Joel Joyce's furious roar snapped Gordon Grant back to his senses, and he quickly retracted the hand that was about to touch Josie Quinn's waist.
"Josie Quinn, are you trying to seduce Gordon Grant?"
Joel Joyce's voice held the fury of a man who'd been cheated on.
Josie Quinn gave him a languid look, neither confirming nor denying it.
Joel Joyce snapped, "I'm going to tell Landon about this and let him see you for who you really are!"
A careless smile played on Josie Quinn's lips.
If she remembered correctly, this so-called "upright" man had waited outside the door for her many times after she'd showered, his eyes greedily and brazenly glued to her body.
'And now he's acting like such a gentleman.'
"Go on, then. Tell him now. Don't be a coward."
Joel Joyce's expression froze. He clearly hadn't expected her to be so blunt.
Gordon Grant gave Josie Quinn a long, searching look before pulling Joel Joyce away. "You've got it all wrong. It's not what you think..."
Joel Joyce seemed convinced. But that night, he snuck into Josie Quinn's room.
He expected Josie Quinn to scream when she saw him, but she didn't show the slightest hint of panic at his appearance.
"You're not scared?"
He stepped out of the shadows, drawing closer to her.
This was Joel Joyce's superpower: the ability to travel through shadows.
A useless, non-combat superpower, just like hers.
Josie Quinn sat on the sofa, a smile in her bright eyes. Her dress clung to her perfect figure, outlining every alluring curve.
The beast in Joel Joyce's chest strained against its chains. His stare grew more brazen, his eyes darkening...
As Joel Joyce drew near, Josie Quinn tilted her head back and laughed softly. "Want me?"
Without a word, Joel Joyce leaned in, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and lunging hungrily for her lips.
Just as he was about to capture the lips he had so desperately craved, Josie Quinn turned her head.
His kiss landed on empty air, his lips brushing against her hair.
A shadow crossed Joel Joyce's eyes. "Not willing? You'd better think this through. Once you've left Landon Hughes, how long do you think you'll last without a superpower user to protect you?"
Josie Quinn turned back to face him, a bright smile on her face. "What's the rush? Landon Hughes could show up at any moment. Aren't you afraid he'll see us and turn you two from brothers into enemies?"
"You two broke up..."
Josie Quinn raised a hand to stroke his cheek. "Once you've arranged a place for me, I'll be yours."
Joel Joyce's hand on her shoulder tightened. "Are you serious?"
"Mm."
After receiving Josie Quinn's confirmation, Joel Joyce spent the next few days busy setting up a love nest for her. Meanwhile, Josie took the opportunity to promise each of Landon Hughes's "brothers" a "home" of their own.
She moved effortlessly between his friends, playing them all with ease.
It was like she had become a completely different person—flirtatious one moment, distant the next. She toyed with them like prey, watching as they grew more and more unsettled.
Joel Joyce knew something was off, but with a face that could rival any A-list celebrity and a killer body, Josie Quinn was impossible for him to resist.
"Landon, look at you! It's only been a few days, and you've tormented yourself into this state. Josie Quinn's heart doesn't ache for you, but mine does!"
Landon Hughes was completely drunk, slouched in a corner with a look of utter despair.
The few bottles of liquor they'd painstakingly scrounged up had all ended up in his stomach.
Alice Sullivan said, as if to herself, "Landon, since Josie Quinn betrayed you like that, why don't we trade her for supplies..."
Before Landon Hughes could open his mouth, four voices spoke up from the side in perfect unison.
"Absolutely not!"
Alice Sullivan shot them a strange look. "I suggested trading Josie Quinn for supplies. Landon hasn't even said a word, so what are you all objecting to?"
The four men, sharing a silent understanding, said nothing.
Realization dawned on Alice Sullivan, and anger flared within her. After all the trouble she had gone through to get Josie Quinn away from Landon, now these four were falling for her too.
"You... You've all been bewitched by that vixen Josie Quinn too?"
With a grim expression, Joel Joyce warned Alice Sullivan, "Alice, don't ever mention trading Josie Quinn for supplies again."
The anger in Alice Sullivan's eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a smile.
"Fine! What can I do, you're my brothers, after all! If you all want her, then of course I have to help you."
Only then did relieved expressions appear on the men's faces, each one of them already making their own selfish calculations.
******
The survivor camp was located in an ancient city, its old city walls forming a natural barrier.
Outside the walls, a tide of zombies swarmed, and the stench of decay filled the air.
Josie Quinn slowly ascended the city wall. She knew she was about to take a step that would set her on a completely different path from her past life.
But her heart was calm. There was no fear.
'I've already been through it all in my past life. The worst that can happen is that it all ends the same way.'
Hearing footsteps, Alice Sullivan turned, crossing her arms. A scornful smirk played on her red lips as she watched Josie Quinn slowly approach.
"Josie Quinn, have you no shame?" Her voice was cloyingly sweet, yet every word was laced with poison. "Landon already threw you away like trash, and you still have the gall to come crawling back?"
"You've got one thing wrong,"
She raised a finger, wagging it gently, a nonchalant smile on her face. "It's not that he didn't want me. I'm the one who decided he was too dirty, that he wasn't worthy of me."
Alice Sullivan never expected that Josie Quinn, who had loved Landon Hughes down to her very bones, would say something like that.
"Who are you trying to fool with that holier-than-thou act?"
She didn't believe a word of it and scoffed. "If you really had any pride, what would you be doing here today? You just heard I could help you get back together and came running like a dog wagging its tail! So open your eyes and take a good look. In Landon's heart, you're not even worth my little finger."
"Alice Sullivan, the show hasn't even started yet. It's a little early to be popping the champagne."
As she spoke, the sound of frantic footsteps suddenly echoed from the base of the wall.
Landon Hughes rushed over with his close friends in tow. He looked up, his feverish gaze fixed on Josie Quinn.
"Alice!" Landon Hughes's voice was hoarse. "You said Josie Quinn wanted to see me?"
Alice Sullivan immediately put on a gentle smile. "Landon, hurry and come up here. Josie wants to get back together with you."
Landon Hughes's eyes lit up in an instant, like a drowning man clinging to a piece of driftwood.
But the expressions of the other men soured.
As she saw them start up the steps, Alice Sullivan raised her hand, preparing to slap herself across the face.
But her hand had barely moved before Josie Quinn caught her by the wrist.
"What are you doing?"
Josie Quinn didn't answer right away, instead pressing Alice's hand onto her own shoulder.
Then, her red lips parted as she whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Alice Sullivan, aren't you tired of this act? It's time for a new script today!"
Alice Sullivan sensed something was wrong and instinctively tried to pull away.
But Josie Quinn's grip was like a vise.
Just as the men reached the top of the wall, Josie Quinn suddenly smirked at Alice Sullivan. Then, in the midst of Alice's struggle, Josie abruptly released her grip, letting herself fall backward...
"JOSIE!!!"
Amid Landon Hughes's heart-wrenching roar, she plummeted from the wall like a broken-winged bird, her long hair whipping wildly in the wind.
In the final moment before she fell into the horde of zombies, she didn't forget to see her performance through to the end, her voice a tragic, grief-stricken cry: "Alice Sullivan, why did you do this to me? Landon... save me!"