After pacing frantically, Felix Foley suddenly grabbed Autumn Lynch by the neck. "You’re going to give me an explanation for this, right now!"

With his hand around her neck, Autumn Lynch could barely breathe.

She slapped desperately at his arm, trying to make him let go.

But Felix Foley, consumed by rage and terror, wasn’t about to let go.

In fact, his grip tightened.

Seeing Autumn Lynch on the verge of suffocation, Felix Foley’s sanity finally started to return, and he released his grip.

After her brush with death, Autumn Lynch’s strength completely abandoned her. The moment Felix Foley let go, she slid to the floor, clutching her throat and coughing uncontrollably.

It took her a long moment to recover.

Although she was furious, Autumn Lynch knew this was not the time to have a falling out with Felix Foley.

Autumn Lynch looked up at Felix Foley, her eyes welling with tears. "Felix, don’t listen to this brat’s nonsense! He’s doing it on purpose! He wants to stir up trouble between us before Sierra Sullivan and her people get here. His best-case scenario is that we get scared and let him go. Look at him! He’s gloating because he thinks his plan worked."

Felix Foley instinctively glanced at Nathan Thorne and, sure enough, saw the man trying to hide a smirk.

Felix Foley, "..."

Felix Foley froze for a moment, then his shock quickly turned to rage.

’I can’t believe I was played!’

’And in front of all these people!’

’How am I supposed to maintain my authority after this?!’

"You’re asking to die!"

Felix Foley roared and charged at Nathan Thorne.

Nathan Thorne was still smiling when he heard the roar and saw Felix Foley charging at him.

Nathan Thorne stared, dumbfounded, as Felix Foley appeared right in front of him.

"Wait!"

"I wasn’t... I wasn’t lying to you!"

"They’re really strong! You can’t beat them!"

"If you let me go, I can mediate! I’ll put in a good word for you!"

Felix Foley sneered. "After all this, you really think I’d still believe you?"

’He wasn’t a complete idiot. How could he possibly fall for Nathan Thorne’s words again?’

’Whether the kid was telling the truth or not, believing him again would mean letting him lead me around by the nose.’

’What would be left of my reputation as a leader?’

At this point, it didn’t matter if Nathan Thorne was telling the truth or not.

"You’re a Superpower User, right?" Felix Foley smiled. "I’ve never seen what a Superpower User looks like when they turn into a zombie. You seem like a decent guy, so how about you satisfy my curiosity? Let me see what happens to a Superpower User after they turn. Tell me, what will your Crystal Core be like once you’re a zombie? Will it be more powerful? How much will it boost my Superpower? Will I jump straight to a Fourth Level, or maybe even a Fifth Level Superpower User?"

’At first, he had just wanted to save face.’

But the more he spoke, the more the idea genuinely tempted him.

’Some lines, once crossed, can’t be uncrossed.’

’Since he’d already started down this path, there was no room for regret.’

’In that case, why not focus on how to become even more powerful?’

’If he was strong enough—stronger than anyone else—what was there left to fear?’

With this realization, a sense of ease washed over Felix Foley.

A chill ran down Nathan Thorne’s spine as he watched the smile spread across Felix Foley’s face.

’Has this guy lost his mind?’

’He was scared to death a minute ago, and now he’s going to turn me into a zombie?’

’He’s a complete maniac!’

Nathan Thorne looked at Felix Foley, wanting to say more, but the moment he opened his mouth, Felix stuffed a dirty rag into it.

Nathan Thorne, "..."

’All I want to know is why my Superpower isn’t working!’

’What did they do to block my Superpower?!’

’I can’t muster any strength at all!’

’Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so helpless.’

’Wait!’

’I also have a Healing Ability!’

’Whatever they used to block my powers, can’t I save myself?’

’I’d completely forgotten about it before.’

’Now that I’ve remembered, I have to at least try, whether it works or not.’

For the moment, Nathan Thorne’s mind was still sharp.

He knew he couldn’t let Felix Foley or Autumn Lynch realize what he was doing.

Though he couldn’t speak, Nathan Thorne continued to struggle desperately, a panicked expression fixed on his face.

All the while, he was secretly channeling his Healing Ability, slowly mending his body.

’The process was slow, but it was definitely working!’

Nathan Thorne was thrilled.

Nathan Thorne gave another struggle before feigning exhaustion and slowly closing his eyes.

Seeing this, Felix Foley scoffed. "Go ahead and struggle. It’s all pointless! It won’t do you any good!"

Nathan Thorne kept his eyes shut, breathing heavily but giving no response.

Felix Foley wasted no more time and immediately went to retrieve the zombie virus.

The so-called "zombie virus" was, in reality, just a piece of a zombie’s corpse.

Felix Foley took out a knife and slashed it viciously across Nathan Thorne’s arm.

He showed no mercy. The cut was deep enough to reveal bone, and blood instantly sprayed from the wound.

The pain was one thing, but the suddenness of the attack startled Nathan Thorne, and his eyes flew open.

’If his mouth weren’t gagged, he would have cursed the man out.’

’That bastard Felix Foley!’

’Couldn’t he have given some warning?!’

Felix Foley saw the look in Nathan Thorne’s eyes and burst out laughing. "Go on, glare all you want. You won’t have the chance once you turn into a zombie."

As he spoke, he began smearing zombie blood into Nathan Thorne’s wound.

It was the simplest, most brutal method, but admittedly, it was very effective.

Nathan Thorne wanted to dodge, but he still had no strength.

He managed a slight twitch, but it wasn’t enough to get away.

As he felt the zombie blood on his arm, despair washed over Nathan Thorne, and he slowly closed his eyes.

’If I’d known this would happen... I would’ve gone straight back to Dawnlight Base.’

’Even if I noticed something was off about this residential complex, I never would have come to investigate!’

’What did it have to do with me if someone else was being kept here like a farmed zombie?’

’This is what I get for being a busybody—a miserable death!’

’Great. Not only did I fail to punish the villains, I got myself captured in the process!’

’And Sierra Sullivan and Jayce... I dragged them into this mess too!’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

’If it weren’t for my message, they never would have brought people here. They wouldn’t be besieged by zombies... I wonder how they’re doing now.’

’And my teammates... they still haven’t woken up. I don’t even know if they’re dead or alive.’

The more Nathan Thorne thought about it, the deeper his despair grew, and his eyes started to well up with tears.

Just as a tear was about to slide from the corner of his eye, he heard Sierra Sullivan’s voice.

"Nathan Thorne, are you crying?"