Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 14 Bullet Holes and Missing Trucks

There was something off about the truck dealership. Not many spiders and centipedes, actually, maybe a dozen bodies scattered on the ground - far too few given how things usually go.

But that’s exactly what made Magnus uneasy. Killing a few of those things wasn’t hard. Problem was, if average folks had done it, the corpses would’ve been in pieces. These though? Completely intact, just lying there whole - too clean. That wasn’t right.

Only two things could cause wounds that precise: either a nail gun, or actual firearms.

After making sure the area in front of the store was clear, Magnus had the squad stay alert while he crouched down and checked the bodies more closely. The second he looked, his gut clenched.

Not just bullets... These were automatic rifle rounds.

In Sinovar, gun control was tight. Even black market groups barely scraped together modified handguns. Real pistols were rare enough. But automatic rifles? Not even regular police had access to those. Only the military or the Armed Police.

Could the Emberleaf Legion already be in the city?

No way. If it was the Emberleaf Legion, they’d be here with at least two divisions - over twenty thousand troops. You’d hear it coming miles away. No way it could’ve slipped by him.

More likely a recon squad. Or Armed Police.

Either way, they had to move fast. The longer they waited, the more things could go wrong.

There was a courtyard behind the dealership. Magnus led the team through it - and found more bodies. Dozens of spiders and centipedes shot down, all precise automatic fire. His frown deepened.

"What the hell’s going on? And - why are all the trucks gone?" he muttered.

He was out here with Luxe Hristov’s squad this time. She was an Awakened, used to be with the Ice Regiment.

Luxe had checked the warehouse doors - every one open, every one empty. She looked confused, hadn’t sensed the danger yet.

Who did this?

Magnus couldn’t figure it out. He led the squad back to the sleeper bus. Luxe relayed the findings to Emily. After a moment’s silence, Emily’s brow furrowed and she stepped over to him.

"Magnus," she asked seriously, "are there others... like you?"

"Like me?"

Magnus looked at her, surprised. What was that supposed to mean? Someone else who’d come back too?

That couldn’t be. The people who shot him back then - every one of them was here now.

Could someone really have crossed over like he did?

No... Didn’t make sense.

He had this gut feeling the odd crystal he carried - football-sized - had something to do with it.

"Unlikely," he muttered, shaking his head. "Come on. Let’s check the next one."

Magnus drove less than twenty meters before spotting another truck dealership. He took a team and got off. The scene was exactly like the last place - dozens of spider and centipede corpses riddled with automatic rifle bullets. Same type of truck missing from the warehouse - box trucks gone, open-bed ones left behind.

They hit five or six more dealerships. By 2:30 a.m., still nothing worthwhile. Just two small five-ton fuel tankers. They siphoned a bit of fuel and drove back to Sophie’s freight yard.

Who the hell did all this?

Inside the sleeper bus, the lights were on. Everything was quiet. The women lay silently in their spots, each lost in her own thoughts. Some missed home, some were scared, some just sat there dazed - still unable to believe this wasn’t all just some bad dream they couldn’t wake up from.

Magnus sat in the driver’s seat, lit a cigarette. Emily leaned back against the windshield, slouched near the wheel, staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

Who exactly is he? Why does he know so much - like he saw this world falling apart before it even happened?

Isn’t he just a regular kid from Liana’s class? He’d had a fever. When he woke up, he hugged me like we were close... Could all this be something he saw while delirious?

Like in that movie Final Destination? Could that be it?

But how in the hell does he know so much about me - stuff not even Liana knows? Stuff I’ve never told anyone. If it all came from some dream, then what the hell kind of relationship did we have in there?

Overthinking? Yeah, that’s a woman’s reflex, especially when fear gets into the bones.

Right now, none of them - not even Emily or Liana - could say they weren’t scared. Every last one of them was.

The only reason they were still hanging on? Eighty percent of it was Magnus. He made them feel safe, anchored. The leftover twenty? Raw human survival instinct.

Now if they were all men, that ratio might be flipped. Men and women - two different beasts. Women need someone to lean on. And men? They want to be the one others lean on.

"Magnus! I hear a vehicle!" Emily suddenly stood, ears pricked. Sound came from behind the bus. Magnus motioned for silence. He grabbed a helmet, sprayed on some bug repellent, and slipped out alone.

What the...

It was the two teams of girls who had taken the tankers earlier, speeding back fast. Magnus didn’t trust it right away - ducked behind the headlights, ready for anything.

The tankers stopped beside the bus. Headlights blinked long-long-short. That was the signal. Only four girls climbed out - no one else.

Did they get lost?

He escorted them back aboard. Once the door shut, one of the girls yanked off her helmet, excitement written all over her face.

"Emily! Magnus! We just found something really strange..."