Apocalyptic Terror

Chapter 4

Ten minutes later, as the convoy slowed down, Rina took a deep breath and jumped straight out of the truck.

Seeing the survivors being herded like cattle to fetch water in the distance, she lowered her head and pretended to run frantically toward the slave catchers guarding them.

Before they could shout at her, Rina raised her hands in panic and blurted out, "Sir, that man woke up. He said he knows about the meteorite."

The man holding a machete was stunned. Knowing how much the leader Lawrence valued news about the meteorite, his face lit up with joy. He instinctively wanted to report to Lawrence.

However, in the next second, his body froze, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Sir, that man said he found a meteorite fragment, but he hid it," Rina added quickly.

"He's already found it?" Ryan's heart pounded, and his pupils contracted sharply, revealing an intense greed.

He also knew about the mysterious properties of these meteorite fragments. Instead of reporting to the leader, he could keep it all for himself. If he absorbed the power from the fragment, he might even become a legendary, invincible superhuman.

Then, he would be the leader—no, he could even rule the entire refuge and become a local tyrant.

Taking a deep breath, Ryan looked around. Seeing that no one had noticed them yet, he put his machete to Rina's throat and threatened her.

"Take me there. You better not be lying, you b***h. If I find out you're tricking me, I'll cut the flesh off your body piece by piece for my drinking snacks!"

Rina trembled, pretending to be terrified as she led Ryan toward the convoy.

Walking in front, looking at the truck where Ethan was, she couldn't help but clench her fists tightly, her heart racing.

The first step had succeeded. She had guessed that Lawrence's men would be greedy.

But the real key was whether Ethan could do what he said.

"Sir, he's inside the truck. I'm sure he said he hid the fragment where we just came from," Rina spoke in a trembling voice, pointing at Ethan inside the truck.

Carefully stepping back, she noticed that Ryan's breathing had become more rapid, and he didn't even notice her backing away.

Looking at Ethan, who seemed to have passed out again in the truck, her palms were sweating with nervousness.

"He hid it where we just came from?"

The truck was a bit high. Tempted by the fragment, Ryan grabbed the handle and jumped into the truck eagerly.

Seeing Ethan with his eyes tightly shut, he rushed over without hesitation.

"Hey, brat. Wake up. You useless piece of trash, you said you found the meteorite fragment?"

Grabbing Ethan's collar, Ryan grinned, intending to slap him awake and force him to reveal the exact location of the fragment.

However, before his right hand could land, Ethan suddenly opened his eyes.

As their gazes met, Ryan felt his scalp tingle. An intense feeling of panic exploded from the bottom of his heart. In that moment of eye contact, Ethan's gaze was as terrifying as a fierce beast.

Giving Ryan no time to react, Ethan sprang up and punched out. His right fist landed like a hammer, smashing into Ryan's throat.

It was a horrifying attack!

With a crack, Ryan's head twisted 180 degrees under the stranglehold, his spine snapping under the terrifying force.

Ryan died in an instant.

After confirming that Ryan was dead beyond doubt, Ethan finally gasped for breath and slowly lowered the corpse in his arms to the ground.

Meanwhile, outside the truck, Rina, her nerves stretched to the limit, was wide-eyed with shock. She covered her mouth tightly with both hands, afraid she might cry out in excitement.

Was it over just like that?

She believed in Ethan and thought he might really have a way to deal with Lawrence's men.

But she never imagined the power Ethan displayed would be so terrifying. He was so fast that Ryan didn't even have time to scream.

For a moment, a glimmer of long-lost hope rose in her heart. Ethan might really be able to work a miracle.

"Ethan, are you okay? What do we do next?"

Excitedly climbing into the truck, Rina threw herself at Ethan, hugging him tightly.

Although Ethan's method of killing was a bit cruel, for her, she only felt the thrill of revenge in her heart.

Lawrence's gang had blood on their hands from their people.

"I'm fine. We need to take them out one by one before they realize what's happening. Are you sure Lawrence is alone on the bus? Does he have any weapons like a gun?"

Ethan's gaze turned toward the front of the convoy, his expression slightly grim.

The others were easy to deal with, but Lawrence had stayed on the bus. If he had a firearm, even if Ethan recovered some more strength, it would still be dangerous.

Rina stiffened, realizing she had gotten excited too soon when she heard Ethan's question.

"Given Lawrence's status, he has a bus to himself. As for a gun, he should have one. But bullets are precious, so he rarely uses it, mostly just to intimidate us."

Rina looked up, her eyes full of worry.

While she might be able to trick the others, Lawrence would never fall for her bait.

If Lawrence discovered that Ethan had broken free from his bonds, he would surely be on guard and wouldn't give Ethan a chance to get close.

"He has a gun..."

Ethan's gaze flickered as he noticed the water collection was almost over. He didn't have much time left. Once the convoy started moving again, they would surely notice someone was missing, making things even more complicated.

Eating the compressed biscuits he had found on the corpse, Ethan looked gravely at Rina.

"Rina, I need you to contact the others as quickly as possible. Get them to create a distraction—something to draw Lawrence and his men's attention. I'll change into Ryan's clothes and try to get close to him."

It was a risky plan. There were many ordinary survivors in the group, but after long-term oppression, people no longer dared to rebel.

If Rina couldn't quickly convince the others, the guards would notice her at any moment.

"I'll go. I trust you, Ethan. I'll try to distract them. Even if I can't convince George and the others, I'll do my best to draw them away myself. My life... is in your hands now."

Rina took a deep breath and agreed firmly.

Although she had only known Ethan for a few hours, his calmness and performance had completely moved her.

Seeing Rina agree, Ethan didn't say much more. He just focused on swallowing the compressed biscuits he had found on Ryan's body. Although the biscuits were dry and hard to swallow, with a bit of mold, in the post-apocalyptic world, such quick energy food was incredibly precious.

He didn't waste even the crumbs.

The more strength he could recover, the better his chances.

Two minutes later, Ethan had changed into Ryan's clothes and was silently approaching the lead bus.

He was like a hunter hidden in the jungle, waiting for his prey to appear.

But as he got closer, the sound of a woman's crying suddenly reached his ears.

"Please, spare my daughter. I'll do anything, anything you want."

"Mommy... Mommy!"