CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 30: LITTLE TIME SKIP

"Sophia, wear your coat—it’s extra chilly today, you know that, right?"

Betty picked up the fluffy coat from the bed where Sophia had tossed it carelessly.

Sophia crossed her arms, her cheeks puffing into a pout.

"Mommy, you know I’m strong. I don’t feel cold at all."

Raising an eyebrow at her daughter’s defiant stance, Betty shook her head and knelt to wrap the coat snugly around Sophia’s tiny frame.

"You still need to wear it, baby. Even strong girls can catch a cold."

Sophia sighed and nodded reluctantly. Betty’s smile softened as she pinched her daughter’s chin playfully.

"Good girl. Oh, and remember, your aunt will be coming, okay? I told you—if you don’t want to stay in the space, you have to stay under Claire’s care."

Sophia lowered her gaze, clutching the hem of her coat with a pitiful expression.

"Mommy, do you really have to go? Why can’t you take me with you? I’m strong—I can take care of myself."

Betty chuckled and playfully ruffled her hair.

"Well, well, my daughter is so strong... yet just last night she screamed at the sight of a tiny bug."

Sophia let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head like a little adult.

"Mommy, I told you, I wasn’t scared—I just hate bugs."

Betty broke into laughter, her shoulders trembling.

"Pftt—hehe, okay, okay, I believe you."

Sophia hmphed and looked away, murmuring.

"Why are you laughing? I’m telling the truth."

*Knock, knock.*

Hearing the knock on the door, Betty leaned down, kissed Sophia’s cheek, and stood up with a smile.

"Looks like your aunt is here."

Hearing Aunt Sophia’s eyes widen in fear.

Opening the door, Betty was greeted by Claire’s smirking face; she was wearing civilian clothes.

"Helloo~ where’s my cute Sophia?"

Betty raised a brow at her overly cheerful tone but stepped aside, allowing her to enter.

She closed the door and leaned against the wall, watching the scene before her. Claire squealed in delight as she scooped Sophia into her arms, spinning her around while the little girl wore an utterly resigned expression.

’I don’t understand why she comes here every single day, bringing food or random things... the food is precious, especially bread for survivors... Hah, but it’s a good thing—at least she can take care of Sophia in my absence.’

Releasing Sophia from her tight hug, Claire stood up. Her hands fidgeted nervously behind her back as she glanced at Betty.

"Well, you can go. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of her."

Betty nodded, walking over to Sophia and hugging her tightly before turning to Claire.

"Once again, thank you for agreeing to take care of her. Goodbye."

Claire nodded, her cheeks tinted red as her gaze followed Betty’s departing back.

’AHHHHH, he is still so handsome, his looks can match those of famous idols, hehehe’

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up her leg, jolting her awake from her dreamy state.

"Ouch, ouch!"

She dropped to the floor, clutching her leg in shock. Sophia stood before her with her little hands on her hips, glaring fiercely.

"Hmph, don’t think I didn’t notice how you were looking at my daddy."

Claire froze, staring at the tiny girl’s intimidating expression. Slowly, she got back on her one foot, still holding her second leg.

"Tch... Sophia, what have you been eating to get so strong? And—w-what do you mean? I just... I just see him as a friend."

Sophia narrowed her eyes, staring straight into Claire’s face as if declaring I don’t believe you. The woman looked away, avoiding the piercing gaze.

"So, care to tell me why you come here every single day with food and then squeeze me like I’m some plushie?"

Claire tilted her head and, after a moment of silence, met Sophia’s eyes with sincerity.

"That’s because you’re so cute. What’s wrong with that? Can’t I hug you?"

She spread her arms, her expression pleading as she leaned forward to hug Sophia.

"Nope, not gonna happen."

Sophia swiftly dodged and bolted across the little room. Claire chased after her in frustration.

"Nope! Forget ever getting a hug from me!"

---

Betty clasped Hazel’s hand in a brief handshake before following her into a large, soundproof hall. Inside, around twenty figures were seated around an oval table.

A middle-aged man in a military general’s uniform rose with a polite smile.

"Ah, you must be Sir Bennett. Please, have a seat."

Raising an eyebrow, Betty silently complied, sitting beside Hazel while discreetly studying the room. Only half of the attendees wore uniforms; the others were dressed in civilian clothing like her.

The general cleared his throat, his palm resting firmly on the table as his expression hardened.

"Hello, as you probably know, my name is General Samuel. Thank you for attending this important meeting, and my special thanks to all awakeners who joined us."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Samuel settled back into his chair, his tone turning grave.

"We need your assistance. Over the past week, we’ve sent around twenty awakened individuals into enemy territory to gain information, but unfortunately, not a single one has returned. We don’t know whether they’re dead... or alive."

The awakeners were stunned into silence at first, then voices rose in protest.

"Huh? What do you mean nobody made it back? You never told us about this before!"

"Yeah! You only mentioned something about children being kidnapped—that’s why we came!"

"If we had known this was just some military operation, we wouldn’t have wasted our time here!"

"We have kids and families too! We need to gather supplies so they can survive, but instead, you drag us into your missions. We only came because of the children!"

The room filled with angry murmurs. The man seated beside General Samuel stood, his frown deepening as he addressed the crowd.

"Calm down, everyone. Listen to us first. We promise you—if you accept this mission, your families will receive free supplies for one year."

The murmuring quieted slightly as he continued, his voice steady.

"And yes, we’ve sent others before, but only because we suspected the kidnappings were real. It is still not confirmed whether the enemy is behind them, but the signs point strongly to it."

Hazel leaned back in her chair, her voice carefree as she spoke.

"So, who exactly is this so-called enemy you’re talking about? This country used to be well-protected. How could terrorists just walk in here and start kidnapping children?"

Samuel nodded slightly, acknowledging her point.

"Yes, you’re right. But Miss Hazel, you know more about them because you have escaped from there when you were still non-awakener, right?"

Hazel simply shrugged and started playing with her fingers, not agreeing and not denying him.

Samuel shook his head, not daring to ask more questions, for fear to piss this strongest awakener of base.

"As I was saying, we don’t know their powers yet, and there are thousands of zombies around those bases, so we need all of your help.

Betty’s eyes narrowed joining the conversation.

"So why can’t you handle it yourselves? You have weapons, missiles... And don’t tell me you waited a whole week after informing us just because you expected those spies to return."

Samuel sighed, rubbing his temple.

"We cant launch missiles there, some senior officials’ sons are stuck there, and also there are hostages."

Hearing him, Betty nodded.

Hazel stood up, smiling happily.

"So it’s decided we will form our teams and attack their base, kill every those filthy animals. Let’s go."

Samuel’s face darkened, he took a deep breath to calm down.

"Miss Hazel, sit down first. We cant attack them from the front, read this first, you will understand our plan to infiltrate."

Betty picked up the paper given by the officer and looked at it.

’Wow, that’s a fucking clever plan if we can pull this off’

---

Standing near the blue car, Betty looks at the driving seat, her lips twitching, seeing Hazel kicking the accelerator without care.

"a are you sure you know how to drive?"

Hazel looked at her, puzzled.

"Huh, what makes you think I cant drive?"

Betty’s lips twitch, seeing her confidence and her feet that are pressing the brakes and accelerator at the same time.

"Yeah, you look professional enough, but let me drive or someone else."

Hearing sarcasm in her tone, Hazel crossed her arms.

"What do you mean, why can I feel sarcasm in your tone?"

Betty rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

’tch that’s because it was sarcasm.... I thought she was some serious girl at first meeting, but why I’m feeling bratty energy in her.’

Hazel slammed her head against the steering wheel, grumbling.

"Ah, I miss a peaceful world, just sat in my room and read a novel and watch anime, that was heaven."

Betty’s entire demeanor changed hearing she mentioned anime. With a smile, she opened the car door and looked at her.

"Hey, did you mention anime? Which anime is your favourite?"

Hazel raised her head with blinking eyes.

"d do you also like anime and novels?"

Betty proudly nodded.

Hazel put her hand on her chin.

"Which anime do I like? Hmm... ahh My Hero Academia was pretty good.

Betty’s face immediately fell.

’Eh, did that cancer also exist in this world? I thought I would hear new anime names here.’