Before Axel stepped out the door, he paused and exchanged a brief glance with Annabelle. Under the cold moonlight, she gave him a small nod and turned back into the room.

The fear they had both felt moments ago hadn’t just been from the infected. It was the law enforcement officers—Skye and Freya. Though Axel and Annabelle had been forced into a corner by Scarface and his men, they had no choice but to act in self-defense. But now that those law enforcement officers had seen how Axel silently took down four strong men, they would definitely turn their attention to him.

Axel had always kept a low profile, taking care to live quietly with Annabelle, but he knew that once the Law Enforcement Bureau started investigating, their lives would be under a magnifying glass. And if they focused on Annabelle, her identity would be exposed. That would be dangerous for both of them.

Once Axel and the others left, Annabelle returned to the room. She worked quickly, tying the bodies of the four men with hemp rope and wrapping them in rough cloth. Then, with surprising ease, she hoisted the bodies up, holding them in her small arms...

Her dark eyes widened slightly in surprise. She hadn’t meant to carry all four bodies at once, but now she realized that her strength was greater than before....

In the quiet of the night, a small figure, carrying a weight far heavier than her own, moved swiftly and silently through the alley like a cat—nimble, efficient, and unseen.

Meanwhile, Axel was leading Skye and Freya through the slums.

"It should be around here," Axel said, trying to sound confident. He wasn’t giving them the exact location yet, just guiding them in the general direction. If he took them directly to the bodies, that would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Of course, Skye and Freya weren’t relying solely on Axel’s guidance. They were moving cautiously, alert to every sound, every shift in the air.

“Hold on,” Freya said suddenly, her nose twitching as she looked toward the crumbling church ahead. Axel had already caught sight of it, only waiting for the two men to notice it.

There, lying sprawled in front of the church, was a massive corpse—more than three meters tall. Axel’s heart skipped a beat as he felt a cold shiver run through him. The body had the outline of a human, but its head was unnaturally large. Its mouth was filled with sharp, bloody teeth, taking up half its face. Its limbs were twisted, covered in white barbs, with chunks of flesh and blood still hanging from them.

Skye frowned, instinctively stepping in front of Axel, as if trying to shield him from the gruesome and bloody sight. But when she looked at him, Axel’s face was only slightly pale—he didn’t look faint or sickened.

“You’ve got some serious mental fortitude, kid,” Skye said with an approving pat on Axel’s shoulder. Axel forced a smile. “Do all infected look like this?”

He took a few more steps forward, not showing any sign of hesitation.

“Be careful.”

“It’s fine,” Skye chuckled, waving off her concern. “They’re dead. What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Look at the kid—he’s not even flinching. And look at us—some of the new recruits at the War College would’ve fainted just seeing this. How are they supposed to fight if they can’t even handle a corpse?”

Axel’s heart skipped again when he heard the words War College. That was exactly where he wanted to go. To join the War College, a person needed a Force value of at least 100. It was the bare minimum to apply, but it was also the entry point for those hoping to become awakened.

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The War College wasn’t just a university—it was a powerhouse in its own right. The instructors were all awakened, and the students who graduated could go on to defend entire small cities. It wasn’t just about combat either; there were fields of research focused on mutants, infected people, and even awakened individuals.

Axel had always dreamed of getting into the War College, the reason was simple: guaranteed job assignment and good treatment. As Skye and Freya chatted casually, Axel remained deep in thought.

Skye shrugged, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, clearly feeling more at ease now that the first infected was dealt with. “Those fresh recruits, though… once they go through the trials, they’ll get over it.”

She exhaled a cloud of smoke, looking around the ruined slums. “With infected #1 down, the rest should be a breeze.”

Seeing that neither Skye nor Freya had noticed his movements, Axel kept a curious look on his face. He reached out carefully to touch the green light ball.

"Hey, be careful."

Freya’s sharp voice made Axel freeze for a moment, a cold sweat running down his forehead. He thought for sure they’d noticed something strange. But to his relief, Freya just gave a concerned frown.

“Being too bold isn’t a good thing,” she said, her voice laced with caution. “If you get too close, the infected could scratch you. That’d be a huge problem.”

She pulled him back to her side, her grip firm but not unkind. Axel exhaled a quiet sigh of relief and gave her a look. He had always thought that people in the law enforcement bureau were all dark and mysterious, with poker faces and trench coats, but Freya had the vibe of an older sister next door—stern, but caring.

Nodding like he understood, Axel quietly tucked the green crystal away.

Skye, who had been watching the exchange, tossed his cigarette butt to the ground with a casual laugh.

“What are you worried about? It’s not that easy to get infected.” He grinned, clearly amused. “Let me give you a little lesson.”

He turned to Axel. “When awakened people get infected, that’s when they turn into monsters. Their appearance can vary, but they’re usually... pretty horrifying. They keep their wits, but all that’s left is their killing instinct.”

“Regular people? They’re more like zombies. Slow, mindless, and dangerous.”

Once Skye finished explaining, he and Freya collected some of the infected’s tissue samples, preparing to head back to base. They’d need to run some DNA tests and treat the body with the antidote.

Not long after, the body of the infected melted away into a thick, foul-smelling sludge.

The carefree look faded from Skye’s face, replaced by something more somber, a touch of sadness creeping into his expression.

“You know,” he said quietly, “We’re supposed to hunt down the infected. But... every infected person we face could’ve once been an awakened human. They could’ve been someone who fought to protect humanity.”

A heavy silence fell over them. The air seemed to thicken with the weight of his words.

Just then, Skye’s walkie-talkie crackled to life.

"Captain, we’re on the north side of Area C. There’s a garbage heap here, and we found four bodies…"

Skye straightened up, his expression turning serious. “What happened? Was it Infected No. 2?”

“No, it looks like poisoning. They didn’t die from an infection.”

“Poisoning?” Skye’s brow furrowed. “Alright, leave it to the police for now. Wait, I’ll head over and check it out.”

Axel, even from a distance, caught most of the conversation. His heart sank when he heard it.

The four bodies they’d discovered had to be the ones Annabelle had discarded in the garbage heap. There was no other explanation.

The garbage mountain in the northern part of the city was notorious, a dumping ground for the slums where the city’s unwanted trash and bodies alike were discarded. It sat outside the city walls, beyond the reach of the government, where no one came to clean or maintain it.

Over the years, a mountain of garbage had piled up there, stretching for hundreds of meters. Children from the slums often played in the area, and some had even found body parts among the trash.

No one in authority paid attention to the people who lived in what many called the “sewer”—the slums.

Now, though, the Law Enforcement Bureau had found those bodies.

The only small comfort Axel had was that they hadn’t found Annabelle’s involvement. But that wouldn’t last. The police would eventually investigate the bodies, and the cause of death—poisoning—would point straight to the gas meters used in the building.

Once they got those records, it would be easy to trace the gas consumption to Axel and Annabelle’s house.

If the police sent their findings to Skye, Axel knew their entire carefully crafted cover would collapse. Everything about him and Annabelle would suddenly become the most suspicious thing about the case.

The more Axel thought about it, the colder he felt inside.