Reborn with a Space: Hoarding Food and Raising My Kid

The group sprinted across the second floor. Through the transparent guardrail on one side, they could see the first floor swarming with a dense mass of zombies, which shifted their positions to follow the group’s movements.

Soon, another escalator came into view. But just as the group reached it, the zombie horde suddenly surged toward the base of the escalator and began rushing up toward the second floor.

"What do we do? They’re coming up!" Sherman Lynch, Neal Wallace, and Shauna Wallace turned pale. In contrast, Quinn, Amos Rooney, Yvonne Lynch, and Caleb Bloom remained impassive, their expressions revealing nothing.

Cradling her belly, the pregnant woman looked at Flora Bloom and said cautiously, "We should be leaving through the emergency exit. It’s closer to the main exit, and there aren’t as many zombies over there."

Flora Bloom frowned at the pregnant woman. ’If I didn’t know there was a Middle Level zombie lurking by the emergency exit on the third floor, I would’ve chosen that path too.’

She stared at the pregnant woman with a dark expression for a long moment, when a thought suddenly struck her. ’Saul Sterling detected that the Middle Level zombie by the third-floor emergency exit has been pacing erratically, as if it’s afraid of something...’

’Middle Level zombies have a degree of intelligence. Whatever it’s afraid of must be incredibly powerful. Right now, the second floor of this mall has the fewest zombies. The first floor is practically bursting at the seams with them.’

She looked up toward the third and fourth floors. While not as packed as the first floor, there were still a considerable number of zombies roaming around in packs. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

In comparison, the second floor was currently the safest place in the mall.

’So, the thing that Middle Level zombie is afraid of is most likely on the second floor. And so far, besides a few scattered zombies, our group is the only other thing here.’

’Could it be... is that Middle Level zombie afraid of *me*?’ She thought back to the strange behavior of her father, and of Quinn and the other two. A bold theory suddenly formed in Flora Bloom’s mind.

She looked at the pregnant woman. "I think you’re absolutely right. We should head for the emergency exit. It’ll take us straight to the first-floor exit and reduce our chances of having to fight all those zombies head-on. There’s no time to waste. Let’s move!"

Saul Sterling gave Flora Bloom a strange look. "Flora? The emergency stairwell on the third floor is only two flights of stairs away from us on the second floor. What about that Middle Level zombie?"

Flora Bloom raised an eyebrow at Saul Sterling, hinting, "It might be easier to deal with one Middle Level zombie than that entire horde."

Saul Sterling pursed his lips and nodded. The Crown Prince and Tanuki had already vanished into the corridors, their destination unknown. They always came and went without a sound; not even Flora Bloom’s powerful spiritual power could sense their location.

Flora Bloom had her father, Caleb Bloom, walk in front of her, followed by Shauna Wallace, Saul Sterling, Sherman Lynch, and Neal Wallace. She positioned herself after them, leaving Quinn, Amos Rooney, Yvonne Lynch, and the pregnant woman at the very back of the group.

The moment they opened the door to the emergency stairwell, Flora Bloom distinctly felt an unusually powerful and abundant energy churning restlessly on the floor above. For some reason, however, it wasn’t coming down.

’It wants to come down, but it’s afraid of something!’

There were only three flights of stairs leading from the second floor to the first, each with a dozen or so steps. After the group had quickly descended one flight, the Middle Level zombie from the third floor finally couldn’t hold back any longer and charged down.

At the same time, Flora Bloom quickly moved to the rear of the group and took the pregnant woman’s arm from Amos Rooney. "You guys go on ahead," she said. "I’ll help her."

A flicker of conflict crossed Amos Rooney’s previously impassive face. After meeting the pregnant woman’s gaze, he gave a slight nod and continued down after the others. Quinn, Yvonne Lynch, and Caleb Bloom also hesitated for a moment before following.

Flora Bloom held the pregnant woman’s arm, stopping instead of following the others. "I’ll have Little White cover you! Go on and get out of the mall. Have Juggernaut take you to Area 008 and wait for me there!"

The stairwell exit was right next to the mall’s main entrance. If they were fast enough, they could break free from the first-floor zombie horde and get out of the mall quickly.

Once outside the mall, the open space would make it much easier to fight. Plus, Juggernaut was waiting right at the entrance. As long as they made it out, the group would be safe.

Seeing the group get away, Flora Bloom released her grip on the pregnant woman’s arm.

The Middle Level zombie charged down at that moment, revealing her true form. She was wearing a matching set of athletic shorts and a top, with a pair of brand-name sneakers on her feet. Her skin was deathly pale, and the dark purple veins bulging beneath it gave her a grotesque appearance.

She opened her mouth, baring a full set of sharp, spike-like fangs, and roared at Flora Bloom and the pregnant woman in a clear threat.

A Middle Level, Stage One zombie. Besides the pale skin, the faint, dark purple veins under the surface, and a pair of cat-like vertical pupils, its face was almost indistinguishable from a human’s.

Once they reached the Second Level, even the dark purple veins on their faces would recede. Their bestial fangs would gradually fall out, replaced by new, human-like teeth. At that point, they would be physically indistinguishable from humans.

Flora Bloom tightened her grip on the axe in her hand, ready for battle.

The Middle Level zombie crawled on all fours before Flora Bloom and the pregnant woman, occasionally rising to its feet to pace restlessly like a human.

It circled in front of Flora Bloom several times. Just as it finally gave in to its impulse and lunged for her, it suddenly seemed to get spooked, recoiling so violently that it stumbled and fell backward onto the step above.

Without hesitating, the fallen Middle Level zombie shrieked and scrambled back up toward the third floor.

And then Flora Bloom saw it: a flash of yellow in the pupils of the pregnant woman beside her. It was gone in an instant, so fast that Flora thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

But her own powerful spiritual power had sensed it—another, abnormally strong spiritual power emanating from the pregnant woman. It was just as brief as the yellow glow in her pupils, gone in a flash.

Flora Bloom frowned at her. "What exactly are you?"

"Me? I’m human! Just like you!" The pregnant woman’s fearful expression was gone. She stroked her belly with a look of maternal love on her face, appearing completely human. This made Flora Bloom begin to doubt her own bold theory.

"Human? Then why would a Middle Level zombie be so terrified of you?"

The pregnant woman suddenly let out a dry laugh, her face full of scorn as she looked at Flora Bloom. "Is it so impossible that I might have a superpower?"

Flora Bloom’s axe slashed across the pregnant woman’s arm. A blackish-green blood, like the sap of some poisonous plant, beaded on the wound.

But before a single drop could fall, the wound had already healed completely on its own.

"A human? It looks like you won’t be leaving here today."

The pregnant woman burst out laughing. "You want to kill me? HAHAHAHA!"

Flora Bloom frowned at her. "What’s so funny?"

"Without me, none of you would ever make it out of this area. Believe it or not."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that if I die, every single one of you—you and all your friends—will die in this area. There will be no exceptions."

Flora Bloom mulled over the pregnant woman’s words. She connected them to the strange behavior of her father, Quinn, and the others, and to the Middle Level zombie’s abject terror of the woman. The realization struck her, her expression falling in horror as her heart sank. "You’re controlling them? And the Middle Level zombie... it was you it was afraid of, the reason it wouldn’t come near? Even the zombie horde on the first floor... are they under your control, too?"

"You’re right about the first two. But the horde downstairs isn’t under my control. That’s the Middle Level zombie. It doesn’t want you to leave."

"Then what are you?" Flora Bloom’s faint suspicion was all but confirmed, yet she was unwilling to voice the answer that was screaming to be let out. It was as if not saying it would stop it from being true.

"Me? I... I’m actually a real human now. But from your perspective, you’d probably prefer to call me... a Zombie King."

"Impossible! You can’t be the Zombie King!"