Chapter 2 Unmatch

At those words, Xander, Derek, and Jacob looked at Olivia in astonishment. She had voiced exactly what they were thinking, yet they understood their position. Besides, each of them had benefited from their relationship with Olivia, and none had been willing to openly acknowledge what went unsaid between them.

"Domina, don't say such ridiculous things," Xander said, frowning. "We're surrounded by a zombie horde. This is no place to throw a tantrum!"

"Is this because you're upset that we protected Hayley first?" Derek added. "She's the purifier and vital to our team. If we don't put her safety first, should we just stand by and let the zombie horde kill her?"

They had ventured out on this occasion to carry out a mission as a team.

The conventional money once used in this world had become worthless long ago, little more than stacks of useless paper.

Anyone hoping to battle zombies, make weapons, or strengthen a shelter had to go outside and gather zombie cores.

Gathering those cores, however, inevitably brought people into conflict with the zombie hordes.

Because taking on zombies alone was so dangerous, organized team missions were common. Most squads included a purifier who could cleanse men when their corruption levels grew dangerously high. Without that cleansing, a man whose corruption reached a certain threshold would lose his reason, turn feral, and eventually die in a violent frenzy.

As an SSS-rank purifier, Hayley had secured that important role. The original Olivia, meanwhile, had insisted on joining them and could only serve as an insignificant extra.

"End our match?" Jacob gave a derisive snort. "Domina, those were your words. We never said anything like that..."

Olivia had no interest in hearing any more. Raising her wrist, she quickly worked the communicator that everyone in this world carried.

The device was much like a mobile phone from the old world, except that the Federation Government issued one to every person at birth.

Soon afterward, golden markings suddenly appeared on all three men's foreheads, signaling that their matches were about to be dissolved.

All three men's eyes went wide at once.

"Domina, what do you think you're doing?"

"Olivia, you..."

Before any of them could say another word, however, Olivia had already pressed the button confirming the unmatch.

The golden markings on their foreheads vanished completely in an instant.

Golden lines of writing appeared across their skin. As soon as the markings faded, all three men felt a sudden, unsettling hollowness within their bodies.

The three men remained there, stunned. None had imagined she would truly dissolve their matches, much less make the decision so swiftly!

Yet, for reasons they couldn't explain, what they felt was not relief or happiness but a surge of anger and humiliation.

Each was formidable in his own right: a Level 10 water esper, a Level 12 fire esper, and a Level 11 earth esper. They were considered exceptional in this world, and none had ever endured an insult like this.

Xander's face darkened as he struggled to contain his anger. "Domina, enough of these games. You know there's a 24-hour window to reverse an unmatch, so you're only doing this to frighten us, aren't you? We'll take you back to the base now. Once we arrive, apologize to Hayley and give her the zombie cores you collected. Do that, and we'll forget what happened today. Without our help, there's no way you'll survive this zombie horde."

Olivia picked at her ear, visibly irritated. "Well, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Our matches are over, and you're free to go wherever you please. My vehicle is too small to accommodate such important men like you anymore. Goodbye."

With those words, she pushed open the doors, jumped out of the vehicle, dragged the men out one after another, and took the driver's seat.

After all, assets in every household in this world belonged to the woman and not her husbands, and the government had issued this armored vehicle to the original Olivia.

She shut the door with a bang. Dense exhaust poured from the back as the heavy vehicle sped away through the zombie horde, running over countless zombies along the way.

Olivia scoffed. Those bastards had all been perfectly content to live off her resources, enjoying every benefit while contributing nothing in return.

As if she'd allow that. To hell with every one of them!

After collecting herself, Olivia chose not to return to Northrel, where she no longer had a place. Instead, guided by her memories, she drove toward Centerford.

The major powers of this world were broadly split among five regions. Northrel, Southova, Westlon, and Eastsal were governed respectively by the northern, southern, western, and eastern legions. And there was Centerford, which offered more freedom and welcomed newcomers, but it was also surrounded by the greatest number of zombie hordes, which launched frequent attacks on the city.

Still, danger also brought opportunities with it.

As far as Olivia was concerned, living alongside three ungrateful men whose hearts belonged to someone else was far less safe than making a home in Centerford.

Yellow dust filled the air throughout the journey, with windblown sand almost entirely blocking her view through the windows.

Once in a while, Olivia heard the deep, throaty growls of zombies roaming the streets or felt the armored vehicle's tires roll over something disturbingly soft and brittle.

With nothing else to guide her, she kept following the vehicle's locator toward Centerford.

Only after twenty straight hours behind the wheel did Olivia finally spot the circular city rising among the ruins.

She used her final ten zombie cores to secure a rental safe house on the city's outskirts.

Nothing but a single layer of sheet metal shielded the safe house's four walls. Should zombies attack without warning, her home would be the first they overran.

The place was rather run-down, but it was the best accommodation Olivia could find at the moment.

She took the few bags she had from the armored vehicle and carried them into the safe house. Too exhausted to even clean herself, she dropped onto the wooden bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

After a night's rest, she would need to leave early the following morning to gather more zombie cores.