HSB Chapter 15.2

Hugh had awakened, or rather, he felt his sovereignty over his territory being challenged, and began to violently slam against the metal wall. The whole building shook, coating Bambi with dust that shook off the ceiling.

The undead beast stopped moving, visibly hesitant, but once it remembered that the threat couldn’t come out, it forwent caution and continued to climb up.

To fill its stomach, even if it had to crawl at a snail’s pace, it would gobble up its prey!

Hence, no matter how much Ivan attacked it from behind, its carapace served its purpose as a protective barrier and made it feel like a tickle, so it simply ignored the little distraction.

Before, Julius was sitting as he played the game, but when he saw the undead beast’s tenacity in climbing up the building, he leaped to his feet. But, since he couldn’t splurge money in-game for his baby girl, Julius was unable to do anything else other than press and hold down the undead beast to slow it down.

“……”

The System pretended to be dead and was completely silent.

Julius gritted his teeth. “What if Hugh breaks through the metal wall and comes out?”

A Level 3 undead beast was already so difficult to deal with by itself. If Hugh, who even the Level 3 undead beast feared…

Julius could just imagine his daughter’s joy as she called out “grandpa” and pounced on Hugh and then was bitten by Hugh.

Shuddering at the thought, Julius shook his head vigorously to shake the image out of his head.

Finally, the System, who seemed to have weighed out the pros and cons, piped up: [That will depend on how you the dads handle the situation.]

Julius, who was preoccupied with thoughts of his baby girl, automatically ignored the plurality of dad.

The little one on the screen suddenly moved.

Julius fixated his attention.

He saw Bambi running to the kitchen, and after a few moments, she came out carrying a half-full container of cooking oil. Bambi knew the situation was tense, so she ran as fast as she could, causing her to fall heavily on the ground when she came out of the kitchen.

The pain filled her eyes with tears, but instead of crying, Bambi climbed to her feet swiftly, stood back on the chair, and leaned out of the window.

“I’m not afraid of you!” The little girl’s hands trembled as she poured the jug of cooking oil onto the undead beast’s head.

At this time, the undead beast bore through the invisible force, after its unremitting effort, its head was only about one meter away from the window when all the cooking oil Bambi dumped out drenched over its head.

The undead beast was completely drenched. It used to be an ordinary little ant that couldn’t be any more ordinary, the kind that humans could easily crush to death. After the virus mutation, it grew into a gigantic ant, keeping its sense of smell, which had become even more enhanced.

The smell of cooking oil was not pungent but for its sensitive sense of smell, it instinctively despised the smell.

It even gave him a sense of danger that he had rarely felt before. This feeling didn’t come from the existence of the threat but from…

…the next second, Bambi grabbed a lighter from her pocket and, with a whoosh, threw the lit lighter down.

The open flame met oil, and the flames sprung up to life.

Gawking at the fire bursting out of the monster’s head that he was pressed down on the screen, Julius was frozen from shock.

Other attacks were ineffective against the monster, so the monster was set on fire—this method was devised by a five-year-old and successfully implemented.

His baby was so smart!

He didn’t even think of this method as an adult.

A fire raged on the undead beast’s head. Its carapace protected its body, but could not withstand the high temperature. It closed its scarlet eyes and began to slam its head desperately against the wall, trying to extinguish the fire.

The scalding temperature brought by the flame communicated to its brain, giving rise to an increasing uneasiness while wracked with pain, and it decided to retreat.

It will be back again!

Several barrels of gasoline were swept up in a gust of wind as it fell from the sky, drowning the undead beast—it was Ivan’s doing from downstairs.

Bambi’s actions inspired him.

The addition of gasoline combined with the wind instantly set the undead beast’s whole body on fire.

The scalding temperature was not limited to the head, but to the whole body, and it began to struggle painfully. At this time, it no longer thought about hunting but to escape.

Escape from here to have a chance to regain its strength and return with a full life meter.

However, Julius’s fingers still held it down, and the invisible pressure applied to the undead beast made the climb up a struggle and the same was with the climb down, even struggling as it put in with all its strength.

The undead beast was furious.

It had never been so humiliated.

It let out a hostile roar, which was unique to undead beasts. Its feet had left countless holes in the wall, and balls of fire fell from it, carrying parts of its body.

Hugh’s thrashing became much more muted as if sensing that the intruder on his territory was no longer a threat.

Ivan’s face turned pale as he stared at the body of the undead beast ant that spanned the second and third floors seeming as if it was nailed there. Ivan felt a lingering sense of fear and a little grateful for the narrow escape.

Bambi’s powers were strong, but she was too young and her powers couldn’t extend far. Ivan hadn’t intended on letting Bambi strike head-on from the beginning.

He hadn’t had the chance to discuss with Bambi how to work together to kill the undead beast before the undead beast did a surprise attack today and disrupted his plan.

Unexpectedly, even in the face of the undead beast’s sudden attack, in the end, Bambi was able to turn things around in their favor.

And he, who prided himself on being the more powerful one, did not make any meaningful contributions, except for the last few barrels of gasoline.

Ivan took a deep breath and quickly returned to the third floor with the help of his powers. He saw the silver gun on the ground and didn’t give it much thought as he bent over to pick it up and went over to the window.

“Bambi, you can put away your powers now.” Seeing that the hair on the little girl’s forehead was wet with sweat, and her little face was red, Ivan was worried that Bambi would over-use her powers and damage her body, so he quickly pulled her behind him.

Ivan’s return made Bambi feel a little more relaxed, but his words left the little girl at a loss.

She knew what powers were.

But the problem was that she didn’t have any powers, so why did Mr. Ivan tell her to take back her powers?

Despite her confusion, Bambi nodded obediently.

Julius noticed the addition of the silver gun in Ivan’s hand. He wasn’t sure where this kid got the gun, but he didn’t use it before. Julius released his grip on the undead beast, dropping the undead beast struggling in pain as it was swallowed up by flames onto the ground below.

It wasn’t dead yet. It was swallowed up in pain as it stumbled around trying to put out the fire on its body.

Seeing that the undead beast still trying to escape, Ivan did not hesitate to pull the trigger on the gun.

The next second, a bright light burst out from the gun.

Ivan︰”？”

What kind of bullet shines?

The bright light shot at the creature engulfed in flames, and with a loud bang, the ball of fire exploded in two, scattering all over the place. The shrieks of the undead beast disappeared, and its body twitched a few times before it gradually stopped moving altogether.

Ivan gaped at the silver gun in his hand.

The muzzle of the silver gun had exploded. It was apparent the gun was scrapped and no longer usable.

A disposable gun?

Julius’s face darkened a few degrees. If this kid Ivan had such a powerful gun, why didn’t he use it before?

He glared at Ivan on the screen. Previously he felt that this guy was a loyal and honest person, but now he felt this guy was displeasing to his eyes.

Has he been deliberately hiding his real capabilities this whole time?

What was he planning?

Still, something felt wrong to Julius.

From what he previously saw from Ivan’s character, if Ivan had the gun before, he would have already used it, not now.

So where did this gun come from?

Did he pick it up on the way back just now?

“Mr. Ivan, is the monster dead?” Bambi released her hands that were covered over her ears. When the undead beast started shrieking, the little girl found the sound unpleasant and covered up her ears.

Ivan returned to his senses, temporarily turning his thoughts away from the gun as he picked up the little girl with one hand. He leaned wearily against the window and laughed, saying, “It’s dead. Do you want to take a look?”

Bambi nodded.

So, Ivan held Bambi and told her to look down.

With the undead beast’s death, the streets returned to quiet. The slamming from upstairs disappeared, and Hugh quieted down.

Only the flames burning on Undead Beast’s body remained, roaring furiously.

“I can’t see very clearly.” Bambi rubbed her eyes. A fine blackish-gray smoke floated in the air, blurring the little girl’s vision.

“Let’s go downstairs. ”

The undead beast would produce a crystal in its head. It can’t be wasted.

When Ivan and Bambi got downstairs, Ivan was still vigilant about his surroundings, in case anything snuck up on them.

Fortunately, after this fierce battle, even if there had been any zombies and undead beasts prowling around, they would have run as far as they could with their tails between their legs.

There was a strange smell in the air, like roasted meat. The undead beast’s body was scorched black, and in some places the carapace had cracked, revealing the charred flesh inside.

No matter how hard the carapace was, it couldn’t withstand fire.

Ivan smashed through the undead beast’s head with his foot with ease and didn’t forget to remind Bambi to be careful not to fall.

The other half of the body wasn’t so burnt. Bambi circled it and found an area that smelled like something else, like barbecue.

She remembered a barbecue her grandpa had made for her last year.

Hugh had caught a wild rabbit. Encountering a normal wild rabbit in the apocalypse can’t be called lucky but was considered hitting the jackpot.

It was a pity that there was only one. If there were two, they could have raised the rabbits.

At that time, Hugh made Bambi a rabbit roast, a hot and spicy rabbit head and stir-fried diced rabbit. They were delicious.

And now, Bambi smelled the same smell as the roasted rabbit.

“Mr. Ivan, can I eat it?” She pointed to the undead beast, asking Ivan who was absorbed in finding the crystal.

Ivan was speechless. He thought the little girl circled the undead beast out of curiosity. It turned out she wanted to eat it.

Seeing that his baby girl was so hungry she wanted to eat an ant, Julius glared at the food section of the store. He wished nothing more than to buy everything in the food column for Bambi.

However, it was all grayed out.

“……”

When he saw the intimacy of -10 in the upper right corner, Ivan suddenly felt gladdened. With some more effort, he could buy, buy, buy for his baby girl!

Confirming that his baby girl would be okay, Julius quit the game since he still had work to do.

“Bambi, meat from these monsters cannot be eaten,” Ivan said.

In the beginning, people who couldn’t get their hands on food turned to these undead beasts. Some undead beasts’ meat was smelly but some were not, creating the false impression that this kind of meat was normal.

If a person were to eat it, 99% would be infected and turn into a zombie, while the remaining 1% obtained powers.

“Can I give it to Grandpa?” asked Bambi again.

This question gave Ivan pause.

Zombies should be able to eat undead beasts’ meat, but it seemed that no one had tried this. As for zombies, if they could eat fresh flesh and blood, why eat the meat of undead beasts?

Moreover, the hole in the metal wall was too small to stuff the body through. The undead beasts’ body also contained the virus. If they were to accidentally scratch a finger, they would very likely become infected.

He looked at Bambi apologetically.

Bambi was a little disappointed but laughed it off. “It’s okay. I’ll find something else for Grandpa later.”

Ivan finally dug the crystal from the undead beast’s head. When the crystal was dug out, the energy contained within automatically cleaned the surface of the crystal.

“Mr. Ivan, it’s a cyan stone. You can use it!” Bambi jumped up with joy.

Ivan’s eyes were filled with joy.

Although he secretly prayed that it to be a wind-type, when he finally dug up a Level 3 wind-type Crystal, it still felt unreal.

He was able to obtain a Level 3 Crystal without suffering any major injuries? And it was even the same type as him!

With this crystal, he could make a charge at his own bottleneck and maybe, he would advance to become a B-class!

Ivan’s heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. He took a deep breath to suppress his joy, and he said, “Bambi, this isn’t mine alone. You also have a share.”

The psychic type also had a special ability, that is, all Crystals types could be used for cultivation and would not be rejected.

Bambi’s box of crystals must have been specially left to her by her grandpa for her to cultivate with.

Bambi considered this for a moment and said softly, “Then I’ll give you my share.”

Ivan was startled. His dusty face flashed with emotion as he raised his hand, gently rubbed Bambi’s head, and said sincerely, “Thank you, Bambi.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Let’s go home.” Ivan stretched out his big hand, and Bambi stretched out of small hand. Holding Bambi’s little hand in his hand, Ivan had a bright smile on his face.

Just as they turned to leave, Ivan suddenly stumbled.

“Mr. Ivan, are you okay?” Bambi stopped and lifted her little face to look at Ivan worriedly.

Mr. Ivan’s face twisted, making Bambi feel uneasy.

“I…” Ivan’s voice trembled a little and looked down into Bambi’s concerned eyes. He took a deep breath and forced a smile on his face. “I’m fine.”

Back inside, Bambi didn’t tell Ivan about the person helping her, because Ivan was resting. When he woke up and was completely healed, she would tell him then.

Bambi looked around the house, not knowing if the invisible mister was still there.

Ivan didn’t ask Bambi about the gun. When they got home, he went inside the bathroom.

Thinking that Mr. Ivan was tired, Bambi opened a bottle of water and poured it into a cup, then sat down on the couch, waiting for Ivan to come out from the bathroom.

Half an hour passed, and Ivan still hadn’t come out.

The little girl glanced worriedly at the bathroom door. She felt that Mr. Ivan had been washing for an unusually long time. At first, sounds were coming from the bathroom, but now it was gone.

“Winnie, could Mr. Ivan have been injured while fighting the monster and has not fainted?”

The teddy bear couldn’t respond to her.

The more Bambi thought about it, the more worried she became, and she hurriedly stood up and walked to the bathroom door. “Mr. Ivan, have you finished washing?”

A moment later, Ivan’s raspy voice came from within. “I’m shaving right now. I’ll be done soon.”

Bambi immediately relaxed.

Inside the bathroom, Ivan was standing shirtless as he supported his weight on the washstand with one hand and the Level 3 crystal in the other.

His pale face and pained eyes were reflected in the mirror.

He bent over, panting like a trapped beast. The blue veins at his temples and neck burst against his skin, and memories of the past flashed through his mind.

Ivan came from an ordinary family. His father was a police officer, his mother was a teacher, and he had a sister who was older than him. He had excellent grades and was admitted to his ideal university. After graduation, he should have found a suitable job and then married his girlfriend and started a family.

However, an unknown virus swept the world and the apocalypse arrived. In his whole family, only he had awakened powers, yet he couldn’t protect his family.

In the end, only he remained.

He once fled to a base in a city in the southeast. At the base, he encountered his girlfriend, but his girlfriend attached herself to another power user. He wanted to take his girlfriend with him, but his girlfriend refused.

After that, he survived alone on the road, improving his powers as he strove to survive. Then, he met Miles, then Bambi.

He thought that his luck had turned around and had improved. He even planned to use this same-type Level 3 Crystal to charge for B-class. As long as he succeeded, he could take Bambi to the base.

Although B-class was not a particularly powerful existence amongst power users, it still qualified him a place amongst the strong. He would protect Bambi and raise her…

He could give Bambi a home, and with Bambi, he would have a home.

But, in the end, God turned him into a joke.

Ivan laughed silently. Because of the force, his eye sockets gradually turned red, and dark blue startled crawling up the whites of his eyes.

On his waist, there was a small inconspicuous wound.

At this moment, the wound had turned dark blue. The ominous lines extended from the wound upwards along the intramuscular lines.

Like Hugh, Ivan was infected.

He didn’t even know where the wound came from.

Maybe he accidentally ran into something while avoiding Undead Beast.

Ivan slowly turned his head. The frosted glass door of the bathroom reflected a small silhouette of the little girl who looked like an angel.

There was an itch in his throat, and Ivan couldn’t help but cough violently. Bambi heard this, it startled her, and she pounded on the door. “Mr. Ivan, are you okay?”

Ivan swallowed the itch, quickly put on his clothes, wiped his face, pulled open the door, and walked out.

“I’m fine.” After Ivan said this, he met the nervous gaze of the little girl. She looked as if she was afraid of something.

Ivan was silent.

He thought back to Bambi’s grandpa. Maybe the little girl noticed something.

“You must be hungry,” Ivan said, “We killed the monster and got a Level 3 Crystal, which is something worth celebrating…Do you want to eat fried apples?”

Ivan didn’t think about where the apple came from. While he was still clear-minded, he wanted to make one last meal for little Bambi.

He acted quickly. They had flour at home, so he cut the apple into thin slices with a few strokes of the knife, dusted it with flour, and fried it in oil.

Fortunately, there were several jugs of oil stored at home. It was more than enough.

Bambi obediently followed Ivan. She wanted Mr. Ivan to rest, but Ivan wouldn’t listen to her.

“Is it good?” Blowing on a slice of fried apple until it was cool, Ivan handed it to Bambi.

The little girl took a bite, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said excitedly,” “It’s delicious.”

Half an hour later, when all the apple slices were fried, Ivan turned off the heat, brought out the steamed rice from another pot, and placed it on the table.

Bambi climbed into her chair and found that Mr. Ivan had no intention of sitting down.

“Bambi, I’m leaving,” Ivan half-crouched down to look into Bambi’s puzzled eyes, saying softly.

Bambi automatically asked, “Why?”

“I’m going to the base to seek revenge on the person who hurt me before. ”

Bambi said, “Then…Can you take Bambi with you?”

“No.” Ivan shook his head slowly.

Bambi’s little hands twisted together tightly and tears trembled from her lashes.

“Mr. Ivan, are you going to become a monster like Grandpa?”