Bab 78: Zombie Empress (9)

(Lirean Province- Capitol City)

(Adna Supermarket)

"And women must pay with their bodies… don't worry… ladies… you will receive extra supplies based on your performances…"

The man's words echoed through the supermarket and sent a chill down the spines of the girls present.

"You can't do that!" an elderly shopper yelled angrily.

"When the military and police come then you will be arrested! Everyone knows what you are trying to do!"

His brave words seemed to have inspired the other survivors in the supermarket and soon voices of complaint filled the building.

"Don't you know that's illegal? Plus, there are plenty of supplies for everyone!"

"You fucking animals… fuck off!"

"Nah… I refuse to give you thugs what you want…"

Expressions of hesitancy flashed across the faces of the four muscular men as they looked back at their boss hoping to know what to do know.

This was still the early days of the apocalypse so social order had not completely broken down yet.

Boss Deng scowled as he heard the voices of complaint and walked towards the center of the supermarket.

He gestured for his remaining followers to surround him and soon nine heavily tattooed men stood silently in the background.

"Do you think the police and military are coming to rescue us?" Boss Deng's cold voice cut through the cacophony of noise.

"Look outside… the world has gone to shit…. the WORLD HAS GONE TO SHIT!"

Boss Deng briefly lost control as he glanced outside the window, and he could not hide the tremor in his voice.

Behind all that bravado was fear.

Everyone in the supermarket could hear it but now there was not a single person who dared to say word.

Why?

Boss Deng's palms suddenly erupted in flames that raised the temperature in the building by a few degrees.

The gang leader looked down at his hands in amazement and slowly waved them back and forth as he wasn't sure what was happening.

The fire was an orangish-red colour and despite covering his palm… he felt no pain and his flesh was not burning up.

"Boss… what… the…" one of his men spoke in a flushed tone.

Boss Deng pointed his right hand at the elderly shopper who complained first, and a wave of fire erupted from his fingertips.

The pillar of flame slammed into the elderly man's body, and he began to scream as his clothes caught on fire.

Several items caught in the path of the flame were also lit ablaze and soon black smoke began to fill the supermarket.

"Fuck… someone get the fire extinguisher!" Boss Deng shouted in panic as he realised his mistake.

There was chaos and loud screams as the other survivors just witnessed what could only be described as an impossible sight.

Liu Yifei hurriedly grabbed Qin Wei's hand and led him towards the far corner of the supermarket in order to escape the flames.

"Come on! We need to move guys!" Liu Yifei yelled at her classmates. Gong Li followed her immediately and the others were not far behind.

What the hell?

How did that fire suddenly appear in his hand?

Liu Yifei glanced at the gang leader who was now desperately redirecting his men to save the supplies before they burned up.

The corpse of the elderly shopper lay motionless and blackened on the floor, but no one had any time to pay attention to it.

Why was this happening?

Liu Yifei kept moving even though she had no idea where she was leading her classmates.

Outside the store was a wasteland filled with bloodthirsty monsters but inside was a gang of thugs led by a man capable of burning people to a crisp.

There was no good option.

The tattered old pendant on Liu Yifei's neck glowed slightly and the golden letterings appeared to be a darker colour.

"Boss! Those brats are trying to run!" one of the men suddenly yelled.

Liu Yifei's heart sunk as the gang leader turned his attention to their group who were slowly moving away from the source of the chaos.

"Get them!" Boss Deng snarled in fury as he pointed at the high school kids.

His eyes briefly lit up as he noticed Liu Yifei's movie star-like looks and her beautiful physique.

Clearly, he was not the only one who noticed and three of the men who ran over unashamedly stared at her body.

One of the men roughly grabbed her by the arm and began to pull her towards their boss who was looking at her with a lustful glint in his eyes.

"Qin Wei… don't just stand there! Help me! We outnumber them! Help!" Liu Yifei struggled desperately and called out to her classmate who just stood there.

"Don't be a hero boy…" one of the men solemnly spoke.

Qin Wei nervously looked at Liu Yifei and wanted to step forward and say something but discovered that his feet were frozen in place.

Fear and terror filled his heart, and he could do nothing but watch as his crush was dragged forward towards the gang leader.

"You… can't…" the class monitor stepped forward but received a heavy punch to the side of his cheek.

He collapsed to the ground and the screams of the survivors only got louder.

Qin Wei felt his heart drop and his fingers started to tremble.

Liu Yifei was still being dragged away but after witnessing what had just happened to the class monitor, the fear in his heart had only increased.

Qin Wei turned around and pretended not to hear Liu Yifei's cry for help.

He did not see the look of desperation and disappointment on her face as she stared at the boy who had courted her for weeks.

"My… my…aren't you a pretty little thing," Boss Deng whispered as he walked over to the struggling girl and brought his fiery palm up to her face.

"Now… why don't you undress for us, and I won't burn that pretty little face of yours…"

Liu Yifei could smell his foul breath and the man who was holding her by the arm began to laugh uncontrollably.

Hatred surged in her heart, but she could not fight against a group of men who outweighed and outnumbered her.

"What's with that look?" one of the men growled angrily.

He reached forward with his hands and placed them on the side of her uniform. Liu Yifei closed her eyes as she realised what was going to happen next.

The last thought on her mind was not Qin Wei's act of cowardice but rather the warm memory of her family spending an afternoon relaxing together on the beach.

BANG!

Liu Yifei felt a warm liquid splatter over her body, and she opened her eyes expecting to see the man who tried to touch her but…

He was now dead.

A hole was visible in his chest and blood slowly poured out. It was this crimson liquid that stained her uniform.

There was a brief moment of silence in the supermarket.

Two mysterious women stood by the entrance to the store, and one was holding a pistol that was still smoking.

She was not a particularly attractive lady, but she bore a faint resemblance to Qin Wei who was staring at her with an expression of disbelief.

Next to her was a beautiful woman with healthy wheat coloured skin who wore a jacket that was not her correct size.

Somehow, they had managed to push open the door despite the heavy items that the tattooed men had used to barricade it.

"Step away from the girl," Qin Lan slowly spoke. She pointed the gun at the thugs and felt the warm feeling in her chest rise up.

Her power was active…

Qin Lan ignored the feeling since it was something that she was accustomed to and besides… she had had no idea what her power was.

"Alright… take it easy…" Boss Deng attempted to defuse the situation as he nervously stared at the gun.

"I said… Step. Away. From. The. Girl," Qin Lan coldly spoke as she felt her ability suddenly intensify.

The remaining gang members froze in place for a moment as their pupils dilated.

Their bodies moved automatically almost like puppets as they followed Qin Lan's instructions and moved away from Liu Yifei.

No one seemed to notice their strange state since from the outside it appeared as though they followed her command because the firearm in Qin Lan's hand.