Talia’s face darkened instantly. She scoffed, cold anger flashing in her eyes.
"That scumbag already lost his legs. He confessed. He was a spy planted by Frank from the very beginning."
Silas’s eyes flashed blue, icy with rage. His thoughts screamed, ’He dared use my sister? He will pay.’ But aloud he only said, "I trust you to deal with him as you see fit."
Talia nodded. Then, her expression shifted. Her eyes grew softer. "And Ivy? How is she now?"
At that, Silas’s face cracked into a smile.
"She’s become more temperamental since becoming my wife. But that’s wonderful. My Ivy is more beautiful when she is frustrated."
Henry (who was hiding outside): ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
General Dante: ("¬_¬)
Taking a deep breath, Talia crossed her arms and shook her head.
"You don’t need to fill my stomach with dog food, Silas. Save it for your wife."
Hearing those words, Silas coughed lightly, while General Dante snorted coldly.
"You can leave now. Your presence alone is enough to make me frustrated."
Silas raised a brow, his voice calm, but it was laced with mockery
"That’s fine. I don’t have much interest in staying here either. Especially when you like to taunt me like a mother-in-law."
General Dante slammed his fist on the table.
His face grew red with fury, and he jabbed a finger at his son.
"You! You truly are my son. You know exactly how to make me furious!"
Silas gave him a cool look, then turned without another word. He opened the door.
Outside, Henry, who had been hiding and listening, quickly stepped back and pretended he had just arrived. He walked up with papers in hand and acted surprised.
"Ah, Captain Silas! I was just coming to present these reports to General Dante."
Silas’s cold blue eyes swept over him once, then lowered to the ground. His lips curved slightly.
"There’s wet soil near the doorstep. Most likely, you’ve been standing here listening."
Henry’s heart jumped. He stammered, waving his hands.
"N-no, Captain! I swear, I just got here. I wasn’t..."
But Silas didn’t let him finish. His tone was flat.
"Since you like to gossip so much, run five laps."
Henry’s mouth fell open. His eyes watered like he might cry.
’Why? Why me? I was only curious!’ He screamed in his heart.
But he could only watch Silas walk away, calm as ever.
Shaking his head, Henry pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The moment General Dante saw him, his cold glare landed on the poor soldier.
"Henry. Five laps. That’s the punishment for eavesdropping."
’How unfair can this be!’ He clenched his jaw, his whole body screaming curses inside. But out loud, he forced a stiff nod.
...................................
On the other hand, Ivy was sitting in her office, her eyes blinking as the strange light around her body faded.
She slowly raised her hand, and she felt the faint warm glow on her skin vanish.
Her chest rose and fell, and she whispered to herself,
"I... I upgraded again."
Her lips curved into a small smile, but it didn’t last long. She clenched her hand tightly. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel_fіre.net
’I reached level 2. That means my safe zone should be stronger, and the range must have increased, too. But... how strong is it? How far can I go before it breaks?’
Her heart pounded as she grabbed the scooter. Without hesitating, she muttered,
"Let’s test it now. If I know the limit, maybe I can plan better for the base."
The scooter roared softly as she left the gates of the base.
The wind brushed against her cheeks, and she held the handles tightly.
Broken glass and trash littered the streets, yet the most peculiar aspect was the eerie silence.
Zombies stood in groups here and there, but none of them turned to her.
Soon, she reached far beyond the base. She glanced at her hand again, noticing the glow was getting thinner.
At around 10,000 square meters, she gasped.
"It’s weaker here. The shield... It’s fading."
Her scooter wobbled for a second as her heart sank. She pressed forward stubbornly, counting in her head.
’Just a little further. I need to know the real limit.’
When the distance reached around 12,000 square meters, she froze.
The connection snapped like a string being cut.
Her body felt hollow, and the invisible thread that tied her to the base was gone.
Her voice shook. "The base... has no protection now. So this is the limit... Hm..."
She had thought that after upgrading, maybe she would be able to extend the range to the point that even if she stayed in another country, the barrier would remain.
Feeling dejected, she could only leave and make her way to Silas’s apartment.
......................................
That night, Silas waited until Ivy returned. The moment she stepped inside, he pulled her into his arms.
Ivy blinked but didn’t push him away. She calmly patted his back. Then she asked softly,
"Will the trip take more than half a month?"
Silas paused, thinking carefully.
"If we travel without rest, we can reach those people by the third or fourth day. But if we stop to rest, it might stretch to ten days."
Ivy nodded, her eyes thoughtful.
Silas caught the look and leaned down slightly.
"What is it? What’s worrying you?"
Ivy hesitated, then answered.
"The boss of the base will also be leaving. That means the base will be without leadership. She asked me to come up with a way to protect it."
Silas frowned, then chuckled softly.
"That’s simple. Just hire a few more talents who can fight zombies for the next fifteen days. As long as they hold the line, nothing will go wrong."
Ivy nodded again. She had thought the same, but executing it was even more difficult. Even though her superpower has upgraded... the distance was still not enough to protect her base.
It would be better if she just hired talent for now.
However, before completely delegating the task, she would need to personally see how strong the defense of her base was.
With serious eyes, she looked at Silas.