Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 202

Chapter 202: Rise of Fractions
The man’s confident smirk faltered, just for a second. He hadn’t expected her to know about his fire ability.

A person with level three fire power could release a few puffs of fire at most, and yet, here was one bluffing as if he could set up the entire Greenstone on fire. Grace couldn’t help but shake her head at the man’s fake confident.

But unlike the man, the woman at his side, the one with enhanced strength, shifted slightly while her muscles visibly tensed. Looking at her, Grace could tell that she was more cautious than her leader. Her sharp eyes were scanning the defenses around the wall. She wasn’t underestimating them, and that meant she might actually be the dangerous one.

Rune chuckled beside Grace. “Well, now they know we are not just a bunch of helpless survivors.”

The fire-user’s expression hardened as he straightened. “You think this is a game? If you don’t give us what we want, we’ll take it by force.”

Grace let out a soft sigh and stood upright, her expression turning serious. “You could try,” she said, keeping her voice calm but firm. “But let me warn you. You are standing in front of trained soldiers, well-armed fighters, and people who have fought to survive countless battle against the zombies.”

She lifted her hand and gestured toward the buildings around them. “See those rooftops? Snipers. See those barricades? Traps. And lastly… do you really think your team is the only one with abilities?”

The man stiffened.

“I know about your fire. I know about the strength users. I know about the fusion and rock abilities hiding in your ranks.” Grace tilted her head slightly. “What else do you think I know?”

A flicker of doubt crossed his face. He glanced at the woman next to him, then at his men. The confidence they had before was wavering.

“We can’t just back down now,” the strength-user muttered under her breath, but Grace caught it.

The man clenched his fists, making sparks flicker at his fingertips. “You are bluffing.”

Grace smiled. “Am I?”

She nodded slightly to Rune.

Rune pulled out a small smoke grenade and tossed it over the wall. The moment it hit the ground, a thick, violet-colored smoke exploded into the air.

Panic rippled through the enemy group instantly.

“Poison!” someone shouted.

They stumbled back, and started covering their faces, coughing violently as the thick haze engulfed them. But the truth was – it wasn’t poison. It was just a harmless smoke screen.

But the enemies obviously didn’t know that.

Grace turned away from the railing. “They are not worth wasting bullets on. Let them run.”

Rune smirked and called out, “Pack up your little campfires and go home before you burn yourselves.”

The enemy force hesitated, but as the smoke continued swirling around them, their uncertainty started turning into fear. One by one, they started retreating. The woman with enhanced strength grabbed the fire-user’s arm and pulled him back. “We are leaving.”

With one final glare toward Greenstone, the fire-user spat at the ground. “This isn’t over.”

“No,” Grace murmured as she watched them flee. “It’s just beginning.”

It took barely minutes before the group disappeared from their sight, returning to whatever place they came from.

Grace let out another small sigh and turned away, heading back to continue with her day.

* * *

The attack proved one thing – Greenstone was no longer just fighting the natural disasters and the infected.

They were now fighting people.

“People are watching us now,” Captain Harlow said later that night when the two teams sat down for a meeting in the Community Hall. “If they know we have food, more groups will come. Some will want to trade, but others… won’t ask nicely.”

Rune leaned back in his chair. “Then we make sure no one sees us as an easy target.”

Davian, who was sitting across from Grace, crossed his arms while adding his thoughts. “We need to start thinking beyond just survival. We are about nine months in the apocalypse, it’s time we expect trouble.”

Captain Harlow nodded his head in agreement. “If we stay isolated, we will eventually get overrun.”

Grace considered their words carefully. She had planned for many things – food security, medical resources, combat training – but she somehow failed to consider the part where humans would start trying to get their hands on what she was building within these high walls.

She wondered if all this chaos would attract military or government’s attention toward Greenstone.

If she wanted Greenstone to survive, she needed more people – strong ones with rare superpowers.

She leaned forward as she finally spoke, “Then we start by scouting out more residents for our place. Find out who’s strong, who’s weak, and who’s desperate every time people come to our doorsteps from now on.”

Rune grinned as he seemed to have understood her plan. “And if they are hostile?”

Grace’s eyes were cold as she answered wiyhout hesitation. “Then we make sure they regret crossing us.”

* * *

In the following weeks, the defenses of Greenstone Residential Area were doubled.

More watchtowers were built at key locations around the perimeters. A second wall was reinforced with salvaged metal and wood. More traps were installed, making surprise attacks nearly impossible. While the training of the residents continued to ensure no one was defenseless.

At the same time, the greenhouses kepr expanding. The second level of the underground was now fully operational, which brought twice as much food production.

More scouting teams were sent out, but they weren’t meant to just raid for supplies, but also to observe what was happening around Greenstone.

And just as what Grace was expecting, the scouting teams discovered two other major survivor groups nearby:

The first one called themselves Ironclads. It was a former military unit that had set up a heavily fortified base in an abandoned bunker about ten kilometers from Greenstone.

Then there was the Thornhill Colony. It was a group of over 300 survivors who had taken over a large hospital and turned it into a functioning settlement.

Just like Greenstone, there were more survivors uniting to create a fraction or safe sanctuary of their own.