After Leon and the others went into the police station to discuss with Lauren, the remaining five who were left behind decided to split up and search around the camp.
The girls moved together, while Richard and Miguel moved together.
Moving around the camp, they were surprised that the standard of living had degraded greatly.
Although so people still lived in houses, most were living in makeshift tents made up on the streets.
"They’re lining up for food?" Fel asked quietly, sticking close to Cassie as they walked through the alleys.
Marie, who was walking ahead, turned her head and explained.
"It’s normal. With how scarce food is right now, they can’t afford to leave everything in the hands of different people."
"Ah, that makes sense." Cassie nodded, looking around curiously. "That’s why the police took over the food distribution. It’s pretty much like how boss and the others did back in the university."
Marie agreed with her. "Hm. So it’s not strange at all."
The group of three moved from street to street, noting a few things. Although the people didn’t seem to care about hygiene any longer and only cared about surviving, they were well-fed.
"The police is reliable. I guess they’re doing their best." The auburn-haired woman smiled, then she noticed a young boy running toward their direction.
She wanted to step aside so he wouldn’t crash into her, but then, they locked eyes. Instantly, she sensed that sothing was wrong.
The boy’s eyes were red and swollen with tears. Sure, the apocalypse was tragic and he might have lost his parents at the start, but she sensed that these tears weren’t just random.
He stopped before her, and she imdiately crouched to his level.
Behind her, Cassie and Fel also stopped, curious.
"What’s wrong? Are you looking for soone?" She asked carefully, holding his shoulders with a gentle grip.
"Wuu... wuu... the bad guys... wuu... wu..." He tried speaking, but his words beca incoherent with how hard he was crying.
Marie wiped the tears in his eyes, and spoke to him in a softer tone.
"Calm down, okay? What did the bad guys do? Did they bully you? Should I go beat them for you?"
Cassie and Fel glanced at each other, but remained silent. They were also wondering what the boy ant by ’bad guys’.
After being coaxed gently, the boy sniffled and turned to point at a deserted part of the camp.
"Bad guys... my big sister. Wuu..."
He burst into tears again, and Marie imdiately understood what had happened.
"Soone took his sister?" Cassie asked just to be sure.
The forr sports trainer nodded, standing up with a cold look in her eyes.
Holding the boy’s hand, she said. "Let’s go. We’ll get back your big sister."
His eyes widened in surprise, and he eagerly followed them. As a child who had lost both parents, his only relative that was still alive was his sister.
The four imdiately walked over to the rear of the camp. To Marie and the other girls’ surprise, there were barely any ordinary civilians here. As far as she could see, there were only tough-looking n with scars and tattoos on their arms and faces.
Seeing the three ladies approaching with a young boy, they imdiately stood up to face them.
Marie stopped a few ters away from them, then asked coldly. "Where is this boy’s sister? Bring her out, now."
From among the n, another one walked out, wearing a loose jacket with a cigarette in his mouth.
He studied their attires and weapons, realizing they were evolvers. So, he decided to be slightly polite.
"I’m Martinez. I’ve not seen you guys around here before. You just arrived today?"
Marie’s brows furrowed, as she wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.
"We can introduce ourselves later. I heard one of you guys took his sister. Bring her out, and we can talk."
Behind the lady, Fel blinked in surprise. ’She’s being a little forceful—just like the boss. Is he rubbing off on her?’
Martinez frowned, seeing that his words were casually dismissed. Still, he tried to remain polite. Well, polite in his own terms, at least.
"Look. You probably just got here and know nothing at all, so I’ll give you the gist. This part of the camp belongs to us, and anything that steps into our area, isn’t leaving until we say so."
Behind him, a collection of nods followed, with the n shooting glares at Marie’s group.
The lady scoffed in disdain, folding her arms and glaring back at them.
"You idiots. You took his sister, and I want her back. Do you understand?"
Martinez’s expression rotted, his mask of politeness vanishing quickly. "Damn woman, who do you think you are?"
Scowling, he took a step forward and threw a straight punch at her face, hoping to catch her off-guard.
Unfortunately, to Marie, he was too slow. She caught his fist effortlessly, then kicked him in the stomach. He folded inward, crashing into the n behind him.
"Guhh... you dare-!" He groaned in pain as he was supported back to his feet. "Bastards! Go get her for !"
The remaining gangsters roared and charged at Marie, so wielding baseball bats while others simply ca with their fists.
Pushing the young boy over to Cassie, she smirked.
The instant they ca close, her trait kicked in.
Soone threw a kick at her head, but she effortlessly blocked with her arm. Another swung a baseball bat at her face, and she ducked under it.
Smoothly, she delivered a quick punch to the guy’s torso, cracking a few ribs. Then, she slamd her foot into another guy’s stomach, sending him flying through the air.
More ca at her, but she easily took them down without being hit even once.
Grabbing the last person by his hair, she pressed a palm to his chest, lifted him up, then slamd his back to the ground.
"Phew."
Dusting her palms, she adjusted her glasses and looked at the shocked Martinez.
"Now... where is his sister?"
She had taken all of them down effortlessly, so it was only right for Martinez to be scared of her.
However, to her surprise, even though he was scared, he still remained stubborn.
"You bitch!"
He imdiately reached into his pocket and pulled out a pistol, firing a shot at her.
Bang!
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