Jayce wasn’t worried about being able to defeat the zombie.

Before turning into a zombie, it only had a First Level Superpower.

It couldn’t have suddenly become incredibly powerful just by turning into a zombie.

But not everything in this world could be explained by common sense.

If the zombie had some other tricks up its sleeve and caused unnecessary casualties, that would be bad.

So the best solution was to completely eliminate all potential threats before anything could happen.

Dominic Crawford looked at Nathan Thorne, hesitating as if he wanted to say something.

If this had been a strange zombie, Dominic Crawford would have killed it without a moment’s hesitation, not even needing a reminder from Jayce.

But just a few hours ago, this zombie had been Nathan Thorne’s teammate.

And just a few minutes ago, Nathan Thorne had been desperately trying to save him.

Killing it would be simple.

How could so many Superpower Users not be able to defeat a single zombie with a Superpower?

That was impossible, of course!

His only concern right now was Nathan Thorne’s feelings.

Nathan Thorne looked at the zombie, his expression incredibly complex.

But soon, he nodded. "Don’t worry about me. I know what’s important."

He had already done everything he could, but in the end, his ability wasn’t enough to save him.

The only thing he could do now was to not let him continue to exist in this zombified state.

’Once we get back to Dawnlight Base, I’ll make it up to his family.’

With Nathan Thorne’s approval, Dominic Crawford no longer hesitated.

Although Dominic Crawford wasn’t as powerful as Jayce and Sierra Sullivan, that was only in relative terms.

Compared to anyone else, Dominic Crawford’s Superpower was still quite formidable.

He dealt with the zombie in the span of a single breath.

The zombie didn’t even have time to throw a second fireball before its head fell to the ground.

Staring at the zombie’s head on the floor, Dominic Crawford once again found himself conflicted and lost in thought.

’What kind of Crystal Core would be inside the brain of a zombie with a Superpower?’

’If only this was a zombie I didn’t know. Then I wouldn’t have to hesitate and could just split its head open.’

’But now...’

’I have to consider Nathan Thorne’s feelings.’

This time, before Dominic Crawford could say anything, Nathan Thorne spoke up on his own.

"Go ahead and check. I’m actually curious too. I want to know what the difference is between the Crystal Core of a Superpower-wielding zombie and a regular one."

Dominic Crawford glanced at Nathan Thorne, said nothing, and simply split the head open.

The Crystal Core was found quickly.

It was the size of a normal Level 1 Crystal Core.

But instead of being transparent, it was red.

The fiery red Crystal Core glowed with a dazzling light in the dim room, even without any sunlight.

Everyone who saw the Crystal Core was amazed.

"This is..."

Someone couldn’t help but speak up, but after saying two words, they realized it was inappropriate and quickly shut their mouth.

Sierra Sullivan silently finished the sentence in her mind.

’It’s so beautiful!’

Even the most stunning jewels she had ever seen couldn’t compare to the dazzling brilliance of this Crystal Core.

The sight of this Crystal Core was so shocking that the room fell silent for a long time.

They were finally snapped out of it when they heard the roar of a zombie again.

Dominic Crawford’s first reaction was—

’Did it come back to life?’

As he thought this, he looked over at the zombie on the ground.

The zombie was as dead as could be; it definitely hadn’t reanimated.

’If it didn’t come back to life, then that means...’

Everyone turned to look at the other three people who were tied up.

Unsurprisingly, they saw three bound zombies.

They hadn’t managed to hold on either and had all turned.

While they were reluctant to accept it, they weren’t overly surprised.

It was unexpected, yet it made sense.

With the recent experience still fresh, there was little hesitation this time.

They struck first, finishing off the three zombies before they could attack.

The Crystal Cores from these three zombies were also extracted.

One was earthy yellow, one was gold, and another was also red.

Sierra Sullivan gave the four Crystal Cores to Nathan Thorne. "You should keep these."

As for what to do with them, that was up to Nathan Thorne himself.

Even though it was clear these Crystal Cores were special and absorbing them would be a great boon for enhancing one’s Superpower, no one present was tempted.

They wanted to become stronger, but not like this.

Nathan Thorne didn’t refuse, carefully putting the Crystal Cores away.

After Nathan Thorne ate something and recovered some of his stamina and Superpower energy, they wasted no more time and swept the entire building they were in.

There wasn’t a single zombie in the building.

Likewise, there were no living people either.

Felix Foley and Autumn Lynch’s group must have already cleared it out.

They hadn’t really felt it while going through everything, but a look at the sky outside made them realize how late it had gotten.

Before, the sky outside had been a dusky yellow.

But now, it had grown dark, and it would probably be completely black soon.

It wasn’t safe to be moving around outside after dark.

The group discussed it and unanimously decided to rest in this building for the night. Everything else could wait until morning.

They went up two more floors and chose an apartment with intact doors and windows to stay in.

Although there were many empty rooms, splitting up to rest wasn’t a wise choice when they were away from their base, especially in an unfamiliar place.

Sierra Sullivan used her spatial ability to move all the unnecessary things from the living room into other rooms.

Then she used her ability again to move the beds from the bedrooms into the living room.

Placing the beds side-by-side created a large communal sleeping area.

At night, they would take turns standing watch in shifts.

Aside from the person on watch, everyone else would rest together.

This prevented anyone from being alone and allowed them to react quickly to any sign of trouble.

No one had any objections to this arrangement.

Before sleeping, the most important thing was, of course, eating.

There were over a dozen of them, and they had big appetites. Since they were out in the field, making anything else would be too time-consuming and troublesome.

The most convenient option was hot pot.

Sierra Sullivan took out everything they needed for the hot pot. She obviously couldn’t bring out things like fresh meat.

But there was no need to be discreet about vacuum-sealed soy products, noodles, and canned goods.

Not to mention the vegetables. With Jayce, a Wood Ability User, around, no one would find it strange no matter how many fresh fruits and vegetables Sierra Sullivan produced.

Although eating just vegetables wasn’t as satisfying as having meat, everyone still ate to their heart’s content thanks to the spicy and savory broth.

Finishing it all off by cooking some instant noodles at the end was simply perfect.

Even Nathan Thorne ate a lot.

Losing a teammate was indeed a sad affair, but he couldn’t let himself drown in sorrow.

Having lived in the apocalypse for so long, everyone knew how to manage their emotions.