Chapter 72: The Girl and the Beast

Hank didn't want to go looking for any truth, but now, he had to kill all the zombies in front of him!

The reason was simple: if he didn't clear out these zombies, how would he drive the car out?

Although he hadn't recovered his motorcycle or found the base, he had found an even better mode of transportation.

Without the obstruction of the dense forest, Hank, wielding a large axe, was like a God of War; with one sweep of his axe, a large group of zombies would fall.

In less than half an hour, not a single zombie surrounding the vehicles on the road was able to stand.

Crack~

A scaled foot with sharp claws crushed the skull of a still-howling zombie.

Hank immediately felt a sense of relief in his head.

All the moving, howling zombies around him had been dealt with.

And next, it was time to check his spoils of war.

But before that, he should fill his stomach.

Hank walked towards the modified bus; the seats inside had been removed, and it was filled with supplies.

Hank didn't stand on ceremony, picking up food and devouring it.

Before Hank could even take a few bites, his ears twitched slightly, hearing a strange noise.

It seemed to be the sound of something colliding.

Hank walked towards another bus.

Inside the bus, there were zombie remains everywhere, and thick blood covered the floor; Hank's steps made squishy sounds as he walked on it.

Hank's gaze moved left and right, finally settling on an iron box inside the vehicle.

The box was locked, and scattered cans lay around it.

Even without opening the box, Hank knew what was inside.

A person.

A living person!

He heard the sound of a heartbeat coming from inside the box.

And it was a very rapid heartbeat.

It seemed that Hank's battle with the zombies had scared him.

And as Hank approached, the person's heartbeat inside grew even more rapid.

Hank even wondered if the person's heart might just leap out of his chest if this continued.

Hank didn't continue to approach the box; in his current state, he was no different from a monster and was no longer suitable for contact with ordinary people.

Hank's eyes were complex; he walked to the iron box, extended his claw to break the lock, and then turned and left.

Hank didn't plan to take this person with him; the surrounding zombies had been cleared, making it very safe, and with the supplies in the vehicle, it was enough for him to use for a long time.

At least it was safer than following him.

Getting off the bus, Hank came to a relatively intact car.

All the glass on this car was shattered, or rather, the glass on all the surrounding cars had not been spared.

Hank didn't pay attention to these things.

The inside of the car wasn't too messy.

Aside from the blood splattered when the person inside was bitten by zombies, it wasn't too dirty otherwise.

At least it was much cleaner than outside.

Hank thought silently, looking at the layer of dirty blood on the floor.

The car key was still in the ignition; Hank tried it, and it still started.

So Hank placed his large axe in the back seat, sat in the driver's seat, and prepared to drive away in this car.

"Wait—please—take me with you."

Just as the car started, a voice came from behind.

Only then did Hank realize that inside that iron box was actually a little girl.

Although Hank didn't turn his head, he could tell from the hoarse voice that it was a little girl, and she couldn't have been very old.

The moment the voice sounded, Hank pulled up his tattered hood with the fastest speed he had ever used.

Currently, Hank was only wearing a tattered jacket on his upper body and ripped jeans on his lower body.

Besides that, he didn't even have shoes.

Or rather, he originally did, but his feet, which had grown a size, had torn them apart.

"The supplies in the car are enough for you to live for a long time; don't follow me."

Hank's unpleasant voice came from his throat.

If it were peacetime, just this voice alone would have scared countless children, and even adults would feel afraid upon hearing it.

The little girl, who had bravely climbed out of the box and gotten off the bus, also shivered violently.

"I—I'm afraid to be alone, please don't leave me."

The little girl spoke to Hank in an almost pleading tone.

Although the little girl was very young, perhaps even of elementary school age.

But at this age, she had witnessed the zombie outbreak firsthand.

She had seen scenes of zombies devouring humans, and also scenes of humans hunting zombies.

She bore a burden that she shouldn't have at her age.

And because of this, she was also maturing rapidly.

She knew that if she were left alone, she wouldn't be able to survive in this apocalypse.

And Hank's appearance was like a life raft; she had to cling to it tightly.

She didn't even think about what kind of person Hank truly was, or what her future fate would be if she followed him.

But she didn't have time to think.

It proved that her choice to leave the box and not continue to evade was correct.

Because if she had been even one step later, Hank would have already left.

"—You won't want to follow me, I swear."

The little girl's pleading voice softened Hank's heart a little.

Before the apocalypse, he was just an ordinary person; even after being tempered by the apocalypse, he still couldn't stand by and watch a child die.

If the little girl behind him had been a bit older, he would have just left, not bothering to talk to her.

However, at such a young age, Hank found it difficult to guarantee that this little girl could survive, even with ample supplies.

But, following him seemed even more dangerous.

Thinking this, Hank no longer hesitated, starting the ignition again and driving the vehicle.

"Wait—please, don't leave me."

Seeing the car slowly start moving, the little girl's voice trembled even more; she ran towards the vehicle, seemingly wanting to catch up with Hank.

But the ground, covered in dirty blood, was too slippery, and the little girl fell to the ground after only two steps.

The little girl, fallen to the ground, didn't bother with her aching elbow, but instead looked up at the gradually receding vehicle.

Her eyes, like the gradually dimming headlights of the car, slowly extinguished, losing all their sparkle.

Having lost her home and then her mother, at this moment, the little girl felt as if she was the only one left in the world, and everyone had abandoned her.

A tear slowly streamed down the little girl's cheek.

She got up from the ground, looking blankly at her blood-stained arm.

She didn't know if the blood was from the zombies on the ground, or her own.

But it didn't matter anymore.

She wanted to return to the bus she had just been in, to see if she could find fragments of her mother's body, to see if she could piece them back together.

This was the only thing she could do.