After I Fully Prepared for the Apocalypse, the Ungrateful Cried with Regret

Before the apocalypse, Whittaker Town was surrounded by green trees and all sorts of vegetation. Walking here now, however, only highlighted its decay and ruin.

All the trees had become dry, hollow husks that shattered at the slightest touch.

Various piles of lumber had been stacked on both sides of the road, but they had all since rotted away.

Amidst this decay, a vine silently emerged from the ground, inching its way toward the pair’s ankles.

”Come on out,” Nina Jacobs said.

Among the forest of hollow trunks, there was a patch of crushed ground. A careful look would reveal that someone might be hiding there.

Not to mention the killing intent that was impossible to ignore.

The vine stopped in its tracks. A moment later, a familiar figure stepped out from behind a pile of rotten wood.

It was Holly Morgan.

Her gaze was filled with an unyielding hatred.

Perhaps it was the last shred of her sanity that kept her from going on a rampage.

She was clutching an incredibly sharp scalpel in her hand.

Seeing the scalpel, Nina asked:

”Do you know Harlan?”

At the mention of the name, Holly seemed to daze out for a moment.

As if trying to dig through her chaotic memories, Holly stared at the scalpel in her hand, frozen in place.

”He thinks you’re dead.”

Nina watched Holly’s reaction. ”And Evander Langdon. Harlan has been treating him.”

”Evander...”

A flicker of astonishment appeared in Holly’s eyes, but it was overshadowed by pain.

Seeing Holly like this, Nina felt a pang of pity.

’I don’t know what she’s been through, but I’m sure it was all against her will.’

So she changed the subject. ”You ran away because you want to kill Flynn White, right?”

Sure enough, upon hearing Flynn White’s name, killing intent once again filled Holly’s eyes.

”How about I help you?”

Nina asked.

’I don’t know how strong Holly is, but I’ve fought Flynn White before. It won’t be easy for her to kill an Intermediate Superpower User on her own.’

Holly lifted her head and said, ”Kill... kill him. Kill them all!”

”Alright. We’ll kill them all.”

With that, Nina continued walking in a specific direction.

Holly followed her until Nina stopped in front of a wall.

She placed her hand on the wall, and a narrow door immediately appeared.

”Let’s go. No one’s here for now,”

Nina said.

The Puppet Guards had all been locked up.

The people who replaced them numbered less than fifty.

This meant there were definitely undefended spots they could get through.

She knew this place was unguarded thanks to her Little Zombie Rat scouting ahead.

Seeing Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner go inside, Holly quickly followed.

Outside the walls of Whittaker Town, there was once a dense forest, but it had since been transformed into a forest of jagged stone.

”Judging by the time, he should be back soon.

Now, we just have to wait for him to show up.”

For Nina, with her Earth Element Superpower, this stone forest was the perfect environment, like a fish in water.

Flynn White had gone to hunt down the escaped Puppet Guards.

Meanwhile, she had placed her Little Zombie Rats in various positions throughout the entire stone forest.

No matter which direction he appeared from, the Little Zombie Rats would spot him immediately.

”You can borrow this for now.”

Nina produced an incredibly sharp, wooden-hilted blade from out of nowhere.

Holly looked down at the blade. It was inlaid with a wood grain pattern, and its edge reflected a cold light.

Holding it, she could almost feel the Wood Energy coursing through the blade.

”It’s called a Wood Grain Blade. You can activate it with a Wood Element Superpower,”

Nina explained.

It was one of the weapon rewards the System had given her back in the correction pod. She had several more of these Wood-attribute Wood Grain Blades in her inventory.

’I’ll use this to kill him!’

Holly activated the Wood Grain Blade, shattering several jagged rocks with the force.

”Looks like it works pretty well.”

Nina was beginning to understand why Flynn White had chosen Holly as his Protective Puppet.

’This was the first time she had ever seen a Wood Element Superpower with such destructive force.’

’Of course, it might also be because Holly had been living on the brink of death for so long.’

A figure landed steadily on a patch of ground covered in grayish, withered wood and rotting leaves.

The rotting leaves crunched under his feet.

Flynn White looked at his blood-spattered sleeves with a hint of disgust.

’Without his Protective Puppet, Holly, to take the hits for him, killing that group of people had been more troublesome than usual.’

’Before, Holly had always been there to handle the dirty, tiring work, blocking for him so he only needed to be responsible for finishing them off.’

’Now Holly was dead, and Nina Jacobs had appeared.’

’I wonder how awesome it would be to have a Dual Element Superpower User by my side. I have to snatch her up later.’

He hadn’t been able to sleep all night after his battle with Nina yesterday.

Originally, Chuck Willow had wanted to win Nina over to thwart the plans of Arcadia White and the others.

But now, all he wanted was to snatch Nina up for himself as soon as possible.

Not as a Protective Puppet, but as his woman.

After all, a Protective Puppet could only follow orders. It had no thoughts of its own and always used the same few moves in battle.

Nina’s Dual Element Superpower, on the other hand, was incredibly versatile. Turning her into a puppet would be a terrible waste.

He had already killed all the people who escaped last night.

Next, he had to report the situation to Lincoln White.

Otherwise, the first thing he would have done today was go find Nina. After all, her willingness to stay in Whittaker Town proved she was a smart woman.

Flynn White couldn’t help but smile as he thought about it.

But when he stepped into the stone forest, a person appeared before him, causing his eyes to widen.

”Holly? Aren’t you dead?”

Flynn remembered Thane Trevor telling him yesterday that Holly wouldn’t make it.

The muscles in Holly’s face twitched with agitation.

Then another person stepped out from behind her. It was Nina Jacobs.

”She’s not dead. And she’ll live a lot longer than you,”

Nina said.

Flynn White frowned. ”Nina Jacobs, what kind of stunt are you pulling now?”

’Why is Holly with her?’

’And how did they get out of the town?’

Flynn vaguely realized something was wrong and immediately covered himself with a Wind Shield.

However, Nina didn’t attack him. Instead, she stepped aside and said:

”Do you know what ’what goes around comes around’ means?

Ambrose White is dead. You’re next.”

”You killed Ambrose White?”

Flynn asked in astonishment.

Nina shook her head. ”He was killed by the person who was supposed to kill him. And so will you.”

”Holly, get over here!”

Flynn sneered.

But in the next second, the Wood Element Vines behind Holly all shot toward him!

”How is that possible!”

Flynn White never imagined that his own Protective Puppet would one day attack him.

Recalling the rioting Puppet Guards from the previous night, he became increasingly aware of the gravity of the situation.

’I have to get back and tell Lincoln White quickly. The White Family’s Puppetry Technique has failed!’

A duel between the Wind and Wood Elements unfolded before Nina’s eyes.

Facing the man she hated, every one of Holly’s attacks was lethal.

However, her opponent was an Intermediate Superpower User, and Flynn White quickly gained the upper hand.

”Holly, the Wood Element Superpower is best at redirecting force! Your attack speed is just as fast as his. Even your vines can obliterate anything. Every flower, every piece of wood can be a weapon to defeat him...”

Nina said from the side.

Hearing Nina’s words, Holly’s eyes suddenly cleared. The vines, which had previously only been used for binding, gradually transformed into deep purple thorns.

Vines grew from the hilt of the Wood Grain Blade in her hand, wrapping around her wrist. As she slashed the blade, the green leaves on the vines transformed into a volley of Flying Leaf Blades that shot straight for Flynn White!