Ivy and Desmond finally made it into the supermarket after clearing out the hordes of monsters they came across.

"Fuck! All the high-calorie foods are already gone." Desmond let out a deep groan as he scanned the nearly empty shelves.

Despite his complaint, he didn’t stop working. He casually continued moving from aisle to aisle, picking up canned goods, bottled water, noodles, biscuits, and every useful item he could find before stuffing them neatly into the large sack he had brought along.

Ivy, on the other hand, had no interest in that.

She simply paced back and forth with her arms folded across her chest, patiently waiting for Desmond to either finish packing the supplies they had come for so they could head home, or reveal whatever bigger surprise he seemed to have in mind.

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

The illusion dog Ivy had brought with her suddenly became restless.

Its ears stood upright as it barked aggressively toward the far end of the supermarket, refusing to take its eyes off the dark corner hidden behind several shelves.

"What’s wrong, sweetie?" Ivy asked worriedly as she crouched down to the dog’s height.

Following its line of sight, she narrowed her eyes.

Dark silhouettes.

She couldn’t clearly make out whether they belonged to humans or monsters.

But monsters never hid.

They charged at anything alive the moment they sensed movement.

Which meant...

Those shadows most likely belonged to humans.

The only problem was that, in a world like this, it was impossible to immediately tell who was trustworthy and who wasn’t.

With a quiet sigh, Ivy slowly rose to her full height.

Click.

She cocked her gun before cautiously making her way toward the dark end of the supermarket.

The illusion dog faithfully followed beside her, still growling under its breath.

Meanwhile, Desmond continued packing supplies as though he hadn’t heard the dog’s frantic barking or noticed Ivy walking away to investigate.

"Please... spare us!"

Several frightened voices cried out almost simultaneously the moment Ivy pulled away the thick curtain separating the main supermarket from the staff changing room.

Her sharp eyes immediately swept across the room.

There were seven people hiding inside.

An elderly couple sat huddled together in one corner.

Two injured survivors leaned weakly against the wall, their clothes stained with dried blood and dirt.

A heavily pregnant woman protected her swollen stomach with trembling hands.

And beside her stood two frightened children whose faces were streaked with tears.

The moment they saw Ivy’s gun, every one of them instinctively raised both hands into the air.

"Please don’t kill us, miss," the pregnant woman pleaded through her tears, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "We’re only hiding here from the monsters."

Fresh tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she continued.

"We saw you take care of all those monsters outside. Anyone capable of doing something like that can’t possibly be an ordinary person."

Before Ivy could respond...

"What’s going on here?"

Desmond’s voice echoed from behind as he leisurely walked over with the heavy sack slung across one shoulder.

The instant the survivors’ eyes landed on him...

Every trace of fear disappeared.

Instead...

Their expressions twisted with unmistakable rage.

"You!!"

The elderly woman suddenly pointed a trembling finger at him.

"What the hell are you doing here, you bastard?!" Old Lady Blare screamed, her voice overflowing with fury.

Ivy frowned deeply before shifting her gaze from the furious old woman back to Desmond.

"What’s going on here?" she asked, confusion clearly written across her face as she studied everyone’s reactions.

"He’s one of our family members," the pregnant woman answered bitterly, glaring at Desmond with undisguised hatred. "But he’s nothing more than an unfortunate disgrace."

Her voice rose with every word.

"How dare you show your face in front of us again, Desmond?"

She then turned to face Ivy, her tear-filled eyes carrying both desperation and urgency.

"You can’t trust someone like him, miss, or you’ll regret it," she warned earnestly. "If you value your own life, then you should cast him away immediately. He’s not the kind of person anyone should be friends with, let alone have as a teammate."

"His misfortune will eventually rub off on you if you’re not careful, miss," the elderly man chimed in, his voice dripping with resentment. He then shot Desmond a venomous glare before pointing an accusing finger at him. "You’ll die a terrible death, Desmond! You’ll never know peace until the day you die... and even after you die, your soul still won’t find peace!"

Woah... now that’s crazy.

That’s way too much.

Ivy swallowed hard as her eyes darted between the furious old couple and Desmond.

Just what the hell did he do to his own family to make them curse him this viciously?

"If you get rid of him, you’ll only gain benefits I promise," the pregnant woman continued desperately. "He’s not someone you should ever team up with. Please, listen to us. Once you abandon him, we’ll tell you everything he has done."

The room fell silent.

A moment later, Desmond slowly shifted his gaze toward Ivy.

"I really didn’t want you to see this," he began quietly, forcing a bitter smile onto his face as sadness seemingly filled his voice. "My family... is complicated."

He paused briefly before speaking again.

"Can you head up to the supermarket’s second floor for a while? I promise I’ll deal with this mess and come find you afterward."

"Okay," Ivy answered without hesitation.

However, the moment she took a single step toward the exit...

Old Lady Blare suddenly moved in front of her, completely blocking her path.

"You’re not going anywhere!" the old woman snapped, glaring at Ivy with blazing anger. "When elders tell young people something, they should have enough sense to believe it! I told you to throw Desmond away! He’s a bastard! He’s nothing but a walking misfortune!"

She pointed furiously at Desmond.

"Listen to us, and I promise we’ll even give you some of our resources."

Instead of responding with words...

Ivy calmly raised her handgun.

Click.

The barrel stopped directly in front of Old Lady Hart’s mouth.

The old woman’s eyes widened in horror.

The other survivors instinctively staggered backward, waves of shock and terror washing over every one of them.

Behind Ivy...

A faint smirk slowly appeared on Desmond’s face.

"No one," Ivy began coldly, her voice frighteningly calm, "gets to insult any member of my team or give me orders."

Desmond’s grin widened even further.

"I honestly don’t care what kind of bullshit happened between all of you," Ivy continued, her sharp gaze sweeping across every member of the Hart family. "But you’re crossing the line now."

Her expression became even colder.

"I’m already sick of hearing every single one of you curse him over and over again."

"But he’s a bastard!" one of the twins shouted angrily.

"He’s nothing but bad luck!" the other twin added, glaring hatefully at Desmond.

Before Ivy could even react...

Desmond suddenly disappeared from where he stood.

Bang!

Bang!

His feet slammed into both teenagers’ stomachs with overwhelming force.

The twins were sent flying backward before crashing violently into the concrete wall behind them.

"Argh!"

They cried out in pain as they slid helplessly onto the floor.

Desmond slowly lowered his leg before looking down at the two teenagers with a cold, emotionless gaze.

"Seems like the two of you have a death wish, huh?" he asked quietly, yet every word carried an intimidating weight that sent chills through the room.

Ivy let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Without saying another word, she turned around and began climbing the stairs leading to the supermarket’s second floor to continue gathering supplies.

I’m honestly curious to know what exactly he plans to do with his family, she thought inwardly before letting out a quiet scoff.

Then...

"AHHHHHH!!"

A bloodcurdling scream echoed from downstairs.

It was quickly followed by another.

And another.

Soon, the terrified cries and agonizing wails of the Blare family reverberated throughout the entire supermarket, making the building seem eerily silent between each scream.

Ivy paused for a brief moment on the staircase.

Just what the fuck is that motherfucker doing to his own family?