Using the most brutal method, he smashed open the wiring box beneath the steering wheel and picked out the part connected to the ignition. The unprotected metal wires rubbed together repeatedly, and the silent engine finally roared to life in a burst of sparks... A few minutes later, Henry Sutton had already made a U-turn on the road and stopped in front of the hardware store with its door wide open.

He didn’t turn off the engine. He pushed open the car door, got out, and picked up a pile of tools and parts he had collected in advance from the corner of the shop, loading them into the trunk. After finishing all this, Henry Sutton walked over to Grace Sutton, who was gnawing on half a cold, hard steamed bun, stared at her for a few seconds, and said calmly, “Get in the car!”

Emma Harris moved quickly. As soon as Henry Sutton had parked the car, she ran over, pulled open the back door, and climbed in, lying on the soft seat cushion in the most comfortable position.

The floor tiles were hard, and the walls were cold. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all last night, and when she got up in the morning, her back and legs ached terribly.

Henry Sutton frowned, walked to the front of the car, opened the door, and said calmly, “Get out.”

Emma Harris opened her eyes, looked around impatiently, and suddenly realized—she was the only one in the car.

She immediately sat up straight, gripping the handle by the window tightly, shaking her head in confusion and fear.

A cold, icy light flashed in Henry Sutton’s eyes. He drew his pistol from its holster and aimed it at Emma Harris’s forehead. She stared at him in terror. At such close range, the girl could clearly see the hatred and disgust in his eyes. Especially deep in his pupils, there was not a trace of tolerance or mercy.

“Wh... why?”

Emma Harris stammered, her voice tinged with obvious sobs.

“No reason. Get out—”

Henry Sutton’s voice was even colder than before.

Emma Harris began to sob. She was extremely reluctant, but had no choice but to slowly get out of the car, shrinking under the cold, black muzzle, her timid and pleading gaze darting from person to person.

She knew very well: she had been abandoned.

Grace Sutton felt a bit sorry for her and was about to speak, but was immediately stopped by Henry Sutton’s cold, sharp gaze.

“Please, take me... take me with you!”

Emma Harris’s face was covered in hot tears. She kept begging, but could not soften the alloy-hard look in Henry Sutton’s eyes.

David Thompson walked over gloatingly, spat at the helpless, crying Emma Harris, reached out to open the car door, but was startled to find—the gun in Henry Sutton’s hand had, at some point, turned to aim at him.

“Hey! Hey! What... what do you mean by this?”

David Thompson’s face turned a little pale. Instinctively, he raised his hands and slowly took a few steps back.

“I only promised to leave the underground parking lot with you. Now, our cooperation is over.”

Henry Sutton’s gaze was deep, his voice pleasant and magnetic, but it sounded very cold.

“Don’t do this... I mean it, really don’t do this. We’re friends, we’re a team. We should sit down and talk this out. Those damn monsters are everywhere, we have to help each other. You should trust me, I’m a good person...”

A flash of anger appeared in David Thompson’s eyes. He felt an urge to explode, but under the threat of the gun, he had no choice but to suppress it. He racked his brains for words that might move Henry Sutton, his sentences jumbled, speaking faster and faster.

“I don’t owe you anything.”

The gun in Henry Sutton’s hand didn’t waver in the slightest. He stared at the man opposite him, slowly sat in the passenger seat, and kept aiming through the open window. At the same time, he asked Grace Sutton, who was already in the driver’s seat, “Can you drive?”

The girl looked at him with some fear, bit her lip, and nodded.

“Then let’s go!”

Henry Sutton gave her an encouraging look. “Let’s get out of here.”

...

The sunlight, heavy with ultraviolet rays, scorched the earth mercilessly. The suddenly rising temperature made the whole city seem shrouded in flames. The scenery at the end of the horizon began to blur, refracted by the interplay of light and heat, making everything appear to waver.

A ragged zombie was sprawled in the middle of the street, gnawing hard on a rib bone scattered on the ground. Even though there wasn’t much meat left, it still chewed with relish.

In the distance, the roar of an engine could be heard.

Chapter 5 Residence

The zombie looked up in confusion, straining to see where the sound was coming from. In the distance, a speeding Chevrolet sedan was racing toward it like a wild horse off its reins. Before the slow-moving zombie could get up, the roaring car barreled straight into it, snapping it in half at the waist. Its fragile, half-rotten lower body was crushed under the tires on the spot, while its upper body stuck to the front of the car until, a hundred meters away, the car finally stopped and the zombie lost its support, falling heavily to the ground.

Henry Sutton got out of the car, swung a fire axe, and chopped off both of the zombie’s arms. Grace Sutton, following close behind, grabbed a metal rod over two meters long with a Y-shaped fork at the end, clamped it tightly around the zombie’s neck, and pinned it to the ground, rendering it immobile.

The metal rod was something Henry Sutton had welded together from various materials at the hardware store last night. In the future world, this kind of tool is essential for every zombie hunter.