He shot up into a sitting position, the taut muscles of his right arm poised to strike at a moment's notice.
"Who are you?" His voice was deep and cold, carrying an intense, oppressive weight.
Josie Quinn glanced at the completely dark sky outside, then checked the empty energy reserves within her body.
After a moment, she pursed her lips and decided to tell the truth. "If I said I wandered in here by mistake, would you believe me?"
"What do you think?"
Felix Fields narrowed his eyes, studying the strange girl who had suddenly appeared by the faint moonlight filtering through the window.
She looked to be in her early twenties, with raven hair, snow-white skin, and delicate features that seemed utterly out of place in this scarred, apocalyptic world.
Her beautiful eyes met his, direct and frank.
"I mean no harm. I just want to stay here for a few days. Is that okay?"
With Lucas Lockwood gone, she couldn't recharge. She would probably need a few days to build up some of her superpower reserves; otherwise, even if she left, she would easily be killed in a city this infested with zombies.
The strengths and weaknesses of her superpower were both obvious.
The strength was that as long as she had a continuous supply of energy, she could move through a horde of zombies as if they weren't there.
The weakness was also clear: after heavy use, her superpower recovered much more slowly than other superpower users'.
Felix Fields's expression was cold and distant. After his gaze swept over her face, he seemed to lose interest. "You want to stay? You shouldn't have come to me. Go find someone outside to arrange it."
In the early days of the apocalypse, factions with resources to spare were still quite willing to take in their own kind for mutual support.
This was also why Josie Quinn had chosen to risk staying.
Seeing him lie back down, Josie Quinn's eyes darted around. She slowly turned, pulled the door open, and walked out.
'That scantily clad woman from earlier was throwing herself at him,' she mused. 'That means he has a high status here.'
'I just need a few days to recover my power, anyway. Maybe I can borrow his name and throw my weight around for a while?'
She pushed the door open to a pitch-black corridor. Faint light seeped in from up ahead.
She started walking toward it...
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get this washed for me." A sharp, scolding voice suddenly rang out.
Josie Quinn softened her steps and saw, in the dim hallway, the scantily clad woman from before yanking a small, thin girl by the collar.
"I-I know..." the girl stammered timidly, bending down to pick up a basin on the floor.
"Stop!" The woman jabbed a finger, nail polished bright red, at the girl's forehead. She lowered her voice, threatening, "If you dare go crying to Felix Fields, I have plenty of ways to deal with you and your grandmother."
Jane Alden answered with a quiet whimper.
Still not satisfied, Joanna Cross kicked her, cursing under her breath. "A couple of deadweights. I have no idea why Felix Fields keeps you two around. You're not even real family, just constantly causing trouble for him."
Jane Alden's head sank even lower, her eyes turning red.
She didn't want to cause trouble for Felix either. Knowing he was always busy outside, she never said a word that might worry him.
He had already been good enough to her and her grandmother. After his parents passed away, her grandmother would occasionally cook for him and invite him over. Later, after he went abroad to become a mercenary, he would still come back to visit every year.
This time, he had gotten trapped here because he came back to visit her grandmother.
If it weren't for Felix, she and her grandmother probably would have been bitten to death by zombies on the very first day of the apocalypse.
Josie Quinn leaned against the doorframe, piecing together the relationships from just a few sentences.
She watched Jane Alden's frail back and Joanna Cross's arrogant posture, then suddenly took a step forward and kicked over the basin full of dirty clothes.
SPLASH! The dirty water soaked Joanna Cross's legs.
"Lost your hands? Can't you wash them yourself?" Josie Quinn asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.
Both girls whipped their heads around.
Joanna Cross was stunned for a moment, then fury ignited within her. "Who the hell do you think you are? I can have you thrown out of here with a single word!"
Her mood soured instantly as she sized up the stunningly beautiful stranger before her.
Only Jane Alden stood there meekly from start to finish, not daring to say a word.
Josie Quinn deliberately lifted her chin, a provocative smile on her face. "Felix Fields brought me back. He said he'd protect me, so if you dare bully me..."
She leaned in close to Joanna Cross's ear and whispered with a laugh, "With a single word, I can make him leave with me."
This woman, Joanna Cross, acted all high and mighty but deliberately tried to seduce Felix Fields. That meant she needed him.
And if she needed him, she wouldn't dare act recklessly.
"Impossible! You're lying! How could you be Felix Fields's woman?" Joanna Cross's voice shot up, filled with indignant anger.
"If it's impossible for me, is it possible for you?"
Josie Quinn leaned against the wall and began to spin her tale in a slow, unhurried tone. "Felix Fields and I met five years ago. He's madly in love with me. He's been out looking for me all this time. If he hadn't begged me to come here, you think I'd care to stay?"
"Bullshit! Felix Fields isn't even interested in women!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Josie Quinn deliberately looked her up and down, a smirk playing on her lips. "Could it be that he's just not interested in *you*? Once he gets into my bed, he never wants to leave..."
As Josie Quinn was speaking, a hand reached out from the side and tugged her sleeve.
The young girl, Jane Alden, was blushing beet-red, looking like she didn't dare say another word.
Josie Quinn thought she might have gone too far and was about to pat her shoulder reassuringly.
But then she heard Joanna Cross shout, "Wilder, you're just in time! This... *someone* is pretending to be your woman!"
As soon as the words were out, Josie Quinn's heart plummeted.
She had only intended to borrow his name behind his back to live peacefully here for a couple of days.
She never expected the man who had just been sleeping to show up here.
Her gaze slowly shifted. With a CLICK, the dim cavern was suddenly illuminated.
Josie Quinn could clearly see the displeasure on the man's handsome face.
When he didn't answer, Joanna Cross immediately said with a smile, "I knew this woman was talking nonsense..."
"Joanna Cross! Have you been bullying Jane while I was away?"
Joanna Cross's expression froze. She quickly explained, "Wilder, of course not! I just remembered that my brother wanted to see me, so I'll be going now."
"Stop!"
Felix Fields stopped her, his eyes turning dangerous. "Joanna Cross, Jane and her grandmother are my family. Do I need to repeat myself?"
Joanna Cross immediately forced a smile. "Wilder, it's really a misunderstanding. If you don't believe me, ask Jane Alden."
Jane Alden remembered her grandmother's words: they weren't related to Felix Fields by blood or marriage. He had protected them all the way here, so they should be grateful and not cause him any more trouble.
"Felix, Joanna wasn't giving me a hard time. Please don't be angry."
Joanna Cross quickly jumped on that. "See, Wilder? You heard her. It was just a misunderstanding. I'll be leaving now."
Before leaving, she shot Josie Quinn a vicious glare.
Josie Quinn also wanted to get away from this den of trouble, so she quickly turned to slip away.
"Stop."