Chapter 4

I wandered through the ruins for three days.

Daisy's little finger, tucked against my heart, had taken on my body temperature.

Sometimes I even imagined I felt it tremble faintly.

On the evening of the fourth day, I was surrounded by a pack of wolves.

They emerged from beneath a collapsed overpass—twelve of them, maybe more.

These mutated wolves were the size of adult Tibetan mastiffs, their exposed skin covered in festering sores.

Their fangs were grotesquely elongated, dripping corrosive saliva.

The alpha wolf at the front had a rotting empty socket where its right eye should be, its remaining left eye fixed intently on me.

I stood my ground. I didn't run.

Death was no longer terrifying to me; it would be a release.

The pack slowly closed in, their foul breath hot on my face.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to descend.

However, nothing happened.

I opened my eyes and found the alpha wolf sniffing my clothing, perplexed.

Its rotting snout brushed against my exposed arm, but it didn’t bite.

The other wolves also appeared unusually agitated, circling me but not daring to approach.

"What the hell…?"

A rough male voice came from above the ruins.

I looked up and saw six fully armed people standing on the edge of the broken overpass.

The man in the lead wore a gas mask, but I could feel his sharp gaze fixed on me.

He made a gesture, and the others immediately fanned out, moving as swiftly as a pack of leopards.

Gunshots rang out, but not aimed at me.

Precise shots took down three wolves closest to me.

The pack stirred, but instead of attacking me, they bared their teeth at the source of the gunfire.

"Ma'am, slowly move to your right."

The leading man shouted at me, his voice muffled through the gas mask. "There's a recess there, you can temporarily hide."

I didn't move.

Why hide?

Wouldn't it be better for the wolves to tear me apart?

The man cursed, then leaped down from the broken bridge.

He landed with a forward roll to absorb the impact, his movements clean and precise.

As he got to his feet, he had already drawn a military knife. A flash of silver, and a wolf that lunged at him had its throat slit with deadly accuracy.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

He grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him.

He dealt with the wolves that rushed him one by one.

After the last wolf fell, the man finally took off his gas mask.

He had a sharply defined face, a scar above his left eyebrow, adding a touch of ferocity to his otherwise handsome features.

He panted, but his eyes never left my face. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, realizing my wrist was still in his grasp.

His palm was wide and rough, surprisingly warm.

"Why didn't those wolves attack you?"

He asked the crucial question.

I didn't know how to answer.

In fact, I wanted to know the answer too.

Was it because of Daisy?

She could move freely in the radiation zones, and now part of her flesh and blood was integrated with mine…

"Never mind. Let's get out of here first."

Ryder released my wrist and spoke into his communicator. "Found a survivor, female, showing unusual circumstances. Requesting return to base."

"I'm not going to any base."

I took a step back.

Ryder raised an eyebrow. "Then where do you plan to go? Continue wandering in the ruins?"

"Next time, it might not be a wolf pack. It could be something far worse."

"That's none of your business."

He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. "Interesting. Fine, go wherever you want."

He turned and waved to his team. "Pack up, we're heading southeast as planned."

Southeast.

My heart pounded.

That was the direction Julian had fled.

"Wait."

I heard myself say, "Are you… are you searching for survivors?"

Ryder turned back, his gaze sharp enough to pierce through my thoughts. "Not entirely."

"We're tracking a group of scavengers. They've looted several shelters."

He paused. "Heard the leader is a man with a missing left arm, with a crazy woman."

"Something about… Julian?"

My nails dug deeply into my palms.

Julian lost his left arm?

When did that happen?

"If you change your mind, follow along."

Ryder had already turned to walk away. "But fair warning, if you're with us, you're a team member. You follow orders."

I looked at his back, then touched Daisy's little finger near my heart.

I said, "I'm in."

My Daisy died. Why should Julian get to live unharmed?