Above him, Pinkie—the massive pink moon, three times the size of Earth's—hung over the blue afternoon sky.The ocean breeze, warm and salt-sweet, floated through the open windows of the Hummer, carrying the scent of the sea.Normally, Gantzuke liked listening to music while driving, but today, he chose the symphony of nature instead.
According to the data from John Victor's encrypted phone, the guns had been stashed in a hidden safe beneath Victor's private cabin—tucked behind a shooting range at the end of a winding coastal mountain road.
The drive itself was stunning—lush, forested hills rose to his right, endless deep-blue ocean spread to his left.The view felt like something straight out of a luxury car commercial.For a moment, Gantzuke let himself admire the hidden beauty of this cursed world.
He narrowed his eyes, checking the massive Barrett M82A1 rifle case through the rearview mirror—along with five other firearms he'd retrieved from Victor's safe.Everything had gone easier than he dared hope.
Since leaving the city, Gantzuke hadn't encountered any obstacles.It seemed the infected cowered from sunlight—shrinking away like vampires.The narrow road snaking through the mountains was usually deserted even under normal circumstances.
The Hummer roared as it climbed another steep hill.On the left, the thick underbrush stretched down to the beach—waves of golden wildflowers nodding in the ocean breeze.On the right, black netting had been draped over the rocky cliffs to prevent landslides.
Then—
"Shit!"
Gantzuke's eyes widened.His metal foot slammed the brakes hard.The tires screamed, kicking up burning white smoke across the asphalt.
A girl had stumbled into the road—dirty, half-naked, bleeding between her legs.Her hair was tangled, her clothes shredded beyond decency.She flailed her arms desperately, pointing toward the thickets beside the road, trying to warn him of something coming.
Blood streaked down her thighs.Her gray eyes were filled with terror and pain.Gantzuke barely had time to react—
CRACK.A gunshot rang out.
The girl's head snapped sideways as a bullet blasted through her temple.A spray of blood and brain matter splattered across the Hummer's windshield, blinding him.
"Ooooh, fuck, man! Look what this bitch just led us to!"
A voice whooped from the brush—giddy, cruel.Moments later, a fat man scrambled up the guardrail.
"Damn, bro, that's one fine-ass ride!"His eyes gleamed at the sight of the gleaming black Hummer parked just behind the girl's cooling body.
Gantzuke heard heavy boots approach the driver's side.
"Yo, no driver. Just guns, baby!"The man shouted to his fat friend.
Two muffled pops cracked through the air.
"Pop-pop."
The first bullet tore through the temple of the lanky thug standing by the driver's door.The second punched cleanly through the fat man's skull just as he was stepping over the rail.
His blood-soaked body slumped, draped like a grotesque doll over the guardrail.
Gantzuke stayed low, concealed behind the rear of the Hummer.He had slipped out the moment he saw the girl gunned down—circling around the back without hesitation.
"Yo, man, what the fuck?! You idiots firing off shots like that? You wanna bring the damn biters down on us?!"
Another voice shouted from the thickets below—sixty meters down the slope.Sharp, pissed-off.
Gantzuke dropped flat instinctively.He strained to listen, to calculate—…More than one target, definitely.
There was yelling.A woman screamed—followed by the wet, ugly smack of a slap.
Carefully, Gantzuke lifted his head, scanning past a patch of wild yellow flowers.
Movement—beneath the palm trees.
The Hummer's engine idled, rumbling like a caged beast.Gantzuke flicked a glance toward the two corpses.The skinny one had his sagging camo pants half-off, red boxer briefs peeking out.The fat one, still tangled on the rail, looked like a butchered hog left hanging.
And in front of the Hummer—The girl.Bleeding, broken.
...Fucking Amun thugs...
Gantzuke clenched his jaw, tightening his grip on the pistol.Silent as a shadow, he began crawling down the slope—metal foot careful not to scrape against stone or railing.
He moved toward the bloodied thicket where screams still echoed.