A huge thank you to Charles_Butrim, Phyl_Stone, Toby_Morris_3701, Squirtlee, Astraea_Livingston, Robert_Curran, Carlos_Tagle, Don_RaDjinn, DeathsGrace, mizorekitten, thortheoverlord, Lady_Lilly, Deepdragon, David_Lewis_4670, gundam, and Diablos for the Golden Tickets! Your support truly means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue writing and improving the story.

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Meanwhile, several kilometers away from Vikram’s territory, Scott and the other members of Frost Shelter were running through the forest in a panic.

Only after putting a considerable distance between themselves and the Treehouse did they finally dare to stop.

Everyone was breathing heavily.

The scene they had just witnessed had completely shattered their confidence.

A scar-faced survivor looked back toward the direction of Vikram’s territory and swallowed nervously.

"Brother Scott... that guy’s shelter is insane."

"Did you see those Defense Turrets?"

"That entire zombie horde was wiped out in just a few minutes."

"How are we supposed to deal with someone like that?"

The others nodded in agreement.

They had originally believed that attracting a zombie horde would eventually break through Vikram’s defenses.

Who could have imagined that the zombies would be slaughtered before even touching the wall?

Scott’s expression was extremely ugly.

He had never expected the mission to turn out this way.

The homemade explosives he had brought along suddenly seemed ridiculous compared to those terrifying Defense Turrets.

"Shut up."

Scott coldly glanced at the man.

"Those turrets can’t fire forever."

"There must be some kind of limit."

"And don’t forget, if we fail this mission, Boss Snape won’t let us off either."

Hearing Snape’s name, everyone immediately fell silent.

The fear in their eyes deepened.

Compared to the danger outside, Snape’s punishment was often even more terrifying.

Scott leaned against a tree and took out a piece of dry bread.

As he chewed, his expression became increasingly gloomy.

"Damn it."

"Those idiots I sent before were completely useless."

"A simple mission, yet not only did they fail, they even got themselves killed."

"If they had succeeded, I wouldn’t be stuck dealing with this mess personally."

The scar-faced survivor cautiously lowered his voice.

"Brother Scott, let’s keep our voices down."

"There are still zombies wandering around nearby."

"It wouldn’t be good if we attracted another horde."

Unfortunately, those words only made Scott even angrier.

His mission had failed.

The zombie horde had been annihilated.

And now even one of his subordinates was reminding him what to do.

Scott immediately turned around.

His eyes were filled with irritation and disdain.

"Do I need you to tell me that?"

"If you’re so smart, why am I the high-ranking officer and not you?"

He practically roared those words, at the same time, his hands didn’t stop moving.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Several heavy slaps landed directly on the subordinate’s face.

The force behind them was so great that within seconds, blood began to seep from the corner of the survivor’s mouth.

"What? Do you disagree? If you disagree, come down and fight me!" Scott glared at him coldly.

The survivor’s eyes were filled with anger, but he didn’t dare speak.

He could only grit his teeth and cover his swollen cheek.

The other survivors hiding in nearby trees immediately turned their heads away.

No one dared to look directly at Scott.

They were afraid that attracting his attention would bring them the same bad luck.

Seeing everyone’s reaction, Scott nodded in satisfaction.

His chest unconsciously puffed out a little more.

"Hmph. You wastelanders always forget a beating after you’ve had a few good days."

"If you’re weak, then stay obedient. Don’t think just because you have a brain, you can challenge me."

"Otherwise..."

Before Scott could finish speaking, a cruel smile appeared on his face.

Taking advantage of the injured survivor’s lack of vigilance, he suddenly raised his leg and kicked him in the back.

He didn’t hold back in the slightest. In fact, he used almost his full strength.

Bang!

Everyone only heard a muffled sound. The survivor was instantly kicked out of the tree. His body tumbled through the air before crashing heavily toward the ground.

Boom!

The impact echoed through the silent forest. The surrounding survivors instinctively looked down.

What they saw made their scalps tingle.

The survivor had landed completely unprepared. His limbs twisted into unnatural angles.

Several bones had clearly fractured upon impact. His entire body convulsed violently.

Yet despite his condition, he wasn’t dead.

At least, not yet. Unfortunately, the commotion had already attracted attention.

Several wandering zombies nearby immediately turned toward the sound.

Within moments, they surrounded the fallen survivor.

The zombies didn’t even notice the survivors hiding in the trees above.

Their attention was completely focused on the injured man lying on the ground.

The survivor’s face instantly turned pale. His eyes filled with terror.

"Help... Help me..."

He desperately raised the only arm he could still move. He looked toward his former companions.

Toward Scott. Toward everyone hiding above. Begging for someone to save him. But nobody moved Nobody dared move.

The next second, a zombie grabbed his outstretched arm.

Then it lowered its head and bit down viciously.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

A miserable scream echoed throughout the forest. The survivors in the trees instinctively clenched their fists.

Some couldn’t even bear to keep watching.

Yet Scott merely leaned against the tree trunk and watched everything unfold. His expression remained completely indifferent.

Within a few minutes, the other party fell silent, leaving only a face full of resentment looking up at the people in the tree.

"Damn it, how unlucky. Even in death, he’s not peaceful."

Looking at the unseeing, yet still being gnawed, corpse below, Scott cursed under his breath.

He had caused such a commotion earlier just to vent his anger, but now with zombies right at their feet, he certainly dared not speak loudly.

He could only give the corpse below the tree the middle finger, then casually leaned back against the tree trunk.

Apparently, killing a subordinate like this had no impact on him whatsoever.

However, things turned out differently than he expected.

What he didn’t know was that the previous commotion had already attracted a more powerful creature.

Just as he was closing his eyes to rest, a zombie, two meters tall and powerfully built, appeared not far away.

Compared to its massive body, its footsteps were unusually steady as it moved.

Each step on the snow made a sound as light as cotton.

If it weren’t for the piercing scraping sound of the iron bar it dragged on the ground, perhaps no one would have noticed it at all.

Compared to most Mutated Zombies, this particular zombie, besides having an intact body without decay, also seemed to have a hint of... shrewdness in its eyes?

When it dragged its huge body to a tree, it raised its head without hesitation.

Its fluid movements and neck flexibility were simply incomparable to ordinary zombies.

With just one sweeping glance, everyone in the tree was encompassed by its gaze.

Through its dull, lifeless pupils, one could even see the terrified eyes of the people in the tree...

—

While Scott and the others were still facing mutated Zombies, Vikram was completely unconcerned.

The crystals had already been distributed to the five members. According to his estimates, four of them should be able to break through to over forty in physical attributes this time.

Even Harry, and Percy, could reach forty-six or forty-seven in physical attributes.

This was completely sufficient for dealing with some Mutated Zombies.

Thinking this, Vikram looked at his wives’s attributes.

Name: Divya, Strength: 63, Speed: 62, Stamina: 62, Reaction: 63.

Name: Sophia, Strength: 58, Speed: 70, Stamina: 58, Reaction: 65.

Name: Anjali, Strength: 40, Speed: 42, Stamina: 40, Reaction: 43.

Name: Luna, Strength: 250, Speed: 250, Stamina: 250, Reaction: 250, Spirit: 300, Abilities: ???.

Looking at the attributes, others are okay, although Anjali has less than everyone, but it was for her own good.

If she gains more powers, she will not stop herself from bullying others, especially Divya and Vikram.

Vikram knows her attitude, that once she will gain more powers than him, she will pin him down.

While others attributes were good, but Luna attributes, he can’t even describe.

Although the previous question mark has turned into numbers except for abilities.

Still, 250 was terrifying stats, and he had not seen anyone with these attributes.

It was good that she is obedient, or else, even he can’t describe what she will do.

Vikram looked at the data, rubbed his chin, and opened the system store.

He slid the interface to the potion page.

Basic Gene Potion: Increases all four physical attributes by fifteen points. Each potion is effective for only one person. Subsequent use after initial use will be ineffective. Price: Plant Essence X1000.

Intermediate Gene Potion: Increases all four physical attributes by thirty points. Each potion is effective for only one person. Subsequent use after initial use will be ineffective. Price: Plant Essence X10000.

He was considering whether to give Harry’s team the basic gene potion from the store now.

But then he thought of waiting more.

After a moment of hesitation, Vikram ultimately did not rush to act.

While Vikram was thinking about all of this, the Territory 2 alarm suddenly started blaring.

Vikram didn’t know what had happened or why the alarm was sounding, since he hadn’t sent Archy and Ranzy to the Observation Tower after their visit to the Hospital Ruins.

Because of that, the reason for the alarm remained unknown.

Realizing that something significant might have happened outside, Vikram’s expression immediately changed.

When Vikram, Ron, and Percy arrived near the Territory Gate, they could hear loud banging sounds.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone was continuously pounding on the gate from outside.

When Vikram opened the gate, the scene before him startled him.

A strange-looking Survivor, for some unknown reason, was banging his door.

Judging by the blood on his arms and legs and his unsteady steps, it was clear that he was in a very bad state.

He looked like an old man on the verge of death.

When his hollow, fearful eyes looked at Vikram and the others, as if he had found a life-saving straw, they suddenly lit up.

"Scott! You beast, you still have the guts to come in, do you?"

"Consider yourself brave."

"Today, your Grandpa Ron just happens to be itching for a fight, and you’re just the right person to mess with."

Ron’s brows furrowed, and he pointed at the blood-soaked Survivor.

As soon as he finished speaking, he rolled up his sleeves.

He clenched his fists, ready to punch Scott.

"Scott?" Hearing the name, he was somewhat surprised.

Previously, they found Scott causing trouble outside the Shelter and staying far away.

He had even thought of wearing them down, letting them be poisoned to death by the black fog.

Why did he suddenly decide to break in today?

And his injuries were clearly not right.

In fact, not only was Vikram surprised, but Scott himself looked puzzled.

He couldn’t understand why Ron and these people would collude with Vikram.

"So, the two things I failed to accomplish were both because of Vikram?"

Understanding the reason, a surge of anger instantly rushed to his head.

Normally, at this time, he should be enjoying afternoon tea in his Shelter, being served by several female slaves.

It was all because of Vikram that he was reduced to going out in the freezing cold.

Now he was even severely injured, barely able to walk.

He really wanted to punch this dog, who had ruined his bright future, to death right now, but then he remembered something and instantly stopped moving.

He didn’t even think of blocking Ron’s close-range punch.

Finally, he let the punch land on his face.

Bang!

Scott fell to the ground with a thud.

"Hmph! See? I told you before that I didn’t have enough strength because I hadn’t eaten enough."

"Look, this runt collapsed after just one punch from me."

"I didn’t lie to you guys, did I?"

Ron put his hands on his hips and laughed proudly.

Vikram looked at Scott on the ground, whose nose had been crooked by Ron’s punch. Instead of praising Ron, he frowned.

Before he could ask, Vikram noticed a sky-obscuring shadow covering everyone above...