"45, HK, come down with me and search this bar. Any zombies I don't handle, let 45 deal with them. I remember her .45 ACP rounds with a suppressor work very well—if we're lucky, it won't attract other zombies. You prepare the rifle grenades. If we run into troublesome ones, you handle them."
After speaking, Lux stepped on the brakes, and the van slowly stopped in front of a bar.
He wasn't particularly fond of alcohol, but in the later stages of the apocalypse, sealed bottles of famous liquor would become priceless commodities to those powerful figures who established settlements to enjoy themselves.
Other survivors couldn't stockpile alcohol on the same scale he could. That kind of hoarding was only possible for someone with system space.
As future bargaining chips, their value would be enormous.
With their current combat power, not looting this place would be a waste.
As Lux opened the car door, a zombie lunged straight at his head.
He kicked it away three meters, then drew his katana and stabbed it through the brow.
UMP45, getting out from the other side, pulled the trigger. Two muffled gunshots rang out through the suppressor, and two zombies dropped instantly.
"As expected of someone specialized in hostage rescue with top-tier suppression."
Lux praised with some emotion. With this level of silencing, even regular firing wouldn't be much of a problem.
"Hehehe, seems like you know me quite well, Commander? That's not necessarily a good thing, you know~"
"No matter what you've done before, right now, you're my Tactical Doll. And I don't think you did anything wrong. So don't worry—even if you tell me about your past, that's fine."
"Hehehe, maybe next time?"
UMP45 froze for a moment, then once again put on her playful smile.
Lux turned and walked toward the bar entrance, pushing the door open. There was a pool of blood on the wooden floor. What surprised him was that two men were sitting at the bar drinking, and from a sofa farther inside came creaking noises.
Lux never expected to run into a group of survivors here.
"Well well, got customers? And you even brought a pretty little girl. How about coming over for a few drinks?"
The scruffy man holding a glass excitedly swept his gaze over the gun in UMP45's hands.
"Tch. So there are people already. How about we make a deal? I want to take some sealed liquor. In exchange, I'll leave you some food. Once we trade, I'll leave."
Lux frowned slightly and spoke calmly. Even though people were already here, he didn't want to give up all the alcohol in this bar.
"Hah, food? We've got plenty of snacks here, so forget it. But I'm pretty interested in the gun you're holding."
"How about this—give us a gun, and you can take as much liquor as you want from this bar. What do you say?"
"We've also collected some decent-looking women here. We can let you have some fun, or give you other things that'll make you feel real good."
"Of course, if you're willing to join us, that'd be even better. The world's turned into paradise—women whenever you want, take whatever you want! Right?"
The scruffy man made a gesture and rubbed his fingers together in front of his nose.
"Drugs…?"
Lux's expression instantly turned icy.
"Hahaha, yeah. We've got plenty of types. Enough to keep you two high for years. Once you miss this chance, there won't be another."
The scruffy man said smugly.
"45… kill all of them for me."
Lux said coldly.
"Hey, are you fucking insane???? If you don't want to trade then fine, damn it!"
The punk-looking man instantly threw himself to the ground.
"Roger~"
UMP45 revealed a gentle smile and swiftly pulled the trigger. The man who hadn't even reacted yet and was still drinking had his head burst into a spray of blood.
"What the hell is this idiot—"
An angry shout came from beside the sofa, and the creaking sounds immediately stopped.
"Fuck, are you crazy?! You won't drink the toast, so you want the punishment instead?! Brothers, grab your weapons! She's got only one gun—kill these two idiots!"
As the punk youth shouted, he raised a steel-ball gun and pulled the trigger.
UMP45 agilely sidestepped, dodging the steel balls fired at her.
Lux also tried to dodge, but a searing pain spread across his cheek. A steel ball scraped across his right cheek, carving out a bloody groove.
UMP45 rapidly pulled the trigger again, several shots forcing the opponent back behind the sofa.
"She's alone! Everyone rush her! Whoever gets hurt, I'll give him the campus belle I just got!"
Tempted by the promise of women, the men who had been hiding behind the sofa and other cover suddenly surged forward, brandishing machetes as they charged toward UMP45.
Dada dada dada dada.
Facing the men with murderous expressions, UMP45 still maintained that slightly gloomy, gentle smile as she continuously pulled the trigger. In less than two seconds, all five men who charged out were clutching their abdomens and rolling on the floor in agony.
The small-time leader with the steel-ball gun had hoped his lust-driven subordinates would burn through UMP45's magazine so he could take her out afterward.
But the moment he popped his head up to aim, a scorching bullet blew his skull apart.
"Hehehe, Commander, do you want to personally execute them? That's what you want, right?"
UMP45 asked cheerfully. From the earlier conversation, she had realized Lux lacked decisiveness at first, even wanting to trade food with them. That was why she deliberately hadn't killed them outright, leaving them for Lux instead.
Lux didn't answer her. He drew his katana and strode to a man lying on the ground screaming, then chopped his head off with a single strike.
"Don't—don't kill me, I'll—"
Another man burst into tears and snot as he begged, but the response he received was a flash of cold steel.
"I'll give you anything you want! Don't kill me! I'll be your lackey, boss, please don't kill me!"
Seeing his two companions beheaded without hesitation, another man ignored the pain in his abdomen, dropped to his knees, and slammed his head against the floor repeatedly in desperation.
He didn't want to die here.
"That's a shame. What I want is all of your lives. You don't deserve to live."
Lux raised the katana in his right hand indifferently and brought it down with force, splitting the kneeling man's head in two.
After beheading the five men that UMP45 had shot down, Lux walked toward the sofa where the creaking sounds had come from earlier.
A man holding a dagger suddenly sprang up and lunged at Lux, the blade aimed straight at his heart. Before he could reach him, a cold blade pierced straight through his chest.