Seeing Claire Chapman’s face flush with shame, Paige Summers didn’t press the issue. The important thing now was to wake everyone else up.

Of course, Sean Raines was next.

’He has Clear Heart Talisman paper, so it should have been useful. He probably just got caught off guard, or he wouldn’t have fallen for it so easily.’

Paige Summers slapped him a few times, just as she had with the others. The force of the blows made even Claire Chapman’s face ache in sympathy.

’Okay, his face really did still hurt. It was already starting to swell.’

But it also served as a reminder.

’Getting taken out right after entering The Foundry... how humiliating!’

It was like having a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, instantly calming him to his core.

Sean Raines, who was always proud of his handsome face, finally woke up—just before Paige Summers could beat it into a swollen mess.

The man’s reaction was completely different from Claire Chapman’s. He stretched languidly, a contented look on his face. "What a nice dream!"

And Paige Summers wasn’t as rough with him as she had been with Claire Chapman. She just said coolly, "You should be able to wake the others, right? I’ll leave them to you." ’Since he tagged along, he might as well be of some use.’

Keenly feeling the difference in her treatment of them, Claire Chapman, who was in the middle of hauling up one of his own squad members, let out a sharp breath.

Paige Summers shot him a sideways glance. She didn’t say a word, but the meaning in her eyes was clear. ’Is he the same as you? He enjoys living a carefree life, and he can afford to. But you... you are the captain of Bloodfall!’

Claire Chapman’s expression sobered, and he lowered his gaze.

Paige Summers swallowed a sigh. ’As Bloodfall continues to grow, he’ll come to understand this more and more deeply. Whether he can handle that pressure, however, is not something I can interfere with.’

Leaving the squad members to Sean Raines and Claire Chapman, Paige Summers turned to check on Ben.

Ever since waking up, Ben had been seething with anger, pacing restlessly. After a moment, his gaze fell upon a large tree at the end of the path. Paige Summers knew his sense of smell was exceptionally sharp, so she followed him without hesitation. Only then did she discover that there was indeed something wrong with the strange, unidentifiable tree.

It wasn’t an ordinary tree. It was a mutated plant!

Paige Summers connected the dots and realization dawned.

’It seems this tree was the reason they’d all fallen into an illusion!’

’Come to think of it, its mutation wasn’t even that lethal. Judging by how quickly Claire Chapman and Sean Raines woke up, the illusion wasn’t hard to break free from. But in this environment, it was a death sentence. If I hadn’t woken up in time, everyone might have died here without ever knowing what hit them!’

Ben seemed to despise the tree. Within moments, he used his Earth Element Power to unearth its entire root system and toss it aside.

Paige Summers didn’t know what kind of harm the tree’s power had inflicted on Ben, but it likely wasn’t physical—it was mental. ’He’s becoming more and more human...’ She silently patted his shoulder.

With Sean Raines on the job, most of the squad members regained consciousness. There were only two exceptions.

One had killed himself, and another had fallen into a deep shock from which he couldn’t be revived.

Including the squad member who had died earlier, the team had now lost three people. Even though they were all May Joyce’s subordinates, Claire Chapman still felt a knot of anger in his stomach. After all, these were human lives.

But this was the reality of hunting outside the walls. He allowed himself only a moment of frustration before pushing it aside, secretly reminding himself to be more vigilant.

The group had just escaped the dream state and hadn’t fully recovered when other Zombies, stirring restlessly, began to close in. The area had previously been dominated by the dangerous tree and a mutated Zombie, so the others hadn’t dared to provoke them. But now that both of their auras had vanished, it was their turn to take the stage.

After spending some time dealing with these Zombies, Claire Chapman ordered the team to press forward.

After that incident, certain people didn’t dare to try anything funny for the time being.

The mutated Zombie’s corpse still lay where it had fallen, sending a chill down the spine of everyone who saw it. ’To be able to kill a monster like that single-handedly... that Vice-Captain Sterling is terrifying! Trying to pull something right under her nose is just asking to die. Better to wait for another chance!’

Inside The Foundry, the death of the mutated Zombie didn’t frighten the other Zombies into retreating. Perhaps they lacked the intelligence, or perhaps they were completely dominated by their insatiable hunger... In any case, the road ahead was destined to grow ever more difficult.

From early morning to high noon, the sun began to beat down mercilessly on the earth. Claire Chapman and his team had already been fighting nonstop under the siege of Zombies for over four hours.

Ever since they’d emerged from that strange path, the Zombies had come at them in wave after relentless wave, as if on cue. They were finally seeing just how many Zombies were in this foundry—they were packed in tighter than flies in a country latrine!

Granted, the few High-level Zombies that appeared were all handled by Paige Summers and Ben, and the other low-level Zombies weren’t too difficult to deal with. Coupled with Claire Chapman’s competent command, the team didn’t suffer any major casualties.

But God, were they tired!

More than four hours!

Their bodies were already exhausted from using their superpowers and the constant hacking and slashing, but the intense mental strain doubled that fatigue. If not for their will to live, many of them would have already collapsed.

At this point, the members of Bloodfall couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of gratitude toward Zephyr Mercer.

’If not for his hellish training regimen, we’d probably be moving in slow motion right now, just like the others!’

Thanks to them holding the line, the group managed to hold out until they reached the next rest stop.

Paige Summers and Ben had already cleared out a small, relatively intact factory building ahead of time. Once they were inside and the doors were shut, Claire Chapman, who had been bringing up the rear, turned around to find bodies collapsed all over the floor.

With the constant sound of Zombies pounding on the doors, the team hastily ate some food and rested for a short while before preparing to fight again.

This leg of the journey was an arduous struggle that lasted for more than five hours.

The sun was gradually setting. At night, the Zombies would become even more active. They had to find a place secure enough to resist the onslaught and get some proper rest. These squad members absolutely didn’t have the stamina for round-the-clock fighting.

As Paige Summers thought this, her eyes fell on a small, two-story building up ahead and to the side.

It wasn’t marked on the map.

It looked like some kind of research institute or office building, and it was surprisingly sturdy. After so many years, the metal gate was rusted, but it still stood firm. The windows were all sealed with metal bars... judging by their condition, it must have been a post-apocalypse modification. ’In any case, this is the best shelter I can see. It’s much better than the factory we had originally planned for.’

’However, there are probably a lot of Zombies inside.’

Paige Summers let out a breath. After signaling to Claire Chapman, she charged forward with Ben. ’We have to scout it out first. If it’s a no-go, we’ll figure something else out!’

The other squad members coordinated to cut off the pursuing Zombies, allowing Paige and Ben to reach the small building’s entrance smoothly.