Doomsday Revenge: Payback Time (Josie) novel Chapter 16

A tall, broad–shouldered man in woodland camo and black tactical boots hopped down from the lead armored vehicle. His sharp, handsome face twisted into a mask of pure disbelief.

‘How is that even possible?” the Captain demanded, his voice carrying a harsh, commanding edge. This is the largest Hardware Plaza in Fort City! You’re telling me there’s absolutely nothing left?”

“Yes, sir!” the scout nodded frantically, sweating bullets. “I checked the main floor, the stockrooms, even the underground loading bays. They stripped the place to the foundation. There isn’t a single scrap of metal left inside.”

A thoughtful, dangerous look crossed the Captain’s face as he surveyed the massive, empty building.

Looks like someone beat us to the punch,” he said, his voice dropping low. They hauled everything away before we even showed up on the radar.”

Who the hell could be this fast, Captain?” the subordinate asked, looking completely baffled. The outbreak went global less than twenty–four hours igo. This place was fully stocked and open for business yesterday afternoon! How many heavy transport trucks would it take to strip a plaza this big in

hat kind of time?”

Either it’s an organized syndicate with insane manpower and a fleet of semis…” The Captain’s gaze turned razor–sharp as he slowly scanned the dark >erimeter of the parking lot. His eyes lingered on the dense tree canopy for a long, heavy heartbeat before shifting away. “…Or it’s someone with erious foresight who awakened a god–tier Spatial Superpower early.”

It’s a bust,” the Captain sighed, waving his hand toward the trucks. “We don’t have time to chase ghosts. Mount up. We move to the next location on the

¡rid.”

Copy that, sir!”

The heavily armed soldiers piled back into their transport trucks. The diesel engines roared to life, and the massive convoy tore out of the plaza, leaving

othing but a thick cloud of dust and the stench of exhaust behind.

Once the red taillights completely faded into the distance, Josie dropped lightly from the high branches of the oak tree, landing on the concrete without naking a sound.

he moved fast, using her boots to scrub her tracks in the dirt until the ground looked completely untouched. Then, she turned to vanish into the city

uins.

lut five minutes later.

The sound of a lone, powerful engine echoed in the dark.

in armored jeep drifted back into the lot, headlights killing the shadows.

he handsome Captain stepped out of the vehicle alone. He walked directly over to the exact oak tree Josie had just climbed down from

le looked at the disturbed bark, a slow, knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

ooks like I was right.

The military didn’t have a monopoly on power. There were some real, terrifying heavy hitters hiding out there in the civilian ruins.

o strip this much heavy metal this fast… and to leave without a single trace?

They either had a high–level Metallic Super working in tandem with a Spatial, or a massive, highly trained covert crew.

The Captain only had a few dozen men in his unit, Picking a blind fight in the dark with an unknown entity that possessed that kind of logistical power would be absolute suicide.

‘ort City wasn’t exactly a steel hub, but this wasn’t the only hardware plaza in the state. There were other, safer ways to get the raw materials the nilitary needed to build their bunkers.

The world had just gone to hell. Rule number one of the apocalypse: you don’t start a fight unless the other guy shoots first, or you know exactly what ou’re dealing with.

Besides, his strict orders were to scavenge essential building supplies, not to spark a bloody turf war in the middle of a zombie outbreak.

So, he did the smart thing. He looked the other way, climbed back into his jeep, and drove off into the night, pretending he hadn’t seen a damn thing.

What he didn’t know–what nobody in the entire ruined city could possibly fathom–was that a true monster existed in those shadows.

11:09

< Chapter 16

Claim 50 Coins By Check in Mery

Someone rocking three elite superpowers: a Siphoned Tier–1 Metallic, a Siphoned Tier–1 Pyro, and a limitless Spatial Vault.

The Captain had assumed it was a massive, organized military operation. It never even crossed his highly trained mind that the entire multi–story plaza had been effortlessly cleared out by a single, twenty–year–old girl: Josie Quinn.

From her new vantage point on a nearby rooftop, Josie watched the jeep finally leave for good. She didn’t waste another second. She hauled ass, jumping between rooftops, clearing the area immediately.

The military was already sniffing around the major supply hubs. If she kept pushing her luck in this sector, she’d eventually run into a patrol she couldn’t just hide from.

For now, she wasn’t interested in a head–on collision with the heavily armed authorities.

In her past life, the government actually managed to keep things somewhat under control for the first few weeks. The real, apocalyptic sht–show didn’t start until after the first heavy, mutated rain fell.

It was like every plant and animal on Earth got a radioactive jump–start, mutating overnight into towering, bloodthirsty monsters.

After that rain, everything fell apart. Total, irreversible systemic collapse.

People died in the millions.

That military squad from earlier? They were disciplined, heavily armed, and followed orders perfectly. It wasn’t hard to guess who they belonged to..

And that was exactly why Josie wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

In her previous life, she had learned the hardest, bloodiest lesson of all: Trust no one.

To her, everyone was a potential enemy. She had to crush everyone else under her boots just to have a shot at surviving.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify