Chapter 2

"I promised my sister to wait for her to come back," Grace said hesitantly.

"You don't have to rush to answer me. Take two days to think about it. Maybe we can go find your sister," I said assuringly.

Grace, such a beautiful lady, shouldn't have stayed in this camp. She was too kind, too innocent. If others had discovered her beauty, it might have led to trouble. So I decided to take her away.

Two days later, Grace gave her answer, she was willing to go on an adventure with me. On the last day, Grace brought out all her treasures. A pot full of lizard meat and various wild vegetables, very luxurious.

"To celebrate the new life," Grace waved her fist. I could feel that Grace's mood was much better. All her inner suppression was released, and she became more confident.

After breakfast, we started our journey. I was surprised to see that Grace had cleaned up and was no longer hiding her beautiful face.

"Grace, you look really beautiful." I complimented instinctively.

"In fact, I just want you to see me." She said softly, with seriousness in her eyes.

"Really?" I couldn't help but smile, she was indeed a lovely girl.

"Yes." She nodded, "And you can look at me all you want."

I held Grace's hand and said sincerely, "Then I won't miss it."

Grace blushed and leaned against me. The air was quiet and warm; it was the first time I had held Grace's hand. Her hand was soft and slightly cool, with a hint of nervous tremble. I could feel Grace's breath becoming a bit rapid. I gently held her hand, inhaling her fragrance as we walked side by side through the wilderness.

Soon, my Brazilian turtle interrupted this scene. The unique sound of the Brazilian turtle rang out; it was actually a warning. There was a person ahead.

"Is it a zombie?" Grace was tense. We were far from the town and rarely saw zombies.

Soon, the person in front stopped. It seemed like he saw us. Then he ran to the side and disappeared from view.

"It turns out to be a survivor. What a pity, we could have shared his findings." Grace was a bit disappointed, seeing prey run away.

I shook my head, in the apocalypse, the most dangerous thing was not zombies or fierce beasts, it was people. Food and trust had become luxurious. In order to survive, humans would do anything, even putting others in danger for a few bites of food. In the apocalypse, the most unpredictable thing was often the human heart.

The person being scared away meant there was no danger here. I didn't expect this Brazilian turtle to have this ability. I patted its head approvingly, "Go on, find food for yourself."

Grace looked at the Brazilian turtle in surprise. It actually crawled away on its own and at a fast speed. Its shell was the same color as the rocks, making it almost indistinguishable once it crawled far away.

"Mr. Steele, aren't you afraid it will escape?"

"Don't worry, it's my trained pet." Actually, I had a spiritual connection with this Brazilian turtle, it couldn't leave me. "Its name is Jack," I added.

Grace couldn't help but laugh when she heard that, "You really have a knack for naming!"

I shrugged, "Jack is as loyal as a friend."

We walked for two hours and finally stopped. This was a canyon, also Grace's traditional hunting ground, with many small lizards. Grace vowed to make me a sumptuous lunch, so she continued to be busy with her stone traps.

I couldn't let a lady feed me, so I decided to hunt as well, it was also a chance to test the effects of my enhanced body. I started chasing the fleeing lizards, they were very fast, but for me, I could catch them anytime. After a while, my backpack was filled with three of them.

Suddenly, behind a huge rock, I saw a lizard that was different from the others. If it wasn't for the other fleeing lizards disturbing it, I wouldn't have noticed it crouching on the rock. It could change colors. That special lizard was running away, with seven colored stripes on its body, beautiful like a rainbow. I wouldn't let go of one of this kind.

When I was very close to it, that familiar feeling came to my mind again. "Rainbow lizard can evolve into a super species." Another animal that could evolve! It was truly amazing. I'd definitely have it.

Perhaps this rainbow lizard was scared, triggering its potential. It jumped like a grasshopper, reaching a height of 6 feet. It ran to the top of the boulder in a few steps, stopped on four legs, and looked back at me, seeming to be mocking me, as if saying, "Come on, foolish human, fly up here." It was really annoying. If only there was something that could knock the rainbow lizard off the boulder.

A skill came to my mind: "Piercing." I instinctively said the word, then pressed my hand on the rock. Suddenly, with a loud noise, the rainbow lizard was knocked off the boulder by a rock spike. Its four legs flailed, and its eyes bulged as it fell right at my feet. The next moment, this mischievous lizard became my captive.

Was this Jack's superpower? I had seen this talent in Jack's genes, but Jack's talent could only be used on its shell. I didn't expect that I would also master those hard spikes on its back and I could use them on rocks. I wanted to know if this skill could be used elsewhere, so I pressed my hand on the ground again. Not far away, a rock spike suddenly shot out, reaching 3 feet high, very fast. I found that it could spike within a range of 16 feet, beyond that it was ineffective. At the same time, I felt a wave of weakness. It seemed that this skill had a limit on how many times it could be used in a short period of time; overusing it would make me faint.

After getting a feel of my skill, I took out the rainbow lizard. 'Evolve.' With a thought, the rainbow lizard began to grow larger, doubling in size in a few seconds.

At the same time, my personal attributes were also enhanced. Ryan Steele, Strength +1, current strength 7. Spirit +1, current spirit 7. Lifespan +10 years, total lifespan 160 years. Acquired talent skill, Concealment level one.

With this new round of enhancement, my strength increased a bit more, my senses became more acute. This little lizard was too weak, far from Jack's level, and the benefits were small. But the Concealment skill was interesting, could I blend into the environment like the rainbow lizard? I instinctively lay on the ground, and my skin and clothes turned the color of the desert. Even my heartbeat couldn't be heard, I was as quiet as a stone.

Soon, a small lizard crawled over. It didn't notice my presence at all, even crawling on me. I held my breath and grabbed the small lizard directly. And another piece of meat was easily gained like this. 'I wonder how long the Concealment state can last,' I thought to myself. It was necessary to test the limits, so I lay quietly down. An hour passed, and I fell asleep.

Just as I was sleeping soundly, the sound of running came from the ground. A girl was running desperately, chased by several men. It was Grace! Soon Grace was caught up, and several men surrounded her, right in front of me.

"Hey, girl, keep running. If you can't run anymore, just obediently take off your clothes." Among the four men, the one speaking was twice as strong as the others, towering at about 6.5 feet tall. His muscles were solid, veins bulging on them, and his neck veins were popping out. The other three men were also noticeably stronger than normal people, showing no signs of malnutrition.

Grace pulled out a small knife, her gaze firm and spirit tense. Although surrounded, she would never surrender. "You bastards, don't you dare touch me." She said coldly, her voice clear and powerful.

The men looked at each other, somewhat surprised. The strong man smirked mockingly, "Girl, don't be naive. Can you threaten us?"

Grace didn't talk, just tightly gripping the small knife. She knew she had to appear tough.

"Come on, show us what you've got." Another man provocatively approached. At that moment, Grace swiftly lunged at him, the knife pointing directly at his throat. The men were stunned, not expecting her to be so bold.

The strong man's face changed, and he quickly knocked the knife out of her hand, knocking Grace down in the process. "You really don't know your place. I'll show you later, and I'll take you back to the camp, where you'll serve every man like a whore." The other three burst into lecherous laughter as if a pack of hungry wolves were eyeing a rabbit.

Grace bit her lip, never once calling out Ryan's name. She couldn't reveal where Ryan was; they would kill him. Grace looked fearfully at the strong man. He was an Enhancer, very terrifying. While Ryan was an Esper, he could only tame animals. 'I couldn't put him in danger!' Grace thought.

'Mr. Steele, I can't continue the adventure with you. 'After some thought, Grace picked up the knife from the ground and held it to her own neck. "Even if I die, I won't let you defile me."

"Do you think this will scare us? Foolish woman, your body will stay warm for a long time after you die, and we'll still have fun. And I love the taste of blood." The strong man licked his lips, very excited.

"No!" Tears swirled in Grace's eyes, her hand holding the knife trembling.

Not far away, my eyes were cold, devoid of warmth, as if looking at several corpses. These bastards were asking for death. I was angry, but also very calm. Years of experience as a special forces soldier told me that the calmer you were in such situations, the better.

No one noticed that a rock was slowly approaching. With a sudden spike shooting out of the ground, the Enhancer was instantly pinned down, and I swiftly moved towards the other three. My multi-functional knife mercilessly slashed the throats of two men and then pierced the heart of another one. My physical fitness was already very strong, and with enhancement, my stamina was probably more than three times that of an ordinary person. These ordinary people were no match for me.

My speed was too fast, they couldn't react in time. Three out of the four men were killed, leaving only the Enhancer. "Who... who are you!" The man stammered in shock.

"How dare you touch my girl! You're dead meat," I said coldly.

Grace was stunned. At that moment, she seemed to have returned from hell to earth. She was inexplicably moved. In less than ten days of being together, I had already treated her as my own woman. And I risked my life to save her without fear of a strong enemy. "I thought Mr. Steele had no feelings for me."

At the same time, Grace was shocked by my superpowers. A rock spike suddenly shot out of the ground, and she wondered when I had approached. The surroundings were empty. Could I turn invisible? Was this the power of an Esper?

I smiled at Grace and walked towards the Enhancer, the multi-functional knife in my hand gleaming coldly. None of these bastards would escape.

"Don't come any closer, I'm Bloody Morgan's brother!" The Enhancer shouted in fear.

Hearing 'Bloody Morgan', Grace widened her eyes in fear.

"Who is Morgan?" I asked indifferently.

"Mr. Steele, maybe let him go. Bloody Morgan is terrifying, not someone we can provoke." Grace said seriously, fearing things would escalate, she urged me to stop.

I shook my head. I had already killed three of Bloody Morgan's men, wasn't that a big deal?

"She's right, Bloody Morgan is the ruler here. If you kneel before me, cut off an arm, and offer this girl to me, I can spare your life. Otherwise, you will face endless pursuit and the wrath of Bloody Morgan. Trust me, Bloody Morgan enjoys the taste of blood." The Enhancer became wild again, sticking out his tongue and licking his lips.

"Hmph, whether it's Bloody Morgan or the god Morgan, anyone who touches my people will pay with their life."

He dared to threaten me again, perhaps he didn't understand the situation. My former profession asked me to kill and whether on the battlefield or in the apocalypse, I felt no pressure in my heart.

"You... dare to ignore Bloody Morgan, he will kill you, he will definitely kill you."

Without warning, with a muffled sound, the Enhancer fell to the ground with an expression of confusion, impaled on the rock spike like a skewer, his temple pierced through, completely dead..

"Mr. Steele." Grace was startled, finding it even harder to understand why I had killed the Enhancer, who was Morgan's brother.

"What's going on? Do these people often appear around here?" I was curious. The area was sparsely populated, and these people didn't seem to be looking for food. Was there another other reason?

Frowning, Grace recalled the situation just now. These people had followed her traps, and when they first met, they inquired about the camp.

"So their target is the camp? It seems like they're scouting," I quickly concluded, making Grace even more nervous.

Then, I asked about Bloody Morgan. He was the leader of a bandit group of nearly a thousand people, their group had slaughtered many camps, and some people in the refugee camps had escaped from them, so everyone knew the infamous name of Bloody Morgan.

"The camp only has three hundred people; half of them are elderly, women, and children; they can't resist at all. Bloody Morgan will kill everyone." Grace seemed lost.

"We've already left the camp, so we don't need to worry about this. You just need to inform the camp leader; they will figure out what to do when the time comes." As I said this, I searched the Enhancer's body.

"But will the leader believe me?" Grace asked urgently.

"Probably not," I responded briefly, After all, Grace was just an ordinary refugee. If she suddenly told the camp leader that bandits were going to attack the camp, who would believe her? Initially, they might take it seriously, but if the bandits didn't show up within a few days, no one would believe her anymore.

"Whether they believe it or not, I'll go talk to them." Grace made up her mind. The camp was her home, she couldn't just watch it be destroyed.

"Alright, leave it to me." I already had a plan in mind.