Before, it was usually Wayne Warner and Leo Hale who walked the dog.

They usually chose to do it at night when there were fewer people around.

But this time, as soon as the door opened, Treasure seemed to catch a peculiar scent and bolted off in one direction.

Wayne Warner heard the commotion downstairs and followed Nina Jacobs out the door.

The two of them followed behind Treasure.

Nina Jacobs couldn’t help but wonder what Treasure had found.

As they went further down a more secluded path, she realized something was wrong.

It was the smell of blood.

The metallic stench grew stronger the farther they went.

It was accompanied by a putrid odor she recognized.

’Is this... the smell of a zombie?’

Nina Jacobs raised her guard, and behind a row of red bricks, she found a convulsing figure on the ground.

It was a woman.

Her condition was clearly a precursor to zombification.

Treasure was barking incessantly at the woman.

"Treasure, quiet."

"Wayne Warner, check if there’s anyone else around."

As soon as Nina Jacobs spoke, Treasure stopped barking.

It seemed the people on Beldane Island were right; Treasure was especially sensitive to the scent of zombies.

Just then, the woman on the ground stood up in a contorted posture.

’She’s completing her zombification right here?’

Nina Jacobs watched as the female zombie lunged at her.

To her surprise, Treasure jumped in front of her.

It growled at the female zombie, and its body began to grow larger.

"Treasure, don’t kill it yet."

Nina Jacobs understood.

Treasure was protecting her.

Treasure stopped growing, but it seemed unable to shrink back to its original size.

Feeling exasperated, Nina Jacobs found an iron chain and temporarily tied the zombie to one side.

Then, she casually used her Wood Element Superpower to help Treasure return to its normal size.

On the ground, she found a Gold Spike.

This discovery reminded her of Sherry Renner’s investigation report.

Wayne Warner had returned by now, having apparently found nothing.

"Go get Sherry Renner for me," Nina Jacobs said to Wayne Warner.

She had to stand guard here for the time being; after all, it was a crime scene.

Besides, it wasn’t convenient to move the zombie. If anyone from the base saw it, it would likely cause a panic.

Wayne Warner was fast.

In just a short while, a bewildered Sherry Renner was carried over by him.

"...Nina Jacobs? Why are you..."

"Holy shit, why is there a zombie here?!"

Sherry Renner had no idea what was going on. She had just gotten home when Wayne Warner rushed back from outside, slung her over his shoulder, and brought her here.

And trailing behind them were several of Sherry Renner’s colleagues.

"...Sorry, it was a bit of an emergency."

Nina Jacobs had forgotten that Wayne Warner didn’t talk to other people.

As the first witness, Nina Jacobs accompanied Sherry Renner to the Punishment Bureau, which was also Sherry’s workplace.

The full name of the Punishment Bureau was the Criminal Execution General Bureau, responsible for investigating and trying cases of all sizes within the base, as well as detaining prisoners.

After she had clearly explained the entire sequence of events, Sherry Renner and the others all looked at Treasure.

"This dog is incredible, being able to smell that from so far away."

York had also rushed back.

He was followed by many members of the base’s security patrol.

A zombie appearing in the base was a major incident.

"We’re already conducting a full-scale search of the base. So far, we haven’t found anyone else who’s been infected," a captain from the security patrol said.

"That’s good. Thank you for your hard work. You can leave the rest to us."

York saw the security patrol off.

He couldn’t resist patting Treasure’s big head.

"You said you also found a Gold Spike?" York asked Sherry Renner.

"Yes, this is it. I’m afraid it’s related to that other case."

Sherry Renner sighed.

The female zombie was probably today’s victim.

She just didn’t know why the woman had turned into a zombie.

"Is it possible that this Gold Spike wasn’t made by a human,"

"but by a zombie?"

Nina Jacobs voiced her speculation.

A Gold Spike being left at every crime scene was suspicious in itself.

A Gold Element Superpower User could create Gold Spikes.

But so could a zombie.

If that Gold Spike happened to be contaminated with the zombie virus, it wouldn’t be surprising that the woman who was attacked tonight turned into a zombie.

"If that’s the case, then our entire previous line of investigation has to be thrown out."

York’s thoughts aligned with Nina Jacobs’s.

This meant the killer in the serial murder case was least likely to be a Gold Element Superpower User.

"It’s either another Superpower User,"

"or an ordinary person."

...

On a main road where convoys of Superpower Users occasionally passed by.

Levi Stone was sitting in a car parked on the roadside.

"Captain, do you think that person you mentioned will ever come back?" a team member next to him asked.

For the past few days, they had been coming to this road to check.

Their goal was to find a Space Superpower User who ran a small shop.

Since they still had some time, Levi Stone had them wait by the road for a while.

"I’m not sure either. I hope she shows up."

Levi Stone was also getting a little anxious.

If he had known how effective that Blood Stopping Spray was, he would have bought a lot more no matter what.

The last time they were on a mission, they ran into powerful Wind Zombies. Many of his team members were injured and drawing blood from the zombies’ Wind Blades.

It was thanks to the Blood Stopping Spray that they later managed to evade a large horde of zombies.

Claire Warner hadn’t shown her face in days.

Levi Stone couldn’t help but suspect she might have run into some kind of danger.

Just as he was about to leave, a silver-gray sedan appeared behind them.

The car pulled over, and the person who got out made Levi Stone’s eyes light up.

"Claire Warner!"

Nina Jacobs had just gotten out of the car, preparing to set up her metal shack, when she heard a deafening shout.

When she learned that Levi Stone wanted to buy more Blood Stopping Spray, Nina Jacobs was a little surprised:

"You used up the last batch that quickly?"

"No," Levi Stone answered truthfully.

They had a mission tomorrow to blockade a street intersection, which was the mission he was most worried about.

He hadn’t used up the last batch of Blood Stopping Spray, but he wanted to buy more to try and equip every team member with a bottle.

"You know how it is. Even the slightest scent of blood means danger."

Worried that Claire Warner would bring up the purchase limit again, Levi Stone’s tone became much more humble.

"I understand. Come on in."

Nina Jacobs directly set up the metal shack.

Many people knew about her little shop, and while she was talking to Levi Stone, several more cars pulled over.

Inside the metal shack, Levi Stone bought another 100 bottles of Blood Stopping Spray.

As he was leaving, Nina Jacobs gave him an extra 10 bottles.

Levi Stone was instantly moved. Claire Warner didn’t even bother to count the Crystal Cores he offered, just taking them.

What he didn’t know was that she didn’t count the Crystal Cores not out of trust for him.

After selling the Blood Stopping Spray, Nina Jacobs had already received her reward of Healing Potions from the system.

She had already broken even on this transaction.

Plus, she had earned an extra 5,000 Experience Points from the system.

After Levi Stone left, several more groups of customers came to the metal shack to buy supplies.

Nina Jacobs was happily selling away. In the past few days, she had already emptied out two of her storage slots.

Since only one customer entered at a time, no one knew exactly how many supplies she had sold.

This continued until a loud crash came from outside.

"Run! It’s a Gold Element Mutated Zombie!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Nina Jacobs initially didn’t want to go out, but she was worried someone would notice something strange about the metal shack.

After all, this unassuming metal shack was her safe house; zombies automatically ignored any humans inside it.