Chapter 79: Gains a Little Follower
Through his psychic perception, Chris could sense that the mutant before him was filled with emotions like fear, terror, and desperate avoidance.
However, she completely lacked the usual aggressive irritability, chaotic bloodlust, or instinctive malice that other mutants displayed toward outsiders.
Therefore, after securing the infant, Chris decided to attempt communication with her.
Besides wanting to reunite the baby with her parents, he also wanted to understand more about this mutant clan's structure.
Most importantly, he needed to confirm who exactly had stolen his life essence.
Currently, Chris's primary suspect was Jupiter—the patriarch of this mutant tribe—but given the leader's current lack of reaction to the deaths Chris had already caused, the possibility of him being responsible seemed low.
After all, the effect of absorbing life essence was immediate. Once absorbed, the power boost could be sensed instantly by the recipient.
So, having finally found a mutant capable of rational communication, Chris didn't kill her immediately.
To ensure the infant's safety during questioning, Chris had only torn off Ruby's arm rather than her head—a calculated act of controlled violence.
Ruby, who'd been thrown against the mine tunnel wall and collapsed to the ground, stared at Chris in terror. Only when she realized he was apparently just an ordinary human—albeit an extraordinarily strong one—did the fear in her eyes diminish somewhat.
Then, hearing Chris's threatening question, she said tremblingly, "Our tribal leader Jupiter led a hunting party. This infant was taken from her family, and the leader wants to raise her to become the tribe's breeder."
Chris pulled back the baby's diaper slightly and confirmed she was indeed a little girl—probably only a few months old.
"Your tribal leader is truly a goddamn animal," Chris muttered with disgust.
He looked at the mutant before him with surprise, because through his psychic sensitivity, he'd detected a thought of agreement from her. She clearly felt the same way about Jupiter's plans.
Chris said with genuine surprise, "Huh. I didn't expect you to be more human than some actual people I've met. I really was judging a book by its cover."
Ruby didn't respond immediately. She didn't even understand the reference he was making.
However, she had calmed down considerably. This human before her clearly wasn't a warrior from rival cannibal clans—otherwise she'd already be dead.
Noticing that the mutant's emotional state had stabilized, Chris became curious. "Why aren't you scared anymore? Is it because I'm too damn handsome and you're starstruck?"
Ruby had been intently watching Chris, observing his every move for signs of further violence. But only after hearing Chris tease her did she actually notice how striking this young man was—possessing an unusual charisma that transcended his physical appearance.
For a moment, the mutant girl was completely stunned. Then a cry from the infant in Chris's arms startled Ruby, making her lower her head in embarrassment.
She explained in a quiet voice, "No. I think... you're a good person. You won't be as brutal as the other cannibal clans in these hills."
"Hmph. No matter how much you butter me up, I'm not letting you go!" Chris said stubbornly, then shifted his attention to this new information about other clans.
"Tell me specifically about these other cannibal tribes. If you can satisfy my curiosity, I might even leave you with a complete corpse when I'm done with you!"
Hearing Chris's words, Ruby glanced at her severed arm lying on the tunnel floor. Chris realized his phrasing was somewhat inaccurate given the circumstances and started to rephrase.
But Ruby didn't give him the chance, speaking quickly, "There isn't just our tribe in this mine network. There are several other cannibal clans living in different sections. But their hunting grounds are usually in other areas of the Nevada desert, so we don't interact much."
Through his empathic perception, Chris confirmed the mutant girl was telling the truth.
Moreover, using his misfortune radar, he detected dozens of non-human entities scattered throughout the vast mine network.
However, their signatures were distinctly different from these radiation mutants. Besides human attributes, they possessed another special quality that made them somewhat purer—or perhaps more fundamentally other—than these mutants.
But Chris wasn't in the mood to deal with that mystery right now. He needed to find Jupiter first and determine if his missing essence had anything to do with the mutant patriarch.
"Since you've been so honest with me, I'll spare your life for now. After I've dealt with what's bothering me, I'll decide what to do with you."
Chris, cradling the infant carefully, followed the path Ruby had taken into the mine tunnel. Soon he exited through a different opening and emerged in the canyon where the Carter family's vehicles were stranded.
As for the mutant girl with the severed arm, Chris essentially ignored her presence.
Through his perception, this mutant girl registered as fundamentally good-natured, and in the movie, her self-sacrifice to save this very infant had left a lasting impression on Chris during his casual viewing.
So while Chris was harsh with his words, in his heart he'd already decided to spare Ruby's life.
However, she clearly didn't realize this. Not long after Chris carried the infant out of the mine, and just as he was determining Jupiter's exact location, he noticed the mutant girl had followed him out, awkwardly carrying her own severed arm.
Seeing Chris's curious gaze, and before he could even ask, Ruby proactively explained, "You defeated me, so I'm your... your servant now. A servant can't leave their master."
Hearing the mutant girl's shocking declaration of voluntary servitude, Chris merely pursed his lips and said nothing, implicitly accepting her intention to follow him.
Seeing that Chris didn't object and was scanning the canyon terrain, Ruby immediately raised her remaining hand and pointed in a specific direction. "Jupiter's over that way. He's still planning to hunt down the remaining survivors from the family."
Chris had already confirmed the direction using his misfortune radar, but he'd also detected a lone human moving through the darkness in another direction—likely the infant's father searching for her.
That's why he hadn't immediately decided which objective to pursue first.
However, now that this mutant girl was actively betraying her own clan, Chris no longer hesitated. He headed directly in the direction she'd indicated.
Killing Jupiter wouldn't take much time anyway, and it wouldn't be too late to find the infant's father afterward.
Having made his decision, Chris quickened his pace, sprinting across the moonlit desert terrain.
Due to his concern for the fragile infant in his arms, he limited himself to roughly Olympic sprinter speed—fast for a human, but nowhere near his actual capabilities.
Yet even at this reduced pace, Chris noticed that Ruby wasn't falling behind. The mutant girl kept up with surprising agility despite her injury. It seemed these creatures had indeed been touched by some special power beyond mere radiation exposure.
However, now that this girl had essentially defected to him, there was no rush to investigate these minor mysteries. For now, it was better to eliminate Jupiter first and determine if the missing essence had anything to do with the patriarch.
After several minutes of running across the rocky terrain, Chris spotted several mutants lying prone on a hillside overlook. Following their line of sight, he could see the Carter family's RV in the distance below.
The mutants, hearing the commotion of approaching footsteps, turned their heads curiously.
"It's Ruby! Why'd she come back?"
"And there's some guy with her. He don't look like he's from our tribe!"
Hearing his two sons' uncertain observations, Jupiter stood up with a grim expression, his massive frame silhouetted against the desert stars.
But before the patriarch could make any defensive move, Chris handed the infant to Ruby and his figure instantly blurred into motion.
In a heartbeat, Chris materialized directly before the three mutants. His monomolecular combat knife flashed from his interdimensional storage space, and Chris executed a single fluid strike.
Ruby only registered a brief flash of reflected moonlight, and then her two brothers and father had been decapitated—their heads tumbling across the rocky ground.
It wasn't until Chris struck again, methodically chopping the three mutants into scattered chunks of meat, that a thunderous CRACK echoed across the canyon. That delayed sonic boom had been caused by Chris's blade moving faster than sound as it dismembered the mutants.
As the grayish-white essence flowed into Chris's body from all three kills, he frowned deeply.
"Something's definitely not right."
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