Unlike Sylvia, who didn't meet anyone upon entering, Jayden sneaked into a room where two men were sleeping soundly on the bed.
Judging by their energy signatures, he concluded that they were first-level-evolved like him.
'How do I interrogate them without causing a noise?'
He frowned, covered his lower face with a cloth mask. In the end, he could only come up with a crude idea.
Sneakily unsheathing his sword, he moved towards one of them and placed the sword on his neck.
The man stirred, feeling something cold and heavy on him.
'What?!'
His eyes widened at the sight of the sword, and his instincts as an evolved told him to move.
"Hush…"
Someone suddenly whispered behind him, making his blood run cold. The voice sounded like that of the devil.
"Don't even try escaping. I'm just going to ask you some questions."
The man gritted his teeth, then glanced at his friend. He was sure that the person behind him was a first level evolved. If he and his friend worked together, they'd surely—
Nick—!
The sword nicked his skin, drawing blood.
"Now, now, you shouldn't entertain such thoughts when your life is at stake, no?"
'Damn it! How did he know? Can he read minds?' the man was quietly distressed. It was already hard breathing with a blade to his neck.
"Perhaps I can read minds, indeed."
This finally made the man panic as he concluded that his enemy had a mind-reading ability.
"What do you want?" He whispered hoarsely, despite the blade an inch into his skin.
"Tell me. Have you seen this woman?"
Jayden unfurled the paper before him. Although the lights were off, the moonlight was enough for an evolved to see the image.
"That-!"
The man was tongue-tied. He immediately recognized the woman as one of the ladies he had brought into the shelter with his team.
Seeing his reaction, Jayden's face hardened.
"So you recognize her. I wouldn't ask you how, since I already know, but where is she?"
Of course that was a bluff. To prevent the man from lying and keeping his mind-reader facade, he needed to be mysterious.
"P-please, don't kill me. I'll tell you what I know. She should be in the slaves' room. I can even lead you there."
Under panic, the man failed to think deeply about the enemy's supposed mind reading abilities. Couldn't Jayden just pry the truth from his mind?
'That works for me.'
Jayden thought calmly as he answered. "Don't bother. Even if you escape into the hallway, I can still kill you before the another evolved arrives."
The man's eyes widened. Although he hadn't thought of that, once Jayden mentioned it, it immediately came to his mind. However, knowing that Jayden already foresaw that, he crushed the idea instantly.
"Just tell me where it is."
Gritting his teeth, the man answered. "Room 24, second flo—"
He didn't finish speaking because Jayden's blade had already sliced through his neck.
Since the man had given the information needed, he'd surely relax, thinking Jayden would now decide his fate. This brief moment of relaxation was all Jayden needed to kill him smoothly.
Except for the squelching sound of flesh being cut, no other sound was produced.
Standing up from the ground, Jayden wiped his bloodied blade and quietly left the room.
The hallway was empty, proving that most of the residents in the hotel were asleep. Sticking to dark corners, he navigated the stairs and arrived at the second floor. He quickly spotted Room 24 since an evolved was standing guard there. Boldly, he approached the evolved.
"Hey, mate. What are you doing her—ugh!"
Unaware that it wasn't someone from their shelter, the guard received a stab to the heart while his mouth was covered to prevent a scream.
Watching life fade from his eyes, Jayden sighed.
'For him to be actively guarding the room, he's definitely not a good person.'
Killing two people in a row weighed heavily on his conscience. Even if he tried to dismiss it, he couldn't bring himself to do so. After all, it was human lives he claimed.
Forcefully shelving the thought, he opened the door of the room and stepped inside.
The room was dimly lit, showing about twenty-five ladies sleeping on the bed and ground. They all looked malnourished, but it was evident that they were being fed at least.
Ignoring their revealing attires and poor state, Jayden immediately spotted Elena Holmes. The woman was around thirty plus years old, yet she looked younger.
Relieved that she was still alive, Jayden quietly approached her, and tapped her.
"Hey, wake up."
"Hmm. Ah?"
The woman woke up with a startled gasp, though Jayden quickly silenced it.
"Keep it down. I'm here to get you out. Your kids are with us, so it's better if you cooperate and we all leave here alive."
Her eyes trembled softly, but she nodded.
Holding her hand, he took her out of the room while ignoring the other slaves. If he tried to be a kind man and save them, who knew how much trouble they'd bring?
Saving one person was far easier than saving many. Just as they stepped into the hallway, he heard a sound from the higher floors.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
From the sound, it was obvious that someone was fighting. With a grim expression, he hurriedly took the woman out of the hotel while killing any evolved he met on the way with surprise attacks.
'Someone got caught. We have to hurry!'
The sound of fighting above seized abruptly, making him uneasy. He wasn't sure if that was his side who won, or the other.
Luckily, he didn't encounter any second level evolved and successfully escaped the hotel.
Waiting at the rendezvous point, he impatiently strolled around while Elena watched him with a tensed look.
Very soon, he saw two figures approaching from the distance.
"Jones, Alex."
He called out, relieved. Then he looked around. "Where's Sylvia?"
Both Jones and Alex exchanged confused glances. They both had blood on their blades but weren't injured.
"We didn't meet her. Could it be…?"
They had all heard the sound of fighting from above minutes ago.
"Damn it! She got killed?!"
Jayden was furious, but he knew well not to make a fuss. Jones's face hardened while Alex hung his head low. It was the first time they had a real loss after the apocalypse started.
"We can't dilly-dally."
After a minute of silence, Jones spoke. "Alex, you carry her."
He pointed at Elena. Turning to his friend, he gently squeezed his shoulder.
"Man up. We still haven't gotten out."
Jayden nodded, forcefully holding back his tears. The memories of them drinking together happily had now become a thorn in his heart.
"We'll bulldoze through them, kill everyone on our path."
He said, his voice laced with searing vengeance.
Jones didn't disagree. Everyone needed something to vent on. Alex complied and lifted Elena like a sack, ignoring her displeased comments. Although she was older, she still acted quite childish.
With Jayden and Jones by his side, they vengefully marched through the camp.
In a few seconds, bloodcurdling screams erupted within the camp.