Vampire Overlord's Harem In The Apocalypse-Chapter 38: Raiding Spree (III)

After securing the supplies in the back of the car, Simon slammed the door shut, his gaze already set on the road ahead.

The engine roared to life, and the tires screeched as the car sped off again. The city was a mess, and New York had been hit hard, even with the rumors from the Market that there were hardly any survivors left.

Still, Simon knew that the absence of humans didn’t equate to safety. No, if anything, it made the place more dangerous. With fewer people around, the population of zombies had swelled, and their numbers on the streets were becoming overwhelming.

Simon’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as he navigated through the maze of deserted streets.

He pushed the car to its maximum acceleration, the engine growling as he maneuvered past the horde of zombies that staggered aimlessly on the roads. They were slow, but there were so many of them now.

The car zipped past them, close enough for Simon to hear their groans, their stumbling, but just far enough to avoid any serious threat. He had no time for them.

Not when they were on a tight schedule. Especially not when there was always the threat of encountering a Mid-level Zombie. Those creatures were different. They had intelligence, strength, and agility that could easily topple the car, and Simon wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate them.

As they tore down the streets, Bethany glanced over at the backseat, where the supplies were stacked high.

"The stuff we got from that shop was quite a lot," she said, her voice a little softer than usual, but still steady. "But we sadly didn’t get our hands on any clothing. Didn’t seem like that place had anything."

Simon’s lips thinned, his gaze still fixed on the road as he weaved between abandoned cars and scattered debris. "Yeah," he muttered, his eyes scanning the streets, assessing every corner, every possible location for danger. "They never do. Places like that never have what we really need. And we’re running out of time."

Bethany didn’t press the issue, but Simon could feel her frustration. She had been with him through this entire nightmare. She had seen the world fall apart just like he had.

The lack of proper clothing was just another reminder of how fragile their existence had become. But there were bigger problems now. They didn’t have the luxury of taking their time to search for something as trivial as clothing.

Not when the city was crawling with dangers far worse than a few rags.

Despite his calm demeanor, Simon’s thoughts raced. There were a few areas he knew by heart — places he had scouted out before the Apocalypse had even begun but New York had changed, even in the short span of a week.

He couldn’t trust anything anymore. The city felt like a living thing, shifting and growing as the days passed. He couldn’t remember every corner, every abandoned store.

The familiar places had become memories, lost in the sea of death and destruction that now reigned.

"Hang on," Simon muttered, his foot easing off the gas as he slowed the car down.

Bethany looked up at him, eyes sharp. "What is it?"

He didn’t answer immediately. His mind was working faster than his hands, trying to recall something, anything, that might be useful. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

He finally slowed to a stop, the car idling as he took a deep breath. They had reached a neighborhood he didn’t recognize completely, though something about it felt familiar.

He peered out the window at the abandoned boutique ahead. The sign was barely visible, the letters fading into obscurity, but he could make out enough to know it had once been a small clothing shop.

Simon’s hand gripped the door handle as he turned to look at Bethany. "Keep your guard up," he said, his voice low but firm.

Bethany gave a quick nod, her face hardening. She raised her firearm, the weight of it feeling natural in her hand. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign of movement. It was quiet. Too quiet. And that always made Simon uneasy.

He exited the car, his boots hitting the pavement with a dull thud. Bethany followed close behind, her movements sharp, her body poised for whatever might be waiting.

Every step they took was calculated, every sound analyzed. The world outside the car had become a land of predators — human and undead alike.

The entrance to the boutique was just ahead, its door hanging loosely on its hinges.

Simon approached it cautiously, every instinct on high alert. He pushed the door open with a slow, deliberate creak, his gun at the ready.

What he saw inside made his breath catch in his throat.

The boutique was almost pristine. The room was clean, almost unnervingly so. The floors weren’t dusty, the shelves weren’t toppled over. It was as if the apocalypse hadn’t touched this place at all.

There were neatly stacked piles of clothes, a display that had clearly been organized with care. The clothing was still vibrant, untouched by the wear and tear that had ravaged so many other places.

For a moment, Simon stood frozen in the doorway, his mind racing. This wasn’t right.

Everything about this place felt wrong.

Bethany stepped up beside him, her eyes scanning the interior. She took in the immaculate rows of shirts and pants, the mannequins still standing in the corner like forgotten statues.

"This place is too clean," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "It’s like it hasn’t been touched. Not even by the zombies."

Simon’s eyes narrowed. "Exactly. It doesn’t make sense. It’s as if... someone’s been keeping it like this on purpose."

A chill ran down his spine. The more he looked inside, the more he felt the weight of something sinister in the air. Whoever had been here recently was either incredibly lucky — or something else entirely.

He raised his gun slightly, stepping cautiously inside. "Stay alert. There’s something off about this place."

Bethany didn’t need any more words to know what Simon meant. They had survived this long by trusting their instincts, and right now, those instincts were screaming.

As they moved further into the boutique, their senses heightened, every shadow seemed to hide something waiting to spring out.

Every sound in the distance made them pause. Something wasn’t right. The question was — what?

And who — or what — had kept this place so perfectly intact?