The Perfect Path To Insanity-Chapter 32: We’re Not A Team

After Hel killed the newly infected player, the second female infected player bolted out of the hideout.

Ding!

[Number of Infected Kills: 1]

[Number of Infected Remaining: 3]

[Time Remaining: 46 hours 17 minutes.]

Helena froze, her body shaking so violently she could barely stand.

She looked down at the pile of ash on the floor that was once a man.

It was obvious Hel was a Ruin Path holder, but for her to disintegrate a whole man into nothing was shocking.

Ears stinging, her heart hammered against her ribs.

Voice trembling, she spoke, "Th‑that was a human. You—you... that was a human, Hel! We could have just captured him. We could have—!"

"—IT," Hel cut in sharply. "It’s a Zombie. Once infected, you’re dead. You’re not a saint, Neon. Be logical for once."

She spun to face the others. The silence around them felt fragile under her gaze. "Your human features are precious. And I know you don’t want to turn into mindless zombies. Hide or fight. I don’t care. But don’t cling to me and call yourselves Awakeners. Such fools."

Without waiting for a response, she left, Ae-rin and another girl following her steps.

Utterly devastated, Helena’s hands trembled at her sides. She opened her mouth, then closed it.

Somehow, the rest of the players agreed with Hel. One by one, they exited their little hideout, forming little teams by themselves.

"H-hey! Don’t leave yet! If we stick together, we—" Helena tried calling them back.

A tap on her shoulder made her flinch. "That’s enough redhead. No one’s listening to you." It was the blonde hair guy from earlier.

His lips curved into a lopsided grin. "You tried. Haha, even my plan failed. Look, since everyone’s formed a group now... we’ll join your team."

Helena sighed loudly. "I don’t even know you." She gestured to the girl holding him. "Or her."

"Ah. The name’s Heidi, and my girlfriend’s Kira," he said.

Kira waved a hand filled with tattoos. "Hi."

Helena’s gaze lingered between them. "Oh. Okay, I see. Welcome... I guess."

She was still reeling from Hel’s comments about her.

Shaking her head to regain posture, she sighed again. "Whatever, fuck it. I’m not doing this charade again. We’re following my orders, okay? Not yours."

Heidi raised a hand as a form of acceptance. "Alright, missy."

Just then, two girls appeared. They were wearing the same high school uniform as Hel.

Fei Ming’s hood shadowed his face. Although they couldn’t see him well, he recognized them.

Those two girls were no other than Eris and Nyx.

’So they’re here too,’ he thought.

Helena seemed to have caught something about them. The obvious custom designed school uniform they wore. "You girls are in the same faction as ours? Or are you related to Hel?" She asked.

Nyx now had cherry blonde hair packed up in a messy bun. Nodding, she moved closer to Eris. "Yes. B-but we’re from a different district. Please can we join your team? We don’t know anyone from here."

"Why? You know Hel."

Eris clicked her tongue and stepped forward. "You deadass know Hel. Why should we join her? Weren’t you two friends, huh? Yet she treats you like shit. She treats everyone like shit."

She glanced over at the cloaked figure standing beside Helena. "And what are you? Some type of chaperone?"

Dragging Eris back to position, Nyx gave a nervous smile. "We’re sorry. We just—"

"No, it’s fine. I understand. You can join," Helena cut in. "What’s your name?"

"My name is Nyx. And she’s Eris. Nice to meet you, Helena."

Helena gave a curtsy nod. "You too. Now let’s move. I have a plan."

They moved outside, hiding behind a burnt car as the broken street stretched before them.

Two zombies tore through buildings, throwing debris aside. They smashed walls, roaring at the red tainted sky.

The female zombie veered left, smashing through a shopfront window, while the other circled the same debris pile repeatedly, its head swinging side to side.

Helena pressed her back against the burnt car, voice low. "Okay. Here’s what we do. We draw one away from the other. Split them, take them down separately. We’re not killing them, we’ll only knock them out. If both turn on us at once—"

"We die," Heidi finished helpfully.

"—we struggle," Helena corrected, shooting him a look.

"Same thing."

Nyx had gone very quiet beside Eris. Her fingers pressed flat against the car’s scorched hood.

She tracked the circling zombie with a focused attention.

Something about the way she watched it made Fei Ming pause.

’She’s counting its rotation pattern,’ he realised.

’That’s a stupid thing to do.’

"The one on the left," Nyx muttered. Everyone turned to look at her, but she didn’t seem to notice. "The zombie keeps favoring his right side when he turns. His left leg drags slightly. If you hit him from the left flank the zombie won’t react in time. Take him from the left."

...

Helena blinked. "...How did you—"

"I watched it." Nyx finally looked up, registering their expressions. A faint pink crawled up her neck. "Sorry. I just— I noticed. I—um. It has something to do with my skill. I’m still getting the hang of it."

Eris stared at her for half a second then looked away. Turning to Helena, she whispered. "You better listen to her. She’s a Witness Path holder. Her ability is to—"

Nyx slapped a palm over Eris’ mouth. All her face turned red. "Haha. Please don’t mind her. But yes, I’m a Witness Path holder."

The whole team slowly nodded. Soon, they formed up a plan to take out the zombie.

***

Heidi stepped out first, hands raised high.

"Hey, losers!" he shouted.

The two zombies snapped their heads toward him. One growled low, saliva dripping from its teeth.

The other charged straight at him.

"Over here, you ugly bastards!" Heidi yelled. He backed up slowly, leading them away from the group.

The circling zombie followed the charging one now. Both focused on him.

Crouched behind the burnt car, Kira extended her fingers. Thin threads shot out from her palms, glinting under the red sky. The threads wrapped around the charging zombie’s ankles.

She yanked hard.

The zombie stumbled forward. Its face hit the ground. Dust kicked up as it pushed up on its arms, roaring. "GRRRR! F...FOOD!"

Heidi dodged the other zombie’s swipe.

Grabbing a loose brick from the debris pile, he hurled it at the fallen zombie’s left leg.

CRACK!

The zombie howled, clutching its knee. Blood seeped from the split skin.

"Helena! Now!" Heidi shouted.

Helena leaped from the top of the burnt car. She soared high. And a blue sword formed in her grip.

With all her might, she smashed the hilt down fast, aiming for the zombie’s skull. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

BAM!

The zombie collapsed to the ground. But it wasn’t dead.

Heaving heavily, Helena turned her back, now facing the group. "Phew— we did it. Good job Heidi and Kira—"

"—Helena! Behind you!"

The zombie had risen back up.

With its mouth widely open, it was inches away from biting her head off.

Just then, a streak of light zipped past her.

The thin flash sliced through the zombie’s neck, cleanly separating the head from its neck.

The decapitated head fell, rolling and rolling till it stopped right behind Helena’s feet.

At last, the body slumped forward, finally hitting the ground.

Eyes widened, she stared at the decapitated corpse. "What the—"

Spinning around, she saw who the attacker was, who was just a few feet away from her.

Fei Ming stood there. His cloak hung loose around his shoulders. His polearm blade pulled back from the spot where the head fell, retracting back to his palms.

"You... you killed him!" Helena screamed. Her fists clenched. "We were going to knock him out! Can’t you be less psychotic for once? We’re a team!"

Fei Ming wiped his brow. He met her harsh gaze. ’How annoying can she get?’

"Your goals don’t match mine," he replied. "Why should I team up with you?"