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“The only people that can save you are your own selves, never others.”

I ended up saying that, but what I was actually trying to say was that I was not an angel. I just so happened to have the bloodline of an Angel-type within me. However, what ended up leaving my mouth was a string of nonsensical, almost middle school-esque, string of words.

“Blasted fool. We’re the ones that are supposed to be rescuing others right now, not getting rescued ourselves!” Sima Junmo chided the young policeman. He then turned to me, face significantly softer looking than before. “Lady Mo Ke, now that the enemy has been taken care of, let’s get down to the business at hand. This building is a treasure trove of supplies, so let’s grab some refreshments while we talk. It’s not like the owners will be open for business anytime soon.”

“I’m sorry, Officer Sima, but I have to turn down your offer. Now’s not the time for idle chatter. There are still many survivors out there waiting for us to save them. It would be better if we keep our conversation short.”

Even though I really wanted to correct his usage of “lady” right now, that’s an issue we could spend an entire day harping on. For now, discretion is the better part of valor, and all that.

Sima Junmo wasn’t disheartened by my rejection. Instead, he furiously nodded his head before saying, “Oh, absolutely. The people’s safety comes first. There are still many survivors in the midst of danger who need rescuing by the Goddess of Hope.”

Hmph, don’t think you can butter me up that easily! Especially not when you use the G word on me! Damn it… why a goddess…

Now that we had sorted out our priorities, Sima Junmo brought me to the shelter they had set up in this building. It was the staff lounge, within were several dozens of civilians mulling about with whatever they could distract themselves with. They were mostly shoppers who had visited the building while the rest were staff, judging by the uniform they wore. Given their familiarity with the building, the location of this temporary shelter was probably suggested by them.

A neatly sorted stack of supplies were placed in a corner of the room. In all likelihood, the staff volunteers were to thank for this as well.

I swept my eyes over them. Most of them were just idling about, but they couldn’t very well go to work in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I guess. Some of the braver youths were already playing their holographic games, while those who were still traumatised were in a daze, wandering about in a corner.

“When the zombies first appeared, we rushed here immediately. There were tens of thousands of shoppers at that time…”

Sima Junmo started recounting his valiant efforts at rescue. Like how he led a squad to break through the zombie blockade around the building. Like how he chased away those ghosts last night through sheer force of will and bravery. Or like he was so noble…

At this point, he might as well have been Superman. Not that he was, nor did he say so. But he definitely implied it.

Now that he was done praising himself, he began recounting what he termed, “the greatest regret in his life”.

They had no reliable way to distinguish the infected from the healthy. And the survivors weren’t helping either with their lying. That led to massive casualties in the beginning. Completely avoidable, had it not been for their deception.

Finally, he confidently guaranteed that the remaining survivors were all clean. After all, the incubation period was over.

However, that last bit wasn’t important at all. What was important was that my virus detector was giving me a warning glow.

Realising that I wasn’t all too interested in his tale, he was about to change the topic when he noticed the strange object in my hands glowing.

“Lady Mo Ke, what is that wondrous-looking pearl you have there? It’s even glowing, how strange.”

“Oh. This? It’s a virus detection kit. It can detect any undead energy in the vicinity. Meaning if there’s an infected person who comes near this pearl…”

I paused at that instant, eyes wide as I realised the implications of what I was explaining. There was an infected here!

Sima Junmo was still listening to my explanation like a happy student, or maybe just a braindead ape. “What happens if there’s an infected person?”

“It will glow!” I nearly called him an idiot at that point.

I thrust the pearl in front of him. Even through his exosuit, the pearl should still be able to function. It was, after all, an item that cost me a whopping 100 points.

However, there was no obvious change in the pearl. In fact, it even grew a little dimmer, meaning Sima Junmo wasn’t infected. I then checked the remaining SAT members. Clean.

That left only one group…

“Officer Sima, separate those survivors immediately! One by one!”

“Got it.” Having finally realised the severity of the situation as well, Sima Junmo did not even question the efficacy of the pearl. He had complete faith in my words as he turned to the other three exosuit pilots and commanded them. “You heard Lady Mo Ke, I want all the survivors segregated.”

“But we don’t have enough rooms.” One of the male pilots answered.

“Then have them put in a larger area with at least three meters between them. I want them facing each other as well, just in case one of them turns.” I cut Sima Junmo off before he could reply.

“Roger!”

The SAT members promptly carried out my instructions. In the beginning, the survivors were annoyed by the sudden disruption, but they complied for the most part… Sigh. Just goes to show how fast human beings get complacent. Just five minutes ago, they were all shaking in their boots, now they’ve already recovered enough to complain. But I guess I’m partly to blame for not telling them the true situation…

Hiding the truth from them was something I had specifically instructed them to do. After all, if it got out that there were infected people amongst them, a panic would break out.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

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