Chapter 3 : The church lady is here

Zone 10. This cursed place has too many dangers to count.

First of all, the most important rule for any newcomer entering Zone 10 is: Never, no matter what, leave the asphalt road and walk on the

dirt.

Sure, even the asphalt has been poorly maintained for decades. It’s full of holes and cracks, almost looking like an unpaved road. But

regardless, this rule must be followed strictly.

What happens if you break the rule? You die.

Surprisingly, the entire soil in Zone 10 is contaminated with radioactive materials.

No one knows exactly why.

Some say it’s the remnants of old nuclear tests. Others claim it’s from a nuclear power plant explosion that left fallout behind. There are many

theories, but no official cause has ever been confirmed.

The most believable rumor is that one of the many corrupt companies in Haven City secretly dumps radioactive waste here every night to

avoid paying disposal fees, while staying out of sight of the HCPD (Haven City Police Department).

Of course, there’s no evidence. But everyone in Haven City just nods and adds the usual saying: “Those bastards, of course they would.”

The main point is: going deep into Zone 10, where the asphalt ends and the dust blows like fog, is extremely dangerous.

Some of the lowest scum, the raiders, deliberately make their nests in these places to avoid outside interference.

That’s why when Knock Knock, a low-ranking raider guarding the hideout entrance, heard something unexpected, he thought he was hearing

things.

Knock knock.

His spoon, full of cheap canned meat and halfway to his mouth, froze in midair.

Knock knock?

Someone knocking politely at a raider hideout?

“Maybe I’m too high these days.”

He tapped his drug-fogged head a few times, grumbling to himself that maybe he should increase his dose.

But just as he raised the spoon again to eat:

“Hello? Is anyone there? I’m from the church nearby.”

“Shit.”

The spoon dropped to the floor.

Someone’s at the door. He looked through the peephole.

“This is driving me nuts.”

A surprising scene awaited him outside.

A nun in a black veil was standing there, holding a cross with both hands, waiting quietly.

Of course, just because she was dressed like a nun didn’t mean she actually was one. She said she came from a nearby church, but there

weren’t any standing buildings for miles, let alone a church.

Knock Knock, confused by this bizarre situation, decided it was better to chase her away politely before things got complicated.

“Get lost, you crazy witch. I don’t know what you’re up to, but if you try anything funny, I’ll chop you up and eat you.”

It seemed to work. Or did it?

The woman scratched her head, then stared straight at Knock Knock through the peephole, even though she couldn’t actually see his eyes.

“Since you said you’d eat me, I guess I’ve found the right place.”

“What?”

With a loud crash, Knock Knock’s body was flung almost 10 feet into the air and slammed into a concrete wall.

Her heavy boots echoed as she approached the stunned Knock Knock.

“You really should treat people spreading the word of God more kindly.”

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“I told you, I’m from the church.”

She crouched down to meet his frightened gaze.

Seeing the dull, murderous eyes of a seasoned killer in him, she quietly pulled out a revolver and pressed it against his forehead.

“Next time, believe in Jesus.”

Bang!

And that’s how one raider’s miserable life ended.

An underground base.

When she approached what looked like a tiny security booth in the middle of the wasteland, she realized it was actually the entrance to a

raider hideout.

From the outside, it looked too small for even one or two people, but inside, there was a staircase leading underground. It was hard to tell

how many raiders were down there.

She activated two miniature drones, ‘Bees,’ attached to her belt, and sent them down the stairs.

Soon, the data from the Bees merged into her view.

Three targets.

The loud noise from breaking down the entrance or the earlier gunshot must have alerted them. Three raiders, tense and armed, were

sneaking up the stairs.

One with a sword, two with guns.

That was a problem.

In a gunfight, the ones waiting below the stairs had a huge advantage. They could shoot the moment they saw even her toes.

If there were electronics down there, she could’ve hacked them for distraction, but this was Zone 10 — no electricity at all.

She had no choice but to use what she had.

The Bees, hovering quietly, suddenly shot straight into the ears of the two armed raiders under her control.

“What the hell?!”

Two seconds. That’s all the opening she needed.

Bang! Bang!

She dived down the stairs and shot both gunmen in the chest.

“You’re dead!”

The swordsman ignored his fallen comrades and charged at her.

As he raised his sword high to strike, she shot him in his exposed belly.

Bang!

Then once more in the back of his head as he staggered.

The third raider dropped dead before he could even breathe properly.

“You bastard!”

One of the earlier raiders, still alive, clutched his bleeding stomach and pointed his gun at her.

Bang.

Of course, her reflexes were faster than his pain-wracked body.

The second raider fell, his brain spilling from the new hole in his head.

Six shots fired.

She opened the cylinder and dropped the empty moon clip with six spent .44 caliber shells onto the floor.

She grabbed a fresh moon clip from her belt, loaded it into the cylinder, closed it, and cocked the revolver. All in one second.

The last surviving raider, watching all this with terror, finally stammered:

“Please… please don’t kill me…”

“You idiot, you should’ve begged 30 seconds ago. Now it’s too late.”

She glanced at his chest wound — he was struggling to breathe.

That made things easier.

“Hold still.”

“…Huh?”

She held his head tightly so he couldn’t move and reached into his left ear to retrieve the Bee.

“Ugh, gross.”

It was covered in blood from entering too fast and scraping the inside. Unfortunately, it looked too damaged to reuse.

“Here, take it.”

Thud.

“Huh?”

She tossed the ruined Bee onto his thigh. Instinctively, his gaze followed it downward.

And just like that, she sent him to join his friends.

Suddenly, she heard shouting deeper inside the building.

“What’s going on? Is it an intruder? Those Circuit Rams bastards must be here!”

Luckily, there were no more stairs going further down. From here, it was just clearing out the first basement floor.

The Bees detached from her belt and flew up again.

Now, it was just repetitive work.

Even if dozens of drugged-up cannibal raiders came at once, as long as they were on the same floor, she could calmly take them out one by one.

Raider-clearing was basically hard labor at this point.

“Brothers! Join the church! Believe in Jesus and go to heaven!”

“What the hell…?”

One skinny guy — either brave, stupid, or brain-melted from drugs — rushed at her with a baseball bat, and dropped instantly after she shot him.

Quick delivery to heaven, as promised.

Even those hiding behind pillars or walls couldn’t escape. The Bees attached to the ceilings of every room were feeding her their positions via

hologram.

She carefully made her way deeper into the hideout, seeing everything beyond the walls.

Break room?

A bedroom with old mattresses?

A dining room where six raiders were eating grilled meat?

Bang.

By the time she had used up half the moon clips on her belt, her boots were sticking to the floor with every step from all the blood.

Finally, she found the target.

Next to the dining room, in what looked like a meat storage full of hanging hooks.

“You okay?”

She regretted the question as soon as she said it.

A skinny 9-year-old girl with short hair hung there, both hands hooked through metal hooks, barely conscious.

She had been hanging like that for at least two days. Of course she wasn’t okay.

But surprisingly, Yuna Chevalier trembled and slowly opened her eyes when she heard the voice.

“You’re actually okay?”

With unfocused, pitch-black eyes, Yuna stared at her and whispered:

“You’re the Saintess, right? I believed… I believed you would come save me. I was so scared and in so much pain… but I didn’t give up. Thank

you, Saintess…”

She shed quiet tears as she spoke with dry, chapped lips.

The woman realized Yuna must have mistaken her for Berry, the Saintess who often appeared on TV, because of the nun’s outfit with the veil.

“No, I’m not the Saintess… I’m, uh… a priest? A nun?”

“b*tch!”

While she struggled to explain, a nearby raider suddenly charged at her with a huge butcher’s knife.

“Anyway, not a b*tch. But we don’t have time for titles right now. Let’s go!”

She didn’t know how many raiders were left inside.

Up to now, she had taken them down group by group because they were relaxed and unprepared.

But now, if they regrouped and blocked the way out, it could be the end.

She carefully removed Yuna from the hooks, held her tightly in her left arm, and ran toward the exit.

Bang!

One raider ran into the dining room at the wrong time and was blown apart into blood and guts.

“Keep your eyes shut until I say it’s safe!”

“Yes…”

Her voice was even weaker than when she was on the hook.

“What’s wrong? Is your throat dry? I didn’t bring water.”

“No… my stomach hurts.”

“What?”

“My stomach… it really hurts…”

And with those words, Yuna fainted completely.

“God damn it…”

Anyone who’s carried someone unconscious knows that it’s far harder than it looks. The person being carried needs to use some strength too,

or else their weight becomes dead weight.

Plus, if their head droops, there’s a risk of breaking their neck.

So she found the cleanest-looking table, dumped everything off it, and laid Yuna down.

“Why the sudden stomach pain?”

When she carefully lifted Yuna’s torn-up shirt, she immediately understood.

“…Those sick bastards.”

A large, festering surgical scar stretched across Yuna’s belly. And inside her stomach was some kind of unknown machine.