Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 147

Chapter 147: Blood Skulls
The fourth floor was a little more active. There were many more people here, and seemingly, not all of them were gang members.

The first room they entered had two gang members inside, which Rayne quickly disposed of. The room next door, however, was filled with captives.

The room itself was smaller than an average conference room but was filled with over 30 people. There were women and children, along with just regular civilian men. Rayne didn’t understand what the gang needed these people for.

She quietly entered the room and saw everyone huddled together to stay warm. Everyone’s face was full of fear or hopelessness.

“Why have they captured you?” asked Rayne. She wanted to know the motives behind such actions.

One of the older women looked over at Rayne. “I’m not exactly sure. They didn’t tell us directly. But I did overhear some of them talking. They made it sound like they’re transporting us somewhere.”

Rayne frowned. She felt even more resolved to get rid of this entire gang if they were acting like slave traders.

“Hang tight. We’ll be back to free you guys. Just be ready when the time comes,” Rayne announced in a quiet voice.

The people looked at her with hope, and one young girl even walked up to her.

“Please, free my dad! They took him away. I don’t know where they took him!” she cried.

One of the other women quickly came over and hugged the girl, patting her on the back. Rayne looked at the crying girl and knelt down. “Don’t worry. We’ll find your dad and bring him back.”

The little girl wiped her tears and smiled, hearing the promise.

Rayne looked at the rest of the people in the room. They were all freezing and starving, so she quickly pretended to leave the room, then walked back in, carrying two big bags.

One of the bags was filled with a variety of snacks and water, while the other bag was filled with blankets, hats, scarves, and coats.

“Here, please distribute this amongst yourselves. We’ll be back to lead you out once the rest of the gang members are taken care of,” said Rayne.

Everyone quickly scrambled to the bags, excited to see food and warm clothing. While they spread the items around, Rayne walked out of the room with Julian.

They quickly killed the remaining gang members on this floor and headed upstairs to the fifth floor.

This floor was where the laboratory was. It was split into two different areas with a small passageway in between.

The section closest to the stairs was empty, but Rayne could see light coming from the other section.

She and Julian quietly walked into the empty section and crouch-walked toward the connecting point to peek at what was going on.

The first thing she saw was a number of scientists working with various chemistry equipment with fear in their eyes.

There was a very tall and lanky man sitting on one of the tables with a crazy expression on his face.

“Tell me again how you failed to find the person who killed Big Mark!” he said with a frightening smile on his face.

“Leader, please spare me! I will lead a team out to find them!” cried one of the members. He was on his hands and knees on the floor.

The leader picked up the dagger that was lying on the table next to him and threw it into the air a couple of times, catching it carefully by the blade each time.

After a few rounds of tossing it and catching it, he threw the dagger right into the prostrating man’s shoulder.

“Ahh!” screamed the man, blood beginning to pour down his arm and back.

“If you’re so useless, why should I waste my time with you?” laughed the leader, ripping the dagger out of his shoulder, only to throw it at him once more.

The next thing the leader did had Rayne widen her eyes. He pulled a small glass vial of a familiar red powder and poured it all into his mouth.

Instantly, his skin turned a light shade of red as the blood vessels in his body expanded.

Julian watched the man carefully, trying to determine the effect of the substance on the body. Besides the flushed skin and visibly enlarged veins, there was no other noticeable change.

Just as Rayne and Julian made eye contact, signaling to go in, a large man appeared behind them and pinned Julian to the ground, pushing Rayne forward into the laboratory.

Just as she was about to fall, the leader caught her in his arms, holding her while smiling.

“I thought I smelled something feminine in the room. Forgive me, I wasn’t expecting guests,” he said with a chilling smile.

The man holding Julian down nodded at the leader. “I have something to report: all of our men on the lower floors are dead.”

The leader’s eyes constricted as he dug his nails into the skin on Rayne’s arms. “Oh? Are our guests that capable?” he said in a high-pitched voice.

Rayne stared at Julian, who was forcefully being pressed into the ground. She could see his head turn red from the pressure.

The leader ripped off the scarf from Rayne, exposing her pretty face.

“Tell me, little beauty, how should I punish you for walking into MY territory and killing MY men?” he asked angrily, holding her chin up with the blade of his dagger.

“Please…” whispered Rayne. Her only thoughts were on how to get Julian out of here alive.

Julian tried lifting his head to see if Rayne was okay, but as soon as he tried, the man stepped on his head, shoving it back into the ground, causing him to bleed from his ear.

“It was all me. I forced her to come with me,” said Julian with a labored voice.

The leader looked at Rayne, then back at Julian. “Is that so? Let’s check this beauty to see if she has anything fun on her,” said the leader as he began to move his hand around her body, feeling her up while checking for any hidden weapons.

“Looks like you’re telling the truth,” said the leader. He noticed the concerned look Rayne had as she stared at Julian and frowned.