Chapter 52: Emergency

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Emergency Emma nodded, gently running her fingers through Betty’s uneven hair. "Hm... daughter, who cut your hair this badly? Did they not even know the basics of a proper haircut?" She frowned, lifting a few jagged strands between her fingers. "Go fetch me a pair of scissors. I’ll fix this and make it look good." Betty gave a small nod and turned toward the bedroom. ’Thank God she believed my lie. And... she’s right, my hair looks terrible.’ Her gaze landed on Sophia, who sat on the bed playing quietly with her dolls. Betty shook her head, careful not to disturb her, and walked over to the dressing table mirror. ’Cutting my hair with a knife was a bad idea... and in the dark mall, no less.’ --- "Here... Mother." She hesitated on the word, handing over the scissors before sitting beside her. Emma accepted them with a soft sigh and began trimming the uneven ends with delicate precision. ’My princess... she’s calling me ’Mother,’ not ’Mommy’ like she used to.’ "There you go, princess," Emma said gently, "and make sure to take a bath after this. Otherwise, your skin will get itchy." Betty nodded, placing the scissors back on the table in front of her. "Mother, I have a request... Can you do it?" Emma’s eyes lit up immediately. She clasped Betty’s hands, her voice eager. "Yes! I’ll do it, my princess. Just tell me what it is." Seeing Emma’s eager expression, Betty lowered her gaze, fingers curling into her palms. ’Is this... what it feels like to have a mother?’’Not gonna lie... it feels kind of nice.’ She slowly raised her head, meeting Emma’s eyes. "Mother... can you not tell anyone about my identity for now?" Emma blinked, tilting her head in surprise. "Why, dear? Oh... okay, I understand. Don’t worry..." ’My princess must still be angry at them... And honestly, I’m scared. If they try to take her away from me again... what would I do?’ Emma affectionately ruffled Betty’s hair. Betty closed her eyes, awkwardly soaking in the unexpected warmth. "Mommy, did the guest leave?" Betty’s eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. Emma’s hand froze mid-motion as she turned toward the bedroom door, her eyes widening at the sight of a little girl standing there. Emma stiffly turned her head back to Betty, confusion clouding her face. "Daughter... w-who is this little girl?" Betty let out a slight groan and gestured for Sophia to come closer. When the child reached her, Betty gently patted her back before looking at Emma. "Mother... she’s my adoptive daughter. Sophia, this is your grandma." Sophia tilted her head, her curious eyes fixed on Emma’s face. Emma blinked in surprise, pointing to herself. "Grandma? Adoptive daughter...?" With a soft sigh, she stood from the couch, walked over, and knelt in front of Sophia. Then, without hesitation, she scooped the little girl into her arms. "I respect your choices, dear," Emma said warmly, her lips curling into a gentle smile as she tickled Sophia’s stomach. "Ahahaha!" Sophia squirmed in her embrace, giggling uncontrollably. --- Click. Emma closed the apartment door with a wave, a happy smile curling on her lips. Lilian, who had been waiting eagerly, smirked and hopped toward her. "How was it, Mother?" Emma smiled gently, patting her daughter’s head. "Hm... your friend is a good person. I’m sure of one thing now: she’s not my daughter. Her eyes are different. Let’s go." ’Sorry for the lie, dear, but I have promised my other daughter’ As Emma turned and walked away, Lilian froze, her jaw dropping. "W-what...?" ’She didn’t find out...?’ [Objective 7 continued: Meet the final boss, Leon, and become friends with him.] --- "Alert! Alert!" Betty frowned at the sudden shout outside, her hand freezing midair before it could reach Sophia’s mouth with the spoon. "Dear, wait here and finish your food, okay? I’ll go check what’s happening." She stood up and walked toward the door, but before she could open it, a loud knock rattled it. Bang! Bang! Bang! Betty opened the door with narrowed eyes, only to see soldiers urgently knocking on every awakened person’s door in the hallway. "What’s going on?" she asked the soldier who had knocked on hers. His eyes lit up with relief upon seeing her. Without a word, he dragged a mobile weapons rack in front of her. "Miss, please choose your weapon. The military needs the strength of awakeners right now!" Betty’s eyes fell on the rack, knives, guns, swords, even axes, all neatly arranged. Around her, other awakeners were already arming themselves from their respective racks. "What’s the emergency?" she asked casually, her hand reaching for a katana that suited her technique perfectly. Seeing her choice, the soldier frowned. "Miss, please pick a gun. This is an emergency!" Betty sighed, grabbed a pistol, and fastened a belt around her waist to holster it. "Fine. I’ll take one. Wait here, I need to inform my daughter before I head out." With that, she turned back inside, closing the door behind her. --- After sending Sophia into the pocket space for safety, Betty descended the stairs and stepped out of the apartment building. "Miss! Over here, quickly!" She turned toward the shout and saw several military jeeps lined up, soldiers and awakeners jumping aboard in a rush. Betty sprinted over and leaped into one of the jeeps, settling into an empty seat just as the engine roared to life. The convoy sped forward, tires screeching on the pavement. A soldier at the front turned, his voice tense as he addressed everyone inside. "Awakeners, listen up! Monsters have started advancing toward our base. If we don’t stop them here, the entire base will be in danger! These creatures are unlike anything we’ve seen before, so stay alert!" --- Betty jumped out of the jeep behind the other awakeners. The moment her eyes landed on the creature ahead, they widened in shock. A sharp gulp escaped her throat. Around her, the earlier bravado of the other awakeners crumbled. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, faces pale with fear. Lumbering toward the base was a massive alligator-like beast, its body easily as long as a two-story building. Patches of its flesh were rotting away, exposing bone and sinew, while the rest was covered in sickly green muscle. One half of its face was nothing but decaying flesh, oozing as it moved. "What... how...?" Betty muttered under her breath, her fingers tightening around the katana’s hilt. ’How can a level-six monster appear here? Did... did it evolve this quickly?’ "Betty, over here!" Betty snapped out of her daze and turned to see Hazel and Maria running toward her. "Attack!" A soldier’s shout rang out, and despite the fear etched on their faces, the soldiers around them opened fire. Bullets tore through the air in a deafening storm. Betty glanced toward the base, her ears catching the distant rumble of heavy artillery. The beast let out an ear-splitting roar of irritation as missiles streaked through the sky, leaving trails of red fire behind them. BOOM! BOOM! "ROAAARRRR!" The ground quaked violently beneath Betty’s feet, nearly throwing her off balance. The creature’s bloodshot eyes locked onto the base, its rage boiling over. The missile barrage had left nothing but faint scorch marks on its massive, rotting body. "Awakeners! Take out the small ones swarming around the monster!" another soldier commanded urgently. Betty’s gaze dropped to the ground near the beast’s colossal legs, and her stomach clenched. Dozens of Grade One zombies were crawling toward the base in a grotesque tide, their rotting limbs dragging them forward with relentless hunger. "Haha! Let’s go, Betty, this is a golden chance to level up!" Hazel shouted with a manic grin, swinging her axe and charging ahead without hesitation. "Sister, stop!" Maria cried out, panic flashing in her eyes. But when Hazel didn’t slow down, Maria gritted her teeth and ran after her. Betty exhaled sharply, clutching her katana tighter. ’Reckless idiot...’ With a sigh, Betty darted after them. Ahead, Hazel swung her axe with wild strength, cleaving through zombies before scorching their bodies with crackling arcs of lightning. Maria slashed her blade across a zombie’s neck, a burst of wind erupting from her palm. The sharp gale sliced through the rotting flesh, severing heads in clean sweeps. The other awakeners, emboldened by their charge, roared and rushed forward, hacking down the undead in a frenzy. Betty exhaled sharply, her katana gleaming as a white aura flared along its edge. She slipped five cores into her pocket, then launched herself into the fray. Each swing of her blade cut through bone like it was nothing more than soft foam, leaving severed limbs and shattered skulls. The colossal beast raised his front leg, swinging it in anger; the building in his way was shattered, torn in half. "Ahhh." The awakeners run from beneath the building, and the beast attacks the soldiers attacking from a distance. More missiles landed on his head, tilting his head slightly. "ROAR." He let out another roar shaking the earth again.