Chapter 39: Black Tiger, the Awakened Ability User

Meanwhile, within the Black Tiger Survivor Base, a middle-aged man with a long scar running across his face staggered back into the camp, completely out of breath.

The moment he returned, he made a beeline for Black Tiger’s quarters.

Arriving outside the door, his legs gave out entirely, and he collapsed onto the ground, wailing at the top of his lungs, "Boss Black Tiger! Boss Black Tiger! Something terrible has happened! They're gone, all of them are wiped out!"

"What is all this frantic screaming about? Did you bring Zhang Jingyu back? And where is that brute Giant Bear?" A pot-bellied, dark-skinned, greasy-looking middle-aged man with a walrus mustache stepped out. Seeing Scarface slumped on the floor, Black Tiger felt a trace of surprise.

What on earth could have happened to reduce the usually composed Scarface to such a pathetic state?

"Boss! Giant Bear is dead!"

"Yellow Dog is dead too! Everyone is dead! If I hadn't tunneled underground as fast as I could, I would have died there as well!"

Recalling the horrifying scene, sheer terror flashed across Scarface's face.

"What? Giant Bear was taken out?!" Upon hearing this, disbelief instantly washed over Black Tiger’s face, which quickly morphed into boiling rage. He growled in a voice dripping with murderous intent:

"Is that bastard Zhang Jingling really that strong? There were over a dozen of you trailing them in secret—didn't you know how to launch a sneak attack once you found them? And you still managed to get yourselves wiped out by him? Are you all useless trash? Did some unexpected accident happen?"

"N-No... it wasn't Zhang Jingling. When we got there, Zhang Jingling was already dead. It was another young man, and his strength is terrifyingly high. He was wielding Zhang Jingling’s saber and instantly hacked down over a dozen of our men in the blink of an eye. From start to finish, he didn't even use any supernatural ability; he relied purely on close-quarters combat to annihilate everyone.

Even Giant Bear didn't even have time to react before he was instantly killed in a single blow! If I had run even a fraction of a second slower, my head would have been parted from my body by now," Scarface said, lingering terror still gripping his heart.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, my third brother Giant Bear is invincible under the heavens! Without using his powers, even I might not be his match. How could anyone kill him without using abilities?" Black Tiger flatly refused to believe it.

Back in the peaceful era, Giant Bear had been a professional mercenary, possessing formidable baseline strength.

After the apocalypse, he had awakened the ability to transform into a giant bear, granting him monstrous physical might.

To put it simply, even without activating his supernatural abilities, Giant Bear's combat prowess placed him at the very peak among all level-one awakened ones!

How could anyone possibly obliterate him in a single instant?

Suspicion clouded Black Tiger's eyes.

Could it be that Scarface, terrified of being punished for failing the mission, was deliberately exaggerating the enemy's strength?

"It's true, Boss! I'm not lying to you, Boss! Zhang Jingyu was also taken away by that guy. He even slaughtered hundreds of zombies, all hacked to death with a blade. His strength is horrifyingly strong! Right up until the end, we still had no idea what his power even was!" Scarface pleaded, his tone frantic.

Hearing that Zhang Jingyu had been taken away by that person instantly ignited Black Tiger's fury.

"Damn it! A dozen men couldn't even handle a single person! If you can't even bring back a single woman, what use are you people?

Once Falcon gets back, I'll have him scout out the situation first. Then, I'll go see this so-called awakened one myself and find out just how strong he really is!

If I find out you were just exaggerating, you'll be dealing with me later!" Black Tiger threatened viciously.

"I'm not making things up! Boss, every word I said is the truth! If you don't believe me, send Falcon to look for himself! That guy is genuinely terrifying! Believe what you want!" With that, Scarface stood up, visibly angry, and stormed off.

He had just narrowly escaped with his life. Fearing pursuit along the way, he hadn't dared to travel above ground, instead using his burrowing ability to tunnel all the way back—digging a subterranean path over twenty kilometers long!

This had drained his stamina enormously, leaving him completely exhausted.

And now, upon finally returning, he had only been cursed out by Black Tiger instead of receiving any sympathy, naturally putting him in a terrible mood.

Leaving Black Tiger's residence, Scarface muttered curses under his breath as he walked: "I lost a dozen brothers over a single woman! Not a single word of concern, and on top of that, he chews me out! Damn it all!

If I could beat him, I would have killed him myself ages ago! Son of a bitch, why did I have to awaken a useless digging power? If I had awakened a combat ability, would I be treated like this?"

After venting his fury internally, Scarface gradually calmed down and began contemplating his future escape route.

"Now that Black Tiger has lost his two right-hand men, Giant Bear and Yellow Dog, his strength has plummeted. I estimate that everyone in the entire survivor base combined wouldn't be a match for that young man. To get Zhang Jingyu back, Black Tiger will probably fight that young man to the death. If I stay here, am I not just waiting to die?"

"Damn it, rather than waiting around to die, I might as well leave early! Black Tiger doesn't treat his brothers like human beings; following a guy like him has no future!"

Scarface made up his mind.

He planned to head back to his quarters, pack his belongings, and slip away under the cover of secrecy.

Although his ability wasn't suited for combat, it was exceptionally useful for escaping. With his small stature, he dug tunnels that were too cramped for others to follow him through. As long as he wanted to run, practically no one could catch him.

Walking through the Black Tiger Survivor Base, the civilians caught sight of Scarface and cheerfully waved hello.

"Good day, Master Rat!"

"Master Rat, must have had another bountiful harvest today, right?"

"Not bad, not bad!" Scarface smiled back at the crowd.

A grime-covered, frail little girl trotted up to him, tilting her head and opening her wide, innocent eyes wide as she asked:

"Master Rat, where did you go adventuring today? Did you run into any scary zombies?"

Looking at the little girl's adorable expression, a wave of tenderness washed over Scarface's heart.

Though he was an awakened one, his burrowing power rendered him practically useless in the eyes of others.

He received no respect among the other superhumans, who all looked down upon him and always pushed him to the front lines whenever they went out on operations, forcing him to scout dangerous zones.

Yet, the ordinary civilians treated him with immense respect.

While the superhumans called him "Scarface," these common folk respectfully addressed him as "Master Rat."

Because of this, Scarface treated these civilians much better than the other superhumans ever did.

While the other superhumans acted with absolute arrogance—kicking civilians aside without a second thought if they dared to cause even minor trouble—who among them would ever condescend to speak nicely to commoners?

Squatting down, Scarface gently told the little girl:

"I went somewhere very far away. And you know what? Master Rat personally took down dozens of zombies! Looked quite majestic, didn't I? Here, Master Rat has a piece of candy for you." With that, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a single piece of candy, and handed it to the child.

The little girl’s eyes instantly lit up.

An endless radiance seemed to bloom within her gaze.

In this apocalyptic era, even the mere caloric value of a single piece of candy was unimaginably precious.

Taking the candy, the little girl clutched it tightly in her palm as if it were the most treasured artifact in the world, bowing repeatedly to Scarface. "Thank you, Master Rat! Thank you, Master Rat!"

When the other children saw that the little girl had received a piece of candy, they swarmed over instantly.

"Master Rat! You're so cool!"

"Master Rat, you're the coolest person in this whole base!"

"Master Rat! Do you have any more candy?"

...

"Hahaha! I just love kids who tell the truth. Yes, yes, yes, there's one for everyone!" Hearing the children praise his coolness, Scarface broke into a warm smile and handed out a piece of candy to each of them.

The children were instantly overjoyed.

"Candy! White Rabbit creamy candy! Mommy, I got to eat candy again! Waaaaah!"

One of the children cried happy tears.

"Master Rat is the best! Long live Master Rat!"

...

The children hopped and skipped away into the distance.

Not far off, their parents cast looks of profound gratitude toward Scarface.

A piece of candy might mean nothing to an awakened one, but for ordinary civilians who struggled merely to stay alive day after day, how could they ever dream of affording such a luxury as candy?

Witnessing these survivors look at him with gazes usually reserved for a savior, Scarface clenched his teeth and finally solidified the resolution in his heart.