CHAPTER 85: DIANA
-GRR!
Diana stood in front of the massive glass, the great height of the skyscraper allowing her to easily overlook the city.
High-rises and massive office towers lay crumbled, their upper halves snapped clean off and smashed into mountains of rubble on the asphalt below.
Down on the streets, the once-busy avenues were entirely choked. Thousands of unusable cars sat frozen bumper-to-bumper, their tires deflated, their windshields shattered, and doors flung wide from a panicked evacuation. Dead traffic lights dangled uselessly from poles overhead, creaking in the wind. Underfoot, the ground was a mess of cracked asphalt and layers of pulverized glass from blown-out windows.
-GRR!
She watched as survivors maneuvered around rubble and cars as they went on with their new daily lives. Many moved towards the outer regions of the city where a massive wall was being built to surround the city. Some headed to buildings where beast meat was being processed...their hides removed and meat harvested.
Some helped in the processing of ores mined, and some helped in the storing of natural herbs now growing within their world. With the advantages granted to her as the City Lord of the Nexus, Diana was able to pinpoint where these natural treasures were located...at least those in their immediate surroundings.
Military jeeps drove down passable roads, as disciplined soldiers roamed the streets, with firearms held tightly in their hands. None of the survivors dared to cause trouble as they followed the new world order.
Diana's eyes moved up where a massive barrier covered the entire city. She could have made this barrier transparent, allowing sunlight to stream into the city, but that wouldn't have helped in ensuring the survivors lived in their gloom. Fear begets obedience, and obedience begets order. Because of that, the light from standing buildings and homes illuminated the city, but shadows still danced across alleys and behind some buildings.
The entire city was within her grasp, and she planned to keep it that way.
-TAP! TAP!
A knock came from the door, but she didn't react. Soon after, the door was opened with a silent click, and a middle-aged man garbed in military wear entered the quiet room, only broken by the sound of a growling undead. The man's eyes shifted to the side of the room where a cage lay, but his gaze barely lingered on it for a split second before his head faced forward again, his back straight as he saluted.
“My Lady, I stand before you.”
“Hmm...” A soft beautiful voice came from the woman before him. Black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Donned in a black one-piece dress with matching high heels, she looked nothing like someone living through an apocalypse.
“Is he back?”
“Yes, My Lady! Lord Richard returned earlier, but more than half his crew were missing, and among the twelve who came back, seven were gravely injured.”
Diana scoffed as she finally turned away from the window.
“That guy is one hell of a stubborn man.”
With graceful steps, she walked to her seat and sat in front of the polished mahogany desk.
“The academy is two territories away from us. We already have trouble clearing the outer regions of this Safe Zone, yet he thinks he can just waltz through these dangers and find his son?”
A look of disdain briefly surfaced on her beautiful face before the usual cold look returned. The general didn't dare stare at her for long. Partly because of her beauty, but mainly because of the fear in his heart.
That was right. This battle-hardened general, who was already famous before the apocalypse even descended and was now one of the strongest on the continent, the bright green text on his head attesting to that.
[LV. 58 ??? (EPIC)]
Now this same man feared Diana, who looked to be in her twenties. But of course, that couldn't be the case. After all, she was already a mother of one, her child only a step away from adulthood herself. Yet the general could see the complete indifference on Diana's face despite her daughter also being in the same academy Lord Richard was trying to get to.
Of course, the general didn't dare show any of his thoughts on his face.
As for Diana, she crossed Richard off her list of people to watch out for. To her, a man who couldn't distinguish between power and family was no one to fear.
Instead, her mind shifted to a couple, two people who had gained her interest in the process of conquering this city.
“Did you find anything on Mr. and Mrs. Draven?”
“I'm afraid what I found was limited.”
“Oh?”
A chill ran down the general’s spine, and a line of sweat trickled down his face. He didn't fear death. No, he had already stared it down several times. But that didn't mean nothing could shake his heart.
And this woman just happened to be on that list. And what was ironic was that her husband occupied the top spot of that very list.
He shook the thoughts away and secretly took a deep breath. No matter what, he couldn't embarrass himself.
“The wife worked in the Silverlake General Hospital...” he recited everything he found out. From the wife's parents, to the school she attended, to when she started as a medical doctor, and much more information, no matter how inconsequential it seemed. He knew Diana loved to be thorough.
“But when it comes to the husband, I found nothing... No record of where he was born, who his parents were, or any relatives. It was as if the man had appeared out of thin air. As though his past had been erased."
Silence ensued in the room for a long time, but the general continued to stand ramrod straight.
Diana sat there, her face still cold, with no way to tell what she was thinking.
After a while, she spoke,
“Pull back any surveillance on them.”
“What?” The general almost doubted his ears. But when he saw Diana merely returning his gaze without any intention of speaking again, he quickly responded.
“Yes.”
He couldn't understand. They had been secretly watching this couple for several days now, and he had his best men on the job. The general had a lot of confidence in saying they couldn't be found out. Yet now that they knew there was something unusual about the couple, they were suddenly being pulled out? Even his own curiosity had been stirred. After all, that man clearly only had an elite class, yet he left him feeling a lot of pressure. It was clear he wasn't ordinary.
"Spread rumors that Richard is willing to sacrifice the lives of his group to achieve his agenda. Support the families of those who died, and offer them opportunities to join the working branch of the Citadel."
"Yes, my Lady."
A glint flashed within Diana's golden eyes. Just because Richard was no longer among her list of those to watch out for didn't mean she would let her guard down.
"Dismissed."
The general saluted before turning and leaving the room with a quiet click. From beginning to end, his every step was light without producing any sound.
Left alone, Diana stood and moved to the side of the room where a cage lay.
Her cold eyes rested on the figure within. Even after becoming a zombie, the figure still retained traces of its past beauty. It was clear she wouldn't have lost out to Diana in appearance. Yet her previously mesmerizing hazel eyes now flashed with a crimson menace, while her toned smooth skin was now patches of decayed flesh hanging from her body.
-GRR!
Diana ignored the foul smell coming from the zombie, her eyes seeming to see through the creature.
"To think you would be reduced to such a wretched state..."
Despite the words that came out of her plump lips, and the trace of pity in her voice, the corners of her lips tugged slightly into a faint smile.
"Pathetic."
The sight before her reaffirmed the promise she had made in her childhood.
"Hmm... speaking of childhood, I believe your daughter is also attending the academy. I wonder if she's still alive. If not, that would just be so sad."
The undead snarled, its every thought focused on consuming the uncorrupted being before it. Alas, the cage she was imprisoned in was made of no ordinary metal.
Just like that, Diana stood in front of the cage for hours, her eyes unfocused, as plans upon plans formulated in her mind, the undead acting as a reminder that she couldn't afford to fail to achieve her goals. For every plan, she thought of a backup, and for any backup, she formed another backup.
It wasn't until a system message flashed before her that she was pulled out of her thoughts.
[Nexus 9 is trying to establish connection.]
A slight tremor passed through her body when she saw this message.
Though it only lasted for a moment.
Then with her characteristic cold look, Diana turned around and left the room with graceful steps.
*****
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