Go! Go! Go! I'll hoist up guys up."

Curtesy of his military upbringing, Kansan instinctively knelt down on one knee beside the platform and positioned his arm.

One by one, Raphael, Teresa, and even Charlie ascended the platform by using Kansan's muscular arms as a stepping board. Placing Mary atop the platform, PQ also followed suit and reached out his arms to lift Kansan.

As Kansan's shoes lost contact with the railway tracks, a savage rat collided with the concrete platform, desperately baring its teeth in an attempt to devour its target who had narrowly escaped.

The group hastily retreated away from the subway platform, avoiding detection.

Losing sight of their target, the feral swarm of pests gathering under the tall, concrete platform soon dissipated.

"Are they gone?" Charlie peeked his head out first, silently screaming at the empty railway tracks, for he had been the one most miserable and closest to death during the entire journey.

"They are gone." Heaving a heavy sigh of relief, PQ muttered for assurance.

All that fighting and cardio within hours. This apocalypse was torturing him mentally and physically.

Closing his tired eyes, PQ felt the fatigue catching up to him. "Good work guys, we made it out alive once again. The only regret today was not finding the gemstone in that big, headless monster…" His short appraisal and reflection trailed off as he inched closer to dosing off.

"Oh, a gemstone? You mean this sparking blue diamond?" Shuffling his pockets, Kansan pulled out a ring-sized gemstone with intricate patterns carving out its delicate surface.

"Wait a damn minute." PQ forced his eyes awake. "Yeah… that is exactly what I was referring to."

"Cool! I found it abandoned in the nasty guts of the Category Two monster." Kansan yawned, rubbing the flawless gemstone. "Our general informed us about the importance of these… soul shards or something like that."

"Hold on? Your general told you that!?" PQ's drowsiness vanished and he jerked himself back up, his idle brain cells activating.

"Yeah?" Kansan observed PQ's dumbstruck expression with a dubious wince. "I know. I know. It sounds really bizarre, but the only reason why I chased you was to share our reward!"

However, PQ wasn't in the mood to take in Kansan's genuine words. He could only focus on Kansan's previous statements about his general's remark on soul fragments.

"PQ, I've got something to tell you."

Murmuring, Mary nudged PQ gently. Her hands were clasped together, fidgeting discreetly as if she had made a difficult decision.

"In case you're interested in the General Kansan mentioned, I have some good news for you."

"Good news? What is it, Mary?"

"I can arrange a meeting for you with the General of Sap-East city's defences. You should follow me, he's just around the corner."